CHAPTER TWO - EARTH REALM - AT CLOSE QUARTERS

***

"Where are these local sellers from?"

"I have no idea. Maybe they are from the next village"

"Did they tell you that?"

"Nope, it's just a hunch"

"A hunch?"

"It's quite clear that they aren't peasants from Aruma but they told us that Kido knows their identity"

"Is that so?"

Hazel said in deep thought and took a glance at doorpost.

"Yes. They also said they have something to sell with the boss"

"Hmm…quite interesting…Go fetch Kido"

"Right away"

The guard replied and was about leaving when Kido, on his routine duty of preventing any fight from breaking out with the rowdy customers, appeared unexpectedly after coming down from upstairs.

"Kido…"

"Erwin, how are you holding up guarding the entrance?"

Kido questioned, smiling as he walked to where the Erwin stood beside the leader of the guard.

"We've been doing fine. Hazel wants to hear something from you"

Erwin replied caressing the handle of his sword which he had strapped around his waist. Erwin returned back to his post and left to join his comrades to guard the entrance. Kido drew closer to the duo and stood behind Hazel.

"So, what do you want to tell me?"

"Those two standing outside…I heard from Erwin that you know them..."

Kido took his eyes off Hazel and peered outside the entrance. He saw us standing anxiously waiting to be allowed in by the guards that were already getting irritated having us around.

"Oh, Yes, I do know them..I'm friends with them, you see"

Kido answered rubbing the back of his head timidly.

"Then tell me where they came from otherwise things won't go well for you and your street friends"

Hazel warned and Kido coughed twice to prevent himself from being frightened by Hazel's glare.

"They are Ryaku's goons and it is obvious they came here to trade something as usual"

"As usual? You mean they often come here to sell their something?"

"Of course they do come here to trade their exploits…Is there a problem?"

Kido questioned peering at Hazel with a suspicious look.

"Not at all…So, you say they know Ryaku very well?"

"Yes, they not only know him but has been under his shadow ever since"

"I get what you trying to say but by exploits, you mean?"

"Well…Honestly, they help Ryaku in robbing rich men in Aru valley"

"Aru Valley?"

"Yes, that's where they live"

"And Ryaku does live there, right?"

"Yep"

"Why do you think Ryaku would do that even when the Shibori police are roaming around?"

"According to what he told me, he believes the poor peasants living there at the mercy of the rich should have someone to stand up for them"

"Now that's very much like him"

Hazel replied. Then he looked at the entrance one last time and drifted into memory lane the moment we both saw face to face.

"…I wouldn't mind at all if those boys were just ordinary thieves looking for bread with whatever they wanted to sell in return but they know Ryaku…..and this fact changes everything. They could turn out to be the ones I've been looking for especially that barefooted guy in blue loose-fitting hemp with black saggy trousers, who keeps staring at me with that ferocious eyes of his or his partner who looks more feeble than his companion…I'll have to watch them at a safer distance but for now, it's best if I take things easy with everyone that comes to see the boss so that we don't make things difficult for ourselves"

Hazel pondered deeply, ruminating if his decisions to us grant permission into the building would be favorable for him which Kido and the rest of guards including Erwin were waiting to hear from him.

"So, have you decided yet to allow them meet with the boss?"

Kido questioned politely after two minutes of waiting for Hazel's response.

"Uh…They are free to come inside but if anything goes missing….Then..." Hazel clenched his cup tightly in a fit to express his determination. "I won't hesitate to have them both killed"

Kido felt the chills in his spine sat Hazel's threats but he forced a grin to pacify his nerves and rubbed the back of his head much harder than he was doing when he was first warned by Hazel.

"Alright…if that's what you want...to do…I'll do as you ask"

Kido stuttered and walked away from Hazel fearfully to meet us at the door. There Kido met the other guards who were anxious to know what Hazel had decided particularly Erwin and a stout man with bulging stomach who were the first to ask Kido about Hazel's decision.

"What did Hazel say?"

"He says they can see the boss…"

Erwin felt relieved but he noticed that Kido looked despondent.

"Are you feeling good or was Hazel a bit too harsh on you?"

"Uh…No, he wasn't….Everything's fine"

Kido replied smilingly falsely and went out to meet us at the entrance.

"Handel, Glad to see you again"

"You too, Kido"

"Lucan, you don't look too good"

Kido said after noticing Lucan wrestling with his stomach.

"He's been wining about been hungry ever since we came to the village"

I replied instead of Lucan.

"Follow me inside. I'll take you to go see the boss and I'll find you both something to eat so hang in there"

Kido said smiling as he always do whenever we come visit.

"Alright…"

I said following Kido inside the rowdy compartment while Lucan trailed behind. As soon as I got inside with Kido, Hazel's eyes met mine as we walked past him, heading to the wooden stairs. Till we got to the second floor, Hazel kept glaring at us until Kido led us to the a narrow corridor which was quite dark for all three of us to see but Kido seemed to know his way around the darkness where there was barely enough sunlight entering into this part of the building.

Hazel's ferocity and the sudden appearance of the new guards had been bothering me ever since we stood outside watching the local people gambling in the first floor not to mention the goldsmith had transformed his domain into a money making business and I was beginning to doubt if he was still in the same line of business I knew he was dealing with for a couple of years now since the very first time I traded with stolen golden objects him as Ryaku's henchman.

Seeing that all three of us was alone with Kido silently leading us in the hallway, I became curios and felt it was the perfect time to inquire about what the goldsmith being up to since our last visit to his domain.

"Kido… care to tell us what's been going on lately? I mean, I see that the goldsmith has hired new bodyguards…especially that odd scaring looking fellow we met before climbing the stairs"

"It's better if you don't get acquainted with those men….especially the one you just saw sitting down with his arms folded"

"But why—"

"Because they mean bad business"

"What do you mean?"

"You won't understand if I tell you but all you need to is that a lot has happened lately and I believe its best you don't want to part of something ugly"

"Still you can tell me a few things unrelated to those guards like these men gambling here"

I inquired inquisitively as Lucan and I both trailed behind Kido through the narrow corridor which seemed endless after we took another turn.

Kido signed and abruptly stopped walking.

"Fine…but you got to keep it a secret"

"We will"

I replied, not too afraid of poking into matters of confidential importance.

"A lot have changed around here since your last visit a month ago, and like you see here, the boss had his merchandising gold business placed somewhere else and transformed here into a gambling den"

Kido explained and uproar of gamblers rooting and shouting wildly which erupted from below followed.

"That explains it why he hired new guards…to secure his money"

"That's right. From what I heard of….", Kido drew closer to make sure his voice doesn't echo around the quiet corridors. "The boss only made these changes after he came back with crates containing a lot of silver and gold as well as some expensive linen clothes…."

Kido whispered and looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping. He did this for several minutes and I became frustrated with him keeping us in total suspense.

"And then what happened next?"

"Everyone was surprised with the large amount of goods he came with…"

"Obviously everyone will be surprise"

"But what does that have to do with the gambling joint?"

It was Lucan who asked and I gave him a knock on the head.

"Handel! What did you do that for?!"

He questioned in anger but I shouted back at him

"Haven't you been listening to Kido all this time, huh?!"

"Shush! Lower your voice. The boss will hear you if scream out too much"

"Knucklehead, keep your voice down, you don't want to get Kido into trouble"

I said and beckoned at Kido to continue. Kido waited a while to ensure that no one overheard Lucan's scream and cleared his throat before resuming from where he had been interrupted.

"Like I was saying, we were all surprised and a week later the old guards were all replaced by the new ones you guys saw downstairs… I was fortunate to be the only guard the boss left behind"

"Wait a minute…All of this happened a month ago, right?"

I asked after recalling something important. Kido looked at me curiously and raised his head straight to face me.

"Yes, that's what I said"

"I can't prove this but I'm sure this might be somehow related to the rumor about the bloody robbery at the Shangsun passage route at the Grand Canyon which Ryaku told us about"

"Yeah, I heard about it as well, is it really true, Kido?"

Lucan asked and Kido looked squarely at both of us.

"Yes, the rumors about it was absolutely true but not all of the make-believe stories people were gossiping about in the streets were true and I suspect the boss and those new guards might have something to do with it"

"A false Gossip?"

"Yes, people were spreading false rumors about what happened and I guess you guys must have heard it too"

"What I heard was that the men that attacked the merchant convoy were all had wings and their movements were twice faster than the speed of lightening"

"Those are the make-believe rumors I was talking about"

"I didn't get to hear the true story behind that rumor"

I said in disappointment and folded my hands.

"But you must know what truly happened, right Kido?"

"Not much of it but I do know in minute details"

"You do? Then tell us"

I said utterly delighted

***