Royal Court's Grudge

"Fine, I'm sorry okay. It won't happen again," mumbled the bandit as he took a step back.

Rydel said nothing and acted instead. Within a single breath, he cleanly slit the bandit's neck and wrapped a handkerchief around it to avoid blood spilling all over the restaurant floor. He yelled, "Yo Trom, you can take this trash's bounty down from the wall. It should be for 'Slar, Bandit Captain.'"

Trom quickly appeared and hurriedly removed a poster from the wall as he bowed his head and smiled at Rydel, waiting for the hunter's next move.

"I don't usually deal with this level of trash but he brought this on himself." Rydel glared at the other bandits sitting at the now silent table. After seeing their captain killed like a lamb before the slaughter, they were scared stiff and unable to move. "Let's go, kid, I've had enough for tonight."

"You got it Captain!" shouted Jack before he chugged the last of his brundy. Jack picked up Bowser, who was carrying the last of a charred pig's foot and followed Rydel to the stairs.

"This should cover a few nights, right?" Rydel passed the bandit corpse to Trom with a smirk.

"Of course," said Trom as he turned and dragged the corpse out the back door. The incident wasn't expected but Trom knew how to take advantage of a situation and give kindness for kindness. Normally he would charge one gold coin for a room with two beds and a few silver for food. This bandit captain was worth ten gold, easily making him more money.

The hunter duo escaped the many shocked gazes in the restaurant and found their room upstairs. Those people downstairs began to gossip and form the stories that would spread like wildfire the next day, all about a mysterious newbie with a rare fox and his merciless companion.

"Don't worry about the people downstairs. There will be lots of rumors and stories tomorrow, but they'll disappear in a few days," said Rydel. "Just make sure to sleep well cause we've got a long day tomorrow. First, we'll find a local medic and then we'll head to the local association branch. There's some stuff there I need to take care of."

"There's a local association branch here? How come we don't just stay there?" asked Jack.

"Cause it's only an office. There's a single bed and it's for the man who runs it 24/7."

"Really? Why is it so small? I thought the Adventurers Association was an international power?" questioned Jack.

"It is, but that doesn't mean much here. The Adventurers Association headquarters is in the Polt Federation, so the surrounding nations all respect and give the association authority in their respective regions," sighed Rydel. "The Reinolt Kingdom is one of the few nations who keep a neutral relationship with the association. They don't stop the association or impede it, but they do their best to keep it from growing too powerful within its borders. Can you guess why?"

Jack scratched his head for a second before he guessed, "With a strange entity like the association, some nations probably fear the association stealing their internal strength, right?"

"Exactly," chuckled Rydel. "The Polt Federation already has its hidden military strength that no one wants to face, but the federation offered a pact with the Adventurers Association. As the most neutral nation across the continent, the neutral Adventurers Association joined hands with them and the two entities were deemed untouchable from that point on. King Leodoro already hates outside threats but having such an influential power inside his borders made things worse."

"I can imagine," said Jack. "What did he do about it? Knowing his personality, he probably lowered the acceptance standard of the Royal Court and offered insane benefits to attract would-be association members."

"That's exactly what he did, but he also personally invited many high-level adventurers with bribes to join his side. And considering the amount of wealth he offered, almost everyone left the association. That's why the association building is so empty nowadays," clarified Rydel.

"What a rotten king. No wonder that idiot boasted so much about his Royal Court." Jack recalled the king's offer to join the Royal Court and the incredible pride the king displayed. "How many lv. 30's does the Royal Court have now compared to the association?"

"Before the recent pact between the association and the federation, we had more than twice as many. But after the king's unbelievable bribes, they've now got six, one more than us. Other than Arnole and Zariff, they're all under lv. 35," answered Rydel with a displeased grunt.

"At least we're beating them in one category." Jack's words caught Rydel off guard and got the lanky hunter to look back him. "We've got more summoned heroes."

Rydel burst into laughter and slapped his leg. It didn't last long, but Rydel was feeling a little better after imagining all of the wealth and resources the king must've lost thanks to Jack.

"Did the Royal Court make you an offer too, captain?" asked Jack.

"Yeah, and it was a good one too. It had me consider leaving the association," answered Rydel.

"Then why did you stay?"

"Cause of the chief." Suddenly, the indifferent Rydel became solemn and a hint of pride flashed in his eyes. "When everyone was made an offer, you can guarantee that Zariff was given the biggest of them all. But the moment Arnole and the Royal Court showed up at the association building, he stood guard in front of the door and forced them to admit all benefits they had to offer him publicly."

"After they gave in to his demands and announced them, shocking every civilian and adventurer to their core with jealousy, he flat out refused. Chief didn't even let them into the association building and forced them to find the other adventurers in private to make their offers."

A genuine smile crept onto Jack's face as the story went on. He was going to speak but Rydel continued, "The members who stayed behind and turned down the Royal Court were furious at everyone who left."

"But the chief didn't let anyone lash out against any defected adventurers, saying that if they're hot-blooded and itching for a fight to let off some steam, then they can just look for him. He hasn't publicly admitted it, but a huge grudge has grown between him and the king because of this."

"Sounds just like the old fart I know," joked Jack. "Well, I guess I've got to hurry up and level up. To be honest, I'll be leaving the moment I'm lv. 30 and can travel safely, but I'll stand by that old fart if he needs some help."

He wouldn't admit it to Rydel, but his opinion of Zariff only went up every time someone talked about him. There was no doubt in Jack's mind that Zariff was worth more than just befriending, maybe even being a sworn brother. That's something he would think about, even if it was awkward considering his achievement to seduce Maura.

"I figured you'd leave when given the chance. Got any place in mind?" asked Rydel.

"Trodar."

"Oh…" Rydel flinched back when he got the immediate answer. "There's a lot of trouble around Trodar, why go there?"

"Cause that's where I spent most of my time as an ancient hero," answered Jack.

He didn't mention his former guild or him helping set up the Trodan Council that ruled the nation. Those memories were precious and personal, plus he had no clue what might happen if people found out that he was such a major character in ancient Kartonia.

Someday he would be stronger and not fear any backlash, but if that was leaked and some enemy found out, they may not hold back and would do everything in their power to silence Jack before he became powerful.

"Trodar, huh?" Rydel stroked his chin in thought for a moment. "I guess I'll have to join you."

"Why's that?" asked Jack.

"Cause that's my home. I was born in the streets of Gilga," said Rydel, gently staring back at Jack. "You were an ancient hero of Trodar?"

Jack swallowed some saliva and chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I was. Just keep that between us for now, okay? Few people know that I interacted with ancient Kartonia before coming here, but you're the only one who knows that I was an ancient hero. I didn't even realize that until you explained a few things to me."

"Don't worry, I can keep a secret, but you'll have to answer all of my questions," persuaded Rydel with an eager grin.

"I guess I can do that much. I'll try my best to answer," said Jack.

Rydel tensed up slightly and leaned in closer to Jack, giving them a sense of closeness while they were seated on the two beds across from each other. With a mix of excitement and anxiousness, Rydel asked his first question, "What happened to the Leisure Guild?"