Chapter 10

  After two days had passed, Shia went to the location that was specified by those who hired her and Drakkel decided to walk around the town before finally settling at Ascending Skies.

  Later, when the bright lights of the sky faded into darkness, Fargos returned.

  As the man on stage was just speaking about how Sword Spirit Ril of the Twisting Terrain Tonfa clan who was known to have defeated a bandit group at Green Mountain pass which was located near the mountain that stood between Withering Crescent and Lunala Isle, beat Sword Spirit Lu Mai of the Enchanting Fan Swords Clan who was most known for being the main component in defeating a powerful sacred beast in the caves of pearls near a small village located near Densai Forest along with some other disciples, Fargos approached him.

  “Shia has been taken about 10 miles northwest of the capital,” he whispered into his ear.

  Drakkel smiled and nodded. Those who weren't in the know might have thought he was enjoying the story, but what was going through his mind was much more engaging.

  “Leave her there for a week and let her gather information. We’ll have the inn cleared of guests by then as well ” He said.

  “Yes, Young Master,” Fargos replied.

  A week later, as Drakkel walked through the streets illuminated by lamp light, eyeing the many stalls that lined them with Drion at his side, his gaze settled on a certain stall.

  As he walked closer, a familiar nostalgic scent flew into his nostrils.

  The night life in the capital was not as lively as that of Towering Heights, so the crowds of people walking the streets in which a few people might have broken off to purchase something from this small stall were non-existent. With Drakkel being the only customer present, It was no wonder the expression of the stall keeper brightened up when he saw him approach.

  “Welcome to my stand, Sir. Would you like a bag?” He asked enthusiastically.

  Drakkel smiled. “Two bags, please.”

  The stall keeper nodded and scooped up the roasted sweet peanuts into two bags. Drakkel had Drion pay before he took them from him. As they walked away, Drakkel offered a bag to him.

  “Here.” He said, holding it out.

  “I don't eat sweet things, Young Master.” Drion answered.

  Drakkel’s eyebrows furrowed as he let out a “tch”.

  “You're no fun, Drion.”

  Still holding the second bag, he decided to place it in his robe pocket. Just as he opened the first one and scooped up a handful of peanuts, a dark figure landed in an alleyway nearby, jumping down from a rooftop.

  Drakkel had already placed the handful of peanuts in his mouth and was in the midst of chewing when the man came up to them.

  “Shia has found a way to contact us, Young Master.” Fargos said.

  Drakkel nodded and calmly closed the bag, placing it in his pocket with the second one.

  “Lead the way.” He said.

  Drakkel, Drion, and Fargos quickly made their way to the designated location. Demon bodies were durable, but they were also quick. Demons had their own version of sword step which mainly relied on demonic energy. Due to the fact that demonic energy was utilized with a demonic body, the stepping technique of the demons was much more efficient than that of humans who couldn’t utilize sword energy quite as easily with the body and needed to use Meteoric stone as a catalyst. But, lower level demons didn’t have as much control as humans, so they would be easily defeated by a seasoned sword fighter. Because of this, it didn’t take long for the three to reach the area where Shia was being kept.

  It was a sort of makeshift village containing several small houses and one large one. Unlike regular buildings, these buildings didn't seem to have particularly strong foundations. They were made of thin dirt walls and hay which would be easily breakable if one were to only use a bit of effort.

  Within the large building, bright candlelight shined out from the windows- it was so bright, it even illuminated the surrounding area.

  The building in question was surrounded by guards who wore masks to hide their faces.

  The guards were spread out with not many of them standing too close to the building, likely to cover more area since there weren’t too many of them.

  It seemed that the person who was conducting business here didn’t want to be connected to it if their operation was discovered.

  Drakkel, Fargos, and Drion hid atop one of the roofs of the smaller houses, observing the area.

  After a few moments, Drakkel looked at Fargos.

  Fargos nodded and whistled in response.

  A chirping noise, like that of a cricket, came out of his mouth.

  The noise was made amid the sounds of similar noises but was slightly different in tone. Difficult to discern for an ordinary person, but not for a demon.

  A few minutes later, the front door to the largest building opened and Shia stepped out. She appeared haggard, her hair ruffled and her eyes sunken so deep it was as if someone had pulled them down and painted them with ink. She looked around nervously, before approaching a nearby guard.

  After speaking to her, he nodded and beckoned another guard over.

  The three talked a little more, before they walked away from the rest.

  Shia was small and beautiful in appearance. With a soft and flawless face, combined with a sharp nose and eyes and surrounded by a welcoming aura which exuded ethereal presence, it could be said that her looks were even better than that of an immortal beauty’s.

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  Even when afflicted by exhaustion, her beauty still shined through. Perhaps that was why the guards had left with her alone.

  But, she was a demon lord after all. She may have looked weak, but it was really a facade. Within that small and beautiful body was unimaginable power. If one were to underestimate her, they could only die by her hands.

  Truthfully, she alone could take on all of the guards in the area. Only a few were trained sword fighters and none of them were above sword sworn which was evident because a sword spirit would not have missed the three demons hiding upon the rooftop. However in order to not blow her cover, Drakkel had ordered her not to make any rash moves.

  The three silently hopped through the roofs of the homes, following the path that Shia had taken with the guards.

  Just as they arrived, she had finished swiftly knocking out the two guards that followed her.

  As Drakkel walked over, she bowed. “Young Master, I have found some things out.”

  “Go ahead,” he said.

  Shia nodded. “It was as we thought. Several poor and low status people within the capital and even refugees from outside of it have been taken here to embroider fabric. They work for 14 hours a day and sleep for 8. The rest of the time is used for eating and bathing. When they are not embroidering fabric, they are washing it, treating it and sewing it up. After speaking with them, I found that the salary was also not as stated. In fact, they are lucky to get paid at all. They are given a metric as to how much work they should do in a day and if they make it, they are paid a silver coin every two weeks.”

  Drakkel tsked.

  Shia continued, “However, even if they manage to earn the money, they can’t send it out to their families and they are charged by the guards whenever they want to bathe or if they want to eat something better than plain porridge.”

  Drakkel frowned. “Did you find out why no one has done anything about this?”

  Shia answered, “They are poor and mostly uneducated humans. They don’t know the answer to that, Young Master.”

  Drakkel looked at the guards on the floor.

  “Drion will follow me into the building with Shia.”

  He looked at Fargos. “Fargos, watch these two and make sure no one finds them. Also, take care of any guards who try to leave this area.”

  Fargos bowed his head. “Yes, Young Master.”

  Drakkel and Drion took off the guards’ clothing and put them on.

  Drakkel was going to warn Drion to adjust his voice when speaking with the guards. But as he said, “Dri…” He found that this issue was not something they needed to worry about.

  The voice that came out was different than he had expected. It seemed the masks they wore had voice changers, making them sound the same.

  Also lucky for them, their heights weren't too different from that of the guards and under the cover of the night, any such differences would be hard to notice.

  He shook his head and instead said, “Let’s go.”

  He, Drion, and Shia made their way back to the large building. With her and the guards’ return, it could be seen that her clothes were slightly torn and her hair was more ruffled. But that didn’t stop the guard standing nearest the entrance from checking in on them.

  “Why have you two been out for so long?”

  Drakkel answered in a satisfied tone, “You know how it is when one wants to have fun! I mean, look at this girl.”

  He grabbed Shia's chin and she jerked it out of his grasp.

  ”She's a beauty right? Can you really blame us for taking our time?”

  The guard looked at Fargos who stood silently, then at Drakkel. Rubbing the back of his head, he replied, “Oh! So that's how it was!”

  He laughed. “That's fine. But you have to explain the details to me later! If it sounds like a good time, I might partake myself!”

  Drakkel laughed along with him.

  “Alright, you can go through. I was just checking!” The guard said.

  Drakkel nodded and patted the man's shoulder before passing.

  The state of those inside the building was terrible. Dozens of people of varying ages were jammed together, nearly shoulder to shoulder while embroidering. Their eyes were sunken and their frames were thin. Their hands, which slightly shook as they sewed, were covered in cuts and bruises and upon their faces, they only wore frowns, their figures lacking any sign of hopefulness or joy.

  Once they were inside, Shia announced, “Everyone, I have brought some help.”

  In order to not be found out, Shia used her sword energy to speak directly to the embroiderers.

  After she spoke, they looked up for a moment. But when they saw that she was referring to two guards, they quickly lowered their heads and continued with their work, many of them wearing fearful expressions and sweat sliding down their faces.

  In order to ease them, Drakkel took off his mask and Drion did the same. However, they still paid them no mind.

  After a few moments though, one young man appearing no older than fifteen, With dark black eyes and hair put up in a short ponytail, stopped embroidering and ran up to them. He was one of the few men among them.

  “Is it true, Shi?” He asked.

  Shia nodded.

  He continued. “Who are these people and how can they help us?”

  Shia introduced them. “I was not actually tricked here like all of you, but sent by the command of my superior, Young Master Sylas. He found out about the conspiracy and had me investigate.”

  The boy gazed at Drakkel for a moment, then said, “Nice to meet you. My name is Mori. I could waste time with small talk, but really, I want to get straight to the point.”

  He drew closer to Drakkel before asking, “With what ability will you help us?”

  Drion was about to step forward, when Drakkel placed his hand up.

  Yes, the boy was insolent, but his attitude was strong. With him there, maybe they could convince the others.

  Drakkel smiled. “I’m the owner of a large business in the Boray Kingdom. The two besides me are my assistants who also happen to be sword fighters. If we want, we can defeat all the people guarding this place right now.”

  Drakkel moved his face a few inches closer to the boy’s until their noses were nearly touching. “But, I need you to convince them.”

  Mori backed away a step. “What do you mean?”

  Drakkel stood up straight as his smile widened. “Once I break them out of here, they need to make a case against Hidden Treasures.”

  “I would do it,” Mori stated, “But I don’t know about them. Hidden Treasures is controlled by someone who has a close connection to a powerful noble. It also has several other stores within the capital that sell other things. Everyone knows that the owner is wealthy. With a snap of his fingers, he could order someone to locate all of us and our families and kill us before the trial. Then he can make up whatever story he would like about what happened to us afterwards.”

  Drakkel nodded.

  Mori was quite intelligent. With his confidence, build, and intellect, he would have made a great fit for any Swords Clan.

  He sighed. “Would the investigation Bureau allow that?”

  Mori shook his head. He didn’t seem to know.

  So Shia was right after all.

  But after everything that had gone on, who could have faith in such a place? Besides, the boy already knew a good amount.

  Drakkel continued, “I own an inn within the city. There should be enough space for everyone here and their families. When the streets close for the night, I will give the name and address to everyone and they can bring their families in.

  I will have my people guide you in groups so we can avoid the night watch. As for the guards outside, if we make sure that none escape, it should be a couple of hours before the person that hired them figures out what happened.”

  Mori nodded.

  Drakkel said, “Now, I know it will be difficult to trust me, but—”

  “It won’t be!” Mori interjected.

  Drakkel’s eyebrows shot up. He thought he would have to convince them by making them believe he was competition for Hidden Treasures and only wanted to undercut another business to uplift his own. But this boy didn’t question his reasoning nor care. He was curious.

  “Why?” He asked.

  “Because if we don’t trust you, who else can we trust?” Mori answered. “If we don't try to fight, we will remain slaves for our whole lives. And if we let others step on us, what would truly be the point of living?”

  Drakkel smiled. The boy was intelligent indeed.