“No way! How could it be that short-haired guy? Out of all the people I could run into, I just had to bump into this jinx. Damn it, I’m done for this time!” Kells’ face instantly turned ashen. This kid’s grip was no ordinary strength; it seemed like he knew martial techniques. The spot he was holding left Kells unable to muster even a shred of energy throughout his entire body.

  “Last time was just an accident… really…” Kells said with a face full of bitterness.

  “Oh… then what about this time? These two silver coins are mine!” the short-haired youth declared.

  “Ah! Really? Do silver coins come with different appearances? How are these two yours? I just pulled them out. I was only talking about last time; this time, I haven’t done anything!” Kells argued cunningly.

  “Haha, I knew someone like you would say something like that. Actually, let me tell you one thing. In the Crimson Moon Empire, there’s a very famous mercenary group called the Wind Spirit Mercenary Group. This mercenary group has a special characteristic: all its members use coins with markings. For example, right here, do you see?” The short-haired youth grabbed Kells’ hand and lifted it up, forcing him to look closely at the coins. Sure enough, in the very center, aside from Emperor Niels’ portrait, there was a distinct emblem featuring a human figure with three diagonal lines.

  “This is the emblem of our Wind Spirit Mercenary Group. How could coins like these end up in the hands of someone like you? Don’t you find it strange?” The short-haired youth had seized decisive evidence, his face overflowing with a victorious smile.

  The fact that the coins bore an emblem did indeed throw Kells off, but this guy didn’t take more than a few minutes to come up with a counterargument. “I say, aren’t coins meant to circulate? I don’t know, maybe I just happened to receive two silver coins from your mercenary group. What’s so surprising about that? Also, friend, could you ease up on your grip a bit? It’s going numb!” He argued cunningly once more.

  “Haha, actually, there’s one more thing you don’t know about.” The short-haired youth seemed to have anticipated that Kells would say that, and after speaking, his face revealed a mysterious air.

  “I say, are there really that many things I don’t know about? How about you let go of my hand first? I won’t run. I’m a man of upright character; I haven’t done anything guilty. Why would I flee?”

  “Haha, you think I’d fall for that again? It’s rare—someone as bad as you actually runs faster than me. Actually, there’s one more thing you don’t know…”

  “…How about you just tell me all the things I don’t know? I’ve already heard that line so many times!” Kells was somewhat helpless; this short-haired guy was a bit neurotic.

  “Since you put it that way, I’ll tell you everything. Actually…”

  “Can we not use ‘actually’?” Kells was already at his wit’s end.

  “Haha! Alright, when our Wind Spirit Mercenary Group uses coins, we erase the emblems on them. Lately, thieves have been rampant. This method was devised by our leader and announced to the imperial guard department. You can’t deny it. If you don’t believe me, I can just call out to that knight over there, and you’ll know whether I’m telling the truth or not!”

  Kells was genuinely terrified that this short-haired bastard would shout it out. If that happened, he’d never be able to set foot in Leicas again. Thieves are despised everywhere, especially ones who get exposed. They become rats crossing the street—everyone wants to beat them. For the rest of their lives, they’d have no choice but to join the thieves’ guild. Kells didn’t want that; he still dreamed of his mercenary life…

  “Boss, it was really a misunderstanding. You saw it just now—I don’t even have a single coin on me. Without these two silver coins, I can’t even get through the city gates. I really didn’t steal money. If I were going to steal, it definitely wouldn’t be just these two silver coins, right?” Kells pleaded. Of course, deep down, this guy wasn’t convinced at all. “Why do I always have rotten luck whenever I run into this guy? They even mark their coins. What a stingy mercenary group—and they call themselves famous? Bullshit!”

  “Haha, even if you wanted to steal all my money, it’d be impossible. Your technique might be clever, but lately, our mercenary group has been focusing heavily on anti-theft training.” The short-haired youth said with pride. This guy had probably been stolen from plenty of times and finally caught a thief…

  “I say, boss, what exactly do you want? I’m just a worthless nobody. For the sake of two silver coins, you don’t need to treat me like this, right? Actually, you don’t know this, but I’ve got elders above me and little ones below me. At home, there’s an 80-year-old mother with no one to care for her, and infants crying to be fed. Can you bear it? You definitely can’t bear it…” Kells said.

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  Those words seemed to touch the short-haired youth; his expression softened considerably. Seeing his chance, Kells pressed on, “How about you let me go now? This sort of thing won’t happen again in the future. I still have to go back and take care of them!”

  Just as the short-haired youth was about to loosen his grip, he suddenly thought of something!

  “Wait! You’re lying to me! The first time I met you, you were in Anda Town, and now we’re in Leicas. The two places are ten days’ journey apart. Your home can only be in Anda, not here! You cunning bastard, I won’t fall for your trick!”

  The short-haired youth didn’t seem all that dumb—just kind-hearted. He quickly spotted the flaw in Kells’ story. “I knew it—running into this guy never brings anything good. What do I do?” Kells thought gloomily.

  “But… don’t be afraid. I know you didn’t really mean to steal money. No thief would pass up a bag of gold coins and only take the two silver coins you needed. It shows you’re not a thief by nature. However, last time’s matter has to be pursued. You defiled the pure hearts of those girls, hmph! And…” The short-haired youth stopped mid-sentence.

  He shifted the topic and continued, “Do you want to make money? I can help you arrange a good job!”

  “What? Boss, are you joking? Does this atmosphere fit those kinds of words? You’re not going to hold me accountable?”

  “Haha, no, it’s rare to make the best use of things…” The short-haired youth seemed delighted, smiling in a way that made Kells’ hair stand on end. He couldn’t shake the feeling that nothing good was coming.

  “By the way, when I was queuing up back there, I saw you had two female companions. How about you all join the Wind Spirit Mercenary Group together? You can be trainee mercenaries. Our mercenary group has the authority to directly grant trainee mercenary status.”

  Mentioning those two companions, the short-haired youth seemed to come up with a good idea. “I’ll let you go now. Your companions probably don’t know about your thievery or what happened in Anda, right? I bet you definitely don’t want them to find out, hehe…” His smile was very gentle.

  “Damn it! It’s an illusion! It’s really an illusion! This bastard is actually threatening me, and I don’t even have the slightest room to fight back. Are you my fated nemesis or something?” Kells was helpless once again. This bastard was far trickier to deal with than he’d imagined.

  Seeing Kells’ defeated expression, the short-haired youth knew his plan had worked. He wasn’t worried about Kells slipping away anymore, so he let go of his hand.

  “Boss… can you point me to a clear path? What exactly do you want? A mercenary lord like you shouldn’t need to bother with someone like me, right…”

  “Indeed, I’m helping you. I said earlier, I’ll introduce you to a good job. This is something only you can do.”

  “Can you explain this a bit more clearly? It feels…” A sense of foreboding surged up in Kells’ heart. “Good job… bullshit! Pies don’t fall from the sky… Sigh, I’m really damn unlucky. How did I run into you, this jinx? No wonder I kept getting a familiar feeling when I was stealing money earlier…”

  “Lately, the mercenary group has been holding a competition to hunt E-rank monsters. The participants are all uniformly E-rank mercenaries. Hunting at the same level is very difficult, so they’ve been split into teams of three. The highest-ranking member in a team cannot exceed E-rank, but if there’s someone who can attract the monster’s attention to help…” The short-haired youth was interrupted by Kells right as he said this.

  “No way, you want me to lure monsters… I’ll die! All I’ve got is fast legs! And it’s an E-rank monster—good heavens, one bite and there won’t even be scraps left!” Kells’ legs went weak with fear. What a joke—actually wanting him to flirt with an E-rank monster!

  “It won’t happen. As long as you can keep your distance, I’ll find a way to take down the monster. Trust my strength.” The short-haired youth stood tall and gripped his sword tightly. That sword didn’t look ordinary at all. It seemed this kid’s strength was definitely not weak. He was probably an E-rank mercenary himself. Reaching E-rank as a mercenary is a dividing line—only those above intermediate level in their profession can qualify for this rank.

  Judging by his gear, this short-haired youth might be an intermediate knight, while the guy who’d kicked him earlier was likely a low-level knight. Rising from a low-level knight to an intermediate knight isn’t easy—out of a hundred low-level knights, only one makes it to intermediate!

  “I say, it’s not that I don’t have confidence in you; I don’t have confidence in myself… Outrunning an E-rank monster is a bit of a joke. I’ve heard that among E-rank monsters, they’re all agile and hard to catch.” Kells was absolutely right. Having some understanding of common monsters is also essential knowledge for a trainee mercenary.

  The short-haired youth didn’t seem to buy Kells’ excuse. He said confidently, “Hehe, that’s exactly why the competition is being held. Beating them isn’t so easy, but with your help, it’s hard to say. You can actually run faster than me! With that kind of speed, there’s no problem…”

  “Then have you outrun an E-rank monster?” Kells asked.

  When the short-haired youth heard this question, his eyes darted around a few times. He seemed to be deliberately dodging something. “Hehe, how about I tell you about the rewards for this competition instead?” He magnificently changed the subject.

  “The team that eliminates the monster first will receive a reward of 100 gold coins,” the short-haired youth said.

  “Only 100, huh…” This so-called Wind Spirit Mercenary Group was really stingy. Taking down an E-rank monster for just 100 gold coins—what kind of reward is that? The remains of an E-rank monster are worth at least over 200 gold coins! Kells was very well-versed in the value of common monsters.

  “Hehe, 100 gold coins isn’t the point. Actually, there’s one more thing you don’t know…” His old habit flared up again!