An older man sits at a bar, drinking his sorrows away. Far from our protagonists, for now.

"Another drink!"

He downs another mug of alcohol. He doesn't exactly care what it is, nor how it tastes. He's just pretty upset about his lack of hauls. The fact he's not exactly the fastest draw doesn't quite help make him any money nor much good fame.

A hand lands firmly on his shoulder, belonging to a younger blonde man. Very fox-like, to the point that he'd be a perfect werebeast had he any fur. At times the man genuinely wonders if he really is human.

The blonde man speaks up first before the old one can even get a word out.

"Cirrus, my favorite Hunter! Let me pay your tab for you!" he says with such obvious ulterior motives that it almost shocks the older man to his core.

The older man, named Cirrus, finishes his drink and stares the man in the eyes. "You never call me by name unless it's to tell me about some insufferable bullshit quest not even worth traveling for."

"Come on, you weren't called the Chilling Winds for nothing! And regardless, this one isn't useless like the others!"

"You're really coming out and admitting every quest you gave me before this was completely worthless?"

Whilst completely dodging the question flawlessly, the man brings out a big poster with a huge amount of fancy handwriting.

"Your student put out a quest to the Hunter's Lodge!"

"He really gave a quest to a bunch of washed up old guys who spend their days being tanners and butchers over adventurers? What's the occasion?"

The strange man flips the poster around, revealing a half-decent drawing of a strange small squirrel-ish creature.

"He was planning on presenting an amazing pelt to the King, and he had stumbled across the perfect creature to obtain it from!"

With a devious smile, he presents the text detailing the reward as well.

"Nine acres of land. All in this kingdom."

Cirrus is almost knocked out of his seat. Nine acres, in a place this lucrative? Is that boy insane?

"You were planning to meet with the Third Prince this afternoon, were you not?"

"...I suppose I was. What's in it for you?"

Without missing a beat, the man drops a handful of strange crystals on the table.

"Get him to find this creature with you, and tell him these are all from me."

He's obviously trying to gain favor with both the Third and the Second Prince, killing two birds with one stone, and using Cirrus as a catalyst to do so. Not like it'd be bad for Cirrus to do so regardless, since he'd gain plenty of favor as well.

Cirrus grabs the stones off the table and pockets them. "I'll do it. Where's the creature at?"

The man chuckles. "That's the fun part! He never told anyone about it!"

Despite seeming incredibly competent, the Second Prince is rather eccentric when it comes to his own personal time. He enjoys a nice cup of tea and the occasional duel, especially with his brothers. When it comes to his personal matters, he never quite elaborates on anything important at all.

"Shouldn't I get someone with a magic that can detect lifeforms? The Third Prince's magic is unique, of course, but he's got nothing in the way of tracking." Cirrus inquires.

"He's the best at taking down monsters with little to no damage, but he absolutely refuses to go with anyone he doesn't know! Just take the risk and patrol the areas that the Second Prince went to, and find that creature before some Hunter gets lucky enough to actually kill something with their own hands!"

Cirrus casually grabs the poster and rolls it up. "Alright, alright. You better pay me extra when I get back!"

The man gives an okay symbol with his signature diabolical grin with absolutely no love nor care placed behind it, and then heads out of the bar.

Cirrus brushes off the poster and sets it down on the table, using it as a placemat for his drinks. He's got time to kill, after all. The Third Prince is just like the other two, always acting on his own time and keeping secrets locked behind tight lips. He's by far the most mysterious of all his brothers, that's for sure. Ends up just being a huge pain in the ass most times since schedules end up just being suggestions.

"Barkeep, One more drink!"

It's obviously an important job, but it's not like he can summon people from the air. As such, he waits with cup in hand and time for him to spare.