“What!?” shouted the other two.

Is he for real? Did the damn translation device got bugged or something? a thought crossed Bold's head.  

“What is there to be surprised about? The only way to make sure you wouldn’t kill anyone is to keep an eye on you at all times. But it’s annoying to drag you everywhere like a prisoner, so just join us and become our friend. And besides, I can’t simply ignore someone who is in a desperate situation. That’s just not how I roll” said Mikhail with a wide smile.

All of his words started to become gibberish to Bold.

“Hold on. What about me?” said Bold angrily.    

“What about you?”

“My opinion! This fucker tried to kill us. And you’re saying we should help him?”

“He was trying to save someone precious to him. Even if he was a threat to us a minute ago, I can’t help but feel sorry for him” said Mikhail with a soft voice.

“Y-you… you naïve fool!”

Those words flew out of Bold's mouth along with his frustration. Mikhail’s eyes widened for a second but soon he frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“We might die in the future. The waves could start at any moment and all you’re thinking is helping out strangers. I’ve had it. If he is coming with us then I’m leaving”.

Bold quickly turned around and started to walk along the pathway.

“What about the quest? Weren’t we supposed to deliver the cargos?” asked Mikhail. 

“I’m sick and tired of that anyway. Gonna find a different way to make money”.

It was a nonsensical talk. Bold knew the chances of that were slim. But he tried to act it out confidently and continued his march.

“Hey, wait up!” exclaimed Mikhail.

Bold ignored him and continued to stroll. Mikhail bit his lips and looked at the kid.

“If you want us to help you, carry that luggage and follow us. But my eyes are on you, don’t forget”.

The men in suit let go of him. The kid could have ran away then and there but as Mikhail had hoped, he walked towards the box and picked it up from the ground. The kid looked at him blankly and walked forward. Mikhail ran past him and approached Bold while lifting the heavy luggage on his back. 

“Come on. Don’t make an emotional decision. You don’t have any thoughts on your mind about what to do, now do you?” asked Mikhail while catching up to him.  

“Yeah, doesn’t mean I won’t come up with one” said Bold.

“Then let’s come up with one together”.

Bold stopped. He wanted to be mad about something but he couldn’t. He was getting annoyed at how persistent he was but couldn’t really hate him for that.

“Mikhail, why do you want to recruit someone like me?”

“Someone like you?”

Bold could not utter the words so he only slapped his fat ass belly in retort.

“Haha…well. You can say I have faith”.

“Faith, huh” repeated Bold.

“Yup. People aren’t what they appear to be. In fact, they aren’t as simplistic enough to be stuck with what they are in the present. That’s what I believe. That’s what I have observed” said Mikhail while brimming with confidence.

“So that’s why you’re okay with letting him tag along?”

Mikhail nodded with delight but Bold looked at the kid and frowned.

“If he tries to betray us, I don’t think I’m strong enough to stop him”

“Don’t worry. If he decides for a backstab, it will be me who will have to scream like a girl. Not you. And besides, you’re the one who just kicked his ass, remember? As far as I can tell, you’re a fine guy so have a little faith in yourself”

It had been very long since he had heard someone praise him like this other than in an MMO game. But then again, this world was similar to a game. So long as he was useful he would be praised and he will not be made fun of.

“Alright. But just so you know, that bastard should carry my luggage all the way to the next town”.

Mikhail looked over his back to observe their new guest's reaction.

“It’s fine. I’m used to carrying heavy stuff anyway” said the kid.

The kid walked past them and turned around.

“If I’m walking in front of you, you won’t be afraid of getting backstabbed. Am I right?”

Bold pursed his lips but the suggestion seemed plausible so he did not bother objecting. The three of them walked along the road. To Bold, there was nothing more satisfying than throwing a burden on someone else’s back and walking freely. Of course, if the kid refuses to do his bidding he will earn the right to throw him out. But to his surprise, the kid doesn't seem to be tired at all.

“Kid, What’s your name anyway?” asked Mikhail.

“Name?”

“Yeah, everyone has one. And we gotta call you by something right?”         

“Diego”

“And your sister’s name?”

“Gabi”

“Any last name that you would like to share?” asked Mikhail.  

“We don’t have one. We’re orphans”

“I see. Is there anything about you in particular that we should know?” again asked Mikhail, this time more politely.

“Not much”.

“Not very talkative, are you?”.

“I’ve already spilled enough” 

The sun was heating on them but they still kept going steadily. An hour later they managed to reach the town. They entered the transaction center and exchanged the boxes for a few hundred papers.

“Nice. Slowly and slowly we’re making progress” said Mikhail enthusiastically while putting his own paper money in his dimensional bag.

“Hmph, you’re the one making progress. This is the first time I did successful transportation” said Bold nonchalantly.

“I see. In that case, it’s worth a bigger celebration” said Mikhail with a wider grin.

“You can do your celebrations later. Mikhail, there is only one reason I wasted my time by helping you two. You know what that is, right?” said Diego with a tension filled voice. 

“Yeah. Let’s look for players who are willing to take on a dungeon tomorrow” said Mikhail hastily.

“You’re not very convincing”

“Hmm?”

“I could have chosen to do a dungeon mission in the past. And explained why I didn’t. Is there any assurance that you can offer me? Otherwise, you’re wasting my time”

“Assurance, huh” repeated Mikhail.  

Diego was irritated by how long he brooded over it. But Mikhail soon put a smile on his face.

“Hey, I’ll tell you if something comes to mind. But first, let’s eat. There isn’t anything worth discussing with an empty stomach”.

“Can’t disagree with that” said Bold with a grin.

Almost as if to dodge Diego’s interrogation Mikhail rushed to the door of the inn followed by Bold. Diego was obviously disappointed but he could not bring himself to just separate with them yet so he followed. After placing the foods on the table Mikhail slouched on the wooden chair, groaned and said: 

“Oh man, my back. You know, if I’m getting my back bullocked like this day in and day out, the assassination quest doesn’t look so bad”

He gave out a weak laugh to make it clear that he was joking. But Diego’s grim face remained. It wasn’t clear whether Bold even heard the joke. He was just eating and eating. Mikhail soon dug in afterward. But Diego did not seem to have an appetite.

“Mikhail, I’m waiting for an answer”

Bothered by his demands Mikhail looked up at the ceiling dazedly. Soon he spoke:

“Diego, life is unpredictable. The very appeal of life is its very unpredictable nature. To ask assurance for the future is an insult to life. Neither your or my little minds can give you assurance. But I still want you to try out the dungeon with me because it’s the only way you can earn huge amounts of gold without killing anyone”.       

“That is not enough. If I encourage other people to take on a dungeon with me I would only be risking their lives along with mine. That’s no different than murder” yelled Diego. 

“Is it? There is still hope that all party members will survive from the dungeon. If you try to assassinate someone either they will die or you will die” said Mikhail.  

“I know. And that’s fine. I only have to kill two people in order to get 3000 gold. It’s time-consuming to find the target and find the opportunity to strike but that’s about the biggest challenge. In a dungeon, assuming that everyone survives, the gold I get will be roughly around 1000. If the other members died, the share I get will rise but can’t really know if I would be one of the survivors”.

“Man, you’re a downer. I bet you’re not good with girls” said Mikhail in a bored tone.

But soon his eyes lit up and his lips formed a smirk.

“How about this. When we conquer the dungeon, I’ll give you my share as well as Bold’s”.