Jenkins, who appeared like a true butler from every angle, patiently waited until the leatherworker pulled his handcart inside the building and closed the door behind them to shut out any nosy eavesdroppers.

None of the neighboring estates and their residents would have ever guessed that the unassuming servant trying to do his best to maintain the estate of his master had any relations with unsavory elements.

He sometimes accepted visitors, mainly craftsmen or commoners, perhaps to repair the inside of the mansion in case his master returned.

They would be more than shocked to hear that anything was amiss with the butler, who was often used as an example for the servants of the other estates when they made a mistake as a prime example of diligence and virtue.

Tom, on the other hand, knew exactly what kind of person a representative of the guild was and remained polite but distant.

He quickly opened the hidden compartment and retrieved the package, handing it over without a word.

Although they were alone in the entrance hall, it was never wrong to stay cautious and avoid spelling out some things.

Tom‘s cautiousness was one of the things that Jenkins admired a lot, it was rare to have partners in their business that used their brains more than their muscles.

Accepting the package with reciprocated silence, the butler opened a chest under the side table and retrieved a pouch full of coins.

The leatherworker was able from the sound of the silver clinking against each other and the weight of the purse that it should contain above 100 silver, but not more than 150 either.

Overall, it was a generous payment for a service rendered.

“Has there been any accidents along the way?“

Due to their long collaboration, Tom knew that Jenkins was not really worried about him or asked out of genuine care.

Grasping the meaning behind the words, he answered right away.

“I encountered some guards at the gate, they were rather interested in my tools, but they did not check too closely.

There was also some new structure in the process of being built nearby, but I cannot say what it is exactly.“

As for minor details, like his foreboding unease, he did not bother to share them.

There was still a chance that the butler was going to order a hit on him as soon as he left the lobby, talking about these unclear feelings would not affect the outcome.

 

“There‘s been more unrest lately, it‘s not unusual for the guards to pay more attention.

I will mark it down and you should be mindful of this too.

If the situation persists, perhaps the city guard is up to something.“

On the same table where the chest was located, a large book with many bookmarks and a thick leather cover laid atop the surface.

With a long feather as the quill, the butler wrote down some notices and flipped to another bookmark after he was done.

Tom knew his business here was concluded and it was in his best interests to leave soon, so he bowed to signal his farewell and turned the handcart around after he concealed the secret compartment again.

“Oh … and, Tom?“

The leatherworker nearly gasped with surprise when his contact called his name and stopped him from leaving.

Although the name Jenkins gave him was likely fake and he had never seen the power of the [Thieves Guild] from him, it was easy to figure out even if he was thinking with his toes instead of his head.

His contact was in charge of the deliveries into the Noble District and likely had funds in the range of tens to several hundreds of gold coins casually stashed in a simple wooden chest at his disposal.

Depending on the number of partners he had to pay that number might vary, yet it was still an amount that was hard to imagine for Tom.

Several silver coins was already a lot for him and could sustain his family for a moon at least, yet Jenkins casually moved around hundreds of silver in every transaction.

Even if he was not one of the main members, he had to be someone important in the guild to take up this position.

“Yes Mr. Jenkins? Do you have any instructions for me?“

Being polite didn‘t cost Tom anything and it was not like he had any face in front of a powerful guild member anyway, so he might as well lower himself with his tone.

“Apart from the city guard being more active, there has been some unrest in other areas too.

It might be a smart move to keep a low profile for some time.“

 

Aside from conversations regarding their cooperation, Tom had never heard his contact mutter even one extra word, so he was in a daze for a moment trying to decipher a deeper meaning from the advice he was given.

Unable to figure anything out, he could only nod his head and agree with Jenkins.

“Ah … I was thinking about taking a break anyway, it‘s just nice that I can lie low for a while.

If that‘s all, I will get going now.“

The unusual string of events confused and scared Tom, his head buzzed from the countless bad possibilities that could land on his person.

Nevertheless, he remained polite on the surface and only departed once he had Jenkins permission.

With a firm stride, he did his best to widen the distance between the mansion and himself.

Right after Tom disappeared behind a corner, one of the shadows in the hall loosened from the wall and walked next to the butler.

“Why did you try to warn him? There‘s no word from the higher ups yet, so it‘s pointless to say anything to an outsider.

We will only know what decision they make when they decide to share it with us.“

Taking the package from his hands, the shadow-turned-human was far less polite than the previous visitor.

Despite that, the butler Jenkins did not reprimand him or make his displeasure known.

“Is it wrong to look out for others? Unlike you, that fellow Tom the tanner is actually a valuable partner.

He never asks unnecessary questions, never tries to tamper with the deliveries and has never lost a package to the city guards.

Between brutes that can only shake off the city guard when discovered but losing their charge in the process and a reliable deliveryman that has a good track record, who do you think I should look after?“

Jenkins did not bother to be polite either.

Although he could not do anything to the other party because their status was roughly the same, he did not have to scrape and bow either.

If he thought badly of someone, Jenkins did not bother to conceal his thoughts.

 

“I feel like you are trying to say something to me, but with your low cultivation, I am not quite sure what.“

Unwilling to be outdone, the shadow tossed the package in the air and caught it with ease, not concerned about its contents at all.

Jenkins declined to shoot a barb back and silently thought to himself that power was not necessarily the only thing that mattered when it came to the [Thieves Guild].

Although all of the Seats were powerful, there was not a single one among them that was not smart and powerful at the same time.

Purely pursuing aura or mana cultivation would only lead one to being used by others, so he felt it was beneath him to squabble with a brute.

One day he would grow into his power and easily command ten fools like the one next to him.

Getting the silent treatment the shadow felt bored and shifted his attention to the parcel in his hands.

“Why did those noble fools even bother to declare this stuff as a forbidden substance if they are all going to buy it in secret anyway? I just can‘t understand what they are thinking.“

Shifting one of the picture frames in the hall, the distinct smell of a sewer entrance seeped into the lobby, much to the dismay of the butler.

Thankfully the fool quickly entered and closed the secret entrance to the thieves‘ street behind him and began the second part of the delivery.

Noting down the start of the operation in the thick leather bound book, Jenkins felt a bit more at ease as this was another credit in his name.

 It was just a shame that the underground road was no longer the same as it was in the past.

The butler remembered a time where they could easily move goods wherever the [Thieves Guild] wanted, their influence reaching into every corner of the city.

Since Marshal Dharnas took up the post of the head of city guards, many of the previously open pathways were repaired and thick iron rosters separated the different districts and were regularly inspected and repaired.

His predecessors either did not care enough to work seriously or enjoyed small offerings to overlook the work of the guild, which made deliveries much easier.

In any case, it were partners like Tom that made his current job endurable, hence he gave the man a word of warning, even though Jenkins himself was not quite sure what disaster loomed on the horizon to agitate the upper ranks of the guild like this.

 

The man in question had no idea how he returned from the Noble District and finished his job at the leatherworking plant.

Haze different from the pleasant numbness of Bliss swirled in his head and he jumped at every little noise, convinced that his little life was about to be taken.

It was only when the man returned to his home that the realisation sunk in that Jenkins did not proclaim his death sentence when he asked him to lie low earlier in the day.

Stashing away his handcart in the shed, the madly beating heart in his chest eventually calmed down and feebly settled into a normal rhythm, tired from the constant stress and fear throughout the duration of the day.

Tom was feeling the repercussions of dancing at the edge of the abyss, his vision was a little bit blurred and his body began to weaken as the survival mode left him and the tiredness settled in.

He definitely would feel like crap tomorrow, and he should definitely eat something before he collapsed, but right now, the leatherworker did not care for any of that.

If there was anything that helped him survive this disaster and allowed his faith to remain firm, it definitely had to be his family.

Limping over to one of the bedrooms, he poked his head into the room for a quick checkup.

Both his older daughter and younger son were in bed already, hardly moving at all.

As the head of the family, he had wanted to give each of them their own room as the kids were growing up eventually, but neither of them wanted to agree with his proposal.

They had protested and argued fiercely against him, yet Tom knew that they were still afraid of the dark and took solace in each other’s company, so he did not force them.

Unwilling to disturb them, he staggered into his own room and sloppily cast off his clothes, his stamina burned to almost nothing by now.

All of a sudden, an entire day‘s worth of exhaustion and fear caught up with him and Tom did not even get to properly lie down as he collapsed on the sheets.

Then, the darkness rapidly claimed him as everything faded away.