Red felt like the situation had developed in a way he was not expecting. Narcha and the rest had managed to beat up the mercenaries as he predicted, but the youth couldn't have known a third party was going to get involved. He saw a few of those guards spread throughout the town but never twenty of them at one place.

 

Although they weren't treating his Sect members as roughly as the mercenaries, it was still evident Eiwin and Narcha had no intention of resisting their escort. Not to mention, they were also bringing the unconscious merchant along. What if they figured out the boy was behind the robbery? Would they come looking for him?

 

The merchant might not be aware of who the boy was, but what about his own companions? Eiwin was not aware of his plan, but she would probably suspect him. Allen was the real issue, though. The older boy merely needed to connect the dots using their earlier conversation to figure out Red was responsible for that. Would they give him up if they were questioned by the guards?

 

The youth would have liked to think they wouldn't, but it was hard to rely on companions he had barely known for a few days. If Red had known things would develop like so, he would have thought twice before trying to steal from the merchant. Although, when the boy looked at the precious items he was carrying, he found it hard to regret his decision.

 

Finding the item Narcha had ordered was his primary objective, but the boy wasn't exactly selfless. When Allen mentioned pills to him, Red had hoped to find something that would benefit his cultivation too. He hadn't obtained any medicine, but the heavy coin purse alone was more than worth it if Eiwin and Hector's conversation earlier was any indication.

 

'Should I escape?'

 

Running away from the town was the first idea that came to mind. However, Red decided to leave it as a last resort. It was an extreme decision, much more so given that he had so much to learn still.

 

'Should I return the items?'

 

That was much more absurd. These things could be of great help in the youth's cultivation, and it would be unwise to give them up. Besides, Red doubted the merchant and the guards would just let him go.

 

'I need more information.'

 

That was the root of the problem. The boy didn't know how much trouble he was in, and making a decision without being fully informed would be stupid on his part. However, he had limited options when it came to asking for help. In fact, there was only one person in the guild who had a rather positive opinion of him other than Eiwin and Allen.

 

'It's gotta be him then...'

 

...

 

The way back towards the guild was one of the most stressful journeys Red had ever made. He didn't have trouble navigating the streets - he had memorized the path and had experience from moving underground. The real problem for him was the people.

 

Most of the townsfolk didn't even spare him a glance. However, whenever Red noticed someone eye him, his heart sank. Still, their interest was merely in passing, and none of them tried to stop the boy in his tracks. The youth also did his best to stay away from the guards, giving anyone wearing a uniform and weapons a wide berth. However, they didn't seem to be looking for him in the first place.

 

Eventually, after no small amount of scares, Red found himself on the street leading up to the guild. He examined the place from afar in search of anyone who might have been waiting for his arrival. The road, however, was just as deserted as it was on the previous day.

 

The boy felt ill at ease as he approached the courtyard. He was fully expecting someone to jump from behind one of the abandoned buildings and announce his arrest. Thankfully, though, he arrived at the guild's gate without accident.

 

Red stared through the cracks in the fence to confirm if anyone was outside in the courtyard. After seeing no one, though, the boy gingerly opened the gate and slipped inside, trying to make as little noise as possible. Thankfully for him, no one in the guild bothered locking the doors.

 

'Hopefully he's still there...'

 

The youth made haste towards Goulth's workshop. There were no sounds of hammering coming from inside the house, but as the boy approached, he could smell the burning fuel of the forge. He neared the man's door and imitated something he had learned just yesterday.

 

He knocked.

 

Ten seconds later and there was still no response.

 

He knocked again, harder this time.

 

"Come in!" The giant's voice roared from inside.

 

Red opened the door and slipped into the workshop. The man wasn't in the first room, so the youth followed along the corridor to the forge. There he saw the giant bent over his desk, focused on drawing something on a large scroll using a quill. Goulth raised his head as he heard the boy's steps.

 

"Apprentice!" He smiled as he saw Red. "I thought you had other lessons to attend to."

 

"I did..." The youth trailed off. "...I need your help."

 

He saw no point in beating around the bush.

 

"Hm?" Goulth put down his pen and shifted his focus to the boy. "What happened?"

 

Red felt like it was best to show the man rather than try to explain it. He untied the improvised bag from around his neck and handed it over to the giant.

 

"What is this?" Goulth picked up the sack and sniffed it. "It kind of smells like wine."

 

"Open it." Red interjected.

 

The man did as he advised. He put the scroll he was working on aside and spread the bag open over the table.

 

"Hm, this looks like a jewelry box. Is this a bag of coins? And trade documents?" Goulth frowned. "Where did you even get this? And what's this..."

 

The giant trailed off as he picked up the slip of paper. He examined the item closely, and his expression suddenly changed. His eyes looked like they would bulge out of his head, and Red could see the man's breath get visibly faster.

 

"A talisman?!" Goulth shouted in shock. "Kid, where did you even get this?!"

 

"What's a talisman?" The youth asked.

 

"It's like a portable spell, except it can- Wait, you didn't answer my question!" The giant caught himself. "This is an extremely expensive item, kid. How did you even buy it?"

 

"I didn't buy it." Red shook his head. "I took it from someone."

 

"Huh?" Goulth frowned. The shock of the discovery was starting to wear off on him, and he suddenly turned his attention back to the documents. "Did you steal this?"

 

"Yes."

 

Since the boy decided to come to the giant for help, he decided to tell him the truth. Even if he tried to lie, he doubted he could do anything to convince the man anyways.

 

"Kid, that's not a very nice thing to do." Goulth shook his head in disapproval. However, Red didn't feel like his reaction was very genuine. "Tell me what happened."

 

"A merchant sold Narcha's Spiritual Medicine to someone else." The youth explained. "While she and Eiwin were fighting against his subordinates, I snuck in and stole what he had."

 

"What a bastard!" The man snarled. "She put aside almost a year of her salary for that!"

 

"That's not all." The boy continued. "The merchant caught me in his office. I took him by surprise and managed to knock him out."

 

"That's dangerous, kid." Goulth looked worried. "Did he see your face?"

 

"I think so." Red nodded. "But it all happened very fast."

 

"Well, it should still be okay in the end..." The man shook his head. "You're new in town, so I doubt rumors of your existence have had time to spread. You should avoid going out until this all blows over, though..."

 

"That's not all..."

 

"There's more?!"

 

"The guards arrived and arrested Narcha, Eiwin, and Allen, as well as the merchant and his subordinates."

 

"Ugh..." This time Goulth looked more troubled. "Was the captain there? Tall, middle-aged, looks very tough?"

 

"There was someone that fit the description." Red nodded.

 

The giant sighed.

 

"Did you guys have this fight in the middle of the street?" He asked.

 

The boy nodded again.

 

"That makes things slightly more complicated." Goulth frowned. "Did you get the name of the merchant?"

 

"I think they called him Darus." The youth responded.

 

"That guy?" The giant's expression worsened. "To think we had him as one of the safe people to do trade with, too..."

 

A silence settled in the room as the man fell into thought.

 

"Listen, kid, the merchant might have deserved it, but what you did was not right." Goulth finally spoke up. "More importantly, it was dangerous. You might not be aware, but the situation in the town is more complicated than it looks. Our Water Dragon Sect is one of the strongest factions in this place, but even we can't do as we please. There are still people in here that can hurt us if we're not careful."

 

"Then... Do we have to give this back?" It was Red's turn to frown.

 

"Give it back?!" The man laughed. "No, we do not. Although we're not invincible, we still aren't the type to take offenses lying down. Since that guy decided it would be a good idea to make enemies out of us, then it's only appropriate that you taught him a lesson."

 

"But what about the guards? Aren't they going to come looking for me?"

 

"They might make a token effort, but once they notice you're related to us, they'll just have to let it go." Goulth explained. "Besides, our guild has done a lot to help this town. The Baron does not take kindly to those who mess with us, and Gustav has already been giving him plenty of trouble."

 

'There's that name again.'

 

"What about Narcha and the others?" Red asked. "They looked like they were in trouble."

 

"They'll be fine." The giant shrugged. "It's not the first time they've fought someone in the middle of town, and it's always against people who deserve it anyways. They'll probably get lectured by Domeron and Hector, but that's about it. As for you, you should try to remain inside the guild until things die down."

 

It seems as if Red had overestimated the severity of the situation. Although this place still had laws, strength mattered the most, and the Water Dragon Sect didn't lack it.

 

"What about the things I took?" The boy turned the topic towards something else. "Won't the others be mad at what I did?"

 

"Not really." Goulth smiled. "Hector might pretend to be mad, but he would probably do much worse things himself if someone disrespected our Sect to his face. Besides, you'll have to donate some of what you've stolen to the Sect too. After all, you're still using our name for protection."

 

Red frowned, but in the end, he couldn't help but agree with the reasoning. It was much better than having it all taken away in the first place. The whole interaction had given him more confidence in the sect and confirmed that he had made the right choice by joining.

 

"Don't worry, Hector has always been fair when it comes to contributions." The man patted Red’s shoulders as he pointed at the box. "Anyways, isn't there something you're forgetting?"

 

"...Can you unlock it?" The youth asked.

 

"It'll take a bit of work, but it can be done." Goulth explained. "These types of lockboxes may be trapped, though, so it's a delicate process. I was wondering what might be inside of it, but now that I know who the merchant was..." He smiled. "Aren't you curious to see what kind of pills are in this?"