The party stopped walking and watched the scene from a distance.

"Isn't that wagon being attacked…?"

Syrenne stared at the wagon as she clenched her fist.

"Yeah… Maybe you're right…"

Brittanya placed her hand on her forehead to shield her eyes from the sunlight. She leaned forward a little to get a better look.

"Shouldn't we help them?"

Syrenne then turned her head to look at the other three. None of them were eager to move.

"It doesn't involve monsters, so I don't need to do anything about it."

Jaegar closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

"B-but…! Those people are in trouble!"

Syrenne faced Jaegar with her trembling fists on her side.

"H-hey. Just go over there and confirm the situation or something."

Brittanya pointed her head toward the wagon's direction as she stared at Jaegar.

"You really want to help that scumbag? If anything, I think he deserves—"

"I thought you guys were better than this! I'll go and help them myself."

Syrenne turned around and walked slowly toward the wagon with the armored men. Brittanya then leaned closer to Jaegar and whispered to him.

"Look at what you did! That's why I was pushing you to do it! I knew she couldn't ignore people in trouble."

"So, why didn't you do anything about it yourself?!"

Jaegar looked at Brittanya and replied with a hushed voice.

"Eh… I don't know if I want to help that guy…"

She looked away from Jaegar.

"See?! Then why are you pushing it on me, huh?"

Jaegar tried to still keep his voice down.

While the two of them were bickering, Kryllo stepped forward.

"I'll go… then…"

Kryllo started to walk after Syrenne. Jaegar then quickly grabbed Kryllo's shoulder.

"No. We don't want you to accidentally kill all those people."

Jaegar let out a huge sigh.

"But… it's okay… for her… to go…?"

Kryllo looked at Jaegar while pointing at Syrenne, who was getting closer and closer to the wagon.

"Ugh…! I'll get her to come back."

Jaegar then went after Syrenne.

Before reaching the armored people surrounding the wagon, Jaegar was able to grab Syrenne's arm and stop her from going any further.

"Please, let me go. I need to do something."

Syrenne looked back at Jaegar as she struggled to get out of his hold.

"Just go back to those two. I'll handle this, even if I really don't want to…"

Jaegar averted his gaze from her.

"Then, why are you going to do it?"

Syrenne stopped fussing and stood straight while looking at Jaegar.

"We still kind of owe you… and so, we don't want you to get hurt or anything…"

Jaegar slightly blushed as he kept looking away.

"Okay... I appreciate that. But I think you should hurry and help that person."

Syrenne smiled at him as she pointed toward the wagon. The guy with a knife in his hand dragged Leonze out of the passenger wagon while pointing the knife at Leonze's neck.

Leonze was now kneeling on the ground with his hands raised. The guy with a knife kept on pointing the knife at him.

Jaegar walked away from Syrenne and casually went over to the group of men surrounding Leonze. There were about five men around the wagon. They still hadn't noticed Jaegar as they were all focused on Leonze.

"Hey, you guys. What's happening here?"

Jaegar scratched the back of his head as he called out to the group of men. They all turned around to see who it was.

"A knight? What is he doing out here?"

One of the men stepped back as he saw Jaegar.

"I-I don't want to get in trouble with the Knight's Order…"

Another guy stepped away from Jaegar. The guy with a knife then stomped his foot as he pointed his knife toward Jaegar.

"What are you guys talking about?! There is only one of him and five of us. If we get rid of him—"

The guy then let go and dropped his knife. He then slowly knelt on the ground and fell over.

"W-what happened to him?!"

The guy beside the now unconscious knife-wielder stared at the motionless body of his comrade.

"I just got him to relax before he does something stupid."

Jaegar shook his head.

"I'm o-out of here! I don't want anything to do with this anymore!"

The first one who stepped back finally ran away. The other three followed suit.

All this time, Leonze was kneeling on the ground and quietly watching the events unfold. Once the men were out of sight, he finally stood up and dusted his pants.

"Thanks for saving me, my knight in shining armor."

Leonze smiled as he looked at Jaegar.

"What did you this time? You must have scammed them and they took rightful retribution."

Jaegar glared at him.

"What? No, no! Nothing of that sort. Actually, I bought a lot of adventuring supplies from them last night, so they do have money. But of course, I drove a hard bargain so they might not be THAT satisfied with what I paid…"

Leonze let out a weak laugh.

"I knew I’d regret getting involved with something you caused."

Jaegar made a huge sigh. Then, Brittanya and the others finally caught up with Jaegar and stood behind him. Syrenne was standing behind Brittanya and Kryllo.

"Oh, it's you guys. What are you doing out here?"

Leonze waved at the others that just arrived.

"We're going to Siyetekos. And you?"

Brittanya placed her hands on her waist as she talked down to Leonze.

"Really? I'm heading there, as well."

"Let us ride in your wagon. I just saved your life."

Jaegar leaned closer to Leonze.

"I-I’d ask you guys to be my bodyguards again but there isn't much room in the wagon…"

Leonze smiled as he shook his head.

"We don't have to bother him. I'd really hate to impose…"

Syrenne finally stepped in front of Brittanya and Kryllo. Leonze's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw her.

"Oh, would you look at that. There's a lot of room inside the wagon after all! Those guys must have taken something when they left. Please, join me inside the wagon as we head to Siyetekos."

Leonze stood in front of Syrenne and forced a laughter.

"They didn't take anything when they ran away. I was here, remember?"

Jaegar squinted at Leonze.

"And that invitation is for all of us, right?"

Brittanya also squinted at Leonze.

"W-what? O-of course, it is! Why wouldn't it be?"

Leonze's forced laughter got louder.

"Are you sure it's alright?"

Syrenne looked at Leonze with glittering eyes. Leonze's face flushed immediately.

"Yes, it really is! It would be my pleasure to bring you to Siyetekos safely."

Leonze then reached out to touch Syrenne's shoulder. His arm was then abruptly grabbed by Kryllo before he could touch Syrenne.

"Hey, there. Um, what are you doing, if I may ask?"

Leonze forced a smile at Kryllo.

"Protecting… her from... threats…"

Kryllo stared directly at Leonze.

"I-I see… Anyway, let's get going, shall we?"

Leonze took his arm out of Kryllo's grasp. He then led Syrenne toward the wagon. As Syrenne was walking, she then winked at Jaegar and Brittanya.

"She's definitely getting into the Merchant Union."

Jaegar smirked. Brittanya then smiled as she nodded.

---

"I'm sorry. We don't just accept anybody into the Merchant Union. You must be from a renowned merchant family or must have done something of note that will impress the Merchant Union's top brass."

A female receptionist casually informed Syrenne of the details. The party was now inside the Merchant Union Headquarters in Siyetekos.

Syrenne stood in front of the reception desk. The others were standing closely behind her. Only Leonze was sitting on a chair behind everyone else. He was watching closely the events that transpired.

Brittanya tried to argue with the receptionist but to no avail. Before they could cause a bigger commotion, Syrenne asked everyone else to leave with her. They then went outside of the building.

The streets of Siyetekos were different than the places they had been to before. It was bustling with more people, with each possible space and corner occupied by a shop or stall. There were a lot of carts and wagons going to-and-fro along the paved road.

Jaegar and Kryllo were walking ahead. Syrenne and Brittanya were behind them. Syrenne silently hung her head and had her hands clasped together in front of her. Leonze was walking behind everyone else. He had his hands behind his back as he watched the party in front of him. Brittanya eventually broke the silence.

"D-don’t worry about it, Syrenne. You can still be a merchant without those stuck-up bastards' approval!"

Brittanya looked directly at Syrenne.

"Thank you for your encouragement, Brittanya… It's just that being part of the Merchant Union will make it easier for me to negotiate better prices for my parents' products. They are always being taken advantage of and couldn't do anything but concede. I wanted to change that… But I guess I was just some naive girl who'll never make a difference…"

Tears started to well up in Syrenne's eyes.

"Syrenne…"

Brittanya looked away as she clenched her fists.

"Hey. I know of a way you can get into the Merchant Union."

Leonze called out to Syrenne. Everyone turned around to look at him.