Supreme Monarch

The group had spent a night outside on the way to the Fabelt Pass, and another night within the underground mine itself— although they had spent most of the time in there working and hadn't felt the time pass. After that, they left the Fabelt Pass for Winged City, a trip that had only taken them a single day this time around, as they now knew the best and fastest route to take through the snowy valley of hills.

Spending most of the trip riding on the carriage rather than in their usual arrayed formation. This had greatly reduced the travel time and allowed them to avoid most of the monsters they had encountered along the way. They hadn't even met the most troublesome monsters they had gone out of their way to prepare for which was not necessarily a bad thing. 

While they had not planned it, their departure from the Fabelt Pass had been quite early in the morning, just a bit after dawn, thus, their journey of three days and two nights came to an early end. Still, it was almost nightfall by the time they had returned to the City and the sky was already depleted of the sun's rays, already covered in a thick layer of ashen clouds.

Arriving before the city's gate, Tyler noticed that there was no longer a line of demons queuing up to enter the city as it had been in the earlier parts of the day. The group had not been stopped by the guards either and had gone through the gates without any physical security checks. This was not even due to Tyler's VIP Merchant's Licence but the group's Hunter's bracelets which were their identification.

Entering the city, they could see that the main roads were lit by magic lamps made from the use of the technology that uses the 'Continual Light' spells, which cast white-colored illumination, while the nature of the pedestrians had changed as well. 

There were no young women and children to be seen, but instead working men returning home after they were done for the day. The city's guard that moved in pairs and strictly patrolled the streets moved a lot more leisurely now. The two rows of shops on either side of the street they were in emitted cheerful and pleasant sounds with different alluring aromas.

Tyler looked around him.

The city had not changed much in three days. Although he only had limited experience in this city, he still received the same curious gazes from everyone that laid eyes on the exotic Six-eyed bull and the magic carriage.

Even though Nadine was no longer riding on the driver's seat, it seems most of the men that had been captivated or drawn to her had still recognized the carriage as they stared daggers at him and Larut — as they both sat at the front of the carriage.

They turned off the main road, and then Tyler and company came to a halt just before they had entered the plaza.

Obviously stopping in the middle of a busy boulevard would be a big hindrance, but nobody bothered to complain. This was because nobody dared go near the carriage.

As it was quite cold this evening, the domesticate monster known as the Six-eyed bull passively emitted a fiery aura, albeit an incredibly weak one. It was still enough to make the common folk instinctively avoid it, not to mention the presence of the Gold-ranked Hunter riding on it.

Seeing this, Tyler shrugged tiredly and then peeked at the people around him before Larut spoke to him.

"Indeed, this brings us to the end of our request. Since we've already split the loot on the way here, there is no need for us to move any further with you as we still need to head over to the Hunter guild to report our finding and pioneering report of the Grade 3 Gold mine."

As Larut spoke to him and he nodded in affirmation, Tyler soon heard the others disembarking the carriage as Dohel promptly moved to the front of the carriage and slightly bowed to Tyler before speaking.

"On behalf of our party, I'd like to thank you for your help, Mr.Lix."

"Please, don't mind it."

"We'll have to submit the monster's parts for points while we report on our encounters in the mine. Stumbling upon the Runites ores was truly a stroke of luck. We should get an even greater reward than we expected."

"Congratulations, I hope this solves the problematic situation you mentioned earlier. It's best if you don't have to do such dangerous missions anymore."

"Haha... Thank you for that, still, you and miss Lilith are entitled to a percentage of the reward so we will be sure to bring it back to you. Also, we would still like to make a request of you."

"What is it?"

"We would like you to help us trade our share of the gold to the Merchant guild and of course, you can have your percentage as this is an official job request even if we can't sign any paperwork."

"I see... That shouldn't be a problem, and as for the fee, as former partners in our request job, this will be free."

The reason the group could not ask the Hunter guild to trade the gold for them was that it was way too much gold for a pioneers group of low ranking Hunters to be able to mine in an unexplored and uncontrolled mine that housed multiple monster's nests. If they brought that much gold to the guild after making their report, they would surely draw the wrong kind of attention to themselves. They could even be jailed for abusing their pioneer's rights and illegally mining the mine.

"You're way too kind Mr. Lix. Thank you."

"Yes, indeed you're an amazingly kind demon, Mr. Lix."

"Yes, Aine thinks so too."

"Indeed... Also, along with the gold, I've already placed the magic item we agreed on for additional payment for your help in here, please feel free to verify it." 

"That won't be an issue. I trust there's no way an honorable man like yourself would ever choose to deceive a recent companion."

"Wow... I'm so glad you think so highly of me, although that may be stretching it a lot."

"Hmm... You may be right."

"Huh! Don't just back out of it so easily Mr. Lix."

"Hahaha... That's what happens when you can't just simply take a compliment, nicely done Mr. Lix."

"Sigh... You guys are so mean. Anyway, Mr. Lix. We may not be done with everything today so let us meet at the same restaurant at noon tomorrow to complete our transaction."

"That is fine. Oh and by the way, what are in those large barrels you're carrying around. You haven't opened it once during the trip so forgive my curiosity if it's a bother."

"Huh noo, no, no, no, it's no bother at all. These are all just poisonous or poison-eating slimes. There's a monster along the Fabelt Pass that even though they're not that strong, they emit a very powerful poisonous mist from their bodies that affects the nerves even for those with some resistance to poison."

"Yes Indeed... High-tiered resistance items are also absurdly expensive so it is impossible for all of us to be geared in one. That's why we chose to bring the slimes as they constantly absorb the poison in the air around them. Still, we had strangely not encountered them even though they were commonly found, and encountering one was supposed to be a guarantee. I guess that's why you can't completely trust any information you buy from mid-ranking Hunters."

"I see..."

As soon as Larut was finished explaining that to him, the group all bade them farewell and promptly left in the direction of the Hunter guild, rolling or carrying the large barrels with them as they strolled down a narrow street.

They seemed to be taking a long way around, most likely wanting to drop off the large barrels before heading to the guild building as the barrels were proof of their crime and it would surely be foolish to take that along with them for their report even if they could come up with a reasonable explanation for it. 

Still, it was better to avoid problems when one could no matter how easily solvable they were.

It wasn't that late so there was still a lot they could get done today without having to spend the bulk of the day filling their report. Besides, Tyler didn't think the Guilds ever closes at all. They probably just rotate their staffs' shifts so they could keep the doors open 24/7

Without further delays, Tyler and Nadine promptly headed for the merchant guild to trade in the massive amount of gold in their possession. He had other uses for the cores and corpses of the Night Terrors so he didn't have any plans of trading it to the guild.

His share of the gold was more than enough to take care of his dept and allow him to purchase some more quality items for the castle. Although he would no longer be able to do that here. Since he had also promised the guild leader of the Merchant Guild that he would not trade with another branch of the Merchant Guild, he would have to entrust that task to someone else. The only problem was, who could he trust to move around the continent on their own as he could not supervise everyone under his care personally.

As he delegated on this issue, they soon arrive at the Merchant guild building bad parked their ride at the back, the employees now eager to assist them. Tyler got off the carriage with Nadine in tow and headed straight into the guild through the back entrance, bypassing the main lobby as he was lead to a VIP waiting room by another male receptionist.

Taking a seat after being ushered into the room and offered one by the male receptionist, they waited patiently for the guild leader and as usual, Nadine kept herself busy by munching on the sweets offered to her by the receptionist.

While Tyler didn't mind waiting, it had now been a while since the male receptionist left the room to inform the guild leader of their arrival and he had still not to show himself. If he was busy, there was no need to keep them waiting, they could simply leave and return tomorrow.

As the thought of leaving crossed his mind. The only door to the room suddenly swung open and a figure walked in hurriedly. This was surely not the figure of the guild leader who Tyler was expecting as the figure was slender, wearing skin-tight black and white striped suit with quite the short skirt of a similar design, which was complemented by long black stockings that covered the entirety of her long legs and thighs.

She had a fair and rich skin tone, her glistening black pupils complimenting her shoulder-length black curly hair. The lady in question had barrow eyes that were sharp but not piercing. They were the eyes of a professional and high-class business lady one that Tyler would sometimes see in certain magazines back on earth.

"My apologies for the delay. The guild leader would've loved to attend to you himself but something urgent suddenly came up and he had to leave. He sends his sincerest apologies and I am also apologizing in his place."

"Is that so, then that's fine."

After hearing Tyler's casual response, the lady raised her slightly lowered head and then smiled. It was a professional smile that seem to set the atmosphere on her page. 

She took a seat at the sofa directly opposite the pair before beckoning for the male receptionist to leave and shut the door behind him. As soon as that was done she turned back to Tyler with the same smile on her face before introducing herself to the pair.

"My name is Xelen Cornal, I am the vice guild leader of Winged city's Merchant Guild, pleased to make your acquaintance."