Chapter 403 Kat
Before going to bed, Zaos thought seriously about that issue. Letting the triplets defeat their target would make things easier for him in the long run. Still, as Aleni said, he couldn't do things following that line of thought for Milliendra's sake. So, the next day, he talked with Aleni about that.
"Do you think we should help their target in order to build a good relationship since we are going to build a mercenaries group from scratch?" Zaos asked.
"I think that would be good for Milliendra," Aleni replied. "I heard some stories about you and it seems that under the right conditions you can defeat hundreds of enemies by yourself. However, you won't leave unscathed. Besides, you will end up spreading some rumors. Even if we manage to use the assassins to stop them, there is only so much they can do if you try too hard."
"All right then…" Zaos said. "We will have to help the target and tail those three until they contact the assassins."
"I will tail them," Aleni said. "It will be less suspicious if a blind woman warns the target."
"... All right," Zaos said after a long sigh."I will recharge the rings you will use to prevent major troubles. I will also lend you my crossbow that fires Electric bolts."
"Thank you, I appreciate it," Aleni said.
Zaos frowned when he heard that. After all, it was extremely rare for Aleni to say thank you while sounding really thankful for anything. In any case, hopefully, she will find the assassins fast because Zaos will only be able to keep Milliendra from asking about her for so long.
After giving Aleni the magic items, she left in the middle of the night, and since she didn't return, Zaos assumed that the targets were already in motion. Originally, Zaos had planned to tail the mercenaries to see where they were hiding. Still, he couldn't do that in a wagon while Milliendra was with him. So, he will just have to move to the next town and warn the mercenary leader.
"Where is mommy?" Milliendra asked.
"She left to buy some things, she will return soon," Zaos said while forcing a smile. "We are going to need a certain thing for the rest of the trip and she is looking for that."
"Why didn't we go with mommy?" Milliendra insisted.
"Because we are going to look for something in another place," Zaos replied. "Don't worry, she will return soon."
It wasn't the first time Aleni left on a mission, but it never gets easier for Milliendra. While they were packing to move to the next town that was three days away and west from that one, Zaos tried to keep Milliendra busy, but there was only so much a shy, three-year-old kid could do to keep their mind busy. Zaos made a mental note to do that kind of mission the next time, no matter what. It would be less painful for his heart that way.
The names of the mercenaries' families and groups were kind of weird, so Zaos had forgotten most of them. However, when he reached the next town, he recalled the names the other merchant told him. The mercenary group was called the shadow cats, and their leader was Kat, also known as the queen, thanks to her elegant fighting style that makes use of a rapier.
Zaos forgot the name of the town, but the place looked even more normal than the previous one. The area around the town was surrounded by fields of crops. While not many could withstand the scorching sun, it seemed that the people there managed to create an irrigation system that could prevent the vast majority of the crops from dying.
"How weird… no guards," Zaos thought.
The residences of the town were pretty well organized. Several streets were used to separate the town into sectors. Thanks to that, travelers could come and go from all directions. It was probably thanks to that that there were no guards… that being said, Zaos could see some men and women walking around town wearing light armor and carrying weapons.
They looked at Zaos with caution since he had a certain aura, but soon they lost interest since they saw Milliendra on his side. In any case, Zaos frowned because he reached the center of the town, and he couldn't see the base of the shadow cats.
"Hey… don't tell me that they don't even have a proper base," Zaos frowned.
Zaos wondered how come they won a battle against the next mercenary group… not to mention, based on what he heard, they were attacked, and that town was practically a rural place with zero defenses. It was the best place to pillage and destroy…
Looking around town without a clear goal would make Zaos look suspicious, so he decided to look for an inn, rent a room, and then try to ask where Kat could be found. In the end, Zaos only found two inns, both of them had taverns on the first floor, and both of them were completely crowded since it was noon.
"Daddy… I am scared," Milliendra whispered as she buried her face on Zaos's chest.
"I am a bit scared too," Zaos forced a smile while looking at the massive number of mercenaries inside the tavern.
The interior of the place was completely filled with rough-looking individuals that were making a lot of noise while they were eating and drinking. However, none of them were drinking beer. For a bunch of mercenaries, they were surprisingly diligent.
"I guess I will return later…" Zaos said.
"There is no need for that," someone suddenly approached and then said.
When Zaos turned around, he saw a tall, tanned woman who had a rapier on her waist. It seemed that Zaos found her sooner than he had expected. She had the pretense of someone who knew how to fight, and she had a few scars here and there. Although Zaos always thought that women with long hair looked nicer, he began to reevaluate that idea when he saw the short, dark hair of Kat. She was astonishingly beautiful.
