With the sky still dark, Rodrick didn’t dare go to the Slums right away. He found a relatively secluded corner and fell asleep. He decided not to think about the next mission and, instead, focus on resting.

  By the time he woke up and went to buy food, the sun was already up. Although he had enough coins to buy another outfit, Rodrick still chose to stick with his ruined black suit.

  However, he genuinely needed to shower as he felt extremely uncomfortable with the abhorrent smell coming from him.

  As promised, Rodrick bought a cake for Bin and then went to the Slums, soon reaching the trash heap. It was still a bit early in the morning, so Bin should still be inside.

  Rodrick smiled and crawled inside, his hand steady as it carefully held the small box that housed the piece of cake.

  When he reached Bin’s hideout, Rodrick’s body stiffened and his hand unknowingly dropped the box. For a minute straight, he stayed like that- on all fours- while blankly staring ahead.

  Eventually, he snapped out of it and just sat cross-legged on the ground. He had a strong urge to vomit, but he covered his mouth and managed to hold it in.

  Bin’s lifeless corpse was lying on the mattress. There were no wounds, but his neck was bruised and deep blue, which meant that the cause of death was probably strangulation.

  A deep sigh escaped Rodrick’s lips as he just sat in silence, looking at the boy’s body. The events he had experienced were bizarre, absurd, and even bordered on the comical, which was why Bin’s death came as a surprise and a reminder that this was a cruel world.

  “Are you alright, User?”

  Rodrick just shrugged in response.

  “It is possible to learn some clues by investigating this hideout. It would limit the number of suspects-”

  “What good will that do? I’m not exacting any vengeance.”

  Rodrick wasn’t even in the mood to question his assistant about its odd advice. Usually, it wouldn’t concern itself with matters unrelated to the missions.

  “I can’t fight and I don’t have money. Right now, I must do the best I can to not end up like this.”

  As he said that, Rodrick took out the cake and gently put it next to the corpse before quietly leaving the hideout.

  He had 13 silvers and 78 bronze left in his possession, which would last him quite a while. The first thing he did after leaving the slums was rent a cheap room in one of the old inns near the Slums sub-district.

  He even spent an additional 50 bronze to get a shallow bath prepared for him.

  Four hours later, after cleaning himself, washing his suit and waiting for it to dry, Rodrick left the inn.

  Today’s mission was as ridiculous as the rest, but it was feasible.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  *Save a dying person.*

  It was simple, but, for Rodrick, it felt as if the System was mocking him. Then again, the discovery of Bin’s body was after the mission had been given.

  While wandering the streets of the Common sub-district, Rodrick finally broke the long silence,

  “What constitutes a dying person?”

  “Any individual whose death is assured and imminent.”

  “So, for example, can I take a deadly poison then drink the antidote?”

  “It’s a plausible scenario.”

  Sensing his gloomy mood, the assistant had foregone any witty remarks or proud declarations regarding its loyalty. It gave precise answers that, for once, were helpful to Rodrick.

  Upper Sub-District

  The Dragonclaw Manor

  After the slaughter that happened two days ago, Elizabeth was able to seize full control of the family despite her young age.

  Surprisingly, the day right after the slaughter had happened, Elizabeth was visited by a shady old man who handed her an envelope and a key.

  The envelope had a letter written by her deceased father, and the key was for a specific vault in the Lineage Bank.

  When she visited the Vault, Elizabeth found a large quantity of Gold as well as many documents left by her father specifically for her. It seemed that he had foreseen, or at least hoped, that she would be able to rise to the position of Head of the family.

  After ordering the death of all the servants that had been loyal to her step-mother, and even those who severely mistreated her, Elizabeth hired a professional to deal with the finances and the hiring of new personnel.

  She was young, inexperienced, and ignorant, so, besides her titles and magical abilities, she didn’t have the proper qualifications to act as the Dragonclaw family Head.

  Edward Evon Aronx, current financial advisor to Elizabeth, sat across her while giving one report after the other. He was a young man in his early twenties, hailing from a middle-class family in Lineage. He wasn’t a noble, but his hard-working nature and ambition made him the perfect fit for Elizabeth.

  “As I said before, hiring the unaffiliated knights is the better option.”

  “No.”

  Elizabeth shook her head, which made Edward sigh.

  “Very well. I’ll look for capable mercenaries.”

  After what happened with her step-mother, Elizabeth refused to hire proper knights. Most of them were born and raised in Lineage and, at some point, belonged to the many noble families.

  Rather than them, Elizabeth wanted people from outside the walls to protect her. She might be young, but like many others at her age, she had heard about the ruined world outside and how everyone who survived out there was incredibly strong and cunning. She needed such people to serve her even if there was a big risk involved.

  Common Sub-district

  “Madame, we received a request from the Dragonclaw Family.”

  Madam Simone, who had been drinking her coffee and reading a book while enjoying the warmth emanating from the chimney, raised her head and looked at Sir Bloom.

  “Oh? Dragonclaw?”

  “Yes, the current head, Elizabeth Dragonclaw, just sent us a request.”

  Sir Bloom handed her two papers, which she carefully read.

  “Such a hefty commission.”

  Elizabeth offered quite a big sum even though the request itself was simple. In fact, it didn’t involve any danger.

  “But…”

  Sir Bloom, who understood her, simply nodded.

  Simone tapped on the paper, “The description here… it has to be Rodrick Dick. Why would the head of the Dragonclaw Family be looking for him?”

  “Do we accept, Madame?”

  “Why not? But let’s take our time. Send El to search for Rodrick, but tell her not to get caught. She just has to keep her eyes on him.”

  “Okay.”