The dreary rainy season has finally ended.
As the rain stopped, Tirna's day began just like always. Workers walking the streets, protests breaking out, and fixers running wild in the alleys.
As if to release the pent-up frustration of doing nothing during the rainy days, the city's vitality rose several notches higher than before.
However, within such a day, Violet Fox remained calm and quiet.
The place would be bustling with people coming to taste Ena's alcohol and cooking at night, but the morning was not like that, because no one comes to the tavern right after sunrise.
Therefore, Osian could leisurely unfold the newspaper and look through the events of the past days.
'Is the incident in District 29 going to be kept secret?'
Even the daily newspaper primarily covering the events of District 29 did not have a single line related to this situation.
Considering that it occurred in a place beyond people's gaze, this level of silence seemed strange. It appeared that Tirna City intended to completely conceal this incident.
'If the governor suddenly changes his mind like flipping his palm, I wouldn't know, but that's unlikely to happen.'At least Holy Lord Juseppe that Osian saw was not shameless enough to retract his words.
He could feel this from the moment he first met him and looked into his eyes.
'That means Tirna City intends to keep this matter secret.'
Anyway, the details were not properly caught, and revealing it would only raise residents' anxiety, so they would want to conceal it.
'Of course, they wouldn't have simply covered this up.'
There must have been many discussions between Holy Lord Juseppe and Tirna City.
Various interests would be intricately intertwined like a spider's web.
'But that's not my concern. The commission is over.'
Colleo was safely rescued, and the missing children had returned to their original places.
The orphaned children were to be taken care of by the Petra Order.
Osian recalled the conversation he had with Martinez before parting.
-The commission is over. Good work.
-What about the commission fee?
Martinez knew that when requesting a fixer, they must provide corresponding compensation.
Therefore, he was unsure how to compensate Osian.
Would it require a large sum of money? But he didn't have the money to pay immediately.
If he were still one of the Thirteen Judges, he might have offered a sacred artifact. At that rank, the order would support sacred artifacts, and how they were used was entirely at the discretion of the paladin.
But now, he was no longer a Purification Judge.
Just a boy wearing a robe full of ash, nothing more.
-The commission fee, right. That was a thing.
Osian wasn't particularly fixated on the commission fee. From the beginning, he didn't expect Martinez to provide proper compensation.
So he tried to let it go, but that was exactly what Martinez didn't want.
-Right now, I don't have much to offer. But I can still do something.
-Something you can do?
-There will be a time when you need help. When that time comes, regardless of the situation, I will definitely come to help you.
In Martinez's straightforward gaze, Osian thought the guy he had known before had grown a lot.
-What if I ask for your help when I'm doing something wrong?
Regardless of the situation.
It was a playful question meant to suggest he shouldn't say such things lightly, but Martinez was resolute.
-You won't do that, will you?
At those words, Osian chuckled and nodded.
-Right. A former Purification Judge helping me. I've received quite generous compensation for this commission.
Osian finished his reminiscence and slowly folded the newspaper he had been reading.
Colleo had returned safely, the commission was completed, and the incident in District 29 was wrapped up.
However, this matter was not yet over.
Tirna City had decided to cover up this incident.
'From the point of deciding to cover this up, the events in District 29 have become the embarrassing secret of both sides. Tirna and the Petra Order have reached an agreement, so they won't dig into each other's secrets.'
-Ding.
The door opened, and someone entered.
The first thing visible was a neat, unwrinkled uniform and above it, white hair flowing like a waterfall.
'I'm different. I'm involved in the core of that incident and know all the details.'
The one who entered Violet Fox early in the morning was Tirna's executor, Alensia Hair.
She looked around the tavern's interior and discovered Osian sitting and staring at her.
Their gazes intertwined silently in the air.
Alensia approached Osian with light steps.
As seen before, the shoes she wore were boots made of metal.
These were not just for style or intimidation.
They were Alensia's weapon. Her specialty was close-quarters combat kicks, and these special material boots maximized that skill.
She always wore them, but seeing them in this unfortunate situation made it feel like she was fully prepared for battle.
But Osian was not tense because of that.
"So, what brings you here? I know an executor of Tirna wouldn't request a commission from a mere fixer."
Osian placed the neatly folded newspaper on the table. Alensia watched his actions and then threw a glance at the sword hanging from his waist.
Osian continued speaking.
"Or is it that you need to silence the incident in District 29?"
Osian's gaze toward Alensia suddenly turned sharp.
With just that, it seemed countless blades grew from his body, aiming at Alensia's vital points.
A chilling atmosphere that made the skin tingle even while standing still.
Alensia closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, maintaining her composure.
"You don't need to worry about that."
"Hmm."
Osian retracted his intimidating presence. The suffocating, razor-sharp atmosphere dissipated weakly.
"How can I believe that?"
"In the first place, Osian wasn't present at that scene. Instead, there was only an unidentified wandering knight wearing white armor."
Is that how it's going to be?
"That's a problem too. How many people in this city wear such conspicuous armor?"
To Osian's point that at this point there's only one suspect, Alensia stared at him with a slightly ambiguous gaze.
The look seemed to ask, 'Do you really not know?'
"...It seems you don't know."
"What do you mean?"
"In this city, it's not just one person wearing armor and doing such things. In fact, their number has been increasing lately."
"The number is increasing?"
Osian looked puzzled but Alensia shook her head.
"It might be better for you to see directly soon rather than me telling you. In any case, the result is that the things you're worried about won't happen."
"Then why did you come here? It would be an excessive waste of personnel for an executor to come just to reassure me. You're not here to request a commission either."
"That's right."
"Huh?"
Osian momentarily thought he had misheard.
Alensia repeated her answer to assure him that he heard correctly.
"It is correct that I'm here to request a commission."
***
"Please have some."
Ena, who had brought welcome coffee on a tray, placed one cup in front of Osian and another in front of Alensia.
Then she quickly disappeared into the kitchen with hurried steps.
She slightly poked her head out through the door crack, watching Osian and Alensia.
"Hehe. Miss Ena. Why are you hiding?"
Ronan, who was already waiting in the kitchen, spoke with a smiling face.
"Why? Of course, I can't stand being in such an atmosphere."
Just look at Osian and Alensia sitting facing each other right now.
Both were taciturn in personality, and their expressions were heavy and charismatic, creating something that could make an onlooker breath stop.
Ena, questioned, slightly furrowed her brow and asked Ronan.
"And why are you here, Mr. Ronan?"
"I came down for a change and the atmosphere seemed strange. So I took refuge right here."
"Aren't you the owner of this place? Can the owner leave the area?"
"Hahaha. Even I have people I want to avoid sometimes."
Looking at Ronan's suspicious smile, Ena shook her head.
She thought Ronan was making an absurd excuse but Ronan, as always, was sincere. Even for Ronan, sitting in that place was unbearable.
Moreover, who was Alensia? She was an executor of Tirna.
The ultimate guard of those belonging to Tirna.
If pressed, she could be called a high-ranking government official without any problem.
For individual business owners, a government official's presence was incredibly troublesome.
Just a slight irritation or discomfort could immediately trigger a tax investigation.
Who in the world has no dust when shaken? If anything caught related to tax evasion, one would face an enormous fine.
Furthermore, Alensia was famous for being uncompromising in such matters, so for Ronan, taking shelter in an underground bunker during a downpour was the right decision.
In any case, Ronan and Ena shared the common point of not wanting to get involved in that situation, so they conspired to watch the two.
Alensia had been looking down at the steaming coffee in front of her.
Her gaze soon moved to the cup in front of Osian.
Could it even be called a cup? Normally, coffee is served in a mug, but Osian had a considerably large glass, even without a cup handle. The surprising part was that ice was floating on top of the coffee.
Osian picked up the glass and drank the coffee using the straw stuck in it.
Not drinking directly from the cup, but sucking coffee through a straw?
Such eccentricity was hard to match.
Watching the scene, Ena’s fist trembled.
"Oh my goodness, how could you have coffee like this..."
Already being the one making coffee, the shock she felt when Osian asked to put plenty of ice was indescribable.
But Osian committed this eccentricity and was even drinking it nonchalantly.
His demeanor was so confident that it almost made him seem normal.
Feeling disgusted by his appearance, Ena hoped the Tirna executor would say something.
At this moment, she was confident that if Alensia handcuffed Osian for coffee blasphemy, it would be justified.
"……."
Alensia, directly facing Osian, had a complex emotional expression.
She picked up her own cup and quietly took a sip, then immediately frowned.
"Hmm."
Hearing the sound, Osian asked, "Doesn't the coffee suit your taste?"
"No. It's just..."
"Just?"
Alensia seemed embarrassed, hesitated slightly, and finally spoke.
"...It's hot. I can't drink hot things well."
This was unexpected, so Osian opened his eyes wide and said, "Quite the cat's tongue."
"I'm a rabbit, though."
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Oh, I was wondering why the rabbit talk suddenly came up."
When Osian looked completely puzzled, Alensia asked what he meant.
"Isn't it natural because I'm a rabbit beastkin?"
"Beastkin? You were a beastkin?"
When Osian asked sincerely, Alensia also looked perplexed.
"...You didn't know?"
"I didn't."
"I thought almost everyone knew."
Alensia said this and took off the hat she was wearing.
Then rabbit ears, laid on top of her head, rose up breathing the outside air. The ears were white, the same color as her hair.