"And none of you find that disgusting?" one of the guards asked the others.
The guards laughed. "Stop being a morality-minnie! What's the difference between killing a human and a beast? Nothing! Who cares?"
"Hey, Jimbo is still new. He hasn't been to the frontlines yet," another guard said.
"You guys were at the frontlines?" Kyle asked.
"Yep, almost all of us," one of the guards said with a smile. "It's horrifying, but you gotta give those cozy Winterchicks a run for their money!"
"Kill somebody on your level, and you're already in the clear!" another guard said with a laugh. "Kill one Winterchick, and you've already made your kingdom proud!"
"The bounties they give for them are also crazy! If there's one thing our kingdom doesn't lack, it's money! Hey, Jannis, how much did you get for yours again?" one of the guards shouted, looking at an officer wearing a golden uniform.
This officer was the strongest person present, and from what Kyle could feel, he was as strong as a Count.
"Four Ether Gems," the officer said with a laugh.
"I only got 50 Ether Stones!" another guard complained.
"That's because you only killed a Mid Sorcerer. I killed a Peak Paladin," the officer said with a snort.
"But it was a Sorcerer!"
"Yeah, a guy who fights like a headless chicken as soon as you stand in front of him," a third guard laughed.
"Jimbo," the officer suddenly said ."When's your time again?"
"In four months, sir," Jimbo answered.
"You're finally going to be a man!" another guard shouted.
Meanwhile, Kyle was shocked by the reward everyone was talking about.
The one who had earned the least got 50 Ether Stones for one dead enemy.
'Brah, if I kill an entire group of weaker people, I would be rich!' he thought.
Kyle talked with the guards for a couple more minutes before he slowly showed that he wanted to get going.
"Oh, right! You probably don't live here, right? Why are you here?" the first guard asked.
"Selene Forthing asked me to visit her if I'm ever near Forthing's Hold," Kyle said.
The eyes of the guards widened.
"Boy, you're aiming way out of your range," a guard said.
"We're just friends! I helped her with something, and that's it," Kyle said. "I seriously don't have time for this kind of stuff."
The guards looked at him like they didn't believe him.
Who wasn't out to romance Selene Forthing?
Becoming the heir of the Forthings would immediately catapult someone to one of the most powerful positions in the entire kingdom.
"Are you telling the truth?" the officer from earlier asked.
"Yes," Kyle answered.
"Well, then you're not in luck," the officer said. "Miss Forthing hasn't been back in months."
"Oh?" Kyle asked. "Is everything alright with her?"
"We don't know," the officer said. "The Forthings keep her location very secret."
Kyle sighed. "Yeah, well, that sucks. Guess I'm just going to leave a message and leave it up to her."
"Hey, Jannis, he probably needs an escort," the first guard said.
The officer rolled his eyes.
It was clear that the guard didn't want to escort Kyle.
He just wanted to gather some more gossip.
"Fine, but hurry up," the officer said.
"Thanks! You're the best boss!" the first guard said.
"I know," the officer said with a sigh.
"Come, let's get running!" the guard said, motioning for Kyle to follow him.
"Thank you!" Kyle shouted to both of them before running after the first guard.
After Kyle left, the other guards chuckled.
So many people tried to get an audience with the young miss, and all of them left with their tails between their legs.
The guard led Kyle through the city before stopping in front of a luxurious gate, which was being guarded by two guards of equal power as the officer from earlier.
"Hey, Layton-"
"You're not getting inside," one of the guards said with a bored and annoyed tone.
"It's not about me this time," the guard said. "It's him."
The door guard looked at Kyle with an eyebrow raised in boredom. "Yes?" he asked.
"Hello, my name is Kyle Freeman, and I met Selene Forthing a bit more than a year ago. She told me that I should visit her if I'm ever in Forthing's Hold," Kyle said.
"The young miss isn't here," the door guard said with boredom.
"I've heard. Can you leave a message?" Kyle asked. "Just tell her that Kyle Freeman was here when she comes back."
"Listen," the guard said with annoyance. "I get one of you guys every two days or so. Can you just spare me the effort of telling the butler and tell me right away that she doesn't know you?"
Kyle furrowed his brows. "I didn't lie. I helped her catch her new Primary Beast."
The guard sighed.
"Wait here," he spoke with boredom before jumping over the luxurious gate.
Kyle saw the guard entering the castle and waited.
Almost an entire minute passed.
Then, the guard returned, but this time, he didn't jump over the gate.
Instead, he opened the gate and stepped outside.
On his face was an expression of surprise.
"You're on the list," the guard said. "Excuse my earlier doubt. I almost made a mistake."
When the original guard heard that, his eyes also opened wide.
Bang!
The guard clapped Kyle on his back, shoving him forward.
"Go get her!" he said.
"I'm not getting her!" Kyle shouted back. "We're just friends! Maybe even just acquaintances!"
Yet, the guard just showed a thumbs-up and winked at Kyle.
"Please, this way, sir," the door guard said in a polite tone.
Meanwhile, the first guard just watched as Kyle entered the luxurious fortress.
"This is some high-level gossip," he whispered before he ran back to his post.
Inside the fortress, Kyle saw the guard talking to a maid.
When Kyle saw the maid, he took a deep breath.
'Based on the Ether, she's an Early or Mid Knight! Crazy!'
"Please, this way, sir," the maid spoke politely.
The guard nodded to Kyle before walking back to his post.
"Sure, thanks," Kyle said awkwardly as he followed the maid.
The two of them walked up some luxurious and beautiful stairs for a while.
On the 20th floor, the maid brought Kyle to an expensive-looking door and knocked on it.
"Come in," a male voice from the other side said.
The maid politely opened the door and gestured for Kyle to enter.
Kyle did just that, and the maid closed the door behind him.
In front of Kyle was a young man sitting behind a desk with plenty of sheets of paper in front of him.
The man wore an exceedingly expensive and powerful set of armor.
He had deep brown hair, and his sharp eyes locked onto Kyle.
"You're Kyle Freeman?" the man asked with a serious tone.
"Yep," Kyle answered. "I heard Selene isn't here right now. Is it fine if I leave a message?"
The man narrowed his eyes.
He seemed annoyed, but Kyle didn't feel any Momentum coming from him.
Usually, when people were annoyed, their Momentum activated on its own.
"What message do you have for my little sister?"
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