Orkell stopped inspecting the rumored weapons to look at his dealer talking with who he first assumed were a pair of wayward heiresses. In Re Estize, it isn't uncommon for noble daughters to run away from their father's estate when they were about to be married off, he's seen people take advantage of them in their most vulnerable state.

  He didn't think that the girls were stupid enough to believe the lies of the common folk after they ran away and his hunch had been right. Yet at the same time, his assumption that they are nothing more than the daughter of some important duke had been off the mark by several margins. His guests were so much more than that.

  He looked at the member of Six Arms watching over the crate of goods to ensure that no one tried anything, the infamous group of guards that gave Eight Fingers enough force to rein in the people of Re Estize are known to be rather callous and apathetic to those they considered their lesser, their attitudes barely changed when facing a superior and this was the first time that Orkell has seen one of them bow down to someone. A young girl at that.

  Peshurian was known for his skill with the urumi—a type of sword with a thin, flexible body—as well as his strength. He had garnered the title of "spatial ssh" at some point during his career and even Orkell's personal guard had to be wary of Peshurian's signature move; [Void Ssh].

  "You seem occupied," a deep rumble came from under Peshurian's armor. "Is something wrong?"

  "I'm just confused why you bowed to the girl," Orkell admits, he knew that the man before him wasn't so prideful as to get angry at someone for mentioning his slight failures. Though he did look down on people, he wasn't sadistic like his comrades.

  "Not at her, but the sigil she held." Peshurian corrected, "she's weak enough that I can fight her without much effort, but the person backing her is not someone I can mess with. Not someone the Eight Fingers can mess with."

  Orkell nods, he went silent. So that's why? The girl's family is actually quite powerful huh? Enough that they threaten the group which controls Re Estize behind the scenes, he found it quite fascinating.

  "Antikit." Says Orkell, "what does that mean?"

  "Antikythera." Peshurian shook his head and patted the merchant's back, "it's better if you don't know what that means, they have eyes everywhere and if you talk about this to anyone, people will find you dead in your bed."

  "A-ah? Really now?" Orkell cleared his throat, so this situation is so much more than he imagined. A new group, and one that has seized control of the Golden Princess herself, a girl infamous for having a row of suitors which have perished under "mysterious" circumstances.

  It seems that even the princess cannot stage an accident against the newcomers. But the question still remains—who are they? Orkell wanted to find out but he backed off, he knows he is nothing more than a merchant, he is not worth much in the grand scheme of things and in the end, snooping around will only lead to his death.

  "I'll leave them alone." Orkell cleared his throat, "though I am quite shocked that the two girls I found in the middle of the road turned out to be so important."

  "Good choice." Peshurian nods, he then turned to the pair of sisters talking to a terrified Hilma. "I've heard that he is teaching someone, Davernoc compined about it, but for it to be a child. He could have done better."

  Orkell caught the criminal let out a scoff full of derision. The merchant did not dare mention it for fear of his life.

  ...

  Ninya crossed her arms. The woman didn't know anything about Lord Antikythera, sure Hilma told her about things her teacher did whenever he wasn't teaching her magic but Ninya already expected him to have some sort of control over Re Estize's underworld, he himself admitted this much to Ninya when she asked why the vilge is still growing White Stalks rather than wheat.

  "You're useless huh?" Ninya muttered with a scowl, "it's fine, do you have anything we can ride on?" She gestured towards Tsuare, who puffed up her chest. "We don't wanna ride with that merchant guy again. I hated agreeing with whatever it was he talked about."

  Ninya already forgot most of it, which says a lot about how boring those topics were to be honest. He was also quite bad at expining things, which only led to her picking up pieces of what he meant rather than the full picture. If she had to sit through that again for another few hours, she'd lose her mind.

  "We do," Hilma thankfully nods, "I have spare carriages, wait here. I'll get someone to fetch them," she gestured at a nearby guard and then gave Ninya a strange look, "by the way, I never knew that Lord Antikythera gave his emblem to someone, who are you?"

  "His student." Tsuare replied smugly, "he taught my sister how to cast spells and use magic because he believed her talent is powerful."

  Ninya wanted to hide her face. Did Tsuare really have to say that? It's a bit embarrassing hearing it out loud, especially when Lord Antikythera is so much more than just her teacher, he's also apparently a merchant of death.

  "It's nothing much," Ninya cleared her throat, "really. He only taught me a spell or two, and some magical fundamentals. I wouldn't have known how magic worked if he didn't tell me, and that's it."

  "Right." Hilma nods, "that's still a lot, knowing that you were taught magic by him is enough to make you mithril rank in any adventurer's guild across the kingdom." Hilma's eyes went over to the holstered gun on Ninya's hip, "he also gave you a gun?"

  "The two of us, yeah," Ninya looked at Tsuare, "he also gave us enchanted clothing."

  "I can see that." Hilma sounded bitter. "Well, your carriage is here, you can ride off and you'll reach the capital by afternoon, good luck."

  Ninya turned away from Hilma and then looked at the carriage. It was shockingly opulent, even more than the one the merchant owned, it had polished steel all over its surface, giving the vehicle a glossy look. Fresh paint coated this yer of armor, railings and beams ran across its exterior.

  A door with blue gss acting as its window opened without anyone pulling on it and Ninya stared. It's enchanted too? She frowned, well this is a lot more expensive than she was expecting.

  "You know that I don't mind a run-down carriage right?"

  "I know, but I'm not going to disappoint Lord Antikythera." Hilma gred at her, "now go up there and let the coach take you to the capital, you've already done enough damage just by being here."

  Ninya shrugged, well, this was her loss. "Come on Tsuare, we need to go."

  She heard her sister sigh, "you know you can't just order me around like that right? I'm older than you."

  Ninya rubbed the nape of her neck, embarrassed. "Yeah... Sorry."

  =================

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