Valdan held a hand over his eyes as he gauged the position of the sun in the sky. It was perhaps an hour past high noon. With no time piece in sight, this was the only way he could accurately keep track of time. At least, as accurately as he could.

"Is it hot?" Ted asked from beside him.

Valdan shook his head. "Once you are beyond level fifty, the natural weather does not affect you as much. I was trying to figure out what the time is."

"Oh, I see." Ted sighed. "I miss wrist watches."

"Your world had something to help you watch your wrists?" Valdan asked, confused. He was already accustomed to hearing things he did not understand from the Lacheart brothers. "Why?"

"It doesn't help us watch our wrist. It's what we use to tell time." Ted raised his hand, palm facing down, and tapped his wrist. "We wrap it around our wrist and it keeps the time."

Valdan found it impressive. "That sounds very convenient."

"If you like that, you should see phones," Ted chuckled. "Now, those were amazing."

Valdan could not even begin to fathom what phones would be. Just last week, he had learnt of something called a monster. It turned out that it was not, in fact, an actual monster, but a drink. According to Aiden, it was something called an energy drink, designed to give people energy. It was relatively cheap by his explanation and easily accessible. And people drank it leisurely.

It sounded like a stamina potion to Valdan—an inefficient one from what he had put together from the explanation.

Right now, however, his mind was stuck on wondering why Bandiv hadn't turned their normal timekeeping devices into something more handheld and accessible like what Ted had just described.

Spending time with Aiden and his brothers, learning about their world in tidbits, had him growing questions in his head. The timepiece thing was one of them. Why didn't Nastild have it? At least, Bandiv didn't have it. There was always a possibility that some other place beyond the kingdom had such a thing.

Valdan turned his head to look at Ted, an idea popping up in his head not for the first time. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, recognizing the instinct he'd had as a child in the streets when it bubbled in his head.

"Lord Lacheart," he started gently, nervously.

"Ted," Ted corrected absently. "Any idea why we're standing under the sun?"

Valdan blinked. "What?"

"The sun." Ted pointed up. "Any idea why we're standing under the sun? It's not like we have to."

"Oh." Valdan didn't have the answer to that. They were just standing there, and they just happened to be under the sun. "I do not, Lord Lacheart."

Ted looked at him. "You're slowly winning this battle. A day will come when you will call me Lord Lacheart and I will actually answer." He patted him casually on the arm, turned, and started heading away. "For now, I would be happy to have some shade."

Valdan watched him go, then looked back in the distance. They had ridden into the town of Nespoint a few hours ago. Just yesterday they had been responsible for subjugating a pack of careless elfhoofs, four legged monsters that were as tall as a man from head to hoof with pointed ears and skulls as strong as steel.

Aiden had chosen the quest specifically and with intent. How did Valdan know? Because in the last month, Aiden had only been selecting quests that either paid well or had monsters that would challenge their levels. The elfhoofs had not been monsters of that caliber. First, the pay was paltry. Second, elfhoofs were not known for how vicious they were since they were not very vicious. Violent, yes. But not vicious.

The final reason, however, was that Aiden had put a challenge to them. Valdan and Ted had been required to subdue the entire pack without inflicting any deadly injury and definitely without killing them.

It had taken an entire day and two dead elfhoofs to finally subjugate the entire pack of fifteen elfhoofs.

Before Valdan turned to follow Ted towards the shade of a building's extended roof, he made sure Aiden was alright.

Aiden stood across the road, talking to a man who had seemed no more than a random man when they'd strolled into this side of the town. They'd just been walking when Aiden had made a sudden detour and crossed the road. He'd approached the man who'd been confused for a brief moment before engaging him in a conversation that was still ongoing.

Normally, it would have been a suspicious activity. Sadly, by now, the activity itself had become normal. Any time they walked into a new town or a new place, they would walk around and Aiden would keep his eyes on their surroundings. The first time he'd done it, Valdan had wondered if the young lord was worried about the man who had chased them all the way to Elstrire a month ago.

After the third town, Valdan knew for a fact what was going on. Aiden had somehow solidified his place with some information brokering group. Every time they walked into a new town, he found one of their members, got whatever information he needed from them, and paid them for their service.

Valdan turned away and joined Ted under the shade of the extended roof.

"You're level forty-eight," he said. "The sun shouldn't affect you."

"It doesn't." Ted kept his eyes on his brother in the distance, undistracted by the people that passed between them or the jepat drawn carriages trudging down the road. "I just don't like the sun in my eyes."

Valdan wondered how high Ted's perception stat was. People with high perception stats who were yet to gain full control over it often complained about things like bright lights and loud noises.

"Anyway," Ted continued. "You wanted to say something before I left you."

Valdan paused, remembering a little belatedly. "Yes," he said, feeling nervous again. "The drink from your home… Monster. Was it a nice drink?"

Ted nodded. "It was. Aiden even had a phase where it was the only thing he drank."

"How long did it last?" Valdan asked, realizing that perhaps the people from their world were more unique than the Lachearts were letting on.

"A month." Ted paused to think. "Maybe three."

One month to three months was quite the jump. But Valdan was unbothered by that. Something else held his attention as his eyes widened in shock.

"One to three months drinking only that, without water?" Valdan stared at him wide eyed. There was no way they were simply humans without magic. Even with all the magic, asking a person below level fifty to go three months without water was a death sentence.

Ted gave him a look, as if Valdan was being a little stupid—as if he had just told Valdan something completely normal and Valdan was overreacting.

He placed a compassionate hand on Valdan's shoulder. "Valdan."

"Yes," Valdan said, still very confused.

"I remember one of those elfhoofs running into you," Ted said. "You took a nasty blow to the head from it. Are you sure you're alright? Completely healed?"

Valdan was puzzled. "I don't understand."

"That makes two of us," Ted said, then removed his hand from Valdan's arm and shook his head. "Of course Aiden was drinking water. Who just drinks energy drinks without water? In fact, who goes a month without water?"

Valdan paused, realizing the stupidity of his reaction. In truth, if someone had told him that they'd been drinking some kind of tea from some exotic place, his first instinct would not have been to assume that they had been drinking only that tea.

It seemed in his need to explain how Aiden was so unique that he was grasping at straws for an explanation. Or maybe it was not just Aiden but all the summoned as a whole.

Valdan sighed. He needed to stop trying to make sense of Aiden. Not that he was going to.

"So what did you want to know about Monster?" Ted asked. "If it's sweet. Is that all?"

Valdan shook his head. "No," he said. "I wanted to know if you knew how to make it."

"Nah." Ted made a dismissive gesture. "I couldn't make it even if you handed the ingredients over to me. Most drinks on Earth are quite complicated to make even if you had the recipe."

Valdan pursed his lips in disappointment. The hustler in him from his childhood had been hoping to spin a small successful business out of the drink.

With all the knowledge the summoned would've brought back from their world, it was hard to believe that there was nothing profitable in their heads. It would definitely solve the money issues the Lacheart brothers would eventually start having now that they were no longer under the financial protection of the crown.

"I guess you wouldn't," Valdan said finally.

The Lacheart brothers were young, too young to be expected to know the intricacies of whatever things were going on in their world. Valdan was a grown knight and if you asked him how a stamina potion was made, he would be stumped. Why had he expected Ted to know how to make a stamina drink.

"He's done," Ted said, folding his arms over his chest.

Valdan looked across the street just in time to find Aiden paying the man he had been speaking to. He held up his bank card, only for the man to shake his head. So, instead, Aiden slipped his hand into his pocket and brought out a silver coin. He handed it over to him.

The man thanked him, and Aiden crossed the road back to them. In his green flowing jacket, he definitely cast quite the visage. Valdan caught a few of the ladies on the street spare him a glance or two.

"He's oblivious to it," Ted said and Valdan looked at him.

"What?" he asked.

"My brother," Ted explained. "He's oblivious to all the looks the girls give him. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't always this cool. But he's always been handsome. Girls look at him, but he doesn't pay much attention."

Growing boys always pay attention to when girls look at them. It was just the way it was.

"Why doesn't he?" Valdan asked. "He's too attentive to be oblivious."

Ted shrugged. "You can blame that on a very specific girl. Growing up, he had eyes for only her." Something sad crossed his face. "If the girl wasn't her, Aiden didn't care."

"What happened to her?" Valdan asked, worried that he was about to get a solemn story.

Ted shrugged. "She decided to be stupid."

There was a finality to his voice that told Valdan that more would not be said on the matter. Just in front of them, Aiden had crossed the road, hands in his pockets as the hem of his coat billowed gently in the afternoon breeze.

"So, I've gotten what we're going to do next," Aiden said. The moment the words were done leaving his mouth, he paused, looking from Valdan to his brother, then back. "Did something happen?"

Ted shook his head. "Valdan wanted to know if we know how to make Monster."

"The energy drink?" Aiden asked.

Ted nodded.

"Well…" Aiden pursed his lips in thought. "It's going to be a bit difficult. We'd need an [Alchemist], an… [Artificer]. At least those two. Personally, I'm not even sure they have access to all the ingredients."

Ted's jaw dropped. "You know how to make an energy drink?"

"No." Aiden shook his head. "But I know what the ingredients are."

"What's the [Artificer] for?" Valdan asked, honestly curious.

"The bottle," Aiden answered easily. "You can't just put it in some random glass tube or simple bottle. You need a bottle that can contain the drink and do it properly."

Ted looked at his brother through suspicious, narrowed lids. "Wait a minute," he said. "You've thought about making it, haven't you?"

Aiden shrugged. "A few times. Now can we go back to what we're here for?"

"What did your spy friend say?" Valdan asked.

"They like to be called information specialists, V," Aiden said. "And he told me where to get the kind of monsters we need to deal with."

"Non-lethal, again?" Valdan asked.

Aiden nodded. "Non-lethal."

"My summons aren't great fans of non-lethal, Aida," Ted pointed out. "They weren't designed for non-lethal. Is there a reason we're doing non-lethal?"

"There is, actually. And non-lethal is definitely important." Aiden looked east, then pointed in its direction. "We're heading that way. Our goal is a tavern called the 'Busted Crown.'"

"What's at the Busted Crown?" Ted asked as Aiden turned and started walking.

Valdan was more than happy to follow them.

"It's a mercenary tavern," Aiden explained as they walked. "We'll get requests that are different from the Adventure Society requests. I can't say that they pay better, but they have a quest that works well for us."

"Works well for us how?" Valdan asked. He was a little worried about what Aiden had in store for them.

But, despite how outrageous the quests he was getting for them were, Valdan couldn't help but admit that he was actually a good instructor.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Aiden spared a moment to look back at him. "Well, we have to learn how to put monsters to sleep without killing them. Last time, we practiced with simple monsters."

"And this time?"

"We're practicing with monsters that will actually be trying to kill us because they want to eat us."

"Sounds a little deadly," Valdan pointed out.

Aiden nodded. "It is."

"But not for you," Ted said as they crossed the road at an intersection. "Right?"

Aiden gave him a smile. "Don't be annoyed, brother. It will be easy for you soon."

Valdan wasn't ready to point out that it was also not easy for him. Instead, he addressed a topic that had been bothering him for the past month.

"When are you going to try for level fifty, Aiden?"

Aiden stiffened up very slightly. Valdan would've missed it if he wasn't watching him. It had been a month and Aiden was still at level forty-nine. With all his talent, Valdan was confused as to why he hadn't passed the threshold. He had even offered to give Aiden a pointer on how to do it, but he'd been turned down each time.

Aiden always said that he knew what he was doing.

"Are you having trouble with it?" Ted asked Aiden. "Is it really that difficult?"

"It's not," Aiden said, shaking his head. "Difficult is not the word. Annoying is."

"I'm at level forty-eight," Ted said. "Am I also going to find it annoying?"

Aiden shrugged and Valdan watched the brothers interact. Regardless of one being older and the other being younger, they talked like equals. From what Valdan knew, there was always a hierarchy among brothers. Aiden and Ted didn't seem to have one.

"Personally," Aiden said after a while. "From what I know, you might have it easy."

Ted nodded in acceptance. "Then what's making it annoying for you?"

"I'm what's making it annoying for me," Aiden answered. "I'm overcomplicating it."

That was an interesting way to put it.

As they walked, inns and taverns started coming into view. Valdan kept his eyes on all the buildings around them. The farther they walked, the narrower the streets grew, winding their way through the bustling heart of the town. Here the buildings were closer together. Some of them leaned at odd angles, their brick walls weathered by time. It was unsurprising, most people kept the insides of their establishments in pristine conditions but barely paid the walls that kept the sun and rain out any attention.

As they walked, the air grew thick with the aroma of roasted meats, baked bread, and the scent of ale and alcohol. Low lanterns hung outside each establishment. They were currently unlit as the sun still granted light to everything around. Valdan didn't question why lanterns hung outside instead of light orbs because the reason was simple: Light orbs sold for a nice price, and people liked to steal things.

The inns and taverns, each with their distinct character, lined both sides of the street. Their signs—for the few that actually had—swung gently in the breeze. Most of them were carved from wood or painted on fading banners. Valdan counted at least one in every two signs with depictions of animals. Some of the others had simple symbols, runic signs that had meanings ranging from something beautiful to nothing but incoherent nonsense. Some simply carried the name of the tavern.

Ted pointed suddenly. "There."

Valdan turned to look along with Aiden. At one corner, a sign hung low with the inscription of 'Busted Crown.' The name of the tavern was written in faded, blue ink. It actually read, 'Bust Crow.' You had to be looking well to see the remaining letters that were faded out.

"There we are," Aiden said with a smile. "Now let's go get our next job."

Valdan walked up beside Ted as Aiden hurried forward.

"Nice job," he told Ted.

"Thanks," Ted replied simply, then shot him a wry grin. "Either that or it's really called Bust Crow and I just sent my brother into a strip club."

Valdan sighed. Sometimes it got tiring hearing things he did not understand.

"And what's a strip club?" he asked.

"A place where men or women take off their clothes in a very seductive manner as a point of entertainment," Ted explained.

"Please stop explaining what a fancy house is to Valdan," Aiden called out from ahead of them with a sigh. "He is a knight of good repute."

"I actually grew up around fancy houses when I was a kid," Valdan pointed out, realizing that he had not given Aiden any real details of his childhood. He shook his head. "I never saw the allure."

"Most people don't," Ted said.

Aiden sighed again. "You better be among those 'most people', Ted."

"I can't like strip clubs?" Ted asked, chuckling.

"You aren't supposed to have gone into a strip club," Aiden pointed out.

This time, Ted laughed as they got to the tavern entrance. "Dude, I was a handsome boy in college with a fake ID and girls interested in me, and don't forget the friends. What makes you think I haven't been to a strip club."

Aiden rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger like a tired parent. "I swear you're a handful."

"Thank you, brother." Ted laughed as he pushed the door to the tavern open and walked in. Aiden followed behind him.

Valdan took a moment to wait and collect his thoughts before walking in.

Maybe one day he would be accustomed to the dynamics of the Lacheart brothers. That day, however, was not today.

And he doubted it would be tomorrow either.

…

As light as the wooden door surprisingly was, it creaked as it was pushed open, and Aiden stepped into the tavern. The warmth of countless bodies active in an enclosed space hit him like a bucket of warm water. It was heavy, the warmth wrapping itself around him like an uncomfortable embrace. Along with it, however, was the rich scent of cooked meat and well prepared stew, spilled drinks of different alcoholic levels, and a touch of feminine perfume.

Aiden resisted the urge to take in a deep breath. He had been a mercenary once. He had been a lot of different things, actually. Most of them had him visiting taverns of different kinds, so the smell right now was nostalgic.

He paused at the entrance for a moment, taking in the sight as Valdan walked in beside him. Ted was a step ahead of him, looking around with an interested smile. Aiden wasn't surprised to find that Ted liked the place. He had always been the adventurous brother back on Earth, after all.

The orbs of light in the tavern cast warm yellow glows about the place, giving it a warm sensation that blue lights did not give. As he took it all in, the noise of the tavern washed over Aiden. He heard laughter from far too many men, the raised voices, the clinking tankards as somebody raised a toast for one reason or the other, the lively strumming of some musical instrument or the other in one corner.

Aiden slipped his hands back into the pockets of his cloak. He had since abandoned the use of a soldier belt. He still had three of them on, though, each of their pockets filled with enchanted items of different kinds. But he used his coat more. With the myriad of pockets, the Naranoff tailor had stitched on the inside of the coat, it was almost as good as the one he'd been wearing in the Order.

"This way," Aiden said with a nod, knowing that Ted and Valdan would hear him despite the raucous of the tavern.

As he made his way to the bar, Valdan and Ted followed him. His boots made soft thuds on the wooden floor, drawing a few curious glances from the rowdy groups occupying the tables near them. A group of men at one of the tables broke into loud, entertained laughter, and a clatter of a mug hitting the floor followed soon after. It took Aiden a moment to notice the two girls in the group of men.

One of the girls, the one who'd dropped her mug, smacked the man nearest to her in the back of the head. "I swear you piss me off all the time, Tusk!"

The man's face hit the bar, his head bouncing back up. Surprisingly, he reached for the back of his head in pain instead of his face.

"I didn't do nothing, Elise," he growled. "You just like hitting me."

"Then how did my cup fall?"

"Because you've got hands like an ogre. You need hands like a human to hold a cup properly." For emphasis, the man, Tusk, held up his cup and knocked it against that of another man who was currently laughing at their exchange.

Frowning, the lady got up. "I'm going to go get me another cup."

Aiden ignored the table as they got to the bar. A woman with a tray of drinks weaved past, almost bumping into him, her footsteps light and practiced from her time working here or at least in similar establishments.

Rather than dodge her, Aiden stopped in place, allowing her to navigate her way around him as if he was simply one of the stationary tables. She gave him a wink and a smile as she passed and he returned the smile.

Once she was gone, Valdan moved up to him.

"I'm beginning to think that you just hated the princess," he said.

Aiden paused to look at him. "Why would you think that?"

"Because a girl you don't know just smiled at you and you smiled back. Elaswit would be heartbroken if she ever found out."

"You can always trust my brother to break hearts without knowing," Ted added, mirthful.

Ignoring the both of them, Aiden continued the journey to the bar. The truth was that he hadn't hated Elaswit, he had simply wanted nothing to do with a princess. And there was no point starting a friendship that was not going to last.

There was nothing wrong with Elaswit. Aiden just had enough experience with ladies in positions of import that he knew to stay away from them.

Aiden moved to the bar where a lanky innkeeper, wiping his hands on a cloth, met his gaze. The man's sharp eyes scanned Aiden, Ted and Valdan as they approached, taking them in as they approached. Aiden was certain that apart from his coat, nothing about them stood out.

The tavern, after all, was filled with people armed almost to the teeth. Adventurers, merchants, and people with unhealthy dreams all intertwined in the constant noise of conversations.

The innkeeper grunted in greeting when Aiden and the others came to a stop on the other side of the bar.

"What will it be?" he asked. "I've got everything. Alcohol for those above level fifty and for those below. If you're more than level hundred then I apologize for not having anything capable of giving you a buzz."

Aiden knew the trick. The innkeeper's words came out as a simple marketing strategy, letting you know what he had and did not have. To those who knew a thing or two about places like these, they knew what exactly it was. It was the man's way of learning if you were above level fifty or not.

Ted took a seat. "Milkshake," he said simply.

The innkeeper cocked a brow at him. "Milkshake?"

Ted nodded.

"And you two?" the innkeeper asked, turning to Aiden and Valdan.

Aiden turned down the request with a raised hand. "I'm good."

"Alnosia for me," Valdan requested.

The innkeeper's eyes narrowed very momentarily before he turned to the shelf behind him with a grunt of acknowledgement. It was lined with different bottles, each one carrying some level of alcohol within.

The man grabbed a large tankard and filled it from a nearby barrel sitting on the shelf. Ted looked puzzled when he saw that the liquid coming out of the barrel was white.

"They have milkshakes?" he asked, leaning towards Aiden. Beside them, Valdan chuckled lightly.

"They do," Aiden confirmed. "But not the way you know it."

Done filling the tankard, the innkeeper placed a round wooden saucer above it. Keeping it firmly in place with one hand, he shook the tankard very violently. Throughout the entire process, he had nothing but a serious expression on his face, a man crafting his art.

By the time he was done, the tankard was frothing at the mouth, foam spilling from the saucer that covered it to crawl down the side of the tankard. Done, the innkeeper uncovered the tankard and placed it in front of Ted. With a small cloth, he wiped the body down.

"Your milkshake," he said simply, before turning back to Valdan. "When would you like your Alnosia?" he asked.

"By the end of our discussion," Valdan answered while Ted eyed his drink suspiciously.

Aiden met his brother's confused gaze and Ted mouthed to him. Did they just shake a cup of milk and hand it over to me?

Laughter almost slipped from Aiden's lips. That was exactly what they had done. He doubted that Ted was ready to know the source of the milk, though, so he just nodded in response.

"So what do you three want?" the innkeeper asked.

"A job," Aiden said. "Something not too dangerous. Max level should be seventy-five."

That got a look out of Valdan. With Aiden and Ted still being below level fifty, Valdan was currently the highest level among them at level sixty-two.

Aiden was sure the knight was wondering if the mission was going to be just for him.

"You three adventurers?" the innkeeper asked.

Aiden shook his head. "Just travelers. I'd say mercenaries but we haven't been doing this long enough to call ourselves that."

The innkeeper's eyes slid over to Ted as if his choice to order the milkshake was also a reason they couldn't call themselves mercenaries.

"Alright," he said after a while. "Do you need a single target or are you trying to hit something in groups? Do you want a good pay?"

"Any pay is fine," Aiden answered. "And it has to be a group, no single targets."

Out of the corner of his eye, Aiden could see Valdan giving him a peculiar look. Aiden wondered if he was impressed or worried.

The innkeeper looked down at his hands, cleaning a glass mug with a dry brown cloth. "Human or monster?"

"Monster."

The innkeeper grunted in acknowledgement. "I think I have something," he said, still not looking up from the cup he was cleaning. "A bunch of salamanders in the forest. The report is that they are around level sixties and seventies."

"Any idea how many they are?"

The man shook his head, finally looking up at Aiden. "But I hear there are at least eleven of them."

"That's actually better than I thought," Ted muttered from where he was sitting.

A brief glance revealed a white stain on his upper lip. It seemed he had finally trusted the 'milkshake' enough to take a sip.

Aiden wanted to point out that it was just milk that someone had shaken very properly but didn't. It was best to just allow Ted to enjoy his drink.

He was more interested in the number of salamanders. Eleven was a sufficient number. More than eleven would be pushing the boundaries. Then again, it wasn't as if he had been planning on attacking the entire group head on.

"It works," he said finally, addressing the innkeeper. He pulled out ten copper coins from his pocket and placed it on the counter. "We'll take it."

The innkeeper shook his head. "First contract is free for you. I must tell you that this is not a closed contract."

Aiden frowned slightly. "And you have no closed contracts with similar specifications?"

"None." The innkeeper shook his head. "All currently available contracts are open. This one is especially so since the pay is per salamander head."

Valdan placed a hand on the counter, drawing the attention to him. "And is this on the adventure society's radar?"

"No." The innkeeper finally placed the glass cup down but immediately picked up another. "The Salamanders haven't really harmed anybody, or any goods related to anybody. Their presence is simply a threat to the people living close to the environment. So, they are not interested in doing anything."

That made sense. Monsters, as deadly as they were, were part of the ecosystem of Nastild. They all served their purpose in their own ways. As such, the Adventure Society, being a completely legitimate establishment, only hunted them down when they were an active threat. A monster living on its own and minding its own business was not on the Adventure Society's list, no matter how deadly it seemed.

When you had monsters you wanted to get rid of simply because you didn't like them, you went to the mercenaries. You could also do the same for monsters that were a problem, but everyone sent the contracts to the adventure society because they were far cheaper than hiring mercenaries.

Sometimes the adventure society didn't even charge to have the monsters dealt with.

"How many mercenaries have gotten their hands on the contract so far?" Aiden asked.

"You're the second group." The innkeeper nodded towards one end of the bar. "That's the only other group. From what I know, they'll be heading out to deal with the contract tomorrow morning. Maybe you could set up a plan with them or buy out their participation."

Aiden was interested in none of the ideas. Valdan and Ted would benefit from human interference during one of their jobs. It would teach them how to react to unforeseen interruptions.

"It's fine," he said in the end. "We'll figure it out as we go."

The innkeeper nodded, showing that he wasn't really interested in whatever it was that they chose to do. When he spoke again, it had nothing to do with the contract.

"Nice coat," he said. "Willing to sell it for a price?"

"No."

"How unfortunate. I know someone who would've offered a good price for it." The man shook his head. Reaching under the counter, he pulled out a notice and placed it on the table. "Here's your contract. Now let me go get you your Alnosia."

He turned and walked away, leaving Aiden staring down at a contract requesting the extermination of a group of Salamanders with levels in the sixties to seventies.

"Will I be the only one handling this?" Valdan asked.

Aiden shook his head. "All three of us will. And as usual, no lethal injuries and no killing."

Valdan groaned at the same time Ted did.

"Why are we learning not to kill monsters, Aiden?" Valdan asked.

"Because it teaches you how to control your strength. Not everything deserves to die." Aiden folded up the notice and slipped it into one of his pockets. Then he took his coins and did the same, slipping them into his pocket. "Knowing how to knock something out without killing it teaches you strength in a different way."

Ted snorted. "You're just making this up as you go, aren't you?"

Aiden shot his brother a grin. "Who knows, Ted? Who knows."

"But it is useful?" Valdan asked.

"Very," Aiden confirmed. "True strength lies in the ability to completely control your strength. Would you not agree?"

"I would."

"Me, too," Ted opined. "Also, how the hell did they make a milkshake taste so different yet so good."

"The secret is in the Ferubiat sperm," Valdan answered easily. "When mixed with a Null Serpent's milk, it gives it that exotic taste you're getti… what?"

Ted had his mouth open, and the milk dribbled down his jaw. "You're telling me that I'm drinking snake breast milk and sperm?"

He looked alarmed and appalled.

"It is quite the drink, actually," Valdan explained, confused. "You can tell because of how expensive it is. I'm even surprised they have it here."

"Snake breast milk and sperm," Ted muttered, eyes wide in shock. "What have I done?"

Aiden couldn't stop the chuckle that left his lips. The look on Ted's face was just too funny. For a little bit of extra entertainment, he leaned into his brother and whispered into his ear.

"Who said anything about snake's breast milk?"

Ted gagged, forcing Aiden to step away from him, laughing.

"Why would you let me order it?" Ted asked in accusation. "This is not fair."

"I thought you knew what it was," Valdan answered.

Ted pointed at Aiden as the innkeeper returned. "He said it's not breast milk. Is that true?" he asked Valdan. "Tell me it's not."

Valdan gave him a confused look. "The Null snake does not have breasts."

Ted's eyes grew wider and Aiden enjoyed the show, even though he was feeling a little bad. The truth was that the milkshake on Nastild was a nice drink. It was only appalling because of the cultural shock. In truth, it was a healthy choice of drinks.

Maybe I should've stopped him, he thought, seeing the betrayed look on Ted's face. Funny enough, the look was directed at the drink.

"I feel betrayed," Ted muttered finally. "How can something so horrible taste so…"

In the end, he planted his face down on the counter and said nothing. The milkshake stared at him, waiting for him to finish it.

Valdan looked at Aiden. "Is he allergic to Ferubiat sperm?"

"It's a culture thing," Aiden said. "Nobody drinks any kind of sperm where we come from."

"Oh."

"Don't worry about him. It's just a bit of cultural shock. I'm more worried about what he's planning to do to me as payback for allowing him to drink it."

Valdan looked between the both of them as the innkeeper moved to attend to another person down the bar.

"So, he'll be fine?" he asked.

Aiden nodded. "He'll be fine."

The words had barely left his lips when the hair on the back of his neck stood. His eyes moved immediately. Nothing had been done to him. All that was happening was just a feeling. Still, when he turned, it was in the direction of the mercenary team that was sharing the contract with them.

All five of them had their eyes focused on him, Valdan, and Ted. There was something in their gaze, something worrying.

I guess this won't be a walk in the park, Aiden thought.

He would have to make some adjustments to his plans.

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