Lucian smiled towards Fraden, swiping away the sweat formed at his forehead, the slight breeze through the bustling streets causing a slight shiver to form. "Well then, Fraden, do you know how the Blueblood's Circle works? Or at least something to point towards them and how to reach out and contact them in any way?" Lucian asked.
"Well, I do drop off my goods in one of the houses on Lemondeed Street, one of the least patrolled streets in the entirety of Waterbridge. I would be heading over there in not too long. Maybe that can indicate something?" Fraden explained, tilting his head slightly down, feeling Roderic's immensely scary gaze.
As all Roderic was doing was just watching the two, as even if he promised to help, it wouldn't go beyond fighting, creating a slightly uneasy feeling for Fraden, feeling almost like a ravenous animal was looking down at him.
Suddenly Fraden's stomach growled, causing an awkward atmosphere to appear. Roderic went up to Lucian's ear. "Um, I already know what you are thinking of doing, and I believe not giving him food would be the better idea. We're not financially stable enough to be giving away free food like this... The journey ahead is still quite far, so it could take some time, which would be nicer with Rin in hand..." Roderic whispered, already knowing what Lucian was about to do.
"Well... We could at least offer him a cheap meal, right? Like stale bread, perhaps?" Lucian said, pushing away Roderic's concern.
Fraden looked towards Lucian. "Don't worry about me... But if you don't mind giving away some stale bread, I won't complain in any way..." Fraden hesitated, but feeling the pain churning through his stomach, he decided that if he had the chance, he would take it.
"Well then, it's settled. Let's get moving then," Lucian declared, grabbing Fraden's hand, helping him through the tight crowd, as Fraden's height wasn't enough to properly follow the two without getting lost.
Walking through the street, they noticed a bakery. The architecture followed the normal principle as other buildings, keeping a blue bricked base with lime mortar covering the entire upper part of the building. A light brown sign saying "Blueriver Bakery" hung over the entrance of the building.
Walking in through the door, a bell clanked. An old man stood behind the counter, covered in scars, his left eye hidden by an eye patch. Long white hair was tied into a bun, and his beard hung nearly as long.
"Hey, what could I do for you three?" the old man said, trying his best to give a warm, pleasant smile, struggling slightly to do so with his stern face.
"Well, if possible, do you have any stale bread we could purchase?" Lucian asked, trying to give the man a pleasant smile back.
The old man sighed before responding, "Well, yes, I do sell stale bread at a reduced price. How much would you like?" He seemed slightly disappointed with his new customers.
Lucian was about to reply before Roderic quickly interrupted. "Two stale loaves for the kid, and for me, give me an apple tart!" Roderic had planned all of this ahead, using the moment to get some dessert even if it was expensive.
Lucian's eyes grew pale as his eyelids widened before returning to normal after realizing that Roderic was a massive glutton.
Fraden felt himself laugh for the first time in years, struggling to keep it in. The stress formed from years of robbing and interacting with the Bluebloods had made him tired and weary, so experiencing something beyond that felt a little weird.
All three looked over at Fraden, wondering what possible reason he could have to laugh, slightly shocking them all. Fraden quickly picked up on their shock and stopped laughing, retreating slightly back into his hollow self.
"What's so funny?" Roderic quickly reacted to Fraden's laugh.
"N-nothing... Don't worry about it..." Fraden mumbled, Roderic's sharp tone scaring the young boy.
The baker looked over at Roderic and said, "Well, of course, if you want apple tart, I have lots. Forty Rin a piece, and for the bread, because it's stale, it goes for about five Rin for each loaf." The baker's earlier disappointment disappeared now that they were actually ordering something proper.
Lucian felt slightly angry at Roderic for using their money for something like this,
but as Roderic would most likely be his protector when facing the Bluebloods, he didn't mind Roderic getting one tart.
"Okay then," the baker said before walking into a room behind the counter. After a bit of time, he came back with one apple tart and two stale loaves of bread. "Here you go," he said as he reached over the counter, taking the money Roderic had placed there and giving the tart over to the fur-coated man and the two loaves over to the uncleanly boy.
"Well then, be off, you guys," the baker said before walking back into the same room he came from.
All three of them walked out, the kid nibbling on one of the loaves, struggling to chew it as the taste and texture were unappealing. But as he was still starving, he didn't mind it all too much.
Lucian carried the other loaf while Roderic took small bites, enjoying his dessert to the fullest.
"So, Fraden, I'm wondering which way is Lemondeed Street, anyway?" Lucian questioned.
"Well, if we move to the left side of the market, we will arrive at the outer quarter where most middle to low class people live, and when we arrive there and move to the right side near the river, we will arrive at Lemondeed Street..." Fraden mumbled, still slightly struggling to speak up properly.
"Not too bad of a description, nice work. On to the next question then, when are you supposed to meet over there to hand over the stolen loot?" Lucian praised before asking for more details, trying his best to warm up to the boy.
"Uh, um, thanks. Well, it would be around now that I would be heading over..." Fraden explained, his confidence gaining a slight boost as he had never really been praised before.
Lucian nodded. "Okay then, if it's around now you were to go meet them, it would also be the best time for us to meet them and have a 'nice greeting,' as you could say." Fraden nodded tensely, as Lucian started moving towards their inn, planning on placing all their newly purchased produce.
Lucian looked around in an observant manner, looking around to see if perhaps the kid was being watched. Roderic, on the other hand, still kept taking small bites from his dessert, continuously enjoying the tart's apple flavor and texture to the max. The overwhelming sweetness while pleasantly tart flavor was to die for, while the bread felt like a nice mixer to the apple chunks.
Continuing on, they swerved through crowds, entered the inn, moved upstairs, and placed down their newly bought items before continuing out.
Keaster, the innkeeper, kept a keen eye on the boy, wondering why such a filthy child was kept to the side of his two customers, ending the thought as they left the building.
Following Fraden, they managed to exit the market. Looking around, they saw that the quality of buildings was not as equal as the market's, many buildings being slightly worn down while others looked newly built, not all too surprising to both Lucian and Roderic as the city's size wasn't all too big compared to the big cities.
Following down the streets, moving throughout, they dodged many wacky people, some drunk, others seeming to just be crazy. A few women tried to swerve over to Lucian and Roderic, seeming to be prostitutes.
Both Lucian and Roderic ignored them as a kid was by their side.
Now nearing the river, they saw they were at Hushten Street. To Fraden's understanding, he knew they were close to Lemondeed Street.
The city's architecture still kept its style even though the quality of the buildings seemed to be dipping, as the city's edges were almost acceptable to be called slums, explaining the reason for lesser supervision over the area.
As they moved through the narrowing streets, many alehouses and strange shops of all kinds began to appear. A few women who seemed to be unlicensed prostitutes moved around the area, walking up to men, though most ignored them. The women themselves seemed strangely wary, constantly watching their surroundings.
Lucian understood why. They were looking out for patrolling guards, staying alert to avoid being caught working without the guild's approval. He'd encountered similar situations in the capital before.
Fraden ignored all of it, just continuously moving forward along the street, trying his best to keep a low profile to avoid attention from scammers, drunkards, and a daring enough prostitute.
Though as Roderic had extravagant looks beyond his horrible personality, it was almost a guarantee for a prostitute to follow up to Roderic. Lucian, on the other hand, was pretty bland appearance-wise, so he wasn't a usual target, but it had happened a few times.
A loosely dirty-blond-haired woman came over, wearing a slightly worn, dull blue dress. Her dress's neckline was slightly below what was perceived as respectable, her cleavage being shown. She walked over to Roderic, trying to move in a seductive manner with an alluring expression.
Once up to the fur-coated man, she purred, "Hey there, handsome. Do you perhaps want to accompany me back to my chambers? I don't mind reducing the price for such a fine-looking man as yourself." The dirty-blond woman coaxed towards Roderic as Roderic's face didn't change in the slightest, almost appearing to be as unaffected as if a fish was thrown towards a brick wall.
"Yeah, no. Now move along, missy, I don't have time to discuss this," Roderic replied, as if he were rejecting a beggar asking for Rin.
Moving away, the dirty-blond woman looked towards Lucian, looking slightly wary. Lucian fully ignored it. She wasn't all too affected by Roderic's answer, as being declined was basically one of the most common parts of this terrible job, only ending up walking towards another man, trying to catch a customer to get food on the table.
Roderic and Lucian kept following Fraden, finally seeing a street sign which in slightly unclear letters spelled out "Lemondeed Street." The street around was even more unclean than Hushten Street.
Fraden pointed towards a building which was a bit taller than the rest. "There. There is where I'm supposed to meet up with a few of the brothers from the Bluebloods," Fraden said with slight melancholy and worry in his voice. He felt the thought of bringing two randoms who caught him stealing here to protect him from what he knew to be the ultimate force of this city. He felt almost as if all his innards were falling off a deep ledge, a deep dark feeling swirling inside, as Lucian could see the worry on his face.
"Don't worry, we're here if it gets too scary. Don't worry, kid," Lucian affirmed, acting slightly on instincts from his earlier knight life.
"Thank you, sir... Sadly, I don't really know what to offer you two when you actually finish this..." Fraden mumbled, looking down towards his feet.
Lucian looked surprised towards Fraden, his surprise quickly turning into a smile. "Don't worry, no reward is needed. As I said before, helping people is just what I do. Nothing will remove that. And beyond that, those Bluebloods are weak. They have nothing on us!" He reassured the boy. Fraden finally felt as if he had the courage to step in and fight for his right to live a normal life as a boy his age should be able to have. His previously worried expression shifted towards a slightly tense smile.
He immediately started walking towards the building, now with a new courage which he had never experienced once in his life, as all the courage he had ever had was following the commands of the Bluebloods.
His steps were now full of determination.
Roderic rolled his eyes at the interaction, focusing back onto the building where the Bluebloods were supposedly supposed to be. The building itself had slight rubble falling off one of the edges, as the maintenance of the building was horrible, seeming to be one of the first buildings to be built in Waterbridge. The architecture still seemed to be the same as all the others, at least keeping the eyes of the guards and knights fully off it as it was as plain as could be.
As they moved up to the entrance of the house, Lucian noticed the door was locked. No pulling or twirling on the handle helped. Roderic in that moment quickly moved to the side, kicking through the door, as the door snapped in half, flying as two pieces straight through the entrance.
One of the Bluebloods who stood guard near the door was moving towards it silently, trying to see what was going on, only to end up getting decapitated by the upper piece of the door, blood gushing everywhere. The Blueblood's head spun and flew into the next room. A few of the other brothers noticed the man's decapitated head, free of emotion, as the man never realized he died.
"I see no blue blood," Roderic scoffed, looking around the room. Lucian's reaction this time was less distant than before, as he had experienced many similar situations around Roderic in a short span of time. On the other hand, for the boy, he had never seen such strength his mind utterly confused by the strength as he looked towards the pulsing of blood spurting out of the body while the body fell over in an anticlimactic splat, causing the boy to run to a nearby bush, puking out all his previously eaten bread.
Roderic only managed to sigh as the boy had puked around ten Rin worth of stale bread, focusing back onto the building and finally entering with Lucian.
"Hey Lucian, as I said, I'll only help when needed. Fighting so many people will be great practice. Perhaps it could entice the elders to give you permission to become a mage if you're lucky," Roderic hinted. Lucian felt himself become more motivated, as inside he felt a need to become stronger, since strength was one of the pillars for helping people in need.
Moving through the dirty, now bloody corridor, they saw two men run through the room in front, each holding a sword in hand, one longer while the other shorter.
"Who the hell are you people!?" screamed one of the men, continuing to run forward, preparing his sword to swiftly poke the fur-coated man. Roderic stood motionless, just watching him before the man's head flew right off, Lucian's blade passing through the neck like butter, blood gushing and splashing onto the other man next to him, who was preparing his blade for the man in the kettle helmet. His eyes widened from the shock, quickly realizing his fate.
The man knew the only way for him to survive now was to catch the armored man off guard, so he swiftly slashed towards one of the armor's weak points, quickly switching his attack into a crouch as he swiped his leg under the man with the kettle helmet, trying to catch him off guard.
Lucian, who was anticipating the man's slash, fell to the man's quick leg sweep but managed to catch himself before slashing with his full might towards the man's neck. As the sword sliced through the man's windpipe, leading him to choke on his own blood, Lucian caught his balance properly before swiftly ending the man's suffering by slicing his head off.
"Phew, he almost got me!" Lucian gasped. Roderic grabbed his mouth in an attempt to not laugh, ending up only letting out small sounds, which Lucian quickly picked up on. "It's not funny, it's a serious situation!" Lucian said, now slightly annoyed. Roderic grasped even harder as the laughter was now even harder to contain, and he laughed out loud, alerting the men upstairs.
"Come on, man, that was really unnecessary," Lucian chided as Roderic continued laughing. Fraden, now done puking, moved slowly towards the door. As he saw the three corpses lying on the ground, his stomach twisted even further, but experience through his harsh life made it possible to keep it down, as he knew the killing of the men was needed to let him live the normal life he deserved.
He thought as he moved through the door, moving behind Lucian, who patted him on the back to reassure him.