Deadmeat Saga

Chapter 9 – Simmer Down

At the 3rd sewer entrance, Troy, Axel, and Kaiden waited until Gerhart finally arrived.

"Gerhart! There you are!" Troy waved.

However, he soon paused when he saw Gerhart covered in blood.

"Gerhart?! Why are you covered in blood?!" He asked in shock. 

"..." Axel and Kaiden narrowed their eyes, eyeing the blood and then Gerhart's buckler. They already guessed something big happened.

"Bandits. I killed them." Gerhart stated.

"Bandits?! Are you okay?!" Troy asked, startled.

"I am fine. But I need to go to the guild immediately." Gerhart said.

"Then I will—" Troy was about to continue speaking but was interrupted by a pat on his shoulder.

"Shut up, Troy," Axel warned and turned to Gerhart. "Who did you offend?"

" Sorry, I can't trust you for now," Gerhart narrowed his eyes. "There are corrupt officials in the City Guard, so I must speak to my Guild Master."

Official Guilds were powerful entities, and the Adventurer's Guild was a behemoth among them, containing the strongest within the kingdom. Even the king wouldn't dare casually offend the Adventurer's Guild, let alone the City Guard or Emerald Flame.

"We understand." Kaiden nodded. "Let's go out first."

The four men quickly left the sewers. After getting cleaned and healed by the priests(Who gave weird looks toward Gerhart.), Gerhart bid farewell and rushed toward the Adventurer's Guild.

"What is going on?" Troy finally asked while looking at Gerhart.

"Someone hired killers after him," Axel said.

"But what is surprising is that he survived," Kaiden added. "Especially with nary a wound."

"Someone hired killers after him?! Why?!" Troy asked, astonished.

"Your guess is as good as mine... But things are about to get wild... I can almost smell it." Kaiden said.

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The 3rd sewer entrance wasn't too far from the guild, so it didn't take long for Gerhart to arrive.

Like before, there were three counters, but only two were occupied with long lines, with the middle being empty.

Gerhart didn't delay and walked toward Abiah's counter, where he saw him reading a book.

"Guild Master," Gerhart spoke.

"Hm?" Abiah raised his head and looked toward Gerhart before raising an eyebrow. "What happened to you? You seem a little... bloodthirsty."

"..." Gerhart didn't want to start talking about it. Instead, he took out four guild cards and slammed them on the table.

Bam*

Abiah looked toward the four cards, his eyebrows rising even higher as he picked them up and looked through them.

The other guild receptionists also paused, and the two lines of adventurers looked over, their expressions changing.

Handing over guild cards was like saying, "Someone Died." And Gerhart handed four at once.

"Come with me," Abiah said, standing up, and Gerhart followed him.

As the guild saw Gerhart following Abiah upstairs, they knew one thing.

"Something interesting is about to happen!"

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.

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Gerhart and Abiah soon reached the guild master's office. Upon opening the door, Gerhart saw the beautiful red-headed and buxom Scarlet doing paperwork.

"Hm? Father? What is the matter? And why is Gerhart with you?" Scarlet looked up and curiously asked.

"That is what I want to find out," Abiah said, sitting next to a tea table for guests. "Gerhart, come sit and explain."

"Yes." Gerhart nodded and sat across him. "Those four are hired killers, and they attacked me while I was on Sewer Sweeping. They also knew my route, so there is likely an insider from the City Guard."

"Hm... Let me guess. Emerald Flame?" Abiah asked.

"Yes." Gerhart nodded.

"I see... Do you know anything else?" Abiah asked.

"One of them mentioned he worked for Fraser the Crazy Eyes," Gerhart said.

"Fraser... Fraser... It doesn't ring a bell. He must be below B-rank." Abiah rubbed his chin and looked toward Scarlet. "Scarlet! Look up a man called Fraser the Crazy Eyes."

"Yes, Father." Scarlet nodded and opened a book, scanning it before finding the person. "Found it. He is a D-rank adventurer. He has a bad reputation and is connected to the underworld. Want me to call him over?" Scarlet asked.

"Do it. He broke my rules, and now, he will pay for it. If he resists or tries to escape, it means he is guilty... And you may break his limbs. But don't break his jaw or turn him into an idiot. I want him able to talk." Abiah chillingly ordered, sending shivers down Gerhart's spine.

"Understood." Scarlet calmly smiled, her expression unchanging as she gracefully walked toward the door.

"Oh, and Scarlet." Abiah voiced. "Don't cause a bloodbath... But you may punch a few people if they do something funny."

"I know," Scarlet replied with the same smile and opened the door.

In Gerhart's mind, Scarlet's smile looked chilling.

"Never, EVER, get on her bad side... Yep..." Gerhart swore to himself.

Once the door closed, Abiah looked toward Gerhart and asked. "Now... First, how did you grow so strong so fast? I sense you are about as strong as a lower C-rank. Are you a late-bloomer or something?" Abiah curiously asked. "But you feel a bit weak for that..."

"I think I had a partial awakening," Gerhart replied. "It just took it some time to show."

"Hm... late-bloomers are not exactly a well-researched phenomenon, so let's leave it at that," Abiah said.

"Guild Master... I am worried about my orphanage... They might do something to them..." Gerhart worriedly said.

"No worries. Nobody dares touch that place... Unless they wish to anger just about everyone, that is." Abiah waved his hand. "But I give you my word that I will do my utmost they won't suffer harm."

"Hah... Thanks..." Gerhart sighed in relief.

If the guild master gave his word, he didn't need to worry too much.

"That aside... What do you plan on doing now?" Abiah asked.

"What do you mean?" Gerhart asked.

"Although you didn't fully awaken, you at least half-awakened, right? And there is a good chance you will fully awaken. And when you do, your road to becoming an A-rank should be smooth sailing. What do you plan on doing now? And what about the future? What will you do with all your newfound power?" Abiah asked.

"Honestly, I don't know," Gerhart earnestly replied. "But becoming a high-ranking adventurer, earning money, and sending part of it to my orphanage is a start."

"Hm... Well, that is indeed a goal to work towards." Abiah nodded and got up. "It will likely take a while until Scarlet returns. I'm getting some tea. Stay here."

"Okay..." Gerhart nodded as he saw Abiah leave the room.

A few minutes later, Abiah returned with a platter with a kettle of tea, four cups with two filled with hot water, some honey, and cookies. He put them on the table and sat down. "I hope you like lemon tea."

"I never got to drink much tea, but I am willing to try. Thank you." Gerhart replied.

"It might be a bit too bitter for you. Honey?" Abiah asked while pouring tea.

"Some honey would be nice." Gerhart smiled.

Abiah nodded and added a spoon of honey to Gerhart's cup before serving it. "If it is still too bitter, have some cookies."

"Thank you!" Gerhart smiled and picked up the cup before sipping from it. "Ss... Hot..." Gerhart winced.

"Let it cool down a bit," Abiah said.

And then... There was silence. Abiah closed his eyes as if in meditation, and Gerhart didn't want to disturb him, so he looked at his cup.

After a few minutes, Abiah picked up his cup and started drinking from it. "Sss... Hah... Do you know why I like tea? Especially lemon tea?"

"Why?" Gerhart curiously asked.

"Its bitterness keeps me sober... And it reminds me to simmer down. Tea is a wonderful thing... But when it is too hot, it can scald you." Abiah said and then looked toward Gerhart. "You know, I have this annoying talent. When I look at people, I can see their bad side and can't turn it off."

"Their bad side?" Gerhart raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, their nasty side... Selfishness, Dishonesty, Irresponsibility, Malice, Lust... when I look at people, I can see their evil character, the empty side of the cup." Abiah said, looking at his tea. "So when I look at people... I see a pile of smelly shit. I get angry when a pile of shit talks to me, so I punch it. If it is someone smelly but not unbearable, I usually ignore him, but if he annoys me long enough, I punch him. Of course, nobody is perfect, but some people have little 'dirt' on them, so I treat them well. However, it also makes it easy for me to notice their flaws."

Abiah said and looked toward Gerhart. "When you came to my doorstep, you had an aura of wariness, distrust, insecurity, pent-up anger, a bit of dishonesty... And lust for my daughter... But you were otherwise fine. And I can understand why you had all those emotions. You were attacked, your party was wiped... Anyone would be wary, distrustful, insecure, and angry. And now... you awakened as a late bloomer. Your insecurity is now partially gone, but your wariness, distrust, and anger only grew... And you gained a new trait. Bloodlust."

"..." Gerhart remained silent, looking at his tea.

"I am not trying to criticize you... But let me give you some advice from someone who had rage accompany him his entire life... Tea is good in moderation and when it isn't overly hot, so simmer down." Abiah said. "Also, if it is too bitter, add some honey and cookies."

Angry Joe: "Do you know what also gets me angry? IP Theft. If you see this work on Kindle and you paid for it, you were had... Report to bignt on Scribble hub. The novel is called Deadmeat Saga."

"... Thanks for the advice." Gerhart nodded. He didn't fully understand the metaphor, but he got the hint.

The two men then drank their tea in silence. Sometimes later...

"AH!!! AH!!!" The screams of someone were faintly heard outside, and soon, the door was opened, revealing the beautiful scarlet, her guild clerk clothes and enchanting face covered in blood splatters, and she dragged a screaming man with two broken legs.

"Here he is, father. I found him in some sleazy pub after asking some adventurers where he hangs out." Scarlet said with her usual calm smile. "I only punched two others..."

"Holy shit!" Gerhart looked at Scarlet with newfound fear.

"Oof... Yeah. He is a piece of shit, alright." Abiah grimaced.

"My legs... My legsss...." The man cried in pain.

"Shut up!" Abiah yelled at the man, bloodlust overflowing in his eyes. Gerhart could almost see Abiah's calm eyes turning red like a demon.

Fraser shivered and stopped crying. He then looked at Gerhart and started shivering.

"Y-You... How are you alive?!" The man exclaimed amidst pain.

"Wow, so unprofessional. You certainly are not part of the Black Hand." Abiah commented, retracting his bloodlust. "Well? Who hired your goons to kill him?"

"Emerald Flame! It was Emerald Flame! They paid 500 Silver Coins for killing the lad! So, please! For the love of all that is holy! I need medical attention!" Fraser the Crazy Eyes cried, tears in his 'Crazy Eyes.'

"Wow... just 500 Silver Coins?" Abiah raised an eyebrow. "How petty and amateurish... Typical greedy aristocratic wannabes..."

He then turned to Scarlet, "Scarlet, get cleaned up. I will have another errand for you soon."

"Okay! What should I do with the human filth?" Scarlet asked with the same smile.

"Throw him into the holding cell... and ask someone to give him some first aid," Abiah said.

"Yes." Scarlet smiled and picked Fraser like a child before dragging him on the floor.

"W-Wait... Please! Don't drag me down the stairs!" Fraser begged, but his pleas were for naught.

After the door was closed, Gerhart heard agonizing screams, cold sweat covering him.

"So Scary!"

In his mind, the fiery beauty's danger level rose even higher.

"Hah! Don't be so scared, Gerhart," Abiah smirked and walked to his desk. "Believe me when I say this, but she is considered tame compared to some scary women I know. At least Guild Master Skyler is scarier. Wanna know why?"

"... I don't wanna know." Gerhart scrunched his face.

"You will get used to it. The stronger a woman is, the scarier she can be." Abiah said and started writing a letter.

A few minutes later, Scarlet returned to the office prim and proper.

"Scarlet, send someone to Viscount Camden and give him this letter," Abiah said, giving a sealed envelope to Scarlet.

"Okay!" Scarlet took the letter and left.

"As for you... let's submit your subjugation rewards for today. You must be exhausted, so get a hot bath, food, and sleep at the guild for today. Tomorrow, stay at the guild. I promise you will like it." Abiah stood up.

"Thank you, Guild Master..." Gerhart said.

"Just call me Abiah." Abiah smiled.

"Thank you, Abiah." Gerhart also stood up.

After that, the two men headed downstairs, and after Gerhart submitted his subjugation proofs, he ate a hot dinner, had a hot bath, rented a room, and went to sleep.

Little did he know the headache Viscount Camden was having...