The group stood there for a good long moment, as they watched the fleeing fox-kin. Then the entire company broke out into laughter. They removed their masks, displaying the same faceless features. Now that the trick was done, the faceless part separated from their actual faces. The lumps of white skin dropped to the floor, reforming into Quinn's slime clones.
Among them, Quinn was doubled over with laughter, banging the ground as he gasped for breath. It was only once he had re-absorbed his slime clones that he was able to stop laughing enough to speak.
"That was the most satisfying encounter I have ever had with those wretched creatures!" Quinn said, chortling.
Soon enough, he was able to recover from his near uncontrollable laughing fit. Yet, for the rest of the day, he would still break into laughter. The thought of those fox-kin fleeing as if their tails were on fire was just so satisfying.
"That was a mere child's play." Robin chuckled. Then her expression became somewhat more serious. "I'm afraid we can't use such an elementary tactic when we're up against the strategist."
"Isn't it our objective not to go up against him?" Christian asked, confused.
"Let me answer that." Quinn interjected. "Our Strategist is a highly intellectual person. As an intellectual, there are only three different kinds of people to him: those he considers his superiors, those he considers his equal, and those he considers inferior to him. Each different kind of person gets different treatment." Quinn shrugged as he shook his head and sighed.
"To those superior to him,he shows deference. But, those inferior to him aren't even qualified to meet him on speaking terms. They can only be manipulated as pawns on his chessboard. It is only when we can prove to be his equal that he will hear us out."
Robin grumbled. "I thought as much. As an intellectual, he sure does have no small amount of pride."
Quinn nodded. "Tell me about it. I was lucky enough to accidentally be considered his equal by a misunderstanding due to him overanalyzing my actions alongside a well-placed bluff. I cannot actually beat him in a battle of wits."
"Then, can't you talk to him for us?" Christian asked.
"In order to obtain his seal, you must gain his approval." Quinn shook his head. "He will definitely not approve of you if he does not meet you."
"And that is why I said I need to adjust my mentality." Robin said, frowning as she stared into the flames. "There are two main things I want everyone to try their utmost to do during our stay in the city."
"What are they?" Jasmine asked.
Robin held up one finger. "First, don't promise anyone anything-gold or otherwise. Say nothing without fully considering the consequences of your words to anyone. Since it is the Strategist's city, there will most likely be like-minded swindlers."
Chelsea, and everyone else nodded. Jasmine laughed.
"Doesn't that mean that we should sew Christian's mouth closed? He's more likely to get himself caught in every net he encounters."
Robin smiled, looking at Christian. "No need." She didn't explain her reasons, but simply continued her instructions. "Second, I hope that you will co-operate with me in following all orders that I will demand of you, down to the very last detail."
"We'll do our best!" Gerard saluted. The others were a step behind, but they also agreed.
And with that, they once more piled into the carriage. Robin stared silently out the window, calculating situations in her head. It was similar to the scenario planning she had gone through during guard training for protecting her older brother. Quinn sat up front with the driver.
When the fox-eared soldiers at the city gates saw Quinn, they smiled and called out to him.
"Hey, I haven't seen your mug around in a while. How are you doing?"
"Fine. I met someone from my homeland along the way, out travelling, and they were on their way here, so I hitched a ride with them. Since they're new to the area, would you give them a rundown of the rules?" Quinn said.
"Sure! No problem!" the guard said. "There are only three rules in this city. One, do not kill. Two, do not lie. Three, keep your word. And remember that the law is magically enforced, here."
"Don't I know it!" Quinn chuckled. "I won't forget the time you swindled me out of two gold coins when the entrance was free."
"Yer fault for getting duped, Quinn. You know the rules say nothing about stealing." The guard smirked. "Although we here wouldn't mind another extra gold coin for drinks after hours."
"Aishh...take it as me being soft-hearted then, and get you and your guard mates something good with this." Quinn flicked a silver coin at them.
"Will do, heheh. Welcome to Nine Tails City. You should enter the city more often, Quinn."
"Nah. I get the feeling that my pockets would be emptied much faster, should I do so." Quinn chuckled.
"Ye'd be right, ye'd be right. But we'd be much better off for it." The guard snickered as the carriage began to move again.
"See you later, Braum." Quinn winked.
Inside the city, Quinn made it clear to the locals that this carriage was under his protection. The word games the common folk used were of no use against him.
Before they reached the inner walls, Quinn explained to them.
"Past the inner walls there's a restriction that folks are not allowed to swindle anyone under the roofs of the inns. The ironic part was that the innkeepers were swindled into making it a rule." He chuckled. "So now they can't go back on it."
"Hey, I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but what did the guard mean back their when he said that the laws are magically enforced?" Gerard asked.
Robin looked at Chelsea and Jasmine. If anyone would know about it, it would be one of those two. Surprisingly, though, it Was Keith who spoke up.
"Well, it actually is rare enough for the regular people not to know about, so Allow me to explain." He stood up and used the magic chalkboard.
"There are certain demons who are better at using mana than others, to the point where they can also manipulate their surroundings to a great deal." Keith drew a stick figure with squiggly lines radiating out from it.
"These demons have a surrounding area of influence called a domain." Keith circled the stick figure. Then he drew another stick figure outside the circle.
"If you are outside that domain, nothing happens. But, if you enter into that domain..." He drew another stick figure inside the circle. "Then, unless you have a high willpower you can't avoid being affected by the domain. This is one of the reasons why the strategist is a formidable opponent."
"So, for the laws to be magically enforced, doesn't that mean that Mr. Argon Nine Tails has a domain that covers the whole city?" Robin asked.
"You're pretty sharp." Keith noted. "Yes. The fact that the rules are magically enforced means that the range of Argon's domain can cover at the very least the entire city. This kind of ability was a nightmare for our troops fifteen years ago."
Christian hissed as he drew in a sharp breath. He could already imagine the ordered troops suddenly falling apart due to confusion.
"I can understand Gerard not knowing about it." Robin nodded. "But, Christian, how come you don't know about this stuff?"
Christian made a face. "It's because of my fighting instructor. He would beat me into shape in the mornings, but I was usually so tired that I would fall asleep during my history lessons."
"Oh? So you weren't just skipping out to have fun?" Jasmine asked.
"D you honestly think I had any schedule leeway to waste my time in the town? Especially during the times when the instructor was at the castle, I would have no energy after the morning." Christian made a bitter face.
"Hmmm...But, then how did you get to know that group of friends of yours?" Jasmine asked.
"I snuck out on days when the instructor wasn't in the capital." Christian explained. "That's another reason why it's just so blasted difficult for me to leave the citadel. They caught on to my methods from my youth."
Jasmine rolled her eyes, and Keith sighed. Christian had grown from a small troublemaker into a bigger troublemaker. Who had said that the wild and troublesome becomes wiser with age? They had obviously never met Christian.
"Oh. It seems we've arrived." Sir Drago commented, looking out the window.
When they entered the inn, Quinn gave them another quick explanation in front of the innkeeper.
"When requesting for things, you must be careful about your words. There are ways of saying things that can be interpreted two different ways. For example..." Quinn took out two gold and placed them on the check in counter.
"Give us four rooms: two large, two regular size."
The innkeeper smiled at him, then pushed the coins back. "Apologies. I cannot give you any room."
Quinn nodded. "Words must not be said or agreed upon casually. The innkeeper was right to refuse. Even a single word can cause you to be denied purchase or agreement."
Then Quinn pushed the two gold coins back towards the innkeeper. "I am willing to give you two gold coins in exchange that you lend us the exclusive use of two bedrooms for groups, as well as two regular bedrooms, for the duration of one month, starting today. Do you accept?"
"I do." The innkeeper nodded, pocketing the gold coins. Then he handed over four keys. "Welcome to Honest Inn. I hope you enjoy your stay." The innkeeper smiled.
Quinn turned back to the group. "Let this be a lesson for you. In the case of temporary acquisition, you must always include a time limit, and method of payment. In the case of permanent acquisitions, you must include a method of payment, as well as the fact that the transfer will be permanent. This prevents them from using the loopholes in the deal to steal it back."
"So any trades must be phrased like a legal contract, huh?" Robin mused. "Interesting..."
"It's not interesting. It's a nightmare." Christian shook his head. "What difference was there in what he said to the inkeeper, aside from more words?"
"Actually, what he said was, in face value, completely different." Robin pointed out.
"The first time, he asked the innkeeper to 'give' him those rooms-not adding a time limit. This could mean two different things. The first interpretation is to transfer ownership, literally 'giving' a room away for free, seeing that there was no payment mentioned. The second interpretation is that the inkeeper could give him the room for one second, and then take it back, since permanent ownership was not specified. Either way, Quinn would not be able to rent those rooms like how he intended." She explained.
"In the outer ring, I suspect the inns there would have accepted Quinn's dubious first contract in order to gain profit. But, since the inns here cannot swindle, they cannot accept the contract."
Realization dawned upon the group. So that is how it was.
"For the duration of our stay, you cannot accept or agree to anything before consulting me, Quinn, or Jasmine. Do you accept this restriction?" Robin asked the group.
"Yes!" everyone else immediately agreed, but Christian asked a question, instead.
"What about Jasmine? Wouldn't that mean she would be able to get away with consulting herself?"
"It's not Jasmine's wits that I am concerned about." Robin rolled her eyes, causing the company to laugh.
"No-No need to laugh!" Christian exclaimed with a rare stutter. Robin blinked, but said no more on the subject. Quinn left to see about getting an audience with the strategist that afternoon, and the company settled down in their rooms.
But, at a certain point in the afternoon, the girls decided to go out shopping.
"Come on, Robin. We need a strong man to be there to prevent trouble." Jasmine winked as she and Chelsea dragged Robin out with them.
There were many commodities in abundance in this town: ornate mirrors, colored smoke, makeup and costumes, as well as various food stalls lining the streets. Robin even found a stall selling ramen.
Seeing that there were a lot of fox-kin around, and that those that looked human still sported fox ears and a tail, Robin felt that their group of mostly humans stood out.
It wasn't long before they ran into trouble.
--------
"They've been gone for a while now." Sir Drago observed.
"Don't worry about it. Women's shopping lasts hours. They probably pulled Robin along to carry the bags." Christian waved his hand dismissively.
"Bard Quinn has also not returned." Sir Drago noted.
"He's probably catching up with his old friend, or going through legal procedures right now. If they decide to start drinking, he may even stay there overnight." Keith replied.
"But..." Sir Drago fidgited. "I want to go out and look around."
"Why didn't you accompany Robin's group?" Christian asked.
"I thought Bard Quinn would be back soon. And I....wasn't invited." He replied, sadly.
"Wait a minute. If you're just looking around, it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Sir Raymond pointed out. "We only have to consult them for purchases and agreements. If we don't say anything while we're out, it shouldn't be a problem to take a quick stroll about the city."
"He's right. He's right!" Sir Gray clapped Sir Drago on the shoulder.
"Just looking around isn't a problem! I'll come with you. My sister is a big fan of the fox-kin's superior cosmetics, so I know a few things about this town."
"Oy, and you never told us? I'm hurt." Sir Raymond teased.
"While you're here, how about you get some face powder as well for your dar-ling fiancee." Grey returned the favor.
"Urk! my wallet." Sir Raymond looked pitiful.
"Will my life savings survive this trip, I wonder?"
Sir Gray laughed aloud as he, Sir Raymond, and Sir Drago left the inn.
Sir Drago wasn't a talkative person, so he was content just looking at things, and occasionally asking questions. At that point, only Keith, Christian and the rest of the knights were still in the inn.
"It shouldn't be a problem just going out for a look, right?" Christian muttered.
"I disagree. You would immediately attract misfortune." Keith was adamant this time. "What if you annoy the strategist to the point where he magically manipulates you into cutting off your own head? You've been lucky enough so far, but who knows when your lucky streak will end?"
"Che! But still, it isn't fair that everyone else gets to go out!" Christian made a face.
"If it's going out to take a look, then tomorrow is just as good as today." Keith replied evenly. "You know this is an important period of time for Robin. Let's not make things more difficult for him."
"...Fine." Christian growled with a black face. Keith had hit upon his weak spot. He really did feel guilty towards Robin for all the trouble he had caused the young man.
"I will wait one day, and not a moment more!" Christian declared.
-----
"Hey hey, pretty lady, why don't you come play with us?" A sleazy-looking humanoid with fox ears crooned.
Chelsea turned about, and smiled lightly.
"I'm wearing a veil. How surprising is it that you think I am beautiful without even seeing my face. If I were actually ugly, then I wonder what your friends will think about your sense of beauty."
"That's something that can easily be fixed." The fox reached his hand out, only to snatch it back when a sharp icicle fell from the sky.
"I suppose it might,but your hand wouldn't. Your legs as well would be difficult to treat..." Chelsea chuckled darkly. "Keep your hands to yourself, or I don't mind using your three legs for target practice."
The sleaze-ball shrunk back away from Chelsea. "Ooh we've got a nice cold one here." he chuckled.
"No you don't." Robin replied, stepping forward. "My companions will never become acquainted with you, or any cheap tricksters like you, right girls?" She asked them. This effectively cut off any chance of the foxes kidnapping the two women.
"Right!" They answered emphatically.
"You!" The sleazy fox scowled darkly.
"What you?" Robin asked. "If you got something to say, then finish it! Provocations are not allowed though. You can keep those to yourself."
The fox man clicked his tongue and continued on his way. Robin watched him leave before she turned to the two behind her. "I get the feeling he went to go call his friends to come out and play." She said.
"Who wants to play with those scoundrels!" Jasmine scolded. "I was this close to blasting them outside the city! Hmmmph! Making moves on our Good Chelsea!" Jasmine hugged Chelsea's arm.
"I'm flattered that you'd say that, but I can't show you my water healing arts without an injury." Chelsea replied.
"Tch!" Jasmine clicked her tongue.
Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday,
Happy Birthday to me!~
And may today be a happy day as well to all of my readers!
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