章節 15: The Capital
"You see why you should just be a good bear and eat grass?" Lauren advised, placing his right boot on the head of a bear covered from head to toe in grayish rocks.
Heavily kicking the bear in its temple, Lauren added, "If you had been a grass-eating bear, you'd have retained your freedom. Alas, you just had to pounce after seeing a human as delicious-looking as me."
"Stop deceiving it," Tega chuckled. Grinning lightly, he added, "Knowing you, you'd still attack it even if it only ate inorganic matter."
Shamelessly, Lauren placed his hand on his chest and declared, "I know I'm not a man of my word, but I'm still sensible."
"Whatever, let's get going." Tega laughed, soon ignoring Lauren, who was overreacting.
Shelving his playful side after seeing Tega's reaction, Lauren had a slightly bothered look on his face as he asked, "How are we going to get this half-ton motherf*cker to the capital?"
"Which other way apart from pulling?" Tega replied, meeting Lauren's gaze with an amused look.
"No, no, no… You can't possibly expect me to pull this obese bear more than a freaking mile!" Lauren yelled, his tone dramatic, his actions making it unclear whether he was serious or faking.
"If you can't, I can't possibly do it either." Tega shrugged, sparing a quick glance at the wreckage around them.
"You're aware I use illusions, right?" Lauren began, his tone suddenly aggrieved. "I'm a mage—I'm supposed to be in the backline."
Dramatically rolling up his sleeves and flexing his arms, Lauren added, "As you can see, I have that skinny-man build."
"And as you know, child labor is a crime," Tega shrugged again, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he began walking away.
"Fine, just call them," Lauren replied, finally admitting defeat after seeing Tega was already three meters away from him.
"I thought you'd be a good role model and drag it." Tega teased, looking at Lauren. He continued, "Who would be paying them?"
"Model my *ss. Just call those blood-sucking bastards. I'll pay," Lauren facepalmed, subconsciously wishing farewell to his hard-earned cash.
Pulling out a scroll from his bag, Tega nodded, pleased by Lauren's choice.
"That's more like it," he said, ripping the scroll apart.
Bewildered, Lauren stared at what was left of the scroll and couldn't help but say, "Is that it?"
He had expected a bit more flashiness since they were going to involve a race at the top of the pyramid, but maybe his expectations were just a bit too high.
"I guess that's it," Lauren muttered, staring at where the scroll's remains were.
It wasn't that his expectations were too high; it was just that they were too insignificant. It would be shameful to those at the top if a bunch of nobodies got the same treatment they did.
Ignoring Lauren's dumb question, as even illiterates should figure out it was due to baseless pride, Tega brought a fruit out of his bag before biting into it.
He had decided to wait for their delivery man in comfortable silence.
---
"Took you long enough," Lauren snarled, glaring at an enormous silver-scaled worm hovering in front of them.
The creature's shimmering body reflected the dim dusk light, giving it an almost ethereal presence.
"Space traffic," the worm replied telepathically, its tone so casual it might have been talking to its friends.
Lauren's brow twitched. "Space traffic? You create the tunnels!"
The worm ignored him, its elongated head swiveling to face Tega. "Please hurry. The sun isn't good for my skin."
Lauren pointed a finger toward the horizon, where the sun had long since dipped below the trees. "What sun? We contacted your company this morning! You've had all day!"
Unbothered, the worm lowered its body, ignoring Lauren's tirade. "Where's the package?"
"It's under you," Tega said, nodding toward the bear's body. His tone remained calm, though there was a hint of impatience. "Deliver it to the capital in thirty minutes, or I'll leave a review."
The worm recoiled slightly, its scales rippling in what might've been a shiver. "Review? Surely you wouldn't—"
Tega took a step closer, cutting the worm off. "And don't think it's an empty threat. I've been collecting dirt on your company. Imagine how useful that information would be to your competitors."
The worm hesitated before finally muttering, "Fine," and wrapped its body around the bear.
Lauren watched in amusement before adding, "Cool guy, right? He's my student."
Bidding farewell to the dumbstruck worm, the duo left the poor creature to think about what it had done to deserve this.
'Was it because I slept with my sister-in-law and her mother?' The worm floated into the air, muttering to itself as it disappeared into a spatial rift.
---
As they neared the edge of the forest, the quiet grew unsettling. The chirping of insects and rustling leaves faded, replaced by an unnatural stillness.
"You feel that?" Lauren muttered, glancing around.
Tega nodded, his eyes scanning the shadows. "Something's off."
The faint sound of footsteps emerged, deliberate and heavy, followed by a gravelly voice. "Stop right there!"
The moment the old man stepped out from the shadows, Tega and Lauren both stopped in their tracks. His weak frame seemed too fragile to pose a threat, but the way his eyes gleamed suggested otherwise.
"Well, well," the man said, his voice gravelly but steady. "Looks like we've found some easy pickings."
Behind him, two men emerged—a lanky figure with a single eye and a short man who barely reached his waist.
The short man puffed out his chest. "You've wandered into our domain! And we don't take kindly to trespassers."
"Gumcharo, shut up," the lanky man interrupted, rolling his eye. "Last time you said that, we got robbed instead of doing the robbing."
"I'm trying to intimidate them, Gary!" Gumcharo snapped, turning red.
The old man ignored them. "Enough talk. Hand over your loot, and maybe we won't kill you."
Tega's voice cut through the banter like a knife. "Move aside, or you'll regret it."
"Big talk from dead men." The old man grinned, lunging forward with his rusty sword glinting weakly in the dim light.
Lauren sidestepped with ease, letting the man stumble forward into Gumcharo, who was frantically aiming a slingshot. The shot fired, striking the old man square in the back of the head.
"Boss! I'm sorry!" Gumcharo cried, panic setting in.
Lauren let out a dramatic sigh, facepalming. He muttered, "Amateurs."
Tega glanced at the bandits, his expression blank. "You should've stayed hidden," he said flatly.
The old man faltered for a moment, his confidence wavering. But then he shook his head. "Don't think you can scare me, boy!"
Lauren chuckled. "Oh, he's not trying to scare you. That's just his face."
Wiping out the bandit group in the blink of an eye, Lauren stared at the last conscious member before him.
The short man froze, his face pale. "P-please don't kill me! I have a sick mother and an old daughter!"
Lauren crouched beside him, smiling under his mask. "Yeah, me too," he said before knocking the man unconscious.
As they tied up the bandits and continued toward the city gates, Lauren sighed dramatically. "Even third-rate bandits think we're easy prey. Do I look that weak to you?"
Tega smirked. "No. But you do look annoying."
Lauren rolled his eyes. "You're just jealous of my charisma."
"Sure. Let's go with that," Tega said, quickening his pace as the city loomed ahead.
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