Chapter 603 - 602: The Guard’s Commission

Chapter 603: Chapter 602: The Guard’s Commission

That afternoon, Colin and Ale walked toward their apartment together.

On the way, Ale asked, "Colin, aren’t we supposed to be moving into a new apartment?"

"I’m planning to wait for Kase and the others to get back so we can all look at it together. I’ve already made the arrangements with Edwin and his people, so there’s no rush," Colin replied.

"So, will we be living in the same area as now?"

"I don’t know." Colin thought for a moment. "We might end up in a different district."

"Hmm..."

Ale responded with a dejected hum, as if pondering something.

The two of them reached the apartment building and headed up the stairs. When they got to their floor, they saw two figures standing in front of Colin’s door.

Of the two people at the door, one was an old man in a silk formal suit and a soft cap. Colin had a strong impression of this man and recognized him at a glance as the butler of the Weston Clan.

The other was a tall man wearing a Black Robe.

Since most of the Sheriffs in Thousand Masts City wore Black Robes, Colin first smiled and nodded at the butler, then turned to the man in the black robe and asked, "Are you a Sheriff?"

"Yes, Mr. Colin," the Sheriff said. "We’re here to turn over the items from the attack."

"In that case, please come in." Colin stepped forward and opened his wooden door.

The moment he opened the door, he suddenly remembered he didn’t have any tea or coffee at home to serve his guests. A wave of awkwardness washed over him, but he steeled himself and led them into the room anyway.

They each found a place to sit.

Since there weren’t many chairs in the room, Colin and Ale sat on the bed.

The Sheriff looked at the butler and asked respectfully, "Should you go first, or shall I...?"

"You first, sir," the butler replied with a slight nod.

The Sheriff nodded, pulled a bag shimmering with Magic Radiance from his waist, and began placing items on the room’s table one by one.

Colin recognized it at a glance as a Dimension Bag.

First came some sorted loose change and two Gemstones.

The loose change added up to a little over a hundred Gold Coins, and the Gemstones were cheap opals that would be lucky to sell for a dozen Gold Coins.

Next were some Ordinary pieces of equipment.

They were mostly things like Chain Armor, Round Shields, Leather Armor, and Longbows. Such equipment would be crucial for a fledgling Adventurer, but for Colin, they were nothing to get excited about.

Following that, the Sheriff took out three Healing Potions.

’Next should be the Magic Equipment,’ Colin thought.

And indeed, the Sheriff then produced a pair of gloves.

The gloves looked exquisite, with no visible stitching. Though they appeared to be made from some kind of animal leather, the material felt incredibly thin, almost like gauze.

[Thief Gloves / Non-Ordinary Level Magic Gloves]

[Master Thief: These gloves are invisible when worn. While wearing them, you can more easily steal from enemies and pick locks.]

’Gloves for picking locks,’ Colin thought. ’These would be perfect for Dorn.’

Next, the Sheriff took out an iron ball covered in Runes.

Colin immediately recognized it as the same iron ball his opponent had thrown that day, which had transformed into an iron net.

[Iron Lock Net / Rare Level Magical Artifact]

[Binding Chain: When you throw the iron ball at a creature within sixty feet, the ball transforms into an iron net to restrain the creature. The creature can attempt to break free from this Magic Item, but if the attempt fails, any subsequent attempts to break the net within the next twenty-four hours will also fail. The Binding Chain can only be activated once per day.]

After seeing its effect, a wave of retrospective fear washed over Colin.

He had used Instantaneous Instant Cast to cast his Magic and dodge the flying net back then. It seemed if he had been caught by it, he would have been in for a world of hurt. Escaping from a Rare Level item like this would probably be quite difficult.

Finally, the Sheriff’s expression turned a bit awkward.

He took out a slip of paper with some strange symbols written on it, which looked like a code or secret message of some kind.

"This contains some slang and codes. It mainly records a list of City Guards who have accepted bribes, along with the districts they manage, their patrol times, and the amounts they collected. We are currently investigating the names that appear on it." The Sheriff gave a slight nod. "I’m very sorry, Mr. Colin."

"There’s nothing to apologize for, but I do hope these scumbags are brought to justice," Colin said.

"These people are even more despicable than criminals," Ale said from the side. "They should be sentenced to hanging!"

Colin cleared his throat twice and added, "Let’s just follow the laws of Thousand Masts City."

"We will handle this matter properly. Those degenerates will be dismissed from their posts immediately and exiled from the city. I’m certain these punishments will make them regret their crimes," the Sheriff said, a little apprehensively. "So... may I leave now, Mr. Colin?"

"Of course," Colin nodded.

As the man stood up, Colin spoke again, "You forgot the Dimension Bag."

"Oh, that was also on the criminals. Goodbye, Mr. Colin," the Sheriff said, looking a little embarrassed, then carefully exited the room.

’This is great,’ Colin thought. ’My old Dimension Bag was getting a bit full anyway.’

After the footsteps faded away, the butler, still sitting in his chair, offered his signature benevolent smile and said, "I believe Morel has already mentioned our recent situation to you."

"You mean the bodyguard job in the Northern Lands?"

"That’s right. The Orcs have become more active recently. I’ve been busy mobilizing resources for the front lines, which is why I couldn’t come speak with you about this sooner."

The butler continued, "I need your party to provide close protection for the Weston Family’s Head once the war begins. Upon completion, we will reward you with four thousand Gold Coins and one Magic Item from the family’s vault. If your performance is exceptional, there will be additional rewards."

’Four thousand Gold Coins and a Magic Item?’

Even setting aside his relationship with the Weston Clan, the reward alone was reason enough not to refuse.

Just as he had discussed with Ale earlier, the Orcs’ combat strength was concentrated in their mid-tier fighters. This meant that the strongest warriors in most Orc Tribes were likely at a similar level to his own party.

At least on the surface, Colin felt there was nothing too difficult about this mission.

He asked, "But why us? Logically, the Weston Clan should be able to find more powerful Adventurers, shouldn’t they?"

The butler replied with a hint of resignation, "It’s mainly because the Family Head specifically requested you for his close protection. To be honest, I don’t know why either."

"Then when do we depart?"

"The sooner the better. No later than the end of this month."

"In that case, I’d like to wait for my party members to return so we can discuss it. Is that all right?" Colin asked.