"I wish to have an audience with the head of this family," Corvus said, sizing up the three guards and their captain. He knew full well that while he was a spirit master in the Spirit Channeling realm, he still lacked experience.Though he felt he could take them on, in fact, he was sure of it but he had never truly fought more than two people at once.
Even those he had fought previously were of his own age, with the thugs being his only recent opponents, and they were mere street brawlers compared to trained martial artists.
The captain furrowed his brows at Corvus's request.
"On what grounds do you wish to see him, and do you have an appointment?" he asked cautiously. He could tell from Corvus's dress that an appointment with the family head was a stretch, but he asked to truly gauge Corvus's intentions; after all, the boy could be an assassin.
At that thought, his muscles grew even more tense, and he wished more guards had accompanied him.
"Hmm, you could say I bring a solution to your recent recurring tax losses," Corvus remarked, bringing looks of confusion to the faces of the guards and the captain.
Aside from this being a mortal family that had no affairs with the major factions in the dark alleys the primary reason he had chosen them was that Karon had told him that the three gangs troubling them too had no afflictions with the major factions.
And Individually, each gang was weaker than the family in strength, but their joint alliance boosted their numbers, making their numerical factor outweigh the quality of the family's martial artists. This allowed them to seize many income sources from the family, effectively choking them.
And most of all, it made them desperate ,a vulnerability he was about to take advantage of.
The captain scrutinized Corvus even more at that remark. Though it was public news that the family was essentially being choked by three gangs, Corvus had pinpointed their main grievance: the taxes they collected from other dwellers within their territory, which was a major income stream. Besides, there was a way Corvus spoke and stared at him that made the captain feel a little bit intimidated and reassured
'A solution... but who is he? Can I even decide this at all?' Many thoughts crossed the captain's mind in that instant, leaving him in a state of deep bafflement.
"How am I sure you mean no harm to this household?" the captain questioned.
Corvus stared deeply at the captain as he thought of the best possible answer. "If I did, we wouldn't be having a conversation," he replied, glancing at the wincing Osu. This drew the captain's gaze as well, making him relent.
"Huff, alright. But will you permit my men to search you for weapons?" the captain asked.
"Sure," Corvus replied, raising both his hands in a gesture of cooperation.
"Him too," Corvus added, nodding toward the corner. This drew the captain's gaze toward the scrawny figure of Karon, which contrasted sharply with Corvus's presence.
The captain then signaled to two guards. With both of them hesitating over who would search Corvus, but after a glare from their leader, one eventually rifled through Corvus's clothings ,finding only his money pouch. Meanwhile, the other guard found several sharp objects on Karon ranging from sharpened stones to broken glass marking him as a typical street hooligan. This made the captain wonder why such a person was following Corvus around, but he easily spotted the fear and trepidation Karon displayed, even while standing behind the boy.
'Who is he?' the captain wondered before turning.
"Follow me," he said, making his way toward the courtyard gate. The three guards formed a triangle-like formation around Corvus and Karon, keeping them securely in the middle.
Within a courtyard lay a stone gazebo where a middle-aged man sat, skimming through several paper scrolls with an increasing frown across his face. He slowly ruffled his beard in a bid to calm his growing anger and anxiety.
"Master?" a voice called from the entrance of the small, simple courtyard, earning a fresh scowl from the man.
"What is it? Didn't I say I shouldn't be disturbed?" The middle-aged man raised his head and glared at the slim figure of the steward, who bowed even lower at the outburst.
"I apologize, Master, but it's an urgent matter," the steward, his hair tied in a neat bun, explained.
Hearing that, the family head's eyes widened in alarm as he rose to his feet. "Don't tell me those bastards attacked again!"
"No, no. It's Sterling,he brought you a guest," said the steward.
"A guest?" the family head muttered.
"Yes, my lord, and... uhm..." The steward hesitated, finding the words about to come out of his mouth unbelievable and frankly stupid to begin with.
"And what?" the family head snapped.
"The guest claims he can bring a solution to all... our problems," the steward stammered, making the family head freeze in surprise.
Corvus and Karon had been led into a spacious hall, where they were made to wait after receiving the scrutiny of the household steward. Corvus also noticed the increase in guards from the original four to a total of eight which was to be expected. The newcomers gave him and Karon a scathing look of skepticism; after hearing their captain explain the reason they were here to the steward, they couldn't understand why their captain was even indulging such nonsense.
After all, he hadn't been given the time to explain Corvus's feat of beating down the two thugs in under a minute.
Corvus didn't have to wait long until a middle-aged man with a short beard and short hair, dressed in a grey tunic, stepped into the hall with the steward following behind. From the bows directed at the man, Corvus could easily tell he was the head of the Crosa family.
The middle-aged man spotted the sickly figure of Karon and frowned before turning his gaze toward Sterling, the captain. "What is the meaning of this? You bring me a mere street hooligan on the strength of his words?" he spoke disdainfully as he pointed at Karon, making Karon curse the fact that he had even woken up today.
"I apologize for my shift, but he is the one who wishes to speak to you," Sterling replied. He noticed his master was aiming his anger at the wrong person, so he motioned to Corvus, making the family head even more dumbfounded.
"A kid?" he exclaimed.