The morning was clear. Kenzo had woken up at 8 that day after sleeping like a log last night. This was the first time in weeks that the blue haired man got access to a decent bed. Sleeping in the wild and the occasional hay bed as he travelled to Crocus couldn’t hold a candle to a good ol’ fashioned bed. He had been lucky actually, as Kenzo had arrived at the inn where he slept just by chance. However, it had already become his favorite place in all of Crocus now. The owner, Batra was a pretty nice guy. He had managed to secure a nice spot for Kenzo at his inn even if they seemed completely booked. Furthermore, the breakfast was awesome as well. Even if he was not a man of caring for others, he could respect a man like Batra. For that reason, Kenzo didn’t say no when Batra had asked him to do a job for him. On top of it, he would be rewarded if completed successfully. Concretely, Kenzo had to look for a known con-artist in town and get back some money he scammed from one of Batra’s important customers. The ex-street orphan smiled as he thought about it. He had been a thief in the past to survive. ”How the tables have turned.” Kenzo chuckled as he went out to the streets.

The only hint he had to find the con artist was that he normally carried a bat and sported an ugly pompadour. Too cliché. This guy was definitely an amateur thief. Either way, the job was really simple. After paying for his breakfast, Kenzo made way to the streets in the looks of this Kyle fella. The streets of Crocus were honestly impressive at day. The blue haired warrior had not yet gotten used to the sight of magic being used like it was the most trivial of things. Back in Bellum and Joya mages did exist, but nowhere near to the extent that Fiore sported. This only sparked Kenzo’s hopes a bit. He once too had wielded magic but lost it all on that fateful night. As he touched his bone jaw in his right cheek, he briefly lost himself in thoughts before suddenly coming back to reality. Someone had caught his attention a couple of meters away. Near some alleys, Kenzo saw a man flocking around with a baseball bat. As he saw the pompadour, he knew it.

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Kenzo confidently approached Kyle with an innocent smile. As the man greet him, the smile turned slowly more sinister. Kyle was terrified. ”It seems you’ve made a mistake while making business with one of my friends”. The hint of sarcasm was immediately picked up by the conman. In a swift and sheepish tone, Kyle knew what he was talking about. ”I’m terribly sorry!! It must have been a mistake on my part. Silly me. Please… allow me compensate the damage.” As if he’d practiced beforehand, Kyle seamlessly took out a bag full of jewels and placed it in Kanzo’s palm. ”Now. If you excuse, I’ll have to leave now. Please extend my apologies to Batra” Quickly getting out of his sight, Kyle made his way through the crowds.

This had been too easy. A conman of this level couldn’t hold a candle to him. Approaching a stall just a couple of paces away, Kenzo took out some coins of the bag he just received and asked the man for an apple. As he handed the money, the stall owner gave the blue haired man a worried look. ”I’m sorry young man, but I’m afraid that these are fake” Kenzo simply chuckled. ”Too predictable.”

Safely trailing him from behind, the mercenary noticed that Kyle was making his way out of the city. Taking glances back every now and then, he really seemed desperate to get away. Maybe it was his appearance that made him look like a demon, but something from Kenzo’s appearance had really scared Kyle. Making full advantage of this, Kenzo took a shortcut through one of the alleys at his left. With a speed that surpassed Kyle, he was able to shorten the distance and even get ahead of him. Kyle was too busy looking backwards to even notice that Kenzo was a couple of meters in front of him. With a swift punch, the conman was knocked out cold. ”Better luck next time” Kenzo calmly collected the jewels from his persona and came back to claim Batra’s reward. This had been some good exercise at least.

-Exit

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