Once the man had taken his mind away from counting the money in his pouch, he was fully concentrated in the task at hand. Since he was absentmindedly focused in the more pressing manners of making sure that the money he’d won gambling was in perfect state, the blue haired man never noticed when they arrived the bath house. While part of his mind wondered how long it had been or for how long they had been walking, he trusted that Rania would take care of taking them to the correct location. All he had to do was look at her from the corner of his eye and walk next to her. True enough, she delivered as she’d always done. If he was being honest, there was a part of Kenzo that was starting to feel bad. Most of the times, the Bellan warrior had been nothing more than a spectator through their numerous questing. Always present, but never honestly super involving himself. The first time had been with the werewolves of Sieghart Mountain, then the Vampire of Dahlia… If things kept going that way, he’d soon found himself alone. His logic told him that Rania would soon enough come to the same conclusion as him and would prefer to quest by herself. Since that was something that he’d strangely dislike, he decided that from now on he’d show her what had garnered him such a reputation.
Once inside the hot springs, Kenzo couldn’t help but feel surprised. Contrary to what he remembered from his time at Joya, these hot springs actually smelled great. It was a relaxing and mesmerizing scent. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it smelled like, but it must have been the magical nature of the waters. Hosenka’s baths were known through Fiore due to their magical properties after all. Considering all of his experiences at hot springs had been at the sulfur-rich mountains of Joya, this was quite a pleasant surprise. Just as he was thinking to himself that it’d be a nice idea to come to the baths later in the future, it seemed Rania had the same one. ”That sounds just like what I need” Kenzo smiled at the girl as she walked in front of him. ”We’ve been working quite a lot… We should definitely try to relax and make some free time to rest.”
It had been a long time since Kenzo had last pumped out one quest after another. The first time he did was because he had just arrived to the country. Wanting to know more about the culture, get some local currency and start to become acquainted with people, he had gone in a job hunting tour all through the land. Now that he was very much established, there was no need for it really. However, it was still something that he enjoyed from time to time. Now that he did it with Rania, it became all the more easier.
Regardless, the bright mood and cheer wouldn’t last much longer. Once they had entered the waiting area, a sound could be heard in the distance. Unfortunately, the thick mist coming out of the steaming waters made it really hard to see around. Even if Rania was much closer to the sound, Kenzo was still barely able to hear something. It was as if someone was trying to breathe, gasping for air. Then, a thud signaled that something had fallen to the ground. The Paladin was the first one to get to the site. Lying dead in the ground, yet another body showed the two Blue Pegasus members that they were a bit too late. The victim was another member of a yakuza gang. Just like the two bodies that they found on their first day meeting with Weirdlock, the guy had the characteristic tattoo of the White Star gang. Furthermore, the marks on his body were an indication that the person had been killed in the same manner as the two before him. Coming closer to the body, Kenzo scratched his chin, confused by what this meant.
”Don’t you think it’s strange?” the male directed his eyes at Rania, next to him. ”According to Inspector Weirdlock, the scars on the mouth and the single stab at the nape are the trademark assassination of the Black Dragon gang… However, we were sent here by Yomu from the Black Dragon.” Kenzo folded both arms in front of him as he connected the inconsistencies. ”Why would they send us to collect money from this exact place if they were planning to kill someone too. Don’t you think they would have at least told us?” Yakuza gangs didn’t work this way. Considering the nature of their craft, they tried to be as careful as they could with their dealings. Any unnecessary attention was frowned upon. Certainly leaving behind a string of dead bodies was really bad for business.
Standing up, Kenzo noticed the girl looking a little restless. ”I’m sure you know this better than me… But this body is really fresh.” The trails of fresh blood ran through the ground. Kenzo had previously touched part of the puddle forming under the body just to find that the blood was still hot. ”Did you manage to see anything?”
Rania told Kenzo about the figure that had ran away. It all started to make more and more sense. ”I think we should go back at the gambling den and tell Yomu about this. That way we can find out if it was really a job done by the gang or by a person acting by himself. However, something tells me this has nothing to do with the Black Dragons. That Ouroboros person must be working alone as you say.”
Soon enough, they received the protection money from the owner of the hot springs. To Kenzo’s surprise, the old woman was rather unfazed by the sight of the dead man littering his property. She dealt with yakuza after all, so it was more than likely that she knew about this kind of stuff happening. Still, the warrior was surprised to see how unimportant it seemed to her. There were definitely some interesting stories that she must have kept secret.
Not wasting any more time, the two Blue Pegasus members made their way back at the gambling den. Little was spoken between the two on the way, considering that they spent time thinking about the events so far. At least Kenzo was. Once they arrived, they presented Yomu with the sack of cash. Telling them the story the underboss of the gang seemed to confirm Rania’s and Kenzo’s suspicions even more. Once they were free from their temporary yakuza responsibilities, they finally made their way back to Weirdlock’s office, making sure no one was following them.
”Inspector… We think the Ouroboros might not refer to the Black Dragons.” Kenzo made a dramatic pause before finishing. ”It’s definitely a person”
-EXIT-
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