"You forgot? You could have said so earlier! Is it my fault I lost our money? Is that why you're doing this?" Shin snapped, his frustration boiling over. "I swear, you must have done this on purpose. Having a sister like you… you're a real pain."
Seeing the jig was up, Lucy got defensive. "How was I supposed to remember? I haven't been here in ages! It's perfectly normal to forget. Besides, I remember the place being right here. If you don't believe me, that's your problem. And I can guarantee you, there really is a Mage Guild here. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
Shin was speechless. "But you forgot! You could have just said so!" he said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "I honestly don't know what's going on in your head."
He sighed. What was done was done. There was no point in arguing anymore. Their only option was to ask someone for directions.
The two of them waited on the long, narrow road, hoping someone would come by and tell them where the guild was. But the road was deserted, and after a long wait, not a soul had passed.
Shin shot another angry glare at Lucy.
"What are you even doing? I'm at my wit's end. Not a single person in sight, and you told me the Mage Guild was here. Do you think I'm a fool? I swear, I've never met anyone like you."
Lucy looked like she was about to cry, but Shin wasn't about to let up. He was thoroughly pissed off. He'd never realized how stubborn she could be. But there was nothing he could do now. They were both tired and hungry, with nothing to eat.
They both knew it, but neither of them said anything.
"Alright, what do we do now? We're tired because of you, and we're hungry because of me."
Lucy had never been in such a miserable situation before. She burst into tears. "I know I was wrong. Please don't be mad. I'm so tired… and so hungry."
Shin was at a loss. If no one came soon, he might have to resort to less-than-honorable means to get some food. But Shin saw himself as a man of principle. Doing something like that wasn't his style.
Just as they were about to lose hope, a hulking brute of a man appeared, looking menacing. He had spotted Shin and the cute girl beside him from a distance.
Shin's face lit up. He finally saw someone. "Hey, friend, you—"
Before he could finish, the brute shoved him aside and leered at Lucy. "Well, well. Didn't expect to find a little beauty like you out here. Ditch that twig and come with me. I'll make sure you live like a queen."
Shin was speechless. What kind of empire was this? He stepped forward.
"Friend, this is my sister. If you have something to say, say it to me. Don't frighten her."
He moved to stand in front of Lucy.
The man looked at Shin's scrawny frame and sneered. "What are you, Her brother?"
He let out a crude laugh. "You've probably never seen anything like this, have you, kid? Don't worry, I'll give you a live demonstration. You can just watch from the side. Hahaha!"
Shin almost laughed out loud. He'd seen more adult films than this guy had seen women, and here he was, trying to act tough. It seemed there was no reasoning with someone like this.
"Kid, you must have a death wish. That's my sister. I haven't even touched her, and you're already thinking about it? You're not showing me any respect."
"I just took down the president of the First Guild and the Four Heavenly Kings. I don't know who you are, so why don't you introduce yourself?"
The man looked at Shin and burst out laughing. "You? What did you just say? You beat the Four Heavenly Kings and President Jela? Are you kidding me?"
He howled with laughter. "Hahaha, you're hilarious. Since you're so funny, I'll teach you a little lesson first, and then I'll play with the little beauty. Of course, some things aren't so simple, I know. But once I get started, I'm afraid I might just kill you. Hahaha!"
"But since you want to know my name, I'll tell you. I'm the vice president of the Minotaur Guild. You said you killed our president? You must be joking."
"The president's been a bit busy lately, but how could he be killed by someone like you?"
It was then that Shin realized something. All the people he had fought before had been dealt with by him. That meant the news hadn't reached the capital. No one here knew what had happened.
But he hadn't expected this guy to be from the Minotaur Guild. That meant he was one of the emperor's men. But how could the emperor have someone like this working for him?
"Since you're from the Minotaur Guild, take a good look at that girl. That's your princess."
The man suddenly seemed to remember something. He looked at the girl, then pulled out a wanted poster.
"It really is the princess. But… so what?"
"We couldn't find our president, but I found her instead."
"But if I kill you, no one will know where the princess is. I've never had a princess before."
"Now I'm really getting excited. You're a princess, little girl? That makes this even more fun."
He pulled out a pair of axes from somewhere.
Shin raised an eyebrow. "Then let's get started. Show me what you've got."
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