Then Grey confronted Aerith about her dishonest practice, he could see the blood draining from her face. It was quite enjoyable. However, her ‘betrayal’ turned out to be just a misunderstanding.


    “What else do I need to know?”


    “To put it simply I had made you into a crime boss.”


    “Why would you do that?”


    “Why not? The death of Lionheart left quite a power vacuum, someone would have filled it eventually.”


    “So now everyone knows me like some sort of a thug?”


    “No, not a thug! You are so much more. And it’s not everyone. Normal people have no clue of who you are. It’s just the underworld.”


    Grey somehow doubted that. The people were already giving him a wide berth on the streets. It was getting in a way of his hunting trips since people were wary of his presence. That explained some things.


    “Look, we need this. We need the clout to lure certain people to us.”


    “Like mages?”


    “Yes, like mages. My operations need money and information. Now we have it. I am sorry I have kept you in the dark.”


    “I am still thinking of killing you, you weasel. I don’t like the way you do things.”


    “But… But I provide the results, is that not important? You keep urging me, so I had to think out of the box.”


    “Box? Why would you… Never mind. So where are the results? Where is my dinner? It has been days” and there was the issue of his mana core being emptier due to certain rash actions.


    “I am on it. I have the target, it’s just luring her to us.” She sighed “If only you didn''t smash the mana potions. Those are like honey to the bees, the bees of course are the mages.”


    “More like shit to flies. Accursed things! Keep my mages away from potions. You will poison my food!”


    “Oh… is that so?” She pondered for a moment.


    “If you have the mage let''s just go to her. Do you know where she lives?”


    “Well, yes but you can''t just nab her in a broad daylight or invade her house at the night.”


    “Yes, I can and yes I will.” This was only natural to a hunter. Smoking prey out of their lair was a common practice.


    “No, you can’t. You will have half the city''s peacekeepers on your ass. Also, you forget she is a human and furthermore a mage. We have to be discreet. Untraceable even.”


    “Why it’s never easy with you?” Grey complained.


    “I will lure her right to us, just give me time.”


    Excuses, excuses and more excuses. Grey was growing tired of them so instead, he decided to visit the Guild. Maybe he will get lucky.


    The Guild didn’t change, the people didn''t change. He had recognised quite a few routine visitors. There were mages but the damn harlots were in parties. In all actuality, it made sense, since mages were rare they were a hot commodity. It was unlikely he will find a lone operator. So instead he turned to the notice board looking at the extermination quests. He always could eat a big monster to top up his mana. Unfortunately, they weren’t that tasty.


    His back tingled unpleasantly, someone was watching him. He turned back to look. The blood drained from his face. It was the penis-woman, she still smelled like a female but he now knew it was a trap. He frowned at the memory wondering if she was trying to put her curse back on him. Their eyes met, and the witch scoffed and turned her gaze away.


    Grey breathed out in relief. That was it. Sometimes, uneventful events were welcome.


    “Looking to exterminate monsters?” A feminine but stoic voice asked.


    It has almost startled Grey, somehow she had sneaked up on him. She was a blonde bodyguard woman he had met then dealing with the runt the other day. Grey looked around, she seemed to be unaccompanied, and even better the redhead runt was nowhere to be smelt.


    Ho, ho, the luck was back on his side.


    “Yes, would you like to join me?” He asked hopefully.


    “No, the opposite. I would like you to join me.”


    Grey tilted his head.


    “Only for a talk, we have a proposal you might be interested in.”


    Grey looked around again sniffing the air. Who was ‘we’ she was talking about?


    They sat at a nearby table.


    “As you might have heard there is trouble brewing. Monster incursion, bandits, random deaths in the city, missing mages all sorts of things.”


    Grey put on a mock shocked expression. He was guilty only for the latter two, maybe three.


    She continued. “The things are bad, especially in the beastkin part of the city, the slums.”


    Grey nodded in agreement fully aware that he wasn''t making things better there.


    “As per the agreement the peacekeepers look after the humans and the city, leaving the beastkin to deal with their problems on their own…” She paused meaningfully. “So there are…” she paused again “Talks. Between the nobles that this should change.”


    What the fuck was she talking about? Grey was clueless about where she was getting to.


    “Keep it simple for me.”


    She wasn’t going to. “We need someone to take charge in the beastkin neighbourhood, to act as a peacekeeper. ”


    “Who is we?”


    “The city, the nobles. But for your case Elri''s father Von Bratwurst. He thinks you’re a suitable candidate.”You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    “Really?”


    “Yes, he inquired about you after you saved his daughter. This is a big opportunity for you.”


    “But wouldn''t this mean that I would just be his lackey in the beastkin parts of the city?”


    “Lackey? No! You would be able to act independently and you would get paid handsomely.”


    “I don’t know, money is not my primary motivator.”


    “I know. There are many other benefits: like power, authority, and status. To name a few. This also would open the doors to many other places where normally average beastkin wouldn’t be allowed. But that is if you prove yourself first.”


    “I see…” Grey tough for a moment.


    “They aren’t looking to bind you. You will still have plenty of time to do the quest for The Guild or whatever business you have. They just want you to do them a favour or two now and then.”


    So a lackey, but this definitely had some privileges. In the light of him allegedly being a crime boss, this could serve as some countermeasure. He could pretend to be the peacekeeper while being quite the opposite. Wouldn’t that be quite ironic? He began to warm up to the idea.


    “Okay.” He nodded.


    “Really?” She seemed surprised.


    “Yes. Why the surprise?” He wondered if she saw past him.


    “It’s just that not many people want to do the dirty work. Keeping the peace, exterminating monsters, and generally protecting the weak are all the jobs people shun nowadays.”


    Grey shrugged having no reply to that.


    “Here’s your badge. A symbol of your authority. Of course, valid only in the slums and surrounding areas, don’t go trying to supersede human guards in the market.”


    “So what is my job again?”


    “Let me brief you.”


    In essence, he was a glorified city guard. Not even allowed to police city proper. The nobles needed a puppet to play their games in the slums. That was not quite it, he would also be called on a quest he wouldn''t be able to refuse, like breaking up the riot or stemming the monster incursion. All of this, of course, was handsomely paid with various bonuses based on performance. Grey just wanted to see if this will lead him to more feeding opportunities or not, after all, he was free to quit if he didn''t like the job.


    “So, do you want to go to exterminate some monsters?” Grey asked the blonde woman.


    “Eh? That’s not the job for me. I rather guard noble brats; easier and pays better.” Simply put she didn’t like to get her hands dirty.


    If only she went out with him for a monster hunt or two. His stomach rumbled.


    “Ah…” Grey left the table disappointed.


    He had wasted enough time here so instead he decided to test his luck in the forest. Maybe he will find a good nibble to satiate his hunger.


    …


    Grey could see why there were so few lone hunters like him. The monster invasion was truly now and here. The monsters grew bold and relentless. The deeper he went the meaner they had gotten. This was good practice for his spear skill, but still, this has become quite dangerous even for him.


    He looked at the scattered corpses littering the forest floor. It was a shame he didn’t know how or what to harvest for profit. The only thing he knew of value, their cores, he had eaten. The rest he had left to be reclaimed by other monsters.


    Grey wasn’t crazy about making the money, but it felt like a huge waste. Of course, he took the noted trophies mentioned on the notice board so he could at least claim the extermination reward. However, there were pelts he didn’t know how to skin, and alchemical parts he didn’t know how to harvest.


    Maybe, forming a party was the right idea after all. The problem was, he really didn’t trust the people, or himself not to eat them once he got hungry.


    Deciding that he had enough, Grey casually strolled the forest back to the city.


    The nearby bushes rustled and he raised his spear. More monsters?


    A green man-thing jumped out from the bush wielding a spear of his own. He was followed by many others, equally feral and tribal looking.


    Grey hasn’t seen one before but he had a good guess. “Orks!”


    The tribals surrounded him, poking their crudely crafted bone spears threateningly. Grey wasn’t going to put up with this. He jabbed at the random ork, almost skewering him but the brute jumped back in time. Seeing that he meant business the foes retaliated. The spears prickled him from all sides.


    Grey roared taking the hits and lunging at the closest ork. This time he had skewered the bastard right through. His wounds hurt, but they were only minor. All thanks for his tough skin and scales. However, as minor they were, he couldn’t let himself to accumulate more.


    The fight was brutal, there was no skill or elegance to it. The orks prodded seeking a soft spot and Grey fought back with jabs of his own. The only difference was that the orks were squishier targets than him. The outcome of the battle was already clear.


    It was almost endearing how relentless the orks were despite the death surrounding them. And with the final strike, he had pierced the chest of the last ork. They fought to the last man – all dead.


    Grey looked at their fallen bodies. He wondered how the ork flesh and blood tasted. These were all males and normally he wouldn’t eat a male, it was a no-bueno for him. But due to hunger and curiosity, he was willing to make an exception this time.


    He cut a fat peace from the cheek of the tastiest looking and placed the bloodied flesh in his maw. He chewed the chunk rolling the pieces in his mouth. Like one would expect it didn’t taste good, males didn''t taste good in general, there was something in their blood that ruined their flesh. Whatever it was, the orks had that in abundance. Grey spat it in disgust. It wasn''t that bad, subpar only, but why push the morsel down when the whole city was full of snacks ready to be taken?


    So he limped back towards the city. In reality, he did get quite injured, but that wasn’t anything that a good meal wouldn’t be able to reverse.


    …


    Refreshed and back in his lair, or better known as the inn to normal people, he had found the she-devil plotting one thing or the other again. She was standing proudly over a gagged and bound human woman. The captive was in a rough shape, her clothes ripped, her body battered and bruised.


    Grey frowned. “What is this?”


    “Your meal.” She announced proudly.


    But it didn’t smell like a mage.


    “She’s no mage. What have you brought me?”


    “Amm… An appetiser? To fill you up while you wait for the main course.” Then she added hurriedly “Which I am still working on.”


    Yeah, he had just eaten, he had managed to snatch a snack on his way here and demolish it in the alleyway, and this meal was unappetising. She was already beaten and threatened, and there was no fight left in her eyes. Mages he would eat regardless, but this was just junk food.


    “I don’t want this.”


    “What?” she asked looking shocked “Why?”


    “I have eaten already.”


    “You need to stop hunting random people. It’s dangerous. Let me pick your meals so that we don’t go and disappear the people we shouldn’t.”


    The junk food hearing the conversation began to wriggle in her bindings like a worm. The fight in her was restored, however, Grey still didn’t feel like eating her, actually, he was angered.


    “Do not lecture me!” He roared. “I hunt who I want. I eat what I want.”


    This time he knew what the she-devil was planning. He has heard about this, about the women like her. She was trying to tame him through food, bind him to her. No!


    The half-elf noticing his intimidating posture backed off a few steps. “I’m sorry. It’s just… don’t kill any humans. Especially nobles.”


    And there was here one already, gagged and bound. So, somehow this one was okay.


    Grey roared at the she-devil''s hypocrisy. A heavy hand sent her flying towards the nearby wall.


    “Get me a real mage and not this trash!” He fumed. “I can always eat you, oath-breaker!”


    “I haven''t done anything against you, only the opposite! Why don’t you understand?” She brushed the blood off her split lip.


    “Is this what I have asked then?” He pointed at the squirming captive “No! Try to play me again and I will make you regret it.”


    “I… I understand. So you don’t want her?”


    Grey gave a nasty glare. The she-elf let out a deep sigh of disappointment. She unsheathed one of her hidden daggers and pressed it against the throat of the woman. With a quick motion, the elf slit her throat, leaving the woman to spill the fountain of blood on a conveniently placed cloth. By the looks of it, the half-elf was accustomed to killing.


    “What a waste.” She whispered to herself.


    Just before Grey could lay down for a nap the elf approached him. She just stood there looking at him. Didn’t she have better things to do?


    “What?” Grey asked.


    “We need to move out. To a better place.” She looked at the still-warm corpse “Somewhere more convenient to activities like this.”


    This time, Grey had to agree. This was an inn and not a torture dungeon. They were lucky the innkeeper was on their pay and willing to look away. But he was getting greedy, asking for more money.


    “That’s a good idea. You know a place?”


    “I have one in mind. But that will be expensive.”


    Grey looked at two chests full of coins. “It’s not like we don’t have money.”


    The elf moved to block his gaze “What I am asking is to use your name to raise a steady income so we can maintain future operations.”


    That sounded very technical of her, Grey narrowed his eyes. “This will send people after me again.”


    “No, not necessarily. Believe me, this time I will handle it.”


    “And if you don''t?”


    “I will.”


    Grey yawned, the exercise had tired him and either way the she-devil will do what she wants anyway.


    “Go ahead then.” He felt that he wrangled the deviling half-elf enough today already.