The Saga of Eden

Chapter 2, part 3

Eden and Lela quickly return to Astraka's home after completing their mini-quest "Renting a Home." On their way there, neither speak a word to one another. Eden knocks on the door, and after a long wait, Astraka finally opens the door and greets them.

"What took you so long?" Lela asks annoyedly.

"Come in, come in! See for yourself!" Astraka quickly answers, but he doesn't stop smiling.

Eden walks inside, Lela is hesitant, but she quickly follows. In front of them is now the round table where they discussed the ingenious plan to trap and kill Narila. Nara and Harmani are sitting beside that table. Nara is facing her head down and crying uncontrollably. Her brother is holding her and gently patting her back to calm Nara while staring blankly outside the window. "We're safe, they can't hurt us," Harmani whispers repeatedly.

"They seem to do surprisingly well for their first time killing, especially with so many dead afterward." Lela comments. She's genuinely surprised at the scene. "My first time was much worse, granted I was only seven then."

"It's inevitable given our line of work, right?" Astraka shrugs while still smiling. "I did try to calm them, sorry about the wait. Please just wait for a bit longer, for them at least."

"I understand, we don't have any plans for today anyway." Eden nods. "But why do you keep smiling? It kinda weirds me out."

"I am?" Astraka is surprised, but he still doesn't stop. "I didn't notice. I'm just really happy, hope you don't mind."

"You see, I originally intended to die in this hunt." He whispers so that his niece and nephew can't hear, Eden and Lela are about to respond, but Astraka raises his hand. 

"Please let me finish first. I did not expect to have you two for this hunt as well, so I planned to use the...demon chant to...control Narila to kill all of its minions, and then itself, which I will then die, probably painfully, along with it. I spent 6 years trying to master that single verse, the appearance of that demon is honestly a Godsend to me. I would end my career with an astounding achievement and leave enough money behind for Harmani and Nara."

"But now...I achieved all of that while still alive and kicking, all thanks to you." Astraka continues while putting his hands on Eden and Lela' shoulders, which Lela immediately pushes off. "Honestly, it still feels like a dream to me."

Eden looks at the aging man and nods respectfully, his expression unchanged. 

[Astraka...is it really worth it to sacrifice yourself just to kill an ordinary demon?] Eden is perplexed, he refuses to believe something that he kills is of extraordinary achievement.

-----

Not too long after (from the point of view of an immortal being at least, so time is relative), the five of them arrive at the capital's Central Security Office near the Royal Palace to collect their bounty. This large, 3-story tall blue building is the headquarter of the Imperial Army's security team. 

The Imperial Army has many buildings across Ella and other cities in the Narn Empire that are used to serve the Army's purposes. Namely, the Barracks are used as a training facility for all soldiers in the Empire, including warriors, rogues, even magic users like wizards and priests, and many others. There are fewer Military Academies, only 2 in Ella and 5 across the Empire, dedicated to training military officers, talented newcomers, or most of the time, sons and daughters of influential nobles and wealthy commoners; military achievements are the easiest way to gain prestige, or even nobility status, after all. The Military Academy is a relatively new education system, introduced by the Empress, her adopted father before her, and her advisors in their Reforms. Students of all ages study here to learn about warfare, logistics, battle tactics, monsters' characteristics, and many more. Other than those places, there are also Military Hospitals and Soldier's Quarters scattered across the Empire. There are many benefits to being in the Imperial Army, especially if one is high Level or is a tactical genius, but duties and regulations are also a given. Many ex-adventurers choose to become Bounty Hunters instead as a result.  

The Central Security Office also belongs to the Imperial Army. It focuses on its bureaucratic affairs, from handling the military budgets to gathering information on monsters and criminal activities. They're also responsible for paying mercenaries and paying bounties to Bounty Hunters who take on their job. This is precisely why Eden and his friends are here today. Even though Astraka is mainly responsible for gathering information on Narila, it was the Army who originally posted Narila's bounty.

The building is made entirely of stone and is very near to the Royal Palace. The citizens tend to think the Office is lackluster, but that's because it pales in comparison to the Palace, a continental wonder; the Office itself is one of the more impressive buildings in Ella, despite Ella being one of the wealthiest and most beautiful cities in the continent. Had Eden not been mesmerized by the Palace near it, he would have thought the Office is the Palace itself. 

The five of them walk into the Office; Eden is surprised to see the inside is bustling with people. There are soldiers everywhere, he even spots a few are hidden from view. The interior is separated into smaller rooms, each with two clerks working on some paperwork. Each room is only partially separated by half-walls, so Eden can still see what the other rooms are doing: he spots many soldiers and Bounty Hunters like him, bringing in their evidence for the bounties or working on some other businesses. Perhaps the dashing (but weak) soldier is flirting with the cute clerk in the nearby room, or the trustworthy-looking guard is talking embezzlement to another clerk, who will definitely betray him soon enough.

"Astraka! I'm so glad to see you!" A young female clerk with tied-up blond hair rushes over to them with a bright smile on her face. She almost hugs him as well but manages to control herself and bows at him and his companions.

"Please forgive my manners!" She addresses the rest of them while still bowing. "I'm Katherine. I'll be your clerk for today. I was so worried that demon might kill our respected General, sorry, ex-General. I take it that you're here because you managed to kill the demon?"

"Yes," Astraka nods. "And I couldn't have done it without thes..."

"Excellent!" The clerk stands up straight and claps her hands together happily. "I knew you could do it! Please, follow me this way!" Katherine says as she guides them towards one of the rooms deep inside. 

The room she guided them to is enormous, but inside there's only another clerk who just finished on some lengthy paperwork. It is four times bigger than all of the other rooms (two times longer on each side), is decorated with beautiful paintings, the walls are painted in bright yellow color, giving a more comfortable feeling, and a crystal ball on one corner is emitting weak ice magic to make the room slightly cooler than the rest. This room is definitely used for honored guests. 

The clerk in this room has long black hair and is wearing glasses. She might look like a normal attractive girl, but she's a rather powerful wizard. One of the best, in fact, among the non-Talented, probably a soldier in disguise. Eden has also noticed this. 

The other clerk, her partner, is none other than the cheerful girl who led Eden and his friends here. She's also undercover… Rogue class, Scout subclass, non-Talented, but nothing to be underestimated either. The Empress sure is a cunning woman, putting covert specialists in seemingly innocent professions.

Seeing that her partner has led honored guests into the room, the clerk wearing glasses immediately stands up and greets them.

"Greetings, wonderful guests. I'm Alissa. Katherine and I have heard so much about your great exploits. Especially you, ex-General Astraka." She slightly bows respectfully.

"That's great to hear!" Eden says joyfully and walks up to her. [Finally, some recognition for what we did!]  

"I'm Eden. Nice to meet you! What sort of things have you heard about us? Or me, specifically?" He says with an enthusiastic smile and offers a handshake to the clerk. Alissa freezes in surprise, she only said it as a figure of speech. The clerk didn't expect some no-name hired blade of Astraka would approach her and boast his probably insignificant achievements. *Pfft* Nice.

Lela laughs internally at his pathetic flirting attempts and pulls him back before he embarrasses them any further. The clerk also pretends that nothing happened and continues with business while her partner is giggling quietly. It's not the first time some guy tries to flirt with her partner when they first met. 

"... Anyway, I'm guessing you're here to collect your bounty on Narila?"

"That is correct," Astraka quickly replies. He thought nothing about what Eden just did, he's too old to care about those sorts of things. "And here's our evidence," Astraka then points towards the round sack Eden is hanging around his belt. They have washed it thoroughly before coming, so the smell is now much less noticeable.

"You want to take a look?" Eden then takes the sack out and holds it in front of him. By the looks of it, the clerks have already understood what is inside.

"No need, Astraka's words are trustworthy enough. What about their stronghold and the lesser demons?" The clerk with glasses continues.

"I'm pretty sure we exterminated them all, or at least enough that the one or two stragglers won't be much of a threat. The place is empty now. You can send someone to check and then burn it down." The old man replies.

"Wonderful! Amazing! As expected of our Great Wizard!" The blond clerk starts praising Astraka without shame.

"Please, Katherine, I wouldn't have been able to do so without their help." Astraka waves his arm over to the other four. 

"Aww, you're just too humble..."

"Katherine, that's enough." The black hair clerk warns her partner, then turns her attention back to Astraka, lowering her head to him. "Her Majesty sends her regards. She was aware of your achievement, but we did not know you managed to achieve it to such an extent. For your service, we decide to reward you all with ￡100 (she only said 100 coins, so I assume she meant that)." They can all hear Lela's cheer from behind. "In addition, she wishes to offer you and your companions positions within the Imperial Army. You will all receive beneficial ranks worthy of your feats."

After hearing this, Astraka looks back to the others to listen to their opinions. Their responses were quick, much to his surprise.

"I wouldn't be here if I'm looking for a position in the Army," Eden speaks first.

"Same here." Lela nods.

"It's yours to decide, uncle," Harmani says last. Nara only nods in agreement. 

Astraka smiles and turns back to the clerks. "I'm sorry to disappoint the Empress once more, but the chapter in my adventuring career has not closed yet." He then turns his attention to his companions and starts talking quizzically. "A storm is coming, and we will be in the forefront to face it, along with the prodigy of this generation." 

Eden looks at Astraka in confusion and turns to Lela for a possible explanation. Lela just smiles at the young man and twirls her finger at her left temple, a gesture saying, "this old man is going cuckoo," if I remember correctly.

The clerks aren't happy with Astraka's decision, but they respect it anyway. They also aren't sure what he meant about that last part, nor do the others. The clerks begin to take out several parchments and start writing on them as fast as possible; they don't want to waste Astraka's time with needless paperwork. Then, Katherine quickly runs outside and returns within minutes with a small lockbox, its inside is full of coins. 

"If that is your decision, then we wish you luck on your journey." The clerk with glasses waves them farewell after giving them the bounty.

"Goodbye! Please come visit us often!" The blond hair clerk also bids them farewell.