The message came at the break of dawn. Delivering it, was one of the captains of the Strangers' Administration, Captain Gerald they called him.

"Gene! Gene! A Captain Gerald wants to see you, are you awake?"

From within his dreams, Gene recognized the voice, it was the voice of the innkeeper of the inn he stays in. The inn... Seventh Haven it was so aptly named, is an inn located within the Adventurers' District, an inn operating under the Adventurers' Guild. The rent for its rooms are a little on the expensive side, but it's close to all the facilities an adventurer might need.

Yes... Gene thought pleasantly from his dreams, time is money, but you can't buy time with money. Getting a room here, it's a well worth investment... Oops!

Before he completely sank back into dreamland, Gene managed to pull himself out of it and rolled off his bed, falling onto the cold morning floor. The cold made him more awake, but as it drains his body heat, he began to settle into slumber yet again.

"Gene!"

Another series of knocks came from the door and Gene caught himself once more, and with a slam of his fist against the comfortably cool floor, he finally managed to pull himself onto his feet.

Eight years of training, only to be defeated by a floor. I sure have gotten soft, Gene though bitterly. Is it the city life, or is it my age? Or a little of both? Well, it doesn't matter right now.

"I'm awake," Gene finally answered. "Tell the captain that I'll be with him shortly."

To come this early, it can't be anything good. With such thoughts in mind, Gene reaches for his clothes, first his undershirt, then chainmail, then the outer shirt, then trousers, then the leather gloves, then the boots and the knives hidden in the soles of the boots. After that, he strapped on his weapons and gear after a brief examination, and though he had performed a thorough checkup last night, he would have liked to do it again had it not been for the lack of time. Lastly, he puts on his special cloak, enchanted with magic resistance and a few modifications made here and there.

Gene was careful; he had learned early on that in order to survive in this violent world, caution is a must. He, like Alex, was a Stranger, and though Gene as well came with a [Gift], it wasn't something all that powerful, even detrimental at times, most times. He had the [Gift] of [Greater Magic Resistance]. It was a [Gift] that grants him a higher than average magic resistance than most. On one hand, it makes pure magical effects less effective on him, including the likes of healing magic. On the other, the magical resistance also affects magic that comes from himself and makes it harder for him to manifest magic without exhausting a greater than normal cost of mana. It was a double edged sword, with the side facing towards him much sharper than the other.

Once he's done preparing, Gene went for the door, opening it gently and without a sound, and then went downstairs.

"Would you like a towel?"

Arriving on the ground floor, Gene was met with one of the maidservants employed by the inn. In her hand is a wet towel, steamy and warm to the touch.

"Thank you, I'd like that."

Gene gladly receives the towel and uses it to wipe his face. The maidservant was a godsend, because around here, if you want water, you'll have to get it from the pump at the back of the building, and cleaning and brushing were usually done there. However, since the captain is waiting at the lobby, and in order to get to the back, one has to pass through the lobby, Gene decided to skip his usual morning routine. He can't exactly tell the captain to wait while he washes up. Being able to wash his face at least, with a warm towel no less, Gene was reminded why he choose this inn in the first place. With services like this, every coin spent here was well worth it. Gene was a frugal man, but he was also one weak to conveniences and small pleasures. His battle against unnecessary expenditures rages on.

Gene hands the towel back, grateful for it, and proceeds to thank the maidservant again. "Thanks..." he said, but halted for a moment as he gazed at the maidservant, taking in her sleek black hair and clear blue eyes. He was familiar with her face and had even spoken to her quite a few times, but he was unable to remember her name.

"Thank you, Rosalia..." he finally blurted out.

"It's Catharine, but you're welcome." The maidservant smiled, this was not the first time Gene had misremembered her name, and it seems that the only person here whose name he remembered so far was that of the innkeeper's.

"Right, Catharine. I could have sworn it had something like 'rose' in it."

"That would be the other maid, sir."

"Are you quite done flirting?" a voice called out in impatience. From the lobby, the stairs are easily visible, and Captain Gerald has been watching with a scowl hanging on his square face.

Gene quickly waved Catharine farewell and went to the captain, purposefully letting out a yawn to let the captain know that his rest had been disturbed by this sudden visit and that he was not the captain's subordinate and therefore not supposed to be at his beck and call.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, captain, I seem to have been slipping these days," Gene apologized without meaning it, all except for the part about him slipping, that he realized is something that needs to be fixed.

"Yes, I saw that. Temporary you may be, but for the bodyguard of the Lady Oracle to be so lax is unbecoming," said the captain, still displeased, but not as much as he would be without Gene's halfhearted apology.

"I intend to fix that. But enough about me, let's get to business."

The captain nodded and began explaining the situation.

It occurred right before the first light; a captain of the Atra City Guards delivered an ultimatum to the Strangers' Administration. It reads: "Hand over the Stranger accomplice of the criminal known as 'Sight Jacker' willingly or the Atra City Guards will petition for the Royal Council to order the Strangers' Administration to do so. In this, the Atra City Guards meant no disrespect towards the Strangers' Administration and merely wish to do our duty of protecting the safety of the citizens in apprehending the criminal known as 'Sight Jacker' and restore order back to the proud city of Atra."

"That's troubling news," Gene muttered after hearing the captain's briefing.

"Indeed," the captain replied, his tone grim. "If the council orders it, then it'll set a precedent. It'll make it harder for us to take Strangers with a criminal record into our custody."

"Yes, and I certainly don't like the idea of handing Strangers, even if they've committed a crime, to the City Guards. They're just kids when they came to this world after all. Most of them either didn't know better or didn't have a choice."

Though the two may not always see eye to eye, Captain Gerald and Gene shares the same sympathy towards the Strangers, both saw them as children lost in a world very different from their own, separated from family and friends and all they knew. Handing them over to the Atra City Guards, who have no qualms in regards to torture, has terrible sanitary conditions for their cells, and often neglect the health of their prisoners. To hand any Strangers over to the guards was an idea neither Captain Gerald nor Gene are fond of.

"And so? I assume you're not just here to tell me all of this. Did the commander have orders for me?"

"That the thing, he only told me to let you know about the situation. There are no orders."

"No orders?"

"Yes. I questioned him as well, but the commander said that you would know what to do."

"I see..."

"Well, Gene, do you have the answer?"

Gene took a moment to think about it. What exactly does the commander expects of me? But he soon gave up with a shrug. The commander is a strange man, a man whose mind isn't so easily decipherable. Since there are no orders, Gene thought, then I'll just do as I please.

"Since you're asking me, then I'd say that all we have to do is make it unreasonable for the council to give the order."

"How are we going to do that? You may know the prince from your adventuring days, but the City Guards have many more strings to pull in Atra."

"Who says I'm going to go beg to the prince?" Gene's tone suddenly turned harsh and for a moment there was clear anger in his eyes, but it soon passed. "Just remove the boy, the Stranger, from our custody. That way we have nothing to give, even if the council did order it, making it unreasonable. It's simple, no?"

"Not as simple as you may say, Gene. If we let him go at this timing, the City Guards will accuse us, and rightly so, of purposefully being uncooperative."

"It's not as if we were cooperative before."

"But this time we have no excuse. With such a blatant act of defiance, they have more than enough reason to get the council involved and that'll give the City Guards the chance to weaken our influence. I'll have you know, it's your own kind, the Strangers that will suffer the most if the City Guards have their way."

The captain was losing his patience. To him it feels as though Gene wasn't taking it seriously at all. In contrast, Gene was calm. He already knows what needs to be done, or at least, what he wants to be done.

"If there is no excuse, then we'll just have to create one," Gene said plainly, but as he had expected, from the looks of the captain's confused face, he didn't get it. This is why we never get along, Gene thought with distaste, why is he so dimwitted? No, perhaps not dimwitted, just far too honest and upright. I was like that once wasn't I? The good old days, when there are no worries, when all I have to do is follow master's teachings. It feels like another life now, a life of someone else in the distant past, even though it shouldn't be that long ago.

"What are you saying, Sword Saint?" the captain asked his question, as Gene had expected.

"I'm saying that the Administration doesn't have to let the boy go. In fact, you should do all you can to give the boy to the City Guards. I, on the other hand, will make it very difficult for you to do so."

The captain is looking at Gene with a look mix with both confusion and enmity. "Gene, what are you-"

"I'm saying that I will free the boy, and try as you may, there's nothing you or the Administration can do to stop me. I'm saying a traitor will free the Stranger despite the Administration's best efforts."

The captain's mind had not quite caught up, but he sensed antagonism within Gene's voice and he heard the word "traitor", and that was more than enough reason for him to reach for his sword.

To the captain's reaction, Gene could only crack a wicked grin.

"That's the spirit, captain."

***