System Change

Taking everything that Malorie had told him before into account, Derek focused as best he could and opened his portal inside Rudy’s office instead of the middle of the main floor of their shop. If nothing else, the surprised look on the contract maker’s face more than made up for the extra focus it took for him to get the precise location down. Derek stepped out of the portal with a smile before turning around and closing it. I need a boombox or something that I can play entrance music on, he thought. Seeing a portal appear out of nowhere, along with it producing a dreadful aura, has to leave an impression.

“Heya, Rudy. It’s just me. There’s no need to go breaking your furniture over it,” Derek said.

“You’re already back?” Rudy questioned as he pulled himself together, picked up his chair—which had tipped over from his previous panic—and sat down.

“Of course,” Derek replied. “It was just an uneventful wedding and a small celebration after. Why would I stay longer?”

“I see…” Rudy looked at him with narrowed eyes. “We just thought that you would be another few days taking care of things there.”

“Nah.” Derek waved his hand in dismissal. “My work there is done. I was more of a hammer than anything else. Now it’s just the fine details left. All of that is up to those royal families to work out.”

“That’s good, then.”

“Oh,” Derek said, thinking of something. “You need to hurry up and learn how to make Soul Contracts. They’re pretty cool when used correctly—a good middle ground when you don’t want to kill someone, but regular contracts and oaths just aren’t enough.”

“What do you think I’m working so hard for?” Rudy pointed to the piles and piles of papers spread out on his desk. “Once I gain that ability, my already popular contract store will skyrocket in fame. There aren’t many contract makers that are able to create Soul Contracts.” Rudy licked his lips as his eyes shone bright. “And I think I’m close. I just know that my level 200 class upgrade is going to give me the skill. Surely I’ll be able to upgrade my class to a high enough rarity to get it.”

“Well,” Derek said. “Good luck, then. Don’t work too hard. It’s best to take breaks.” He looked down at all the paperwork and a shiver went up his spine. All that paperwork was one of the main reasons that he chose not to follow in his mother’s footsteps and become an attorney. There was just no fun to be had with that career—at least not to Derek, based on what he saw growing up. “If you don’t get the skill, I’ll reach out to some people and see if a Soul Contract skill scroll turns up anywhere.”

“Really?” Rudy’s eyes shone.

“I don’t see why not,” Derek said. “I’ll have to look at our accounting, but I’m sure I have more money than I know what to do with. And if money won’t buy it, then we’ve got tons of items to trade for it.” Derek thought back to his treasure hunt in Astrus’s treasure room. Though they didn’t have anything like that in their treasury, so those scrolls may be ridiculously rare.

“Well,” Rudy began. “Thank you in advance, but I’m sure I’ll be getting the skill. I just know it. I’ve done nothing but level up off of contract creation since you gave me this opportunity, and my contract skills are leveling very quickly. Surely I’ll be rewarded with even better skills at my last upgrade.”

“That’s great!” Derek said. “I look forward to seeing it.”

“Me, too!”

“Now, is everyone here? I didn’t really pay attention the last few days while resting and recovering,” Derek asked.

“I’ve been going over these contracts for the last…” Rudy raised his head and his eyebrows furrowed. “Six… hours,” he said. “But last I checked, everyone was back—other than Thomas, who is still at the academy in the capital. Though it is late.”

“Ah…” Derek realized that the wedding and its celebration had taken the majority of the day. “It is, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Rudy said. “But now that you’re back… actually back…” Rudy made clear. “I think you’re going to be in for a surprise,” Rudy said with a sly smile. “There have been some changes since you were gone, and you didn’t come out of your room long enough to see them over the last few days.”

“Oh?” Derek’s eyebrows rose. “Changes? Surprises? What kind?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” Rudy said. “Mal would have my head if I ruined it now.”

“Interesting…” Derek said as he thought back to before. Other than the two new attendants at his shop, he hadn’t noticed anything different. Was it the uniforms? No, I’ve already seen those… I guess I’ll just have to wait to see. “I guess I’ll head up if everyone else is already done for the night. It has been a long day, and an extra night of sleep won’t hurt.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I’m sure Brandi’s still swinging away at a piece of metal or something down in the basement if you want to check in with her. She won’t mind,” Rudy said with a smile.

“She may not, but Mal may,” Derek laughed. “What if she’s actually resting and I wake her up? Imagine the wrath of Mal if I interrupted the ten minutes a week that her daughter sleeps.” Of course, Derek was exaggerating. Well… I hope I’m exaggerating. That may actually be how it is.

“That girl has a better work ethic than anyone I’ve seen in my life,” Rudy said, breaking Derek out of his thoughts. “She may even be working too hard.”

“Well, she’s going to make one hell of a crafter, no matter what,” Derek said.

“That’s for sure,” Rudy replied.

“Well, it was a good chat,” Derek said. “I’m glad to see that you’re doing well.”

“It was a good break,” Rudy said. “Who knew that my announcement at the auction would make Contracts by Rudy so popular?” Contract maker looked down at the contracts, then back up at Derek and gave him a nod. “It’s good to have you back.”

With one last wave, Derek turned around and left Rudy’s office. Derek looked around the empty contract shop when he exited and smiled. Rudy had done a very good job. Just like how there were glass cases with weapons and items in the main shop, the contract shop held the same thing, only with papers and scrolls. If Derek had to guess, he would guess that the contracts in the cases were basic contracts that people could just buy and use—things like employment contracts, or building contracts.

Derek raised part of the counter and moved to the other side of the room. The door to the contract shop from the outside had a deep purple—almost neon—sign with the word ‘closed’ written on it. Derek smiled, then turned to the other door—the one connecting the two shops—and left.

As soon as he opened the door to the hallway, Derek was greeted by Bones.

“Sir,” Bones said with a straight back. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you,” Derek said. “Also, don’t call me sir.”

“That would be improper, sir,” Bones said.

“At least when it’s just the two of us,” Derek sighed. “I really don’t like that propriety stuff.”

“Very well.” Bones gave in easily, and his demeanor changed. He still stood straight, but he had an air about him. Bones was still an assassin that had played many roles. Currently, Derek could tell that he was playing the role of butler, instead of just being one. Still, his acting as a butler was better than many people who were actually butlers—at least considering the praise that Bronson had given him. “So, the monster is back again,” Bones said and a light smile found his lips.

“It’s not a bad nickname,” Derek said. Bones had greeted him with the same phrase that he’d used when he was let out of the prison. “But, I think I prefer Derek. Just go with that.”

“Welcome back, Derek,” Bones said.

“That’s more like it,” Derek replied. “So, how are you liking it here?”

“It is…” Bones paused for a moment. “Easy.”

“Easy?” Derek asked.

“There is no danger involved,” Bones explained. “Coming from a background like the one Oggy and I came from, this is a vacation. A relaxing vacation. There is no struggling for bread, or worrying about other assassins wanting our positions. Acting as a butler is… easy.”

“You’re not acting anymore,” Derek said. “You are a butler. And if it’s too easy, you can always take off and do some dungeon diving when you want. Just let Malorie know so she can make arrangements if needed.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Bones said. “There is still the Assassin’s Guild out there. While we are in Savannah, they won’t attack, but I’m sure that news has already spread, and they are just waiting for us to step outside.”

“Ah… there was that, wasn’t there?” Derek said. “Well, there are a few things we can do about that. I can go have a chat with the master one day, but it may be awhile before I have the time to do that—it’s at the bottom of my list. The other thing is, you and Ogre could just get strong enough where they won’t bother you. I kind of have access to three kingdoms’ worth of dungeons now, so you’d probably be fine going to Indaria or Indria—Indaria is the new Astrus, by the way.”

“Oh… I see,” Bones widened his eyes. “I’m quite sure that monster still fits you better than Derek.”

“Maybe…” Derek shrugged, but continued his suggestions. “The last thing is that you may be worrying over nothing. If rumors of you being alive and here have spread, then surely they include the fact that you’re working for me. I very much expect that, over the next few weeks or months, more and more rumors are going to pop up, and there’s a good chance that they’ll just write you off as a loss so to not offend me.”

“That is a possibility,” Bones nodded.

“Apparently, killing kings and high nobles—some of the strongest in the country—without taking any real injuries will do that,” Derek laughed. “Did I mention that me and Silvi fought an entire army? Twice… and won?”

“The rumor of the first time has begun to spread wide. It is but a rumor though, from what I’ve heard from your customers, not a lot of people believe the rumor, but it has increased business,” Bones said. “But I have not heard of the second.”

“It will… soon enough, and so will the number of people who believe it,” Derek said. “Especially now that all the teleporters are connected and there should be easy travel and trade between the three nations. Nothing’s going to spread a rumor faster than that. And… there were quite a few witnesses both times, so…”

“I see…” Bones said again.

“Well,” Derek said. “Are you and Rudy the only ones still up?”

“Young Miss Fields is in the basement, as always. She may be awake, but everyone else has retired for the night,” Bones answered in his best butler voice. “I felt your aura and came down to greet you, as a noble butler should.”

“Gotcha,” Derek said. “In that case, you can ‘retire,’ too. I’ll see everyone in the morning. It will be nice having a real breakfast for a change.”

Bones gave a slight bow, then began his journey up the stairs. Derek chuckled a bit, then looked at the door leading to the basement. With a slight shake of his head, he turned and followed the same route that the butler took to the living quarters. He looked forward to being back… actually back—as Rudy had put it.