Chapter 13: Redeeming the Contract

Renmi was surprised to find another person who knows Lady Larissa, but wasn't expecting someone as rude as herself coming from inside the bookstore.

When she turned around, her brown eyes caught Ijohen's attention; a pair of dark blue ones followed suit.

"Eyes off of my daughter," the shopkeeper reprimands.

Ijohen quickly looked away, snickering. "Sorry." he sighs. "I've never seen a human like her," he whispers to himself.

"She's the most gorgeous person I have ever laid my eyes on," he muses.

"Yeah, yeah." Sung Li mocks, "She's not bad either." he adds.

"So what were you doing?" the shopkeeper asks.

Remmi walks past the bookstore, ignoring the angry shopkeeper. She feels the urge to throw up, especially when she sees several books lined up along the shelves.

"Oh my god! Why so many books!?" Remmi says sarcastically, walking closer to the shop's entrance. "I wonder what's inside?"

She glances at the shop's window, "Maybe the shop is selling books? or Rats?"

The shopkeeper's eyebrows furrow, "Alright, I get it." The shopkeeper's face turns red, "Your mom and Lady Larissa should be in the small in by the workstation. Yes?" he says.

Renmi pats the books, caressing them softly, "Alright, I'm going" she murmurs, looking at the door. "Get out of the way." she scold the people gathered in front of the door.

As she enters, the shopkeeper's expression changes, "I'm sorry, my daughter can be quite rude sometimes." he apologizes.

"No, it's alright. I'm glad we came by today Mr Hemmogo." he says.

"You're welcome anytime," he replies.

***

Renmi walks down the stairs to underground hidden library, noticing the small room where her mother and Lady Larissa are talking. She takes a deep breath, before approaching them.

"What do you think?" she asks.

"It's good. It's really good," Lady Larissa answers.

"I know. I know." Renmi says.

Lady Larissa smiles at Renmi, "So, you finally came back?"

Renmi nods, "Yes, I-" She was suddenly interrupted by a loud thud.

"Who is that?" Lady Larissa asks.

Renmi peered over and saw a furry rodent-like creature passing by.

She screamed, "A Rat!"

Lady Larissa's eyes widen, "What?"

"It's a Rat!" Renmi yells, "Get it away!"

Lady Kahina and Larissa quickly run towards Renmi.

"Where? Where?" they ask.

Renmi points at the Rat, "Over there!"

"It's huge!" Larissa gasps.

The rodent paused to look at them, then continued on its way.

"What is it?" Lady Kahina asks.

"It's a Rat," Renmi answers.

"It's quite cute isn't it? With it's bright yellow fur? Are rats suppose to be so furry?" Larissa says.

"I don't care! Get it away!" Renmi yells.

Lady Kahina embrace Renmi, "It's alright, the rats gone now."

Larissa looks at the two girls, and noticed a book on the floor. She picks it up, "What's this?"

***

The Grand Marketplace

Rihan, Ijohen, and Sung Li walk along the street, passing by various shops and houses along with the Grand Marketplace. As they continue walking, they come across a large building. They stop, staring up at the massive structure that looms above them.

"You know, 1 Gold for all 100 more books is a rip off I tell ya." Sung Li complained.

"I don't mean to break it to you but… you owe me 1 Gold," Ijohen stares at Rihan with a discontent look. "And I mean, these are just ero books."

Sung Li's eyes widen, "Maybe you're gonna recreate some of the-" he stopped abruptly when Rihan raised his hands.

"We're here at the Great Hall," Rihan looks up to take in the view of the Great Hall.

"I know, but why's it so big?" Sung Li asks. "It's really huge," he mutters. "It's so tall too, it must be the tallest building here," he sighs.

"Yeah, I guess." Ijohen replied, "But my dog house is bigger than this." he quips.

Sung Li rolls his eyes.

"Alright we're here to redeem a contract, so let's hurry up and get it done!" Rihan says, pushing open the side door to the hall.

***
The Great Hall, Main Lobby

"This place smells so good," Ijohen sighs, poking his head in the door.

"Hm," Sung Li hums, stepping inside the room.

The hall itself looks nothing special; there are rows of tables lining the sides of the room. The centre of the floor holds a single table, where a man sits behind it. The rest of the room is filled with people waiting for their turn to sign the contracts.

Rihan, Ijohen, and Sung Li sit themselves at one of the empty tables.

"Can I help you kids?" The clerk asked.

"Yes, we need to redeem a contract, please. We have a little money to spare, but we'd like to keep our identity secret, if possible."

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"Oh? And what's your name?"

"I'm Rihan, this is Ijohen, and this is Sung Li," Rihan introduces.

"Our parents told us to come here so we can get a copy of the agreement," Rihan explained.

"Alright, I'm sure you three won't be needing the extra copies right?" the clerk chuckled. "Well, you can take the first available seat."

The three of them sat down at the first free spot, but the chair creaked loudly under Sung Li's weight.

"Ugh, these chairs are so uncomfortable," Sung Li moans.

"Just hold still and stay quiet," Rihan tells him.

"You've gained weight," Ijohen comments.

"What do you mean? It's just a few kilos. You've got a lot more than me. You're getting fat, dude."

"Hey! Don't talk about my body size, jerk! You know it hurts when someone else talks about it! Especially when it's about something as sensitive as my stomach! You better watch it, or I'll make you regret it!"

"Oh, it seems that I made him mad. I shouldn't have said anything about his belly. I apologize, sir, for my rudeness," Ijohen bows his head.

Rihan stares at his friend in disbelief.

"You're always like this, you know that?"

"What?"

Rihan sighed and thinks aloud in his mind, "In my past life I followed the two of you around all day, you know?"

"Every time you two started fighting over stupid stuff, I would just stand back and laugh while watching the two of you argue.' he muses.

The two of them continue to bicker until Sung Li interrupts with a loud sigh.

"I still can't believe that the two of them dies in the future, only for me to return and meet up with them again. I can't understand how they can live together without killing each other though," Rihan grumbles.

He suddenly recalled that night, when they were surrounded by the enemy forces when Ijohen and Sung Li were fighting off the Virahs on the gate.

The sound of Virah breaking the gate echoed throughout the city, causing panic among everyone who heard it. Rihan was at the top of the wall, preparing to rally his group to fight off the incoming horde of enemies. He was holding his sword, ready to strike at any moment.

He glanced at his companions, and his eyes fell on the two of them, standing near the gates, arguing.

Ijohen was screaming at Sung Li, "We should just kill them now!"

"Why?! Are you scared of them?" Sung Li held his spear tightly.

"I don't care, just shut up!" Ijohen berated while summoning energy balls at the enemies.

Rihan looks at his hands, remembering how they held their blade in their hands. His palms are sweaty and trembling. His heart raced with fear and anxiety. His breathing grew shallow and rapid as they stepped into the battlefield.

His eyes darted to look at his companions. Their faces were pale and their eyes wide with fear. That was the last thing he remembered before they charged out of the barracks, weapons in hand.

After everything was over, he found the bodies of his best friends lying on the ground. He didn't even remember that he was crying.

Ijohen was covered in blood from head to toe. His clothes were tattered, ripped apart, and torn to shreds. He was missing an ear, a chunk of flesh was gone from his arm, and his face was swollen and bruised.

Sung Li, on the other hand, looked almost untouched. He had a cut on his forehead, but otherwise, he looked unharmed.

He pushes the memories aside as he shakes his head.

"It's a long journey to that day" he mutters, "but I'm glad that I met you two again, especially now that I'm alive."

Ijohen and Sung Li felt him gazing at them and turn to look at him with a scornful look.

Quickly a wrinkle formed on his forehead. "I don't really care if they do kill each other, as long as they're loyal. That's what bothers me the most. If they do end up dying, then at least let me die peacefully. There was no point in returning if you guys were going to fight each other every five minutes."

Rihan shakes his head, trying to rid himself of the memory.

"I feel like I've been cursed," he whispers to himself.

"You're talking to yourself again, aren't you?" Ijohen asks.

"Dreaming of death?" Sung Li asks.

"Shut up!" he snaps, glaring angrily at both of them.

"Alright, let's go to the next table." the clerk calls out to them.

***

The Great Hall, Hall of Land and Border Department

They follow the clerk, who leads them to the counter. Inside, there's a reception desk and a small counter near the wall. Behind the counter, a young woman sits, reading a book.

"Excuse me, may I help you?" the woman asked while closing the book.

"Yes ma'am! We are here to redeem our contracts!" Rihan answers cheerfully.

"Huh!?" the woman stares at him, her eyes wide scanning the group of kids.

"Ah, yes. Here it is!"

Rihan pulls a gold document from his bag, handing it over to the woman. The woman takes the paper and reads it. Moments later, her eyes opened wide.

"Thank you very much, boys," the clerk says, snatching the contract and placing it inside a large file. "Please wait here for a second."

She closes the door behind herself, leaving Rihan, Ijohen, and Sung Li alone in the room. Rihan stares at his companions, "What's wrong with the girl?" he ponders.

"What did she mean by 'boys'?" Ijohen murmurs.

"I guess she thought we're not old enough to redeem anything," Sung Li snickers.

"What's so funny?" Ijohen pouts, "I'm a royal anyway! I should be treated with respect!"

"Oh yeah, but you're also dead," Sung Li quips.

"I think she's going to come back soon, so let's behave," Rihan says, turning towards the door.

Footsteps echo through the hall, signalling the clerk's return. But instead of the clerk, a tall man pokes his head inside, looking around the room.

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