Leon stood in front of the building, a crease in his brows.
Wearing a long black robe with the insignia of the Circle of Magic on its back, he would have come off as a strange man if he stood on a busy street.
Luckily, there was no one around here to see him.
The crease in his brows quickly disappeared when the doors to the auspicious building opened up.
Five people, each with different signs of wear on them.
However, the common denominator about them was the stench of blood and heavy air as a result of coming into contact with dark magic.
There was also a faint lingering taste of magic. Like the aroma of a light burn.
Leon folded his arms as he thought to himself,
'Not only did they all return intact, they managed to do so in record time. Impressive.'
He cleared his throat,
"Well done. You all pa—"
Richard waved his hand, a serious look on his face,
"I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get out of here first before anything else. Somewhere with a lighter atmosphere?"
Leon raised a brow and looked back.
Although Richard didn't seem affected by the experience, the same couldn't be said about the others.
Vagabond remained stoic and Umbra had a strange, almost gleeful expression.
Celine and Gregory on the other hand were a bit different.
Celine had a dark, grim look on her face, while Gregory looked as though he had just seen a Devil...
'Granted...'
Leon sighed,
"Alright. Let's leave."
***
Sipping orange juice from a tall chilled glass, Richard let his gaze drift around the restaurant.
It wasn't anything fancy; just a small, but neat fast food place that served burgers and drinks.
It was mostly empty, so there weren't too many glances being thrown at their motley crew.
Although the gaze of the waitress did seem a bit off.
Either way, none of it was going to stop him from enjoying a good meal.
"I see. That was a rather detailed breakdown, Celine. Thank you." Leon said
Celine chuckled derisively,
"That's because I was only watching for the most part. I wasn't useful at all."
Leon chuckled, "Well, you do have a habit of tensing up in difficult situations. I'd prayed it would fade away as you grew, but it seems like that isn't the case."
Celine's expression darkened even more.
Leon sighed then let his gaze fall on Richard.
"Before we go further, I believe there's something you'd like to discuss with me, isn't there?'
Richard stopped sipping on his drink.
Turning his gaze up, he paused for a moment then asked,
"How many witches are in this city?"
Leon raised a brow,
"It'd be rather difficult to say their exact numbers..."
Richard nodded thoughtfully,
"I think so too."
He took another long sip.
Then he snapped his fingers,
"I think we did a very good job today. Now that's out of the way, how about we discuss splitting the profits?"
Leon's brows creased up,
"Richard. I believe it would do you all good to comprehensively break down the—"
Richard shook his head.
Then he pointed at Vagabond,
"He's a meat shield."
Vagabond's brows trembled.
His finger moved to Umbra,
"She's a good blood mage, but a freaking lunatic."
"My, my... How flattering." Umbra said with a smile.
Ignoring her, he pointed his finger at Gregory.
Gregory shifted a little, a look of embarrassment and shame in his eyes,
"He has potential, but he's a coward too."
Folding his arms, Richard remarked finally,
"And as for the little princess, the whole thing could have gone quicker if you hadn't been so scared of getting your shoes dirty."
His laid-back expression turned stern as he glanced right at her,
"Quite frankly, I think you performed the worst of all of us tonight. If a little blood disgusts you, then you have no place here. Go back home."
Celine stared bloody murder through him as she spoke through gritted teeth,
"Where do you get off telling others what to do?! Who the hell do you think you are?!"
Richard shrugged calmly,
"I might as well be a nobody compared to you, your 'highness'. But I don't like having to leave my back open to someone as inadequate as you are."
Celine shot up from her seat, her eyes burning with rage.
"Celine. Control yourself." Leon called out coldly.
Celine wanted to say something, but she remained silent. Her face turned red as she plopped back down to her seat.
Leon turner to glare at Richard,
"And you... Enough with that attitude."
Richard raised a brow with a slight grin on his face,
"What attitude?"
Leon's eyes narrowed.
Richard's expression suddenly fell and his face turned pale.
He sighed and raised his hands in defeat,
"I'll keep that in mind."
Clearing the throat, Umbra cut through the tension at the table,
"Now, now... There no reason to be at each other's necks when we just finished a mission successfully, is there?"
With a smile that reached her eyes, she turned to Leon,
"Right?"
Leon nodded with a soft smile,
"Indeed I do. From what I heard, you played a huge part, Umbra. Well done."
Umbra chuckled, her voice magnetic,
"Thank you, Instructor Leon. But if you ask me, the one with the most contribution today, was Richard."
Richard raised a brow,
'Hm? What is she getting at?'
Their eyes locked together. Instead of turning away, Umbra winked at him.
Richard shivered. Although Umbra was a life-ruining beauty, her status as a blood mage was terrifying enough to kill any thoughts of lust before they could even form in his head.
'Terrifying...'
Vagabond suddenly spoke,
"I agree with the girl."
He turned to Leon,
"He'd make a good leader."
Leon raised a brow,
"You think so too?"
Richard grimaced,
"I have no idea what you two are trying to pull off, but it isn't going to work. This is the first and last time I work with any of you."
Umbra chuckled,
"Now, now. Don't be too hasty. Although we could use some work, I believe we would make a great team. Don't you think so too, Bondy?"
Vagabond nodded thoughtfully.
He turned to Richard,
"I felt in the battle that you seemed to be holding back a bit. I am quite curious to see what else you have to unveil."
Richard's eyes narrowed,
'Is it me, or did this dude just smile?'
He sighed.
This wasn't how things were supposed to play out.
Leon suddenly chuckled,
"I see where this is going. In that case, how about a vote... To you, Richard Babe, being the leader of the South Lepton Advent Squad. All in favor, please raise your hands."
All hands seemed to rise at once.
Richard's eyelids twitched.
'This is... unexpected.'
Even Celine's hand was raised, although she still glared at him murderously.
He couldn't help but question her intentions.
He sighed tiredly.
'This was definitely a setup.'
He turned to Leon, who wore a smug look on his face,
"You... I'll make you regret this."
Leon waved his hand,
"We can discuss that later. For now, let's address your other issue. How do you split the profits?"
Richard frowned, "According to protocol, one origin essence core goes to the Circle. The remaining two can be split amongst ourselves. Isn't that right?"
Leon nodded,
"Correct. Although, splitting two origin essence cores amongst three will be rather difficult."
Richard chuckled,
"Witches aren't good for much. But when it comes to dealing with stuff like this, there's no other place to go..." Cain said as he twirled the two shiny origin essence cores between his fingers.
Leon scratched his beard,
"So that is what you meant, huh..."
Gregory grimaced, a fearful look in his eyes as he turned to Richard,
"We aren't done for the day. See, I have a curfew and—"
Richard smacked him across the shoulder,
"Nonsense! We are all going together."
His smile turned a bit vengeful,
"Consider it a group activity."
Umbra chuckled,
"Witches and witchcraft. Terrifying, but intriguing."
'Like you are one to talk...' Richard thought to himself.
Vagabond's expression was a bit dark,
"Practicioners of dark magic disgust me. I do not mix with them."
Richard shrugged,
"Too bad for you, then. You could choose to head on home, but if you do so, it would mean going against your leader, which means you don't get a share of the loot. The power form an origin essence core of this quality is definitely no joke, so it will fetch a pretty coin."
Vagabond fell silent, his hesitation apparent.
Richard smiled then turned to Celine. A playful smile tugged at his lips,
"What about you, Missy? Are you up for it?"
Celine frowned. Lifting her cup to her lips, she downed the contents in a single gulp.
Watching her velvety lips press against the rim of the cup stirred something within him.
A strange hunger.
Richard too a sip of orange juice to calm himself.
"I'm going." Celine said, wiping her lips.
Richard chuckled,
"Very good."
Then he turned to Leon,
"So, Mr Instructor. Where are the witches?"