Soulless Players

Steve was dumbfounded. He never expected Loen to respond like this.

As Loen and Emile were colleagues, they should have a connection to develop trust with each other. But seeing Loen react like this only means that they weren't and probably had bad blood against one another.

'Is Emile a habitual offender?' Steve asked internally and silently gazed at Loen's pitiful act of frustration.

Steve had no way of knowing the truth as he wasn't capable enough to glimpse whether Loen was telling the truth or not.

'Nevertheless, I have to stay away from him.'

Steve then opened his mouth to interrupt Loen, "I know nothing about his whereabouts. Better start looking for him elsewhere as I have no single clue of where he is."

He offered a slight bow and continued, "Then I must be on my way as I have another business to attend."

"Wait!" Loen shouted with urgency.

When Loen caught Steve's attention, he quickly expressed, "Uhmm, as you know, I have also been scammed by Emile and have nothing with me."

He looked at Steve, his eyes wet and trembling, "Can you uhmm, lend me some cash enough for me to return to the capital? I promise I will pay you when I have the means…"

Loen stopped and continued with his eyes now brimming with determination, "Or you could let me join you in your travel. I know your family is residing in the capital and you must be bound to return there sooner or later..."

Hearing this, Steve's temple immediately crumpled. This idea was a big 'No' to him. Loen was a powerhouse. Inviting him means inviting a ticking bomb.

Before Loen could continue, Steve quickly reached out to his pocket and handed Loen the cash in his hand,

"Here, you can have it. And you don't need to pay me. This amount is immaterial to me and my family."

Loen halted. He was surprised at how easily he was able to persuade Steve.

Though surprised, he was also touched by Steve's kind-heartedness. They have just known each other through their unpleasant association, Emile, but Steve still helped him with his dilemma.

"No.. no… I must return the favor," Loen quickly responded. But as swift as his answer was his hands pocketing the money Steve had given.

Loen coughed and acted like nothing happened, "How about this? I will still join you but treat me as your servant until we return to the capital."

"You may not believe this but I am really capable of doing menial jobs!" He exposed his non-existential biceps and said confidently,

"And I am also strong!"

Steve's mouth twitched. He disliked where this was heading. He refused and refused repeatedly but Loen was too stubborn and insisted on his offer.

'This leach!' Steve was at a dead-end. He had no other reason to deny him. But after a few wars of words, he was also persuaded and tempted to receive his offer, more specifically his protection.

Anytime soon, his negative karma would bite him hard to death. And to counter this, he needed the help of a strongman.

"Wait... This is so wrong...' Steve pondered.

Steve wasn't just wary about Loen's hidden power but also of his timely intervention. Although he was heavily reliant on his luck in his past life, he still couldn't believe that he was also lucky in this world.

'But I still needed him.' Steve thought.

In the end, his needs prevail over his wariness.

Whether Loen's arrival is a blessing or a curse is a problem for his future self.

"Then be my guest." In the end, he agreed to Loen's notion and betted that Loen was good enough to return his goodwill.

"Thank you, young master!" Loen grinned and bowed his head. Afterward, he followed Steve and acted shamelessly like he was originally part of the group.

Steve walked in the front, trying to control his nerves from bursting with anger.

'I hope this is the right action.' Steve could only wish he was correct and silently open his system.

Seeing that there were still no movements in his karma, Steve heaved a sigh of relief as this indicated that so far, nothing dangerous would transpire around him.

Steve walked straight toward a building with a big signage in front that says 'Recruitment Office'.

Although he had decided to bet, he wouldn't place his entire safety in Loen. He still needed the service of other men.

'This could serve as a balance in case Loen isn't trustworthy…' Steve mulled over. He needed to counter the risk of having Loen and only through hiring other people could he achieve this.

'Better safe than never.' He then reached out his arm to open the door.

***

An hour later, Steve left the establishment with a content smile on his face.

Following him from behind were three additional mercenaries he had recruited recently.

But what made Steve satisfied wasn't because of these men but because of the man walking beside him.

'It's a good decision to enter the recruitment center.' Steve whispered as he quietly observed the man with his eyes turned into gold.

In his vision, like any other person, Steve saw a golden light radiating from the man. But unlike others, his brightness was more than that of a normal mercenary.

'If a civilian emits a light of a bulb, and a mercenary normally shines as if there are two bulbs, then this man is as bright as of five bulbs…'

'This means that this person is stronger, probably the strongest among the mercenaries he had seen.' Steve murmured joyfully.

Compared to Loen, he had more trust in a man with a clean record in the recruitment office.

Although he had a bad history with traitorous mercenaries, he wasn't dull enough to have a stereotype against everyone.

'Someone with good records like him is a huge loss if he chooses to betray his employer,' thought Steve, he glimpsed at Loen chirping at his other side.

'But it still wasn't enough to contest the light coming from Loen. Maybe ten bulbs more to break even…' Steve frowned as he contemplated the differences in their strengths.

Steve glanced again at the petit man on his side wearing a set of garments a size larger than him.

The man had slicked black hair and black pupils. Shown on his face was alertness as he carefully surveyed the crowd, looking for a possible danger coming towards his employer.

This small action was what sold Steve. He felt more secure with his bodyguard service. For sure that in case of a catastrophe, he could trust his back to this man named Raven.

When Steve had stared enough, he ordered his men, "Let's go to the railway station."

It was time for Steve to return to his home in the capital. He had been away for many days without notice. He was sure that his family was now actively looking for his whereabouts.

To reach the capital city, a ride of a train is needed for a faster trip. Compared to a horse carriage, which normally takes days, a train only takes five hours in total.

And aside from time concerns, Steve deemed a train ride safer as there weren't many uncertainties unlike if they opt to traverse the woods.

Steve had thought of many scenarios on how his negative karma would befall. One of them was an accident due to a fortuitous event or acts of God.

Moving all by themselves through horse carriages would only increase the likelihood of this happening, especially when the area was too wide for anything to happen.

As for the train, they only had to stay seated in an enclosed container for hours. If there was a circumstance where he needed to escape, it was easier with his men close to him.

When they arrived at the railway station, they were immediately welcomed by the thick smoke coming above from the black and rustic long vehicle.

Steve frowned at this sight and immediately covered his mouth in disgust. Although for the residents of this world, the train was a refined inventive product, for those who came from a more advanced era like him, this was nothing but a backward invention causing pollution to the environment.

'This is too suffocating,' He grumbled and quickly ordered his men, "Buy tickets for us first."

He glanced at Loen and said, "Please go with them." and moved his sight to Raven, "And you come with me."

***

A couple of minutes later, Steve and Raven returned to the group with Steve holding a metallic briefcase.

"Let's go." They moved and stepped inside the long vehicle.

The six mercenaries sat together in the other wagon. Meanwhile, Steve, Raven, and Loen, who insisted on sitting together with Steve, sat at the wagon intended for first-class use.

On a partitioned space with 2 two-seater cushion chairs facing across the table in between them, Steve sat near the window. Following him was Raven who sat beside him and Loen across him.

Loen gazed outside the window, smiled, and asked, "Isn't that store owned by your family?"

Steve followed his sight and saw a red building with fancy decor within. On top, it has a logo with a big letter 'M' and signage that says, 'MacRonald'.

Steve laughed at who knows what reason upon seeing this. He then answered proudly. "Yes, it is."