My Grim Reaper Class: I can kill anything.

Chapter 25: What Do I Want to Do?

Liaraen returned his gaze with an expression that was specifically neutral, which was a signal in itself. She was waiting for him to answer first so she could assess whether his response matched what she considered appropriate.

"Liaraen needs to return to the Northern Kingdom," Nathan said. "To her family. As safely and as quickly as possible. My objective from this point forward is to facilitate that. What happens with Brenwick, with the Table, with everything else—that’s secondary to achieving that outcome."

Liaraen tilted her head slightly. It was a subtle gesture. But Nathan, after several hours with her, had learned to read it. It meant acceptance.

Selene nodded.

"That’s a clean answer. And the right one. Good. Then let’s talk about how to do it."

She stood up. Walked to the shelf. Took a small rolled map. Unrolled it on the table. It was a detailed map of the eastern frontier region of Vael’Karenth, with Greywall at the center and the routes north marked in ink of various colors.

"There are three active routes between Greywall and the Northern Kingdom’s border," Selene said. "The official route goes through the North Way, crosses five Crown checkpoints, and takes eleven days under normal conditions. That route is out because every checkpoint reports to the central administration, and the central administration has contacts with the Table."

"Discarded," Nathan said.

"The second route is the western route. It goes through the Tarn Hills and skirts the Gray Forest on the opposite side. Takes fourteen days. It’s safer on the human side because it doesn’t cross official posts, but it has three towns along the way where the Table has minor operators. If Lady Sael’thoryn travels that route, she’ll be identified in at least one of the three towns before the fifth day." Pause. "Also discarded."

"And the third?"

"The third isn’t a conventional route. It’s what we call the Veil Route. It passes along the southern edge of the Gray Forest, crosses territory that’s officially uninhabited but in practice is maintained by small communities that don’t appear on official maps. The route takes nine days if conditions are favorable. And, most importantly, no one in the Table knows about it because the communities that maintain it don’t trade with humans of the kingdom."

"Who maintains them?"

"Half-bloods. Refugees. Unmarked people who’ve built an alternative society far from the kingdom’s administration. Some exiled elves from the Northern Kingdom. Most are peaceful. Some aren’t. But they all share one characteristic that’s useful to us tonight: the Table has no contacts among them."

Liaraen had been looking at the map in silence.

"How does one access this route?" she asked.

"Through a guide who knows the forest’s southern edge. I can provide that. The guide isn’t cheap but is trustworthy. He would take the lady to the first settlement on the Veil Route in about a day and a half. From that point, the community network passes her from one to the next until the elven border. Each step is voluntary, and each host receives compensation that I handle."

"What’s the total cost?" Nathan asked.

"For the guide and compensation to the communities, about forty gold coins."

Nathan was silent.

He had thirteen gold coins and forty-eight silver, not counting what he’d spent on the inn and food. The forty-eight silver roughly equated to five gold coins at the regional exchange rate. Which gave him approximately eighteen. Less than half of what Selene had just asked for.

*Well. We’re going to have an uncomfortable conversation.*

"I don’t have forty gold coins," Nathan said.

"I know."

"I have about eighteen."

"I know that too."

"So."

Selene leaned forward slightly.

"Hunter Voss. My network has a common fund. That fund is fed by various sources and used for operations we consider priorities. Rescuing daughters of major elven houses from trafficking operations is a priority for reasons that include, but aren’t limited to, the political utility of maintaining good relations with the Northern Kingdom. What you’re short of covering the total cost will be covered by the fund."

"In exchange for what?"

"For nothing."

Nathan looked at her.

"Selene. I’ve been in this city for two days. Three with the Seal. I’ve learned that in this kingdom, no one offers something for nothing."

"That’s a good lesson. And I’ll qualify it with a nuance. I do offer some things for nothing, in immediate terms. The reason is that when a network operates for a long time, there are services rendered without explicit accounting because explicit accounting destroys trust. What I’m offering tonight is that type of service. I won’t ask you for anything specific in return. What will happen, with near certainty, is that at some point in the future—whether in a year or ten—I’m going to need something from you. And when that moment comes, I’ll ask for it. You’ll be able to refuse. But if you refuse, this conversation will have been our last."

"That’s basically an outstanding favor."

"It’s an outstanding favor. Yes. With the advantage that I won’t specify what it is until the moment arrives."

"That’s worse."

"It is. But it’s honest."

Nathan looked at her for a moment.

*Let’s think about this. The alternative is that Liaraen can’t leave Greywall tonight. The alternative is that Brenwick finds her tomorrow. The alternative is that I try to protect her alone, with a Class I’m barely learning to use, against an organization that has twenty-five men ready tonight and more tomorrow. The alternative isn’t an alternative.*

*And Selene knows it. That’s why she’s offering the deal on these terms. Because she knows I’m going to accept.*

"I accept," Nathan said.

"I accept as well," Liaraen said, which surprised both of them.

Selene looked at her.

"With respect, my lady. The obligation falls on the Hunter, not on you. Your family will already have a formal debt to my network upon receiving news of your rescue. There’s no need for you to assume an additional personal obligation."

"I am the second daughter of House Sael’thoryn," Liaraen said, with her formal diction fully restored. "Any commitment Hunter Voss undertakes for my rescue is shared by me in proportionate measure. If at any point you need something from him, and he chooses to fulfill it, I will fulfill half of that favor to the extent of my ability. That is the correct way of handling this."

Selene looked at her for a moment.

And for the first time that night, she smiled slightly. It was a small, very brief smile, but genuine.

"I accept the amendment, my lady. That is generous."

"It is correct."

"Both things can be true."

---

Selene rolled up the map.

"The guide will be available to begin the journey at dawn. Tonight, the two of you will stay here. There’s a room on the second floor. Hot food will be available in about half an hour. Appropriate clothing for the lady will be provided before dawn. Footwear as well."

"Thank you," Liaraen said.

"There are two more things I need you both to know before this conversation ends," Selene said. "And they’re two things specifically for tonight."

Nathan leaned forward.

"I’m listening."

"One. Brenwick is going to know, before dawn, that Hunter Voss has contacts in Greywall he hadn’t mapped. The question is whether he’ll have specific information about who we are and where we are. My assessment is no. My network operates with strict compartmentalization. Berran doesn’t know this house’s address. The adventurers who identified you don’t either. The search teams will probably end the night without locating this neighborhood. But the possibility that something leaks is never zero. If at any point tonight you hear something unusual, the two of you go out through the back door of the room, down the service stairs, and go directly to the basement. In the basement, there’s an exit that connects to an abandoned warehouse two streets north. Memorize that now."

"Memorized," Nathan said.

"Memorized," Liaraen said.

"Two." Selene looked at both of them. "Tonight, while you’re under this roof, do not use Soul Sense or active skills unless strictly necessary. This house has protections that hide its residents from remote detection. But those protections weaken when someone inside projects mana outward. If Brenwick has an active detector in the city—which I don’t rule out—a strong activation of the Hunter’s detection skill could give him directional clues about our location. Soul Sense in passive state is fine. Maximizing it, no."

"Understood."

"Good." Selene stood up. "I’ll bring the food. Get settled."

She walked toward the room’s door.

Before leaving, she stopped. Turned slightly.

"One last thing, Hunter Voss. Something that does fall under rule one but is relevant to know tonight." She paused briefly. "The person who gave you the Seal in the alley didn’t act on their own initiative. They received an order. The order came from someone I know. And the reason that someone gave the order has to do with the situation you’re facing tonight. That’s all I’m going to say until it’s safe to say more."

Nathan went very still.

"Are you saying the Seal was given to me knowing something like this would happen?"

"I’m saying the person who gave the order has information about the Table’s behavioral patterns that no F-Rank Hunter should be able to anticipate. And that they chose a specific person to receive the Seal at a specific time for reasons I partially know."

"Why me?"

"That’s a question for another night." Selene opened the door. "Eat. Rest. The guide arrives at dawn."

She left the room.

The door closed softly behind her.

Nathan stared at the table for a full moment.

Liaraen looked at him.

"Hunter Voss."

"Yes?"

"This woman knows more about your life than you do."

"I’m fully aware of that, yes."

"How do you feel about that?"

Nathan was quiet for a moment.

*How do I feel about that?*

*Three days ago, I was an Unregistered Civilian with no money who arrived in Greywall looking for a job. Today, I’m someone who kills humans with a dark skill, who’s protecting the daughter of an elven noble house, who’s being hunted by a criminal organization with branches across the continent, and who just discovered that the person who changed his life in an alley chose him specifically for reasons only a handful of people know.*

*How do I feel about that?*

"Liaraen."

"Yes?"

"Honestly, right now, I’d rather not process it too much. I’m hungry. I want to eat. I want to sleep a few hours. And tomorrow, before dawn, I want to see you leave this city on the only route that seems to have real odds of working."

"That’s a practical answer."

"It’s the only one I can afford tonight."

Liaraen looked at him for a moment. Her aristocratic expression softened very slightly. Not enough to be called compassion. Enough to be called recognition.

"I accept your answer, Hunter Voss."

"I appreciate you accepting it."

"And also, for the record, in the official report I’m going to have to give my father when I get home, your name will appear correctly and with a level of description that will make my father want to invite you to dinner. Which, in practical terms of the Northern Kingdom, is an invitation worth approximately between six and eight cities’ worth of land."

Nathan looked at her.

"Six or eight cities?"

"Depends on how much he likes you."

"I have no interest in six or eight cities."

"That’s exactly what my father will appreciate most."

There was a silence.

And then, after a moment, Nathan smiled slightly.

Liaraen returned the smile with a specifically more controlled version of her own—which, in aristocratic terms of the Northern Kingdom, equated roughly to laughing out loud.

"Let’s eat, Sprout," Nathan said, without thinking.

Liaraen stopped.

"What did you call me?"

"...Liaraen?"

"Before that."

"Sprout."

"Why Sprout?"

"Your hair. Green. Like a new sprout."

Liaraen stared at him for a full second.

"I do not authorize that nickname, Hunter Voss."

"Alright."

"But I also don’t formally forbid it."

"Noted."

"And under no circumstances will you use it in front of my father."

"That I understand."

"Good."

They rose from the table.

And walked toward where Selene had indicated the food was, with the specific feeling of people who had just closed the worst part of an impossible day and still had the worst part of tomorrow waiting for them at dawn.