Cygnus was currently reading some documents regarding the people that Vergessen investigated when the news reached him. He grinned when he heard what happened. Those bandits were really doing their best in spreading fear in the city.
"They're doing well," he couldn't help but comment after he finished reading the last of the documents.
"They are motivated by your generosity," Mr. C answered.
Cygnus laughed. "Just a small amount of favor and they are already doing whatever I want. This is really great!" He stood up.
"Where are you going master?" Mr. C asked after he saw that the master was picking up his coat and putting it on.
"I'm going to the Hero Association," he simply answered. The butler hastily followed behind as they left the manor.
They were once again welcomed in the Hero Association's headquarters. The woman in the reception gave the man a smile and pointed him at his usual table. Cygnus nodded and went ahead to take a seat after that, he casually ordered.
He had been sitting there for an hour now when he finally got a glimpse of the association's president. He stood up and walked to the entrance to greet the man. Acasia was surprised when he saw who it was that was standing on the headquarters' entrance.
"Young Master Ginehart, you are here again?" He stopped on his tracks to greet the man who was clearly there to greet them.
"Hello president. Yes, I've been coming here and relaxing these past few days in hopes of seeing you or Arcaine but all of you seem to be busy," his gaze went behind the president and at the people who were following behind.
"Yes, we are." He looked back and nodded towards his subordinates.
They walked past them and went back to the elevator. The two of them were left in the lobby for a moment. Acasia stared at the young man for a while as he tried to guess what was on his mind.
"Is this related to the bandit incidents?" Cygnus asked after a while. Now that he was there, he would need to act.
"Yes, we've been trying to track them down," Acasia carefully answered. He couldn't help but be apprehensive while speaking to the young man.
"I heard that they're quite skilled and they killed a lot of mages that's why the Magic Tower now refused to let any unwilling mages work with the military. Should I ask some of my friends to help? I heard that the king was willing to pay a handsome price for any willing mages," Cygnus spoke with a serious expression.
To Acasia he looked like he was seriously considering what he had said and it tempted him to agree. Although the heroes could help, mages who specialize in many kinds of magic would be of greater help.
"But heroes are good too, right? I heard that heroes could solve any problem that comes to the kingdom and that they have extraordinary talents that they could use to defeat an enemy," Cygnus added.
The thought of cooperating with the young man vanished at those words. That was only used to promote the Hero Association. Yes, there are heroes with extraordinary talents but they were also arrogant and didn't always listen to him. Most of them were always on a mission and they don't even return to the headquarters after their missions.
Acasia needed to find a way to keep his association's reputation intact so he made that line up. In fact most of the heroes in the headquarters were at rank C, there were some at rank B and A and at the moment the only rank S in the association was Arcaine. He was just there to rest for a while before heading out for a mission. They were lucky because at least an S rank hero was there.
"Those are just rumors. You don't need to believe them. Of course, we heroes would also need help." The man forced himself to smile despite the anger that was bubbling inside of him.
Cygnus nodded. "So, how about it, should I let my friends help you? I'll even make sure to talk with the king regarding this matter. Don't worry because you'll get the full credits and my friends will get the money. Isn't that a good deal already?"
Acasia was once again being tempted. After hearing that the credits would be theirs, he was ready to say yes. The only problem he had was the fact that the offer was coming from a Ginehart. He did not trust the young man.
"Why not accept Rigel's offer?" A voice came from behind the president and saw that Arcaine was walking towards them. "You won't be at a loss and besides even though I'm an S rank, I can't manage everything. At least let them work for me."
The president was still a bit skeptical even with Arcaine's words. He knew that he could waste the opportunity but to trust a Ginehart was out of the question. He remained silent even after Arcaine reached them.
"If you are having doubts then I will use my name to vouch for him. I've just gone to the magic tower and they refused to send anyone to help me and there are only unwilling mages out there," the frustration on his voice was noticeable.
With those words from Arcaine, Acasia eventually agreed. He closed his eyes and told them that he would accept the man's offer. The man's frustration couldn't be denied because their enemy was difficult to capture. They were in a pinch because of this.
"Alright, I will take you up on that offer and I hope that you would keep your end of the bargain." Acasia finally relented and just to make sure, he invited the man into his office so that they could draft a document that records their deal.
Cygnus did not show any hesitation and followed behind them. Since it was only a written agreement there was no use in worrying about it. He would sign it and be done with it because it was the only way to get the man's trust.
Once they were inside, the president immediately drew a document detailing the content of their agreement. He was meticulous because he didn't want the young man to suddenly back out. It took him only thirty minutes to finalize the agreement before handing it to Cygnus.
Cygnus browsed through the agreement and after that he signed without hesitation. Arcaine also read the document and affixed his signature on the paper. Once they were done, it was Acasia's turn to sing on the paper and after everything was done, Acasia used a copying device to create a copy of the document which he gave to each one of them.
"Then, I'll send them here tomorrow and I would mee the king to let him know of this arrangement." Cygnus handed the document to Mr. C who had been standing behind him.
"We will be waiting for you then. For now, why don't you go down and continue with your food. You won't need to pay for anything." Acasia offered his goodwill which the master gladly accepted.
Both he and Arcaine went down to enjoy the short time of peace they have. The woman in the reception gladly served them whatever they wanted. Arcaine was also glad because he managed to build his image in front of the young man. Even if he left the Hero Association, he still had one way out and that was the Ginehart family.
"Isn't the general going to step in?" Arcaine couldn't help but ask. The general's manpower would be a bit helpful, so he wondered why the general was not making a move.
"I've asked my brother about it and he told me that without the king's command he can't intervene in the investigation or even lend help. He was stubborn and refused to do anything about it, so right now he is currently training the soldiers under his command." Cygnus took a bite on his cake after he answered the hero.
"Oh, I didn't expect the general to be law abiding." Arcaine was surprised because of what he heard. All this time he thought that the general was someone that would spring into action when a crisis in the kingdom would appear.
"Yes, he is. With no edict from the king, he will not make a move or intervene within the affairs of the kingdom." Cygnus nodded after taking the last bite of the cake he was eating.
This was actually eye opening because the hero didn't expect the family to be a bit uptight with the exception of Rigel though. It was better for him to get the young man's trust first before he would try to get close to the general or the duke. He was confident that with the help of Rigel that would come easy in the future.
After another thirty minutes, Cygnus finally bid the hero goodbye. He went home and went to Linius's training grounds where he found the man overseeing the training of the soldiers. They were currently doing push-ups at the same time. The moment he stepped in there, his presence did not escape the soldiers but they did not stop.
