Chapter 327 (2/2)

*****

Rose Callaway made a small notation in her notebook and looked up, her eyes skeptical. Brute stood at her elbow, his arms folded, the overt threat, where Rose was the silent one. At first, Rose had been against bringing the towering, bronze skinned wall of muscle that was Brute around with her to meet with other powers, but Dauntless insisted.

Having a mute bodyguard was one of the prototypical signs that you were a supervillain, Dauntless insisted. It made Rose want to tear her hair out.

Still, it made situations like this much more simple.

There were 10 men arrayed in the room around her. They were not natives to the Refuge, most of them instead having obtained a Class at Star Crossing, or the East End. One was even Classless. They had come to the Refuge to trade, with their small wares to sell as well as they could. Some were farmers, others were tailors, others were miners.

Honestly, Rose wished she could recruit them to her side, and have them become a permanent part of the Refuge’s force. In fact, if it were up to her, they would have been allowed into the city, without issue. They had, however, been unable to pass the test.

These were not strong individuals.

“Our rules are there for a reason. Win against a one star warrior, and you can enter this city.” Rose said slowly. “The outer slums are here for you to stay in the meantime. You may freely set up stalls and sell there with no issue.”

Then, very deliberately, Rose turned to Brute. Even she didn’t know his name, not really, but the man had come hand picked by Dauntless. Plus, he was definitely smart. Instinctively, when Rose was playing a role, Brute could sense it and played his part perfectly, with just the right mixture of force and finesse. It was honestly disturbing to Rose.

Although she was confident in her own strength, there was something unfathomable about the way that he followed her so closely. Was there a skill there…?

But of course there wasn’t or her skill would have instantly noticed it.

“Are our rules not clear?” Brute did nothing, and Rose turned back to the assembled men, allowing the silence to sit there for a while. Then she said. “So why did you have the… gall, to demand on audience.”

A tall, burly man crossed his arms. “You are the one who found it necessary to meet with us. Our points are valid.”

Rose made a note. An Intimidation skill. Interesting, but not unique.

Another, slimy looking fellow interjected. “Look, we don’t want to be unreasonable. We just think that you need to be understanding of our position. We are merchants. The rules-”

Another note. A Persuasion skill, but a low tier one, of the dozen or so Rose had seen. Nothing to really worry about.

Letting the men talk, Rose’s eyes moved to the figure sitting in the leftmost position in front of her. He was short, average looking face, brown hair. The figure seemed profoundly disinterest in what was happening around him, but Rose’s very sharp senses instantly keyed on him, the minute he walked in the door. This was the man that gave these small fish their confidence.

Rose did have to admit that Dauntless was an asshole, and was not able to run a city, but he could deal with problems effectively; sometimes a hammer was the best way to eliminate a problem.

“Brute, perhaps you could remind these people why they are not allowed in the city? Start with this man on the left.”

Brute stepped forward, the man looked up, his innocuous eyes narrowing at the implied threat. There was a knock at the door. Brute turned and looked at Rose. Rose rolled her eyes and shooed him, urging him on, then stood, walking over towards the door. Her heels clacked on the ground, barely covering up the sound of grunts and impacts.

Due to habit, Rose removed a small piece of paper and made several notes. High level martial art skill and strength boosting skill, that would be Brute. A healing skill. That would be the brown haired man. So he was a mage?

Rose’s eyes widened as she noted down a kinetic energy manipulation skill. She even noted it down as a C grade skill. Interesting, was that where all his confidence came from…?

Unfortunately…

By the time Rose reached the door, there was only silence behind her. She opened the door. A two star warrior nodded to her, glanced at the room behind her, lost interest, and then said. “A group wants to come into the city. They are Rider people. Two of them are unwilling to take the test without their mounts. Another has volunteered to stand in their place. But no one over 3 star is on duty.”

Rose nodded, and turned to Brute, speculatively. It would be somewhat rude, but… well, they could attempt again, after they recovered from their injuries… What was most annoying about the situation was that Rose’s own callous reaction meant that Dauntless was rubbing off on her. Annoying, that.

Rose turned back to the individuals in the room who were still conscious. “Gentlemen… I hope this emphasizes our attitude on the matter. The test is everything to us. Don’t waste my time again. Brute? Let’s go see the sights.”