Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

In the end, Rain arrived in the capital three days later. That wasn\'t half bad, considering that he had to travel for six days the first time. He had gotten stronger, as well, so he couldn\'t just say that his technique was the sole reason for it.

"It is the same as usual… or maybe not," Rain thought when he crossed the gate of the city.

At first, the capital seemed the same as usual from up close. However, Rain noticed that the guards in the city seemed more serious, and they studied him more thoroughly. He didn\'t think that there was some magic tribe that had short people that could be insanely strong. Still, the guards were being cautious about anyone suspicious.

A kid of his age traveling alone fit the criteria, but he wasn\'t stopped.

"I suppose I will be watched once I start to work with him, so perhaps I should contact Lotto already before anything else," Rain thought.

Since it was noon, so Rain had enough time to look for Branden. So, he headed to the blacksmith shop and found it open and kind of empty like usual. Lotto was the same as usual and was about to dismiss Rain, but soon he recognized him.

"Look who has shown up. You appear when no one expects, huh?" Lotto asked.

"My apologies, sir," Rain said and then bowed slightly. "My family conditions and the war forced us to move all of a sudden and in the middle of the night. I hope that you can forgive me for leaving in the middle of work."

"No harm done, but just don\'t expect to find work here again," Lotto said and then resumed his job polishing a sword.

"That can\'t be helped; I also came here today because someone asked me to look for you," Rain said. "His name is Meiro, a merchant that lives East of here close to the mountains."

"... He wouldn\'t send a kid… ah, your eyes," Lotto said and then realized what was going on. "You get weirder by the minute, kid."

Lotto understood everything already. One wouldn\'t be able to deal with information behind the curtains if they catch on quick stuff like that. In any case, he told Rain to approach and then pretend that he was checking some weapons while he passed the details of what was going on. Lotto finally understood everything and the origins of Rain.

The kid\'s mystery was completely revealed, but he still found it hard to believe that he was that special. Usually, talented kids don\'t show up like that, and they are recruited by nobles from an early age. He didn\'t expect that such a boy was the grandson of one of his allies.

"You are lucky; most of the information around these parts passes by me, so you can send reports to your grandpa by telling me what you want," Lotto said. "Speaking of which, your friend has truly been doing what you said. So far, nothing seems out of place, but some nobles are starting to investigate him. They love that kind of stuff."

Rain could understand that. While it was also a hobby for nobles, it was also their lifeline to imagine people trying to knock them down using all means necessary and doing what was necessary as well to avoid that. Rain didn\'t know if he would enjoy dealing with that. He preferred a more direct approach to most things.

"I see. In that case, I will try to come here once a week while trying to be as cautious as possible," Rain said. "If I don\'t show up, I will leave a letter nearby."

"I hope that someone of your age doesn\'t end up being caught in this mess, it isn\'t like you are betraying the realm, but leaking information is a serious crime," Lotto said. "Try to be as cautious as possible."

Rain nodded at the old blacksmith and then left. While Rain didn\'t see anyone aside from Lotto, that worked with his grandfather with the intel stuff, Rain could tell that they were good people. Lotto barely knew him, and he was worried about his well-being. There was also the possibility that he was worried that Rain might spill the beans of people like him when he is found, though.

Working behind the curtains like that was dangerous.

Rain walked around the city for a while looking for Branden\'s house, then he recalled that he should have asked Lotto for that information. It seemed that Rain had a long way to go when dealing with the intelligence stuff. Still, it didn\'t take long for Rain to be found instead.

While he was walking around the noble district, some people that worked for Branden probably recognized him and reported that to their leader since Branden eventually showed up.

"You came a lot sooner than I had anticipated; I take it that you made up your mind," Branden said.

"I am planning to give you a hand for a while as long as I get good pay from it," Rain replied.

Branden has been studying Rain for a while. He didn\'t see many kids that were hard to read before, but he imagined that those like him had a tendency to be like that. If Rain only wanted money, he would be disappointed in him, but he had a feeling that they were birds of a feather, so he didn\'t think too much about it.