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Chapter 10 – Enemy Boss
When they returned to the Ubaz company, it was just as a group of people carrying torches were about to spread out through the area.
A tall man with red hair, who seemed to be their leader, noticed Tor and the twins, and let out a chuckle and shrugged.
“Ahhh. And here they come, as if nothing had happened. All of you. Sorry for making you come out so late in the night. You can go back and sleep now.”
The big man with red hair sent the others away, and then looked to the side, where Haran was standing.
Haran was folding his arms with a look of irritation. Then he started to walk towards the twins. His shoulders were shaking with rage, and his voice sounded hoarse when Tor stepped out in front of them.
“Eufie, Mailey. What do you think you are doing? Going outside without permission!?”
The twins poked their heads out from behind Tor and stuck their tongue out.
“You have no right to address us like that.”
“And we have no need for your permission to leave.”
They protested. This only made Haran more angry.
However, before he could open his mouth again, the red-haired man put a hand on his shoulder consolingly.
“Master, we’ve made a big enough scene as it is. If this continues, word of unrest within the company will start to spread. Isn’t that right?”
“However, Wenz
 These twins
”
“Wait. Think about this calmly.”
Wenz chuckled, ignoring Haran’s irritation as he continued.
“I commend your ability to create plans and act on them, but you always let the blood rise to your head when faced with something unexpected. And that’s no good. You’ve hired us all in order to deal with such unpredictable situations. And so you should keep your calm.”
As Tor watched their conversation with a yawn, he felt two pairs of eyes on him. The twins were looking up at him.
“That’s the clan leader of Magic Centipede, Wenz.”
“I thought so. Though, I’m a little surprised that isn’t the one making all the decisions.”
It should not be difficult for Wenz to silence Haran. And yet he was just trying to console Haran and diffuse the situation.
The twins looked a little conflicted.
“Perhaps Haran looks very feeble to you, as you have only ever seen him upset like this, but he is rather quick-witted.”
“He may show his weak side when his plan goes awry, but he is not completely incompetent.”
“That sounds like a back-handed compliment. At least, they are not exactly the words you would want to use to describe a leader.”
No, maybe a number three, who took care of business, but allowed a superior to make the important decisions.
“At the very least, there should be someone who can react immediately to unexpected situations without listening to Haran’s opinion.”
“The current Ubaz company is the result of Haran letting go of such people.”
“He could have at least left us alone in our roles, but he has an overblown opinion of himself.”
“Ah, I see. So it’s all his own doing.”
Tor almost felt sorry for him.
While he and the twins shared their opinions of the man, Haran and Wenz also seemed to have come to a decision.
Haran glared at the twins once and then returned to the building. Then Wenz turned to face Tor.
“So you’re the new bodyguard that everyone is talking about. You are younger than I expected.”
“In spite of appearances, I’ll be turning forty soon.”
“Hey, hey now. You can’t be serious? That would make us nearly the same age.”
“Of course, I am lying.”
“
I thought so. As for you two, you really shouldn’t make the others worry so much.”
Wenz seemed to have realized that there was no point in talking to Tor, and so he turned to the twins instead.
“You should rely on Magic Centipede instead of this stranger here. And please inform us when you leave next time. Even if you must take him with you, it cannot hurt to have a few extra bodyguards.”
“You mean more people for me to protect?”
Tor interjected. Wenz glared at him with surprising power.
“Are you saying that my men will just get in your way? A lone B-ranker who doesn’t know the strength of Red Thunder and Hundred Leagues should keep his mouth shut.”
“And yet you didn’t even notice when we left the building. Surely it is obvious to you? Or do I have to spell it out?”
“If you’re trying to provoke me into attacking you first, you’re wasting your time.”
“Damn it.”
Tor had been thinking that crushing the head of Magic Centipede here would make things easier in the future. But the plan ended in failure.
And so realizing that getting the Adventurer’s guild or the guards directly involved was a lost cause, Tor stepped aside and allowed the twins to deal with the situation.
They had been standing on opposite sides of Tor and observing, but after detecting that Tor would no longer be talking to Wenz, they pointed at their window on the second floor.
“If you’re finished, perhaps you could take us back to our room.”
“Ladies, will you ignore my warning then?”
“Warning? A warning for us?”
The two looked at Wenz as if he were some kind of puzzling creature.
“We hired Mister Tor so we wouldn’t have to listen to such things.”
“We’ve been over that part. All I’m saying is we can have a few members of Magic Centipede accompany you and this Tor person.”
“With those faulty magitec arms and legs? You must be joking.”
“Faulty? That’s quite rude of you. We are doing our best with a modest income.”
“And why would you increase your own workload, if the pay is not satisfactory?”
“You do have a point there. And so it would help us all if you two could just refrain from going out.”
But before Wenz had finished saying this, the twins smiled and pointed to Tor.
“We have our own guard. And we have no intention of paying you anything.”
“After all, you have hardly proved yourselves competent enough for us to even consider paying for you.”
This venom was spat out with smiles. And then they wrapped themselves in Tor’s arms.
“Now, let’s go.”
“He-hey, we’re not finished here
”
“We are.”
They ignored Wenz’s protests and looked up at Tor.
And so Tor pulled them in, used body strengthening magic, and kicked off the ground. And like that, they rose to the window on the second floor.
Once they jumped into the room, he put them down and they looked out of the window.
Wenz’s eyes met theirs. He had a bitter expression on his face.
Tor waved back.
“We’re both hired help. So I suppose we should go along with our client’s wishes?”
“Even the hired must have their own opinions. At least, if you want to be more than someone who is merely used.”
Tor had not expected to hear any life advice from Wenz, but he couldn’t help but nod with agreement.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. Do that.”
Wenz waved back and then entered the building.
As Tor closed the window, the twins addressed him.
“On the other hand, unnecessary opinions will make people think that you are useless.”
“And you shouldn’t forget that having opinions can result in clients forcing responsibility onto you.”
“Aye. It’s enough to make one hate the world.”
Tor was annoyed that he also agreed with their warnings.