Weren't the Nero mercenaries solely composed of beastkin?
Although he had never talked to them, Will had seen the Nero mercenaries from afar. They were all beastkin belonging to different species. That was why he thought Ann, the only female member of the group to also be a beastkin.
That was until he witnessed the fight that went down in the tavern that ended with Ann's victory.
"I thought she was a fox beastman" Will mumbled, as he saw Ann walk past their table with Kobe and the twins.
"Even the hair and eye colors are the same"
"Haha"
Gallahan could not help but laugh when he saw his Grandson's confused state. He glanced at the table Ann was sitting at and then turned back to Will.
Will was still in a trance, mumbling without taking his eyes off of Ann's back. He had always wanted to talk to her even if it was just a simple greeting but ultimately decided not to in fear of Raeden, the leader of the Nero mercenaries.
A single glare from Raeden was enough to send people running away in fear. Since Raeden has been warding off every man that approached Ann for years. He had thought it would be impossible to talk to her.
But an opportunity came sooner than he expected when he heard that Raeden left for the guild headquarters on business. And when he was away, Gallon from the Golden Lion mercenaries, who was known for being a muscle brain, beat him to the punch. Although things did not end well for Gallon, Will was still depressed.
"I thought they were triplets. But she was a human all along"
"Stop talking to yourself and man up" Gallahan lightly hit his Grandson on the back of his head.
"Oww! Why did you hit me Grandpa!"
"You won't be able to achieve anything if all you do is self-loathe without the slightest of effort"
"I know. I'll... I'll try... tomorrow definitely" Will's voice faded into silence.
"You're hopeless" Gallahan sighed and went back to his beer.
'No. I shouldn't get worked up by Grandpa's words. I'm just a helpless sheep in front of a predatory wolf' Will shook his head in defeat reminded of the leader of the Nero mercenaries who was absent due at the place.
Suddenly Will felt a chill go down his spine. Although less experienced, he was still a member of a mercenary group that traveled across dangerous regions. He searched behind him when he felt like someone was glaring at his back. But there was no one that caught his eye aside from two robed men passing by.
'Am I imagining things now?' Will scratched his head in confusion before turning back to his table.
Meanwhile on the table of the Wayward merchants...
"Chug!" "Chug!" "Chug!"
"How is she still drinking?"
"I can't believe Jerome is going to lose!"
The men around the two people in the middle of the drinking contest spectated in awe. They were all part of a traveling merchant group temporarily staying in the tavern.
"How are you still going?" Jerome asked in a drunken state. His tanned face was flushed red with drops of alcohol dripping from his thick beard.
"I can do this all day"
His opponent Ann, put down her empty jug with a confident smile. Although she was drunk, it was not to the point that she would lose her sanity.
"Hahahaha"
Jerome laughed and raised his arms in the air.
"I admit defeat"
Jerome pulled Kobe by the arm and made him stand in front of everybody. He ruffled his light blonde hair and started talking loudly.
"She's perfect Kobe! You're a lucky lad!"
"A-Ah... No. Don't misunderstand"
Kobe frantically tried to correct Jerome's words. He did not want to be misunderstood by his crush when it was just his first time talking to her.
"He's just drunk..... Don't mind him" He flailed his hands blushing to the tip of his ears.
"What do you mean? Haven't you been interested in her ever since you laid eyes on her?"
Although Kobe tried to salvage the situation, the intoxicated Jerome had no intention of letting things be the way they were.
"Haha"
Ann laughed at the scene unfolding in front of her when someone she had never seen before in her life dropped a bomb.
"It's such a waste though" The man said, whirling the alcohol in his glass. He was sitting at the end of the table with empty glasses of beer piled up in front of him.
"What do you mean?" Jerome asked his second in command, confused by his words.
"How could Will court her if the perfect woman is already married? Is what I'm trying to say Jerome" He smirked.
"Won't that be immoral?"
"What!"
"What!"
Will and Ann both yelled and stood up at the same time.
'Oh no'
'Who is this dude?'
The two looked at each other's faces in confusion.
Will sat down embarrassed realizing his eavesdropping has been exposed. He sneakily glanced back to look at her expression. But Ann had completely ignored his outburst and turned towards the guy who was talking nonsense, which was in fact the truth.
'How? How did he find out? Did my identity get exposed? Will I be caught and dragged back to Orion?'
A series of thoughts went inside Ann's head within a matter of seconds. Because Ann aka Angelica was not going to let that happen.
'Like hell, I'm gonna let that happen!' Ann declared to herself glaring at the man at the end of the table.
"At least that's what these guys said" Unable to withstand the glare from Ann, the man confessed and pointed towards Noah and Oliver.
"What the f*ck guys!"
Ann pulled Noah and Oliver standing behind her down to her side, and whispered to them.
"The poor man is just worried for his son"
"Cut him some slack will you"
They answered and averted their eyes in a carefree manner.
'I'm surrounded by snitches' Ann mentally facepalmed. She regretted getting drunk and blabbering in front of them two years ago.
Although she did not reveal anything other than running away after getting married without consent, the damage was done.
"Seriously, guys?" Ann asked back, annoyed. She was confident that they would never reveal information without any benefits, a trait they had similar to her evil cousins.
"He paid us ten gold coins" Noah stuck out his tongue.
"What he meant to say is that" Oliver corrected Noah's words and whacked Noah's head.
"This is to keep the fleas at bay"
"But you got paid for that" Ann raised her eyebrows in annoyance.
"We did" The twins agreed in unison.
'These stupid foxes!'
"Hah..." Ann sighed. At least after this, there wouldn't be anyone trying to approach her with romantic interests.
Ann had decided not to get into any relationships until her situation was cleared and she was free from the clutches of the novel. It was because she did not want to shackle the person she loves and pull him into her mess.
"Fine. But half of that money is mine. Dismissed"
Ann let go of Noah and Oliver turned back to her table.
"Got it" The twins smiled slyly.
"Yeah yeah... It's true. I was married. A long time ago..."
When Ann confirmed the statements of the man, it was Kobe's turn for shock.
"WHAT!"
He drooped down his shoulders depressed about having his first love destroyed before it even started. However, Jerome became more invested in the sudden reveal. He wanted to hear more.
'Why are you acting so surprised? Is he perhaps?' Ann narrowed her eyes at Kobe, whose eyes seemed to be filled with tears.
"Was?" Jerome probed her for more information. Unlike his appearance, he was the type to be intrigued over nice juicy gossip.
"Yes. A long time ago I was married" Ann said and started to chug down the beer Liam passed to her.
"What happened to your husband?"
Everybody at the table, including the ones in the surrounding area, eagerly waited for her answer.
"Oh. That guy?"
"He's dead"
Ann placed the jug on the table with a thud that startled everyone.
Her lips curved into an evil grin.
All the alcohol in her system was finally starting to take effect.
It turned out that thinking about her ex-husband was the most effective way to trigger her drunkenness.
"And I killed him!"