"Many have tried to halt or escape the Bounty Hunter throughout history. Kings and archmages amongst these numbers. Not a single attempt have succeeded. The only noted case of the Bounty Hunter failing to collect on a bounty was with Abinya Durg Zudrah, the overlord of drug trade in what is now the Caliphate approximately two centuries ago. The man died from a fatal heart attack upon receiving the Bounty Hunter's warning, and his bounty was therefore never claimed." - Shaqwal ibn Ordun, Historian and researcher of historical figures.

It was an understatement to say that the mood in the guild was tense, especially amongst the older adventurers present. Some of the younger, cocky brats looked positively eager, however, and more than once Cal heard tall boasts about how they would surely be able to outfight this Bounty Hunter.

Cal just quietly chuckled while she, Dan, and the girls had a simple breakfast of freshly baked flatbreads - quite good ones, with a flaky texture and buttery taste - and bowls of vegetable stew, washing it all down with chilled ales. With how hot the region was all year round, enchanted freezers for foods and beverages were amongst the most popular items.

When she brought the girls out and looked around the town for souvenirs, as well as sampling the local street food, she noticed some people looking at the girls with greedy eyes from time to time, but then looked at their adventurer tags which they wore visibly for once, and immediately averted their eyes.

Even without her presence, she doubted the girls would be in any trouble unless they split up. While Ying Xiao's badge was a lowly copper - which was only logical, as she has had no feats to report since her registration - Leila had a silver one, which was standard for any graduate of Levain's battle magic course. She helped out during the outbreak of rabid animals back then too.

Elaina and Sidonie, on the other hand, had gold ones. Not unexpected, as the Great Emerald Forest where they lived had an abundance of wildlife that were rare in other regions, and many requests for materials from there were posted every day. Both girls also hunted often, and considering their ages at seventy-one and forty-three, their gold tags were no surprise whatsoever.

Even Dan had a gold tag, as his youthful looks were deceiving. The half goblin was in his forties already, and his half elven heritage was the main reason he barely looked like a teenage goblin. As an experienced desert guide, his gold tag was well earned as well, even if he wasn't the best fighter around.

That evening when they returned to the guildhouse, they heard the news that another of the merchants had been killed in broad daylight just hours ago. He had hunkered down in his home's basement, and all that did was to create a trail of dead guards leading to his headless corpse.

At the same evening, over a dozen requests calling for bodyguards were posted on the guild's board. They were from the other merchants. Promises of ample rewards prominent amongst all of them.

The vast majority of the veteran adventurers and mercenaries balked at the offer, yet a few more cocky ones accepted them, along with some younger mercenaries. Most of them gravitated towards the offer from the Hashedah cousins, two of the richest merchants in the city who had chosen to pool their resources together.

Cal just watched them go with a disapproving shake of her head. Over dinner she lectured the girls over the dangers of overconfidence, and how one should never bite off more than one can chew. Similar lectures played out on many of the other tables around them.

They went to sleep in their rented rooms again that night, and woke up the next morning to hear the news that both Hashedah cousins were murdered just before dawn. None of their guards, including the mercenaries, survived, save for one youngster who had pissed his pants and fainted when he felt the Bounty Hunter's aura.

That kid woke up to find himself in the middle of a field of carnage, and saw the Bounty Hunter on their way out with the heads of the cousins in their hand, who glanced his way as they passed. That glance alone made the poor kid soil his trousers. The Bounty Hunter had snorted, shook their head, and just left without touching the kid.

Others in the guild heard of his story when he returned, relayed his story to the few who asked, and immediately tendered his resignation. Nobody even laughed at him for not changing out of his soiled pants.

There was a tense, nervous air that engulfed the city when Cal brought the girls out that day, although the smaller merchants didn't seem to care much about the situation. In the eyes of some, she even noticed schadenfreude at the suffering of the targeted merchants.

They split up, as she told the girls to stay together while they were looking for souvenirs to give to their families, and she asked Dan to stick with them. She herself went to a seedier part of the city, and entered a long abandoned warehouse.

Kino awaited her there, sitting on one of the intact beams that supported the roof structure, her legs swaying around in the air. She looked all too relaxed for someone who was throwing the whole city into the current situation, but then again, she was likely used to it.

"How goes the hunting?" Cal asked as she sat down on an intact wooden crate after she brushed off the accumulated dust from its surface.

"Eh, so-so," Kino said from her perch. "Some overconfident mercs in over their heads, nothing unusual."

"Mm-hmm. You'll be done in another week or so then at this pace?"

"Probably less. I'm hoping that they'd beseech their sponsor for his protection as well. I have my suspicions as to who it might be, but no confirmation," replied Kino with a sigh. She made it a point of pride to ensure everybody she hunted down had deserved their fate. "Also still no clue on where their base is. It should be somewhere in or near the city though."

"Anything we can do to help out?"

"Actually… maybe…" said Kino as she pondered for a moment. "Would you be against using one of the girls as bait?"

"If it's Ying Xiao I wouldn't mind," replied Cal. "She can likely fight her way out of most situations, and I had wanted her to have some experience on dealing with people, but alas, Ptolodecca was very safe, and the desert had no banditry either."

"I was thinking of her as well. Helps that her tag is copper," Kino said with a giggle.

"So what do you want us to do?"

"Simple, really… if things go right, they will end up taking us straight to their base…"