Sewo keeps tailing the men , they're scared for their life, so they run back to the only safe spot they know of , it's in their instincts ,not like those simpeltons can help it.
Sewo end up at the frontyard of his rival association . The place reeks of alcohol, it's a storage house for the organisation called "Desmondes & Sons". There were heaps of coal all over the place.
Amongst all this dust we see a young man roughly 22-25 years of age meeting up with the crippled men who came to him. The man seems overwhelmed seeing his men having suffered so much.
The man is being referred to as Rodolf Sir.
Sewo could tell that, the man must be the one to inherit this organisation after its current leader died. The young man clearly lacks judgement and is too impulsive for his own good.
Sewo finds a good spot at the corner of the compound as he decides the man's fate.
Sewo contemplated his next moves , he believes a warning night get his job done, but such people pay no heed to warning. Alternatively, Sewo could threaten him and use violence and torture as a medium to get his message across , because that way, the man would know what he is capable of.
Sewo mutters to himself"I don't want to kill him, Theia will not like it. And I don't wish to hide things from her. I guess I will just torture him a bit , get my message across and leave ."
Sewo , having made up his mind waits till the workers leave the storehouse and the young man is alone. An hour passes by, Sewo waits for the man , while lost in thoughts with Thiea.
Soon he is brought back to reality when the workers begin to leave and after sometime the young man exits the warehouse securing the lock.
Sewo lunges at the man and purposefully pushing his head back as to make sure the man is knocked out soon as he hits the ground.
Sewo then drags Rodolf inside the storage . Thick coal dust fills his lungs as Sewo gasps for air dragging the man inside. Sewo ties him to a chair in the rear end of the storage.
Sewo wants to teach the man his lesson . He sets up his tools for the torture as he waits for the man to wake up .
Sewo collects a Butcher's knife , he borrows a poking needle from the storage itself and burns some coal for its smoke.
Rodolf opens his eyes , he looks around and finds himself tied inside a familiar setting. Realising it's his own office , he thinks it must be few of his workers that have kidnapped him.
Rodolf is a bit on the edge, he doesn't feel the presence of anyone near him. He speaks up saying" Hello? Anyone there ? Guys why have you kidnapped me ? You will not get much money with me as a hostage,yknow."
Sewo walks from the shadow towards the man as he replies to the victim's worries" I don't want your money, Rodolf. I am here for you."
Sewo asks him directly "Why did you send your men to attack the Iron Lily Agency?"
Sewo will decide Rodolf's date depending on his answers.
Starting to fold under the pressure , Rodolf tries to decline the claims, but Sewo shuts him down with a kick to the face . Realising that there's no way to deny it. Rodolf decides it's best that he plays along for now.
Rodolf accepts his faults "Yes , I was the one who had sent those people . I'm sorry for not accepting. As to why I did it? It's the common culture here .Often times when some newcomers try to act as Messiah and hoarde all the customers to themselves by giving out cheaper services, we have to shun them down . We have survived in this business line for roughly 25-30 years. My father has done the same things , so it's obvious that I'd follow."
Sewo decided to talk him through as the man seems reasonable enough — "Okay , I get your perspective, it's understandable. But that doesn't mean you can destory what is mine , does it? I want you to stop meddelong in my business line and to leave us all alone . Okay?"
Rodolf agrees almost instantly saying " Yes , of course . I will never think about bothering you again. You can trust me on it."
Sewo feels like the situation was sorted way too easily. For someone who sent his men to kill Sewo's workers and to erase Iron Lily to the ground, is there any reason he would agree so hastily?
Realising Rodolf's bluffs , Sewo decides to go through with his plan of torture , just to make sure. He knows that the man is a scaredy cat. Pushing a bit more , will get Sewo what he wants.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Sewo walks upto Rodolf as he grabs the chair and pivots it and it's front legs and puts Rodolf's face just above the coal he was burning. The smoke from the coals and their heat , burn into his skin and his eyes.
Sewo yells at him" If you close your eyes, I will gauge them out and eat them here."
The man starts crying , he lungs burn , throat itches in discomfort.
Sewo pulls the chair back, letting him catch a moment's rest before he repeats the torture. Only this time, He forces Rodolf's eyes open. The storage is filled with Rodolf's screams and Sewo observes the timing for his torture like a chef who puts timers while making food.
Sewo then again pulls the man back up . He asks him " So? You're still gonna send your men? " Rodolf screams —" You crazy fucker, I already told you I will not bother you, why're you doing this to me ? Can't you just trust me , I swear I will not bother you or your company ."
Sewo still distrustful replies calmly with —" I want to trust you too, it's just , you don't sound convincing enough. Well, whatever . I will just keep going till you can convince me with your words ."
Sewo uses the poking needle next. He gently strokes it at the man's thighs as he thinks to himself " I really want to trust him, but I can not bring myself to trust his words at all. How can I trust a stranger with the safety of what I've built. I would rather kill him, than to risk what's mine."
Sewo Pokes the man's thighs once. Rodolf grits his teeth as he begs " Please , I promise I won't. "
Still unconvinced, Sewo plunged the needle back into his thigh again and again. Every stab makes the man scream in anguish . He begs for mercy , screaming , trying to convince Sewo .
After a quarter hour of drilling through the man. Sewo gets bored as he asks him" Tell me more about yourself."
Rodolf had hurt his vocals from screaming so much . He asks Sewo for water. After getting denied and being told " I forgot to bring it." Rodolf then talks about his childhood , where he explains how he wanted to be just like his father . Sewo listens closely to Rodolf as he doesn't sound as evil .
Rodolf explains " When I was like 10 years old, My father used to bring me to work. I'd spend days observing my father , working hard . I used to be so fascinated by how he would manage the entire organisation without breaking a sweat .
It made me realise that I wanted the same thing to myself. I wanted to be a leader of men, I wanted to bring this organisation to new heights , but now that I've grown up , I realise that it was just a childhood dream of mine.
I have no purpose in my life. My father just tolerated me barely , because I'm his only Son. I wanted to have atleast a few big achievements that would make me feel better .
I don't know why I'm telling you this, but...man idk you asked me for it .. just listen... I feel so lost in life .. it's like I am nothing . I feel invisible . I want to be something, I want to be someone cool you know. I want to be like Dependable, Trustworthy, Strong, Smart and all that.
Even you don't trust me when I'm telling st the top of my lungs that I wouldn't harm you."
Sewo realises that the man is burdened by his own thoughts . Sewo comforts him with " Well, I only didn't trust you , because you were half -assing your promise. You didn't seem convincing. It's none of my concerns, but if you're so purposeless, wouldn't finding a purpose be the first thing you should do? "
Rodolf yells back " Are you stupid ? Isn't that obvious ? Who wouldn't know that? "
Sewo replies with —" So , have you tried it ?"
Rodolf gets embarassed as he denies ever trying it. Sewo then slaps Rodolf , not with hardness, but out of pity, as he says —" Then why the hell are you complaining to me, If you haven't even tried the most obvious fucking things?"
Rodolf retorts with " Well, because I don't know how to find my purpose , do you know ?"
Sewo thinks for a moment , as he answers the question with " Kind of ? I have my plans , I know what I want next , so I just have to follow through."
Rodolf is slightly stunned as he asks with curiosity " Well,how do you know what you want ?"
Sewo gets lost in his thoughts , as he asks to himself " He's right , how do I know what I want ?" Just after asking it to himself , Sewo reaches to a conclusion " Well, my family dies , so of course taking revenge is the obvious purpose ".
But Sewo knows, that is not the right answer . After a moment of silence, Sewo replies " Well, I know what I want , because I suffered enough for it ? I didn't necessarily try to find it, my purpose found me . But I did plan how I'd go about it."
Rodolf replies with annoyance" Exactly , see , you are lucky , that is why you have a purpose , unlike me who has not yet found it . You're just so very lucky , to know what you want . So don't act all high and mighty like you know better."
Sewo gets angry at first as he thinks " Im lucky ? Luck? Me? what a fool . I might just be the unluckiest person here." But he decides to think again "To be honest, although it cost me my family and a lifetime of happiness, I was indeed lucky to have found some purpose . Although it's a path of suffering and it might even lead to nothing, but I do have something going for me. I was lucky I guess."
Sewo feels a bit light-hearted as he tell Rodolf " Well, you're right . I really got lucky and ended up finding my purpose. But , to be honest , I'd rather be like you than be like me. "
Sewo realises that he is wasting his time at the wrong person , because the man already suffers enough in his own mind and no torture could ever exceed th pain of the burdens he has placed on himself.
Sewo untied Rodolf and leaves the storage , before leaving he gives him just one message —" I'll give you a hint, for your life - It's the simple things that matter most. If you want to be a great leader of men, then be a leader first. You know what the qualities of a great leader are. Just mould yourself into those things and you'll become what you want. Simplicity is key.
Also, If Iron Lily is attacked ever again, I don't care who attacked it, I will come find you and kill you and your father first, regardless of wether you're at fault or not ."
Sewo then leaves the storage as he thinks about spending the last 2 days he has here with Theia.
" Should I buy her a ring ? A necklace would be a good symbol of our love huh?" Putting his mind to it, Sewo thinks of a relationship present for Theia . He then goes to bed and wakes up at 9' O Clock. Having showered , he heads out to a jwellers shop to buy a decent looking necklace. Something too flashy , will not look good. Theia is the the real beauty, she is what compliments this necklace are his thoughts, before he buys a modest looking necklace which had a hear shape. The heart could be divided into two pieces.
Sewo bought it , it looked like the perfect gift. Sewo then rushes to Theia with the present . " Okay , I have brought this gift for you, It's a necklace, let me show you ,hehe" he speaks with excitement as he unboxed her present and gives her the necklace. Theia loves it , she immediately realized that the necklace can be broken into 2 parts.
She feels overjoyed over the lovely gift . " Aww... that's so beautiful! I love you , my beautiful,amazing boyy."
Theia gives Sewo a tight hug. Sewo melts in her arms, her warm embrace feels like heaven to him. Sewo asks her " Do you want to spend the next two days together? Like we don't leave each other's side for even a minute and we stay close . I will be leaving there after so I just want to spend time with you ."
Theia feels a weird rush in her stomach, her face turns red , she starts to stutter "Uhm .. S-S-Suree? I uhm .. I would love that . Yes ,please , let's do that !"
The couple spend their time together strolling the market, going on picnics outside the city, they even use the profits to buy a small house in the city . They now had their own home. They are super lovely in the morning where they experience the joys of the world together. Visit g Fares, picnics. They even make food together.
At night, they huh each other super close , not letting the other go like sea otters . The time they spend is little , but it feels forever.
How ironic it is, for time to feel slow when they stay together, but also complaining about time passing by faster .Sewo then packs his bag and Theia packs his food supplies for the journey. Sewo promises her to come back and visit her .
With this, Sewo has finally completed his shenanigans in the merchant city . He then heads out towards his next destination, the city of Assassins and outlaws — Blackwater.

