The Villain Wants to Quit

Sneaking out (2)

Chaya Amian's home looked was a modest house that looked like it was once very dapper but was now in need of several repairs.

For example, Theo had just broken part of the door knocker. It was very rusty.

Theo placed the knocker on the porch and wiped his hands on his trousers before using his fist to knock.

"Excuse me, Ms. Amian, can I speak to you?" Theo called. "I have a business proposition." Theo heard the rustling sound of someone moving around. Then there was a long pause. "I need to teleport, but the capital's portal is broken."

The door cracked open, and a pair of brown, bloodshot eyes peered at him. A security chain prevented the door from opening all the way.

"You're offering me money?" Chaya Amian asked.

Theo gave a nod. "Yes, I'm on a tight deadline and need to teleport rather quickly."

"How much are you paying?" Chaya's eyes narrowed and glinted.

"I can give you two gold coins as a down payment and three more when we arrive."

The eyes widened. "Um...how far are you going?" Chaya asked.

"I'm heading to Reinlia, but it's okay if you can't get me that far," Theo mentioned a bordering country of Ascia.

Dullahan wouldn't be pleased if Theo had people consistently teleporting him close to the base, so he often chose random locations that would help cut the travel time down.

"Are you the only traveler?"

"I have a unicorn that will be traveling with me."

Chaya's eyebrows scrunched together. The bags under her eyes were buried in shadows.

"The guards were looking for a pale traveler with black hair and a unicorn companion. He broke the capital's portal."

"I didn't break the portal." Theo smiled. "The knights did that."

The door slammed shut.

"Ms. Amian," Theo called, "if you weren't going to cooperate with me, you really should have acted like you didn't realize my identity and stabbed me in the back. Now I'm going to have to insist you work with me."

Silence answered Theo.

"Ms. Amian, I'm perfectly capable of opening this door. Please cooperate with me, and I will make it worth your time."

There was more silence.

"I can take care of those loan sharks for you. Even if you get my bounty, you know they will just take it away from you."

The door opened a crack.

"And that's if you even trust the government to give you half of whatever they promised."

"I'm listening," Chaya sighed and fully opened the door.

Chaya Amian was a woman who looked exhausted.

An ashen complexion complimented her tired eyes, and her shoulders were caving forward. A bruise pooled on her left cheek, and more were probably hidden under her baggy sweater.

"Can I come in?" Theo asked.

Chaya nodded and led Theo to a small sitting room. He sat in an armchair that had good bones but desperately needed reupholstering. The chair Chaya sat in wobbled. It looked like it had been incorrectly repaired at some point.

"How would you get rid of the loan sharks?" Chaya asked.

"I already overpowered quite a few of them," Theo said. "That's how I got this."

Theo handed Chaya the files with a sketch of her and her personal information. Chaya snatched the papers and glowered at Theo.

"I can rough up their leader and make them agree to an oath that they will forgive your debts and not contact you directly or indirectly. Ah, it'll probably work better if you take care of the oath part." Theo said. "I'm not very good at spell work."

Even Theo's oath with Marc had been initiated and worded by Marc.

"That... that's actually a good deal," Chaya murmured. "Do you mind if I write up a draft of the oath?"

"As long as I can supervise, that's fine," Theo said. "This is time sensitive, though, so can you write it in a half hour's time?"

Chaya bobbed her head up and down. "Yes! That's perfect." A smile broke across her face.

Chaya didn't take long to write up a remarkably detailed oath resembling a legal agreement. It was far different from the haphazard thing that bound Marc to secrecy.

Of course, Theo didn't really mind if Marc betrayed him. That oath was just there to serve as a loophole for his oath with Dullahan.

Regardless, Chaya's care with the oath did show that she realized poorly worded oaths could be ineffective.

Theo found himself genuinely hoping the oath would help her escape the loan sharks.

"Hey...do I need to make an oath to you?" Chaya asked as she rolled up her draft.

Theo shook his head no.

"Well, that's better for me, I suppose," Chaya murmured. "So, is it time to go beat up some thugs."

Theo nodded with a grin. There were times when committing acts of violence didn't feel too bad.

Without further ado, Theo pulled his cloak hood over his face, and he and Chaya went in search of their victims.

It really didn't take long. Within an hour, Theo had figured out what mob was in charge of the loan sharks and subjugated their leader.

Watching the tired and anxious Chaya's eyes light up as she forced the mob boss to agree to an oath with her was more rewarding than Theo thought.

"Hey, he tried to change the wording on me. Can you smack him?" Chaya asked.

Theo kicked the mobster in his perfectly square jaw.

"Remember, you're the one who taught me to pay attention to all the details in an agreement." Chaya chuckled and placed one hand on her chest. "I've taken your advice to heart."

"Now, let's try again." Chaya smiled.

The mobster tried to change the terms again, but after Theo broke a couple bones, he correctly completed the oath to Chaya.

"Ms. Amian," Theo said as they left the mobster, "doesn't that oath basically make you a mob boss now."

Chaya inclined her head toward Theo. "If I play my cards right, I could become one of the most powerful people in the town," Chaya said. "But it doesn't make me invincible."

"You could run away to a different town," Theo said.

"My sister's still sick. The doctors here are some of the best. Plus her medicine-"

"I know. It's produced here." Theo sighed and frowned.

Chaya's smile twisted. "It's such a stereotypical reason to get wrapped into all this. A sick family member."

"I can't say how often I will be around to help, but I will help when I can. Mob bosses and villains have to stick together."

Chaya laughed. "And all I wanted to be was a professor."

"I thought I was going to be a farmer."