Snippet #2365958

“Ah, Moonblade-sama, there you are!” The owner of the bar called out to Leander. At the sound, Leander’s back straightened and his posture returned to complete his guise. In his mind he cursed, his bad luck. The fake swordsman had been trying to sneak out of the bar before the man awoke. “Are you hungry?” The barkeep asked Leander with a smile on his face. Leander simply tipped his wide-brimmed hat forward in response. The man laughed. “Allays the quiet one, even in the mornings I see.” Leander wished he could sigh as he moved over to sit down for breakfast.

“It would be much easier to eat if you didn’t always cover your mouth.” The man commented as he began preparing the mercenary some food, referring to the cloth that Leander had over his mouth. In response the fake swordsman tilted down his hat to hide most of his face. Then when he was sure he couldn’t be identified, he removed the cloth.

“I’m not much to look at.” Leander said to the man in a rough voice, mimicking the one he had heard from the true owner of the clothes he now wore. The barkeep simple chuckled at his comment. Even after only a few days, Leander had about had enough of that laugh.

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The fake swordsman sat sitting outside the bar. He took to doing that when he didn’t have enough money to afford food. Which was most days. He had found that if he sat quietly outside places, people tended to take a little pity on wandering swordsmen. Not asking for charity seemed to be quite effective in receiving it.

This time however, Leander seemed to be scaring off a few customers. He didn’t mean to, he wasn’t portraying a brooding or dangerous man. Yet every once and a while, Leander would notice that someone would stop and retract their approach just as they drew close to the bar’s entrance. Eventually, Leander got up to leave. He hadn’t received any charity all day, so he figured his luck wasn’t going to change. Though as he began walking away he heard someone call out to him.

“Please! Don’t leave yet! I’m sorry for taking advantage of you!” A man called as he exited the bar. Leander turned around, confused at the statement. As far as he could tell, he hadn’t been taken advantage of yet. “There are still some inside. Please, I’ll pay you!” The man said, holding out some money. Before Leander could respond, he was being dragged inside. A few moments later Leander sat at the bar, still quite confused, though didn’t show it.

“There they are.” The barkeep pointed at three men who were sitting down at one of the tables. “They are the ones, please run them out. They cause so much trouble. I’m really sorry for taking advantage of you. I‘ll pay you for keeping out the troublemakers earlier.” The man begged quietly to Leander. Leander stared at the man for a moment, then looked over at the men. They seemed calm enough, not like ruffians at all. “Please, go.” The man said before Leander could make up his mind, then the barkeep pushed the fake swordsman towards the table.

The three looked up at Leander, confused. Two seemed a bit frightened when they saw Moonblade’s swords, but the third shook his head and grinned a bit. Leander sat down at the table, keeping a noble posture, but not saying anything. It seemed too late to back out now. The man who hadn’t been afraid was the first to speak.

“So, I guess he finally made good on his promise. I was wondering why the place was so empty today.” The man spoke to Leander, just softly enough so that only those sitting at the table could hear. “Well I guess we don’t have bring this fool business anyways.” The man commented, then stood up.

“Fine then you old bastard!” The man yelled at the barkeep. “It’s not our damn fault your daughter is so flirty.” The came a soft cry from the door to another room. Leander spotted a young woman peering from around the corner. “I tell you what though, I never thought you would make good on that threat. You really are stupider than I thought. Hiring a swordsman to scare of your own customers.” He turned to Leander as he finished. “Be careful then swordsman, this damn fool will run you off two. That is if he doesn’t run out of money to pay you with first!” The man yelled that last part for the barkeep to hear. Then stormed out of the bar, the two others close in toe.

“Very good! That was amazing! You ran them off without even speaking!” The barkeep praised Leander, walking over to him. Leander couldn’t help but raising an eyebrow, even his iron cast disguise had been cracked by this fool of a man. “Tell me swordsman, what is your name?” The barkeep asked.

“Moonblade.” Leander spoke in a rough voice, regaining his composure enough to keep up his disguise and remember the name of the man who had saved his life.

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“Ah! Kana-chan this way!” The man who stood slightly in front of Leander exclaimed, waving down the woman who had entered the bar. Leander tilted up his wide brim hat for a moment and looked over the woman, who seemed rather young. As the barkeep continued to speak it became apparent that this was the one who he had informed Leander about. The one looking for swordsmen to hire. As the barkeep sang the fake swordsman’s praises and they both bowed, though it did not show, Leander was quite relived. Surely such a frail woman couldn’t set a very dangerous task.