A Lion's Way Home

10. The Journey Begins

Every train station in Rechel had a car rental beside one of the station exits. The government had made it so that both civilians and mercenaries could go everywhere easily; however, mercenaries would usually get a small discount.

When the academy principal had spoken, though, it'd be a different story.

"Ah, I've heard about you two from Mr. Burke," the owner of the rental, Daniel Rivera, spoke with a sweet smile that made Leon sick in the stomach. One had to respect mercenaries, but some idiots just tried too hard to be a bootlicker.

"Yeah." Neil grinned, a hand grasping the straps of his bulky duffle bag while another rubbing the back of his neck. "Mr. Burke booked a car for our mission, didn't he?"

"He did." Daniel turned and walked along the path between the neatly-parked cars. Sunlight glinted off their shiny surface. "Follow me."

Dragging his suitcase, Leon faked a smile and followed Daniel. "Yes, Sir."

Neil strolled beside him, looking left and right as if he were in a shopping mall. It wasn't long until Leon was a few feet in front of him.

Leon glanced over his shoulders. "You wanna get left behind?"

"But these cars... Oh, dear Aedifex!" Neil stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening as he pointed at a lone blue SUV. A humongous broadsword jutted out of its bumper, while a giant kite shield rested beside each of its headlights. It had wing-like rear pillars, big enough to cover a grown-up man's head and shoulders. "That's Garuda Eagle, isn't it?"

"Yes," Daniel replied; good thing he kept walking. "It's still an early version, though. Since it has both flight and combat capabilities, it needs a lot of fuel."

Neil grinned broadly. "Wow, they finally finished it!"

"I heard that you took engineering as extracurricular, Mr. Neil?" Daniel asked. "Any chance you were in the development team?"

"Before I graduated, yeah. My buddies promoted this project a lot, so I just joined them." Neil's grin faded as his gaze fell to the concrete floor. "It was fun, but I didn't have the patience for it."

"Well, that's understandable. Car development takes years and costs a lot after all."

And isn't as profitable as doing missions at the countryside, Leon added in his mind, struggling to retain his smile at Daniel's sickeningly pleasant voice. He glanced at Neil, who didn't even look bothered. Silly rooster head. At least he had resumed walking.

It took only about a minute for them to reach the destination - a row of SUVs. Approaching the silver one with the number plate "KR-1728-SL," Daniel pulled a key and a receipt out of his pants pocket and handed them to Neil. "Mr. Burke told me that you'll be driving."

"Yeah." Smiling at Leon, Neil pushed the "unlock" button on the key. A click echoed as the car's lights flashed. "Hope you don't mind, buddy."

You've been driving for years. You certainly drive better than I do. Leon sighed as he strode towards the trunk. "It's Mr. Burke's order. Besides, I'm not allowed behind the wheel unless there's nobody else."

"Oh, right. You're still 16 despite your looks and voice," Daniel commented.

Did he really need to comment on that? Leon opened the door and put his suitcase in the car.

Neil soon joined him and nudged him in his rib. "Be more subtle, bro," he whispered.

"Whatever." Leon headed towards the front door and opened it. Once he got in the car, he slammed the door shut and put on the seat belt.