Chương 4: Breaking Bond

Alex wouldn't let herself get caught working in the fields. That was for her employees. And from what it looked like, Aurora was the right choice to handle the fields. She tended to it by calling them her little babies, whatever that meant. Regardless, caffeine was the holy substance that would be the fuel to her grand plan: complete world economic domination. If coffee makes the world go round, money is the lubricant that smoothens its movement.

Sitting on the barbarian throne that she forcefully took over, in front of Alex were her two C-Suite employees, Grey and Aurora. It was an executive meeting, and she did not like what she was hearing.

"My Lady, the flowers are in an unhealthy condition... due to living in the wild without being tended to. We need to create better conditions by providing small irrigation pathways, and the field is a mess of weeds we must eliminate," Aurora said.

"It looks like the western bandit outpost has been claimed by barbarians. There's a field patch over there that we can't get through. Other than that, I've marked the 3 other Star Seeking flower fields on the map," Grey said as he handed over the map. Taking the map from him, the fields that he marked weren't too far away. But this problem would be solved later. The company won't be able to maintain its production rate if the crops aren't being grown consistently by the C. P. O. This was it.

Having competent employees under her made everything much smoother. She didn't know a goddamned thing about growing flowers or the landscape of this backwater dump of a world. Let her employees solve it.

"Aurora, do you know how to solve your problem?" Alex asked.

"Yes, My Lady. There is a carpenter in the kingdom that I know who can provide structures for irrigation. There is also a blacksmith who can provide tools to easily pick the weeds," Aurora said.

"That requires money..." Grey said.

"My Lady, have you checked the fat pig's storage yet?" Alex stood up, "Guide me." Grey obliged and moved a couple of steps to the left of the throne. He stopped at a white fur rug. Dragging that aside, there was a handle by the wooden planks and an outline of a trap door. Grabbing it by the handle, he pulled it up to reveal a staircase that led into the dark. Not bothering to talk, Alex moved down immediately. As she arrived at the last step, the scenery changed from a wooden structure to cobblestone walls.

It was cramped. Only two people could fit side by side. There was also only one way forward, straight ahead. Grey and Aurora arrived a couple of seconds after. Alex led the way forward. Their steps echoed in the cramped narrow stone walls of the hallway. Drips of water could be heard somewhere from above. Once they arrived at the far end, what greeted her was a simple wooden door with a lock attached to two pieces of metal. Extending her hand to the lock, Alex cast a spell to unlock it.

"Aloha-get out of my way-mora." That earned a couple of sighs from Grey and Aurora. She didn't really need to say the spell out loud. It was just always something she did to mess around with Witch Raven wearing a stupid witch hat. Taking off the lock from its hinge, Alex opened the door, expecting to see piles of gold based on how these idiots had been robbing passersby. Yet what she saw made her blood boil instead.

Piles of weapons, armour, and gems littered the floor, and there were exactly only 2 gold pieces on the ground of this vault. It made her want to scream. How would a fucking fat pig devour so much money? Grey coughed.

"My Lady, I understand your anger, however, the pig that ruled this side of the mountain spent the gold all on himself. Food, alcohol, and women everyday." Floating all the weapons and armour on the ground, Alex telekinetically crumpled them all up into a single compressed metal cube. She stored it in her space storage after. At least there was some useful material here. The gems of varying colours, however, could not be sold easily at full gold value, especially from a bandit camp. It was illiquid.

"Grey. Aurora," Alex said. Both of her C-Suite employees knelt with one knee and one fist on the ground, lowering their heads.

"Yes, My Lady!"

"Grey, sell what you can sell. Just get gold as fast as possible. Then, buy the materials Aurora needs and help her with the irrigation structures."

"Understood."

"My Lady..." Aurora spoke up, turning her head up to look at Alex.

"I do not know how to extract the 'caffeine' you desire from the flowers. If this humble one may ask, has the lady found a solution to this problem?"

"Yup," Alex simply said.

"Understood," Aurora bowed her head back. Moving towards the exit of the vault, Alex walked back to the entrance. This was one of the simpler problems. Based on how she extracted the caffeine from the flower previously, there was a process that could get very close. Since the petals were fragile, by using ethyl acetate, it wouldn't turn into flower mush that has some caffeine. The two ingredients for this magical solution were alcohol and vinegar.

Even in a medieval magical shithole like this world, it should have alcohol and some kind of vinegar. Alcohol would be a requirement for this and not just any brewer would do. At this age of the current world, creating high concentration alcohol would be a challenge for an average joe brewer. The business obstacle was clear. Find a talented brewer. Quickly exiting the bandit town hall, Alex flew up once more and looked towards the Kingdom of the fat old bastard.

She flew towards it and looked down at the Solemn Stay Inn that was quickly becoming her favourite place. When she landed, she expected the doors of the inn to be closed. However, for some reason, it was left open. The whispers already started the moment she took a step forward. Most of the patrons were familiar faces. By this third time she was here, they already knew her. How convenient.

"Alright, bitches. Who's the best brewer in this kingdom?" No one talked. Everyone looked away from her. No one wanted to fess up. Taking another step forward, her eyes set on the closest one to the door. The man flinched as her eyes moved towards him.

"Willow would know!" the man squealed.

"In Frae's wisdom, you're an ass." Willow, behind the counter, sighed at being called out. With a smirk on her face, Alex briskly moved down to the end of the inn and sat at the stool by the counter. The other patrons beside her took their dishes and beer to find other tables.

"So. Who is it?" Alex asked.

"What are you going to do with him?"

"So it's a him. Tell me more."

"Look, I'm not saying anything till you tell me."

"Sounds like a guy with a good reputation since you're defending him, am I right?" Willow shut her mouth. Looks like the bitch couldn't afford to give her more clues. In that case, adding a little ingredient called fear was all that was needed to get her mouth moving. Alex extended her hand, placing it on the counter. Clenching it tightly, her hand made a crackling noise that could be heard throughout the inn, causing Willow to flinch." Talk."

"Ok! But, the man is already taken."

"Taken how?"

"He's devoted to his guild and brother. He makes beer for the guild and creates a steady gold stream for them. They've been at it for 11 years, and he's never stopped once."

"Names?"

"The older brother's name is Constantine and the younger brother Fraser Laslett. They own a guild called Brave Sentinels."

"And what does this guild do?"

"Usually take random missions from the king, but also get hired as mercenaries by Rankers." Rankers? That was a new bit of terminology that Alex hadn't heard before. The probability of that being this world's way of saying these are the strongest people in the world was very high. And if not, she'd find out later anyways. On to the question, she asked, "What makes him so devoted?"

"They are brothers. Grew up together in an orphanage. No parents. Just two of them against the world, and they made it. Fraser had a knack for brewing that eventually led them to have enough money to make their own guild. Constantine had a robust body and could really fight. His prowess is at least 90, last I heard."

"Which one is the guild leader?"

"Constantine." That didn't make sense. Why would the stronger one be the one leading the guild if he's only a muscle head? This wasn't adding up. Brewing itself was a meticulous craft which would mean Fraser was smarter than his brother. Assuming this also applies to his money management, there was no way he wouldn't take the guild leader role.

"Then what's the point of their guild if they're already making money by brewing?" Alex asked, not really to inquire about what the guild was about, but to know more about the older brother's end goal.

"Constantine's strong. He's already reached 90 prowess before he's 30 Ter old. Heck, all the townspeople are cheering him on to become one of the golden generations. But to do all of that, he must quest and subjugate stronger and stronger foes." So this little asshole was basically using his younger brother as a piggy bank. What a little son of a bitch, not that Alex cared. It was dirt that she needed to stir conflict. A large smile formed on her face, and a slow laugh started rolling out from deep within her.

The act caused pressure on everyone, both physically and metaphorically, about what she was about to do to these found family chained brothers. ☕︎ ☼ ☕︎ ☽ ☕︎ Fraser plopped on his bed. It was midnight, and he needed to wake up early in the morning to deal with the finances before proceeding with the actual brewing. Staring at the wooden ceiling, he felt his body more tired than usual. It's already been several days since the woman, Alex Grace, had contacted him about an opportunity to work at her 'company' for 2.

5 golds per Ter. But what would be the point of that? He wanted to see his brother face giants and trolls in the future. The amount of money he's making right now would be just a drop in the bucket in the future of a potential Golden Generation contender. Fraser sighed as he thought of the money issue. Lately, he hasn't been able to sleep very well from their declining treasury. He's pushing hard to produce more, but brother kept demanding more.

Sometimes, he wished brother would just give up on the dream and live a normal life with him. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Shaking his head suddenly, he needed to get rid of these intrusive thoughts. Only recently did those thoughts start creeping up on him again. Brother's dream was important. He achieved his, so it was only obvious that he should support his only family's dream.

"Fraser! FRASER! Where are you!" Constantine shouted from down the hall outside his door. Fraser quickly got up and reached for his door. Opening it, he said, "Brother, I'm here. What's wrong?" He saw his brother storming down the narrow corridor. The look on his face was already apparent to Fraser. His brother had been having hallucinations and nightmares lately, but he wouldn't tell him what or why.

"Fraser, is there any strong alcohol remaining?" Constantine asked.

"Brother, I suggest to maybe—""Enough! Do we have any more?"

"Yes, I'll get you a cup right away," Fraser exited his room and hurried down the hall, into the lobby of the guild house, and down to the cellar. His brother had been using alcohol to knock himself out to sleep for a few days. It was worrying. Even if his prowess had already reached 102, uncontrolled alcohol consumption would lead to his body not fulfilling its maximum potential. Yet what else could Fraser do? Not having sleep would be worse than alcohol.

The body of a man who had reached the three digits in prowess is no longer that of an average Nulfraean adult. Brother always knows best, that's what he always told himself. Arriving at the barrels in the cellar, Fraser carefully looked at the labels on each one. Most of them were labelled around 4% to 6% alcohol level. Reaching closer to the back, the alcohol level started to rise from 8% to 15%. Then he finally found the remaining barrel that had the highest at 22%. It was a ridiculous number.

He was only able to manage to get it that high through constant observation, specialized yeast, and meticulous experimentation that took months of preparation work at the request of the king. Fraser was only able to produce 2 barrels of it. Now, only 1 remained, half empty for his brother. The king could wait. Taking a wooden cup from a counter nearby, Fraser walked back to the barrel and poured a cup, filling the liquid just below the top and letting the foam reach the edge.

From there, he walked back up from the cellar, through the lobby, and towards the living quarters. In that narrow hallway, his brother's room was at the end of the hall. Fraser arrived at his brother's door, opening it to see his brother already waiting for the beer at his bedside. Walking over to him, he extended the cup to the man.

"Brother, have this. It'll help you sleep." Constantine looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Can you taste it for me? I want to know if it's really the one I asked for." A weird request, but it didn't hurt to take a sip. As Fraser took a sip, Constantine watched him closely. Gulping down the contents, the liquid burned his throat as a side effect of the high alcohol. It wasn't Fraser's favourite part of the drink, but every other part of the beer tasted really good.

"It is exactly the same one, brother." Constantine took it from Fraser's hand immediately and gulped it down. Not even a sign of discomfort was shown on his face as the liquid poured down his throat.

"Thank you, Fraser. Really," Constantine said.

"Always, brother. I'll take my leave," Fraser said, walking over to the door.

"Goodnight." Closing the door, it looked like his brother was already tucking himself into bed. Fraser walked back to his own room, plopping onto his bed and closing his eyes. He turned his face towards the window to see the bright stars. Maybe he was just going through a rough time. Increasing prowess after three digits would be very difficult anyway. It was an adaptation period for him. That's it. Definitely it.

Fraser's mind wandered as he tried to just forget about everything that was happening and the struggles of the recent days. Honestly, all of it started after that woman, Alex, paid him a visit. But she was so sweet and beautiful. She didn't even push him, unlike other breweries that tried to poach him. Most of them tried to threaten him, but they'd all be stopped the moment his brother stepped in. During the negotiation, Fraser didn't think he even needed to call in his brother for help.

She simply backed off after rejecting her once. Even told him to contact Willow if he changed his mind. That would never happen, though. He couldn't fathom leaving his brother, who had protected him since the orphanage. It was his only way of repaying his brother's protection and also a way for them to become as rich as the nobles. 150 prowess wasn't so far away. Just a couple more years, Brother. Truly, you can make it. A slow creak of his room's door told Fraser that someone had opened his door.

His eyes were closed, and the only one that had his room's key was his brother. Yet he didn't want to turn around. The intense feeling of killing intent weighed down on his chest. If he showed any movement, it would be his neck. Slowly, he peeked one eye at the window. On the glass pane was his brother's reflection, glaring at him intensely. That was enough for Fraser to close his eyes back shut. Was this a nightmare, or was his brother sleepwalking? For a couple of minutes, the killing intent kept crushing him.

His breath became shallow, and he did his best not to pee his pants. With his brother's prowess, killing him would be like squishing an ant. There would be no effort to it. The killing intent finally let off, gradually subsiding. Fraser again heard the creak of the door, and the quiet click sealed the deal. Taking a deep breath, Fraser's mind was in shambles. What was that about? That was the first time his brother had ever done something like that to him. Was he mad at him? There had to be a reason...

but could he really just ask? If he found out that he knew his brother was standing in front of his bed, then it would be a simple effortless kill for him. But in the end, he didn't do anything. Just watched him. It's best to forget it. Nothing happened. The next morning, Fraser was at the guild office, working on the finances. Looking over at the expenses, the healing potion requests were the highest of the last 2 days. His brother might be getting harmed more than normal. That was normal, though.

He needed to keep fighting stronger monsters. His mind was also not in the right state, which could be affecting his decision making. It was ok. Their sales over the past few days were... going lower? That can't be. The numbers weren't looking correct. Fraser needed to call the admin who did the scroll sheets. But before he could, the office door opened and his brother came in with his subjugation gear on. Full plated white armour, edges trimmed with blue, and a mana gem right at the centre of the chest.

"Brother, how are you doing?" Fraser asked.

"I'm fine."

"About the finances..."

"What is it?"

"Our revenue has gone down the past week..."

"So?"

"We've been expending more on potions lately, so could you-""You want me to die out there? Is that it, Fraser?"

"No! I didn't mean it like that. I was just suggesting you could be more defensive while we're in a downturn on finances." Constantine scoffed.

"The men rely on me as the vanguard. How do you wish me to be 'more defensive'?" Fraser was at a loss. It wasn't like they hadn't had downturns before. Brother at that time was more receptive to the guild. Maybe the monsters he's been fighting are becoming more life threatening.

"It's fine, brother. Just ignore my stupid request. I get it," he said.

"What? You don't think I can do it?" Constantine asked.

"No. I think I value your life more than money."

"Value my life? Are you saying my life has worth to you or are you saying something else?"

"I don't mean anything by what I said, brother. I just wish you to be healthy, like always."

"Patronizing." Constantine snorted.

"What?"

"You really think you could be the guild leader? All you do is brew and manage the finances."

"I'm sorry? I never even dared to want the role."

"Who do you think has to break up fights between guild members all the time? The one that calms the front lines while you're just there sitting comfy at the guild home. You think I'm just a muscle head, don't you?"

"I never thought that way, brother. Believe me. We're all smart in our own ways," Fraser looked down, not daring to make eye contact.

"Hmph. Get me the usual, strongest alcohol one. I wish to nap."

"Right away, brother." Fraser hurriedly put the scrolls down and then exited the guild office. What was that about? Even if he is the one that handles the finances, brother shouldn't snap at him randomly just like that. They were equals in this guild. Neither of them were above each other. He handled the brewery and paperwork while his brother did his best to aim to be one of the Golden Generation. That was their dream. To give him such attitude just because he was the younger of them?

It almost made Fraser want to shout back at him. If this was the usual time when brother was still in his healthy state and he gave him that kind of attitude, Fraser would have let him have a mouthful. It was like... brother didn't trust him? Fraser's heart ached at the realization. When did it happen though? Certainly, his brother would sometimes act out against him when things went wrong during his subjugations.

Arriving at the cellar and taking the cup, Fraser poured the high alcohol barrel into the cup until the liquid reached the top. He moved back from the cellar to the lobby and towards the guild office upstairs. Hold on. Wasn't the first time his brother got mad at him when he started getting successful in his brewing? He succeeded in becoming the best brewer in the kingdom of Dragus, even recognized by the king while brother's prowess was still in the early 60s. His brother was definitely jealous. But so what?

Brewing was the only skill he was confident in. He can't take that away from him. What was the point of lashing out against him just because he was jealous? He was about to become one of the Golden Generation. That's a higher honour than being a master brewer. What a joke. Opening the guild office door, his brother was sitting in his seat, reading through the scroll sheets. It wasn't like he understood it anyways.

"Brother, your beer," Fraser extended it over to him. Constantine just looked at it. Didn't even take it yet.

"Are you going to taste it first?"

"No, brother. It's the same barrel I always get it from."

"Fine," Constantine scoffed, taking the cup from his hand. In one sip, his brother spat out the contents of what he just drank.

"What is this?! It's poison!"

"No, that can't be," Fraser hurriedly took the beer and took one sip of it. It had gone stale as if someone had created a hole in the barrel to let the barrel oxidize. But it was only stale, it wasn't poison.

"Brother, I know what you're thinking, but this beer has only gone stale. It still has the alcohol—""Shut up!" Constantine pushed him away, causing him to fall on his butt.

"For the past week, I've been drinking your beers every night to sleep. I trusted you!"

"It's not poison, brother!"

"Just because you want to be guild leader, you dare poison me?!" Constantine unsheathed his sword. The killing intent crushed Fraser's chest.

"I should kill you right now." But Fraser didn't back down.

"Do it, then! Do it!" Constantine stopped.

"You think I don't know you're jealous of my achievements?!" Fraser shouted.

"You don't even bother listening to me anymore. Your petty jealousness disgusts me."

"Take that back, Fraser."

"And my name. You always used to call me 'brother' also. What happened, huh, Constantine?"

"Watch your mouth, or I'll cut it right here right now." Constantine took a step forward, towering over Fraser.

"Such a petty mind. You really think I wish for the role of guild master?"

"It seems so. I've been taking more damage lately because of your concoctions. Why else? And you even refuse to give me more potions."

"I do not dabble in poison."

"Alcohol is a poison, Fraser. Everyone knows that."

"Believe all you want. I no longer care for this argument," Fraser tried to leave, but then the killing intent grew heavier, forcing him to stop.

"You wish to kill me?"

"No," Constantine said.

"I'm only not killing you because you were once my brother." Fraser scoffed.

"Leave the guild, Fraser," Constantine said, glaring at him.

"If I leave, you'll have no money."

"You see, Fraser? You think you can control me with money. I can make money in other ways."

"Hmph. If you really wish for my resignation, then you shall have it. Do not contact me again." It was then the killing intent subsided, and Fraser could move freely again. Quickly, he went back to his living quarters, packed a few clothes in a pouch bag, and then left the guild. Looking back at the guild, it was the building they spent most of their lives in after the orphanage. However, Fraser no longer felt anything about it.

Realizing that Constantine's jealousy had been brewing since he became a master brewer cut off all the emotions he had for him as a brother. Brothers should be encouraging one another, not dragging each other down. That's what Fraser did for Constantine. And all these years, he never really got any of it back. Instead, he was putting money in a never ending pit of a stupid dream. Walking forward, aimlessly, Fraser moved through the town, not knowing where to go.

He could maybe bungle up with Liz, but she had a husband. Or maybe Oakey... but he was a complete slob. The third option was Yakov. He was pretty clean, though it was unsure whether he'd let Fraser do some brewing in his basement. Fraser's feet stopped, landing in front of Solemn Stay Inn. It was the inn that had bought most of his products and also the nicest tavern maid he'd ever met. Opening the inn's door, he was surprised. No one was here.

The seats and tables were empty, except for 1 person in the frontmost table. Alex Grace. That was her name. She was the fourth option. She said that her job offer also came with free lodging along with the highest annual salary that he had ever had at 2. 5 gold per Ter. That was it. The path was clear. She was the correct answer. Fraser moved up to the table and sat beside her.

"Are you still offering the opportunity?" he asked.... A single sheet of paper and a pen appeared in her hand. Alex put it down on the table and said, "Read the contract first, and sign here." The man in front of her didn't even bother reading the contract. He simply took the pen and signed it immediately. It took 12 days to screw over this brotherhood, but it was well worth it. Apparently, this little shit could make 22% with just his primitive tools.

That was impressive enough that the days spent acquiring this asset was well worth it.