So What If I Have a Henchman?!? (Patreon)

Chapter 1: A Fateful Meeting 

“Brother Gai, do you think…” The man began anxiously, but he couldn’t find the words to continue. They were sitting on a dirt road of the capital, looking anxiously toward a simple wooden hut.

The two men both looked meaningfully at the door. There wasn’t even the hint of movement. Then, as one, the two raised their heads and looked at the moon above. The hour was becoming late.

With a sigh, Brother Gai said simply, “It all depends on him now… at this point… neither of us can be of assistance. Such is the truth of this desperate world we live in…”

Inside the simple wooden hut, a handsome young man sat on a velvet cushion. With a gracefully gesture, he took another sip of the Earl Grey tea he had prepared earlier in the evening. After savoring the flavor for several seconds, his eyes flashed open.

So bright and piercing was his gaze that a civilian who was exposed to that sharp burst of spirit would undoubtedly have been struck dumb for several seconds. Above his eyes were two sharp eyebrows, shaped like axes. He possessed a widows peak and the type of stern mouth that indicated his life thus far had been absolutely riddled with hardship.

His long black hair cascaded down his back like a tidal wave. He took another sip of tea and stood in a split second.

With a few steps, the young man appeared before the mirror. Instantly, his sharp gaze ripped forward toward his own reflection.

“Ah, shit,” The young man muttered, struck momentarily dumb by his own sharp gaze. Instantly his gaze sharpened further, attempting to overcome himself. But that just resulted in him being struck dumb for several more seconds. Long enough that a thin line of drool traveled down from his immaculate cheeks to his imposing chin.

After recovering his balance, the young man pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. It was the only way to withstand his own intense gaze.

The only reaction that the young man could manage after studying himself for several seconds was a long sigh. He was clothed in simple leathers, and that would be insufficient to attend the banquet he had been invited to tonight. Sure, he could refuse to go, but…

His hands tightened into fists. Thousands of bacteria on his hands were annihilated by the deadly pressure caused by this casual gesture.

If he did not attend tonight’s banquet, his enemies would use that as the opening they needed. Plus, he was proud. He refused to back down. No matter who stood against him, let it never be said that he, Dai Foon, would run away.

Abruptly, he was feeling thoughtful, so he looked out his simple window. The moon hung fat and low in the sky, so close that Dai believed he could reach out and seize it.

Shaking his head, he turned and walked to the chest at the foot of his bed. With great care, he opened it and removed a leather string supporting a small jade pendant. The jade was peerless. There were even rumors that it was the frozen heart of an extremely tiny Galactic Frost Tiger. It had been left to Dai by his mother, before she…

Even the memory made Dai close his eyes. Only after steadying himself could he gently put the pendent on and return to mirror. He looked at the pendent hanging on his chest.

“If she could see me now…” Dai muttered. “...she would undoubtedly ask why I was dressed as a pauper.”

Taking off the bauble, Dai threw it into the corner. Then he stripped off his leathers before heading to the closet. When he returned, he was dressed in crimson silks. Once more he returned to the chest, and this time he removed a much larger amulet.

The amulet was made entirely of gold and was the size of a hedgehog. With great care to avoid the quills, Dai placed it on his chest. It was, in fact, a golden hedgehog tied to a chain. As Dai returned to the mirror, he twisted his torso back and forth to admire how the moonlight made the amulet shine. It was a great treasure left to him by his Great Uncle, who had once been the Lord Concert of the Empir Empire.

During his many concerts, his Great Uncle always wore his lucky golden hedgehog.

But after studying himself for several seconds, Dai frowned. The damn thing was chewing a hole in his silks. Ungrateful bastard.

After tossing it back into the chest, Dai once more returned to the closet. This time, he returned to the room dressed in ivory armor with obsidian trim. Powerful runes flashed with every movement. As he hadn’t worn this small gift given to him by his great-grandfather’s best friend in many years, it was covered in a thick layer of dust.

Dai attempted to brush it away, but quickly his expression turned awful. Somehow, not only the armor, but now the dust that covered it was also invulnerable?!? What sort of two-bit Artificing Master had they hired for this pile of shit?!?!

Immediately, Dai went to rip off the armor, but his fingers scrabbled uselessly over the clasp. His face became a pot with ax eyebrows. Even the clasps were invulnerable now?!?!

Trying to make the best of his very hard life, Dai returned to the mirror and looked at himself. The movement dislodged some of the non-invulnerable dust and Dai sneezed before he could firnish studying himself.

The runes around his throat flashed with crimson power. The sneeze turned into a sonic attack, annihilating the mirror, the wall behind it, and a two mile stretch directly in front of where Dai was standing. The blast ripped forward through the yard, through the walls of his courtyard, and then through the body of the worried man who was talking with Brother Gai.

His right foot, the only body part remaining of his body, lay forgotten on the path. Not even blood was left otherwise. There was also a two mile long path of devastation that Dai couldn’t be bothered with.

“Young Master Foon?” Gai asked uncertainty.

Dai coughed, somewhat embarrassed. Originally, he had left his two servants outside because he knew they were both helpless when it came to matters of fashion. But now that he had been seen in this lousy armor… it was too late to change. And he had no one to blame but…

...his foolish great-grandfather’s best friend who would dare pass such shit off as a priceless treasure...

“Ah, Fatty Gai. I guess it’s you and me now,” Dai said awkwardly. He made a mental not to put up another posting for a personal assistant in the classifieds. “I suppose it’s time to head to my father’s birthday banquet.”