"Heeh?! So you're telling me this map is the only existing copy that points to King Kamehameha's legendary treasure??" Kenzo asked with expertly feigned surprise, intentionally raising his voice a bit louder than needed in order to emphasize the conspicuousness of his words. The man wore an innocent look in his widened eyes, completely immersed in his role of your cookie-cutter, gullible tourist.

"SSSHHHH!!!!!! Shhh!!!!" The sketchy seller hurriedly scrambled to place his hands over Kenzo's mouth in order to silence him, nervously shifting his head left and right as if trying to see if anyone had heard them. The busy streets of this tourist trap spot were full of people, most of them wearing floral T-shirts and socks with sandals. "Silence dear customer... we wouldn't want anyone knowing you've got the original treasure map in your hands." The man replied with fake concern in his voice, lowering his hands back from Kenzo's face and taking a step back into his stall as he cleared his throat, trying to regain his lost composure.

"It is truly a shame what the world has come to... Tsk...Tsk.....To think there's people that would try to take advantage of others is simply despicable." The seller committed to his ironic grieving act, sniffing hard as he pretended to wipe a tear from the corner of his eyes. Kenzo on the other hand, had a hard time not breaking character at such bad acting, wondering how in the world he stayed in the scamming business with such bad skills. From his point of view, the power level of swindlers in general had declined in recent years, adding to the argument that lacrima technology had indeed made people more susceptible to believing fake news. Regardless, his objective remained the same; one for which he’d need to be completely swindled.

”Ah, it’s good to know there’s still good people out there mister. Please, let me buy this map then. How much did you say it was? 250,000?” Kenzo asked as he took out a large pouch of coins, baiting the greedy merchant as he saw his eyes widen at the sight of loot ready to be plundered. ”Ah dear customer.. I’m sorry I think I made a mistake. I-I…” The man took a small pause as he bit his lip, no doubt calculating how much he could squeeze out of the mercenary. Kenzo on the other hand flashed a smirk at him, internally promising himself to come back to charge a two-fold interest on every jewel he dared to scam him for.

”*Ahem* I meant 450,000 ?” The man coughed as he practically asked his price, making Kenzo honestly wonder how in the hell were this amateurs allowed to make business in such a public area? He knew this was a tourist spot, but wasn’t this still under the jurisdiction of the magic council?

Hiding his annoyance at the gall, Kenzo forced a fake smile before handing the man his jewels. Even if it hurt his soul to even act as if he fell to such meager abilities, he had a mission to complete. For that, he needed to go through with it, even if any outsiders looking at the interaction thought him to be a moron for failing to notice the scam. ”Ah! Thank you very much! This is honestly cheap considering I can now find the buried treasure!” The warrior handed his hard-earned jewels reluctantly, sealing the deal and receiving in place the worthless piece of paper. As he made his way away from the stall, he heard the rustling noises of the merchant trying to close the shop and bail out before any onlookers could confront him. Kenzo on the other hand, prayed no one had recognized him and mistake him for a gullible fool. That would’ve been embarrassing.

“Just my fucking luck” Kenzo sighed as he was jump scared by a spirited voice calling for him, urging him to go back while completely ruining his foolproof plan at the same time. His mind rushed with countless ways he could salvage the situation, but the ruckus now forming within the noticing crowd made it more difficult by the second. This was the only situation Kenzo hoped didn’t happen, but it seemed that the mere thought of it had jinxed him irreparably. For now, he’d try to deescalate the situation, perhaps there was still a way to turn this around.

Rushing back with a palm on his face, Kenzo immediately shot a stern glare at both the scam merchant and the man that was merely trying to help. The warrior couldn’t fault him for not knowing he wanted to be scammed, but the mercenary inside him still struggled to understand why someone would go out of their way to try and help a stranger. Even after all his time spent as part of a Light Guild, there was still little appeal he found in dirtying his hands for free. As he took a closer look at this helpful stranger though, it all became clear.

One of the things Kenzo focused on as soon as soon as he came back was catching up to speed with the country’s current situation. Little by little, he’d begun gathering information about who all the big shots were at the moment, and what had changed within the structure of power through his long hiatus; as expected, there was much he had to learn.

For some reason, the thing that surprised him the most was the sudden rise in prominence of the Rune Knights. Back when he was still active, the Magic Council had all but lost their power, giving rise to an era where Guilds were the true powerhouses of the country, practically ruling like uncontested overlords of their own hometowns. As he finally recognized the man before him, Kenzo felt he could slightly understand the reason the government had once again gathered popular support.

Colonel Tōga. Kenzo remembered from the pictures he’d seen of the guy. He was a bit taller than he expected, but he still looked every bit as a young kid as he imagined. Not that Kenzo was that much older, but still. The warrior didn’t expect to meet him so soon on his travels, but now that he stood before Toga, his blood only boiled at the thought of someday finding out if his impressive reputation was equally matched by his skill. For now, though, that would have to wait.

Easing up his annoyed look, Kenzo pursed his lips as he struggled to think how to begin explaining the situation. Everything seemed to have gone off the rails, but even though he still felt a bit annoyed by the sudden interference, a new idea sprung inside his mind. Maybe meeting up with the colonel would turn to be a good thing in the end.

Scratching the back of his head, Kenzo’s demeanor finally shifted back to his usual carefree attitude. “Man… I’ll really never understand you goody-two-shoe guys” Sighing with an amused chuckle, the Bellan turned to face the Rune Knight colonel with a cheeky smile.

”Sorry to burst your bubble pal… but I hope you’re ready to explain the Wizard Saintess why you've decided to ruin Blue Pegasus’s undercover operation.” Kenzo teased the guy by dropping Alisa’s reputation around. The warrior knew the island was under the protection of his boss, so he decided to borrow her name for a bit. ”We’ve been trying to find these guys’ base of operations for a while now… but they’re more slippery than they first appear” Kenzo slapped repeatedly the merchant without even turning his head around, his voice was monotone and uncaring, much like the unexcited, light slaps he delivered.

”There’s some sort of crime ring going on here… I was sure to get them with this” Kenzo added as he swiftly stuck his fingers inside the jewel pouch he’d handed earlier to the conman. His skilled fingers rummaged around its contents before expertly taking out an immaculate forgery of the country’s currency.

”Now that we can’t use this tracker to follow him back to the base… I hope you’re as good with interrogation as you are with catching thieves hot-handed, colonel~” Kenzo posed the challenge with a half-smile, wondering what the true colors of the man in front of him were. Even if nothing else, he was looking forward to the entertainment this unexpected change of plans could provide.