BXBX NOVEL Chapter 7: Leveraging Connections
Not wanting to take any risks, he decided to not talk unless talked to.
It took him a total of two days to get to Auberg district and once the carriage reached it\'s destination, Keith paid the carriage driver and silently walked away.
\'Weird guy.\' he commented inwardly as he thought of the man who sat beside him for two whole days without saying a word.
He shook off his thoughts and used his memories to follow the route to his sister\'s house, which wasn\'t too far away from where he currently was. A few left and right turns, and he found himself standing in front of a well maintained house.
From what he knew, it was a duplex house and had a total of three bedrooms. One on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second.
There wasn\'t any space in front of the house and nor was there any gate. The door directly opened to the street, like most of the houses in the Kazak Empire. The people barely had any frontyars or lawns, but instead, they usually had pretty spacious backyards.
\'Though, only the ones who have enough money to buy such properties, have the luxury of having empty space behind their homes.\' he thought as he knocked the door.
A few seconds later, he heard the locking mechanism on the door clicking. Unlike his previously rented room, this door had a built in lock.
As the door slowly opened, he saw a familiar face and this brought a smile to his face even though he didn\'t intend to smile.
The young woman in front of him was his sister who was two years older than him. Compared to Keith who was extremely thin and malnutritioned, she looked pretty healthy. She had the same black hair and dark brown eyes as Keith, but was shorter than him by half a foot.
Before Keith could say anything, she frowned as she gave him a worried look, "Keith... did you... get into a gang like your brother? If that is the case, then you should not be here! You know that my husband is a sheriff right?"
"Rebecca, you should calm down." Keith replied as he shook his head with a wry smile on his face, "I\'m just here for some help. You know, like leveraging my connections."
"Oh." Rebecca said, pausing for a second as she took a good look at her brother before nodding, "Come inside then, what are you waiting for? What help do you want though? If it\'s money, then I should be able to talk to Adam about it."
"Talk about what?"
Hearing this not-so-familiar voice, Keith turned to look at a moderately tall man who stood at around 5 foot 7 inches. He had dirty blonde hair and an above average face, the focal point being his moustache which he had apparently been growing for more than a decade.
"Oh, brother Adam. I didn\'t know you were here." Keith said, his tone polite. He then gave Adam a slight nod before continuing, "It\'s nothing. I don\'t need money, but it is related to money. I\'m just trying to look for better job opportunities."
Saying that, he opened his suitcase and grabbed his exam certificate before giving it to Adam, who silently took it and grinned.
"Oh, so you want a job that\'s better than a street patroller and you came to me because I\'m a shriff." Adam said as he twirled his moustache, acting wise.
Keith nodded, "Yes. And just like you, I\'m an awakened. Unfortunately, I realised this a bit too late and because of that, I\'m unregistered."
Adam glanced at Keith and went back to the exam certificate before nodding, "Follow me. Oh, and just leave your suitcase here. We\'re going to get you registered and with that, I\'ll have the power to appoint you under me."
Grinning, Keith followed behind Adam and as they walked along the relatively empty streets, he spoke, "What\'s the plan though? Are we registering under the Empire\'s direct order, or are we going to one of the churches?"
"That\'s your call." Adam said as he turned to look up at Keith who was taller than him, "Registering under the Empire will give you more benefits compared to the churches. Like, monthly bonuses, first priority for promotions, tax exemptions and multiple other things. If your awakened ability is really good, then the Empire might even give you free land and a house.
As for churches, they have their own set of benefits. They aren\'t related or attached to any country, kingdom or empire, so they\'re not too effected by wars as the churches remain untouched even if an entire country is turned upside down.
Apart from that, there is a chance of you being able to go to other kingdoms as a part of your duty. The pay isn\'t as high as the Empire, but you\'ll have a lot more freedom. Also, unlike random bonuses, the churches give extra rewards based on your performance and let me tell you! Those extra rewards are too damn good!"
He patted his slightly bulging belly and grinned, "Unfortunately, my lazy ass won\'t be cut out for churches. Picking the Empire a few years ago was a good choice for me, but things are different when it comes to different people. I want you to make your own decision."
Keith nodded and said nothing. He already knew everything about the churches. Their strengths and weaknesses were laid bare in front of him for more than a decade, so here was no way he would ever forget about them, especially his favorite church.