Julius had a job interview today, yet he couldn't be more worried for a different reason.

This would mark the first time Julius left Ludger alone for more than a hour. He had attempted to convince his future employer to allow his younger brother to simply sit with him and stay completely silent, though his efforts were for naught. And, unfortunately for him, not many people were too keen on hiring a supposed terrorist; if he passed up this job, there was a low chance of him finding another one.

So, as much as he despised the thought, he'd have to leave his little brother home for a couple hours. Ludger's condition was definitely improving from long ago, but who's to say what he would do when left alone too long? To compensate, Julius set up a multitude of safety precautions so Ludger wouldn't and couldn't hurt himself in his absence.

The first order of business was locking everything sharp in his room and buying some plastic utensils to act as substitutes until he returned. The second order involved their neighbor Melinda and her son James: Ludger, based on his relationship with Elle, had to at least tolerate kids and James was well-behaved for his age. So, Julius asked a favor of both Melinda to watch over Ludger and James to play with Ludger-so long as that activity kept him inside. The commotion outside might spook Ludger and he wouldn't be there to comfort him should his emotions run wild or he suffers a panic attack.

And the third, and final precaution was informing the otherresidents of Freres about Ludger. If he was to go anywhereoutside the apartment, he wanted to be notified. He also warned the other residents about keeping sharp objects around his little brother. A few of the people Julius spoke to showed concern when he told them about Ludger's condition, meanwhile others like the woman on the first floor with her plethora of cats and the landlady swore they would do what they could to prevent anything bad from happening during his absence.

Of course, absolutely none of this helped dash Julius' worries, but it was a big brother's job to worry.

So, once Julius finished freshening up, he knelt down in front of Ludger and spoke to him in the most relaxed, soothing tone he could. "Ludger, I have a job interview today. I'll have to leave for longer than I usually do, but I promise the second I can come home, I will." He brushed Ludger's bangs aside to place a comforting kiss on his forehead. "Melinda from a few doors down also asked if we could play with her son James for a few hours; would you do that for me? They'll be here in a couple minutes."

Ludger frowned as Julius stood up and walked to the door, though he forced himself to smile when his brother looked back at him. "I-I'll...be good."

"I know you will." With a wave goodbye, Julius stepped out of the apartment and went to catch the soonest train to Drellin.

Getting a job to hunt monsters all day wasn't something Julius would complain about.

A growing food supplier in Drellin had coined the idea of using monster meat instead of cattle-it was significantly cheaper, and Spirits knew if there would come a day when monsters were completely wiped from the face of the planet. Of course, slaying them was another task entirely, and that's where Julius' new job came into light: he was to kill the healthiest monsters he could find and do everything he could to avoid tainting the meat. Julius could fend for himself, so it wasn't a big deal. As long as he had some sort of income keeping him and Ludger from going broke, he'd do just about anything.

Part of his "interview" was to actually demonstrate he could kill a monster by himself, which was no tall order for a former Crown Agent of Spirius. His employer couldn't have been more delighted to see him slay a healthy-looking Western Wolf in Catamar Heights, and that managed to secure him the position of "professional monster slayer".

With a few last statements, Julius left Drellin and returned to Trigleph in better spirits than when he left. This certainly didn't last very long, as he could make out James and his mother among those in front of Freres. As much as he'd like to get a little angry for the two of them ignoring his directions to stay inside for Ludger's sake, he knew better than that. They wouldn't have left the apartment for no reason, and from their expressions, something upsetting must have unfolded in his absence.

The second Julius came within view, Melinda and James came running towards him, poor James crying his eyes out. "I-I... I-I'm sorry..." He kept repeating over and over, though Julius simply patted James on the head, quietly assuring him he did nothing wrong.

"I'm sorry for letting you down after you trusted us, Julius..." Melinda couldn't look Julius in the face; the guilt was too much. "Ludger was fine for the first few hours. He must have missed you more and more over time because he eventually started crying. I assured him you would be coming back soon, but he didn't seem to be listening. Before I could even react, Ludger bolted out the door! James and I went after him, but once we followed him to the train station, we couldn't find him..."

Julius half-expected this to happen, although he'd been hoping it wouldn't. Regardless, he'd have to track down Ludger before he wandered into trouble. "Thank you for keeping Ludger occupied while you could. I'll go look for him myself. If you see him though, please give me a call." He left the two with a warm smile, as he knew he couldn't hold this against them. They did their best, and he wouldn't fault them for it. He'd just have to find Ludger and talk to him about running off on his own.

There was a high chance Ludger took a train somewhere in hopes he'd find him, and Julius had a pretty good guess where Ludger assumed he went for work: Duval. Truly, he could have found work there if he searched hard enough, but Duval's type of work wasn't suited for those wishing to keep a shred of dignity or decency afterwards. Julius preferred to have a steady job that didn't rely on "certain tactics".

So, not even bothering with a train, Julius headed out to Alest Highroad to make it to Duval by foot. Avoiding the monsters wasn't very difficult, and he could pick off the few stragglers in his way far quicker than he could those in places like Drellin or Rieze Maxia. It also made for good exercise, and he'd certainly need some of that if he was to hunt monsters for a living.

Duval was as pleasant as he remembered. If it were anywhere else he'd bother to ask around, but you could rarely find trustworthy individuals around these parts. Julius didn't have time to find that diamond in the rough. He'd find Ludger even if it required him to skimp out on sleeping tonight.

He couldn't find hind nor hair of Ludger on the main streets, so he took his search towards the alleyways. When he paused for a moment to scan the area, Julius could hear the faint sound of someone sobbing and asking for help. Something told him that must be Ludger, so he followed the sound of the noise and found himself in a remote corner of a long labyrinth of alleyways. At the very back of this corner was Ludger, huddled into a ball and babbling incoherently minus the occasional "Julius"or "Help".

Ludger must be crying pretty hard. He didn't react when Julius approached him, nor when Julius placed a hand on Ludger's shoulder to let him know he was there. "Ludger." Julius spoke up, but Ludger kept on crying without looking up or his tears slowing down. Leaving him so long really did a number on his younger brother...

"Ludger, it's me." Julius pushed Ludger's knees down so his brother's eyes would meet his own. Ludger, at the sight of his brother, suddenly rammed into him and resumed crying, though he did so while cuddling into Julius' chest.

"Julius! Please don't leave me again!" Ludger begged as his shaking hands clung onto the fabric of his coat. "I was so afraid... I thought you would get hurt... I thought I would never see you again..." Recalling his negative thoughts increased the tears all the more, so Julius reached over to rub Ludger's back and give it a few pats to help him get all the tears out.

"You know I wouldn't leave you, Ludger. It's a big brother's job to watch over his little brother." Julius teased, hoping it might lighten the mood. It interrupted Ludger's crying for a few seconds at least. "But you shouldn't have run off like that. You not only worried me, you worried the neighbors, the landlady, and Lulu too. We were all afraid something might have happened to you." There was a sigh from the older brother, though it was directed at himself than the younger brother. "If you promise not to run off like that anymore, I'll try speaking to my boss and see if he'll allow you to accompany me once in a while. Promise you'll do this for me?"

Ludger looked up to face Julius, nodding as he propped himself so that his big brother could hold him close. "I promise. I'll make everyone I worried a tomato omelette to apologize; I'll save you the best one."