“I trust everything went well,” Erin questioned as Aedan entered the room, having just returned from Thomas Rackham’s workshop.

  “Look at his faint smirk.” Lyra pointed out. “Everything went smoothly, I say.” She was lying sideways on the couch while eating grapes that were freshly picked just this morning. It was a privilege that Lyra never thought she would have, but that was the perk of being friends with a very successful merchant in the kingdom.

  Aedan walked over to Erin and id out bundles of scrolls on the table in front of them. “All done.”

  “This is quite the volume for just two days’ work,” Siv muttered. “I heard of Thomas Rackham’s ability. It seems like those rumours are not untrue.”

  “Your Grace, what about payment? Don’t want a repeat of that time.”

  “Payment’s all cleared. No outstanding. And of course, no defects. Everything is as expected.”

  “Kyu~!” Ruri chirped in agreement, who was perched on Aedan’s shoulder.

  Erin narrowed her gaze. “That time? What happened that time?”

  “A story for another time,” Aedan said with a smile. “Right now, let’s just bask in our success. Things went smoothly and without complications.”

  Erin turned her gaze to the scrolls on the table. There were symbols on the corner of each scroll. There were four different kinds. “What are those symbols?”

  “It’s to differentiate the scrolls. As you can see, there are four.”

  “Four different spells and abilities from Ruri?”

  “Kyu~!” Ruri squealed proudly with her head held high.

  “Yes, four. The first one is her… Presence Concealment ability. It does not make one invisible but as long as one isn’t in someone’s centre vision, one will not be noticed, regardless of their scent or sound. Unless, of course, your scent is too heavy or you’re making too loud of a noise. For the second one, it is something simir to Dispel but better. I call it High Dispel.”

  There was a short but loud ughter from Amyra.

  “Ruri’s ability doesn’t just dispel magical or physical ailments. It also works on spiritual and… divine ailments, to some extent.”

  “Divine?” Aera blurted. She was sitting on a chair, listening to the whole thing passively when she suddenly rose from her seat. “Does that mean it will work on my… condition? I get so angry sometimes and… if Erin isn’t around, I might have—”

  “I do not know,” Aedan answered. “It works on some but I can say it is all-encompassing.”

  “You don’t need that, girlie,” Amyra said. “Just think of His Grace every time you feel upset and you’ll feel better.”

  “T-that’s so… inappropriate.”

  “But you like it, no?”

  “I-I—”

  “Enough, Amyra. Stop teasing her,” Erin cut in. “So, what about the other two?”

  “The third one is a tracking spell. You and I have seen it in action. As for the fourth, it is a barrier spell.”

  “A barrier? What kind?”

  “The usual kind. It can block physical and magical threats. It’s not very strong, however. A fireball from a level thirty is all the barrier can take. Admittedly, this is the least exciting one but I’m sure we’ll find some use for it. With all that said, here comes the… complication.”

  “I thought you said there was none.”

  “Well, it’s more of an… opportunity. Ruri’s High Dispel is unlike any spell Thomas had ever come across. High Dispel has a persisting effect. It does not need to be constantly used for every instance. It’s very efficient. Even the padins didn’t have such a spell. Thomas Rackham wishes to procure more of this spell. There will be many buyers. Of course, to procure more, Ruri will have to stay with him as a spell scroll cannot be made without the caster present.”

  “Kyu,” Ruri huffed. Evidently, she was not very fond of that idea.

  “You rejected him?”

  “What else would I have said?”

  “Did he insist?”

  “He didn’t but I believe he wanted to. Iris was there. Her presence may have helped in deterring his advances. Iris did assure me that he will not be… running his mouth.”

  “Another potential worry…”

  “Look on the bright side. We have what we need to further our investigation. What about your end? Anything to report or share?”

  From underneath the table, Erin took out a sheathed longsword and pced it on the table.

  “Whoa… this is a fine sword. This is… Torrin’s work, isn’t it?”

  Erin nodded.

  “You brought her to Torrin?” Aedan asked, gazing at Amyra.

  “I did,” answered the Augur.

  “...How did it go?”

  “As good as you can expect. He’s as surly as ever.”

  “Did he say anything about the current state of affairs of the city?”

  “The man hasn’t changed a bit. He didn’t even know the Scarlet Bde was in the city, though he didn’t care much even after we told him. I worried for him sometimes. It will be a shame to lose a good smith.”

  “Leave him alone. That is his wish. We are just his clients, nothing more.”

  “As you say, Your Grace.”

  “How soon can we get down to the next step?” Erin asked. “Do we even know where Marsh's mansion is?”

  “Got it all down here,” Aedan said as he produced a parchment from his coat pocket. “Courtesy of Iris.”

  “You sure she won’t just suddenly demand the appropriate compensation one day out of nowhere?”

  “She won’t. For her sake, she had better not. She won’t be where she is today without my assistance. A dog that bites the hand that feeds it is sick and needs to be put down. But enough about her. We need to focus on—”

  “Kyah!” Ruri snarled. It was sudden and unexpected.

  Erin grabbed her sword and turned towards the direction where Ruri was snarling. It was the window.

  Aedan put Ruri down on the table and strode towards the window.

  Everyone else picked up their poise and took their stations and stance.

  “We are being watched,” Aedan said.

  “I don’t sense anything.”

  “Kyu! Kyu!”

  “But Ruri certainly did.”

  The curtains were in pce. In order not to alert the secret watchers, Aedan lifted the curtains slightly and peered out the window. “They concealed themselves well.”

  “This is a great opportunity to try out new tools,” Erin said and took one of the tracking scrolls. She undid the sash and unfolded the scroll. The scroll glowed radiantly and the spell within was unleashed. As the scroll withered away, a trail of blue smoke was produced. It swam around in the air for a moment before darting in a certain direction. It darted right out of the window.

  Aedan followed the smoke with his gaze and he saw it flowing into the building across from theirs. The building was an inn, as luxurious and opulent as the current one they were staying in, another courtesy of Iris. “They’re in the inn opposite ours.”

  “Damn it,” Erin cursed. “Looks like we can just rush straight for them like always.”

  “So what? Are we going to just let them keep peeping on us?” Lyra asked.

  “They most likely know they have been exposed. As we speak, they will be taking their leave. So, we may be able to catch them when they leave the inn.”

  “There are many people coming and going. How do we know which is who?”

  Erin smiled. “We have just the right person— or creature.”

  “Kyu~!”

  ****

  Lyra stood right at the entrance of the inn, along with Ruri on her shoulder. She kept her distance, enough not to disturb the other guests and not to rouse suspicions. She didn’t stand too far either so as not to let the culprit slip past her.

  “This is bollocks,” Lyra cursed under her breath. She didn’t choose to be in this position, but she was the best choice for this. Everyone else would look too inconspicuous to be loitering in front of an inn. Lyra’s choice of wardrobe and her natural appearance gave others the impression that she would be the type to loiter, much to her chagrin.

  She tried not to gnce at the positions where her companions were hiding in.

  “Kyu.” Ruri tapped her paws on Lyra’s shoulders.

  “...Thanks, I guess?” She wasn’t sure what Ruri was trying to convey but she reckoned she was trying to encourage her.

  Just then, a girl walked out of the inn. She was limping with the help of a cane. She looked much too frail for someone to be walking around by herself. She wore a dress that denoted her status above mere commoners but not quite at the level of nobles.

  The frail girl caught Lyra’s attention. The girl stood out from the rest of the people going in and out of the inn. The girl looked like she could fall at any moment. Lyra wanted to help but she stopped herself when she noticed two men walking behind the girl. The two men were dressed in the same manner as the girl, garments that put them in a status between commoners and nobles.

  A daughter of a wealthy merchant, Lyra surmised. It was not an uncommon sight. Sons and daughters of the wealthy often had guards accompanying their every step. She had done a few jobs herself, concerning the escort of children of the wealthy. Just as Lyra was about to dismiss the frail girl as just another passerby, Ruri hissed.

  Ruri neither hissed too loud or too quiet. Regardless, her hiss was picked up by the frail girl and her two guards.

  Lyra’s eyes met with the frail girl’s.

  Ruri’s hiss turned into a snarl.

  Lyra felt shivers running down her spine. She had found the culprit. She immediately gave the signal with a subtle gesture of her hand.

  One of the men picked the girl up and threw her onto his back before taking off into a sprint and the other followed suit.

  “Fuck!” Lyra uttered and started giving chase.

  Erin and the rest showed themselves, emerging into the frail girl’s escape path.

  The guards clicked their tongues and threw knives at them without hesitation. They were accustomed to this.

  Amyra stepped to the front and brandished her gigantic sword. The sheer size of her sword blocked the knives from striking anyone.

  Right in the middle of a busy street, the two guards did not hesitate to deploy an explosive. Thankfully, it was only a distraction. Smoke enveloped the area after the burst. Chaos and disorder swallowed the streets from the sudden explosion and smoke.

  Erin charged straight into the smoke. She couldn’t see but her eyes weren’t the only means of her perception. She drew her sword and sshed into the smoke.

  “Argh!”

  There was a scream, accompanied by the gruesome sound of flesh being torn open. Erin struck one of the guards but the other managed to give her the slip, escaping into an alley nearby along with the frail girl.

  “Siv with me!” Erin shouted as she dove into the alley. “The rest of you, go around the alley! Cut them off from the front!” Erin did not wait for their response. She didn’t have the luxury to, not if she wished to keep the culprit in her sights.

  “Right behind you, Mistress!” Siv answered, following Erin through the smoke and into the alley with simir haste and agility.

  Despite the man’s huge stature, he was quite fast and agile.

  “It’s a dead end ahead, Mistress. This is strange.”

  Erin was aware of this too, which confused her. The guard made a wrong turn somewhere along the long back alley. “Do they not know it was a dead end ahead?” she wondered.

  As they reached the end of the alley, the guard slowed down and eventually came to a halt. He then slowly let the girl down from his back.

  Erin and Siv caught up to the two and made their stance a few yards away from them.

  “We may have walked into a trap, Mistress.”

  “...No, we didn’t. This is their escape route. Do you see what’s behind them?”

  “There’s a rune on the ground… Could that rune be—”

  “It is. They’re going to teleport but we’re not going to let them,” Erin said and dashed towards the two as she unleashed a purple mist into her surroundings.