“We lost her, Your Grace!” Amyra reported as she emerged from the crowd, along with Siv and Lyra.

  “Kyu~!” Ruri huffed, perched on Amyra’s shoulder. Ruri didn’t particurly like Amyra, but as she was the tallest in the group, Ruri tolerated contact with the Augur as it gave her a high vantage point while on her shoulder.

  “What’s wrong with it?” Lyra asked.

  “The little one is disgruntled. She was the one giving us the lead, and we lost it.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, Ruri. We’ll get her.” Lyra tried to pet the Kirin, but she shirked away from her.

  “Mrr…”

  “Rude.” Lyra was a tad aggrieved.

  “How are things on your own, Your Grace?” Amyra asked.

  “No luck on my end, too.” Aedan let his gaze wander, surveying the crowd that surrounded them. They had chased the frail girl into the district square, the busiest part of the district, as it was the crossroads between the paths to other districts.

  “Could she have used Spatial Magic to escape already?”

  “If she had, I would know. I did not sense the usage of Spatial Magic spells. She’s still in the crowd, hidden.”

  “What do we do, Your Grace?”

  “We keep looking. She can’t hide forever.”

  “She could have gone into one of the buildings here,” Lyra suggested.

  “Aye, she could have, but unlikely. I have kept an eye on the building entrances in my search. She couldn’t have moved faster than us if she didn’t use her spell. I didn’t notice her going into any of the buildings.”

  “But she could have, no?”

  “...Aye, she could have.”

  “In that case, I’ll take the north,” Amyra said and disappeared into the crowd immediately.

  Lyra and Siv did the same. The former took the east and the tter took the west.

  As for Aedan, he would cover the south. There weren’t many buildings in the south. There were, but only two or three were open to the public. The rest were abandoned and boarded up. If the girl had gone into one of the abandoned buildings, the tracks would be obvious. But as, all the boards were still intact. So, Aedan decided to head into one of the still-operational buildings.

  “Welcome, welcome!” the shopkeeper greeted Aedan with great enthusiasm as soon as he entered the building. “Please, help yourself to my wares. Peruse them all at your own and don’t hesitate to ask should you have any inquiries. Old Patty here is always willing to serve.”

  “I’m looking for a girl.”

  “A girl? I’m sorry, sir, but this is not that kind of shop. And I have to warn you, sir, svery is prohibited in this kingdom.”

  “I’m not here to buy a sve. I’m looking for a girl. She has long, bck hair, unkempt. And she limps. Did a girl matching that description come into your store?”

  “Oh, apologies about the misunderstanding. As for the girl… well, no such girl has entered my store. You’re the first customer I've had since midday.”

  “I see. Thank you for your time.” Aedan was ready to leave. He turned around and walked towards the door. Then, he heard the old man letting out a long, drawn breath. A sigh of relief, if he had ever heard one. A tell-tale sign, but that wasn’t the only tell. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to confront the storekeeper.

  “Huh? Weren’t you just leaving, sir?”

  “How long have you been handling this store?”

  “For as long as I have lived, sir.”

  Aedan smiled. “Why do you call me ‘sir’?”

  “W-what? I don’t understand your question, sir.”

  “You don’t address just any customer as ‘sir’, unless you are already knowledgeable or well-informed about the customer’s disposition. Sir is reserved for people whom you know stand a step higher than you in status. Moreover, why do you emphasise the time since you haven’t had a customer in your store? It’s quite odd if you take all of these factors into consideration.”

  “S-sir, I believe there has been a misunderstanding.”

  “There is not,” Aedan said and brandished a dagger.

  The storekeeper’s eyes widened, and he ducked behind the store counter.

  Aedan was about to approach the storekeeper but the distinct sound of cocking made him take cover behind one of the shelves. Then, a small explosion struck the shelf he had just taken cover behind. It was as if something hit the shelf hard and faster than the eye could follow.

  “Fucking fool,” the storekeeper snarled. “You should have left when you had the chance. Now, you are going to face the consequences of your actions!”

  Aedan heard the distinct cocking sound again. He still hadn’t seen the manner of weapon the storekeeper had brandished, but he recognised it from the sounds alone. It was a firearm. More specifically, it was a rifle. From some of the worlds he had been to, guns were the staple weapons instead of bdes and magic, though the guns in those worlds were far more advanced and powerful.

  “Throw away all your weapons and come on out with your hands raised, boy!”

  Aedan brandished another dagger in his other hand. “Just tell me where the girl is and I’ll leave.”

  “I can’t do that, boy! The boss will have my head if I speak.”

  “And who’s your boss?”

  “Someone who you are better off not knowing!”

  “Is it perhaps William Marsh?”

  There was silence from the storekeeper.

  “Well, is it?”

  “Stupid boy. You just signed your own death warrant.”

  “And you have signed yours.” Aedan emerged from behind the shelf.

  The storekeeper immediately took aim with his rifle and pulled the trigger.

  Aedan smirked and sshed at the projectile streaking towards him faster than an arrow.

  “What!? How!?” The storekeeper cocked the lever hastily and took aim once more. He pulled the trigger as Aedan dashed towards him.

  Aedan flourished his daggers, cutting down the bullet aiming for his head.

  “What are you!?”

  Aedan responded with silence. Before the storekeeper could cock the lever, he sliced his fingers off the trigger and the rifle.

  The storekeeper bellowed in pain as the rifle fell to the ground.

  Without a pause, Aedan plunged the dagger into the storekeeper’s neck.

  Shock, confusion, and fear wrought the storekeeper’s face, but none was resolved as the light perished from his eyes and his body colpsed to the ground.

  “Now, where’s the girl?” Aedan mused. Just then, he heard footsteps thundering in the back of the store. He turned his gaze. There the girl was, limping as fast as she could towards the back door.

  Aedan didn’t hesitate for a second and bolted for the girl.

  The building was old and worn. The girl tried to open the door. The doorknob turned, but the door itself refused to budge. She pulled on it harder, but the door barely moved with its rusty and creaky hinges. For a frail girl like her, it was akin to moving a boulder of her size. Just as she managed to open the door halfway, Aedan was already upon her with his daggers pressed to her neck.

  “Stop,” Aedan warned.

  “...I am precious and valuable to Lord Marsh.”

  “Oh, we’re done with the secrets and pretences?”

  “If you kill me, he will come for you. He’s a High Lord. You would not be able to handle his wrath.”

  “We’re not here to kill you, stupid girl. We just want some answers.”

  “What kind of answers…?”

  “Tell me everything you know about William Marsh.”

  The girl snorted. “You might as well kill me. Lord Marsh doesn’t take too kindly to betrayal.”

  “I doubt anyone does. So, are you going to tell me, or do I have to resort to more extreme measures?”

  “I can say the same to you, Your Eminence. Let me go, or you’ll regret it.”

  “You know me?”

  “I do.”

  There was another presence in the immediate vicinity. Aedan realised it too te. Before he could distance himself from the girl, a fist plunged through the door and nearly struck his face. It would have struck his face if he had reacted a second slower.

  A towering figure strutted through the doorway that was now missing a door. The punch had sent the door flying off its hinges, a feat that wasn’t possible for just any man. The figure was no common man. Aside from his rge physique, he had an abundance of hair around his head, barring his face. It was almost like a mane— it was a mane.

  “A Beast-kin?” Aedan muttered. Aside from the mane, the man had a pair of ears, barely peeking out of the mane, unlike of the ears of a human.

  “Go,” the Beast-kin said in a gruff voice.

  The girl nodded and bolted out of the store.

  Aedan gave chase.

  “You’re not leaving!”

  Aedan twirled as he dashed towards the door, dodging the grasp that was rge enough to cover his entire face. He gathered his bearings and darted out of the store, with the Beast-kin chasing after him. The back door led to an alley. It was wide and it was empty for the most part. It offered Aedan a long and unobstructed view of the fleeing girl.

  She didn’t run far and she wasn’t running fast, if it couldn’t even be called running. She had a bad leg. The strain on her face was enough indication of her condition. She was terrible at physical activities. It didn’t take much difficulty for Aedan to catch up to her. However, the difficult part came afterwards.

  Before Aedan could pce his hand on her, two more individuals emerged from seemingly nowhere. The two weren’t as rge as the Beast-kin but they were still quite the intimidating figures with their bulky builts. The two were also Beast-kin.

  “Damn it,” he cursed. He was far from his prime in his current state and Beast-kin were inherently strong even without the System. He wasn’t optimistic about his chances, but he was neither pessimistic. He had lost his strength, but not his edge.

  “Keep running and don’t look back!” one of the Beast-kin shouted.

  The girl was tremendously valuable to Marsh, Aedan noticed. It was unsurprising. She presented herself as a master of Spatial Magic. Without a doubt, she was also the one who was responsible for dragging the Saintess into Limbo. Even if she wouldn’t expose Marsh, her absence from his side would be considered a significant blow to Marsh’s strength and forces.

  “You will die here!”

  The decration snapped Aedan back to reality from his thoughts. He could never understand why these thugs felt the need to be so vocal. They weren’t even doing it to disconcert their opponent. They were just… spouting whatever words that came to their mind. Thanks to the warning, Aedan dodged under an axe with a head that was as big as his neck. He plunged the bde into the Beast-kin’s heart.

  “Tor!” the other beast-kin shouted.

  Aedan parried a blow from the beast-kin’s axe and countered with a ssh that was too quick for the Beast-kin to follow.

  “You will pay for this!”

  Aedan turned towards the roar. It came from the Beast-kin who was on his tail. He was agile but he was quite slow for someone of his agility. Still, he was not someone Aedan would want to fight in direct combat. He took the dead men’s axes and threw them at the charging Beast-kin. Without a weapon or armour, the beast-kin battered the axes away with his bare hands.

  “Well, I’m not winning that.” Aedan turned around and ran. He could win if he tried, but the Beast-kin was not his priority. The girl was, who had already run out of the alley.

  “You will not get her!” The beast-kin yelled and leapt.

  Aedan didn’t bother to give the Beast-kin his attention, but he nded right in front of Aedan with that single leap. “Fucking hell… How much is Marsh paying you?”

  “You will not buy my loyalty.”

  “Never intend to. I’m just curious about your conviction. You’re not the usual thugs.”

  “You won’t understand.”

  “I certainly won’t if you don’t intend to tell me anything.”

  “I have nothing to say to a dead man.”

  Aedan smirked. “How certain are you?” He took out a certain scroll from his coat pocket.