Unedited.
It was a mess. A whole mess!
Alfred Warheart, a merchant in training and fish extraordinaire, bit his fingernails nervously when he reached the door of Father Seteth. The latest shipment was one the knights and hired mercenaries of Garreg Mach were looking forward to, a month's worth of an abundance of food and beverages.
One of which was a whole variety of rare fish Father Seteth was seeking, a request by his dear sister, and no one wanted to get on the man's bad side if it regarded his little sister.
Alfred was, unfortunately, one of the merchants in charge of getting said fish. He'd heard from his source that they caught a large fish, a vibrant green like a mage's Cutting Gale. It sounded preposterous, like those old war propaganda the Empire used to spread, but Alfred requested it to be shipped here itself so he and the other merchants can take a look.
He remembered the way Anna-an infamous, tricky, rival merchant he competed with lit up like a lantern on Saint Seiros Day.
Terribly so, it seems that one of the knights had spread the news of the new shipment. Students, many food-loving and food-eaters, would come to check in, the excitement on their faces. Alfred had passed by yesterday afternoon, feeling like a celebrity when the students and staff alike came up to him, asking when the new shipment would come by.
"In a week." He said to the student in the Golden Deer House. The student was a large man, as he can't quite call him a boy, buff and loud, too.
Now, that was the problem. A week.
A week had passed, and the shipment had come. The cornucopia of foods had come, thankfully, but the fish that was going to be given to Miss Flayn was gone.
(Though, on the matter of a missing rare fish, Miss Flayn was also missing.)
The vibrant green Nuvellian Salmon was gone and from his sources? A ruse. It was, in fact, a stowaway with vibrant hair the color of the salmon.
"We gotta salvage it," Alfred heard Anna one day say to her admirer, a little commoner girl. "How about this, you can become friends with this one, and we can beat that old grump Alfred?"
"Yeah!" The girl had exclaimed, running past him and off to look for the stowaway.
Two can play at that game.
Alfred knocked on Father Seteth's door. He took it as a good sign when a "Come in!" sounded behind it. He sighed through his nose, straightening himself. He prepared his words carefully.
"Father Seteth," He greeted the man sitting behind the desk. "There is something I wish to speak with you about. It regards the shipment that came a few days ago." The green-haired man was disheveled, obviously staying in and out of sleep worrying for his missing sister.
Alfred continued onward, dropping the bombshell and unknowingly making the security of Garreg Mach even worse.
"It appears…" Alfred paused for effect, head down, looking like he didn't know how to word it. "The shipment of goods was accounted for. However, we weren't able to account for the extra person that came along with it."
Father Seteth's quill snapped.
"This may explain the recent food shortages but-"
"Alert the Knights of Seiros immediately," Seteth stood from his chair so quickly that the inkwell on his desk spilled all over his papers, spilling on the floor. Alfred whipped his head so fast that it hurt.
"What?" was his response.
"Does it occur to you that there are many happenings in Garreg Mach as of late? The kidnappings made by this… Death Knight and the church's food storage shortening? Alert the Knights. This kitchen thief will be caught. Until then, Garreg Mach is on full lockdown."
Alfred Warheart felt a chill go down his spine, but he felt satisfied knowing that he was steps closer and Anna steps farther.
Ah, yes. In the name of competition, you might as well try to make things worse for everyone and your rival.
Anyway. I didn't really specify the gender of our baby-faced MC but she is female. I thought the summary was good enough for a vague gender reveal but after reading it after a good amount of times, I realized you could interpret the "she" as Lysithea.
Next Update: The Kitchen Thief (Chapter 3)