"Wha…"
Subaru looked at his right hand. It was empty, his flip phone nowhere to be seen.
Turning his head in the direction where the young girl had gone, he barely saw her lean back among the crowd in the square.
He suddenly jumped on his foot.
"Hey! That's mine! Give it back!"
Subaru pushed his legs to sprint, but now even her slightest trace was gone.
"Dammit!" The Japanese boy cursed, ungracefully kicking the air. "That shitty phone was my most valuable asset here, but no! Someone had to steal it in front of the fucking shop!"
And she was really quick. Maybe she has a special skill or whatever…
Why do I, the supposed hero here, have nothing but instead she has?
His fists were so clenched that his knuckles were white.
"Why am I so unfortunate? Where is my MC status? Plot armor? A cute main heroin-"
"What were you thinking, uh? You've almost caught me with these things!"
"Girl, have you gone nuts?"
"Who the hell picks a fight in Market Street? If your hands are itching, go to the slums!"
"Mom, the ice lady is scary!"
A crowd of people was loudly gathering some metres away.
What the hell… Oh, right, the magic. They're getting upset at the one who cast it.
A frown formed on his face.
Wait, I have almost been skewered too! And on top of that, the mess caused by this genius got my phone stolen!
On his way, he violently stomped on the ground.
There may be city guards here. I highly doubt that, but maybe there's a chance of getting some kind of compensation for the goods stolen… Nah, forget that. There is no evidence I had something precious at all. I'm not expecting them to believe me on my word.
"I'm not letting you off the hook so easily, girl!" A man with a blue turban on his head and a dark green cape draped on his broad shoulders approached the one responsible for the situation.
Oh, so it's a girl… I hope she's cute.
…
What am I thinking? She almost killed me!
"Everyone, I'm sorry for what happened. I didn't want to hurt anyone." The young woman replied in an angelic voice.
Ah, this is the voice I heard before. So she somehow lost control of her own magic and then tried to protect people from it. Maybe she is a better person than I thought.
"Now I need to go. Please, don't-"
"Have you heard me?" The man cut her off. "You almost hit my wif-uh?" He suddenly stopped. "No way… your ears… are you a half-elf?"
"She also has silver hair." Someone muttered.
"And look at her eyes…" Another voice, a female one, continued.
Suddenly the crowd went deadly quiet.
"Sorry but I reeeeally am in a hurry. Please, don't put yourself in my way."
All the people surrounding the supposed half-elf stepped back, so the incoming Subaru took his chance to infiltrate their lines. He finally managed to see her.
In the middle of the ring of people, there was a girl in her early twenties or a little younger than that. Her long silver hair went down over her shoulders. A pair of violet eyes shone on her candid face and, of course, the top of her ears was a little pointed. She wore a white dress with golden embroidery that left her shoulders uncovered, but had long sleeves and fell in two tails behind her legs.
At first sight, she gave the impression of being the daughter of a noble.
Yes! 110/100! She's the main heroine here- hold on, Subaru, she almost killed you! You should ask her for some kind of compensation. Don't be a simp for minute one!
Then his gaze turned to the nearby people.
The one facing her was keeping his trembling right hand on the hilt of a sword, lying in a scabbard attached to a belt on his waist.
A blonde woman with caramel-coloured ears (was that a dog-woman?) was shielding a kid, who clung tightly from behind to her dress.
Two very similar men, one younger and one older (probably father and son), both with pearl-grey hair and wearing blue-themed robes, had instinctively flexed their legs and raised their forearms in front of their chest.
Why are they so scared of her, if her magic didn't impress them the slightest?
Subaru focused again to the half-elf.
Their eyes met.
Wow, she surely is a thing.
…
Again, Subaru, get a hold on yourself. Even if she doesn't seem a bad person, people here are really scared of her.
Whatever, I need to get my phone back, so the best thing is to look after that brat. Maybe if I manage to make this girl feel guilty, I can involve her in my tracking. A magic user shoul-
"...hey, you."
The silver-haired girl was now calling upon him, her inquiring eyes knowing no blinking.
"That girl stole something from you before, right?"
The Japanese lad slowly nodded.
"Well, since you almost got caught in the crossfire and got deprived of something you hold precious, I'll lend you my help in this search as recompense."
His eyes widened as his lips parted.
This is so convenient! It's like she can read my mind…
…She cannot, right?
He couldn't take his eyes off of her.
The mage (?) continued, quickly putting one word after the other: "Of course, what I am doing is in order to totally clear off any kind of debt you may think I have toward you due to the incident." Now she was looking away and moving horizontally with her left hand before her face. "It is for me. I mean it." She looked back at him. "Do you agree with this?"
Subaru swallowed. "I wouldn't think you would have gone so far for me. T-Thank you."
"We have a deal." the half-elf concluded.
The boy scratched his head. "So… what do you think we should do first? Asking people for-no, wait, we may ask the guards. Maybe that girl is already known by them, so they can track her down and get my phone back, or at least give us some information."
"Well, I think that's a good idea." The girl nodded.
"Good! I saw a guard around here minutes ago. Where has he gone?" Subaru rose on his tips, his right hand shielding his eyes from the sun.
"Oh? Ooooh, I guess I've just found him!"
"This is good. Let us head to him!" The silver-haired beauty answered, then she muttered under her breath: "I reeeally hope you know what you're doing, Puck."
The buildings towering above them were adorned in lucid and coloured stones, and their windows -wow, they've glass even in this world too- sparkled under the late afternoon sunlight.
A mighty wall separated them physically from the rest of the city, making it clear they belonged to the Nobles' District - the Second Layer.
A solid stonework structure leaned with his back against the enclosure, becoming in fact part of it. A pair of white towers emerging from its roof stood out of the surroundings, and a couple of big gates (one for each direction of travel on the road) were opened on it.
Near each of them, a guard wearing plate armour watched a dark wooden door, whose height was almost thrice your average person's one, halberd in hand.
"This is the garrison for the guards. We also check the identity of people entering the Nobles' District here."
The half-elf silently nodded. The Japanese boy, whose eyes were wandering on the towers, blinked and focused back on the one speaking.
"Since there's nothing I could do, and also I cannot leave for too long my today patrolling duties in the square, you should seek help inside."
"That's great! Thank you." Subaru clapped his hands together and bowed.
"Thank you for helping us." the girl politely smiled.
"Don't thank me, brat. I'm just handling the extra work on someone who's lazing in there. And," the guard turned to the boy's new companion "I would suggest not threatening people on the street." He headed in the direction from which they had just come. "Have a nice day."
Subaru raised an eyebrow. Now that I think about it, it's a soft way to address a troublemaker. Is she really a noble?
"We should quickly go in, report the theft and ask for help." The half-elf broke the silence, then she went to the heavy door and easily opened it. "Follow me."
After all, it's just logical for an elf to be stronger than your average teenager.
The interior of the garrison was simple but not poor. All the walls were made of the same kind of stone that could be seen on the exterior of the building while the floor was covered with a sort of red carpet-like material, that absorbed silently and with no harm the weights of soldiers walking here and there in heavy boots. Some of them wore shining plate armor, others were enveloped by white capes.
Behind the door, there was a wide entrance hall with a couple of guards standing there.
"E-Excuse me" the girl addressed them. Putting her thumbs together, she was now tapping her other fingers. "I would like to report a theft suffered by my friend. Who could I turn to in order to receive assistance?"
"Hmm…" One of them, the one not wearing a helmet, looked from head to toe at the supposed noble first and the Japanese boy then. "I'm sorry, girl," his dark eyes stationed for a fraction of a second on her ears "but there are a lot of similar situations all the time here. This is the biggest city in the country, we wouldn't have the time to go after all the scumbags…"
While he was still speaking, said girl slowly raised her right arm and started fixing a lock of her silver hair on the left side of her temple.
After following that movement with their gazes, the two men made eye contact and the one not speaking slightly nodded.
"...but in this case, I guess we can help you as respectable citizens of our kingdom. If you follow me, I will show you the way."
What a radical change of attitude!
The soldier went ahead, the girl following him. Subaru joined them in climbing an elegant staircase, whose bottom entrance was placed on a side of the hall.
While she passed on the next flight of stairs, he took a quick look at her arm. She wore white and excessively long sleeves and, in the bottom part of them, there was something like a golden bird embroidered on the violet fabric.
Ah, I see. I bet that's her nobiliary emblem. She has just shown it to him while pretending to fix her hair. That's nobility for you, after all…
…wait, wouldn't it be a lot less trouble for her just to pay me something back instead of going all around like this? Shouldn't a household so revered by the city guards be drowning in money?
A corridor departed from the top of the staircase, and at its end could be seen a massive double door with golden handlings. The guard went straight to it and knocked on the door with the back of its end.
"Come in!" It was a young, male voice.
The man leading Subaru and the noble girl opened the right leaf of the door and put his head inside. "Sir, a couple of valued guests need our help."
"I see. Let them in."
Following his companion through the door kept open by the guard, the Japanese lad found himself in a small room. A desk covered in scrolls and documents was placed in its middle, and a wide window in front of him fairly enlightened it.
A man stood behind the desk. He had curly dark-brown hair and green eyes. Under the white cape, he wore a black shirt and white trousers.
"Oh, now I understand." He smiled as soon as he laid his eyes on the half-elf. "My greetings, Lady Emilia."
Gotcha!
He slightly bowed. "I am Rupert Fischer, knight of the Royal Guard. What brings you here? How can I assist you?"
The girl's eyes slightly widened "Do you… no, that doesn't matter right now." She deeply inhaled before speaking. "My friend here was robbed of a met- something reeeally important to him by a thief in Market Street." Behind her back, her fidgeting left hand was being held by the right one. "May you help us somehow?" Emilia put both her hands on her chest "Sir Rupert, I know you are surely busy with your daily workload, but I'm sure you can do something for us."
"Well…" Rupert sighed. "Lady Emilia, if you don't have further clues, it will be almost impossible to find the thieves in a city of hundreds thousand people, and surely not before your friend's asset has been exchanged with a bag of coins." He put his right hand on his forehead. "What do they look like? Do they have distinguishing features?"
"What I can tell is," Emilia's gaze wandered on the ceiling, her index finger before her lips. "Apparently there was only one of them, and she was a girl about the same age as my friend here." She turned to Subaru.
"Wait, no!" He protested. Both the knight's and the half-elf's pair of eyes pointed at him. "I-I mean, I'm almost eighteen. On the other hand, I bet she isn't past fifteen. She speaks the way a child does and has a minute figure, after all. Oh, and she has golden hair and…" he slammed his closed right fist on the open palm of the other hand "...red eyes."
"Mmm-hmm." Rupert nodded, while quickly pinning something on a paper. "And what has exactly been stolen?"
"A cellular phone. It's an object made in plastic that- no, this isn't going anywhere." Subaru sighed. "It's a grey object that can be held in the palm of your hand. It can be opened like this." He clapped his hands and started opening and closing their tips while keeping his wrists together. "In the interior part," he pointed with his right index finger to the middle of his left palm "there is a window emitting light and," he started tapping on it with all his fingers. "several buttons."
Both Emilia and Rupert blinked twice.
"It allows you to capture an image of nearby things, people or places and to communicate with other people who have similar items in real-time just by selecting the object you want to link, then you can speak in it and the person on the other object can both hear you and reply."
Now the two of them had raised eyebrows and eyes wide.
Take this, science 1 - magic 0! Well, if the knight is impressed, he'll be more active in helping us.
"That's quite a rare long-range communication metia. It should be worth at least a handful of holy coins. We need to hurry if we want to find it." Rupert said, looking at Emilia.
Ah, they already have something like that. At least they know what we're searching for.
"Anyway, yours is useful information." He started quickly pinning something on a flying paper. "And, if I may ask your name, you are…"
The Japanese boy slightly raised his arm, then suddenly he let it fall down. No, this doesn't feel right here. "Natsuki Subaru." Wait, they seem to use name/surname patterns here. It would be better to avoid misunderstandings. " 'Subaru' is my own name, 'Natsuki' my family's one."
"All right, Subaru Natsuki." The knight grabbed the piece of paper and headed to the door, then he put his free hand on its vertical frame and turned back. "Please, wait here for a moment. I am going in our archive to find out if we have already booked someone with these features. Also, I am going to check who of us is in the stand-by list and can help in your research."
Then he exited the door, closed it and walked away, exchanging indistinguishable words with the guard that was now following him.
As the echoing footsteps faded away, the office was filled with silence.
…
Subaru's gaze fell on the girl. Lady Emilia apparently was finding pretty interesting her own feet, then her own hands, the floor or the ceiling.
Leaning himself against one of the lateral walls of the room, he closed his eyes and massaged his forehead with his right finger and thumb.
So… let's make a recap.
I got isekai'd here, but no one is accrediting me any special status. In the long run, this will be troublesome. Apparently there aren't levels, fighting classes or guilds for beginners, and that's making the whole thing pretty different from your usual mmorpg. If I'd choose a type of game, it's a survival rpg, but again that's pretty similar to real life.
Since I need to slowly farm, I was going to sell my valuable but useless item, the last anchor to my past life and my fam- no, Subaru, not now- to gather money. It got stolen 'cause this girl here somehow made a mess with ice magic.
Under his hand, he stole a glance at the girl. She had raised both her arms over her head and was stretching them, the fingers of her hands intertwined.
She is super cut- no, that's not the point.
Now… she seems to be from a really influential household, and that allows her to have the best cooperation from the police force of this world to find a thug in a western-like medieval capital city.
This is convenient for me. Not gonna lie, I'm happy to have a girl like her around.
He stole her a glance. She was tapping her fingers again, while shaking her right leg.
But… isn't this just a drag for her? She could have paid me back and closed the question there, or also just ignored me. After all, I cannot physically force her to do anything, I don't know magic and she's politically strongly connected.
Maybe she's just a nice person, and feels genuinely sorry for what happened to me? In that case, she probably just had to give me more money or ask me for any kind of compensation to make amends. I'm not saying she's a bad one, but I bet there's something going on.
Also… why was she so feared? People were unfazed by her magic, to be fair angrier than anything but, as they saw her face, fear grasped all of them. That's not the respect shown to a noble, that's how you behave as you spot someone who's going to murder you and you can do nothing against that.
And what about the reason she was using magic in the first instance? Was there someone attacking her? Or maybe the thief had already stolen something from her?
Nah, I don't think so. She wouldn't have wasted a moment here reporting that to that knight.
To be fair, there exist the possibility that the thief stole something that she shouldn't have lost at all, maybe something really important or pretty shameful to lose… but this seems to me overthinking to the nth degr-
"Uhm… Subaru, right?"
"Uh? Oh. Yep, that's my name."
The half-elf was now addressing him. "My name is Emilia. Just Emilia."
On the palm of her opened left hand, there was a flash of white-azure light.
"And I'm Puck. Nice to meet you, Subaru."
"Uh?"
A grey, speaking cat had appeared there. It was around 25 centimetres tall from its head to the tips of its hind paws. It had white spots like gloves and boots on its paws, on its muzzle, on the superior part of its chest and on the tip of its tail.
"Nice to meet you too, Puck."
"He is a spirit, a Great Spirit, and, as you can see," The girl continued, putting locks of her long hair behind her ears with both her hands, revealing them "I am a half-elf, with silver hair and amethyst eyes."
"Yes, and…?" The boy blinked. "Wait, is this related to those people fearing you back in Market Street?"
"You really don't know this?" She tilted her head on her left. "You are not from Lugunica, are you?"
"Well… this is the name of the place, the nation we're in right now, right?" The girl nodded affirmatively. "Then no, I'm not from here. I come from a country far, far away."
"By any means, are you from Volakia?" The cat-no, the spirit inquired. He had quite a male voice.
"No, I'm not. I don't even know where or how it is." He sighed. "What makes you think so? Even the guard that led us here had asked me this before."
"Well, I've heard that in Volakia there are a lot of people with black hair and eyes," Puck nodded at Emilia's words "while here these are pretty uncommon traits."
"Truth to be told," the cat added "the Kingdom of Lugunica and the Empire of Volakia have never been on good terms in the last centuries. Also, the borders between them are currently guarded and closed, so it would be extremely suspicious for someone from there to be found in the capital city of Lugunica without a good reason."
"I-I guess I understand."
"So, Subaru, what are you doing here?" The girl crossed her arms behind her back and slightly leaned forward towards him.
What's with this interest? I mean, what can I ever answer? "I'm from another world, I just found myself in the middle of the street a couple of hours ago?" Nah that's not going to work. And…
…and isn't that dress a little revealing on her chest?
No, Subaru, don't look down. You're making eye contact, she will notice. It's bad self-advertising.
Don't look down.
Don't look down.
Don-
"Lia, isn't this a bit intrusive of you? He's in an unknown place, trying to find back something that has been stolen from him. Don't put him under pressure, he's tense enough already."
Puck was now eyeing him with a smile on his muzzle. Still, his eyes didn't have any warmth.
Why does it feel like he knows?
"Uh? Ah, I'm sorry Subaru, I didn't want to trouble you." She put both her open hands before her.
"No problem at all" He laughed, scratching the back of his head with his right hand. "I just think you'll hardly believe me."
His laugh faded.
"You know, I've suddenly found myself here, with worthless coins and unable to read the written language."
He wasn't even smiling anymore.
"I was going to sell the only valuable item I had, but then a thief stole that to me in a blink."
The boy was now giving Emilia the evil eye.
"Now that I think about it, why did you make that mess with magic? I'm even more in trouble because of you!"
Puck and Emilia looked briefly into each other's eyes for a moment, then the girl replied. "Subaru, I'm truly sorry for that. I believe, at this point, you deserve to know the truth. But please, promise me you won't tell anyone. It's reeeally important.
"I don't really know anyone here," He huffed."Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know who to speak about your secrets. So, I'm fine with it. I won't tell anyone."
"Fine." The girl inhaled deeply, then suddenly exhaled. "Before, in Market Street, I casted magic trying to stop that same thief you're looking after." She looked around nervously. "She had stolen something from me moments before, and I used magic just in order to scare her more than properly hit. I didn't want to hurt anyone."
"Yeah, I got that." He muttered. "But why haven't you reported to the knight here what you've got robbed of? After all, he and that other guard were so respectful towards you."
"That's because," Emilia scanned the surroundings again, then she came near Subaru. She was now whispering. "What I got stolen is a very rare object." Her breath tickled the skin of his ear. "It is-"
"Lady Emilia, I've- oh."
Rupert had opened the door.
As Subaru heard his voice, he jumped a step away from Emilia. "W-We were doing nothing!" The knight raised an eyebrow. "It's not what it seems!"
"I don't understand, what should it seem?"
The half-elf found no answer.
"Anyway, Sir Rupert, sorry for the interruption. What have you found?"
"It seems that the person your friend described has already committed some thefts, mostly in the Third Layer, but all the investigations led in that zone had no result." His lips slightly clenched. "Also, it has been reported that the girl uses to wear dark and worn clothes. While the colour tells us nothing except that she obviously doesn't want to be noted among the crowd, their condition suggests that she's from the slums, in the most external layer of the city."
"So… how are we supposed to move in this situation?"
"We may lead an official investigation asking people about her but, sadly, our corp isn't seen favourably in the slums." Rupert sighed. "Probably the best strategy would be to send soldiers undercover, but the operation would take way too long since unknown people are badly viewed as well." He passed a hand through his pointy hair. "The most viable alternative is searching for a place in which valuable items can be sold on the black market. We should locate large buildings, far from the main roads, having little to no windows to keep hidden their internal content or activities."
He scanned his desk, then picked a large, rolled piece of yellowish paper and opened it.
It was a large map of the city, with buildings drawn in black-greyish ink and the names of the streets written along them.
In the middle of it, there was a large structure, probably the royal castle. From it departed a handful of main roads, and three of them run around it circumferentially.
I suppose they are the main roads in the second, third and fourth layers.
While in the internal sections the map was really detailed, even with writings and some buildings highlighted in different colours, in the external one there were a lot of empty spots far from its leading road. In particular, they were clustered near the external walls of the city.
The knight pointed his right finger to one of these.
"These are the areas in which we are going to search to spot that kind of target: the ones far from the most used roads and all the patrol routes." He looked at the boy before and at the half-elf then. "I have already sent messengers about the situation to all the units in the areas of interest and to those on standby. If someone finds the thief or a place that meets all the requirements, then a magic signal will be sent in the air." He noticed Subaru's furrowed brows. "I mean, something like an exploding fireball. Thrown above the roofs of the buildings, its light and its noise should be able to both pick the soldiers' attention and show where they should converge."
"I believe that's a good idea." Puck agreed with him.
"What are we supposed to do in the meanwhile, Sir Rupert?" Emilia inquired.
"Due to your significant role, Lady Emilia, both you and the honourable Great Spirit may wait in this garrison. Your safety here shall not be compromised. Eventually, in case of need, your companion's help in recognising his own stolen item would be fairly appreciated. To ensure his safety, I would personally escort him while leading the research on the field from the back ."
The girl slightly frowned.
The knight smiled at her.
"Anyway, since I can guess you are willing to help him, the three of you can join me in this research." He paused for a while. "To avoid endangering yourself and alarming the inhabitants of the slums, specifically the ones acting as eyes, ears and hands of criminal organizations, I would suggest acting in disguise."
The three of them left Market Street behind them, exiting the walls passing under the same gate Subaru had entered before.
Now that the sun was beginning the final part of its parable, there were far fewer people and wagons along the way.
Most of them were men, and playing children or anyone wearing elegant robes were nowhere to be seen.
Those walking along the streets often stared at them for a while, narrowing their eyes, then walked away as if nothing happened.
For someone just wearing a dark cloak with a hood, 'disguise' is such an exaggerated word. I hope we aren't even more in the spotlight or just rubbing people in the wrong way.
The knight was the one leading them along the main road. He was walking forward calmly and composedly, but his gaze was continuously jumping from left to right.
Unseen by passers-by, a sword long around one meter hung from his belt. Even Subaru had been given one, taken from the garrison armory.
"Just in case", he told me. Huh. I practised Kendo for a while and I'm not in a bad shape at all, but I've the feeling that, in terms of fighting strength, I'm the dude who carries out the bags here.
If I could at least cast some kind of magic…
The boy blinked twice. "E-Emilia…"
The figure on his left side turned to him, her violet eyes staring at him from under her hood. Subaru was the only one not having put it on his head. "Yes, Subaru?"
"How does magic work in this worl- I mean, how is one able to master and cast magic? Are there any requirements?" He almost whispered.
"Hmmm," The half-elf looked at the sky, putting her right index finger on her lips. "People who can use magic are mainly divided into two great categories. Magic users can use the mana inside themselves to cast spells. The bigger their gate, the more mana they can handle at once. On the other hand, a greater mana pool corresponds to a greater number of spells that can be cast before remaining dry..." She saw his head tilted "Do you have any question?"
"Sorry but… what's a 'gate'?"
She silently stared at him for a moment. "It's… how should I put it… a non-physical organ everyone is born with. You send mana through it while casting spells. It differs from person to person. Oh, another important thing is your magic affinity. You are likely to cast magic using elements you have affinity for waaaay more easily than other ones." She paused again. "On the other hand, there are people who collect mana from the atmosphere with the help of magical creatures, called spirits. For them, individual affinities and size of their gates and mana pool don't really matter. They are called spirit mages, or spirit art users." The corners of her lips slightly raised in a faint smile. "I am one of them, and-"
"I'm feeling an itch in my ear. Someone is speaking about me, right?" Another voice came from under the hood.
"Well, I was giving Subaru an explanation about how magic works."
"I know Lia, I was joking." Puck laughed.
Emilia pouted.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The cat continued. "Since it's my field, after all, I can give a contribution."
Barely seeable under the hood, his head popped out from silver locks. "Well, it's true that spirits can gather mana from the atmosphere, so the quantity the spirit user can store or handle by himself doesn't really matter. However, you need to contract a spirit to be able to rely on its magic; also, the affinity and the level of the magic you can perform is strongly influenced by the spirits' ones. If you contract more spirits, or ones that are of higher rank, you can cast stronger magic, while their affinity will determine the one of the spells."
"I… I understand." The boy slowly asserted.
"Good." Puck nodded.
Rupert opened his right arm, the palm of his hand facing backwards towards them.
"I am going to ask people living here about the girl," in a clinking sound, he put out a small brownish bag in his left hand from under the cloak. "Lady Emilia, sir Subaru, please wait here for my return."
As the knight headed towards a building nearby, the Japanese boy looked around.
They were almost in the middle of a road intersection, with nearby edifices not taller than three floors. Far in the distance, at the end of two of the four streets meeting there, he could see poor and partially dilapidated buildings, leaning against the massive city external walls and getting darkened by their stretching shadows.
So, here we are. Subaru swallowed.
It couldn't be clearly seen where the slums started and the commoner district ended but, block after block, the city was losing wealth and well-being the more the trio was getting closer to the walls.
The difference in social status between this place and the other districts is almost overwhelming. If going forward conditions are getting even worse, no wonder people from there try to steal from wealthier ones.
"Now that I'm thinking about it, Subaru, you have a good spiritual affinity." the boy startled, suddenly hearing Puck again. Turning his head, he found the spirit floating in mid-air near his left shoulder.
"Oh, really? Good to hea- wait, where is Emilia?"
"Since we're staying here for a while, she's trying to ask lesser spirits if they've seen that girl." Following with his gaze the direction given by the cat's raised right paw, he saw the back of her cloaked figure some steps away. "And when she's speaking with those buds, I need to stay away. They're terrified of me, you know?" Puck winked.
"Terrified?" The boy narrowed his eyes. "You don't seem to be a great threat."
"Even if I am really cute, you shouldn't underestimate me" He did a somersault in mid-air. "The level of self-awareness of a spirit influences its power. According to this, it is possible to distinguish different categories for them. Bottom to top, there are: lesser spirits, quasi spirits, spirits and great spirits."
Around the girl began to appear bright white-blue dots. They were floating in mid-air the way Puck was doing, but without dangling and pulsating each one with a different frequency.
"Woah…"
"As you can see, while the first three forms appear all as floating, shining and coloured little spheres, the latter ones have the particularity of owning a physical body," the cat patted his tail on Subaru's left cheek. "Made of mana."
The boy caressed with the fingers of his left hand the point 'hit'.
"About the magical affinities, there are six elements: fire, water, wind, earth, light and darkness. Fire element relates to temperature. Water element regulates life and healing. Wind element functions outside the bodies of living things, while earth one inside. Light and darkness elements work respectively as buff and de-buff, but incredibly skilled mages can use them to perform other purposes. For example, my little sister can open doors connecting between themselves distant places."
"Hmmm… No ice element? Then, what Emilia used before is…"
"It was fire magic. After all, she contracted with me, the current Great Spirit of Fire." Puck grinned. "Increasing or decreasing temperature in the air are both forms of fire magic. In truth, even water magic can be used to master ice, and she has contracted several minor spirits that would allow her to also use that into ice form, and basic healing too. However, my fire magic is undoubtedly far above that."
"Puck, stop bullying them! It's wrong!" The half-elf had got closer to the two of them again.
"So, do you have news?"
"Yes, Lia, have you gathered information from them?"
"Well, they didn't manage to give me accurate indications, but someone similar to the girl we have been looking for has been seen running towards that way." Emilia pointed at the dilapidated buildings at the end of one of the streets. "We should wait for Sir Rupert here, then we can exchange information and figure out how to proceed."
"Oh, you are really learning how to be a-" The young woman stared at him, her eyebrows raised. "Ah, nevermind." The cat sighed, then he looked at the sun setting in an orange light behind the roof of the buildings. "I'm sorry, Lia, but I guess I'm reaching my limit for today." His voice was now fainter, yet he felt more present than every other time that day. "Please, stay safe and don't push yourself."
"Huh? What's going on here?"
"I can stay out of the crystal only for a certain amount of hours during the day. That's due to our contract." Puck explained the boy.
"Yep, that's our day-to-day routine." She turned to the cat. "It's ok, Puck. I'll do my best from here on out, so you just get some rest." Emilia smiled, caressing his head with two fingers. He was even smaller than before.
"If something happens, don't hesitate to use your od to call me back out."
"I know, I know. I can take care of myself. I'm not a child anymore."
"Ah, my precious daughter here always makes me worry when it comes to things like this."
Wait, daughter? What kind of family is that?
He made eye contact with the Japanese boy "I'm counting on you, Subaru," Then the spirit's gaze dashed behind the lad's shoulders. "And on you, Sir Rupert."
Subaru turned back, just to see the cloaked man slightly bowing. "Receiving such words is a praise, honourable Great Spirit. I shall do whatever is in my power to keep Lady Emilia and her friend safe."
"Be careful." With a last glance directed at Emilia, Puck vanished. He became a small ball of light, which gradually disappeared by melting away.
Both the boy and the knight looked at the point in which the spirit had just vanished.
"This it's his way to disappear. He just loves to put on a little drama." The half-elf broke the awkward silence. "Sir Rupert, what have you discovered?"
"Lady Emilia, I'm glad to tell you that, even if my bag has lightened, we now know how to find that girl." He reported. "Her name is Felt. She's living not far from here, but at the end of that road," He pointed in the same direction the spirits had told Emilia. "There is a place, the "loot cellar", in which stolen objects frequently find new owners, if you understand me. The one running it, Rom, is said to be on really good terms with Felt. So, she is likely to use that place to sell what she steals to the highest bidder, or to those who commissioned the theft in the first place."
"Thank you, Sir Rupert." She smiled warmly. "What should we do right now?"
"I shall accompany you there personally and help you recover the metia stolen from the boy, in the hope that things can be solved without anyone getting hurt." He put his purse back under his cloak. "But if there will be any need, I shall be your sword and your shield."
That's so cool!
If only I held any remarkable power, I'd be able to have at least half of his confidence or reliability…
The girl's hands, now hidden behind her back, were trembling.
Hm? Is there any problem with him-oh, right. She must bring back something important she's not supposed to have lost in first place, and now she's stuck with a high-ranked guard on her side.
Also, she's alone, without her father (?) right now. Not gonna lie, she's so cute trying to be so polite even when she's afraid.
"T-Thank you, Sir Rupert. Now, let's go."
The knight nodded, then he headed to the direction where their target was supposed to be. Emilia followed him, and Subaru joined her.
As they walked along the street, there weren't other people passing by.
A couple of old men and a reptile demi-human were talking under a precarious-looking canopy, their voices not even reaching the street.
Two children, one of them with black cat-like ears, were looking at them from behind the door of their house, while in one of its rooms a woman was silently lying on some sort of stained mattress.
I suppose it's like this everywhere. People who have a lot of money, and people who haven't, living almost within a stone's throw.
He stole a glance at his companions.
Rupert was almost unfazed, even if he hardly held the children's gaze.
Emilia apparently was taking the hit… or was she just nervous?
"Now… let's stop for a moment here." The curly man spoke.
The three of them were in a sort of grassy and earthy clearing at the end of the street. Around fifty metres before them, a large building leaned against the city walls. It was similar to a two-floors house for several families, but it had almost no windows at ground level and a dark wooden, huge door. There weren't lights nearby, and no one was approaching the building.
"If the voices I have heard are true, this Rom is supposed to be an old giant. Giants are taller and stronger than the average human being, so I would recommend the two of you never getting close to him." Subaru and Emilia nodded. "On the other hand, the girl probably lacks in strength, but should have a knife or a dagger and she surely is gifted with a high speed. Maybe it is some kind of Blessing or Divine Protection, so nothing to joke about." Rupert turned to the half-elf. "Lady Emilia, please, keep an eye on her. Nothing should be wrong and our weapons are likely to never be drawn…
No! Don't say that! You're raising flags!
"...but be ready to counter her by anticipating her moves with your magic. Sir Subaru," He turned to the boy "I do not want to be insensitive, but you have not undergone any fighting training and you have never used magic, right?"
His cheeks reddened, the boy nodded.
"I see. So please, just in case, stay away from the giant and remain at Lady Emilia's side. Eventually you shall help her with the girl."
"U-Understood."
I'm just a drag right now.
If only…
"I am signalling this zone to the other guards around here. In case the girl manages to run away, they should intercept her."
He raised his right arm, his hand opened. Hot started flowing onto it-or from it?- and a little, warm orange ball appeared there. After moments, reddish flames started irradiating from its yellowish core.
"Goa! Goa! Goa!"
Rupert threw three fireballs in the air in less than a second. They travelled for dozens of metres then exploded with dry sounds, red sparkles dropping vertically from where they had dismantled in the air.
"All right. Now we shal-"
Fwishhh*
CLANG*
What the…
"...Oh, so you're tougher than your friends. You picked my interest."
Hearing these sounds, Subaru had turned back.
Rupert, who was ahead of him, in a fraction of second had gotten behind him, holding his drawn sword with his right arm. Between him and Subaru, Emilia - whose hood had slid down - had put her arms before herself and slightly flexed her legs. Both of them were facing the direction from which they had just come…
…where there was a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties. She had raven hair collected in a braid that reached her hips, and a cloak of the same colour was draped over her shoulders. Her body had curves in the right spots, but the dark clothes she wore tightly against her skin revealed a thin overall figure .She was holding in her hands a pair of twin weapons, around 30 centimetres long, with the bodies of the blades bent inward starting from their handling.
"You made a magic signal, so it looks like someone will soon come to your help."
The corners of her lips were raised in a smile, but her dark-violet eyes were icy .
"Sadly, I'm already late. I'm in a hurry to meet a customer. So please, don't be sorry if I don't waste time with you…"
Her gaze fell on the half elf.
Now her smile was reaching her eyes.
"...Oh, what a coincidence. My job has come to me. It'll be a pleasure."
The woman licked her lips.
"I wonder which colour your intestines will be."
Huh?
"Lady Em-Gh!"
With a speed that made her seem a moving dark spot, the woman aimed at Emilia. Rupert parried again her attack with his sword, using both his hands. She jumped on the wall of a nearby building and bounced back with even increased speed, meeting again his blade with hers. Exploiting the strength of the collision, she jumped to the half-elf pushing with both her hands and her right feet on his sword, pressing him towards the ground. Doing a flip in mid-air, she avoided a handful of ice projectiles thrown at her.
"-NO!"
The knight, left behind by her move, rushed toward the girl.
Subaru could barely move.
Dark crimson droplets splashed in the air.