One of several marketplaces, in the Administrative District of Nefra.

“Hey, didn’t you say that Al guy gave you some coin to hold? If that’s true, then how about we use it to splurge a bit on—”
“This is mainly for restocking my materials whenever needed, Astrid. Albel didn’t give me this money to further your drinking habit.”
“C’mooooon~”

With a melodic groan, Astrid followed behind us with an exaggerated, downtrodden swing in her steps. It only took a single day and night to get used to her inability to contain herself. The more I thought about it, the more she shared semblance to grandfather’s regulars at the Mirth Oak. As long as I remained stern in my replies, she didn’t seem as scary as she did before.

“Besides, I was under the impression that, after you violated my batch with your spirits, you’d remain content for a while longer—didn't Lukos say that?”

In turning around, I could see her glassy green eyes take to the sky as she slowly and slightly began to writhe where she stood for some reason.

“It did. It was like a sweet and short burst of nostalgic beauty—buuuuuuut~ When I think about later, I’m reminded that...I’m finally out of spirits and coin myself...”
“See, I told you that would happen. We haven’t returned back to the Old Palisade to collect our payment after all. Hm? I remember the merchant being around here, but I can’t seem to find him.”

Astrid’s trivial plight aside, Lukos was now leading us to a merchant that specifically dealt with materials of my trade—gems, jewelry, geodes, etc. I wasn’t in any need for restocking, but I was interested in what kind of selection a merchant in the capital would have. From my experience, different types of gems were more suited for certain types of chants and encasings. The chance of a proper—even powerful—bond varied based on that combination.

I can also use this chance to finally familiarize myself with superior quality trinkets!

With every bit of my trinkets being handpicked and self-created, I was well aware that my collection—in consequence of my low technical skill—was far from perfect. Grandfather could make amazing furnishings and even clothing, but he didn’t know a single thing about jewelry. As a result, I was self-taught and in a backwater village like Druhwood, fine jewelry was rather scant.

“Well, after accompanying Eru for today, we should finally try and stop by, shall we?”
“That pay better be hefty after everything we dealt with in Firspur!”

Lukos turned his head slightly in response to Astrid’s animated reply as he murmured something under his breath that I was able to catch.

“Dealing with you was more of an issue than the quests themselves, you know...”

Returning his gaze back toward his front, he stopped and stared into the distance.

“Oh. There it is, right down over there. You two, this way—”
“This festival is a sham! Hear, hear!”

In a sudden interruption, the cries of a man caught—not only our attention—but everyone else’s. We were crammed between the shadows of two long stretches of buildings, while vendors were situated on both sides. Arriving from a nearby alleyway, he stood on a crate—in battered clothing, with a similar complexion to match.

“Your Queen fosters falsehoods—illusions of grandeur—over this country! A grim plague, and of knowledge only hidden to those not beyond Auriga’s walls or the front-lines, will strike this city! As it did my own flesh and blood...! My boy, of valor and honor, a proud solider of this country—yet burned upon death to hide this truth! Left as ashes in an unmarked grave...and nothing more...! Hear, hear!!! The breach of the north is impending! One of bloodshed and affliction! It will not be stopped, and it will be deserved—”
“You bastard! Again?! We told you already...!”

Before he could finish, the sudden trouncing of three city guards appeared from the alleyway near him. His words and now muffled wailing instilled me with an unrestrained shudder as Lukos quickly gestured Astrid and I to continue walking. Yet, I could see his own fists being curled and shaking as he seemingly attempted to ignore the situation now behind us. As we began to approached our destination, I couldn’t help but comment in uneasiness.

“A plague and bloodshed...? What...did he mean by that...?”

The duo remained quiet, yet their eyes connected to each other for several seconds before Lukos decided to vaguely answer my question.

“There’s been talk of an increase in skirmishes along the northern border—between this country and Isluna. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that man was speaking all truths, but...”

The man’s cries weren’t complete fibs either—and the solemn expression Lukos now held felt as if it were implying just that. Merchants that traveled into Druhwood would bring along with them rumors from the north. War was a constant topic, but this was a first I had heard anything about a “plague” and an increase in battles. That being said, the duo before me didn’t seem as if they were quite willing to discuss the matter any further as they began walking on in ruminative silence.

I don’t like the sound of that at all... Maybe I’ll ask Albel about what he knows later instead...

We tried to set aside that tumbling mood as we finally approached the merchant that Lukos was originally guiding us to. They stood off to the side as I walked on with eyes on the merchandise. Stretched across a quilt, varying boxes lined to the corners were sparkling due to the abundance of gems and geodes. I perused the selection for what felt like several minutes before the unnoticed merchant spoke.

“Human girl, you plan on actually buying anything or just enjoying the view, baaa?”

As my gaze drifted toward the sudden raspy voice, I was a bit started by what I saw through puffs of smoke. Before me sat a rather sizeable figure, sitting down with a smoking pipe in between their hooves. Grandfather had once told me stories of different species from across the eastern sea, in the nation of Espen. And based off of those stories, what sat before me had possibly been an atavistic beast-kin—one in which held full resemblance to an animal with individual intelligence—and this one had the appearance of a bighorn sheep.

He really does look like one of those rams from the mountains, just bigger!

“Quit your goggling and buy something already, baaa.”
“Aaaa! Sorry... I couldn’t help myself. Erm, do you have any...”

It was a lengthy discussion as I began asking about certain stones that I had read about before as the merchant pointed them out, explaining different features about them—popularity, structure, price, etc. I then noticed and asked about several that sat in his collection that I hadn’t ever seen before.

“P-pearls?”
“They can be found to the north western shores and beyond. Very rare and difficult to reach, baa.”
“Hmm, and they’re taken from creatures of the sea? Interesting...”

Sadly, there weren’t as many trinkets as I had hoped—just simply a variety of raw materials. He was apparently having some trade issues with his supplier.

“Oh, that’s right!”

Invested in our conversation, it felt as if I had lost track of a substantial amount of time. I then picked out a handful of gems—including some black pearls—and as I was readying to call for the other two, the merchant suddenly prompted a repeat question, but one that wasn’t directed at me. His eyes seemed to look past my head.

“You again? You finally going to buy something yourself, baa?”

I instinctively turned my body around in curiosity, and was once again startled—far more than before as I stumbled back slightly.

“Eeeek!”
“Hey! Watch the merchandise, baa!”

Almost falling onto his quilt of items, I apologized and redirected my attention back at the figure that teetered silently in front of me. Draped in a white full-body, bag-like cloak swayed a person—possibly. Since their face was covered under a hood with a white mask, one that held the caricature of a widened red smile and exaggerated, yellow eyes. Their focus, though, seemed completely on me.

“D-do you need something from me...? Or...?”
“Pfft.”
“Do you know this person, Eru?”

It began trying to stifle a quiet laugh as its head shook, up and down. And approaching from the sides, came Lukos and Astrid as the they inspected the creature across from me with a bewildered set of eyes as well. I had never seen anyone dressed in such a way before.

“Not that I know of...”
“Hiya, you’re an interesting one, y’know that?”
“Huh?”

A voice from behind the mask was seemingly that of a young girl as she continued to lightly wobble, which then turned into a skip of steps, back and forth, in front of me with a vibrant giggle.

“Tahaha. There isn't much else in this city that’s as interesting as you are, Eru! So, I’d like to get to know you a bit! You can call me Maela; can I ask you to help me with something?”

Introducing herself, she suddenly began making a request. One that involved searching for a small animal that she had lost sight of recently. Of course, I was hesitant to readily agree so easily.

She looks a bit odd, but she doesn’t feel like a bad person... Right! I shouldn’t judge people based on how they look anyways, like how I did with Albel when we first met. And she sounds like she’s even younger than I am too. As an adult, I’m obligated to help, aren’t I?

Unlike my smidgen of hesitation, Lukos and Astrid seemed to agree rather quickly on their end.

“Sure, as long as you pay us first—”
“Astrid.”
“You want us to do it for free?! See, this is why we’re always lacking in drinking funds, Lu!”

I could see Lukos heavily sighing from the corner of my eye as Maela grabbed onto my hands, happily thanking me already for whatever reason. She was wearing finger-less, black leather gloves as she held a firm grip and began leaping from up off the ground slightly.

“He shouldn’t be too hard to find! He just has a habit of running off and adventuring on his lonesome.”
“I-I see... And what does he look like exactly?”
“Weeeell~ He’s a small monkey, with dull red fur.”
“Oh, that shouldn’t be too—”
“And he has two black horns that stretch from his eye sockets and around to the back of his head. He’s surely the cutest thing you’ll see in this city!”

I paused in silence as I let my imagination run wild for a bit. Attempting to picture what the small creature looked like. I then glanced over to the duo nearby, and they evidently shared in my puzzled thread of thought.

“Heeeh. That sounds like a pretty...interesting pet you have there, Mae.”
“Thank you! But he’s more of a good friend than a pet.”

In agreeing to help Maela, she decided to tag along with us toward the Common Quarters, an area she had yet to search, as we told her we were planning to head to the Garden Quarters soon.

“Hmm. That might not be the best idea for today. I heard it’s getting a bit rowdy over there.”
“Rowdy? Did something happen?”
“I doubt that. It was an awfully boring wait over by the gates yesterday too, wasn’t it, Lu?”

As the duo questioned her comment, I could only agree in quiet thought. There hadn’t been anything of note over by the gate into the Garden Quarters yesterday, and with the tournament taking place near the Entertainment District, everyone was busy over there. Albel had said that the arena was full of spectators after all.

“Guess you’ll just have to find out for yourself~ Though, it’s not like I know the reason why either! Tahaha~”

We continued searching as I casually chatted with Maela until we were passing by the boarding house. I decided to take a quick peek inside to see if Albel had still been there. Yet, not even Alisa and Euler were inside.

Did he already head to the entrance then? But does Ms. Alisa and Mr. Euler normally leave their door unlocked though?

It felt strange, but I decided to push the thought aside as a sudden entrance of another startled me—in a rather delightful way this time.

“Chirp!! Chirp!!”
“Cruubi?!”

Descending from the sky, the small green and black hummingbird had finally returned from its long trip as it settled onto my head. Allowing it to leap into the palm of my hands, I smiled brightly at its familiar and beloved chirps.

“Chirp! Chirp!”
“Welcome back, Cruubi! I’m glad to see you’re safe and sound. It was lonely without you!”
“You know this bird, Ery? Or are you just one to attract strange things?”
“Don’t be rude, Astrid. It looks like it's quite familiar with her.”

Taking a closer look, an expression of surprise came from Lukos.

“Oh. It’s a hummingbird. Haven’t seen one of those in a long time."
“Mhm. That’s what he described it as. It’s a summon created by Albel, but named by me. It’s adorable, isn’t it? Oh! We could possibly have Cruubi assist in finding your friend, Maela—”

Without even noticing when or how, she had seemingly disappeared. Despite being near me a mere second ago.

“That girl, she really just up and left, huh? I told you we should have been paid up front!”
“We weren’t getting paid to begin with.”

As the two of them bickered, I looked around a bit more, and that had been the case after all. Maela was suddenly nowhere in sight.

Did something come up? That’s a shame. I think she would have liked Cruubi too. And I still wanted to ask her about her appearance, get to know her more and all that...

It was a sudden meeting, but I felt a bit depressed at her just as sudden departure. And as Cruubi nested itself upon the top of my head, I headed back toward the other two.

“Well, there’s nothing we can really do about that. So, how about we just continue to keep an eye out for her friend while we head to the Garden Quarters?”

We decided to go along with Lukos’ suggestion as we then headed for the entrance to the Garden Quarters. Yet, the more we walked through the area—the Noble Quarters—several people were murmuring along the way. Some even frantic to catch the ear of another, as we began to see more and more people head toward and come from the entrance.

“Is this what she meant by rowdy, Lu? I don’t like this feeling in the air...”
“Hmm.”

I was in agreement. From everyone’s expression, something terrible seemed to had happened or was currently underway. And as we reached that crowded entrance, we were involuntarily greeted with answers in the form of the shouting masses.

“The hell do you mean you don’t understand what’s going on?! Learn to do your damn jobs!”
“Yeah! The several dead Adventurers in the slums is on the city—the guards—for not properly doing their job in the first place! You fuckers slack, day in and day out, and now look!”
“To think that the previous Magister would be dead too, what the hell is happening to this city?!”
“It’s because of that damned festival, I tell ya! Bringing all these foreign scum into our city!”

In a barrage of shouts, a single comment stood out from the rest as it latched onto my ears—heavily sinking my heart in turn. The shouts now felt distant as I was submerged in a coating of white noise—a single loud and suffocating thought.

Magister Elemnin...is dead...?