It's a beautiful day outside. The sun is out shining, and the cool breeze is really nice in the hot weather. I never thought I would say this, but walking to work really is one of the highlights to my day. Coming up on Baron Wisefang's mansion, like I do everyday, I see Noelle standing outside looking around frantically. Huh, that's weird. She's never outside the front entrance like this. Whenever she goes outside, it's in the garden.
"Kiaran, there you are! I've been waiting for you!" She seems really worried, and that's also causing me to worry, so I run up to her.
"What's wrong, Noelle? What happened?"
"It's the magic stone that father was selling to Pitiful's men, it's gone." What? Just what? How the hell could that have happened?
"Pitiful's men didn't steal it, did they?"
"That wouldn't be like them. Besides, there's no way they did it. They were all accounted for when it would've had to have gone missing."
"I see…" Thinking, if all of Pitiful's men were accounted for, unless there's some sort of magic that allows for making body doubles, then they're not the ones who stole it. According to my understanding, Baron Wisefang has no reason to hide it. I don't know how it was handled, so the idea of a servant misplacing it by mistake and leaving can't be waved away… There's also the possibility that one of Pitiful's enemies stole it to interfere with her… no, too little information to be thinking about that kind of thing right now.
"Noelle, what is everyone doing right now?"
"Baron Wisefang and all of his servants are assisting a few of Pitiful's men search everywhere in the manor for it." Even Baron Wisefang's searching for it? Just how valuable is this thing?
"Do you know when it would have had to have gone missing?"
"Father says anywhere between 1 and 7 in the morning today." It's still recent then.
"Who was the last one to see it, and who reported it missing?"
"Virginia is supposed to make sure it's there every night, and Father was the one who first found it wasn't there." Virginia then?
"Noelle, where is Virginia right now?"
"I don't know, somewhere in the mansion. She's definitely searching for it now."
"What about your father? He's searching for it now, what did he do when he found it missing?"
"He started panicking and crying like a little girl. He told everyone in the manor to search while he went and apologized to Ruse. He's back now and helping search. A few of Pitiful's men also came with him to help." I didn't need to know all that, but knowing that Pitiful's men are here helps me.
Alright, I made my mind up. "Is Ruse here?"
"Yes, he is."
"Alright Noelle, listen to me." I kneel down to Noelle's level and place my hands on her shoulders.
"I'm going to go and find Virginia so I can ask her a couple questions. You go and find your father and Ruse, and tell them that I want to speak to them. Can you do that?"
"Mhm!"
"Alright." I stand up and give Noelle a thumbs up.
"I'm counting on you, Noelle!"
"Right!" Then we both bolt into the mansion, heading in different directions. We're both looking for different people, after all!
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Running around the mansion, it's clear that its seen better days. Paintings have been taken off the walls, rugs have been rolled up, every single door and cabinet has been opened and gone through, even some of the walls have been broken into. Just how valuable is this damn stone?! Given how the servants are treating the mansion, it might even cost more than the mansion. Crazy stuff.
After running through the halls for a few minutes, I spot long, flowing, magenta hair next to a huge pile of random stuff that seems to have been gathered from several rooms. No mistaking it, no one else has hair that blindingly obvious!
"Virginia!" She turns around to look at me, her face and her clothes are all dirty.
"Kiaran… you aren't in uniform yet…"
"As if that's important right now! Besides, look at yourself!"
Virginia looks down, looking all sad and stuff. "You're right, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…"
"Don't worry, we'll talk later. Virginia, I need to ask you a few questions. Please answer them?"
"Alright, alright. Go ahead. It's not as if I'm doing anything of use anyway…" I begin my question rundown.
Q: Where was the magic stone hidden?
A: A secret compartment in an area of the basement.
Q: What security measures were in place before it disappeared?
A: It's kept secretly behind a wall, there's a super complex lock in place and only one key, and there's two guards down there at any given time
Q: What condition are the security measures in, currently?
A: The lock was opened with no signs of struggle or damage. The key to the lock has not been moved since Virginia last saw it, and both the guards were decapitated.
This one really shocks me. Shouldn't Noelle have mentioned this? Wait, no, she's ten, it wouldn't make any sense if anybody did tell her that happened. That also means there's no way the thing was just replaced. This confirms that it was stolen.
"Thank you again for answering all my questions, Virginia."
"It's no issue. If I'm of any service at all, I will gladly answer."
"Kiaran! Kiaran!" I suddenly hear from the entrance of the room.
"Oh, Noelle! How did it go?"
"Father's waiting for you in his office. I still haven't found Ruse."
"Thank you Noelle! Sorry Virginia, I have to go."
I leave right away, but when I get out of the room, Noelle tugs on my sleeve. "One important thing though, Kiaran! Father's in a really bad mood right now. I don't think it's a good idea to talk to him right now. It would be much better for us to both look for Ruse."
I pat Noelle on the head. "Sorry, but I really have to talk to him. Keep looking for Ruse, I'll be fine."
"Alright… if you say so…" Noelle looks really worried, but runs off anyway. Alright, time to talk with Baron Wisefang.
><><><><
The vibe in Baron Wisefang's office is totally different to how it usually is. It feels really heavy. Looking at Baron Wisefang, it's obvious that he's super stressed out.
"Kiaran… my daughter said that you wanted to speak with me…" He sounds 30 years older than he usually does too!
"Yes sir, I do. It's about the stone."
"Of course it is. What do you want, Kiaran? Don't tell me you have information."
"Sorry, but not anything you don't already know." I answer honestly. Baron Wisefang puts his head in his hands, all depressed-like.
"What do you want then?" Noelle wasn't kidding when she said he was in a bad mood. Still though, I can't give up, so I try to keep my voice as happy as possible.
"I would like to take another servant with me around Heafdes to help search for the stone."
Baron Wolffang looks at me, with an expression I can't quite tell the meaning of. All I know is that it isn't happiness. After a long silence, he finally opens his mouth. "Take Heather with you. Do what you want…"
"Thank you sir, the two of us will find the stone, you can count on us." I say before leaving his office. Alright, first order of business done, now to go and grab Heather..
><><><><
I had intended to find Heather first, but if I come across Ruse, it's not like I can just tell him to wait. What I come across while looking for Heather is Ruse and Noelle arguing in the halls. Noelle is shouting at him, while Ruse looks like he really wants to be doing anything else. "Oh, hey Kiaran! I found Ruse!"
I quickly run up to Ruse. "Thanks, Noelle!"
"Alright, fine. I'll listen to you for a second. What is it that you want?" Ruse says, extremely annoyed.
"I want to help you find the magic stone."
"Not interested." He replies instantly.
"How rude! Doesn't having as many heads working on the problem as possible raise the chances it'll be found?"
"Look, kid. Just leave it to us. This is far too dangerous of a situation for you to be getting involved in."
Dangerous? What is he talking about? Oh right, the two guards did get their heads split off, didn't they? That completely slipped my mind… And if the thief was trying to get in the way of a royal selection candidate…
"Even then, I still want to help." I say. Ruse looks annoyed.
"Why?"
"Because of what you told me yesterday. You were right yesterday, about me. At my core, I really don't know what kind of person I am. But the least I can do is help people out wherever I can. I wouldn't mind turning out to be that kind of person, I think."
Ruse narrows his eyes at me. "You wanna be a hero, huh? Will you keep helping out wherever you can, even if your life is in danger?"
"I would like to figure that much out, sir." Ruse turns his head.
"Screw it, do what you want."
"Does that mean you'll let me search with you?!"
"Don't put words in my mouth, kid. Do as you please, but don't expect help from me. If you die from poking your nose where it shouldn't be, so be it."
"Alright, I understand, let's go Noelle."
"Right…"
Noelle and I leave Ruse. That could have gone a lot better, but if he won't interfere with me, then that's OK too. "What are we doing now, Kiaran?" "We're going to search for Heather. Your father gave me permission to take her wherever I need."
"Alright, I understand."
><><><><
"Hello sir? This might be really reaching, but have you seen anybody enter the Wisefang manor from 1 to 7 in the morning? No? Could anyone else you know could've seen that? No? Alright, alright, I apologize for taking your time." And then they shut the door on me. That was the sixth person I've asked.
"Kiaran, I've asked five people and no one's said anything." Says Heather. Clearly she hasn't had much success either.
"We'll cover the rest of the houses that have some sort of good view of the mansion, and if nothing comes up, we'll try something else."
After a few more houses I finally got something. The person I asked lived on the scond floor of a rather large house right in front of Baron Wisefang's mansion. He was a tall bir man with white and blue feathers. He used his wings to open the door. Even though he wasn't a human, I could tell that he was really tired and groggy. I had probably just woken him up. I feel kind of bad about that, but he gave me the first useful piece of information so far.
"Oh, yeah, I saw a woman with pitch black hair walk into the mansion at around 2… she came out no more than 20 minutes after that and left."
"Other than the hair, did you notice any distinguishing features?"
"Hair that black is really rare, that should be distinguishing enough. Other than that though, she was wearing a dark grey coat made of feathers."
"Alright, I understand. Thank you for your time." After that, I ran over to Heather, telling her we have a lead.
"Huh, finally?"
"Yeah. Our main suspect is a woman with pitch black hair and a coat made out of feathers. I heard that this kind of hair is rare, what can you tell me about it?"
"Pitch black hair? That's usually associated with the vampire queen… Any race can have it, but it might be an indication she isn't human. She doesn't have to be a vampire though."
Pitch black hair means that they might not be human? Azariah has it, so I know it's not impossible but given what Heather's said, humans having it seems really rare. I also need to keep in mind that Azariah had her appearance changed when we were summoned. That probably has something to do with how her hair turned out.
Thinking more about it, other than Azariah, I don't think I've interacted with or even seen anybody with hair like that, and I've seen a lot of people. That means this is probably a super rare trait, which goes along with what Heather said. It should make her really noticeable. For now though, I want to focus on her race and anything that might give it away, since we think she might not be human.
"So not human then? Would that help with picking the lock? Do you know of any races that would likely be able to do that?"
"There's tons of different races, and being able to pick a complex lock and find a secret compartment really doesn't narrow it down very much."
"Alright, I understand. Now I'll head to the city gates and ask if anyone's come through looking like that recently. You go to the Knight's Order Headquarters, and ask for any criminals that have that hair. Given how noticeable that sort of thing should be, it should be easy to get that kind of information."
"Alright, I will." Heather and I then split up.
><><><><
"Hello sir, my name is Kiaran, I'm a servant of Baron Wisefang, acting on my lord's orders. I just need to ask a few questions, I'll try not to take up too much of your time." I'm standing at one of the gates of the city. Heafdes is actually completely surrounded by walls, and there are seven separate gates into these walls. Each gate is a series of huge double doors with checkpoints next to them to check people entering and leaving the city. This part is going to be really helpful now.
"Of course, how can I help you?" Says one of the patrol officers guarding the gate.
"I just need to know if anyone with pitch black hair has come through this gate recently. After that, I'll stop bothering you guys."
"Pitch black hair, huh? Yeah, a woman came into the city through this gate two days ago. She hasn't left the city yet."
"Just through this gate, right? It's totally possible that she could've left through another gate, right?"
"All the gates share information through telepathy. I know she hasn't come back out through this gate, but if it's really that important I can check with the other gates quickly."
"Yes, please do."
"Alright, wait here, I'll be a minute." The man then heads back into the checkpoint. I'm waiting for a while before he finally comes back out to talk with me again.
"I've just checked with all the other gates. She most definitely hasn't left."
"Alright, that's great. If she tries to leave, please notify Baron Wisefang right away."
"Alright, I will."
"And one more thing. Can you tell me her name and any other distinguishing features she may have?"
"Alright, her name was Saiko. She had a cute face, pale skin, and white pupils. She was also wearing a coat made of feathers when she came in."
"Alright, thanks a million, sir!" I say before bolting off. Alright, the suspect is still in the city and came in two days ago. Now I just need to meet up with Heather!
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I meet up with Heather just outside of the Knight's Order Headquarters. The surrounding of the building is all paved with stone. The building itself is a huge white building that's three stories tall.
"Heather, how'd it go?"
"The only thing that came up was an assassin who's been popping up recently."
"Do they have a physical description, or a name?"
"Oh, yeah. They said her name was Memento. She had pitch black hair, and really pale white skin. Her pupils were white too. She would've looked kind of cute if it wasn't for the eyes…"
The same description. The woman who entered the city two days ago and this assassin got described in the exact same way… What about the different names, though? If she's an assassin it would make sense to have aliases. Then Memento is her real name and Saiko was an alias just to get inside the city? Yeah, that makes the most sense. What I'd like to know now is what kind of race she is, and what her motivation for stealing the stone would be…
"Did they have her race written down?"
"Yeah, it said she was a Black Faun. I've never heard of the race before though, so I couldn't tell you anything about them."
"Alright. What about motivations? Why would she steal the stone?"
"Oh!" Heather appears to know something important. "She's apparently one of Vincent Boreas' underlings! She's probably following his orders! There's all sorts of stuff he could use a magic stone for, especially if it's that valuable."
"Slow down, who's Vincent Boreas? This is my first time hearing that name."
"Huh? You really don't know? He's the leader of a huge underground crime syndicate and a super evil death cult! He's the most wanted man in the entire country other than Nilus. Even one of his underlings is really bad news." So it's that sort of thing then?
"What's the possibility she isn't following Vincent's orders?"
"I read that she follows his orders to the letter, and is never seen doing anything else. It's probably impossible that she's acting on her own." Alright, that makes this much easier.
"Alright Heather, I checked with all of the gates and I heard that a woman who matches Memento's description came into the city two days ago, and hasn't left. I'm going to go and report that to the knights now. After that I'll go around the city asking around for a woman with Memento's features. I want you to head back and report this all to Baron Wisefang and Ruse, as well as telling them what I'm doing."
Heather looks really nervous. "Y- you want me to talk to both of them?"
"Yeah, is that really all that difficult?"
"Yes! Not everyone can just speak to whoever like you can, Kiaran! Have you seen how scary Ruse is?"
"Alright then, just tell Noelle all of that, she'll inform them for you."
"A-alright…"
"OK, get going! Bye!" I say before running into the Knight Order's Headquarters.
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I walk through the mansion. It's starting to get dark at this point, the sun has nearly completely set. I won't have much time left with light out. Still though, I need to give this list to someone. And if it really is Memento who stole it, then I need to work as quickly as possible.
I've been asking around the city all day for someone who looks like Memento, and I've gotten a couple of leads. So what I've done is make a mental list of all the places she could possibly be. I wound up wasting a lot of time after I got back looking for Noelle so she could write it all down. I actually had to ask a ten year old to write something down for me because I couldn't write. How embarrassing. Azariah can write at this point, right? Man, I'm so jealous.
Don't have the time to be worrying about that, though. Right now, I really need to show this list to somebody. All of a sudden, I run into somebody with snow white skin, and dark blue hair that comes down to below their shoulders. All of his facial features are sharp, and his eyes are constantly glaring. This guy was part of the emissary group from Pitiful Girl, wasn't he?
"Hey, sir? You're one of Pitiful's men, right?" He glares at me, looking all confused. I'm a bit scared of the expression, but I keep up a brave face.
"Uh… yeah, I do work for Pitiful." The voice that comes out of their mouth is clearly a female voice. Huh? Did I make a mistake? They're so much taller than me, and they're completely flat chested… I don't want to come off as creepy so I'll just keep talking as if nothing happened.
"Yes, my name is Kiaran, a servant of Baron Wisefang's. I did an investigation on where the missing magic stone could possibly be, and I have reason to believe an assassin named Memento was the one who stole it. I spent all day searching for her whereabouts, and I've made a list of all my leads. Please take it." I hand it over to them, and they grab it and start looking over it.
"Please give it to Ruse, I think you'll find it very helpful. I'll be heading to each of those places one by one, I'd appreciate it if you guys would assist me." And then I leave. Alright, I think that went pretty well, now to reunite with Heather.
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I meet up with Heather in the location that we agreed to, and she is waiting there for me, but there's an issue. Noelle is also there waiting for me. "Noelle, what are you doing here?"
"You had me write that list of all the places Memento could be, right? So now you're going to go out looking for her, right? So I want to help too."
Huh, this is an issue. If only Heather could write, then I wouldn't have had to ask Noelle… maybe it would've been better if I had hunted down Virginia instead…
"Uh, Noelle, you do realize that we're dealing with a dangerous assassin, right?"
"Well you and this servant are going aren't you? I see no reason I shouldn't be allowed to help."
"Um…" Yeah, this is really annoying. I really don't want to let Noelle get hurt in something that was my idea. There's also the world of trouble I'll be in with Baron Wisefang if she gets hurt… There's no way I'll be able to convince her to not come either… Maybe I can send her to the areas I think Memento is least likely to be? Send her to the lowest danger level areas, while Heather and I head to the more dangerous areas. Yeah, good idea.
"Alright, fine. I am having Heather come with me, after all."
"Yes! Thank you, Kiaran!"
"Alright, so we need to split up. I'll decide where all of us are going, is everyone alright with that?"
"Nope no problems, Kiaran!"
"N-no…" Heather seems to be really shy since Noelle's around, but I don't have time to be worrying about that right now. Now is the time to figure out where we're all going.
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It's completely night out at this point. I can barely see, but I still need to hurry. I wound up picking all the most likely spots for Memento to be for myself instead of giving them to bothe Heather and I. I slowly started to realize just what I was getting myself into and decided that the 12 year old Heather also really shouldn't be doing this. I've accepted the risk for myself, I've accepted the danger for myself, but that doesn't mean I've done the same for Noelle and Heather.
Since I'm taking on the most risk, that also means I need to act quickly. I have more responsibility than anyone else tonight. Messing up will mean losing the stone for good, and it might even result in my death.
I've died before, but I don't know what it's like. It was instant, before I had known what had happened I was already reincarnated. I felt no pain. That'll likely be different this time around if I screw up that badly. I'm scared, but I've already come this far. Even though I sent them to low risk areas, Noelle and Heather are also risking their lives. I can't let them down.
After a while, I finally reached my destination. A small run down bar with boarded up windows. Apparently this is supposed to be a pawn shop. I walk in, and the first thing I notice is it's also quite dark in here. There's 5 or so people in here, including the bartender.
What I see though, causes me to shake. The four people that aren't the bartender are sitting around a single table, with their own piles of gold coins. In the center of the table is a small stone, which is just as black as Azariah's hair. What causes me to shake though, is one of the people sitting at the table is wearing a coat made out of dark grey feathers. She looks at me, I must not have been expected. Looking at her, she has hair as dark as Azariah's, white skin, white eyes, and a cute face. I can't remember a single time in my life that I've been so terrified.
Even throughout all of that fear, however… I don't feel any sort of regret.