“I will tell you! I will!”

Oh my, what a brilliant reaction came from this cross-dressing girl before me. She is trembling so hard, and cold sweat rolls down her forehead, even though all I showed her was a nonsense beginner-level spell I can use without incantation. Granted, it enough to burn off her tasteless mask.

“I… Before you and your friend came, news spread through the city about an elf appearing here and that the one could capture her alive will receive a huge sum of money, s-so…”

“You decided to take your chance when I was resting at the inn, did you not?”

Wow, I never thought a person can prostate themselves this quickly; the sound of her excusing herself over and over is splendid as well. Hey, those extravagant clothes might get ruined from such treatment. I simply touch my forehead in indignation, trying to cool my head, so I can carefully and thoroughly analyze this conundrum.

“You said “news spread” but who exactly originated them, hmm? I really wish to know who decided to mess with my precious time”

It seems my smile was convincing because my “captor” suddenly produced some kind of a wanted poster. However, author’s choice of words piqued my curiosity: there were too many elaborate words for it to be an ordinary message. If we twist there and switch some letters there, we will get.

Yahoo! It’s Percival-sama!

Your training under me might have ended, but the real master never stops to learn, and what is the greatest teacher if not the danger? Thus, I decided to prepare this challenge for you, children. I have sent in advance such posters to various crime lords, so you will have to dodge their attacks for the duration of your stay in the city. Have a nice time!

I am not angry. Who is angry? Certainly, it somebody other than me. I am a very example of calmness, cold as an iceberg. Hey, “captor”, why did you shriek like this, if I am not angry at all? It’s rude to assault my sensitive ears like that, but I am calm, so I will let it sleep.

Ah… the wanted poster got thorn for some reason. It must be the low-quality paper, right?

“Hie-e-e! D-Don’t kill me! I will serve you faithfully!”

 Oh, what an interesting thing to say. I must admit that the girl before certainly was attractive, and her short hair even added some androgynous appeal to her, but I am not sure I need a servant. On the other hand, I do need someone who knows their way around the city.

“Hoh? Is that so? What is your name then? It is impudent to simply call you girl… or do you prefer boy more?”

She winced at my words and looked somewhere else, refusing to clash with my sleep-deprived gaze. Ah, what a cute child. From her looks, she might be one or even two years younger than me and Alan. Her blue hair and eyes might have been surprising, but I got accustomed to those peculiar traits long time ago.

“I-I am Akira Maine. I am a high-class noble, you know? My parents have…”

“No, you are not. And I am quite sure your parents are as noble as me, so you should stop bluffing so much. I guessed this after you tried to – ah, stroke my “cute little face” to show your thugs who is in control. Obviously, no ordinary noble would have such calloused hands”

“And what if I am…”

“Please, you can’t be from military family either: weapons don’t leave such callouses, too. I know because I have friend whose wounds I always have to patch. Besides the fact that he can be too touchy sometimes, so I know exactly how many scars on his arms he has…”

Obviously, I omitted the last part to save me face: you ought not to tell a person you want to intimidate about your private life and history. However, what kind of name is Akira? It’s very uncommon around here.

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“I can see past your tricks, so tell me the truth or I will get angry. We don’t want me angry, do we?”

“I-I am working at the inn you and your friend stopped! I-My sister owns the place!”

“Your beastwoman sister?”

“She is a half-breed like me! Our father was one, and our mother was a human! E-Erina inherited all animal traits, and I didn’t!”

“Interesting. So, how come some amateur like you knows about the reward? From the sound of it, it is something completely illegal. Good children should stay away from the criminal, shouldn’t they, Akira-chan”

She muttered something under her breath, red as a ripe tomato.

“That won’t do. If you want to speak, do it loud enough for other people to hear. It is basic conversation etiquette, or should I teach it to you directly?”

“I swiped it from a drunken customer! He was a bounty hunter and had this thing on him. When I was searching payment on him, I found it. I am completely honest, see?!”

Well, it certainly would be hard to imitate all the nervous sweat this girl was secreting as of now. I think I can let that slip.

“And this charade about pretending to be a noble? It was quite vexing”

“I thought that nobody would take a tiny girl like me seriously, so I took my great grandfather’s clothes and tried to fool both you and the guy who started this”

“Now then, you thought that acting as the main character of “Tales of Gallant Thief” would make you respected”

Her breath hitched, and she focused all of her attention at a single point. Namely, me.

“Don’t be so surprised. It is second favorite books my childhood friend likes to read. Though, I personally despise it. Most of characters are bland, storytelling is so-so, and the protagonist is so smart, that are no challenges for him. In short, it is a waste of quality paper at best, and a waste of my precious time at worst”

“This is not the point! It is not a piece of professional literature, and you shouldn’t treat it as one! This story is made so both children and adults can enjoy it without bothering themselves with questions! It doesn’t matter if the characters are one-dimensional, as long as it’s fun to read!”

Oh, so this meek girl can be quite passionate about things she likes. My, she even dared to raise her voice against me just to spout some nonsense about trashy books Alan reads all the time. Speaking about Alan… Where is he?

As if answering my question, I heard heavy footsteps and a figure of my friend appeared in the light. He was, honestly speaking, a real mess: bloodshot eyes, messy hair and a sword in one arm. In fact, he was intimidating enough to scare Akira away.

“I found you…”

He said menacingly, slowly walking in our direction. I-I think it’s enough, Alan…

Alan?

“I finally found you…”

I was enveloped into a hug, but that wasn’t what I was concerned about right now. It was the obvious relief in Alan’s voice that irked me so much. For the first time in so long, I allowed him to do so without complaint.

“You sure did, Alan. Nice work, idiot…”

“You are safe. Thank gods, you are safe…”

That night, I pretended that this scene never happened…

And that the wetness on my shoulder was just my imagination.