The man crouched over the corpse of the farmer. He was a captain of the Talur guard, and he had been on a routine patrol when he noticed smoke and ordered the rest of the patrol to check out what was happening. They had assumed a forest fire was burning down someone's fields, and thus were extremely surprised when they had discovered the gruesome murder scene. This one was a bit of a mystery- the farmer had been well-respected, and was one of the most prolific producers of wheat. His throat had been slit with a sharp implement, most likely a knife, and the captain began piecing the story together.

A traveler, most likely an adult man, if he was strong enough to overpower the farmer, who had not only been holding a hoe, but had been well-muscled after years of farming. The traveler had butchered one of the farmer's cows, and built a fire to cook it. The farmer, enraged, had attempted to attack the traveler, who skewered him through the neck with his knife. He had then left, presumably to enter Talur.

The captain scratched his stubble-coated chin thoughtfully. He would have to increase security at the main gates, and check whether an armed man had entered through the gates that day. It wasn't much to go by, but it was a start. He stood up, signaled to his patrol to move on, and left.

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Inside the walls, the city was a booming hive of human activity. The roads were teeming with wagons, horses and other animals, and haggling could be heard on every street. There were vendor stalls everywhere, each advertising a different product, whether it be fresh fruit or well-made flowerpots.

The girl disliked crowds. Her enhanced hearing meant every conversation was magnified in her ears, and as she made her way through the sea of bodies she became increasingly disoriented.

"... Prices of apples are ridiculous..."

"... I'll have two, thanks..."

"... Spread yer legs, girlie..."

At that last one, the girl turned her head sharply, and her eyes picked out a man in an alley holding a woman's hands behind her back while he dragged her underwear down. The woman was screaming for help as her assailant struggled to free his member from his pants. The girl, after watching the scene for a moment, turned away. It was not her place to interfere with the natural order of the world- the weak served the strong, and it was only the strong who had the freedom of choice. This is why the girl aspired to be strong. That way, she would be able to reach her goal much more easily than if she simply stayed at the level she was currently.

As the man finally got his member unstuck with a triumphant grunt, the woman's cries for help took a different tone.

"Help! Please, help! Anyone, please... I can pay! Stop it, you bastard, don't do it! Don't you dare- nononoNONONO-"

This changed things. The promise of recompense intrigued the girl. She understood that currency was one of the most important concepts of human society, and that obtaining large amounts of currency would indirectly lead to also obtaining large amounts of power.

However, that was still not enough- until she realized that her skin was prickling again, the way it had in the presence of the magical stylus. Could she possibly be able to sense magic?

The girl turned, and as she turned, her fingers, previously poised on the hilt of the knife, tugged it free of its sheath, and as soon as she gained enough momentum for the knife to be launched at a reasonable speed she let go of it. Instinct had told her that the best target for immediate death would be the throat or the head, but also told her that at this angle, she would also be able to target the man's penis. Due to its high sensitivity, cutting it would inflict great pain, and the loss of his manhood would also shame him- not that she was willing to let him live. However, she did want to make an example out of him, and she deemed that maximizing his terror before death would be a good way to do so.

The knife, whirling through the air, reached the man's penis just as he put it at the entrance of her vagina, just about to ram it in. Spinning vertically, it passed through the extended organ like butter, and embedded itself in the wall behind it, quivering.

For a second, the man was bewildered. He had been about to take the woman's virginity, but then, with a swishing sound, something had passed in front of him. He looked down, to find that almost all of his penis was gone, leaving a bloody stump. He screamed, falling backwards and pushing himself against the wall of the alley, hands grasping at his dick as though he could make it grow back by squeezing it. The woman, realizing the predicament the rapist was in, was watching him with wide eyes, her hands over her mouth.

The girl walked into the alley, coldly glaring at the rapist, now weakly moaning as he attempted to staunch the flow of blood from his crotch. Too preoccupied with his pain, he did not notice her as she drew out the sword she had stolen. She turned away from him slightly, holding the sword at waist level, and turned in much the same way she turned when throwing knives. The sword whistled through the air, cutting through the rapist's head at the bridge of his nose and continuing until it met the wall behind it.

The dead body of the rapist slowly slumped to the ground, and the top half of his head slid off the blade as the girl pulled it out of the wall and cleaned it on a part of the man's trousers that weren't soaked with blood. She had not expected the sword's weight to affect her swing so much. If it had been a proper longsword, she would have likely missed completely. As it was, the weight had been enough to drive the strike up higher than when where it had been intended- his neck- and hit his face instead. As she walked over to the wall where the knife was embedded to check it for dents, she heard a voice behind her.

"Th-thank you so much! I don't know what I would have done if that beast has managed to have his way with me."

It was the woman, profusely thanking the girl for saving her from the rapist. She glanced at the corpse, gulped, her face turning slightly green, and looked back at the girl.

"You are...?"

"Talli. Talli Rua."

"Well, er, Talli, as a noblewoman of the Arkadis family, I, Petra Arkadis, swear that I will repay you for this service!"

The woman drew herself back, standing with her hands on her hips, with a determined expression on her face.

"Your crotch is showing."

"Huh?"

Petra turned scarlet as she remembered that the rapist had torn her underwear from her body, leaving her hips bare. The girl had not meant the remark to purposefully embarrass the woman, but she simply did not feel like talking. To her, the knife she was examining right then was more important than the woman prattling on behind her.

Now fully redressed, Petra turned back to the girl.

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"I'm afraid I can't repay you right now, as I don't have any money on me, but if you accompany me back to my mansion, I'm sure my parents will be more than happy to reward you for your efforts."

"Why didn't you have any guards with you?"

The girl had learned from the bandit's memories that nobles often hired warriors to protect them, and thus wondered why this woman would not have any with her, if she was indeed the daughter of a noble.

"Well..."

The woman's shoulders drooped.

"I'm not allowed to leave the mansion, so I snuck out without anyone else accompanying me."

"... Which means that your parents will most likely be too furious at you to care about repaying some commoner girl for saving your life. I see."

The girl was disappointed. If she had her way, she would have simply killed Petra right there- however, she did not want to cause too much of an uproar. She would no doubt already have guards on her tail for killing the farmer. She turned and began walking out of the alley.

"Wait! Um, please accompany back to my family's mansion! I don't want to be attacked again, and I'll try my best to convince my parents that you deserve a reward."

This, of course, was not enough to convince the girl that she should follow this spoiled brat anywhere, but the lure of a possible reward tempted her. While she wasn't that badly off in terms of money- the bandit's bag had contained a decent amount, but nothing substantial- more could never hurt. And thus, she turned back, and waited for Petra to make her way out of the alley.

On the way, the woman never stopped talking. After the first few sentences, the girl simply tuned her out and concentrated on finding gaps in the crowd.

"The way you took out that guy was incredible. How did you aim that well? If you'd been off by even a single inch he'd have taken my virginity, and made me unfit for marriage. It doesn't help that I'm an acolyte of the church of Lumenia, goddess of light. Do you follow Lumenia? She's the main deity of this city, may she illuminate our way. By the way, did I mention that I'm a second-year at the Magus Academy? I'm not very good at magic, but I do well enough that I never fail. Hey, who taught you how to use weapons? My mother didn't let me learn how to fight, because she thinks it's unbecoming for a noble lady."

This continued for a while, until she suddenly grabbed the girl's arm.

"Hey, that's my mansion!"

Still leading the girl by her arm, Petra stalked past the guards, through the gates and kept going until she stood in front of a large, elaborately detailed wooden door.

"You're going to have to wait here, until I explain everything to my father. This is his study."

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The man was pacing on the maroon carpet, on which designs were embroidered in gold thread. The room was furnished with wooden shelves laden with thick, leather-bound volumes, and in the center was a mahogany desk piled with documents, with an unlit lamp taking up one corner. In the armchair in a corner was a severe-looking woman, with grey hair drawn up into a tight bun. Her lined face was drawn into a tight frown.

And then, the door to the room creaked open, and a woman, wearing torn, dirty clothes entered. The older woman immediately jumped to her feet, and the man advanced upon her, evidently furious.

"How dare you make us worry like this! Do you have any idea how worried your mother was? What would you think, if your daughter went missing before morning and returned covered in filth?"

This was from the man, furiously winding his long moustache around a finger.

"What happened to you? Why are your clothes so torn? Did someone try to hurt you?"

"I'm fine, mother. A man assaulted me, but a girl saved me."

"A girl? What do you mean, a girl?"

"Well... You should ask her yourself. She's standing outside the door."

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A feminine voice from inside the room called out.

"Enter."

The girl pushed open the door, and walked into the room. She could feel the eyes on her, judging her for her grimy appearance- then taking in her knife and sword.

"So you're the so-called warrior that saved my daughter, eh? Looks more like a rat to me."

Without responding, the girl threw her knife sideways, cutting through the woman's bun and embedding itself in the wall behind her. To her credit, the woman merely narrowed her eyes at her even as the cut strands of hair fluttered down around her. Of course, not everyone responded with such calm- Petra gasped loudly and fell backwards, while the man started forwards before being stopped by a gesture from the woman.

The woman stood, and walked towards the girl. After inspecting her thoroughly from all angles, she stepped back, a severe expression on her face. The girl was confused- what did she intend?

And then the woman smiled. It was not a very nice smile- it was a predatory sort of one.

"Yes, I think you'll make a fine bodyguard for my daughter."

At this, Petra, who had been cringing against a wall, gasped.

"But mother, I already have guards! Ronaldo and David are perfectly fine-"

"And because they're men, you ordered them to stand guard outside your room, which you took as a chance to escape out the window. Perhaps, with a fellow woman guarding you, you won't be able to get yourself into these foolish escapades."

The woman turned to the girl.

"So, what say you? If you agree to guard my daughter, I guarantee that you won't go lacking in terms of money- although I do not tolerate failure."

"Exactly how much are you offering?"

"10 gold per month. You won't have to find a place to stay, as you'll be staying in the same room as Petra."

"Mother-"

"How else will she guard you from threats- and most importantly, yourself?"

While the two bickered, the girl considered the offer. It would be very convenient, yes, but it would also force her to stay in this city. And if she was to eat the world, being tied to a person this way would not be the right way to go about it.

She lightly cleared her throat, and the two turned to look at her.

"I accept."

The woman's face split into an even wider grin, while Petra scowled from behind her.

"Good. Now, I expect you to stick to my daughter like a leech. Do not ever let her out of your sight."

Here Petra interrupted her mother.

"But how is she going to follow me all the way inside the Magus Academy? You know they don't allow anyone except those with magical talent in. That's why Ronaldo and David can't protect me there."

"We'll just have to register her as a student."

"Excuse me?"

The girl did not like the sound of that at all.

"I don't think I have any sort of magic. The first time they care to check, they'll know that I don't belong there."

She absentmindedly rubbed the knife sheath on her belt while she thought.

"But I am able to sense the presence of magic. I can sense that your daughter has some innate talent- and so do you."

At this point, the grin was almost exceeding the limits of human physiology.

"So you could tell that I am a mage? Good, good. You'll be able to detect any magic-capable assassins. On the issue of your own talent- we'll just have to see for ourselves."

She turned to her husband, who had been standing in place, arms folded across his chest, watching the conversation with a bored expression on his face.

"Charles, do we still have the old magical aptitude tester we used when Petra was a baby?"

"I think so. We never threw it away, but I don't know where it is. It's probably somewhere in the storage rooms. I'll ask one of the stewards if we do."

"Get that done later."

She turned back to the girl.

"Now that you're officially on the job, you're going to need to get equipped. Report to the armory to get what you need."

"Where is the armory?"

"Behind the mansion, to the right of the training grounds. You can't miss it."

The girl walked past Petra's mother, yanked the knife from the wall, and walked to the open door. Turning to face the others, she pulled from the bandit's memory to snap out a salute, turned on her heel, and walked out of the room. After she was gone, both parents turned to Petra.

"We never did get around to punishing you for leaving the mansion without our permission, did we?"

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The captain was not in a very good mood. First, the guards at the gate had reported that no unidentified men had entered through the gate- and that the only unregistered traveler had been a lone girl, which certainly did not fit the archetype of the criminal they were chasing. Secondly, another murder had been reported, although it was regarded as low-interest due to the victim being a known smuggler, until the higher-ups found out how he had been killed. The captain and his squad had been dispatched to investigate the murder, but they weren't able to find much.

Not only that, but the kill was sloppy- more showy than the efficiency used by the man who had killed the farmer. Still, the captain was still cautious, even if the higher-ups decided that the first killer must have run away.

His mind moved on to the unknown girl who had entered Talur. The guard had said she was armed, but he had dismissed her as she was very young. But at this point, he wasn't willing to rule anything out. He would have to keep his eyes out for her- a girl who looked to be around 8 years old, with long, unkempt black hair, grey eyes, and carrying weapons would be very conspicuous, even in the crowded city.