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The autumn breeze flung my hair in front of my face, but I didn’t care. It draped over my eyes, and I just stared blankly at the boy even though I could no longer see him clearly.

Dalat was on the move faster than any one of us would expect. What was his plan, by deceiving a boy to take the cat from us? I feared he was trying to lure that cat out of my house and snatch it for himself. Luckily, by sheer luck, the cat was “sold” to someone we actually came into contact with.

I marched over to the boy and snatched the cat from his arms.

“Hey! It’s my cat, I paid for—”

I threw two gold Soaran coins at him and he shut himself up. Payment was no longer an excuse to keep it, I was sure he didn’t even pay more than one gold coin after all. I was feeling generous and he was my next victim.

“That cat you grabbed from that house in the city strip was my cat. And you went in my house, too.”

I now held the cat in my arms, and it began squirming around until it got comfortable. A little too comfortable, I’d say, given how it started to loving rub itself against my chest. The boy saw this and gasped.

“Woah, guess you weren’t lying after all. That cat really is yours. He’s so attached to you.”

I never really understood why it was so attached to me specifically. The few times Lio carried it, it always hissed and tried squeezing out of his arms. Maybe all animals were just scared of him, somehow knowing how strong he was by scent alone or something.

I couldn’t help but stare back at the cat as it continued to press its face against my chest and purr softly. This was the same creature that Dalat claimed to be a dungeon master, a being of incredible power and the boss of its dungeon. I couldn’t believe it, he was lying. But still, no way was I going to let Dalat just take it, especially not after the shady trick he tried to pull on us by selling our own cat to a stranger. And how did he even figure out where I lived? I never brought him to my house.

My mind began spinning, there were way too many things going on at once that I didn’t have time to fully comprehend. All that mattered at this moment were three things: keeping Lio and I safe, keeping everyone safe, including adventurer clients, and keeping the cat safe. I still didn’t know why Dalat cared so much for this cat in particular, but the cat is staying with me no matter what.

“That man who sold you this cat, where was he?” Lio walked up to the boy, and he flinched. All those dueling matches made Lio look like a monster in the boy’s eyes. And rightfully so, Master didn’t take so much as a scratch.

“I met up with him at the Soran Bull Head. I was eating with my adventuring party when I heard him advertising a cat for sale by the entrance. Weirdo said I had to pick it up myself.” The boy had his hands behind his back and kicked the grass up.

“And you didn’t question just how sketchy it was?” Lio looked so confused, scratching at his head as he leaned forward to talk to the boy.

“What can I say? He was selling it for cheap, so I didn’t care.” He shrugged so nonchalantly. I couldn’t blame him, though. When I was sixteen, I cared a lot about money too. It was a driving point to my adventuring career.

But the moment the words “Soaran Bull Head” left his mouth, my lips curled into a devious grin. Lio stared back at me and sighed.

“What?” Lio had such a demeaning tone to his voice, folding his arms over his chest. He was very pouty today.

“Well…” I cleared my throat and bounced a little on my heels. “Guess we have to investigate the Soaran Bull Head, and… you know… have a meal there while we’re at it.” I was practically hopping up and down as subtle as I could. Someone who knows me well also knows that I have a deep love for Soaran cuisine, the Soaran Bull Head is the pinnacle of food made by Soaran hands. Lio knew my deep rooted love for it too, and he nodded his head slowly as if to say “I knew it!”

“Fine, we’ll grab a bite, but don’t forget why we’re going there in the first place.”

Geez, he’s starting to sound like my mother. “Yes, Master.”

He rolled his eyes, and I never understood why. Not until I realized that my face was just all smiles now. It was utterly ecstatic to return to that restaurant once again and play the posh girl, but I still had to keep my wits about myself. We were out there to investigate the whereabouts of a possible enemy, this wasn’t a happy dinner between Lio and I, nor was it a time to relax. That was going to be hard to do once I got food in my belly, though.

I am a simple person indeed.

X X X

“Table for two please,” I said, putting up two fingers to the cute waitress. It looked like the same one I saw last time we were here.

“Got it. Follow me this way please.” The waitress walked deeper into the heart of the restaurant, marching her boots on the animal skin carpeting. We followed her while at the same time scanning everything in our radius. Dalat wasn’t in sight.

What was in sight, though, was a small group of men all in red silk coats playing their harps and violins near the center of the restaurant for everyone else to see. There were no bards running from table to table, only those dapper men playing sophisticated melodies. It made this place ooze an atmosphere of class. The price of all the food does that too, but in a bad way.

The waitress led us to our seats at a booth, and once Lio and I sat down across from one another, she slid over menus for us to look at. She then went on her merry way, her black skirt twirling and her blonde hair whipping around with her movements.

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Nothing seemed out of the ordinary here, it was just like it was before. There wasn’t a man advertising any cats for sale, and Lio and I were the only ones in mage robes in this entire restaurant. Absolutely everything was normal, we were the only anomalies, considering we weren’t wearing clothes fashioned by nobility nor were our pockets plump with a bottomless mound of gold. That wasn’t an issue, though. He could have very well left something behind that could give us a clue to finding him.

And what was the plan once we do find him? I never really thought that through. I was just assuming we would talk to him again and really figure out why he was acting this way. Why would he resort to manipulation and borderline exploitation to get a mere cat? And if he were to attack us like last time, Lio was more than strong enough to dispatch him. Then we’d hand him over to the Military Knights, depending if Lio left him alive or not. That was the ideal situation for us. It was the good ending

As if life ever gave us a good ending.

Prior to coming here, we’d taken back the cat to my house, then asked that boy to watch over it. Oh, I was sure to let him know not to hand it over to anyone else this time. If someone did come and asked for the cat, I told him sternly to yell for the city guards. No way was I going to let my cat be stolen again.

But once that was done, we ended right here, sitting at a table after ordering our food… gazing off into one another’s eyes as we awaited our meals. Lio ordered some sort of flatbread sandwich, and of course got the Soaran Boks.

“I’m struggling to understand why you love this place so much,” Lio said, resting his chin on the palm of his lifted hand. “It’s unbelievably expensive and obviously meant for nobles.”

I had tons of money stored up by now, especially the funds I received from that gem I sold, so I didn’t see any problem. “Food doesn’t discriminate, you don’t have to be a noble to eat here. And if the price is an issue for you, I’ll pay the bill this time so that we’re even.”

That was right, Lio split the bill with me last time. I’m not letting him talk his way into doing it now. Doesn’t he understand that I’m trying to do a good deed?

“You’re crazy to think you can afford paying the entire bill this time. I was sure buying that tome put a dent in your savings.”

He wasn’t wrong. It did, and it was beyond repair, but I still have money leftover that I could use for eating out. “You’re always so on edge. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, I’m paying half that bill again.” He slapped his hands on the table and leaned forward. I did the same.

“Not this again. Just let me do something nice for you in return.”

“I don’t—” Lio stopped himself in an instant.

I was so confused at first to see my master pause like a statue and clamp his mouth shut. But then I realized why. We’d both slipped into a state of comfort where our main objective here was lost. We weren’t here to waste time bickering over the bill like children. Investigating Dalat’s whereabouts was the primary objective, and both of us caught ourselves slacking in that regard.

Lio cleared his throat and straightened out his posture. “We’re taking this food to-go.” He lifted a hand and called over one of the waitresses and asked that our orders be boxed. And sure enough, within minutes, the food came to us wrapped in large banana leaves and set into a small wooden crate. It was ready for us to take.

Lio had given up on arguing over the bill, so I was te one to pay. But just as I was handing the money to the waitress, Lio shot his hand up into the air again.

“Excuse me, but was a man advertising cats here today?”

“Hm?” The pretty waitress placed a finger on her chin. “Hm… I believe so. He wasn’t here long, though.. Only for about ten minutes before a boy walked up to him.”

“And he left right after speaking with the boy?”

“Correct, sir. Anything else I can help you with?” The waitress went back into hospitality mode, beaming a smile at us.

“You don’t happen to know where he went?” Lio looked more agitated than before. We were losing a lead on him.

“No, sir. I don’t know where your friend went. Hope you can find him soon.” She had her eyes clamped shut but a large smile blinding us even more.

Friend… right…

“Okay, thank you so much for helping us out today.” Lio bowed a little, and I followed suit. I gave her a handsome tip alright.

I had the box on hand with all of our food steaming out of its cracks. My mouth was watering, so I couldn’t wait to eat. But eating was the least of our priorities now.

The two of us walked out of the hallway and into the main room with most of the round tables surrounding that group of musicians. They were still going at it strong, and people still swayed their heads back and forth humming the elegant tunes that came out of the noble strings. We passed right by them, but I didn’t know what Lio had planned for us.

“What now, Master?” I tried to keep up with him, but he had the tendency to walk rather fast.

“We’re going to talk to that boy and see if he knows anything else. That should have been the first thing we’ve done.”

The next destination was my own home, I just hope that things don't go cold-feet again. Convincing someone to break into another person's home and stealing something was very much a breach of safety, and we needed to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.

We finally made our way near the entrance, but were surprised by the large groups of people congregating right in front of it. They murmured random things to one another, the only word I heard being thrown into the air constantly was “Military Knights.”

I don't think anything happened with the Military Knights. Well, nothing serious enough to warrant dozens of people to chat about it and wonder. Especially with richer people, it had to be serious if they were talking extensively about it. That wasn’t our problem, so neither of us took mind to it. I followed behind Lio as he swung the polished door open and stepped onto the wooden patio out front.

What stared back at us on the other side of the door outside was a dozen Military knights, each of them holding onto the hilt of their sheathed swords and carrying magic resistant shields. Why would they need them? This wasn’t good, it was as if they were prepared to fight mages. News flash, we were mages, and they were glaring at us with a deep disdain.

A man in gold pauldrons and a leather chestplate underneath stepped forward, their captain I assumed. “By the authority of the Military Knights to enforce the law, you two are under arrest and will be taken in for questioning.” His voice was soft and silk, which made his authority that much more credible to me.

I knew it. I just knew we weren’t going to have a rest from the bumpy roads of every single adventure Lio and I had undergone. First the monsters, then Dalat, and now the brunt of Soaran law was bearing down at us.

The captain must have seen us stay frozen, not moving towards them or away, and he lifted his sword from his sheath. “We will use force should you not comply.”

Every single knight lifted their shields and glared daggers at us like we were wanted criminals.

What did we do?