They are on to me.

I had spent the last few days trying to find ways to obfuscate my involvement in the matchmaking business and just when I thought that I solved that problem, another one reared its ugly head.

I was observing my contact, Shur, while he was helping me find established merchants who I could whole-sale matches to but while I was walking back to the smuggler compound, I chanced upon my dreaded foes.

The Zi.

While my first encounter with them wasn’t exactly cordial, it wasn’t like they had a vendetta for me specifically. But their presence that night led me to believe that they had somehow gotten word that the matchmaking business was connected to the smugglers ring that they were investigating, which happened to be the same group which my employers were in.

Even if they knew about the operation’s ties to the matchmaking group, they still would only have no real evidence for it. But unfortunately for me, I happened to stumble onto them while they were looking for Shur and his merchant connections.

While the cover of night allowed me to escape, I had no doubt that they were at least able to see a glimpse of my face.

They probably weren’t able to concretely prove that I was connected to the people they were investigating yet. But I didn’t want to imagine what kind of questioning I would be subjected to if they were to take me captive.

It’s obvious to say that I did not sleep well that night.

The next morning…

When I woke up, I walked a path with my wheelbarrow that I had tread many times before— the one leading to my testing facility.

Well testing facility is too important a word for it, it was merely a house Darat showed me in which I created the first matches. Though now I moved over the production process to the compound basement, so I didn’t need to go back here except to tend to the potassium nitrate creation process.

The reason I was there was because I needed to remove every bit of evidence that linked me to the matchmaking process.

Any speck of sulfur, misplaced furniture or errant stain could give the Zi clues which would give away my position. Even though I meticulously made sure that I left no trace of ever being there, the foul smell of sulfur still remained. I would have to hope that the Zi didn’t find the connection between the smell of rotten eggs to the creation of matches.

Although that would only matter if they actually found the house.

“What’s the chance of that happening?” I thought.

I went back to the compound with all the spare furniture and placed it all in the basement. I collected what was useful to me— a few small tables that I could use in my manufacturing setup.

Once that was done, I began to start on my clerical work for that day. But the usual rhythm of productivity was replaced by something else entirely.

Fear.

I felt an eerie tingling sensation crawl up my spine, like when an unseen spider makes its way onto your back. A growing sense of unease clouded my mind, taunting me. I waited out this feeling, hoping that it would disappear with time.

News flash!

It did not.

Although I managed to finish writing my records for that day, the anxiety didn’t go away but merely faded as if it hid in some dark recess of my mind.

In another attempt to get rid of the feeling, I started making matches for my business and when I was finished with them waited for Piyan to show up. Ever since the business had started, he came and picked up the matches here in the compound.

Knowing this, I simply waited for around an hour until he arrived. He had a slightly worried look on his face, his gaze darting from place to place. When I asked him about the Zi, he looked at me with a shocked expression, as if unable to believe what came out of my mouth.

“*** Zi **** visiting *** shop, **** asked ** ** saw * boy **** you .” he admitted.

This was bad.

This was really bad.

I had hoped that my worries were all bits of unfounded paranoia.

Unfortunately, they weren’t.

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Even when I couldn’t understand half of what Piyan said, I still could get the meaning. The Zi were growing suspicious of my presence in this town and were actively trying to look for me. As he walked away, I realized that I needed to do something about the Zi and I needed to do it soon.

Really soon.

Two hours later…

I didn’t think my emotions were that obvious but, while passing by, Darat noticed my state of tension. He asked me what I was worried about, and I told him about the Zi. He told me that it wasn’t my problem and to let them take care of it. Darat also said that there would be a group meeting about my matchmaking business and that it would be best to prepare myself for it.

He was probably right of course but my mind still wasn’t moved. I still wanted them gone, no matter what it would take. So instead of listening to Darat, I went to Qaton behind his back.

I found Qaton in the warehouse again, sorting and arranging the Alham and other various goods that were stored there. I spoke to him, and asked him if there was anything that could be done about the Zi.

He told me that the reason for their current state of inaction against the Zi was that they couldn’t really do anything to them. Apparently, they were sent by a foreign government to investigate the illegal trade of Alham.

I knew that much.

However Qaton explained to me that because of the fact that their government was prestigious and were famous for the export of Alham, it would be hard to even land a blow on them with their Alham-coated armor. Even if they somehow managed to kill or capture the Zi, it would raise red flags amongst their government and they would know to send more soldiers to this town. Instead of just six Zi soldiers, it would be dozens that come to destroy the smuggling ring.

Therefore, they either needed to wait the Zi out or find some way to make them leave.

That’s why they haven’t been doing anything, there’s nothing that they can do.

When he finished his explanation to me, he got up and continued on with his work.

“So I need a plan that will make them leave voluntarily.” I thought.

In order to think properly, I went to my desk and sat down. Having nothing to do, I tried thinking of possible plans to make the Zi leave this town.

Unfortunately, most of them didn’t work and were unrealistic.

Thankfully this obsessive brooding was cut short by the sound of Darat calling for Qaton. It seemed like he had something he wanted to discuss with him. I heard Qaton come to him and thought nothing of it, that was until I heard Darat mention the word “Zi”.

My mind started racing as I strained my ears in an attempt to understand what they were saying.

I heard something along the lines of “I have ******** ****, Shur ***** ** Zi base, ** you **** to **** **** me to ***********”

There was one thing he said that caught my attention, “Zi base”. The rest of what he said, I couldn’t understand but that was the only thing important to me. The door began to creak open as they exited the warehouse, probably to go to the Zi base they were talking about.

I was faced with a choice; follow them and risk danger or sit still and do nothing. Contrary to Darat’s advice on not worrying about the Zi, I followed them.

It was a foolish decision to have made, but I had to do it. I couldn’t stand by and stay idle, especially while the danger involved me specifically.

I followed Qaton and Darat through the town, being careful not to be seen by them. This eventually led me to a run down house that looked as if it was at the brink of ruin. One of its wall’s had a shoddily covered hole which gave the structure even more of a derelict image.

Thankfully the Zi were nowhere to be found, which allowed Darat and Qaton a chance to question the neighbors of the house. While they were preoccupied with questioning other people, I took the opportunity to break into the house through the hole in the wall. Since it was only covered by a wooden board on the outside, it was easy to move and get into the building.

The room where I was in was as empty as it was small. It had neither proper flooring or stable walls, it looked like it was a later, more haphazard addition to the already neglected house. I went through the door and was in a slightly larger room which had nothing but a wooden stool in the middle.

A bit odd.

As I walked around the house, the eerie silence was almost deafening.

I opened a studier, more solid looking door and happened upon six straw beds which occupied most of the room’s space. In the corner was a desk containing some foreign looking documents adjacent to a wooden chest which looked like it was barely used. I opened it and found a variety of objects, the most interesting of which was a cowskin whip which looked like it had the same material as the Zi’s armor, Alham.

When I touched it without much force, it felt like rubber. However, when I pulled, stretched or put any amount of moderate force, it immediately gained the texture of a metal.

So this is what Alham does.

I’ll have to experiment with the Alham in the warehouse later on.

I then turned my attention to the desk which had some documents which were written in parchment. I didn’t understand what was written on the documents, but I took ones that had a seal on them, thinking that they were important.

I made sure to leave the documents as neat as I found them and I put back the whip in order to cover my tracks.

I went through the rest of the house and found nothing of note,as it all seemed unused except for those three rooms. I then exited where I came from, remembering to put back the wooden board that was covering the wall.

When I made my way outside, I noticed that I didn’t see Qaton and Darat anymore. As a matter of fact, I didn’t see a soul anywhere in my vicinity. Confused, I looked around in an attempt to find something which would answer my confusion. But instead of people, I saw a large smoke plume come from the opposite side of town.

What?

Isn’t that where the testing house is?

I rushed over there to see what was going on, and I found a large crowd of people standing around a burning house. There were men with pails trying to quell the fire, but it was to no avail.

Wait. Isn’t that the house that I was using?

I wondered how such a thing happened until I found my answer amongst the crowd. I spotted the Zi amongst the onlookers, and I wondered “Did they do it?”.

“Maybe it could have been an accident?” I thought to myself.

I rejected this idea, out of all the houses that existed, the one I had used had been burned.

This was intentional.

And if it was intentional, the most likely candidate were the Zi.

If this was true, then it meant one thing— they were sure that the matchmaking business was connected to me and that I could be one of the people that they were looking for.

This was their way of telling me “We know what you’re doing.”

I was playing with fire, and if I wasn’t careful I was about to get scorched.

“If they see me, they will go after me.” I realized.

I needed to leave, immediately.

Thankfully they had yet to see me, but I was still holding the documents that I had stolen from them and I needed to bring them back to the compound and needed to get back as soon as possible.

I ran as fast as I could back to the base of operations, and I put down the documents I had taken from the Zi.

As I held my head in my hands, I reflected on how the day had been nothing but utter chaos.

I was in the most danger I had ever been in. The whole world felt like it would come crashing through.

Who knew that they would use arson as a warning?

Wait, arson.

Could I use arson to get them kicked out of the town?

I pondered for a moment before making a sudden realization with a slight grin.

I could.

That could work.

Their act of aggression had given me the makings of a plan.

This whole day had been nothing but chaos, but it had given me an idea.

An idea on how to get rid of the Zi for good.