“Hey, see that girl over there.”

The two men turned their heads in the direction of the other’s thumb.

“What about her?”

The skinniest of the three was curious yet seemed to also have little interest in the actual girl herself and more into why the other had pointed to her in the first place.

“I’m not interested in a good time with someone from one of the southern tribes. Fucking disgusting.”

The grizzly-looking man seemed more driven by his crotch and his own biases to care in the slightest.

The man pointing sighed.

“She was apparently being traded by some bandits out west.”

“And?”

“Who gives a shit?”

The one formerly pointing suddenly slammed both his fists on the table, nearly knocking the drinks off the table they sat at.

“She was the sole survivor! Everyone at the camp, bandit or slave, was eliminated! She was found sitting in a cage full of bodies!”

“So she killed them all.”

The man who led the conversation looked at the grizzly man with a hint of disdain.

“How could she have killed everyone there? It’s not realistic!”

“Maybe it was a knight who happened to pass by.”

The man leading the conversation lifted one of his hands off the table, using his hands to express himself.

“Okay, let's say that did actually happen. That one knight would’ve had to have fought and taken on an entire band of bandits. I’m not saying that bandits are strong, but I don’t think anyone less than a sword master could do something like that.”

The grizzly man seemed to click his tongue while the thin man seemed more interested but even more confused as the conversation went on.

“Why are you even bringing this up?”

“Don’t you think it’s interesting? Hell, we could probably make a lot of money if we just discovered the name of the person who did this. The authorities might not have put a bounty on his head, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t searching.”

The two men’s attention peaked. The grizzly man spoke first.

“How much you thinkin’?”

The one leading forced out a devious smile. His fingers rubbed together in front of the two men.

“At least a month's worth but likely more.”

Both men sat wide-eyed.

“Holy shit!”

“Then let’s figure out who did it!”

The leading man quickly downed the rest of his drink and stood up.

“You two finish your drinks. I’ll go ask the lady.”

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The young lady, whom the three men talked about, was sweeping up the dining room floor of the inn when the leading man approached.

“Hey, can I have a minute of your time?”

“Huh?”

The young, dark-skinned girl turned to the decently tall man standing beside her.

“Yeah uh actually hold on, what’s your name?”

The young girl was visibly worried by the somewhat intrusive question but answered anyway.

“N-Nota.

“That’s a nice name. I just want to ask you some questions. I’ll make it worth your while.”

The man pulled out a single golden coin from his pocket.

“O-oh no, that’s okay. I don’t need any money. Please keep it for yourself.”

The girl seemed panicked from the eyes of the seemingly tall man.

“Take it anyways.”

“N-no I-”

The man easily pried open the girl's hand and placed the coin inside before wrapping her fingers around it.

“Now, could you tell me anything about the day you were captured to the day those men were killed?”

“I-I u-um w-well,”

“Yes?”

“U-uh, y-you s-see,”

“Okay, that’s enough.”

A random blonde-haired girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbing the coin from the other’s hand and pushing it back into the man’s chest.

“She’s still very much traumatized by the incident. Don’t make her relive that moment again, you hear me?”

The girl continued to push the coin into his chest.

“Okay, okay. Jeez. I get it.”

The man slowly walked his way back to the table and stole the drink of one of his companions. The three could be seen arguing while trying to not make a scene.

“God, why do these men have to be so annoying?”

“Meliani, y-you can’t just say that. They’re your c-customers.”

“If they’re gonna insult me and my employees then they might as well be rats hiding in the walls.”

“M-Meliani.”

The blonde-haired Meliani plopped her hand on top of the other’s head.

“It’d be fine. Even if I did kick them out, I just wouldn’t give them a refund.”

“B-but what if they don’t come back? You’d be losing business!”

Meliani showed his honest smile to the girl across from her.

“I worry more about you as my employee than a rotten bunch of mercenaries who likely won’t come back.”

She laughed to herself.

“I don’t think I’d be a good boss otherwise.”

The young girl felt some tears coming from her eyes, so she quickly rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. As she did so, a symbol glowing in a deep purple surfaced on her shoulder, but very quickly dissipated. Meliani saw and then very quickly forgot about the sight, knowing that the answers she wished to garner would not be met so easily.

In a sudden burst of light, a man came through the door, setting his sword next to it. His hair was bright gold, similar to Meliani’s own golden hair though much shorter. Meliani, in her colonial dress, walked over to the blonde-haired young man who seemed to fit into more expensive clothing.

“Why the hell did you not give me any prior notice? I would’ve closed the diner for the day at least.”

“That’s why I didn’t”

Meliani, utterly perplexed, punched the man square in the chest, leaving him unphased.

“Dammit. I never should have let you go. Now you don’t even react anymore.”

Her smile was quite large despite her words. She seemed truly happy.

“Hmm?”

Nota visibly trembled from seeing the young man next to Meliani, but before she could ask why, a sudden fistfight broke out between the three men.

The young man, who had already turned around to look at the three men, turned back to Nota. Her shaking became even more violent, but Meliani had already gone off to get the authorities.

As her shaking only worsened, the symbol on her shoulder began to reappear but quickly came to an end as the young man placed his hand over the symbol. Her shaking seemed to cease as well, before she passed out, falling into the man’s arms.

While she lay in his arms, he quickly, without anyone noticing, flicked the girl in the forehead, leaving a red spot. Meliani returned with the authorities in tow and noticed Nota’s condition almost immediately.

“Nota!"

She looked up at the young man.

"What happened?”

The blonde-haired young man quickly answered.

“She got hit by a stray cup that the men were throwing.”

Meliani's eyes were immediately focused on the three men fighting. At that moment, the young man almost felt bad for them.