'Shit, I shouldn't have gone!' Ever since meeting Lieutenant Blaine, the one whose gaze gave me chills down the back of my neck all day long, I couldn't help being wary of the others in the stables, whether it was animals or humans. For all I knew, Moira, laughing at me when she heard about me running into Turoc at the old outhouses, could be working for the mind mages.

Without her knowledge, of course.

'Or not?'

As far as I understood the whole messed-up business, it took a mind mage to create a thrall, a brainwashed human. And the last time I spoke to Rayden, which was only yesterday, she claimed there should be none within the walls.

'But again, she wasn't completely sure about that.'

One of those mind bastards could be here right now, doing their vile work, twisting people's minds. A shudder ran through my body at the thought. Getting a taste of this "suspecting everyone" mindset, I couldn't even imagine what it must have been like during the Mind Wars. Sickening to the core.

And so, despite my best efforts not to get it to me, I failed to keep the caution out of my voice. The scalehoofs noticed my wariness of them. They asked, questioned and inquired what was wrong, whether it was something on their side that they did.

'Bit of a hitch in my job.'

And so I told them - I told them about my fear of strange people sneaking around, even hurting them. Not the whole truth, but absolutely sincere. The same was echoed in the intent behind my words, and as such, it did reassure the scalehoofs - not just the ones in Building Two.

That wasn't a feat I could attribute entirely to myself, though. If it weren't for Sylph'ra, the scalehoofs from the other buildings would never have accepted me.

'I mean, to some extent.'

At the end of the day, they might not have treated me with the respect of the Lady, but what mattered was that they weren't afraid of me like some kind of deceitful beast. Thanks to that, I was able to help them, if only a little.

And that was how my first day of work went.

I learned to clean stable stalls, met new people, and was made fun of, was warned off, and I got paid off. Unlike what I was used to on Earth, where my salary came to my account only after a whole month of work, here I received the coins in my hand at the end of the working day. Ten pieces of silver as agreed with Stable Master Hale - nothing extra for a job well done, but he did spare a word of praise, stroking my pride.

'Time to appease a different kind of beast,' I thought to myself, standing at the entrance to the [Stables]. Thoughtless as I was, not knowing how things worked here, used to having food thrown in front of me, I hadn't brought any. What was worse, instead of going into the city on my lunch break to get some food like the other workers, I spent it in the outhouse. A mistake that my stomach was pretty vocal about not tolerating again.

'Which way was it?'

Trying to remember the way to the places Ria had shown me yesterday, I hit the streets.

Of course, if it were within my means, I wouldn't have to go far for food. Just a few houses away from the stables was the Blue Chair, a tavern, and a little further on, the Happy Goblet restaurant. Neither fancy places. The latter, however, a place that some of the stable staff were talking about eating in. Alas, since I was just starting out in the city and basically only had what I was wearing, I headed deeper into the city to the Thunder Square. It was a place Ria showed me yesterday. A place, though not as large as the Labyrinth Square nor as fancy, just as lively. What mattered most, however, was that in the stalls in that square, I could get a decent meal at a decent price.

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And I did.

'Sooo good...' I literally purred as I bit into something that, in many ways, resembled a kebab. As such, it didn't go without me having a second helping. Even so, it cost me less than a regular meal at most establishments in Castiana.

At least, according to Ria.

'Better not think about what kind of meat it is,' I thought, remembering a movie I watched with my whole family as a kid: Demolition Man. There, people were making hamburgers out of rat meat.

'Wait, were burgers a thing here?'

It might be worth considering starting a business here.

'McGrey, perhaps?'

Though who knows how far apart, even here on Eleaden, people seemed to be in a constant hurry to get somewhere, just like on Earth. A fast food place like that would definitely find its use here.

'Nah. Dumb idea.'

First of all, I wasn't the business type. Second of all, the streets were already full of food vendors like this "kebab." It would be hard to break through with something new, especially when I didn't have the necessary array. Even this kebab street vendor was a Cook. Far from implying that they all were, but still...

"That's quite a thoughtful expression," spoke the handsome man just sitting down across from me in the seating area, a kebab in his hand. "Maybe hearing me out might help with whatever problem you're having, Miss...?"

[Glavewielder: 142 sigils]

Neither his array, number of sigils, nor neat appearance suited this humble place. A man like him wouldn't come here for no reason, and I would have to be stupid not to figure out I was the reason. Not immediately a cause for panic. It came down to his reason for seeking me out. For all I knew, even if it was unlikely, he might find me attractive. More likely, though, he had heard the rumors Lieutenant Blaine had mentioned, or he worked for mind mages.

Either way, swallowing the dread, I did my best not to let him ruin my meal time completely.

"S-so you're going to help me start a fast-food chain?" I asked cheekily, after taking a bite and hitting my mind with [Indomitable Will]. Granted, it left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth as I had been abusing that Slave Array weave for the past few days more than I liked. But without it, dealing with people, not just him, would be hell for me.

"Sorry, the what?"

"A bunch of restaurants," I explained with my mouth full, at which the man smiled.

"Ah, big dreams, huh? Then I have good news for you. The Delvers is the place to make those dreams come true," he said proudly, pointing to his vest specifically what I assumed was the crest of his Seeker Company.

'Was he one of the ones snooping around the stables at night?'

"Oh, o-okay. Why me?"

"Straight to the point, huh? Well, we've heard about your talent, and we could use someone like you. Double the coins they give you at Stables, for starters. That doesn't sound bad, does it?"

"It doesn't." At least the salary part, not so much the way he said they could use me. However, sticking to the advice I was given, I promised him nothing more than to think his proposal through and thus I got another card added to my spatial storage.

Not the first, and not the last either.

Before I retreated to the safety of my room at Scoresby's Goods & Wares as evening approached, I received two more rune-emblazoned business cards - one from another Seeker Company, the other from apparently competing stables in the city.

And so I hit the bed dead tired.

No kidding. Dealing with those people trying to convince me to work for them while fearing their true intentions was more tiring than working the whole day with the animals in the stables.

"Hopefully, tomorrow would be better," I whispered into the darkness of my room as the scent of apples and the cosiness of Sage’s hair pressed against my chest began to take me away, knowing full well it was a forlorn hope.