Present, day two of Khiva’s annual bazaar.

Every year, people would gather in Khiva’s annual bazaar for valuables, crowding the place. The sellers might be organized due to space restrictions, but the buyers were chaotic; they would move however they liked and wherever they wanted, causing a rush that made walking difficult. To progress forward, the skill to grasp leeway—created at random from the shift of the masses—was crucial.

Having possessed no such skill, for her daily activities as Shadow Wolf’s guild receptionist consisted of being stuck behind a counter for ten hours, Trisha was being swept away by the crowd without any control over where she was going.

Why did I come here?! she asked herself.

Having been distraught and inattentive at work ever since meeting with the guild leader, she had taken a day off and decided to pass the time by going to the bazaar—thinking that she could take her mind off work. But that was a mistake. If that was her goal, then…

I could’ve instead chosen to read a book, cook food, go to the theater, or anything else!

People moved in unreadable directions, bumping and pushing her. Carried away by this harsh flow, Trisha couldn’t even find a moment to stand in a spot.

It wasn’t this bad before! The last time I went here…

The last time she went here was years ago. Shadow Wolf guild hadn’t been established then, she had been a young woman who enjoyed her life. Back then, this annual bazaar was as crowded, always had been, but that didn’t matter because…

… I had him around… guiding me through this crowd…

Tears welled in her eyes. She had remembered his hand gently holding hers, a pleasant time which she had lost—which she could never regain.

Coming to this bazaar was a mistake.

Worst of all, despite wanting to exit, she couldn’t.

Being stuck inside this evermoving crowd was suffocating, dizzying. Everyone was so restless, so agitated, so rushed. It was as if she was moving too slow, while the world was moving too fast. The pace difference threw her balance off.

Trisha started to feel sick; her face was becoming whitely pale. Her mind was being chipped away, both from within and without. Tears coursed down her cheek.

Darkness as thick as black ink swirled around her vision, claiming her conscious—

‘Trisha?’ A familiar voice called her name.

Is it… him? She glanced up, hopeful.

‘Trisha!’ uttered the boy. He was sitting on someone’s shoulders.

No. Not him. Of course not. He wouldn’t be here. She was disappointed that he wasn’t him, but also glad that he was someone she knew. ‘Syr,’ she uttered.

‘Are you okay?’

She wiped her tears. ‘I’m—’

The crowd remained moving, causing a harsh flow that Trisha didn’t know how to maneuver through. She was being pushed and swept away from Cirrus.

No. No!

Trisha didn’t want to be separated, didn’t want to be alone. She stretched her hand toward him, an attempt to remain together, and—someone grabbed her wrist, the person whose shoulders Cirrus was seated on. The same person who had come and picked a fight inside the Shadow Wolf guild. The noble-looking manaless whose name she remembered.

Latla Altaveli…

***

‘… Thank you.’ Seated at the edge of a sidewalk, Trisha accepted the cup of water that Latla offered. Although this spot was uncrowded, she was still inside the bazaar area. I don’t want to walk through that crowd again, she thought. Maybe I should spend the whole day here, wait until night comes and the crowd disperses. Trisha took a sip, felt the water down her throat, very refreshing. ‘… How much for the water? I’ll pay you back.’

‘No need.’ Latla refused, casual.

‘I insist.’ I don’t want to owe you anything. Trisha didn’t hate Latla, but she didn’t like her either. She searched her pockets, but—no matter how thorough—she couldn’t find it. Did she forget to bring it? No, that had never happened before. ‘I lost… my wallet...’

‘Must’ve been stolen,’ Latla remarked. She sipped her own cup of water. ‘You were an easy target for thieves.’

‘This is the worst…’ With all the bumping and pushing going on inside that crowd, Trisha had missed a hand slipping into her pocket and taking her wallet. ‘This is the worst!’

She lost her cash, she lost her keys, she lost her receptionist badge, she lost her bank credentials, and she lost her identification card. I’m stupid for putting everything there and losing it!

Renewing all that she had lost would be a painful process.

‘Cheer up, Trisha,’ Cirrus said, lifting her spirit. ‘There’s nothing to worry about! If you have problems with food, I will share my food with you! You shared your food a lot of times with me and sis before! We’ll help!’

If only the problem stops there, Trisha wanted to say, but didn’t voice out. She knew that he was trying to comfort her. ‘… You’re right, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll figure things out.’ She forced a smile, then patted his head. ‘Thank you.’

‘Oh! I know! Why don’t you join me and Latla? We’ll make money together! It’ll be fun!’

‘… Thanks for the invite, but I don’t know, Syr. This place has been anything but fun to me. Also, I imagine that—Miss Altaveli already has her hands full, having you around.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘It means that you’re difficult to take care of.’

‘I’m not difficult to take care of!’

‘Right…’ Trisha had lost count on how many times she had covered for Cirrus’s illegal sales at the guild. ‘Miss Altaveli, what do you think?’

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

‘I wouldn’t say he’s difficult to take care of,’ Latla said. Hearing that, Cirrus pushed his chest, proud.

‘I don’t believe you,’ Trisha said.

‘More like he’s annoying to take care of,’ Latla said. ‘So far, he had caused me two failed purchases because he couldn’t keep quiet while I was haggling. I very much would like to toss him away.’

‘I promise I’ll keep quiet next time!’

‘You said those exact words the first time around.’

‘I will be more serious this time!’

‘Trisha, you can join us, but I need you to keep his mouth shut while I’m haggling. Also, you can just call me Latla.’

In all honesty, Trisha was scared to go back into the crowd. However, right now, she didn’t want to be alone. ‘I will join, thank you for the invitation, Miss Alta—Latla.’

She nodded. ‘We’ll go whenever you’re ready.’

‘Thank you.’ Trisha inhaled, then exhaled a breath, steeling herself. After that, she chugged her cup of water fully. ‘I’m ready.’

‘I’ll guide you!’ Cirrus took Trisha’s hand. She looked at him, wanted to voice her gratitude, but was distracted by the realization of an odd sight: there was no black cat on his head.

‘Syr, where’s Noir?’ She had never seen him without her.

‘I left Noir with sis! I think they’re getting along, because today Noir wants to be at the café with her!’

Café? Curious. ‘What is Scarlet doing currently?’

‘She’s working!’

***

Scarlet – Café.

‘Noir,’ Scarlet said, bowl of food in hand, ‘I know you hate me, but I want to have better relationship with you. What do you say?’

Noir looked at the food with her sharp pupils, then at Scarlet. Not impressed by this, she walked away on fours.

‘Oh, come on, Noir… I had spent a few krestling to get you food… At least eat it…’

The cat’s eating habit had been a mystery to her. When Cirrus brought the cat to their home the first time, Scarlet had refused to take her in because they couldn’t afford to buy her food. To which, he said that the cat didn’t need to eat, then insisted on keeping her until she finally relented. Scarlet believed that Noir had survived to this date by eating sewer rats or ransacking trashes for food. Now that she was earning and could spend money, she decided to feed her, but she rejected the food.

Maybe she’ll want the food when Syr offers it to her. Scarlet sighed. I’ll try again tomorrow. I have something else I have to think about today…

She went to the café’s cashier area, the soon-to-be receptionist counter for this soon-to-be guild. Beside the cashier was a small stack of cash—400 krestling total—which Latla had given her the day before.

***

Past.

‘Here,’ Latla had placed the cash beside the cashier. She gave the money to her as soon as she returned. ‘Use it however you like to secure income and advertise the guild.’

Use it however I want? Scarlet was overwhelmed. Secure income? Advertise the guild? ‘Latla, I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to do that.’

‘Figure it out.’

Figure it out? Could she? ‘What if I fail? What if I end up wasting it for nothing?’

‘If you fail,’ Latla said, ‘you’ll know what doesn’t work. It won’t be for nothing.’

‘This is a lot of responsibility…’

‘As long as you don’t somehow get into debt, you’re good.’

Cirrus tiptoed over the counter. Noir was already on his head, like usual. He encouraged, ‘You can do it, sis!’

***

Present.

Can I really? Scarlet wondered.

Sometimes, Scarlet was envious over how carefree Cirrus was. Perhaps, if she shared his attitude, she wouldn’t be so overwhelmed by this task. But, there and then, being too carefree was also a problem. He had ignored her warnings and had gone into the dangerous forest to collect herbs countless times. Even now she couldn’t help but worry over him, being in Khiva’s annual bazaar…

He should be fine. Latla promised that she would keep him safe. I should focus on securing income and advertising for the guild.

… How would she do that though? If she knew how to secure income, she wouldn’t have been trying her hardest to get a job. Not to mention, she didn’t know how to advertise.

Scarlet felt overwhelmed.

She knew that her job description would include helping Latla in establishing the guild, but she had expected menial tasks such as cleaning and maybe rearranging furniture, or clear tasks with detailed instructions that she could execute. It would’ve been better if she was told to perhaps make a poster to promote the guild, maybe share about the guild to people she knew, or… anything that wasn’t vague. Having to be creative and decide for herself was difficult.

I’d rather be confronted with a dragon than this. At least I’ll have a clear idea of what to do in that situation…

Scarlet shook her head, bringing herself back to face the situation at hand: she had 400 krestling, could be used however she liked, for securing income and advertising for the guild. Considering that Latla had mentioned how important money was for the guild, securing income had to be prioritized over advertising.

How do guilds usually secure income? she asked herself.

Scarlet knew that guilds had business aspects to them. From taking quest fees—to selling potions and equipment. Guilds usually even had their own diner, a place where Members could hang out over food. Now that she thought about it, this soon-to-be guild was still a café, complete with supplies and equipment…

Maybe I can revive the café…? she thought. That works as a source of income for the guild, won’t it? All I have to do is make and serve coffee. That should be easy.

Thus, Scarlet was off to the cellar to see whether it would be as easy as she thought it would be. She would later find out that she was wrong—because brewing coffee took skills; operating the equipment and managing the supply were difficult. Additionally, it was troublesome to clean everything up afterward.

Now, descending the stairs, all Scarlet was thinking about was what beverage to serve Latla and Cirrus for when they come back from the bazaar. I’ll do my best here; I’m sure they’re doing their best there.

***

Trisha – Khiva’s Bazaar.

Trisha was at a loss for words.

At a complex stall where a variety of accessories were being displayed in well-lit glass showcases, two people were negotiating an item’s price with an intensity that could stop the passing crowd.

‘Puih!’ the stall-keeper spat. ‘You think I’m a fool? You think you can trick me to sell for that low? Go away! My stall doesn’t need a customer like you!’

‘No. Do you think I’m a fool?’ Latla retorted. ‘You think you can trick me to buy for that high? I don’t need you to tell me to, I will go away myself! There are other stalls that sells this same item for cheaper!’

‘Fine!’ he slammed his hand on the showcase, then—contrary to Trisha’s expectations, for she thought the negotiation was a failure—he offered a new price.

Thus, the negotiation continued with a raised voice that only got louder and a quick tempo that only got faster.

Cirrus tugged Trisha’s hand. They were both watching from the sideline. He said, ‘Latla is really good at this.’

‘I can see that.’ She nodded. Trisha was glad that Latla didn’t haggle her like this when she had asked her to pay for Shadow Wolf’s guild damage repair.

Their bout went on for a while—until they finally agreed on a price.

‘Sold! For 97 krestling!’ the stall-keeper declared.

‘Thank you!’ Latla exchanged the krestling for the item: a ring—a mana storage tool.

The passing crowd who had stopped to witness them gave applause after seeing the conclusion of their negotiation. Trisha had never seen something like this before, maybe after a duel between mages in an arena, but certainly never after a trade between seller and buyer in a bazaar.

Having finished the purchase, Latla walked away from the stall and toward Trisha and Cirrus.

‘Here.’ Latla gave Trisha the ring.

‘Thank you.’ She had asked her to buy this ring for her. ‘I promise I’ll pay you back.’

‘Alright. Let’s look around again.’

Thus, Latla led, while Trisha and Cirrus—hand-in-hand—followed. Although the boy had lesser scope of vision due to his height, he was better than her at walking through the crowd.

‘How are you good at this?’

‘Mm? I imagine Noir on my head—telling me the way!’

That was… an answer that Trisha couldn’t comprehend. She should ask Latla for tips when they were close by. Right now, she was a few steps away.

Latla’s movement was smooth: slow but efficient, as if she flowed through the crowd. Didn’t mean that she was invincible in this crowd though, for she just bumped shoulders with someone.

***

Latla.

Latla stopped walking, glanced over her shoulder, looked past Trisha and Cirrus, and toward the cloaked man who just bumped her.

Bad luck, she thought.

Latla turned, followed him. As she passed Trisha and Cirrus, she handed her bag of items to her, patted his head. ‘Go back to the café. We’re done for today,’ she said.

‘But I kept my promise!’ Cirrus said. ‘I was quiet when you were haggling!’

‘It’s not because of that.’ Her eyes were still tracking the cloaked man.

‘What is it then?’ Trisha asked.

‘My wallet just got stolen.’