The ring held on her fingers like a vice. Rusted fittings unwilling to let go. She wrenched and twisted to no respite.

I cannot take them off. What should I do? Should I quit? Was this what Daire was hiding? No, there's something else he is bothered by. Else, he wouldn't have let Shanil tell me this easily. Wait, maybe he doesn't know what Shanil wants to talk to me about.

This magic does not stop me from using my weapon. Daire's insistence on not carrying it might be related to this fact, or it could be the other way around. And he does not want me to find out that I cannot use my sword. Shanil's words only add to the confusion. I should've tried to stab her once, just to be sure. Can I use my weapon on someone?

If someone tries to ask something that I shouldn't answer, I'll know if I can or cannot. What about disturbing someone before they can ask the question? What about not hearing the question?

Is there a question that would make me act? I just raised my hand to show the ring, and that was not within my control, so there's a possibility, but Shanil did not ask me to show her, so I did it, right?

She sighed as she stepped out of the van. Now she knew why it would earn her proof of trust. How critical this job truly was.

The core job is still the same; there's nothing to worry about. Others know about the issue, but they didn't seem interested in asking anything, so maybe they don't care.

She grew more curious about the magic itself. About how it came to be. Who made this? What were its limitations? And most of all, how the laws were written in four distinct rings to create this effect.

The people watched her hand curiously. She looked toward an adult man, who lowered his head as their eyes met.

Aeryth followed the group into the alley.

"Hey, what took ya—"

"Evy, what's this?" Shanil cut off Evy before she could ask the question.

Evy looked into at open sewer at the side and the unhealthy poop floating in it. Aeryth turned away her gaze, feeling her breakfast squirm in her stomach.

"Bitch!" She lunged at Shanil but was caught by Torgoal Savine by the collar.

"Don't make me angry," Torgoal blew air on Evy's face, dropping her to her feet. He kept walking. Evy mumbled something under her breath.

Daire stepped beside her. "Don't start on the job," he said to Evy.

"It's not my fault!"

"I know, but..." Daire let out a laugh, "If you fell on the sewer, I won't let you inside my van."

"Fuck you!" Evy stomped her feet and continued forward. She was the youngest of them all. Still, in her twenties, Aeryth believed.

"This is how long-standing teams usually behave."

"I see," Aeryth replied. As long as it's not a question, I won't have to say what's on my mind. I guess a conversation is still possible.

"I should stay at the back. Standing between the group as a Witness seems impractical." Aeryth suggested.

Daire agreed.

Of course, that was not all the reason. But withholding thoughts didn't seem to count as a lie.

She sighed in relief once she was a few feet away from them.

As long as the question is unfinished, I don't have to answer. That's a relief to know. But does the spell fail to understand the question? If so, it would mean it does not read my mind. Or, perhaps it only functions if a question is enunciated or I try to lie.

They reached the house they were supposed to visit. It belonged to someone called Urail Monfer.

Urail had taken a loan and had not repaid any installment or interest in the last six months. They were supposed to collect the money or something as a guarantee that he would pay it back. The something part worried Aeryth. She couldn't tell if it was fair. The man owed money, but taking something not agreed upon beforehand seemed like a robbery.

Shanil knocked on the door. They waited half a minute before knocking again.

" I will break it," Torgoal proposed, stepping forward.

All of them nodded.

"Three's the charm," Shanil said. "Urail Monfer, We are from the collection office. This is your last chance to open the door, or we'll force our way in."

Shanil's voice reverberated through the alley. This house didn't show any sign of living, but all the other houses had people peeking at them. The curious eyes scanned them from head to toe. Especially Aeryth, as if she was jewelry.

Aeryth forced herself back to the situation at hand. She didn't know how detailed she would need to write the reports, but she didn't want any gap in her understanding.

After a minute, Torgoal kicked the doors. The hinges came loose. The twig-like lock from inside broke. The door flung back, skidding against the floor.

They were presented with a gully into the darkness.

Peuer was the first to walk in. Creating some kind of silvery orb that worked as a torch.

They walked to the end of the gully and waited for Aeryth.

Aeryth kept her breath slow and calm. Eyes scanning everything. The brick walls. The broken lamp at the end of the corridor. The loose wires dangling from the ceiling.

They stayed in her peripheral vision. For which Aeryth was grateful. She didn't know if there was a penalty. She would have to ask after the job, though she didn't trust them to answer her sincerely.

After breaking another locked door. They were in the main hall. It was as big as Aeryth's room. There was an open kitchen on the side. And two rooms on the other. A small balcony to hang the clothes, but the clothesline was dry.

Aeryth observed them as they went about searching and calling the man a few more times. Though the obvious 'what if Urail is not here hung on the tip of her tongue,' she refrained.

They broke into the bedroom. Aeryth walked in last.

"Now, Urail, we've played it long and hard. Show us your pretty face."

Tergoal jerked open the wardrobe. The man was there. His face was pale as dead. In his arm, there was a knife, with which he assaulted Tergoal. Tergoal fought hard to keep the grin on his face. He couldn't show himself enjoying the job.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Tergoal punched the man in his guts, grabbed his arms, and twisted it. It snapped. Urail screamed in agony.

Urail assaulted first. He's at fault.

Still, Aeryth found Tergol's method to be unnecessary and cruel.

He grabbed the man by his hair and brought him up to his face. "Interest along with principal. Now. Or, I am gonna take this..." he clenched on the broken arm, "as a guarantee."

Aeryth shuddered at the glee in those feral eyes as he uttered those words.

The frail man coughed a few times, blood dripping down his face. "I-I don't have anything."

"That's not my problem." Tergol shook his head. "Dare, what's the punishment for thieving?"

"Six years in prison, after working without wage to pay back what was owed."

Urail grew even paler. "I..." Tears streamed down his face as he begged and tried to get them to give him some time. It would've been more convincing had he done that from the beginning.

Still, Aeryth wouldn't bear to stare at the tragic sight. He confessed to losing all of what he had borrowed to fix his carriage in gambling. And now he didn't even have money for food. How was he supposed to pay them back?

"Tergoal, that's enough," Daire said as he walked up to the man. "We are not your enemies, okay." He nodded, Urail along with him, shivering in fear.

Daire grabbed the man's shoulder and squeezed it as he straightened the pained man. "We are doing a job," He looked at Aeryth, "Blessed by The Eyes Of Truth."

The man finally noticed her. His eyes widened. Mouth opening and closing.

"Listen to me, Urail. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is you give us something you still have that can solve the current predicament. The hard way, we drag you to the tribunal, and let them force you into payless labor in the mines, where you will work without even a drop of water. Now decided."

"I.. don't have anything."

Evy was looking around the house. "No jewelry, gold, or anything of value. I don't think all the item in the house even covers the interest."

The man grew even paler. "But... I only took ten thousand jades..."

"At the twelve percent interest per week," Daire added. "It's not my fault, don't look at me like that."

"What about the house itself," Peuer suggested after much contemplation. His face was locked in a perpetual frown.

"Urail, do you have papers of this house?"

Urail said nothing. He seemed to have seen a ghost.

Aeryth would have rather walked out of the room. She didn't want to witness this man losing his final possession, but she didn't see the blame on anyone else but him. Why would someone gamble their money away?

"Urail, answer me. You will still have a chance to fix your stall. Fast."

"I have a wife and two little children. If I give away the house..." He crumbled on the floor.

Daire lowered to his height. "Think what will happen to them if you have to go to the mines."

That broke him finally. After ten minutes of humming and prodding, they had the house paper.

Aeryth memorized everything as accurately as possible.

This was one of ten such jobs.

"Well, that was a job well done," Daire smiled as they walked out of the alley. Spinning the file with Urail's house paper.

"Too much of a sob story for my liking. Could've been better if he was drunk and out of his mind," Shanil shook her head.

"We'd have to spend an hour to get the papers." Daire shook his head. "Anyways, that's the job. How are you feeling, Aeryth?"

"Nothing," Aeryth replied truthfully. "If a little confused."

Shanil took the next path for the next destination.

"I want to ask, what am I supposed to do if you all split up?" Aeryth asked.

"Hmm. Depends. Your main goal should always focus on the core of the job. Like you didn't need to watch Evy as she looked around the house but rather focus on the Urail himself."

Aeryth nodded. "I understand."

Can they do something wrong in that time? Steal jewelry while I am not looking their way.

She didn't propose her question. "Human limitation." She muttered.

"Correct." Evy nodded. "Don't overthink it."

Aeryth nodded. Perhaps that's why they want me. My limitations as an assumed unblessed. Or maybe because these rings don't let me use magic.

She didn't have a chance to try the magic yet. And she didn't want them to know she could use magic.

---

The leviathan cock lay in the cage, screeching and flapping its wings.

Daire lay on the floor, bleeding from like wounds of peck and claw scratches.

Aeryth sat in front, unharmed.

"Shit..." Daire groaned, "Bastard!" He kicked the cage.

Peuer pulled away the tiny cage of the leviathan cock, "Try that again, and I'll tear you limb from limb."

Daire hurled back a few curses.

"Should we go to the healer?" Aeryth asked.

"Nah. He'll be fine," Shanil replied. They were on their way to the next destination, Ricker Tresmine.

Aeryth didn't know what she should expect. As far as she was concerned, it was over. But she expected something from that drunk man.

After what felt like an hour, they reached their next destination. This was the second district.

But not the night bazaar. But on the opposite side. Aeryth prepared herself for another confrontation as she stepped out of the carriage.

This place was different from the rest of the city. It was just one massive building, slightly older than the rest of the district. Slightly taller as well. Square and slowly crumbling. Losing its form as the structure melted under the weight of its residents.

Torgoal Savine blew a breath. "Will be interesting."

Aeryth understood his meaning. A confrontation, at least. He looked at her. "Try not to fall too far back from us. Someone might just... take you away."

"I'll try," Aeryth replied. "There are three complaints here in total."

"Yeah. This place is troublesome for the entire city. There are talks to dismember this part from the district." Daire replied.

Aeryth didn't comment. She didn't really appreciate the idea even by a miniscule.

Peuer stayed in the van to watch over their initial collections so far.

The inside of the apartment was suffocatingly closed, cramped, and unbreathably dirty.

They found their first target soon. Evy overpowered the woman and took the equipment. Aeryth didn't understand its purpose. She tried to remember everything as it happened. She didn't know how the report would be written. But remembering ten incidents might even be too much for her.

They found the second, and he had half a dozen of borrowed or stolen books, pending return.

At this point, their hands were full, and Ricker Tresmine lived in another area of the building, so they returned and dropped both items back into the carriage. And made a second trip.

"You're jumpy about this Ricker guy... any particular reason?" Evy asked.

"We had a confrontation over fine before," Aeryth replied.

"I see..."

Tergol chuckled. "So we can expect a fight."

"I believe, yes," Aeryth replied again. Not out of her own free will. She didn't think this was enough to let them know she already knew about the side effects.

Ricker lived on the seventh floor of the building on the western side.

The place was revolting. The smell of booze reeked the entire floor. Even as the door was closed. Did he make the entire floor drunk? Aeryth couldn't help but wonder.

Torgoal broke the door again. Ricker Tresmine was there, drunk beyond reasoning, hurling curses at them.

"Motherfucker! Tryin' to bling down my door?!" along with a string of curses that Aeryth refused to hear.

She stepped back. She knew it was going to be a brawl. What would they take from him? She wondered.

Tergol punched Ricker in his guts. That was enough to make him wet the floor with the booze in his stomach. His face turned red.

Aeryth kept watching without looking away. Her job. It felt less like a job and more like a test of how much ugliness could she stand. And she was starting to wonder if she would survive the day at this rate. Mentally, at least.

Tergol lurched him up to his feet. "Somber now?"

Ricker's face was as red as a tomato from anger, veins popping, yet he nodded. "Who are you!" He finally looked at her. "Bitch! You hate so much that whored yourself to these people to beat me up."

"I do not hate, Ricker Tresmine. But, I do feel pity for your situation." Aeryth couldn't lie, and she didn't have control to stop herself from answering. "Why are you like this?" This was her own initiative. She wanted to understand, despite her unwillingness, what brought him to this situation.

He growled. Daire took the front. Clapping his hand to get Ricker's attention. "Esteemed gentleman, I am from the collection's office."

Ricker's eye widened. The face grew even redder. He spat. Daire dodge. Planted a foot in Ricker's groin.

"We are here to collect the fine on behalf of the library," Daire spoke calmly.

"I will not spare a penny for you spawn of whores. Suck my dick!"

Daire didn't take kindly to that. Ricker had no way of defending himself, though Aeryth didn't think it was completely okay, but she understood why Daire didn't show any kindness as he struck him a few times. But snapping his hand was wrong. Cruel. Unasked for.

"Will you pay?"

"Fuck you." Ricker grinned. Tergol's face turned red, patience running out. He took a step forward.

"Stop," Aeryth spoke before she could stop herself. "He is unwilling to pay, we have understood. By going any further, you all are just torturing a man incapable of coherent thoughts."

Torgoal's eyes snapped at her. His aura swarmed her senses like she was standing in a hornet's nest. He towered over her.

Calm. He will not strike me. If he does.

"Are you regretting your decision?" Torgoal asked with a grin as Aeryth took a step back, her back touching the squelchy wall.

"No. I spoke only the truth, but I do further understand, how ugly you truly are." Aeryth replied. She took a deep breath, "And I know I cannot keep myself from answering the truth of questions spoken, so no one asks me any further questions. Now or later," She drew her knife, "I am not above stabbing someone like you in the face."

Torgoal's stomp grew louder, form more towering. Grin even further unhinged.

"We are gonna lose another one at this rate..." Shanil muttered.

Daire was beside her. "Stop. We have talked about it before."

Aeryth's heart thumped. She didn't regret her decision. Despite everything, she was unwilling to let Ricker hurt even further if she had to witness it. Yes. If she was not here, she wouldn't care. But watching someone being hurt in front of her eyes was against everything her mother and father raised her to be.

Tergol stopped. "We do the business, and we handle the situation. You don't make accusations. He asked for it." He pointed at Ricker on the ground, half passed out.

"If his words make you lose control so much so that you're willing to strike an unarmed fifteen-year-old girl, then Torgoal Savine, you're unfit for the job. And I will indeed file a report on your behavior, read every rule there is, every rule that you must follow, and write down everything that you fail at while wearing the eyes of truth." Aeryth said.

Her voice was shaking in anger. She couldn't beat him up like the rest. But she didn't want him to walk away after threatening her safety in this goddamned place. She would make him pay.

"Die!" His punch flashed in front of her face. Aeryth ducked. The wall behind her burst. The woman and the child inside screamed in terror.

Daire grabbed her hand and yanked her out of the way as Shanil pushed Torgoal into the wall, his face kissing the washed-off paint.

If I had not dodged...

But she did.

"Torgoal, if she's hurt, you'll lose your job."

"That bitch's life will be mine before losing it," Tergol struggled.

Her ward was active, she hadn't realized. Could it withstand the impact of the punch? Aeryth was glad to have not found out.

Daire patted his back. "Don't struggle, you idiot." He punched Torgoal's side with enough force to shut him down.

That calmed him down. He still breathed like a bull but didn't dash at her like one.

He turned and stomped away from there.

Daire sighed. He looked at Ricker and shook his head. "We are going back. There's no way to recover anything from him. Let him work in the mines."

Aeryth said nothing as they turned and walked away.

She checked her purse. It still had Ricker's money. She walked over to him. Her footsteps roused him. He looked at her. Eyes filled with hatred.

She crouched next to him. "These are what PIT forced me to take from you. I am giving it back..." From the corner of her eyes, she saw Shanil standing there. "Please don't drink them. I don't hate you or even care much. In all honesty, I feel taking that money from you that day is also part of the reason you're here today, like this. There's a doctor named Isa in the lower district, in the western part of the dew factory. She will take a look at you for ten jades. It's cheap, and she is a great doctor. Please fix yourself."

Aeryth had nothing else to say. She stood and stepped away from him. "I hope you will fix yourself."

Tears slid down to the side of his face. "Why help me?" he mumbled in broken syllables.

"I don't know..." Aeryth replied. She couldn't lie.

He sniffed. "Check the marked page in the book..."

Aeryth nodded. She didn't understand what he meant by those, but she would check it out.

Shanil waited for her at the stairs. "Softy," She commented as if mocking her.

Aeryth said nothing. It is not a question.

"So..." Before Shanil could complete, Aeryth glared at her. Shanil raised her hand, her face still smiling, "Alright, Alright, won't ask you anything."

"I am grateful for your help," Aeryth said as she walked down.