“Wait up Schnee, where are we going?”

Schnee ran down the streets chasing Eralya with a full smile. She seemed to have cheered up a bit from last night.

“Hey, do you remember what the merchant was selling yesterday?”

The spirit of Pamola, Kichirou had almost forgotten it after last night. The man who was selling it seemed just like an ordinary merchant. If that chicken really was a mythical creature that had the ability to change its surrounding weather would it really be something that someone would sell on the streets? The way Schnee described it before would certainly make that spirit a very rare find.

“Yea, the spirit, could it be the real thing?”

“Woof Woof," Eralya borked as if he was replying to the question. Anytime the either of them said anything Eralya would bork, it was rather cute, he had to be a part of the conversation which involved its master.

“I’m not too sure, I can't remember how it looked when I saw it with mother.”

It certainly wasn't impossible that the merchant had passed off whatever that was as the spirit of Pamola to scam those who know nothing to little of it. Schnee would be a primary target for people like him in that case.

“Is there any way to tell if it's real?”

“I don't know, let's just take another look.”

“Well did you bring money with you?”

“Yea, I brought my little pouch.” Some coins chinked as Schnee tapped the brown pouch she had near her waist.

“Would your father know that merchant?”

“Huh, I”m not sure. Should I have asked?”

“Mmm yeah probably should have.”

Schnee tilted her head slightly to his answer.

“Well if your father knew the man the odds of us getting ripped off would be a lot lower, but I have a feeling that your father is influential enough that it wouldn’t be a problem anyways.”

The look on her face said she still didn't understand what Kichirou had meant, this would be a lesson to be learned if it did turn out to be a scam.

“Um, is ten gold reins a lot of money?”

“Yea, most of my friend’s parents won't even make this much money in a year.”

“Ok...”

Kichirou had imagined that Zakin had to be fairly rich to be able to offer money, food, and shelter to a bunch of strangers, but he had no idea that Zakin was rich to this extent. To be able to just give his daughter that much money for no reason in particular... He must be the equivalent of one of those millionaires. Someone who buys their children whatever they want, whenever they want it. Kichirou couldn't help but think, how nice it would have been if his family just had a little bit more money.

However, that would still come with its own bag of mixed results. All those famous actors, singers, politicians, and athletes, how few of their children actually amounted to anything? Most of them end up spoiled, just wasting their parent’s money and being nothing more than a detriment to society. Goes to show the old adage, hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.

Schnee was still young, there was still time to instill the proper values to prevent her from becoming just another snob.

“Let's just hurry, it might be sold o..” Kichirou paused, thinking that he saw a familiar face at the corner of the busy street staring right at him, but it vanished back into the crowd before he could get a clear look. Without realizing, he had stopped in his tracks, and his carefree face was swapped out for something much more serious.

Was that…

“Then why are you standing still? Come on let's get going, is something wrong?”

“Oh it's nothing, let's go.”

No, probably not, the lack of sleep must be getting to me.

The pair continued down the busy main street to where they saw the merchant just the day before.

A wall of people were gathered in the busy market. It was too crowded to tell at first, but as they got closer they saw that everyone was gathered before that same merchant from yesterday, he must have been demonstrating his goods again.

With the scroll held in hand and the same creature from yesterday standing before him, he spoke: “Now how about ten gold reins for this, the rare and mythical spirit of Pamola?”

“Meee, meee!’ Schnee called out as she tried to push her way to the front of the crowd.

“Looks like we have a taker!”

“Fifteen gold reins,” a new voice interjected.

“Looks like I have a new buyer!”

“Wait!”

As Schnee and Kichirou finally reached the front they saw a young man, probably no older than Kichirou, handing the merchant what presumably was a bag of gold. It was easy to tell that most people would find him to be rather handsome, with his elegant getup and brown wavy hair that curled ever so slightly at the ends. His light amber eyes shined as he smiled at Kichirou.

Who the hell is this guy?

"Hold on a second. Just yesterday you were only selling it for ten gold reins, and now as soon as you have a buyer, you suddenly have someone else trying to drive up the price for you? What kind of con game are you running here?”

“Watch your tongue! I am a reputable businessman, I will not have you beseech my good name. Now, you can either give me a better offer or leave!”

“Schnee, how much do you wanna pay for it?”

“I only brought just enough.”

“Well, looks like you two better leave then, or would you rather have a chat with my employees?” He pointed at several men watching them intently from the side.

“Fine, we'll leave.”

“Now hold on, you’ve already taken my gold, yet here you are trying to make another deal right in front of me. Do you wish to die?” The young man said with a smile.

The nonchalant way he spoke sent shivers down Kichirou’s spine. The smile he wore gave Kichirou the feeling that those words were not an empty threat.

“Who the hell do you think you're speaking to?” The merchant gestured for his "employees", and the four men watching from the side approached them.

“What is it, boss?” The men glared at them, clearly trying to put on an air of intimidation in a typical bullying fashion. They might have been average in height, but all of them were at least twice as large as Kichirou and the other young man, with most of them bearing scars across their faces.

“Remove them,” The merchant pointed.

Kichirou instinctively pulled Schnee behind him and tried to back off slowly, without attracting any more attention.

The young man stood still with a unwavering smile.

“Wha…” was all the first man could manage to utter as his head turned 45 degrees. He fell to the ground, with his legs beneath him giving way as if all their strength had been sapped.

No one was able to process what had just occurred before them, most of them couldn't even see what happened. Even Kichirou barely saw it, but the young man had clocked the employee square on the jaw. A few gasps could be heard from the crowd, along with some soft whimpers, they couldn’t fathom how such an innocent looking young man could have the strength to take out a much larger man in one blow.

There was simply an air about him, Kichirou had felt it as soon they had met. This man is dangerous.

“What are you just standing there for, get him!” The merchant yelled, with his face red from frustration.

The three other men were clearly shaken after witnessing one of their own being dispatched in an instant, but their boss’s voice triggered them into action. Whether they were motivated by fear or by anger, they rushed at the young man.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The young man was all smiles: “Marvelous, we get to continue.”

What Kichirou saw then, was like a fine work of art. The first and most important principle that Furuya’s father had drilled into them back in the day was to maintain your core balance of the body while disturbing that of your opponents.

The first man charged in with a tackle but was met with a low kick to his calf, he howled in pain as he fell. The second man held up his hands similar to a boxer's and threw a cautious punch, but with his much larger and heavy body the punch was far too slow and was met with a swift counter to the jaw. The last remaining man produced a dagger from his pocket. With the metal gleaming in the sunlight, the man’s smile blossomed as the young man’s vanished.

But his expression soon changed as he saw the serious look on the young man's face. Rather than fear, what he saw was something entirely different. Instead of going on the offensive like his predecessors had, he stood still, wielding his weapon as if it was the only thing left protecting him. But that did not matter to his opponent, for their difference in strength was far too great. The man hunched forward and fell to his knees after a single punch. Then his wrist was almost broken until the dagger fell from his hand.

In what was less than a minute, all the merchant's henchmen were taken down by a single opponent. The young man before him now picked up the dagger and proceeded to walk towards him, wearing that ever so menacing smile.

“Look, here. Jus-just take the scroll.”

The young man didn't even seem to acknowledge what the merchant had said, he simply continued towards him tossing the dagger about.

“O-okay I may have overstepped. Here, take the scroll and your money and leave me be.”

“Now that sounds like good business to me, thank you very much.” He took the scroll and his bag of gold, then turned to Kichirou and Schnee: “I would like to apologize for the trouble that I may have caused—mmm?”

“What's going on over there!? Move aside!”

Those must be the town guards, they must have heard the loud commotion. If Kichirou and Schnee were to be seen talking with this young man now, odds are they would be arrested along with him, and it would be nothing but trouble for Zakin.

“Help! Help! These men robbed me after beating up my workers!”

This lying snake.

“Seems we have some trouble, the name is Swizze by the way.” He offered a hand to Schnee, but was met with hesitation.

Kichirou had a good mind to outright reject it for her, for them to be associated with such a dangerous man would bring nothing but trouble. However, in this case, they just needed to leave the scene, before trouble found them anyways.

The four of them ran towards the opposite side of the crowd, away from the guards. As they ran, Kichirou saw him. There was no doubt this time, it was the man from the night before.

Kichirou had a feeling that he was being watched, and now it had been confirmed. The man was in the crowd watching them, but this time he did not try to hide. He must have been stalking them ever since they left the inn, which could only mean one thing, trouble. All the more reason to get away from here.

They took the first bend of the road and hid behind some houses.

“So now, which family are you from, for a little girl to have enough gold to try to buy something like this?” Swizze pulled out the scroll.

Could this be what this man was after? Schnee’s father? That would have to mean that he already had known who she was and planned this whole thing. Was something like that even possible? No, the fight between him and those thugs certainly wasn't staged, but that wouldn't mean that he wasn't connected to that man who's been stalking Schnee this whole time.

Kichirou's eyes widened at the endless possibilities of unknown danger, all because of the secrets that Zakin was holding out on. But before he could continue down that train of thought, Schnee replied.

“My name is Schnee.”

Crap she just gave it away without a second thought.

“Oh, so you must be Schnee Lepard.”

“Um, do you know my father or something?”

“Oh yes, I do know of him.”

Kichirou ignored the small talk, those hollow words carried no weight behind them. He furrowed his brow trying to study Swizze.

Could he be trusted?

Although he only acted in violence to retaliate violence, there was just something not right about this man. In the short time they had met, every one of his actions seemed cold and hollow, just like his smile. The mask that one wears to fit in with society, Kichirou knew that face well.

If the last thug had charged in with the knife who knows what could have happened, the simple matter of fact way that he had said "Do you want to die?" was telling enough. There was definitely a possibility that the man could have drawn his last breath.

Although it was possible that he only treated his enemies this way, where would they stand with his man? Clearly, the Lepard family had piqued his interests, but why?

With no evidence of any hostile intentions, it would be better off just to play this thing out and try to avoid him afterwards.

“Here, since you wanted it so badly, take it.” Swizze held the scroll towards Schnee.

“I can’t accept that. My father always said to not take things from strangers without knowing the whole picture.”

“Oh you are most certainly that great merchant's daughter. Don't worry, it's not like I paid for this anyway, I’ve gotten my gold back. Just take it as a small favor for you, okay?”

“Are you sure mister?”

“Yep, I don't mind at all.”

“Thank you so much!” Schnee was all smiles at this point as she held the scroll in her hands. Swizze smiled.

There was no way that this was just a friendly act. The only person he cared about here was Schnee, he didn’t even bother trying to talk to Kichirou, much less get his name. He was trying to get something out of it, perhaps have her father owe a favor or something along those lines? It might seem like nothing now, but down the line, it's still troubling to be tangled with characters like that.

But Schnee had already taken the gift, and if he were to reject it for her now, he just had a feeling that Swizze would not take no for an answer. There was no telling what he would do.

“I do believe I've yet to get your name.”

“It’s Kichirou.”

“Well, it was nice meeting you two. I’m late for something rather important, you two stay safe now.”

“Thank you, mister.”

He patted Eralya gently on the head as it wagged his tail at him. Hmmm Eralya seems to like him though.

Swizze smiled at them one last time before carrying on nonchalantly back towards the main street.

One element of immediate danger had removed itself, but there was still another, lurking in the shadows—watching them. They needed to get back to Zakin immediately and figure out who exactly was stalking them. It was time to ask Zakin exactly what was going on here. This was no longer just their family's problem, Furuya and the others could be in danger too.

“We need to get you back home, right now.”

“Why?”

“Your father needs you home, okay?”

The less they know, the better. It's easier to protect them that way, especially from the dark sides of human nature.

As they got back to the main street, Kichirou saw that the man was waiting for them. This time he wasn't alone, many more unfamiliar faces also stared directly at them, but instead of just staring at them, they began to walk towards them.

Was Swizze one of them? Was he sent to lure them here? No, that would be very unlikely, if someone with Swizze’s ability wanted to kidnap or kill Schnee he would have done so already. So then that would mean it was the Debouf family who was targeting them.

What are they trying to do in broad daylight? There’s still plenty of people all over the streets, they can't do anything out here, right?

No, that would only be a perceived truth for the foolish. If they were bold enough to do something like that it could only mean that they knew they could get away with it.

“We have to go, come on Schnee.”

The pair ran in the opposite direction. They couldn't run very fast with all the people in their way, but neither could their pursuers.

Kichirou had to figure out what to do, aimlessly running would only exhaust them, and Schnee wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.

But where would they even go? Even if they went back to the inn they would be followed there, and it would just endanger everyone, but staying outside wasn't safe for them either.

Would Zakin also be one of their targets? In that case, he would need to warn him. But what if the Debouf family had already targeted the inn and were now looking for Schnee because she wasn't there? No... Zakin could still be at the inn all unaware.

Trying to sneak back to the inn was the only option after all.

The market was only a few minutes away from the inn, but the direction that they were running towards was taking them further away.

Could this also be a part of their plan? To get us further away from the inn?

Kichirou stopped for a second and looked at one of the smaller and empty back streets. There was a collection of stores and such, but there was barely anyone on that street.

Normally it would be much easier to vanish into the crowd running away like this, and odds were they could have already lost their pursuers. But that would be running away with the assumption that they knew how many people were chasing them. There was no way to tell who was also after Schnee on these busy streets.

But on the other hand, the side streets were much more reclusive. Schnee and Kichirou could hide between buildings and stay out of sight, but Kichirou did not know where these back streets would lead them. If they got into a pinch, there would be no time to ask Schnee for directions.

But there was no point in even thinking about that, Kichirou had already made his decision before he had even thought about it.

“Schnee, this way.” They turned into the side street and took the very next turn into another street, ending up behind a restaurant of some sort. The back door to the restaurant was open, and they could see the kitchen inside. It was a good hiding spot, there were many storage crates they could use for cover.

It also gave them multiple points of escape. If they were to be surrounded on both sides, they could still run into the restaurant.

“What do we do?” Schnee's voice shook just like when that man showed up the night prior.

“Don't worry, we're gonna be okay, just sit tight.”

“Woof.”

“Shhhh you be quiet too.” It almost seemed as if Eralya nodded in agreement, but that wasn't possible, he must be seeing things. Animals can learn to understand human language to a certain level, but to truly understand and respond? That's impossible, of course it is.

Now all that was left for them to do was wait for the coast to be clear. There was even a good chance that they had already lost their pursuers, but if only things could be that easy.

It wasn’t long until Kichirou heard footsteps down the street. It was hard to tell exactly how many of them there were, but there were at least three of them making their way towards the back of the restaurant.

Schnee seemed visibly frightened as she squeezed Eralya, even Kichirou's heart sped up a beat.

But this wasn't a cause for alarm, just because they were walking down the street, didn't mean that they were the ones chasing them. Nothing said ordinary people couldn't walk around here.

“Are th...”

“Shhh.”

Kichirou peeked out from between the crates, giving himself as much cover as possible.

Oh shit… It's him… How did he even find us?

When they turned the street for the second time, Kichirou was sure that there wasn't anyone who saw them turn that way, yet that man and his goons found them. It had to be a coincidence unless there was magic involved.

There were still too many things unknown to Kichirou, such as the types of spells and the limitations of magic. If he knew what he was up against, then things would be different. However, in most games or anime that he'd ever seen, anyone who specialized in the tracking field would be able to track Kichirou and Schnee with ease, whether it be via a spell or some sort of other skill.

If that was the case then hiding here was just a waste of time, they should have made a mad dash back to the inn. It was still too early to rule anything out, it could just have been a coincidence. They still had two ways out of this place, and if it came down to it, he would even carry Schnee to outrun them.

The clang of metallic boots on the stone pavement interrupted his thoughts. He turned and saw three more men making their way towards them as well, these three were not dressed like the others, they all wore dark cloaks that covered their entire bodies. Given the sound of their footsteps, it was clear that those men were armed.

It was time to go.

“Hey! What are you two doing there?”

A short and unkempt man in a chef's uniform blocked the back entrance to the restaurant.

“Um, we were just in the restaurant. We were looking for the restroom, took a wrong turn I guess, haha.”

The man’s face remained unmoved, he didn’t seem to buy the lies that Kichirou was trying to sell, but the footsteps were getting closer, time was running out.

“We're just gonna head back inside.”

“No you’re not, you’re not going anywhere. You really think I wouldn't know what's going on? You two must be the thieves that have been stealing our produce!”

“You’ve got it all wrong, we've never even been here before.”

“Oh right, and just a moment ago you were dining inside.”

The once slow and steady steps were now replaced by steps of rapid succession.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

“Arf!”

“Will someone get rid of this stupid dog?!”

The voice was already right behind them, but the chef did not budge. There was no time for Kichirou to talk their way out of this one anymore. He grabbed Schnee’s hands and pushed past the chef, but was stopped by a firm grasp on the shoulder.

“Wha…” His response was cut short.

His vision was blurry, and it took a few seconds before he realized he was staring straight up at the blue sky.

“Kichirou—” The rest of her words were snuffed out.

“We were just chasing these thieves. We will take them back to the Debouf manor, and they shall receive whatever punishment that lady Ashel deems necessary.”

“Oh thank the lords, we’ve been missing produce for days... The little girl will be taken care of right?”

“Don't worry, lady Ashel will take good care of her.”

“That's good to know, thanks again.”

The next thing he knew Kichirou was looking at his feet, he was being dragged on the road. He tried to resist and grab hold on whatever he could, but there was no strength in his arms.

“Bring the girl back, and she better not have a single scratch on her when she gets there, you hear me?!”

“Arf!”

“Back off!”

Kichirou heard a crash, followed by some whimpering in the distance.

“Yea, I got it, but what about him?”

“We don't want any loose ends, do what you like with him, but I better not have to clean up your mess afterwards.”

“I got it, I got it. When did you even have to do that anyway?”

“Oh yeah? You mean like that time when they almost got away?’

“Hey, I had it all under control.”

“Sure you did, that's why you asked for my help right? Anyways, get her back and get rid of him quickly.”

“Yea yea, it will be done before then.”

“Boss, I think he's awake.”

Kichirou felt a sharp pain to the face, then everything went dark.