“No, no, no…!”

Taka’s eyes defocused as he felt himself overcome by his emotions and that nagging hunger deep in the pit of his stomach. He retracted into his mind, recalling the past as if it were the present.

It was the day of Taka’s fifteenth birthday.

“Don’t sssspend it all in one place, yesss?” Dane had smiled as he handed him a pouch tied taught with a length of red rope. In it was thirty gold—the same amount Dane himself had begun his adventuring career with all those years ago. At the very least, it’d be enough for Taka to get some essentials, and a couple weeks in an inn. Although, he sincerely hoped it’d get him further than that.

The days after had been busy, filled with preparation for the trip that was to be Taka’s true present. The trip itself was no surprise—Taka had expressed his desire to be an adventurer ever since he could speak, and he’d been quite the talkative kid.

Even now, he could still recall nearly all the stories Dane had told him about his adventuring days.

A concerned voice cut through the haze of panic. His chest heaving with each breath, Taka looked up. Up. Why was he…

He was looking up at the orange-haired catfolk from earlier, up at his face etched with worry, up at his offered hand.

‘Why am I on the floor?’

Hesitantly, Taka accepted the catfolk’s hand and was pulled to his unsteady feet.

“Uh, you good?”

But Taka didn’t quite hear him. He hadn’t remembered getting on the ground. He remembered panicking, and then he remembered thinking about what Dane had done for him, and then… and then he didn’t remember. How exactly-

‘No, it doesn’t matter!’

There were more pressing things at stake—he had to find his coinpurse. Had to.

Not even thinking to thank the kind catfolk or catch his breath, Taka spun on his heel and was out the door. The greeting bell screamed unhappily as Taka spilled down the steps, tearing up his hands on the dirt and gravelly rocks. Sharp, burning pain flared through his palms as droplets of red fell into the dirt.

He was bleeding. That fact alone would normally have ripped him from his dazed panic, but he didn’t have time to worry about that right now. Forcing himself to his feet, he snapped his head this way and that-- where was the thief?! No, more importantly, where had it been stolen? The store? He doubted it; Arthur and Beriyl wouldn’t do something like that, and the Catfolk man had never gotten close enough. The guild? Maybe.

Taka’s chest hurt. Each breath seemed to serve only to make his heart pound faster. Putting his fingers against the bridge of his nose, he slumped down onto his knees.

“Okay, deep breath…”

First, he needed to slow down and think. Where did he last remember having it?

Come to think of it, he hadn’t had it back when he’d entered Earlbarx’s. He couldn’t have; his belt had been lighter since leaving the guild, but he’d been so caught up in his plans he hadn’t noticed at all.

And since he’d left the guild roughly forty minutes ago…

Taka swore under his breath. Whoever his thief was, there was no way they were still there.

No way they’re still there. That realization swam about his head like a fish in a pond. But then he shook his head roughly and pushed himself to his feet. He needed that money. He couldn’t just sit here and give up.

‘Right. Even if the chance isn’t very high, if I sit here and do nothing, it really will be a zero chance I get it back. At the very least…’

Maybe it was only lost. Taka would have vastly preferred that reality to the confrontation he’d inevitably have to go through had it truly been stolen.

But no. That optimistic blip of a thought was shattered when he remembered the girl who’d slammed into him while he’d been waiting in line. He’d caught the faintest glimpse of the hooded figure’s face-- If he saw her again, he had a feeling he’d know. It was more likely it had been stolen; and by her.

If he could just find her, he could ask for it back, and then maybe she’d just… give it back. Maybe. Hopefully. Taka had never been in a fight before, so he didn’t have much confidence in himself in that regard.

Swallowing the tightening unease forming in his throat, he began making his way back toward the town square.

#

The square was busy as ever. Since this part of town was so heavily adventurer-centric, most of the foot traffic was unsurprisingly adventurers. Said adventurers trotted about, standing out in the swarms of townsfolk going about their day amid opportunistic merchants trying to secure their next big customer. Guards watched from the sidelines—additionally, two heavily-armored knights bearing the crest of Hamelan were keeping vigil, standing beside the door to the guard’s office at the opposite end of the area.

‘Maybe I should ask the guards. Hamelan knights are supposed to be super capable, right? I bet if I asked one of them…’

He shook his head. No, this wasn’t exactly a matter worth bringing to the guard’s attention—much less a knight of the Kommodian capital’s. Those knights were here only as added security for Advent Month, to bolster the town guard. They had more important things to deal with, surely. Besides, he could solve this himself. Right?

He told himself that, wanted to believe that, but the festering doubt remained to wear down hope. How was he supposed to find one person out of this many? The odds were impossibly daunting.

At a loss, Taka found himself approaching the guild. He just had to find someone who seemed… openly suspicious. Not that he really knew what that meant. If it were one person, it wasn’t like they’d be waving the coinpurse around while shouting about how they’d stolen it. Taka might have laughed at the idea if he were in a lighter mood, but it only deepened his frown in the moment.

And what if it wasn’t an individual, but an organization? The thought alone made him sigh.

“I don’t wanna think about that…”

As he tried to push his energy in a more productive direction, his eyes locked with someone in passing; A cloaked figure with red eyes, crimson skin, and horns protruding through holes in their hood. A half-demon.

In a flash, a fragment of an image raced to the fore of his mind—being shoved aside by a hooded figure with similar features back at the guild. The echo of their hasty apology left no room for doubt as his mind screamed; ‘That’s her. That’s the one who stole our coinpurse!’

Taka stepped forward, voice cracking, sabotaging all possible confidence in himself as he yelled, “H- hey!”

The girl stared at him from under her hood for a moment, before her eyes widened with shock. Her hands flew outward, pushing him back as she cried, “Get away from me!”

Taka staggered but managed to keep his balance, as the girl turned on her heel and fled into the crowd.

“You-!”

Wasting not a moment, he bolted after her, swearing in his head.

Why was she doing this to him?! That money was his, and she wouldn’t even, you know, ask?! She’d gotten away once—Taka had no intention of letting it happen again.

“Stop!” He shouted as he tore after her. “My coinpurse-!“

Through the streets of Leln they went. Before he knew it, he was following her into the market, weaving past vendor stalls and people, around corners, further and further as his avenue of pursuit grew increasingly narrower.

Down the thinning road, the half-fiend had begun overturning stalls and shoving passersby, doing anything, everything to stop Taka from catching her. Produce, jewelry, and other glittering things littered the ground. Merchants cried over spilled goods, trying to salvage what they could, as bodyguards stepped forward to prevent theft while their employers handled the issue. Some shouted insults or swore, others merely looked on with bewilderment in their eyes.

A pang of empathy resonated in his heart—then turned to anger. He had to get his coinpurse back, and he had to stop her. It wasn’t just him anymore that she was affecting, it was all these people and their livelihoods!

He cleared the obstacles with agile grace, offering frantic apologies without slowing his pace.

His feet burned, legs ached, and his stomach…

Around another, and he was gaining on her. Almost there, almost! Another turn, and suddenly, as a startled scream cut through the air, he ground to a halt.

A towering human man glowered down at the fiendish girl through curtained brown hair. For half an instant Taka almost thought a bandit had wandered in and started trying to kidnap people. Until he saw his face.

“Arthur!” He gasped.

Where had he come from? Had he just been waiting there? Why? Suddenly, there were a lot of questions that needed answers.

“Taka.” The man’s face softened when he saw him, but he kept his grip on the girl’s wrist. His frame was outlined by the sun, giving him an almost heroic appearance. Even if what he was currently doing didn’t exactly look heroic. Taka would never say it aloud, but he was quite handsome.

“She stole my… coinpurse,” he huffed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. His exertion had really caught up with him—if she got away again, he didn’t think he’d have it in him to give chase.

Arthur nodded. “I know.”

A desperate cry wrenched itself from the girl's lips as she struggled in vain.

“L- let me go!”

Yet nothing could move Arthur's hand—nor sway his heart. He peered down at her, his gaze hardening into that same stoic mask. Freezing under his sight like she'd been petrified, a sheen of cold sweat beaded across the thief's forehead; A pitiful whimper slipped from her as he growled out a fate-sealing, "No.”

"Uh, wh- what do you mean? How do you know? I mean, I'm not like, uh, not happy or anything, but…"

Without missing a beat, Arthur provided a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"I heard you outside the shop. Beriyl should be here soon, too."

Taka just about physically recoiled at the mention of that guy's name.

'Not Beriyl again. I don't have anything against Arthur, but Beriyl…'

Beriyl was a piece of work that he would rather avoid. Idiot, pampered, fancy rock name, annoying, antagonistic… Huh. Maybe it really was possible to be allergic to certain people, after all?

Deciding that he wasn't likely to get a better explanation from someone as vague and unreadable as Arthur, he simply decided to accept the situation for what it was with a shake of his head, coming up closer to the thief and her "captor".

“Well, thanks, Arthur. I, um, really appreciate it.”

“Of course.”

Seemingly on cue, a certain half-elf noble staggered into view from behind him, looking like he'd been through the wringer.

“I… huff… have arrived…” Beriyl gasped.

And then he unceremoniously collapsed onto the ground.

Taka blinked, momentarily stunned into silence.

"Um… welcome."

It was awkward and terse, but he didn't have anything better to say. Not to him, anyway: "Please give me my money back."

It came out more pleading than he'd intended, but whatever.

The girl squirmed uncomfortably as she met his eyes. Hers were purple, and wet with unshed tears. A forced smile played on her lips; hope danced across her features. Then she nodded.

"S- sure,"

Averting her eyes, she muttered, "It's… in a pocket within my cloak."

Taka stepped forward to reach in and take it, but stopped himself.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"I don't understand. Why did you run and do all that stuff if you're so… so willing to just give it back? Like, why steal it?"

“Oh gee, I dunno, why does anyone steal stuff? ‘Cuz I needed the money? I'm trying to save up to get a trip to Hamelan, so I can reunite with my family. Something like that.” Her words dripped with sarcasm, but irregardless, that last bit made him pause.

“Oh, uh…”

Taka almost felt bad taking his money back now. Before he had time to do anything, however, Beriyl put himself between the two, and began one of his typical absurd tirades. He must have been feeling better, since he was back to acting like this.

"She's lying!" He exclaimed, thrusting an accusatory finger in her face, causing her to wince. "Come now, Taka! I know you're a fool, but you can't be this foolish!"

"Beriyl, be quiet."

But quiet he could not be.

"This is all a ruse! A sob story designed and weaved specifically to elicit a reaction in you that results in you feeling bad when you’ve done nothing wrong, for once, at all!!!”

“For once?” Taka's voice revealed his thinly veiled irritation.

“Yes, for instance, you do many things wrong. Take right now: you’re breathing, and alive. So if you could just stop-“

“Enough, Beriyl.” Arthur cut in, but not before Taka was able to have his say.

“My gods, you’re such an insufferable asshole.”

“Insufferable?! A-?! How vul-!“

“Enough!” Arthur bellowed, silencing them both. “We are attracting a crowd.”

"Look, um…" The girl in his grasp said. "M- my arm's going to sleep. Your name's Taka, right? Can you get your purse back and be done with it? And let me go. Please don't turn me i- in."

Perhaps if she had both of her arms free, she would have placed them together in a pleading gesture.

Arthur spoke before Taka found the right words to answer her with.

"Taka will decide your fate," he said.

"Wh- what? Me?" His eyes widened. "Um, you want me to… what? Why?"

"She chose you as her victim. Now that she has been caught, you must decide what will be done."

Well, that was easy. Although he knew this probably wasn't a great idea, he was going to do it anyway. It felt right: he'd get his money back, make her promise not to steal again, and let her go. If her story was true, he would feel immeasurably awful about turning her in to the guards.

What if, because of her imprisonment, something bad happened to her? Half-devils were not treated well at all, and as far as Taka was concerned, no harm had really been done. Nothing made her deserve the treatment she'd probably receive in jail. She'd made him really scared, yeah, but it was fine now, right? He was going to get his money back. There was no need for her to suffer.

And besides, if he did turn her in, the chance was high she'd have all her coin confiscated. If something like that happened because he turned her in, and she never got to reunite with her family? That was just…

Taka didn’t know if what she'd said was true, but he wanted, perhaps foolishly, to believe that it was. So, he looked her in the eyes. This was as serious as he could possibly be.

“Are you telling the truth?”

He could hear Beriyl going off like an alarm spell in the background but chose to ignore him.

“Y-yes,” She mustered.

Taka carefully considered his next words before speaking. “Alright,” He finally began. “Will you give me my money back yourself if I tell Arthur to let you go?”

Arthur raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

She nodded immediately and enthusiastically, a smile spreading across her face as her eyes lit up.

“Yes!”

Then she paused, brow slightly furrowed; locking gazes with Taka, not once breaking contact, her voice turned quiet, pleading-- almost meek.

“But um, you w- won't, uh, turn me in, right…?"

He hoped this all meant she was telling the truth.

“I won’t.” Then he glanced up at Arthur, and shot a sideways glare toward Beriyl. "We won't. You can, uh, let her go now, Arthur."

Arthur made a facial expression that said he didn’t agree with what was happening in any capacity, but he did what Taka said and released her.

Immediately, she reached inside her cloak and produced the stolen coinpurse.

“Here.”

Taka reached out and grabbed it, then shifted it around in his hand, feeling its heft and weight.

"It's all still there, I didn't…"

Just to check, he untied the bag and peered inside. It would take far too long to count all thirty coins, he decided, but taking one out and making sure it was real should be fine. So, he did, examining it at different angles, although he wasn’t really sure what he was looking for. The sun bounced and reflected off the golden surface, and Taka hastily put it away as people started to stare.

He nodded, and muttered; “Right,” then stashed the purse away in one of his empty pouches.

Now it’d be safer. Hopefully. When he looked back up, the girl was still there.

“Um,” Taka began. “Do you need anything? Like, you’re still here. I kind of assumed you were gonna leave.”

“Oh,” The girl began. “Actually, I was wondering… Wondering if maybe, you could… give me a few gold?”

Taka’s heart jumped into his throat. On one hand, he wanted to help her, because he felt bad for her. On the other hand, he felt this was a terrible idea, and somehow, a scam.

With all the expenses that an adventurer faced in their daily lives, most of them couldn’t afford to be charitable, plain and simple. Taka, having just started out, still had several things he needed to purchase, so he especially couldn’t afford to be.

Which didn’t explain why he was now taking his coinpurse out, and handing three of the most valuable coins in the world to the person who had literally stolen them from him within the same hour.

“What a waste of coin! You really are a fool!” Beriyl cried.

“Beriyl, shut up.”

“Shut-!?”

“Both of you, stop.” Arthur mediated. “It’s Taka’s coin. Let him do what he wants.”

"Hmph!"

Pressing three gold into her palm, Taka said: “I hope that’s enough. I hope you're able to see your family soon, and, um… I, uh, I know what that’s like. And please stop stealing. You’re- you're an adventurer too, right?”

“No, um… I’m actually not.”

“Oh.”

‘Yeah. I guess not everyone is an adventurer.’

“I mean, are you doing this often???“

She laughed. Or maybe that was a scoff?

“Nah, mostly just during this whole Advent month celebration nonsense stuff. Lots of people at the guild, harder to get caught with so many around. I guess I got a bit cocky today though, hung around after stealing from you. To be honest, I had you pinned as an easy mark; I mean, you were staring off into space.”

A bemused breath left her. “Guess that means if I do it again, I’d better be more careful, huh? Pick someone less sharp. Uh, not that I’m gonna steal again.”

She was definitely going to steal again.

“…you really shouldn’t be stealing at all, but… please just don’t steal from me again. Like, I’d really prefer if you didn’t steal at all, it’s really bad, but-“

“Yeah, yeah…” Her hands clapped together. “Welp! I’ve uh, got stuff to do, so bye!” With a wave and a wink, she pulled her hood back up and dashed off without so much as a look behind her, leaving Taka dumbfounded and these words in the wind: “Thanks for the gold!”

“Uh, sure…?”

Before he had much time at all to process what had happened, Beriyl’s shrill voice was back to screaming in his ear and rattling its way through his skull.

“I told you she was lying! But did you listen, no! Honestly, serves you right!”

“Enough.”

It was nice having Arthur around. Every time Beriyl started screaming, all the guy had to do was say something like “enough” and he immediately stopped. Ah, peace and quiet.

Finally able to think, Taka gazed back at the destruction wreaked by the thief. With her gone, that just left himself, Arthur, the idiot noble and the matter of several overturned stalls. To be honest, it was surprising the guards hadn’t been called; maybe it hadn’t been as bad as it looked, or maybe they were just late?

The latter seemed likely--- aside from a few still-fuming merchants, the place looked more or less back to normal. So there was that taken care of.

The suffocating vice of anxiety that had clamped itself around his lungs fell away, and in an instant a shaky breath spilled outward. Taka could finally breathe again, and Good gods, he was starving.

“In any event, you’re welcome,” Beriyl remarked out of nowhere, his face upturned in a self-satisfied smirk. He posed dramatically and struck his finger out toward Arthur. What was this, some sort of play?

“If not for me, this… you…” His air of bravado evaporated as it became painfully clear he had not thought of what to say before opening his mouth, the words tumbling awkwardly out before he abruptly went silent.

Arthur heaved a great sigh.

“My name is Arthur.”

With this reply, Beriyl immediately launched back into his explosive boasting. “Yes! Verily! Indeed, Arthur, if not for me, you, Arthur, would not have caught that thief!”

The man in question shook his head with open disappointment.

“You didn’t even do your part of the job correctly.”

This seemed a shocking revelation to Beriyl, as he spent the next several minutes sputtering nonsense with his mouth agape. At this, Taka had to yet again try—and fail at stifling his laughter.

Beriyl sure liked to talk a lot, and he was very dramatic; so much so, that he was hilarious. To Taka, at least. The overwhelming majority of his experiences with the man had thus far been negative, but at least he’d gotten a few laughs – at Beriyl’s expense – out of all the annoyance.

“Your job was to cast a simple spell. You were supposed to slow her down, but you didn’t. You’re lucky I was able to intercept her.”

Arthur spoke in a way that was clearly strict, but not unkind.

‘Almost like a father disciplining his child.’

Beriyl laughed.

“And what, pray tell, do you know of magic?! You muscle-bound… er, brained fool!”

The noble’s face was tomato red at the mistake, but only for a moment. He sure rebounded fast.

It was weird, though. Wasn’t it? He’d run into Beriyl and Arthur both several times that day alone, and now here they were again. They had nothing to gain by helping him, yet here they were, anyway.

‘Well, apparently Beriyl didn’t do that much, but Arthur’s helped me twice now. Back at that store, and now here.’

“Well uh, thank you. For helping me get it back. I really appreciate it, Arthur.” A weary smile crossed Taka’s face. Thoughts of food and a warm bed flitted to the fore of his mind—it was just past noon, and he was already thinking of sleeping!

“Yes.” Arthur gave a curt nod.

Unfortunately, Beriyl decided that the thanks meant for Arthur was also meant for him, because Taka was forced to watch as the idiot’s face twisted back into that godawful smirk, as he forced himself into another absurd pose.

“I know, I know!” He exclaimed. “I proved invaluable to the plan, so lavish me, Beriyl Edmund Ciphre von Aschwaz, with thanks and praise in equal measure! It’s only natural a member of nobility should help the common people, even ones as dirty and disgusting as yourself!”

When neither thanks nor praise came for Beriyl, he dropped his awful stance and smirk, and instead pouted in silence. That lasted all of two, three seconds before his face lit up and he started squawking again.

“I know! Let us form a party! You two will be my minions, and I shall be the leader! A perfect plan!”

“…He was right, after all.” Arthur muttered to himself, the words so quiet Taka barely caught them. “A party. That should work.” Then, louder. “Our party. I will lead.”

The grim, resolute way Arthur’d said that aside, who said he was joining up with these two? Just because he’d met them a couple times today didn’t mean he wanted… and definitely not with that godawful noble!

At the mere notion of not being elected party leader, Beriyl began loudly protesting—but neither paid him any mind. Arthur met Taka’s level gaze.

“This must be fate, after all.” He said. “We’ve met many times today. Something greater is at play.”

Taka shook his head. “What are you talking about? And I never said-“

Arthur grunted.

“…It is more than a coincidence we three have met more than once today. Is that not odd to you?”

“I-“ Taka felt like he was being borderline confrontational. His weight shifting foot to foot, his next words were more defensive than he’d meant them to be. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about, what are, what... I don’t-… Look, I don’t want to be a part of any party that guy’s in, to be honest with you.“

“Me?!”

“Yeah, you’re annoying and rude. And-“

“Absurd! I, Beriyl Edmund Ciphre von Aschwaz, rude and annoying?! Poppycock!”

‘Poppy… what?’

“Stop.” There Arthur was again.

Taka leaned back a bit, collecting the sky in his eyes. “I mean, all right. To be honest, like, look, okay? In my opinion, yeah sure, it’s a little weird we keep running into eachother, but like… Yeah, sure, maybe something bigger or whatever is at play, but I don’t know, okay? I don’t know, and I’m practically starving to death, I really don’t feel good, and I just don’t wanna think about this right now, okay?”

“Hm. I see. Let’s go eat, then.”

Taka huffed. No matter what, these two wouldn’t leave him alone, and… Ugh. His head was starting to hurt, his skin clammy with cold sweat. That telltale sensation of sickliness billowed about in his body, an uncomfortable nausea building in his head.

Suddenly, he wobbled and almost fell over. Thankfully, Arthur steadied him with a hand.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Y- yeah, I just need to eat something.” Taka murmured, a hand on his forehead.

‘I do not feel very good.’

Arthur let him go, and almost immediately Taka fell to his knees, unable to support his own weight anymore.

“Oh, damn it, I really don’t feel good…”

It was too late. He’d waited far too long to eat, and now he was paying the price. His body was weak, cold, and trembling. His hands had begun to feel tingly and weird, electric almost.

Alarmed, Beriyl raced past Arthur and knelt down beside Taka.

“A- are you quite alright?!”

‘Is he actually worried about me? What the hell?’

“I thought you hated me, or something.” Taka managed between breaths, a wry, weak smile on his face. That was all he could muster the energy to do; talk, breathe. His body was too heavy, too weak to obey his commands; Like a block of solid iron was pressing down on him.

“I never said that.”

He could hardly keep his eyes open. Beriyl wouldn’t stop staring at him, and he looked kind of scary with how serious he was being, and so Taka let his eyelids fall. Listening to his body was far easier than defying it.

He remembered what Dane told him to do when this happened: just focus on breathing. Breathe. In, out. His chest rose and fell with each shallow breath.

“Don’t close your eyes.” Arthur’s voice was there, but… distant.

“Taka, are you alright?”

…

“Taka!”

“Yeah,” he managed to mumble, voice tinged with irritation.

What was it with these people? Why did they care so much? They didn’t even know him. Just because they’d run into each other several times that day, didn’t mean…

Yeah, sure, they’d helped him, but he found the noble insufferable and the tall man overbearing.

"I just need to… need to eat."

Just a minute. If he could be afforded just a single minute to catch his breath, he'd surely feel better.

‘I'm fine, I'm not dying, give me a minute! Stop fretting over me like I’m a damn baby or something!’

Thoughts like these ran through his mind, but he no longer possessed the strength to voice them. He was hot, but paradoxically cold. His hands surged with a thousand pins and needles—tired, hungry, weary, weak, cold, hot, sweaty…

This had always happened to him, and he’d never figured out why. He'd simply pushed himself too hard, too fast.

‘I'm fine,’ He thought, a voiceless answer to repeated questions.

‘Dammit. How annoying.’