Chapter 50
Something Worth Fighting For
It had been a couple of days since Erin had her meeting with the mysterious shadowy figure. After she had talked with him, the redhead had started to focus on preparing for her journey to meet with The Five Overlords one by one.
However, this was unknown to Erin’s friends, who just noticed a strange change in her attitude. She suddenly became more serious and focused, not letting herself get distracted by anything. The redhead was practicing the use of her sword and magical abilities a lot more, to the point that she would at times almost pass out from exhaustion. And when she wasn’t practicing her combat abilities, Erin would be working with Lexton in the city, trying to earn some money.
Even if they didn’t show it, all three of Erin’s friends couldn’t help but be concerned about her behavior. As far as they knew, the redhead’s battles were over with the death of Lune, so they didn’t understand why she was pushing herself in such a manner. Despite their concerns, Arkay and Lexton decided not to bother their friend over it. The cat boy was too shy and intimidated to speak with Erin about it, while Lexton felt that it wasn’t his place to question her actions.
This left only one person who could take their concerns up to Erin. Ryle, who didn’t hold back at all, when she finally decided to confront the redhead.
“Hey, Erin, you mind talking with me a bit?” the blonde asked, as she walked up to the redhead, who was in the middle of practicing her swordsmanship. “Or are you too busy trying to kill yourself through exhaustion?”
“I can spare a moment to talk,” Erin replied, putting her sword away for the time being. “Also, I’m not trying to kill myself. I’m just trying to improve a bit.”
“Yeah. Say that to me when you haven’t almost passed out from exhaustion close to a dozen times,” Ryle said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. “Seriously, what has gotten into you? I could understand you doing this before, since we were going after Lune and all, but this is crazy! I get that it’s a tough world out there, but you can ease up a bit! It’s almost like you’re preparing to fight the devil himself or something!”
“...Somehow I don’t think that’s too far from the truth,” the redhead muttered almost inaudibly, but the blonde managed to catch it.
“Excuse me? Are you for real?” Ryle asked. “What the hell are you trying to do?”
“Tell me something, Ryle. Has there ever been something in your life that you were willing to risk everything in order to achieve?” Erin asked. “Some goal that you could happily give your life for without a second thought?”
Ryle was a bit taken aback by this sudden question, but she soon found her answer. Her mind went to her younger brother and the kids back at the slums. Her family that was no longer in this world.
“...I did have that once,” the blonde answered in a solemn tone. “But I’ve lost it now. I’m honestly not sure what my goal is anymore.”
“Whether you have it or not, you should be able to understand me a bit better. You should understand that I need to do anything I can to achieve my goal. And one of the things I need to do is get as strong as possible as fast as I can,” Erin said as she walked past Ryle, stopping momentarily next to the blonde in order to say one more thing. “I hope you find your reason to move forward as well.”
“Just what are you trying to do?” Ryle asked, as the redhead was walking away. “What is pushing you onward so much?”
“...I’ll tell you in a couple of days,” Erin answered. “And not just you, but Arnie and Lexton as well. I want to tell all of you about what I’m going to do.”
Despite wanting to know what the redhead was talking about, the blonde decided to let it go for now. After all, she would eventually find out about it along with Arkay and Lexton.
With nothing better to do, Ryle decided to head to the city and spend some time there. Thanks to the work she had been doing in helping Lexton sell his medicines, she had a nice amount of spare money to use and there were quite a few places that would like to have her as a customer.
Once she made her way to the market district of the city, Ryle began to put her money to good use. First, she decided to have a nice lunch at a steakhouse, before getting some dessert at an ice cream shop. Finally, she decided to finish her day at an arcade by playing a few games.
The blonde was whistling a happy tune, as she was sucking on a lollipop she had won at the arcade’s claw machine. As she was skipping along the road, she happened to notice a familiar feline companion of hers walking out of a nearby bookstore. A small grin spread across her face, as she decided to play a little prank on her young friend by sneaking behind him. Arkay was so absorbed in one of the books he had bought that he never noticed Ryle, until she suddenly put her hands on his side and began to tickle him.
“Gotcha!” the blonde cheered happily, as she commenced her stealthy tickle assault, causing Arkay to burst out in laughter. “You got taken by the Great Tickler! Your sides are never safe around her!”
“R-R-Ryle!?” the cat boy managed to say through his laughter. “W-What brings y-you here!?”
“I’d like to ask the same thing from you!” Ryle said, finally letting go of Arkay, so he could catch his breath. “I had no idea you were in the city. Had you told me, I would have invited you to come along with me! It would have been a good time!”
“Sorry about that. I only needed to come here for a short moment to check some bookstores and I wasn’t sure if anyone was going to be interested in that,” the cat boy explained. “Erin has been very determined to learn more about magic, so I thought about getting some books that might help her in that regard.”
“Books about magic? Weren’t those banned?” the blonde asked. “How could this place be selling such things to just about anybody?”
“Well, I didn’t exactly buy magic books. What I bought were memoirs written by known magicians,” Arkay began to explain. “You see, a lot of magic users are scholars at heart that spend a lot of time studying magic and how to utilize it in different manners. While not directly focused on their work in regards to magical studies, I think these books could still have some hints in regards to magic, if you look close enough.”
“Not a bad idea, but do you think you’ll find anything useful in them?” Ryle asked. “After all, wouldn’t the government officials have pulled any books that could be used in such a manner off the shelves already?”
“Not necessarily. There are numerous cases when books containing “banned material” end up in the hands of regular citizens. This is due to the offices responsible for checking such material being rather lazy in their work,” the cat boy said. “One of the best examples of this is a book called “The Five Stooges.” It was seen as simply a comedic story about five goofy characters and it quickly became a hot seller after being released. However, what the people responsible of inspecting it failed to realize was that it was actually a story that heavily parodied and criticized The Five Overlords themselves.”
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“...Woah. Talk about a major screw up,” the blonde said with a chuckle. “I’m going to assume the big guys on top weren’t exactly pleased about that?”
“Not in the least. As soon as this blunder was discovered, all the people in the office that had let that book get published were publicly executed, along with many others that had a hand in distributing it. Not only that, but it was made illegal to possess the book at all and being caught carrying it would land you a hefty prison sentence,” Arkay answered. “The police were mobilized to confiscate all the books that hadn’t been sold yet, which were then burned. Most people who bought it got rid of it in fear of being punished by the authorities, but a some copies still exist. I’ve heard they sell very well in underground auctions and other such deals.”
“...Wow. To think one book could cause such damage,” Ryle said with a nervous chuckle. “I’m going to guess that the author himself got wrecked pretty hard as well?”
“Actually, the author was never discovered,” the cat boy replied. “While the person who submitted the book to the publisher was caught, they were soon discovered to be nothing but a local crook that had been paid to do it. The actual author himself knew that he would face severe consequences over what he had written, so he made sure to cover his tracks. Several other written works later appeared under the same pen name he had used, all criticizing the government and other authorities. He hasn’t released anything for some time now, so it’s unknown whether he was finally caught or if he has simply stopped writing. All sorts of theories exist about him, but nothing has ever been confirmed.”
“Considering the things he has done, he probably doesn’t want his identity to ever be discovered,” the blonde said. “By the way, you mentioned that he used a pen name. What was it?”
“...Ulik Dix,” Arkay replied with an embarrassed blush on his face.
“...Seriously?”
“I assume that he wanted to see just how bad the people behind censoring books truly were. Publishers apparently thought it was an orc name.”
The two of them continued walking for some time, talking about all sorts of mundane things. Ryle was greatly enjoying Arkay’s company. The cat boy might have been very shy and cautious, but he was a really good and kind person. She had also seen herself that if he needed to, he could be very brave even if it put his own life at risk. All in all, Arkay was someone that she could greatly rely on, like her brother.
Thinking about her now deceased younger brother saddened Ryle. While she knew that he had betrayed Erin, which had then led to the deaths in the slums as well as his own, Zeke had done so out of worry for Ryle. He had just wanted to make sure his only living family wouldn’t be lost due to her dangerous profession. Unfortunately, he had not expected Lune to stab him in the back.
Now that she had avenged her brother’s death, Ryle had to wonder what was next for her? In the short time she had been hanging around with Erin, Arkay and Lexton, she had gotten very used to their presence. If she was completely honest with herself, she didn’t want it to end. Not just because she deeply cared for her companions, but because there wasn’t really anything else out there for her.
But now that they all had achieved their common goal, were they going to keep sticking together?
“I should probably leave now,” Arkay suddenly said, breaking the blonde out of her thoughts.
“W-What?” Ryle asked, somewhat shocked of what the cat boy had said.
“I want to look through some of the books I bought and possibly find some of the more important parts in them that could help in learning more about magic,” Arkay answered, having not noticed the slight panic in his friend’s voice. “That way, both Erin and I will have an easier time in our studies.”
“O-Oh… That sounds like a good plan,” Ryle said as she let out a small sigh of relief.
“Yeah. I guess I’ll see you later then,” the cat boy said as he began to walk away, only to stop suddenly and turn back to the blonde. “Oh! I almost forgot! I managed to find this as well!”
Arkay dug through his bag and took out one of the books he had bought, which he then handed to Ryle.
“It’s the autobiography of a famous martial artist that knew how to use ki. I don’t know much about it, but I thought you might be able to find something out of it,” the cat boy explained, before leaving. “See you later!”
Ryle couldn’t help but smile at the kind gesture from her young friend. While she would have never thought about using books as a way to get stronger, she still appreciated that someone cared about her enough to do something like this for her.
Putting the book in her pocket, the blonde began to go her own way, but decided to give one last look at Arkay. It was then that she noticed something that immediately set off alarm bells in her head.
In a nearby alley were two people watching Arkay from the shadows. Ryle quickly recognized both of them thanks to her previous encounters with them. One of them was Luxley, the fox person that Arkay used to sell the items he had stolen as the Midnight Thief. The other one was Garza, the female orc Ryle had beaten at the fight pit.
While the blonde would normally not bother sparing a thought at either of the two, the fact that they were watching over Arkay was something she couldn’t ignore. There was something about it that spelled danger in her head, so she was going to make sure that nothing bad would actually happen.
Almost as if to strengthen her fears, the two suspicious people followed after Arkay by moving through the nearby dark alleys, trying to stay hidden. Ryle in turn followed the two of them by moving through the same alleys, making sure to never get discovered by them.
After getting close enough to eavesdrop on the two, Ryle heard that they were talking. What she heard made her blood boil.
“So when are we going to move and take him away?” Garza asked while eyeing the unsuspecting Arkay. “I’m starting to get tired of this sneaking around crap.”
“Not yet. There are way too many people around,” Luxley replied. “While you can often get away with pretty much anything in this city by giving enough money to the right person, it might not work always. Not to mention, I’d like to avoid spending money needlessly.”
“All I want is to get back at that bitch who ruined my reputation,” the female orc growled. “I was on my way to become one of the biggest champions ever and that damn bimbo hanging around that kid ruined everything. One bad fight and all of it was gone! I want some goddamn payback!”
“I get it already. No need to keep telling me the same thing over and over,” the fox woman said as she rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I’ve never understood that “fighter’s honor” junk. All I’m looking towards is my big paycheck that will finally allow me to retire. Most of my business was done by selling things stolen by the Midnight Thief. Now that it seems like that’s about to end, I might as well sell the person himself to someone for a good price.”
“I’m still getting my cut from the deal, right?” Garza asked. “While I care about my honor and pride, I still have a rent to pay.”
“Yes, you will get your cut!” Luxley replied in a frustrated tone. “Now follow me! He’s about to enter an area that isn’t all that active. We can grab him there.”
Ryle felt rage course through her veins upon hearing the plans of the two women. She wasn’t going to let them go through with it and was going to make sure that the two people planning to abduct her young friend were going to pay for it.
A bit later, all four people were in the area where the planned kidnapping was supposed to happen. Arkay was still unaware of the two people following him, who in turn didn’t know about Ryle following them.
“Alright. There’s no one else around,” Luxley said with a smirk on her face. “Once I give you the signal, I want you to walk out there and grab him. Got it?”
“Got it,” Garza said in response with a smirk of her own.
The orc didn’t notice a certain blonde brawler sneaking up behind her.
“Okay, he should be at the right place… Now! Get him!” Luxley whispered to the orc that was behind her, only for nothing to come of it. Seeing her partner not move according to their plan, the fox lady turned around with a furious look on her face. “What the hell are you waiting for!? You need to-!”
All the anger soon disappeared from Luxley, along with the color on her face, upon seeing just who was behind her. Standing there was Ryle, staring down at the fox with a cold look in her eyes, as Garza laid against a nearby wall with her head twisted around in an unnatural way.
Before Luxley could utter even a single sound, a strong hand clamped over her mouth, silencing her. She was then quickly pulled into a tight hold, as Ryle hid herself and the fox lady from view. The two of them stayed silent, as Arkay walked past them, completely unaware of what had just happened.
image [https://i.ibb.co/YRz9R8W/Ch-50-Pic-1.jpg]
Once the cat boy had gone far enough, Ryle turned her attention towards Luxley, who was trembling in fear. The fox knew better than to even attempt at fighting back. If this person was strong enough to take out Garza that easily, there was nothing she could do to save herself. In fact, fighting back could anger her attacker further, which was the last thing she wanted. All Luxley could do was hope that she could get a chance to somehow bargain for her life.
“You know, I almost should be grateful for you. You know why?” Ryle said in a calm tone that only served to further terrify Luxley. “I was honestly a bit confused about myself and where I was going, you see? Then I see the two of you stalking Arnie and the answer to my issues becomes so clear. It’s funny how you can find good things in the weirdest of places, huh?”
Luxley had no idea what the blonde brawler was talking about, but it didn’t matter. If she could figure out what Ryle’s issue was, she was certain she could make an offer of some kind. A person such as herself had her ways of getting her hands on things that many desired and needed, so she was certain a deal could be made.
“However, I still can’t forgive either of you for what you were about to do. I’m going to need to protect Arnie from the nastiest scum in the world and that obviously includes you,” Ryle said with a hint of anger, causing Luxley to start panic and attempt to escape in vain. “So go to hell!”
In a single quick motion Ryle twisted Luxley’s neck. A crack was heard, before the fox woman went limp and lifeless.
With the two people that had been stalking Arkay now dead, Ryle could return to her friends knowing that they wouldn’t be in danger from them.
The blonde brawler now knew what she wanted to do. She might have lost her family from before, but she had gained a new one in the friends she had made. And she was going to make sure that she wouldn’t lose them, no matter what.