Though not as busy as it had been earlier in the day, the commercial district was still alive in the night, lit by crystals lining the cobblestone walking paths and torches attached to open storefronts. Even now, darkness was unable to reach the ground, leaving nowhere for a trio of thieves to hide as they stood with their backs to the wall of a dead-end backstreet, staring with wide eyes as one of them, a blue-haired man with a serpentine face, gripped a bag in one hand, his weapon arm shivering as he held a long knife up. “D-Don’t come any closer! We don’t want any trouble, this isn’t worth your time!”

“Y-Yeah, it’s just food! We didn’t take anything valuable!” added his mushroom-headed companion, his arms clutching a bundle of breadsticks. “We’re hungry, man! Be a little sympathetic!”

“Hey, hey, let’s not make him mad…Let’s just give it back, it’s not worth dying over…” the third thief said, before the three let out a collective squeak as the man blocking the exit to the alley moved a gloved hand to the ornately decorated sheath at his hip.

“If you need food, then it is always freely given at the soup kitchens near the Poor District.” the man said, his voice soft as he stepped forward. He frowned as the two smaller thieves yelped, jumping up into the unarmed third one’s arms as he pressed his back against the wall. “Ah, my apologies. I truly didn’t intend to frighten you.” The redhead’s eyes closed as he gave a bright smile, raising his hands and opening his hands to expose his palms in a reassuring manner. “I’m not on duty right now, I was just curious what you were doing.”

“Y-You don’t just show up without reason!” the snake-like man said, waving the knife forward. “You’re the legendary Sword Saint able to destroy nations if you wanted! What did we do to attract you, Reinhard van Astraea?!”

Reinhard sighed, facing down with a partial bow before waving his hand to beckon them closer. “Does my rank prevent me from enjoying a nice nighttime stroll? I truly have no quarrel with you, but if you’re stealing, then I am duty-bound to ask that you return the goods to their proper owner. I hardly am a true threat to you, and I promise that I won’t report your behavior if you quietly comply.”

As he talked, he stepped closer, keeping the pleasant expression on his face and the gentle tone of his voice, before he blinked, frowning as his eyes opened and he suddenly turned to look off into the distance, his hand resting on his sword’s handle.

“Screw this, a little food’s not worth getting killed by this monster!” the mushroom boy said, and his friends agreed, dropping the bags onto the ground and bolting around him as he stood still, ignoring their escape as he hummed to himself.

“It’s the same as yesterday...” he said to himself, before blinking, his mind returning to his surroundings as his eyes trailed over the bag, having opened when it hit the ground and now spilling fruits onto the stone. He sighed, kneeling to pick up an appa and inspect the skin. “At least they’re undamaged. I hope the shopkeeper doesn’t mind that they may be a little dirty.”

Having lost the trail of the trio, he stood up, gingerly carrying the food as he headed back into the street.

The metallic accessories of his sword and coat glittered in the muted lights, and he blinked as he was stopped by a small hand grabbing his belt from the side, finding himself facing a beastman child who grinned up at him.

“Are you a human, Mister?” the little girl said, her mother tugging at her other arm with shock as she stared at the man.

“Heida, leave the man alone! You shouldn’t bother knights, I’ve told you this!” the woman said, wildly shaking her head as she pulled the girl away. “I’m sorry, sir, she hasn’t learned to be polite, and we’re from a village with no humans, so-”

“It’s not a problem, ma’am.” he stated, kneeling in front of the youngster and setting a hand to pat the top of her head, a warm smile on his face as he made eye contact. “This must be a special trip to the capital. How are you liking it?”

The girl tilted her head at the contact, before laughing and waving her small hands above her head. “It’s pretty and there’s so many people! But the dragons are mean, one of them bit me when I tried to pet it!”

“Haha, you shouldn’t bother them while they’re working. Earth dragons don’t appreciate it when strangers touch them without permission. I’ve had a few nips as well, you really should treat them more as demihumans than as animals.”

The woman put her hands on Heida’s shoulders to shuffle her a few steps back, squatting to lift her in her arms. “I know having one of us come up to you must be troublesome, so please forgive her.”

Reinhard stood up, shaking his head as he laughed. “I will give you the same respect as anyone else. Species is immaterial.”

The woman nodded with a bewildered expression on her furry face, before quickly turning to continue walking as Heida waved from her seat in her arms. “Bye-bye, Mister Knight!”

Reinhard simply gave a flick of his hand as a farewell before he too continued on his path, the duo quickly disappearing into the throng of people.

Thanks to a logo printed onto the bag the thieves had stolen, it was a simple task to find the stall they had come from, and the knight fell into place in the short line as a lizardman tended to the customers ahead of him. While he waited, his eyes wandered in the direction of the Poor District where he’d felt the burst of magic earlier, humming as he pondered the situation.

“I should probably investigate that.” he said to himself, idly stepping forward as the line shrank.

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“Well, you can play knight somewhere else. Not in front of my store.” the vendor grumbled, tapping the wood counter in front of him to get Reinhard’s attention.

“Hm? Oh! My apologies.” Out of habit, the man bowed, carefully keeping the food balanced in his hands. “I came to return these. A few thieves stole them earlier.”

The demihuman made a tch sound in his throat, narrowing his eyes as he held his cheek up with a tired fist. “I’ve had enough trouble from humans today. Thank you for returning it, but if you aren’t buying anything, then don’t hold up my line.”

As Reinhard set the produce down onto the counter and the lizardman started to check the condition, another human from nearby stepped over, jabbing a thumb in Reinhard’s direction with an angry look. “Hey, why are you serving him but not anyone else?!”

“Humans are maddening, but it would be even more troublesome to bar the Sword Saint. Become a national treasure or whatever and I’ll give you a few bokko nuts for your trouble.” The man’s eyes rolled to Reinhard, and he let out a long exhale. “Not that this guy would need them, anyway.”

“Forgive me for impeding your business. That’s all I came for.” the redhead stated, unbothered by the thinly veiled insults as he stepped aside, wiping his gloves together to cast off the few crumbs from holding onto the breadsticks. “Now, then, I suppose I can’t delay myself any longer.”

The strange feeling he had gotten twice in two days now wasn’t something particularly worrisome, but it was unusual that it happened in the capital without the city guards being notified. It made sense if it was in the outskirts of the city, where security was weak, so that was the direction he headed in.

The crowds noticeably thinned through a combination of darkening skies and his path taking him through increasingly unpopulated areas, until he found himself plodding along the dilapidated terrain of the slums, the stone and wood structures of the upper districts melting away into small ramshackle hovels quickly constructed out of spare parts from a nearby scrapyard. As he walked, he spotted a few tired residents watching him, though they didn’t approach, leaving him to move in relative silence as the poor conditions even dulled the shine of his uniform this far from the city proper.

In the quiet that fell over his path, his ears could pick up sounds from farther away, and his footsteps grew lighter as he started on a faster pace, his hand on his sword as he heard the distinct sounds of people urgently ordering each other over the noise of wood being lifted and sawed through.

As the knight crossed over a raised plot of land, he was in sight of the area, and he found a team of slum residents working to clean up the collapsed wall of a shop, and as his eyes scanned the zone, he noticed two people lying on the ground, surrounded by others helping a silver-haired elf in healing them, several spirits dancing in the air around the mana she generated.

The giant was in poor condition, but it seemed she had done what she could to heal his injuries already, and she was now focusing on a blond boy with an open chest wound. A collapsed wall couldn’t explain those injuries, his hunch seemed to have been correct.

As he approached, he cleared his throat so that he wouldn’t surprise the people present as he knelt to observe the giant’s arm, which had been temporarily reattached with boards and rope. “This isn’t just a typical injury. Lady Emilia, what happened here?”

The girl jolted in surprise as she heard his voice, her purple eyes widening as she looked up at him. “R-Reinhard?! Why have you come here?”

“I’m sorry, but I dallied on my way here. If I made haste, I could have prevented this.”

Emilia shook her head, frowning as she glanced at the store. “We were attacked by the Bowel Hunter. She’s inside, being guarded by a friend of ours. Tell Felt that you’re here to help.”

Reinhard nodded, standing up and making his way through the path that had been cleared by other residents, stepping onto the uneven flooring and peering inside. The whole place had been turned upside-down, all the furniture broken and merchandise scattered on the floor. His attention was caught, however, by the sight of a woman lying on the floor, a knife embedded in the back of her skull as a blonde girl stood facing her.

“So, this is the Bowel Hunter’s identity.” he said, and the girl squeaked, twisting to face him as her hand raised, a green glow on her arm as she scowled at him.

“Who are you?!” Her voice was high, but she was clearly dirty and exhausted from the fight, in no shape to actually do anything had he really been an enemy. As he knelt and moved his hand over the woman, his arm was slapped back by her knee, and he turned his head to look up at her. “She’s not dead, don’t do anything to free her! She’s some kind of vampire, she kept coming back to life no matter what we did!”

“Vampire...Ah, a Cursed Doll?” the knight asked, shaking his head slowly. “She has been a menace to the Royal Guard as well. You and your friends have done an excellent job in subduing her.” He passed his hand over the woman’s face, narrowing his gaze as her eyes followed his motion. “She actually has survived such a blow...I see that her own weapon was used against her.”

“Why are you so calm? You’re creepy.” Felt said, and he chuckled, standing up and holding a hand out to her.

“I am a knight of the Royal Guard, Reinhard van Astraea. Now that I’m aware of this, allow me to have your injured companions transported. I am acquainted with Lady Emilia, I can personally escort you to her mansion.”

“Another thorn to show up now? I already made a deal with her, we don’t owe each other anything!”

The man’s eyes turned up in a hesitant laugh, confused by the statement. “I don’t know what happened here, but she is not the sort of woman to simply leave someone to suffer. Even if I left, she would bring someone else to aid.”

The girl faltered, gritting her teeth as she glanced over at Elsa. “I have to guard her until that half-devil’s done healing the old man and Ford.”

“I can take up that duty for you. While my skill with a sword is unmatched, I unfortunately lack magic. You would be more useful than me, and their injuries are time-sensitive. I wouldn’t want anyone who helped in the Bowel Hunter’s capture to lose their lives after the fact.”

“Is Elsa some kind of well known assassin or something? Why did nobody recognize her before?” the girl asked, and Reinhard hummed, scratching his chin as he considered the question.

“Her attacks are known for being gruesome, but she is careful to ensure she has no witnesses. The only things that were known were what her preferred weapons look like, as she sometimes will leave them behind if they’ve become damaged. To be frank, even her gender was not known before now. So, her name is Elsa…” He gave a bright smile as his hand moved to pat Felt’s head. “You have done exceptionally, well above what is expected of a normal citizen. Even if she cannot be killed, her capture will put the minds of many at ease. Now, please, allow us knights to do our part.”

Felt’s face flushed at the contact and his praise, and she squinted, before shouting as she waved her hands in the air and jumped back, her feet lightly landing on the floor behind her as she turned to the hole in the wall. “I’m just going to make sure Ford is okay! If she wakes up again, you’d better have a basis for that confidence!”

As she jumped out of the store, Reinhard hummed, before reaching into his coat to pull out a communication metia.