The streets of Ironhall were more infested with the homeless than Ryan had initially thought, countless denizens lying on the ground, covering themselves with their ragged clothes and whatever they could plunder from the garbage. Oil lamps could be seen occasionally, lighting up the cobblestone path.

The gentle glow of the moon more than made up for the lack of it, placing it in the background. He looked around cautiously. There had been homeless people back at Deadrum, and he had his fair share of clashes with them. He avoided isolated alleys and those with a dead end as he navigated through the confusing cityscape, desperate to reach the border guards.

If there was any chance of him finding the general, he had to ask around. Asking the border guards was probably the best chance he had at it, and so he took that course of action. The area around the gate was mostly desolate except for the few gambling guards, slacking off on duty.

He walked up to the table lit by the glow of a candle, cards littering on the board. The lack of any weaponry on them reassured Ryan to a degree. There were some arrogant soldiers, after all.

“May I ask where the office of General Alex is?” He walked up to them, trying his best to imitate a noble.

An older guard, with a scar across his face turned to look at him. It was a large man and Ryan noted he was foolish to think a weapon could protect him from a veteran. The man pointed at a stone building in the center of the city, standing out from the rest.

“The office is there, but I’d bet on him roaming the streets at this very hour.” He said as he turned back to look at his cards. They seemed to be gambling small money, from the lack of chips on the board.

“Thanks for the information.” Ryan bowed his head and turned away to follow the directions. Checking was never wrong, and he never once thought to drop this habit of his.

The stone building at the center of the city most likely served as a training ground for new recruits, Ryan thought to himself as he hastened his pace. His breath turned to steam, surprising for an Autumn night in the Ruo Empire. This was the closest city to Esterio Empire, after all.

The clouds in the sky weren’t as kind to let the moonlight through, plunging the city to darkness. With nothing but the dull yellow glow to navigate him through the darkness, Ryan’s pace slowed down.

His ears perked up and he kept his left hand on his hilt rather casually. The cloak served to hide his weapon under its cover. The gentle breeze on Ryan’s face refreshed him, letting him go on at the late hour. It wasn’t a long time ago he had roamed the streets as well. With a shrug, he turned away from the unpleasant memories.

The uniform clay houses passed on and on, the only measure of distance the tall silhouette of the building. Thankfully the road seemed to curve at the direction of the building, letting him find his way through the darkness.

It wasn’t long before the cloud washed away with the assistance of the wind, revealing the surroundings for the first time in a while. Ryan’s eyes widened in surprise as he eyed the several men standing before him, led by a woman. If his eyes served right, they seemed to be the guards. Most likely a patrol team, Ryan thought to himself as he kept on walking.

The eyes of the guards seemed to be locked on him. He chuckled to himself. It was just his imagination. It was only when one had punched him in the gut he had realized they were indeed looking at him.

***

The first rays of light entered through the gap in the curtains, made by the blowing wind. The heavy blanket served its purpose of keeping the user away from the cold as Valerie found her head covered up by the object. With a yawn, she sat up on the bed, looking around the room. The plate on the table indicated that someone had already brought in the breakfast.

Ryan’s bed remained empty. Valerie put it to Ryan being in the restroom and proceeded by finishing her breakfast. His share of breakfast remained untouched, and Valerie started to worry that he had fallen into the waste hole.

“Ryan!” She said, checking if he was here, followed by several other calls for his name. An uncertain expression appeared on her face as she slowly opened the door to the restroom, finding it empty.

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Her eyes widened in shock as she pushed the door. It slowly creaked open. He had left sometime after letting the waitress in. But the fact that the door remained open caught her attention. He wasn’t the type to leave it unlocked.

She looked at the table and found the key on it. Her best guess was that he had been kidnapped and she had been left alone for an unknown reason. The first course of action that came into Valerie’s mind was: heading to the general’s office to let him free her companion.

She hated how she was so dependent in others to live. She closed her eyes and opened it after a few seconds.

‘I can talk. I can talk.’ She thought to herself as she grabbed the key and dressed up, combing her hair as quickly as she could, resulting in a shabby look. That’s what she needed. She quickly grabbed her rapier and placed it at her belt, leaving the room. Valerie descended the stairs, noticing the surprising lack of customers. The owner seemed to be absent too.

Surprising.

She moved on, exiting the tavern. And again, even as early as this, some pedestrians would be visible. The desolated surroundings gave Valerie an eerie feeling. This couldn’t be good.

“Did I oversleep through a battle warning? That can’t be. I’m a light sleeper.” She mumbled to herself while looking around for even the slightest sign of life. The first thought was reaching the castle in the middle of the city.

Contrary to her desperate search, she couldn’t even see a bird or stray animal. Her pace accelerated, soon reaching a full on sprint. Within minutes, she started panting as she stopped before the gigantic building.

She wasn’t used to prolonged exercises such as this.

She caught a movement out the corner of her eye, at a window on the highest floor. Valerie carefully eyed the window, making sure it wasn’t merely a curtain fluttering in the wind. It had no cover.

The girl hastily entered through the unguarded gate, filled with nothing but silence. It was when she had finally entered that she realized it was another city inside Ironhall, several houses, most likely dorms for the trainees, stood inside. Dozens of training dummies were lined up in what appeared to be a training field, giving her false hope.

Any living being other than herself would do. She didn’t want to be alone.

She walked around, trying to find the stairway leading to the highest floor. It wasn’t long before she found it in the most expected of places that had evaded her sight for the past few minutes. Valerie let out a deep sigh as she climbed up the wooden ladders leading up to the castle’s perimeters.

Her arms flailed from the activity, as she finally reached the top. The sound of speaking could be heard, a rather loud woman speaking.

“…what do you mean they aren’t here?!” She shouted, followed by a few weak whimpers. Valerie noticed a flash come out of the window. Her logical side confirmed that the speaker was a mage, pondering with the secret files or the like.

Thankfully the tower was built in such a way that one could pass to the other side by walking on a narrow path. She took up hiding there, awaiting those inside to come out. If her plain didn’t fail horribly, then she could possibly live.

Slowly, but surely, they left the tower. Valerie muffled her breath, using her hand as covers. She slowly moved back, making sure she wasn’t making any noise. Unfortunately, a stray stone caught up below her shoe, making a small noise.

She knew she had no hope in fighting mages that could walk on the air. Valerie was always one to read books, and she knew from that that these people were dangerous. Nearly no one had that much mana to casually use it.

The figure without a hood turned her head instantly, her shoulder-height hair blocking her view. As it settled down, only nothingness met her vision. The blonde haired woman gestured one of her followers to check the noise. Hopefully no strong mage would be here. She wasted two lives to get here, after all.

The red robed figure, the face covered in a hood, confidently walked to the narrow path. The figure walked through the narrow pathway, getting to the other side with no trouble. The moment the cultist turned to look for someone, their vision turned into blackness.

Valerie looked at her benefactors, a man and a woman, the latter wearing rather revealing clothes with sharp red and blue colors. Their magic seemed to be strong, easily erasing the other mage.

She opened her mouth to thank them, but her vision was filled with darkness as well.

Upon regaining her vision, she could see that the surrounding had changed to a luxurious room of sorts, filled with dozens of expensive furniture and masterpieces of art hanging on the wall. The green haired man had taken a seat before her, the woman standing behind.

“First up, I would like to ask how you were there.” The man said, staring at her eyes, leaving her no room for lies. Not that she needed to.

“When I woke up, I was all alone.” Valerie answered without faltering.

He turned around, looking at the woman, several streaks of red running through her hair.

“Looks like she’s not lying.”

“Who concludes an interrogation with a single question!” The woman shouted with a commanding voice as the man seemed to shrink down.

“But she’s not lying.” The man explained with a reassuring smile, seeming to enrage the woman even more.

“She has silver hair, for Anir’s sake. She’s clearly a spy from Rasut.” The woman said, shaking her head.

The man’s face turned serious once more, staring right at the girl’s eye.

“What is your name?”

“Valerie Bluewood.” She answered with a more relaxed expression, seeing as they wouldn’t harm her if her answer was correct.

“Bluewood? Never heard of it. Is she lying?” The woman asked, tapping her chin.

“Doesn’t seem so. Or she might have been brainwashed to believe it.” The man answered as he narrowed his eyes. “But what I’m sure of is that she has no connection with this incident.”

The man flicked his wrist as Valerie’s consciousness faded.