"GIA!!!"

I looked around and saw a small boy running towards me. 

It was Ishmael, my master's son.

He was around 10 years old and lived at the edge of the village with his father.

Master was once a great warrior and even became a war hero. 

But after his wife passed away from illness, he shut himself off from the world. 

He took his son and moved here in solitude, hoping to live the rest of his days in peace.

I heard that a skilled human lived around here and I sought him out. 

I didn't want to draw too much attention using my own strength. 

So, I learned how to use a sword from him. 

It took me a couple days of waiting outside their door before he decided to teach me. 

But now, I became apart of their lives. 

"Hmm?"

"Why are you just laying here? Dad said it's dangerous near the forest" 

Ishmael said as he peered over me. 

I smiled and sat up. 

I had closed my eyes and laid on the side of the hill in the meadow. 

"Why not? It's relaxing" 

"Aren't you scared of the monsters?" 

I laughed and ruffled his hair. 

"Don't worry, your dad taught me all his amazing skills so no monster will stand a chance"

"Dad also said not to get so full of yourself though" 

Ishmael frowned as he fixed his hair.

"Here, lay down next to me" 

"Huh!?" 

I pulled Ishmael down and we laid there with our arms spread out.

"When I lay here and close my eyes I can almost feel the forest. You know what I mean?" 

"No, but we should go soon" 

"You know, Ishmael, you remind me of my youngest brother. He would also run after me, telling me to be careful. I guess I

should've listened to him that day . . ." 

I never spoke about my family to master and Ishmael. 

I told them that I had been kidnapped from my family and was searching for a way home.

But they knew not to press me for more details. 

"Don't worry Gia, you have us now" 

Ishmael tried his best to reassure me. 

I thanked him and we walked back to the house.

----------------------------------------

I woke up in the mansion and was a little sad dreaming about simpler times.

I went in to the bathroom and washed my face. 

After I was done in the bathroom, I heard a knock at the door. 

"Every thing you requested, Miss Gia" 

"Thank you, Frederick" 

I took the package from Frederick and closed the door. 

A couple of minutes later, I had put on my new clothes. 

They weren't anything special, regular old leather armor and they fit me good enough.

I had some gold left from the bandits and that was all I kept from my old clothes. 

I checked the sword I was given and it was decent enough. 

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But it wasn't as good as something I could make. 

Hopefully it won't break if I use it too hard. 

After I walked out, I found Frederick waiting for me. 

He led me to Arthur who filled me in. 

"Here's a list of the people we need you to collect from as well as the addresses they wrote. We didn't notice anything

wrong until the bank branch in the lower district was found to be corrupt. So don't expect this to be simple" 

Arthur handed me a list as he led me to the back of the house.

"There's something you're not telling me" 

"I suspect that those people on the list may be connected. How so? I don't know, that's you're going to find out"

We exited through the back of the house and walked through a garden. 

Arthur stopped us at the side of what looked like a storage building. 

There hidden from everything, was a small carriage. 

"I'm not taking any chances. Official word is we couldn't hold you for anything concrete. Got it?" 

I nodded and got inside the carriage. 

"This carriage will take you to a alley in the middle district. From there you walk, nothing to it" 

Arthur closed the door and the driver took off. 

About an hour and a half later . . . 

I had all but confirmed Arthur's suspicions. 

I went to three different locations and all were fake. 

One was an empty lot.

Second place was a abandoned house. 

Last one was an inn. 

Something was really wrong with the one giving out these loans. 

There was also an entire page of these locations. 

I didn't know anything about the city so this wasn't going to go anywhere. 

So I decided to go to the inn. 

There was a pub there as well so I could hopefully get some more information from the locals. 

Just as I walked in, a man bumped in to me. 

"Watch it" 

He said rather hostilely. 

"!?" 

When he saw my face though, he was surprised for a second.

But then he hurried off in to the streets. 

I didn't think people were already afraid of me. 

I walked up to the counter of the bar and was met by a girl around 17. 

"Hey there how can I help you" 

She had her reddish brown hair in a single braided ponytail that hung around her shoulders. 

A bandana with the emblem of the inn, a green eagle, covered her head.

I decided to just go straight for it. 

"Hi, a Orville Hods wrote down this place as their residence for a loan? I'm here to collect it. So could you please help me

find him" 

The barkeep frowned and her eyes started to dart around. 

First they were on me and then they looked behind me. 

"I'm sorry but I've never heard of anyone by that name" 

"Are you sure?"

"Positive!" 

She said with a smile.

I smiled back. 

"Then you wouldn't mind if I looked around right?" 

During our little exchange, I noticed the place getting quieter and quieter. 

Suddenly I felt my wrist being grabbed back. 

"Excuse me, miss but could you please come with us?" 

I looked back and saw three stern looking men. 

Before I could even answer, I was already being pulled out in to the alley.