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Carlyle and Allan were waiting nearby with a large group of guards and adventurers. The city guards numbered twenty four and the adventurers thirty eight. With the group were also five imperial knights. Since some nobles were attending the empire sent the imperial guards to bring them back to the court and pass judgement.

They waited there for what seemed like forever. The inexperienced city guards were nervous and stayed very stiff. The adventurers, who were all B+ rank, calmly sat and waited for the signal. The imperial knights just stood still.

*ROAR*

*-ckle*

From the outside Carlyle and the raiders could hear it, the sound of battle. If they could hear it from out here, then the people attending could definitely hear it as well. The signal wasn't given yet but they couldn't ignore what was happening inside anymore. Allan looked at Carlyle, Carlyle nodded.

"Let's go, do not harm the party goers."

Following his command the group of men charged. They broke through the front gate and defeated the auction guards, more roars could be heard coming from inside. The attendees ran right into the raiding group, the first people who came were caught right away, those who saw them being captured desperately tried to leave through the back.

Carlyle and Allan were not worried about that at all, they had already left some men to stop any stragglers. 

The two watched as the group of adventurers, guards, and knights did their jobs. They could only hope that the slaves weren't being used as hostages. Although the mission stated that their job was to rescue the slaves, Carlyle and Allan knew what the empire really wanted.

They wanted to get rid of the nobles who opposed the human elf slave ban. Of course, the auction wouldn't be enough to deal a large blow to the influential ones but it would certainly be a step in the right direction.

While watching the scene of people being wrestled down before them, they heard a high pitched scream. The group assumed it came from one of the captured women but were baffled as to why it sounded so quiet. Carlyle and Allan looked at each other. They both knew what that scream was.

Both of them started sprinting to where Rainen, and the others would've entered.

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Henry heard the sounds of battle and went towards the sound. Horrible scenarios kept appearing in his mind. For Anne to summon a beast that would give away the mission she must be fighting against strong opponents. He back tracked through all the rooms he had been through, the bodies of the unconscious guards laid strewn about.

Henry busted through the door which he left the other two. Inside of the room were twenty people. Laying against the wall was Rainen. The people inside pointed swords at him. Henry went to pull out the dagger but took a closer look at them, they had no clothes and looked tired. He held his hands up.

"Don't worry about me, I'm with that guy over there." he pointed to Rainen. "What happened to him?"

"We don't know. He doesn't look to be hurt other than the wound in his hand." a thin elf responded.

"I'll take a look at him, you guys should get out of here." he knelt down by Rainen and started unraveling the cloth. "The guards outside should be gone. We have a few buddies out there, if you meet them they'll take you to safety. I'll need one or two of you to stay behind and carry him out after I examine him."

"What are you going to do after that?" a man asked.

"I'll look for my other companion." he moved Rainen's hand around. "Okay, take him out of here and tell the guys that are waiting that he's been poisoned."

A few of the people looked upset.

"W-will he die?" a woman asked.

The atmosphere in the room grew heavy as they waited for his response.

"...I doubt it." Henry shook his head. "I don't know much about poisons but it seems to be harmless."

The room returned back to normal.

"We'll take him. We heard noises from that way." The two men pointed to the hallway opposite of Rainen's.

He already knew this but nodded.

"I'll leave him to you guys."

He had faith that they wouldn't just leave their savior behind. Henry ran off into the hallway with only Anne on his mind.

Halfway there he heard a deafening scream. His whole body froze at the sound, he pulled out his dagger and started running again. He knew that Anne hated using her ability, he also knew what was needed to make it work.

"Hold on, I'm coming." he said under his breath.

He pushed through multiple doors, never stopping or stumbling. As he reached for another handle, it opened. Two people crashed into each other, both falling to the ground.

"A-Anne are you okay?" he helped her to her feet.

She stared at him, the tears were almost falling from her eyes. She stood up and wiped them away.

"Yeah." she said dejectedly. "We gotta go."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the exit.

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I open my eyes. The sky is dark and the stars fill the sky. Light shines through the windows at the top of the building.

"HU!"

I sit up. Where am I? I was just at the auction. I look around, the place is familiar.

"You awake kid?"

Ahhhh, lines that I've heard before. Yep, I know where I am now. Leaning against a pillar, Carlyle reads a decorated book with one hand and spins a knife with the other.

"What happened?" I ask getting up.

"You were poisoned." he keeps throwing the knife in the air.

"I mean, how did the mission go? Did we lose anyone?"

I throw my hands up. A sharp pain runs through my left hand. The old bandages were taken off and replaced.

"It was a success. Except for the fact that the person who was hosting the auction got away. The others are just fine, and only a few guards were hurt." he puts the knife into its scabbard. "Before you ask, the others already left. I told them that I would watch over you."

I wonder if they would've tried to unmask me. I sure Hannah would try to. I'm also glad that I was the only one who was hurt during the mission.

"How long was I out for?" I turn my head up.

"Eight hours."

"Eight hours!? Did you guys check my wound for poison?"

"Yeah." he closes his book. "We applied some detox magic to make its effect weaker. It wasn't poisonous but it would've put you out of action for at least a day without help."

"I see. Well, thanks." I rub my head. "I'm gonna get going now."

"Bye. Come back tomorrow for your reward.

"Kay. Bye." I stop. "Did you find a girl with red hair in a cell?" I ask.

"No we didn't. Why?"

"She was the one who attacked me."

"I see. I'm sorry but we couldn't find her."

"It's fine. Bye."

I walk out of the warehouse leaving Carlyle to his book.

By the time I changed back into my casual wear and made it back to the dorm the sun was already up. I wonder how I'll explain this big cut on my hand to those at school. Maybe I should say that I was attacked in an alley but made it back with only a stab wound in my hand. Yeah, that'll turn out real great.

Needless to say the only one who'll actually ask is Axel. I'm sure he'll take my word for it.

But a reward huh. I don't know what I'd use it for other than buying the essentials. Maybe I should get another knife or something. Maybe I should get a potion this time and put it into my bracers. I'll be giving up a knife or a smoke bomb for it but it could prove useful, like on that poison.

I scan my room. It's the same as I left it yesterday. A few books lay on the nightstand next to the lantern, the bed is made, and the closet is slightly open. I stretch my arms and put my black clothing down, I'll wash them after I take a bath.

I slip my clothes off and go into the bathroom.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

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I rub my hands together as I exit my room. My hands are pruney from the bath and scrubbing my clothes, it's also kinda cold out here. I like it cold but my hands, feet, and ears don't share the same sentiment.

The sun is still rising, a few other people are out of their rooms. Some lean on the rails while chatting with a neighbor, others yell to those on the other side. A few of them are dressed as if it were a normal summer day, like me, while some are clothed from head to toe and their teeth are chattering.

Fall really is one of the stranger seasons, I can't exactly tell if it'll be warm today or cold.

"HEY! RAINEN!"

I don't even need to look to know who it is.

"LET'S GO DO A QUEST TODAY!" Axel waved at me.

Drawing too much attention man.

I nod and go to the stairs. I can feel the eyes of other students on me. I haven't really got to know the other students yet but I'll have to interact with them when we move onto the classes like summoning.

Miss Ein talked to us about it before but never went in depth.

By the way, I'm only on the second floor. The second and first years occupy the first three floors. Going down and up the stairs from the top wouldn't be too challenging for me but I wonder how the others do it. They're magicians so they should have a harder time, unless they know flight magic that is.

Along the way I bump into a few people, many don't seem to care and others make it seem like I've greatly offended them. I've gotten used to the glares some of them give me, I can't really guess why though. I highly doubt that these guys were friends with that noble who beat up the Malburk.

I sit down in one of the lobby chairs.

"Sorry bout that." Axel walks up to me. "Let's go."

I follow him out the door.

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We didn't do much. The quest was fairly simple, we were to gather a few plants. Axel had hoped that we would encounter some monsters on the way but I knew better. The place that we were headed to was a hill by one of the nearby villages. It would be unlikely that people would build a village near monsters.

We were supposed to pick 200 Jarkul flowers, plants that were used in ow level mana potions. The reward were some of those potions and a few copper coins. I've seen a few of them in my time but I've never tried to pick them.

Turned out that they're quite hard to take out. Axel got tired and said, "GAH! I'm gonna go get some help." he left and didn't return until a few minutes later. The guy returned with a bunch of village kids, he told them that we, adventurers, needed their help with a quest.

They were happy to assist us. We gathered a few more flowers than was needed but it worked out. The kids seemed to have a good time with us. Axel showed them some attack magic on me, which I blocked with a barrier.

I wonder if Aisha's read the letter yet. Maybe she doesn't even want to converse with me over letters. No, the letters take two weeks to arrive, I'm sure she's sent one.

I gave Axel one of my two mana potions and he gave me two copper coins. Guess he doesn't want to owe me anything.

The rest of the day passed by quickly.

By sundown I was already walking to the warehouse.

I open the door. Everyone's waiting for me.

"Now that the thirteenth's here I'll give you guys your share of the money." Carlyle handed a pouch to Allan. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

"Thanks." Garret said.

"...Thanks."

Anne just stared at the money in her hand. Garret and Henry glanced over at her a few times.

Why is she like that? Did something happen when I was out? She doesn't look to be hurt.

"Thirteenth." Carlyle tossed the bag of coins to me.

"Thanks." I say as I catch it midair.

"Thirteenth, you and Anne will be patrolling today." Allan says.

"Okay." I say.

Anne nods.

"Thirteenth, if you don't want to do it tonight I'll trade with you."

I look over to Garret who asked the question. I'm sure he thinks that I haven't noticed his concern for Anne but I do. He keeps glancing over at her.

Something happened that I'm not aware of, something definitely happened.

"No, I'll do it. No worries."

Anne heads out the door, saying nothing as she walks past me, her eyes empty.

Garret walks over to me.

"You probably don't know this but..." he paused for a bit. Unsure maybe? "Anne, she lost her pet- no, her friend in a battle yesterday."

It makes sense now, that's something I know quite well.

"I'd like to talk to her, so could you trade places with me?

This is the first time he's spoken so much. How long have these two known each other?

"What is she to you?" I look him straight in the eye.

"She's my oldest friend."

"So because she's the oldest person that's your friend you're going to worry about her?"

"Now's not the time for jokes." his voice grows harsh.

"I know. It's just that I don't think she needs someone worrying about her so much. I have a feeling that she won't say anything to you."

Garret's face is a mix of confusion and anger.

"We've been friends for a long time, thirteenth. She'll-"

I stop him there.

"It's because your friends that she'll brush you off." he knits his eyebrows. "She's already done it right?"

"...Yeah. But I still want to help her out."

"Are you two more than friends?"

"We are, but not lovers." he says firmly.

"I see, then I'll go."

"I've known her longer."

"And that's why you'll have a harder time turning her around. Someone... someone like her won't just let it out because someone they know is trying to help them. They'll turn them away because they know that they can. If a stranger like me goes to help her she might be more willing."

"That doesn't make any sense at all!" he says almost shouting.

"Have you ever been helped by someone you barely know? I'll tell you, it's a strange feeling. A person who doesn't have anything to do with you just suddenly comes and asks you what's wrong, or they do some kind of kindness for you. They don't have an obligation to do it but they choose to go out of their way and do it. It brings up a very strange feeling, you know."

He looks at me skeptically.

"But you two are part of the same group."

"Yeah, I know. But I still have to try, it's better than letting a feeling like that go unchecked. It's... it's not good to have something like that build up." I look away. "It'll only eat you from the inside."

"..." he doesn't say anything for a while. "...Fine. But what if it doesn't work?"

"It's alright. I don't mind playing the bad guy if there's a need for one."

I turn and leave.

I head towards the place she and I "battled" last time. She's sitting down, her eyes staring at the bustling city.

"Yo."

"...Hey."

I sit next to her.

"Something happen yesterday?"

"..." no answer.

"Do you wanna go grab a quick bite?"

"..." again, no answer.

"Are you okay?"

"...Did Garret put you up to this?"

"No."

"But he told you right?"

"...Yeah, bu-"

She gets up.

"I'm fine." she walks towards the edge.

Crap. She won't listen to me anymore, I gotta go with plan b.

"Yeah but it was just a pet right?" I say that while getting up.

"..." I notice her stop moving.

I walk to her, "You can always get another on-"

I fly back. I was punched.

She mounts me and punches, again and again.

"YOU. DON'T. UNDER. STAND." more punches come. "HE. WAS. MY. Best..."

The punches stopped. She's crying. Her tears fall on my face, her mouth is trembling.

"A-and I-I tu-turned him in-into a-"

"I'm sorry."

The tears fall harder and she buries her face into my chest.

"I'm sorry." I say.