Like I said, earlier this week, there probably won't be another chapter until next Sunday due to how busy I will be this upcoming week. 

As things are, I only just managed to finish this chapter after working on it in my spare time this week.

Hopefully I can make the next one a bit longer. Enjoy~!

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Laura breathed a sigh of relief. “So? What are you going to do about the Luvmin problem?”

Briar smiled. “Ah, that. Don’t worry so much about that. It’s easily taken care of.” She reached into her magic bag and pulled out another herb packet, handing it to Laura. Laura looked at the herb packet, then back up at Briar.

“Smell.” Briar encouraged.

Laura brought the packet to her nose and cautiously sniffed at the packet. It smelled like lemons.

“Lemons?” She asked. “How is the smell of Lemon going to get us out of this?”

“More specifically, that is Lemon Thyme.” Briar replied.“I couldn’t get actual lemons from this moderate climate, after all. The point is, the pathway to town was lined with this stuff. According to Merton’s zoological studies, Luvmins despise anything that smells of citrus, so if they get too close, we’ll just throw one of these little scent packets at them.”

Briar smirked, drawing the corner of his mouth up into a one-sided grin, and patting her magic bag. “And I’ve got plenty more where that came from.”

Laura stared at the packet, then looked up at Briar. “Okay, so we have our ticket through the Luvmins. But what about how we’re going to make our way out of town unseen?”

Briar’s one-sided grin widened, becoming a full smile. “I’ve already taken that part into due consideration. We’re going to have help.”

“Help?” Laura asked, frowning a bit. “Help from where? Who?”

Briar put a finger to her lips and crept noiselessly to the door. Then she opened it suddenly, startling the person who was standing outside. It was the stalker that had been outside the door earlier, trying to listen in on the conversation.

The girl with honey-brown curly locks was the waitress that had served them downstairs. With her small stature and her doll-like features, she couldn’t be more than eight years old.

Her mouth gaped open and shut like a fish out of water as she tried to think of a way to justify her presence.

“Yes? What may I do for you, Miss Stalker?” Briar asked, her sun-shiney grin resembling that of a cer-tain cheshire cat from a cer-tain classical story.

“Erm, I- uuh…w-was wonde-wondering if-f y-you would l-like t-to o-order something” The girl stuttered, clenching the serving tray she had been holding.

Briar sized the girl up, and then nodded her head in approval. “You’ll do.”

Then Briar turned towards Laura. “Hey, remember what I just said? She’s going to help us.” Briar pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the shock-stricken girl.

“Wait, WHAT!! Me? H-help? H-help you with wh-what?” The girl exclaimed, stuttering over her words.

“Oh, just something of life or death importance, nothing really dangerous.” Briar replied nonchalantly.

“WHAT!” The girl’s voice cracked as she took a step back in shock. “I’m sorry, I can’t I have to go help- I mean I was going to meet- or rather, I really need to…” Her eyes looked around for a witness of some sort so that she could excuse herself, but there was no one there. Everyone was still downstairs enjoying their end-of-the-day drinks.

Then Briar placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder and simply smiled a refreshing, bright smile. “You know there’s no escaping us now, right?”

For such a cheery, angelic smile, the words she was saying were more like something you would hear from the mafia.

These words struck a fearful chord in the stalker serving girl’s heart as she became so terrified of Briar that she didn’t even resist when she was pulled into the room.

With the door shut, the waitress girl held the serving tray in front of her as if it the thin metal plate could possibly shield her from a deadly attack from the figure in front of her.

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“Hey, little miss stalker,” Briar addressed her with that 100-watt smile.

“Y-YES!” The girl flinched and tensed up as she answered, making her voice go squeaky.

“What’s your name?”

“…Huh? Y-you want m-my name?” The girl asked, not quite understanding why something bad hadn’t already happened to her.

“Well, it’s kind of weird just to keep calling you ‘miss stalker’ all the time. Besides, it’s not like you know anything about us, so even if you are interrogated later on, nothing will come of it.” Briar said.

The girl was quiet for a bit, thinking about Briar’s answer. Then she spoke  in a quiet voice.

“…Helen.”

Briar nodded. “Well then, Helen, do you want to know why I confronted you instead of simply having you standing outside of an eerily silent room?”

Helen shook her head, not making eye contact. Then her eyes widened and she stared at Briar with a look of horror, which quickly led to tears forming in her eyes.

“Don’t tell me…you want to sell me as a slave?!”

Briar sighed dully. “Now, for what possible reason would I need to do something like that? I won’t do something so inhuman. What is wrong with your head for you to come up with stuff like this?”

“T-then, you want to keep me for yourself!?” Helen hugged her tray closer and shrank back against the wall.

“Like I said, where are you getting these ideas!?” Briar was losing her patience. “Do I look like someone who deals in slaves?!”

Helen gasped. “You don’t mean…you’ll never get me, you monster!” She started reaching for items nearby and throwing them at Briar, who simply dodged them and closed in on the machine-gun-like girl.

“Like. I. Said.” Briar spoke, an angry red vein showing up on her temple. Finally she grabbed Helen’s hands, forcing her to drop the pair of boots she was about to throw. “WHERE. ARE. YOU. GETTING. THESE. IDEAS?”

“B-but, that’s the only thing left to do to a girl of my age! Especially between a boy and a girl…” Helen said, hesitantly.

Briar froze as if she had been struck by an anvil. Her eyes became two tiny dots as she took in what Helen had just said. “…Between a boy and a girl...?”

That’s right. She was still in her disguise as a man. Slowly, she let go of Helen’s hands, and sat down at the foot of the bed. Her face as blank as a noh mask.

Helen stood there, waiting for the explosion, as she thought she had definitely angered Briar.

“Pff!” Briar’s noh face cracked as she snickered, then chuckled, then outright laughed as she found she couldn’t hold it inside anymore.

Laura was already sitting on the bed, watching the comical interaction between the two girls, one of which looked like a man.

She could not figure out what sort of plan Briar had hatched in her reclusive brain. In fact, she was finding Briar’s vague answers and actions rather annoying. So, on a spur of the moment, she reached down and slapped the backside of Briar’s head.

“Speak normally, and not in riddles! Can’t you see that you’ve frightened the poor girl?” Laura scolded.

“Ahahahah, sorry! Sorry! I was just thinking that it’s almost scary how precocious some people can get. Pffft-AHAHAHAH! Oh this really is too funny!” Briar burst into laughter again.

“I don’t want to hear that from you, mister bullseye mastermind.” Laura whacked Briar in the head again with a folded paper fan.

“Ouch! Hey, where did you get that fan from?” Briar rubbed her head.

“I had it made especially for the occasion.” Laura replied, resting the tip of the folded part against her chin in royal fashion. “But for now, why don’t you answer your own questions and give that girl some peace of mind.”

Briar laughed and looked at Helen, mirthfully. “I’m not going to do anything to you, Helen. I simply wanted to ask a favor of you.”