Chương 9: The Thief of Sherpstal

I was running after the figure that took my pouch. I was fast, probably faster than a professional sprinter, but that figure was still faster. I could see it better now, it had the form of a girl. I could see a long black tail coming from her waist. She stopped for a second. I had her.

Just as I closed in on her, she jumped and back-flipped behind me. I thought I had her now, but when I turned around, she was gone. Just what was that? That girl wasn't human, not with that kind of speed and agility. I had to give up the chase. Dejectedly, I returned home.

As I opened the door, Azraea was waiting in the hallway. She looked a bit impatient for some reason.

"I just got robbed." I told her, "By some girl who was inhumanly fast."

"How much did you lose?" Azraea questioned, "All of it?"

"No." I answered, "Ten gold, and two emeralds. But the point is that she robbed me, we have to find her."

"I'm not doing it." Azraea said, "You lost that money because you weren't careful. We'll just make more by doing another quest. Come on."

Seeing that arguing with her would have no point, I followed her to the guild. It was quiet. I think the only ones in there were the bartender, and a few passed out adventurers. Azraea went over to the quest board and looked over the notices.

I heard a noise suddenly, and the door to Erika's office opened. Out stepped Erika and two others. A tall man with night black hair and icy cyan eyes, and a woman of the same description. The man wore a uniform like Erika's, and the woman wore a very fine robe with some runes embroidered into it that I couldn't read. The two passed by me, and the man seemed to take an interest.

He stopped dead in his tracks, and stylishly turned to face me. He was quite handsome, he looked like he came straight out of a shoujo manga. Impeccable white teeth, almost porcelain skin, and a devilish grin that sent shivers down the spine. His black hair was long, and it fell to his shoulders. His stare made me feel like I was in a freezer.

"You don't look like you're from around here." he told me in a smooth voice, "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Keita." I replied, "Keita Kuro. What's yours?"

"Let me introduce myself." the man answered, "My name is Rin Akuru. I'm the master of the adventurer's guild and the king's personal knight. I was coming here to check up on some old friends, but sadly I've only met one. The other seems to be away."

Someone so important is just casually walking about? If he's the king's personal knight, then shouldn't he be near him?

"Who's the lady next to you?" I asked.

This lady was similar to Rin in a few ways. She had very long, black hair that was completely straight and had no signs of imperfections. Her gaze was also chilling, perhaps more so than Rin. Her eyes reminded me of a snake, watching its prey intently.

"This is Queen Silvia Melusine." Rin introduced, "She is a Drachkin, and ruler of them at that. In addition to being the king's knight, I am also Silvia's lone servant."

"Hi…" Silvia greeted in a slow, monotonous voice.

"She has a problem with her speech." Rin told me, "She can't speak more than two syllables at a time. It has something to do with an injury that never healed. But I can't say anything more."

Rin looked at a pocket watch in his hand.

"Would you look at the time." he commented, "I have to go, or I'll never get my job done on time. See you around sometime?"

"Sure." I replied.

With that, Rin and Silvia took off and left the building. Azraea came back to where I was, with a rolled up notice in hand.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"His name was Rin Akuru." I replied, "He sounded like a really important person."

"Important?" Azraea exclaimed, "Rin Akuru is the only adventurer in this country who's reached Hero rank. He's the whole reason that this place even exists. He was the one who slew the previous Demon King and saved all of us."

So how strong was he? He must be powerful if he beat the Demon King. Either way, Azraea opened the notice that was in her hand and read it out.

"Bronze Quest." she read, "Find and catch the Thief of Sherpstal. They have been known to raid houses and steal all of their valuables, then make off with great speed. The reward for catching them is thirty gold."

"This can't be a coincidence." I told Azraea, "A notice for a thief coming up soon after I get robbed by one."

"Well." Azraea replied, "Maybe now you'll get your chance to find them. Let's get a move on."

We left the guild building and took a look around. Where should we start? We need clues first, a crime scene or something. Where to look?

"Let's take a look around." Azraea said, "We'll be able to find her if we cover the whole town. Such a notorious thief doesn't stay quiet for long. We'll eventually come across something."

I did as she suggested and we began to walk all over town. There was nothing. After a full half hour of walking, there was nothing.

Suddenly, I heard the shatter of glass. I went to go check it out. When I arrived at the source, there was a two storey house with a broken window at the top floor. It was coated red with blood, and there was more blood on the ground from the window.

"If I was to take a guess, a thief was probably here." I told Azraea, "It looks as though they cut themselves on the shattered window as they jumped from it. The blood here is signalling an impact…Azraea?"

She looked like she had noticed something. Her face was a little bit worrisome.

"I need to go somewhere." she told me, "There's something that I have to do, keep searching for clues."

With that, she walked off. What could have been wrong with her? I felt a strange urge to follow her. But, I couldn't interfere with her private life could I? It isn't my business. I looked for more clues as Azraea vanished from sight. There wasn't anything more than the blood. But I noticed that it trailed off to somewhere.

Argh, I can't think straight anymore. I was too curious about where Azraea had to go so suddenly. I had to follow her, it was the only way that I could set this aside. I went down the path that she went down.

It was a little darker than the rest of town. Like some kind of shady dealing was going on. I was in an alleyway. What Azraea was doing here I had no clue. But nonetheless, I pushed forward down the alleyway. I kept walking until I heard voices from around the corner. I put myself to the wall and leaned over a little to listen in and see a bit of what was going on.

What I saw was Azraea talking to a bunch of men wearing some men wearing plate armour, and a man in the middle who was wearing a suit. He looked a little bit like a butler. But what did they want with Azraea? Suddenly, the butler gave a light bow.

"It is time, milady." he told her in a stoic and cold sort of voice, "Your father wishes for you to return to him."

So she really was a noble. I shouldn't interfere with this. It's bad enough that I'm already here against her wishes. But I couldn't stop watching. I felt like I was about to hear something major. I wanted to know if she was going to stay here.