Page 107

Outside their house, the city was moving along ever so peacefully.

After Eva organised her supplies again and restocked the bag of the items that had been used up during their multi-day trip.

They laid down on their bed for a while to recover from their mental exhaustion. The trip was very taxing for Eva, which did have a strong impact on their body’s wellbeing, so a rest was needed.

While resting, Eva asked a question.

[Do you think we were wrong about the information in the book?] (Eva)

[Eva…] Syrus sighed. Oh, how she wished Eva would just hide away for a few days but come back when it was safe or when they needed to sleep so there would be no negative repercussions to their body’s functioning. Eva didn’t need to experience all that was occurring around them at the moment, Syrus believed, but she knew directly telling Eva that was going to get the opposite result she wanted. [Let’s go with the assumption that they haven’t and we didn’t misunderstand what was written.]

[Understood.] (Eva)

Eva just had a simple wish.

She didn’t want to see anyone from the city die.

After being rested, they got their gear ready, clothes tightened and padded leather hidden under the clothes, and with their longsword and bag on their back, they left the house again.

[Do we meet Ash first?] (Luna)

Their last meeting ended rather quickly, and Ash Evelen likely had many questions for Anlesa.

[Let’s go find Maca first…] (Eva)

[Agreed, we need an update on the situation.] (Syrus)

[Should we just go knocking on his house?] (Luna)

[Let’s see if we can find him in the city first.] (Syrus)

They exited the house and their first stop–food!

After smelling the scent of the food being cooked on the fire flying in the air and only eating rations and berries for a few days, Anlesa wanted a hearty meal.

Soon after they finished eating, Syrus finally found their target.

Their eyes met from across the street, and Syrus gave a small flick towards the end of the side street.

With a small nod, they both began to move. Eventually, the two made it towards the outer edges of the town, where they could talk without disturbance.

“Few days have passed,” said Maca.

Syrus replied, “I was busy; I only returned today. Good to see fewer flies in the city.”

“Was successful?”

“There are no remaining witnesses.”

Maca paused; his stoic face released a small, pained look. “How old are you?”

“You asked that before. Why?”

“Bloody, it must’ve been bloody.”

“And?” Syrus did understand Maca’s point, but she wasn’t going to give him any clear answers. Anlesa's age, especially in her current disguise, could be anywhere between fifteen and her early twenties. However, no matter what end of the spectrum the answer lay, there would be no reason a person of that age would be confident and composed murdering multiple bandit camps single handley. “I chose the option.”

Maca had seen many things in his life. He was in his thirties, but due to his body, he appeared as a young, healthy man in his prime twenties. However, he knew that taking a life wasn’t easy. Even when defending from bandits and a fatal blow being made, he had seen time and again, hunters not in the best state after taking the life of a human, even the ones that had been in the business for a long time. The people who could deal with it, from his experience, were those who had been forced to become numb to it, were crazies, held strong beliefs, or were instinctively able to push those thoughts away.

Syrus switched to a more important topic. “Now I have to ask, was there any issue in delivering the information?”

Maca answered. “No. Hmm. Fight, with the prize, being delivered through the chain to me.”

“They don’t believe you were the one who acquired the book, but that someone under your protection did, and they handed it to you.”

“Correct.” Maca nodded.

Syrus followed up, “Have they done anything with the information?”

Maca paused. “Yes.”

Syrus pushed further. “Do you think what they are doing is enough?”

“If true, no. I also don’t know everything.”

Syrus nodded. After their very quick walk, it did seem there were more people patrolling the town at least, but she had no idea what else the city was doing.

She asked, “How long do you think we have until shit falls apart?”

“A week or never. You?”

“A day, to a fortnight.”

“Cheating answer.”

Syrus let out a small answer. “Ha. I suppose it is.”