It was the start of a new day. I decided to leave the orphanage for the time being and go back inside the Vermine Kingdom with Rein accompanying me to walk around and ask if anyone knew someone with clairvoyant powers.
Miguel and Amalia were busy managing the orphanage at the moment, and they needed extra hands, so we left Komraad and Fae to help out.
"We'll be going now. Help here as much as you can, Komraad, okay?" I glared at him to indicate that I was serious.
"But I wanna come with you and have fun!" He insisted, clearly sulking.
"We're only going out to ask people around. There's nothing fun about it at all," I explained.
"But... But...!"
Fae gently pulled Komraad away.
"Ms. Ina, Big sis Rein, go ahead already. Please be careful out there," Fae said genuinely.
"Yeah, we will! We'll be going now. We'll be back in the afternoon," I responded.
We left as soon as Fae and Komraad were fully occupied with their tasks.
As soon as we arrived inside the kingdom, Rein started walking around and asking people. All I did was ride on her shoulder. I was afraid I'd freak people out like always, so I just let her handle the talking.
Rein approached people with respect, but most of them were rude, treating her with disdain typical of the high-status nobility who populated the city. Thankfully, some of them were actually kind enough to answer, but none of them knew any clairvoyants around. They didn't even know if one existed in the first place.
Rein spent the whole day asking and walking around, but we weren't able to gain any concrete information.
We were sitting on a public bench to rest and were about to give up when a drunk man suddenly approached us.
Hic
"I h-heard you were looking for a… clairvoyant, little kid," the drunk man said, his speech slurred.
"Yes, sir, I do. Do you know anyone, kind sir?" Rein responded politely.
"Yes, yes, follow me," he instructed, weaving his way into a nearby alleyway.
I was wary of the drunk man, but he was our only lead at the moment, so we decided to follow him.
"Hey Rein, be careful, that guy's drunk. If he does something bad, don't hesitate to fight back," I whispered to her.
"Yes, Ms. Ina, I will. For now, let's follow him, he's our only lead," she whispered back, gripping her hidden wand.
We arrived in the alleyway shortly after. As soon as the drunk man stopped walking, Rein took her magic staff out and summoned a water orb.
"Start talking!" Rein demanded with a serious look.
The drunk man panicked when he saw the floating orb of water above him. His bottle of liquor shattered as he fell down on his knees due to fear.
"W-what's happening? What did I do? I thought we were going to talk?" The drunk man asked, stuttering and shivering.
"Huh?!? You're drunk and you lead us to an alley! What do you expect us to do?!?" I shouted angrily.
"A t-t-talking cat? Ha-Ha! The liquor is starting to kick in, I think I'm hallucinating." The drunk man assumed.
I jumped towards him and started slapping him with my paws.
"You're not hallucinating! Now start talking!" I demanded.
"T-the sun was too bright for me, it was giving me a headache, so I thought maybe I could start explaining somewhere that isn't bright," he answered truthfully, terrified.
"Oh, our bad. I guess we jumped to the wrong conclusion, tee-hee," I admitted, and Rein quickly dispelled her magic.
The drunk man sobered up and calmed down soon after. Once he regained his composure, we started over.
"So, about our question, do you know any clairvoyants around?" I asked.
"I don't know anyone, but I think I have experience with it. Every time I walk near the palace and stare at it, it's like someone is staring back at me. Like someone is watching me. It happened to me every time I walked near the palace, and it started creeping me out, so I told my wife about it, but she laughed at me instead and started calling me crazy. Please believe me, I'm not crazy!" The drunk man insisted, his strong emotions convincing me he wasn't lying.
The palace, huh?
"Thanks for the tip. Sorry, we totally misjudged you," I said.
The drunk man left the alleyway, likely traumatized enough to swear off drinking for a few days.
Rein and I went to the palace without a second thought for it was our only clue. We noticed multiple Vermine Knights guarding the entrance, making sure no one could enter without permission.
Rein tried talking to the knights, but apparently, only the nobles with the highest status were allowed to enter. We decided to sneak in and see for ourselves if a clairvoyant really was residing inside the palace.
Honestly, I don't know why we're sneaking in in the first place. I mean, we're not even sure if someone is going to entertain us inside. We got a tip from a drunk man, for Pete's sake! We'll still try, though. It's better than waiting for a miracle to happen.
I flew over the wall surrounding the palace. Thankfully, no one saw me. Rein, on the other hand, had her own way of sneaking in. She created a bubble of water underneath her and used it like a trampoline to bounce over the wall and into the palace grounds.
We wandered around the palace quietly, making sure no Vermine Knights would spot us. We asked maids, butlers, and other servants around and inside the palace, but just like the others, they didn't have any clue.
It was getting late, and we were getting nowhere, so we decided to stop for the day. We were about to leave the palace when a Vermine Knight spotted us.
"H-hey, aren't you the kid earlier? What are you doing inside? Didn't we tell you that you can't enter?" The Vermine Knight shouted.
As soon as the knight stopped talking, Rein and I immediately ran as fast as we could. The knight chased us all the way to the edge of the palace's wall.
Huff Huff
We were about to escape and go over the wall when someone who looked very important arrived. It was another knight, but his status looked higher just by the elaborate, regal blend of polished white and gold armor he wore. This knight had slate-gray eyes and an air of distant authority, his blue flowing cloth marking his rank.
"What is happening here?" He asked the knight chasing us.
"Head Knight, we have an intruder," the knight responded respectfully.
Head Knight, huh? I knew something felt different about him.
The Head Knight looked at Rein intensely. "A little girl? What are you doing inside here? I'll decide what to do with you based on your answer," he demanded.
Rein bowed her head, "I'm so sorry, sir, I got lost on the way, but I'm about to leave this instant," she made up as an excuse.
"Hmm… why would a little girl like you get lost inside the palace? Also, judging by your clothes, I know that you are a witch. Little girl or not, if you can use magic, then you are a threat to the kingdom," the Head Knight noticed, his voice turning cold.
The Head Knight's demeanor changed, and the atmosphere around him became overwhelming.
Rein couldn't come up with any more excuses.
"If you're not going to answer truthfully, then I guess I just have to interrogate you." The Head Knight stated, walking slowly towards us while unsheathing his sword. It was glowing blue and had a mana crystal embedded on the handle, a powerful magical weapon.
"Rein, now!" I shouted to distract the Head Knight, and it worked.
I knew he'd be surprised to hear a talking creature, so I used it as a distraction. Before the Head Knight even showed up, I had already whispered an escape plan to Rein. She was just buying time for us to cast a spell.
While the Head Knight was still flustered, Rein cast a sphere of water in front of us, and I combined it with my beam of dark energy to create a thick smokescreen from the explosion.
The Head Knight didn't expect it and was caught off guard. Before the smokescreen even dispersed, we were already able to cross over the wall and escape the palace safely.
Pant Pant
"Phew, that was close," Rein sighed in relief.
"Yeah, the Head Knight looks crazy strong. Thank goodness we didn't fight him," I followed up.
Rein and I distanced ourselves from the palace. We sat on a public bench near the public market and rested for a while to catch our breath.
"Aah, I don't want to go back empty-handed," I said while sighing in disappointment.
"It's okay, Ms. Ina, it's just our first day. We'll have more opportunities in the coming days," Rein assured.
"You're right, Rein," I responded.
I was staring into the distance, thinking of sneaking back once again into the palace without anyone noticing. I just had a hunch that the answer I was looking for was inside there, because the drunk man was right, it really felt like someone was watching us the whole time.
In front of me was a lamp post, and there was a poster attached to it. It caught my attention because the picture looked familiar. I got off the bench to get a closer look, and I was right. The person in the poster was the thief covered in a cloak that we encountered yesterday, and she had a bounty on her head.
"H-hey Rein, come here. Take a look at this."
"What is it, Ms. Ina?" Rein asked.
"Maybe we don't have to go back empty-handed," I said, showing her the poster.
"What do you say about catching a thief? There's a reward here. The money can help a lot back at the orphanage," I suggested.
"You're right, Ms. Ina, let's do this! Though, how are we going to catch the thief without knowing where she is?" Rein asked.
"Let's ask around once again. There's still time before it gets dark after all," I suggested.
She agreed right away.
We asked around once again, but this time for clues about the thief. Like always, most people ignored us, some answered with rants from people who had encountered the thief. Thankfully, we stumbled upon an elderly woman who had a huge lead.
She said that every midnight, she kept hearing multiple heavy footsteps on her roof. That clue was enough for me to assume that those footsteps were from the thief. With that tip, Rein and I went back to the orphanage to rest and plan our next move.
"Ms. Ina, Big sis, you're back," Fae welcomed us with a warm smile.
"Hi Fae, we're back. Do you know where Komraad is? I have something important to tell him," I immediately asked her.
"Yes, Ms. Ina. He's in our room resting. He was pretty tired because he helped Mr. Miguel the whole day," she answered.
Rein stayed on the balcony with Fae and the other kids while I went to Komraad. I woke him up and told him about the thief and the bounty, and he immediately agreed. I told Amalia that we'd be going out at night, but I didn't tell her our purpose. Thankfully, she didn't ask any further and said that she trusted us.
We rested, ate dinner, and soon after, prepared ourselves to go back to the kingdom before midnight. I wanted to leave Fae out of this because it was too dangerous, but I don't want her to get upset again like last time, so the four of us went together and waited for the thief to appear.
Midnight hit. We were hiding in a dark alley when we heard footsteps coming from the roofs of the houses, so we followed the sound. We were expecting the lone thief, but we didn't expect her to have companions and all of them were kids like her.
Their target was a large warehouse near the public market where food was stored. Upon arriving at their target, they quickly knocked off the few knights nearby and entered to take whatever they could inside.
Because I can fly, I proceeded on my own and followed them inside the warehouse while the others stayed in the alleyway to ambush them when they got back.
"Everyone, take everything you can and head back as soon as possible," the thief we encountered back in the market ordered. She appeared to be the leader of the group.
"Hey, stealing is bad! Stop that!" I shouted from afar. The thief recognized my voice immediately and told her companions to take their loot back to their base. She stayed behind to entertain me.
"Looks like we meet again, talking cat," she said to me while all her companions got away from the back door, where they were oblivious to Komraad and the others waiting to ambush them.
"Yeah, we have unfinished business."
The thief then ran away from the opposite side, away from her friends, to draw my attention. She wanted me to solely focus on her so the others could escape.
I chased her just like before. She was fast, but only fast enough to keep a short distance from me. When I saw an opportunity, I destroyed the roof she was stepping on using my beam of dark energy to make her lose her footing and balance, and it was a success. However, she was able to regain composure and balance by using her large sword to prop her back up.
Damn, her sword is annoying, I thought, irritated.
"Not bad, cat. So flying's not the only thing you can do, huh? Sorry to burst your bubble, though, but this is it," she said confidently.
She pointed her large sword toward me and extended its blade rapidly. I was able to dodge it because of my small size, but she wasn't trying to attack me. She used the momentum from the extension to push herself all the way to the top of the enormous wall surrounding the kingdom, gaining a huge distance from me.
She was successful in gaining distance, but unlike last time, I followed her all the way to the top of the enormous walls.
"Ugh… you're irritating, cat! Just stop following me already!" She said irritably.
We were standing on top of the enormous walls and talking when she decided to jump outside the walls.
Because of her sword's ability to extend, she managed to descend on the other side of the wall with ease. I didn't want her to escape, and I wanted to get the bounty so badly, so I followed her all the way down.
I was also curious about what was on this side. I thought maybe it was their base of operation, but the moment I landed on the ground, I saw something truly horrible and heart-wrenching.
Just beyond the towering marble walls of the opulent kingdom, where gold-tipped spires pierced the clouds, lay a forgotten village, little more than a patchwork of rot and ruin. The houses were crooked shacks cobbled together from rotting timber and cloth. The air carried the stench of filth, smoke, and desperation.
The villagers were all peasants: thin, hollow-eyed figures wrapped in threadbare rags. Their bodies were worn from years of labor and starvation, faces gaunt and dirt-smeared, eyes dim with hunger. Despite the grandeur that loomed so close, no wealth reached this place. It remained a world apart, forgotten, broken, and crumbling beneath the golden shadow of the kingdom's walls.
I was shocked and heartbroken. I never thought something like this existed outside of the kingdom. It was the first time I saw such widespread poverty and suffering in a world full of magic.
"What is this place? This is just plain wrong," I uttered, clueless about what was really happening.
I was so shocked that I ended up losing sight of the thief.
"Oh no, where is she?" I asked myself and started looking for her. I flew above the sky to have a better view, and thankfully, I immediately saw her. She was standing in the middle of the village, looking flustered and searching for something.
All the people around the place gathered around her: old folks, kids in ragged clothes, and adults who were all skin and bones. They were all extending their hands toward her, asking for food and water.
"I'm sorry, everyone, but the others have the loot, and they still haven't arrived," the thief said worriedly.
I managed to piece things together once I saw the village and realized why the thief was stealing from the wealthy nobles. Guilt and regret overcame me. I immediately stopped thinking about the bounty and instead decided to offer my assistance by telling the truth. I then approached the thief slowly, giving off a trustworthy presence to show her that I came in peace.
"I'm sorry, but your friends won't be coming. My friends have probably caught them by now," I revealed, slowly landing on the ground.
The thief turned around, furious upon seeing me once again.
"Ugh… you again! What do you mean by what you said?" She asked furiously, worried about her companions.
"The truth is, my friends and I were planning on capturing you tonight and surrendering you to the knights to claim your bounty. I thought we were doing the right thing because you were a thief, but we didn't know that the reason you were stealing was for these people," I answered with profound guilt and regret.
This is not the first time I've ever messed up, but one thing's for sure: I want to make sure that I'm going to set things right.
"Let's go back and retrieve your friends. My friends probably haven't handed them to the knights yet. We might be able to make it if we go now," I suggested to her.
"How do you expect me to believe what you're saying?" She asked, her eyes filled with distrust.
"Hey, listen, kid, I'm the only lead you've got. We're running out of time, so if you want your friends back, then you have to trust me right here, right now," I proposed seriously, extending my paw toward her to seal the deal.
She was still hesitant. I understood where she was coming from. She had lived her life just to survive and help her people, but that only strengthened my resolve.
"Look, I was wrong, I totally misjudged you. But let's make one thing clear, though. What you've been doing is wrong. Stealing is something you shouldn't be doing, especially since you're all just kids. But your friends being captured just because you stole food and water to give to these people just doesn't sit right with me. Let's go back and take them back before it's too late," I added.
She was hesitant at first, but eventually caved in. She then removed the cloak she'd been wearing the entire time, finally revealing her appearance. She was a wiry, sharp-eyed girl, around twelve years old, with unruly light blue hair and eyes of a striking shade of ruby. Though slight, she bore a broadsword nearly as tall as herself with surprising ease.
After revealing herself, she decided to accept my proposal and work with me to save her companions. "Fine, I'll trust you this one time, but promise me that after this, you'll never chase after me again."
"On one condition, promise me you'll never steal again," I demanded with firm resolve.
"F-fine, let's just get this over with!" She agreed.
"Sure, but before we go, let's exchange names first. I'm Ina," I introduced myself.
"I'm Astrid," she responded.
We symbolically shook hands to indicate a truce, and after that, we immediately went back inside the kingdom to retrieve her friends. I just hoped Komraad hadn't handed them to the knights yet.