Chapter 9: Chapter 9: A Fang In The Sunset

Alex wondered around aimlessly.

It wasn't like he hadn't thought of sneaking in to see the play, but the security there was airtight.

Getting in there wasn't easy…

The parameters were like an iron shell. Only after getting in could one watch the show in peace.

But how was he to do that…?

Alex sat on a bench while time was passing by without waiting for him to come to a conclusion.

He saw that young girl again playing jump rope with her friends on the streets, and some boys showing off their collectible cards. They seemed to have different monsters and great people on them.

The loudness was starting to get him.

The Arcanist needed someplace where he could digest his thoughts. Maybe get a room somewhere.

And so, he headed to a bustling nearby hotel.

Opening the door to look…

"What do you mean?!" One of the customers at the counter angrily bashed the desk at the reception.

The wrinkled old man replied to the customer:

"We're full."

"But I booked a room fair and square! I have a reservation!" The top hatted gentleman roared.

"People more important than you just happened to show up. Sorry… Here is your refund." After hearing that much, Alex closed the door and moved away to wait. The next scene was as he'd expected.

The customer slammed the door while barging out.

'Looks like that failed…' He admitted that maybe all his Gold was useless today, but still needed quiet.

He went to that same alleyway that had been raised by him earlier, but that didn't work too.

There was a man noisily slamming his hammer into a nail that would prop up a new sign for a store.

Busily working away until he was finally finished.

The clanging noises were gradually getting to the Arcanist. His migraine made him accidentally tip.

With a large clank, he fell to the ground once more.

This time, there was no kind little girl to help him back up. He could only lay there in despondently.

His big trip ended up scaring the sign-maker. 

The man wobbled on his ladder after feeling the shock through him, and accidentally missed.

With a clacking sound, the hammer missed the nail and hit the wall instead. It made the builder groan.

"Hey, you clumsy little git! Watch where you're falling! I almost ruined the sign." The sign-maker seemed to have high professionalism. He wasn't about to let this slip up ruin his day any further.

With a great use of his body control, the man managed to reposition the sign and nail it down.

The man sighed when he was done.

His heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the ladder, then finally stopping on the ground.

Alex had got himself to sit upright at that point.

He watched as the sign-maker stretched his body for a good day's work, then spoke with tiredness:

"Well… It's been a long day." He spoke to himself while dragging his fatigued body out of the alley.

Ignoring the Arcanist on his way out.

Since the man didn't even bother helping him, the youth on the ground didn't tell him he forgot his ladder. It just stood upright where the big sign of a new bar now open. Where the casino once was.

 The surroundings finally became quiet…

Alex fell in and out of consciousness. He too felt fatigue from the stress after losing his ticket.

Time passed by slowly…

He wondered just how he'd lost it. There was definitely something up about the timing of this.

It was at that moment he remembered the wanted poster. Perhaps this was the work of 'that guy'.

'Thousand Face!' The eyes of the magic enchanter lit up in fury. That name deeply stuck in his mind.

There was no way he'd forget this thievery…

If there was ever a chance for it, he'd find that person and bop them on the back of the head!

Just as his mind was wandering around, someone walked up to him from the alley and looked at him.

Alex sighed…

It was another little girl who seemed no older than nine or ten of years. A child through and through.

…Something was strange about her.

Was it her unnatural crimson hair? He wasn't sure if she dyed it or if that was exactly how that looked.

She didn't do a good job hiding it under a cap.

Moreover, he realised this girl had longer canines than others. She was likely from a vampiric race.

Did she come from the Blood Nation?

How did she get here from all the way over there?

The more he observed her, the more out of place she looked in this dark and dreary alleyway.

The little girl had a haughty air about her.

Looking down on his collapsed figure like she was looking at a drunkard that had embarrassingly fell.

It wasn't the best of first impressions.

He could barely hear the words this arrogant girl was speaking, but it all went in one ear and out the other. Alex didn't have the time to play with a baby like her, he needed to find a way into the theatre!

But how…?

Adam got out of the alley and onto the other side he'd rarely went. There were less buildings there.

And a canal with a boat on it.

Could he perhaps use that?

…No, it wasn't like a tiny boat would get past the fleet that protected the royal palace's back door.

This wasn't a solution.

On top of that, the owner of the small sea-worthy vessel wasn't young anymore. It'd break his back.

He had to give up on it.

His feet made his way to a nearby bell tower next to the canal, and went up to look at the city.

There was a ladder there to help him go up.

It was quite a long way up there, but was greeted by a nice sight when he finally made it to the top.

The sun was setting over the horizons…

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You could see the roofs and houses of the citizens of Lancia. The orange tiles that blended with light.

Making the falling sun seem much more majestic.

Alex wondered if maybe he had put too much importance in the play. He didn't need to go.

Maybe it would've been fun, but he was tired now.

A nice and relaxing sight like this was better than the headache inducing loudness of the theatre.

Yeah… That was definitely it.

He wasn't reluctantly compromising this.

Definitely not!

He was just being realistic.

Adam made his way down the bell tower and was about to return to the restaurant he ate at earlier.

Might as well enjoy the time before sunset.

"Hey, don't you ignore me!" But before he could walk out and return to the busier part of Lancia, a little girl tugged on his arm. Even though he didn't want to get close with this fanged midget, she did.

In fact, the way he'd filtered out her words since earlier seemed to have offended her greatly.

He even ignored her when she followed him up the bell tower. So couldn't she read the room a bit?

"I'm not interested in what you're selling."

"I'm not selling anything!" The redhead was becoming livid. Her face apple red in raging fury.

"Sure. You can run along." Alex shooed the young girl away without caring if it hurt her feelings or not.

Tears started to appear on the girl's cheeks:

"I'm going to tell Jack about you!" She threw a tantrum while hitting his arm, making him seem like the bad guy here. It didn't hurt one bit, but he felt embarrassed to have made her cry so easily.

A bit of guilt appeared in his heart.

"Ummm… Don't cry. Why don't I get you something to eat? You must be hungry." She stopped in her tracks. Both of them heard her stomach growl at the mention of food, and her mouth was salivating.

But she stood firm: "I'm not feeling hungry."

"I can get you a bite of rock candy in that nearby stall." Her attitude changed when he spoke this.

"You better treat me!" The fanged girl personally brought him out of the alley to get a bite to eat.

Somehow, she seemed to avoid that 'restaurant'.

It was am unexpected encounter he wasn't thinking much of, but they ended up spending the entire day together. She went ahead and showed him many sights, pointing to places he hadn't known.

Though Lancia itself was a bit unfamiliar to her.

The observant Arcanist noticed that she must have had a good memory to know places she went to once, and was good at making conclusions based on the information she had. A good trait to have.

Though this meant nothing to him.

Regardless of how good she was at problem solving and remembering things, it wasn't much help with the kind of identity she had. After all, the average person knew that hiring her was risky.

Maybe because the common people here were nice in nature, but no one had reported her despite knowing she was suspicious. Even though she could very well be a spy sent from a faraway land.

At least, that was how some people would've saw it. The 'Blood Nation' was a mystery to many.

After all, it was a place that separated itself from humanity after the Holy City, 'Sacrament', made it clear that the Mystic Races such as Vampires and such were to never leave their lands unauthorised.

They detested other species…

Not to the extent of hunting them, but they weren't the type to let other species roam around freely.

It was a type of 'Humanism' that despised those who didn't conform to the standard human norms.

Way too focused on making themselves 'Holy'.

But it wasn't like that sacredness was a bad thing to others. The religion has done more good in life.

Helping others rather than harming them.

Maybe it was good that the teachings had taught them virtues over beliefs, because that saved her.

If not, she would have been reported immediately.

No amount of screaming and crying would have stopped the army from exiling her back home.

As the hours went by, Alex decided to gift her a great opportunity perhaps others wouldn't give:

"Do you want to become my magic assistant?" It was something he'd expected her to latch onto.

Who wouldn't want to become the assistant of a Level 5 Rune Enchanter? He was pretty famous.

And yet, the girl didn't seemed moved one bit.

"Why would the great 'I' go under 'YOU'?" She held her head high, not feeling the least bit embarrassed about having munched on his pocket money. She'd even shamelessly counter offered:

"But if you become my slave, I'll let you in on how to sneak into the palace to watch the play~" She spoke while pointing her spoon at him. The way rice stuck to her face didn't seem that convincing.

"…You can do that?" Even though he'd given up a bit ago, the desire in his heart was still burning.

"That's if you agree." She narrowed her eyes.

Seeing this, he decided to play along for a bit.

"Alright. So what are we supposed to do?" Alex wanted to see exactly what plan she cooked up.

And was surprised when waved her utensil.

The fanged girl was trying to get him on her logic.

"First, where do you think the guards are most focused on?" Her eyes had an intelligent glint.

He'd thought about this issue a lot of times.

"They made a parameter around the palace. There isn't any place where you can find a loophole." Alex would know this, as his friend was the Head Knight of all guards that protected the entire kingdom.

"Wrong." She shook her head, lifting up the emptied plate as if to pretend it was the palace.

Then continued: "They're focused on the ground."

Alex became enlightened at what she was thinking about. It didn't seem like much of a bad idea at all.

The State Guardsmen Knight Order weren't really flexible when it came to the way they spread out.

Their thoughts were also predictable.

If what she said held true, then it was obvious that all they needed to do was get into the rooftops.

But even that seemed dangerous.

Those orange tiles were only strong enough to let a child like her walk on them. Not a teen like him.

The moment he did, one could imagine the kind of expression the owner of the home would make when he fell through the roof. The career he put so much work into could fall jeopardy in an instant!

"So… you wanna try it~?"

"Hell yeah." He shook her hand. Who cared about his reputation and career? He wanted to go there!

Everything else was worth giving up!

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