“You take over for me. You can keep ten percent for your trouble.”
“Wake the hell up!”
I tried to kick her back, but Natalie simply vanished. My foot swung through empty air unexpectedly, causing me to fall on my butt. Suddenly, there was a knife at my throat.
“Violence is a nasty thing,” she said, smiling pleasantly. I sighed.
“Look, don’t rip me off, and don’t ask me to run your business. That’s yours to manage.”
“You’re not very helpful. But fine.”
I got up and made to leave, but then I noticed some scary fellows rushing in our direction. There was a large, middle-aged man leading them. While he looked intimidating, he certainly wasn’t one of them.
“That’s her,” he said, jabbing a finger at Natalie. “She took my spot…”
“Oh? How strange,” said Natalie, cool as a cucumber even with several scary enforcers surrounding her. “When I first passed by this spot, there was only a miserable old man squatting here.”
“And what happened to him?” I asked.
“I beat him to a pulp, and he ran off. So I’ve been watching the store here in the meantime,” she said without a shred of shame. I had a feeling it was something like that. “But it’s fine. I’m getting bored of this anyway. You can have your spot back.”
“It’s not that simple,” said the men, licking their lips as they approached her. “You didn’t think you could just walk away, did you?”
Brains and personality aside, she presented an attractive package. They clearly had some unsavory plans for her. But I wasn’t worried. Four or five chumps were no match for her, even with only one working arm.
“Ah, I see,” she replied. “In that case, I’ll leave this man here in my spot. Do with him as you will.”
She tossed a handful of herbs onto my head, then pushed me on the back toward them and sped off with the empty crates. By the time they had shouted at her, she was already blending into the crowd and out of sight.
“That bitch!”
Someone grabbed my shoulder and spun me around.
“Hey, are you with her?”
“We need to talk to you,” another said.
In no time at all, they had dragged me into an alley. They seemed accustomed to using violence. I wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight, even if they’d had only one working arm among them.
I was no match for them.
It was a horrible day.
Thanks to Natalie, I suffered an unmerited beating. She always had a knack for causing trouble and inflicting it on others. Everyone in the Million Blades had suffered on account of her, including Dez, but I got the brunt of it. She once said, “Making trouble causes me absolutely no mental anguish.” If I weren’t such a forgiving and understanding man, I would have killed her several times over.
On top of that, she’d cost me precious time. I still had no idea about the witch’s identity or plans.
The sun was setting. I needed to go home. I was worried about Arwin, too.
Back at the house, I heard voices from the dining and living room space. We had a visitor. Based on the sounds of the voices, it wasn’t a social visit.
“But I really do think you should attend, Lady Arwin, though I know it pains you.”
That was Noelle’s voice.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. I’ve no intention of making an appearance,” replied Arwin, her tone sharp. While her words suggested anger, she sounded frightened to me.
“What’s this about?” I asked.
Noelle looked at me with pleading eyes. “There’s to be a feast at the lord’s mansion to celebrate the town being saved from the stampede.”
The king would be issuing a special honor. He wouldn’t be there, of course, but a representative from the royal city would be in attendance.
“But Arwin’s refusing to go?”
“Correct,” said Noelle, hanging her head in defeat.
Arwin turned away in a huff. “The restoration of the town should come first. I do not care to celebrate something that happened an entire month ago.”
There was a logic to Arwin’s refusal. The lord should be most concerned with rebuilding the town, not winning popularity with a fancy feast. If he had the money for something like this, it would be better spent rebuilding homes and improving the lives of his subjects. That was the sort of thing Arwin would say, given that she’d ground her own body to dust to fight for the common people.
“Most importantly, protecting the town was not my feat alone. There were many who fought and many who died for it. Why would I receive an award for their hard work? It would be better for him as a nobleman to offer flowers to the dead instead,” she said.
That was clearly coming from the heart. But her dedication to speaking out was deeper than that. She was the kind of person who would stand up and proudly say what was on her mind if she believed it was true.
“All right, I hear you. I’ll try talking to her, too. Come back tomorrow,” I told Noelle, who still seemed skeptical as she left.
The princess knight still had her head turned away in a huff.
“Are you looking for a kiss?” I asked. “It’s easier to do on the lips.”
“Fool,” she said, looking my way at last. “Nothing is going to change my mind.”
“Are you worried about this?” I said, rubbing my own wrist. She scowled as though she’d swallowed something sour. Bingo.
She already had the black spots on the back of her neck. Now they were on her wrist as well and might spread beyond that. Maybe they wouldn’t suddenly appear during the feast, but there was no guarantee.
She put her elbows on the table in a gesture of penitence, holding her hands in prayer.
“…I can still hide my arms. But what if they appear where I cannot hide them?”
Arwin’s reputation would crater. And not just hers; the other members of Aegis and even the name of Mactarode would suffer. It would drag her dead parents’ reputation through the mud. That terrified her.
“Only the worst addicts get spots on their faces.”
“And that’s not me?”
“……”
My face must have given away too much emotion. Arwin came back to her senses and hung her head.
“…I’m sorry,” she said.
I wasn’t trying to make her feel obligated to me, but it would be nice if she thought about the lengths I went to.
“How do you really feel?” I asked.
“…I would like to attend if I’m able,” she said apologetically. “There are relatives of the Mactarode royal family scheduled to attend. If I’m somehow able to help those who’ve lost their homes…”
In other words, she wanted to perform diplomacy and politics. The woman was an avatar of responsibility.
“Understood. I’ll figure that out for you.”
That, at least, we could do something about. I just needed to deal with that witch.
It looked like I’d have some sleepless nights ahead.
“I never said I would attend…”
“Just trust me. Go ahead and pick out a dress,” I said. That was an area I couldn’t help her with. I didn’t have the funds. “And a necklace and rings and a tiara…”
“I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Then rent them from a jeweler.” Any business would be happy to have the princess knight sporting its wares.
“This is enough for me,” she said, reaching for my head. I thought she was going to caress me, but when she pulled her hand away, there was a slender plant in her hand.
“Oh.”
It was one of the weeds Natalie had tossed onto my head earlier. I thought I’d brushed them all off.
“A strange smell,” she said, examining the bit of grass in her hand.
“Doesn’t make for a good perfume.”
“Speaking of perfume,” she said, thinking, “I hear there are thieves going after perfume lately.”
“Oh yeah?”
One of the specialty stores along the main street had been hit. Perfume was a luxury item, so it made sense thieves would target it. Hence the shop having armed security, but they had all been put to sleep when the robbery happened.
Perfume had some challenging idiosyncrasies compared to jewels, however. It was a liquid, so it went completely to waste if spilled. If it wasn’t properly stored, it would evaporate and the scent would be gone.
“And it was all kinds, from cheap to expensive,” she said. “Put on that much perfume, and your nose will turn.”
“I doubt they intend to use it all at once.” I smirked. “All the scents would mix together and be incoherent. It would defeat the purpo…”
Something occurred to me.
“…Unless…”
“What is it?”
“I was just remembering your smell from the other day.”
She punched me.
That night, I snuck out of the house and made my way to a backstreet shack. It was near the place I’d encountered the witch.
The roof was propped up by a beam, but the roof had holes, and there were cracks in the beam. If there were another earthquake, it would collapse for sure. I’d just been trapped under rubble the other day, and it was not an experience I wanted to repeat.
But the host had circumstances to deal with, and they could only live in a place like that. It seemed the rats had gotten a group deal on the place, too; they scurried around past my feet. Even though I was standing outside, the unpleasant smell within reached my nose.