“There he is!”
After yesterday’s letter mishap, I managed to send the letter with Sylphid.
It was a bit nerve-wracking to see it thump it’s chest and say, “Leave it to me!”—but I trusted it and waved it off, hoping for the best.
After watching it rapidly disappear into the sky, I enjoyed a hearty breakfast and set out to catch the thief who stole my bag yesterday.
“Time is precious—let’s get this over with and head north.”
Humming to myself along with the Sylphids, I scouted the area.
Before leaving the inn, I’d asked a few Sylphids to gather intel, and those clever girls came back with the thief’s location.
The pickpocket, a scrappy little kid, was standing on a street corner with a worn basket of flowers, begging people to buy them.
I watched him for a bit, then approached.
“Hey.”
“Would you like to buy a flower?”
Bold. Not a flicker of guilt on his young face. Even though he clearly recognized me as the owner of the bag he stole yesterday, he played dumb.
I crossed my arms and looked him up and down. His eyebrows twitched.
Still can’t fully mask your expression, huh?
“How much for a flower?”
“One shilling.”
Even as he answered, he eyed me with suspicion—as if to say, You’re the one I stole from, but do you even have money?
I reached out my hand without hesitation.
“Will just one flower be enough?”
“One flower?”
He frowned, clearly offended. I must’ve struck a nerve. He thought I was mocking him.
“Then how many do you want?”
I bent down to meet his eye level, smiled sweetly, and said, “One, or all of them in that basket. I’ll buy them all—just bring me my bag.”
“…Huh?”
“The bag you stole yesterday. Bring it back.”
Though I was smiling, my voice was ice cold. He seemed to realize it and immediately stepped back, wary.
Worried he might run, I summoned the earth spirit, Gnome, to bind him.
“M-My body… I can’t move!”
“Relax. You won’t be able to move anyway.”
“What did you do to me?! You witch!”
Oh, now he wants to act pitiful.
But the mask had finally come off. Acting all confident, but still just a kid.
I rolled my eyes and cleaned my ears theatrically—something I immediately regretted. That move reminded me of the late warlock. Not exactly behavior I wanted to imitate.
Bad habits really do rub off quickly.
“Let me go! I’ll scream!”
“Sorry about that. My girls already took care of it—we’re in a sound barrier.”
Sure enough, the Sylphids had formed a bubble of silence around us. Even if someone could see us from afar, they wouldn’t hear a thing.
“I didn’t want to cause a scene in the middle of the street.”
“You’re a mage…?”
He looked up at me with half-defeated eyes. One was nearly swollen shut, but the other still held a spark I liked.
I’d originally planned to give him a flick to the forehead, but I hesitated.
“Mage or not, I’m an adult who’s stronger than you.”
“You’re annoying.”
“Ever been to the Metel Estate in the capital?”
The Metel Estate belonged to House Metheisa, one of the noble houses governing the western regions, including the capital.
“Never heard of it!”
“If you’d tried stealing there, you’d have lost your hand. Chop.”
Of course, I was bluffing. But when I rolled up my sleeves and mimicked slicing off a hand, his face went pale.
I tried not to laugh, but my mouth kept twitching.
– ‘Lize, that’s mean.’
– ‘You’re like a devil sometimes.’
– ‘Even if he’s a thief, picking on a kid makes you no better than—’
Shut up.
I glared at the Sylphids, and they quickly turned away to focus on maintaining the barrier.
“First, bring me my bag.”
“…It’s in a cave.”
“A cave?”
“And besides, there was nothing in that bag anyway!”
Guess he was frustrated he’d stolen from a broke traveler.
“That’s because you’re incompetent.”
“What?”
“Do you even know how rare that bag is?”
“…No?”
“It’s enchanted. Only the owner can access what’s inside.”
Idiot.
I smirked cruelly. He turned red with rage and tried to struggle—but it was useless.
I crouched down in front of him and flicked my forehead against his.
“That bag was a gift from the Emperor himself.”
Okay, I almost added “handsome and adorable Emperor,” but decided to keep my dignity in front of a child.
He went quiet at that.
He stared at me like he was trying to figure out why the Emperor came up in conversation, then bit his lip.
Smart enough to piece things together, huh?
“So… you’re a noble?”
I just smiled.
Then, I stood tall and snapped my fingers.
“Don’t think of running. Like you said, I’m a mage.”
The restraints vanished, and the boy nearly fell before catching his balance. He looked at me with a resigned nod.
“Fine. I’ll take you to the bag.”
He led me back through the alley I’d been robbed in yesterday.
In daylight, it was just a damp and dingy street.
“Are we there yet?”
“That’s the eighth time you’ve asked.”
“My time is money. I’m very busy.”
Truthfully, we’d become pretty friendly on the way to the “cave.” I even bought him a chicken skewer when I bought one for myself. The kid was shocked I had money.
When he asked me where it came from, I scoffed and gave him a lesson.
“Never put all your eggs in one basket.”
To which he cheekily replied, “You mean coins, not eggs.”
I glared and reached to snatch his skewer, and he immediately backpedaled, calling it “a wise teaching.”
“So, are you in a thieves’ guild or something?”
“No. I used to be a slave, before the Emperor changed.”
Turns out, all the kids living in the cave were former slaves. After the Emperor abolished slavery, they were freed—but still homeless, orphaned, or abandoned.
Hearing that made me glad I killed the former Emperor.
“No parents, no homes. Just a bunch of kids sticking together to survive.”
He introduced himself as Ito. Sharing his name meant he’d let his guard down.
“Are you really a noble?”
“Why? Don’t I seem like one?”
“You look more like a rich merchant’s daughter.”
I couldn’t believe that was the best insult he could manage. I thumped his head lightly.
“Do you want to be arrested for insulting a noble?”
“Ow!”
“I meant for it to hurt.”
As he rubbed his head and glared, the Sylphids sighed around me.
“You really are annoying!”
“Agreed.”
“…Tch.”
He grumbled while still holding the basket of flowers.
“Where do you get those flowers anyway?”
“There’s a big mountain past the cave. If you climb a bit, there’s a hill with wildflowers. We pick them there and sell them.”
“A mountain? But there’s no mountain near this town…”
I frowned in confusion.
Ito tugged on my sleeve.
“We’re here. This is our cave.”
“…Wow.”
As he led me to the entrance, I couldn’t hold back my reaction. Though not in admiration.
“You live here?”
“This is our home.”
“This is a landfill.”
Seriously, it was awful. Stagnant pools of water, piles of junk—possibly stolen, possibly trash. And more children, eyes wary, shrinking back at the sight of me.
The air was damp and heavy. No light. No sanitation. No life.
No one should be living here.
“Ah, found it!”
Ito dug into one of the trash piles and pulled out my bag.
Thanks to its enchantments, the bag was clean and intact.
“Now buy a flower!”
Excuse me?
For a kid who stole my bag, he was pretty bold—shoving the basket into my face.
I stared at him in disbelief. That glint in his eye…
Troublesome little thing.
But he was endearing, in his own way. Against my better judgment, I decided to do something unplanned.
“Ito.”
He looked disappointed when I didn’t reach for the flowers.
“If you walk half a day from here, you’ll reach a city called Dahlia.”
I pulled out my map and circled the location.
“Take your friends and go there. Find the Piarle Orphanage.”
“Piarle Orphanage…?”
“Right. I’ll come pick you up in exactly one month. But until then, live properly. Like a human being.”
Dahlia was a city I passed through before coming to this town. Known for its lakes and decent welfare system, it was one of the better places for people like them.
As I explained, I dug through my bag again and pulled out five gold coins.
“Are you the leader of this group, Ito?”
