The door to the headquarters of Stteteburg’s city guards was slammed open with a kick.

“Baaathleeeew! I aaam baaaaack!” the cheerful voice of dragoness could be heard across the halls “No. No gods please no… just not the she-devil!” one of the older city guards turned pale on his face “S-she-devil? Who is she?” a newbie asked his mentor “The evil in flesh. Destroyers of villages and barrels. The one that no prison can contain. Giselle Redwing.” “G-Giselle? Isn’t she like a super famous adventurer? I head she is a bit eccentric but is doing a great job. Also, what did you mean calling her destroyer of barre…”

“YOU NAÏVE YOUNG FOOL! Lower your guard for a moment and she will…” “… I will what, Phil?” “… and you will surely teach that greenhorn everything he needs to know about swordsmanship. We are happy to have you, Madame, Capitan Barthlew will surely be happy to host you. I will go for him right away.” He bowed his head. “Heh? HEH!?” the young man was extremely confused. His was known for a grumpy attitude and complete lack of respect toward anybody, yet here, he bowed his head.

The woman was tall, slightly taller than most of the men; her jade eyes were sparkling with confidence, her grin was pleasant yet, sending warming chills down one’s spine at the same time. And damn, she was buffed.

It was more than obvious she was a wariorress, yet today she was wearing more casual clothes… if you could call them clothes at all. Her torso was covered in a thin material that was clinging to her body proudly showing her curves, her stomach was on display, being a proof her hardworking and dangerous life - covered in few scars.

Few could find her quite pretty, but most would find her simply frightening.

Young squire belongs to both groups at the same time.

“Oh, and who is that little seedling of a bean? I don’t remember you!?” “I-I-I AM NOT A BEAN SEEDLING! I am Cecil Heathsworn! Squire of Barthlew Muscar! Soon I will be a full-time city guard protecting the peace of this town!”

Then he noticed what he said. What he said and to who he said that - to the person that made even elder Phil bows his head.

Giselle opened her eyes slightly wider.

“Big words… for such a tiny seedling. Look at you. Tiny, lack of muscles, swords sheath is clean and unused, which means you take your sword only for trainings… And such inexperienced fledgling wants to protect this city?” she bowed slightly over Cecil, now, he was completely covered by her shadow “… Good. At least you have spirit.”

She walked past him. Only now did Ceil exhaled the air, bah, only now he noticed was holding his breath this entire time.

“Barthlew! How much longer are you going to make me wait!” “Giselle, I would gladly make you wait as long as needed. And then maybe some more. Speaking bluntly, I wouldn’t mind seeing you tomorrow. Or the day after. Or never.” “RUDE! How dare you address like this your savior! Did you already forgot that I killed the beast that you guys couldn’t!?” “I also remember that you caused more damage in that single night that the beast did in a month of its existence…” “Hmph! If you say so, I will be going!” she turned around and started heading toward the exit “Wait!” “What is it?” the woman turned around waiting for an apology “… you still owe me my money I lend you four years ago.” “A-ha. I came to pay that back too, even with some percents for the delay in payment… but if you have such a low opinion about me… maybe I would just send it to your wife… I mean, you really would hate to see me after all, then I don't want you to be forced to bear with my presence any longer…”

Expression on Barthlew face changed. What EVERYONE knew, was that his wife was quite… despotic. If Giselle would give the money to her, it was more than sure that he would never see them again.

“W-w-w-w-wait! I get it, you stupid sow, I am sorry for treating you so badly!... But what did you expect after borrowing money and not appearing for so long!” “I wanted to pay you back! I am not a thief!... But, I kinda wanted to do it in person, and I kinda didn’t get any more quests around these parts so…”

She tossed a small bag filled with coins in his direction, that he caught mid-air.

He wasn’t rude enough to check how much was inside of the little purse, but from weight alone, he could say that there was more than she borrowed.

“Told you. I am giving back the money I took and paying for all that time you had to wait… now, would you mind spending some time with an old friend of yours? Mention good old times?” “I would, of course, shamefully I have to say though, that such conversations are best with a mug of ale, yet… well, I had a birthday a few days ago and these rascals drank everything we had in storage…” “… and that would be very fortunate if I came with my own supplies?” “.. it indeed would be.” “ROLL THEM IN, BOYS!” Giselle yelled toward still opened door.

After hearing the command, the workers she hired started brining in the barrels of alcohol.

“One… two.. three… four…” the captain started counting, yet quickly gave up as he noticed something else. “Giselle… is that… a Walker family logo?” “But of course! I wouldn’t treat my good friends with some sour apple wine!”

That was a tease, apple wine was exactly what they were drinking the last time.

“Giselle, I just have to ask, you didn’t rob some merchant on your way here, didn’t you?” “Naaah! My… mate… is quite rich, and I was begging him all night to me some.” “And you begging have such a miraculous effect? On a male? Merchant atop of that, as I presume seeing alcohol worth more than my salary for half of a year??” “… replace begging with banging.” “Aye. That makes sense now.” Capitan of the city guard approached her , embraced her with one arm while showing a way toward her office “… speaking about the old time, you were away so you won;t know, but you have to listen to the story of how I killed an iron-hide boar!” “You? An iron-hide?” “I have his head in my office!” “I have to see that!”

And thus, the first part of operation called “paralyze the city guard” started.

I had to turn back and cover half of a day of travel. Once I returned to the crossroad, I turned south-west toward the mountain, then I kneeled on the ground and touched the dirt.

“Oh, gentle mother, that lives in joyful slumber,

Guide thy son, make his resolve not crumble…

Show me the way, give a sign,

uncover the mysteries, that not even death can hide… Echo of Gaia!”

The world around me turned grey – I could tell, even though my eyes were closed. I poured some of my mana into my palm, then slowly spread it into the land.

A burst. A Shock. Like a lightning hitting the ground – so did my spell spread across the land, painting it with the colors of magic.

I got up from the ground frustrated. I saw nothing - at least not what I was looking for. Either they are even further away.…. or they have magicians among themselves that raised protective barrier. Even my scouting magic can’t see everything. There are ways to trick it or hide from it… the scan in the less effective the greater is the distance, so, if they were hiding at the edges of my spell radius, they could pretty much hide from it just holding their breath or stopping their mana emission – I am exaggerating here a little, but still should give a glimpse on how the spell works.

… or maybe… that Panther girl lied to me…

I don’t have time to once again waste half of a day just to turn what remained of their lives into misery.

For now, I will keep moving south-west and if I won’t find any more tracks… I will start burning everything on my path. I don’t care if I would start a fire that would swallow hundreds of hectares of land. If they would keep on hiding, I would have to just smoke them out. Literally.

The servant opened the door in front of the priestess.

“My Lady, My Lord, Madame Lanele Falla Indiga Selene Sall’atja Dun’gadan Frackella of house Bagoraz has arrived…”

Another servant yelled her extremely embarrassing full name loud enough, that the nobles at the other side of the district could hear him.

Now, let’s count. Oneee… Twoooo…. Threee… Fooour.. .Fiii..

Five, it is

The lady and the lord of the house appeared on the stairs leading to the floor, slowly descending down to greet her. As if they weren’t waiting this whole time like little spoiled kids for Santa.

Eh… they could just drop the act, especially that she was the one who stepped into this vipers nest.

“My, my. I can’t believe my eyes. Pardon me, priestess, but when I saw the letter stating that you would visit us, I thought it was just a prank of one of my friends…”

Aha. Because for the prank alone, someone would fake the sign and a seal of princess from another country – the crime for which the punishment is very, very severe.

“Is that so? I wish to beg your pardon if I have caused any commotion why my appearance…” she picked the edges of her dress and courted slightly “Oh! No! No, by any means no! We were just surprised! We are just low merchants, we have no idea, what such a magnificent person like yourself could possibly want from us, but, for the sake of the friendship between our countries, races, and families, we will try our best to host you with all the honors!” “Oh! I am so very grateful for your hospitality!” Lanele bowed her head - something that according to etiquette she shouldn’t do “… also, please, don’t speak so lightly about yourself! When I asked who I should be bugging if I wanted some… exotic… good from the south, I was right away pointed in your direction!... and I allowed myself to ask for opinion more than just one person, just to be sure. Apparently you have no idea how respected you are among your own kinsmen!” “T-thank you very much for your words, we are not worthy of your kindness, my lady!” the lady courted in answer. “I-I would like to speak about the detail of my problem without the staff if that’s not the problem…” “Oh, by any means! The business subjects are always discussed behind a closed door! That’s a standard! But, pardon my rudeness and nosiness, but I heard that you have stopped at the adventurers' inn, is that true?” “Yes, I wanted to see the world before I would officially take the office after my mother, to personally see the people with which in the future I shall make the deals with…” the nobles looked at each other. Good. They took a bait “… the adventurers gave me the best opportunity to travel. Also, helps to see the world it actually is, not only through the windows of the mansions…” “I see, I see. A noble purpose – to truly learn the ways of this world. Allow me to speculate thought – living with these barbarians much be hard for you! Also, the food!? I better not even asking what they want to feed you with!...”

These barbarians are true nobles of this world. Honest, full of selfless compassion, risking their lives for a handful of coins! And their food is actually wonderful!

That’s what Lanele wanted to yell, but of course, she didn’t.

“… before we would start the business, I would be delighted to invite you for a dinner… I beg your pardon, but my son did not return just yet, and I really want him to know you, madame, he will be the one to take the business after me, and taking into consideration, how long-lived your kind is, it is possible that we would already retire before you would settle down at the Great Jade City…”

Retire. tjaaa. More like "would be already buried 6 feet underground"

“That would be more than splendid!” Lanele smiled clapping her hand together trying to look as happy as it was only possible “… because my business is just as a matter of yours, as your son.”

She heard a word about their son. He is known as a good person. Smart, handsome even. He indeed had a wonderful reputation, and it was quite a common thing that nobles were visiting their house to see for possible marriage for their daughters.

Oh, Lanele had something else in mind, but just dropping this little suggestion would be enough, to completely paralyze their actions for a couple of days.

Because, if you had to chose – what would you do – keep on chasing slaves just to maintain a “good” name in the crime underworld, or marry into the royalty of elves, which would increase the rank of your family by few (dozen) levels, possibly opening new trading routes which usually stayed shut for humans. What would you do, indeed...?