Chapter 8. A Strange Man

Thud!

The book, thrown with all her might, flew straight and struck the man fleeing on the back of his head. The staggering man turned his head. The moment their eyes met, Ael flinched and stepped back.

It was because the man was glaring at her coldly.

“Was it someone from the merchant guild!”

He muttered something incomprehensible and turned to charge at Ael. In no time, a sharp dagger was in one of the man’s hands.

“……!”

Caught off guard, Ael couldn’t even scream and froze in place. She thought it might be dangerous, but she never imagined she’d be stabbed in broad daylight.

She couldn’t believe the dagger gleaming in the man’s hand as he ran at her. An attack like this, in the capital, and in the Central Square no less!

Ael braced herself for the pain that would come and tightly shut her eyes.

Thud!

At that moment, a dull sound was heard. Instead of the expected pain, a dust-laden breeze and a strange warmth enveloped Ael.

“……?”

In a situation different from what she imagined, Ael immediately opened her eyes. Something was blocking her view. What was it?

Ael slowly lifted her head.

She met a pair of blue eyes. At that moment, Ael forgot that it was impolite and stared at him blankly.

It was a man she had never seen before. Black hair with a slight brown tint under the sunlight. Thick, straight eyebrows. And beneath them, sparkling blue eyes.

Everything about him was refreshingly handsome.

Ael momentarily forgot the situation and thought: what a good-looking person.

“Are you alright?”

A clear, low voice rang in her ears. Only then did Ael realize what state she was in and hastily pushed the man away.

Fortunately, the man immediately stepped back at Ael’s gesture. Then, behind the man, she saw the fallen vagrant. What had he done?

The vagrant lay on the ground, clutching his wrist and groaning, and the dagger he held was on the ground a few steps away.

“This bastard!”

“Hold him! Pin him down!”

Soon, the woman who had called for help and the men who appeared to be her companions rushed over and seized the fallen man.

People who pretended not to see and avoided the scene now came closer to help or stood a step away, still watching.

‘Did I almost die……?’

In the midst of the commotion, Ael finally regained her senses and looked at the dagger on the ground. The sunlit blade gleamed with a sharp blue light.

The sight of that dangerous light made her realize just how much peril she had been in moments ago.

“Ah…….”

Along with the shock, she felt the pain from her injuries. Ael groaned and staggered. She thought she might collapse, but a large hand soon caught her arm.

The man who had embraced Ael earlier had approached again to support her.

“I’m sorry for grabbing you without permission. Are you really alright?”

“N-no, I’m fine.”

A voice that was not fine at all came out. Belated fear made her teeth chatter and her body tremble.

The man held on without letting go until Ael calmed down.

After a while, the man who had attacked was dragged away by people, and the woman who had shouted to catch him approached Ael.

“Thank you so much. Thanks to you, we caught that bastard!”

Her clothes were quite fancy, but her speech was far from the refined manner of nobles. Then Ael noticed a strange accent in the woman’s words.

“Empire……?”

“Yes. I’m from the Empire. To be more precise, I’m Nisha, the branch manager of the Ash Merchant Guild’s Denertum branch. And the person who kicked that guy away is…….”

The woman was introducing herself when she looked at the man supporting Ael and trailed off. The man smiled knowingly and introduced himself to Ael.

“I am also working for the Ash Merchant Guild. My name is Kyle.”

“Oh, yes. T-thank you, Mr. Kyle. But I’m okay now, so could you let go of my hand…….”

At Ael’s words, Kyle finally released the hand that had been supporting her.

As the warmth that had touched her arm disappeared, Ael felt an odd sense of loss. She rubbed the arm he had held for no reason.

Perhaps thinking that action stemmed from discomfort, Kyle bowed his head further in apology.

“I’m sorry. I thought you might fall, so I held on too long.”

“No, it’s me who should thank you for saving me. I almost died.”

At the polite man’s apology, Ael hung her head even lower. Then she realized something. The envelope containing the letter paper she had been holding was gone.

“The letter paper!”

Ael quickly turned to scan the ground. There, on the floor where people had dragged the vagrant away, she saw the crumpled envelope covered in footprints.

Ael hurriedly approached the envelope. Her ankle, which seemed injured, throbbed, but the pain wasn’t important right now.

Ael’s hand trembled as she bent down with difficulty to pick up the envelope.

The state of the envelope was disastrous. Even so, Ael, unable to abandon hope, carefully opened it.

“Ah…….”

But as soon as she pulled out the letter paper, the remaining hope turned into a sigh.

The paper inside was not only crumpled but also torn. She took everything out, hoping there might still be an intact sheet, but it was a vain hope.

“……What do I do.”

Ael’s face turned pale.

She had already braced herself to hear Elise’s complaints for returning late. But now, it wouldn’t end with just complaints.

If she went home like this, Elise would immediately ask why she was so late, and she’d have to explain what happened.

‘She’ll probably scold me for doing something unnecessary.’

Moreover, Elise would undoubtedly torment her for days, saying her letter to the Grand Duke would be delayed.

She would certainly raise her hand multiple times. Her cheek, which hadn’t been hit yet, ached.

At that moment, a low voice spoke above her head again.

“It happened because of us, didn’t it?”

“Well, that’s…….”

She couldn’t bring herself to say no. As Ael hesitated, the man smiled refreshingly once more and politely extended his hand to her.

“We can’t just let our benefactor leave like this. Please give us a chance to repay this favor.”

Unconsciously, Ael reached out her hand. He gently took her hand and said,

“First, let’s get your injuries treated.”

* * *

“Callon, what are you thinking!”

“Why don’t you shout a little louder, Nisha? So everyone in this building can hear my name. Including the young lady who came with us a while ago.”

At Callon’s calm words, Nisha held her forehead.

She looked at Kyle, or rather Callon, who was holding a book in front of her.

Callon Ash. Nisha always wondered what expressions people would make if they knew that the owner of the Ash Merchant Guild, whom the world assumed to be a middle-aged man, was actually the man in his late twenties standing before her.

“You said you’d arrive three months later, so I was surprised by your sudden arrival…… and why did you bring along someone you could have just given a suitable reward and sent away…….”

As Nisha grumbled, unable to understand, Callon’s face, which had been wearing a gentle smile, turned cold.

“Don’t say that. Thanks to that young lady, we were able to catch him, weren’t we?”

“That’s true.”

“That guy, just by his movements, you could tell he wasn’t an ordinary vagrant. And when he charged at us, he targeted the documents you were holding from the start. As if he knew they were the documents that had just today.”

“…….”

“He might not know I’m Callon, but it still means the information security here isn’t perfect. Be careful.”

“Understood. I’ll make sure to check more thoroughly.”

At that cold voice, Nisha dropped her earlier friendly demeanor and bowed respectfully.

She felt the cold gaze pouring over her head. Cold sweat ran down her back.

Just a few hours ago, Callon had been chatting lightly with her, almost like friends, but at times like this, she could keenly feel that he was the one leading the vast Ash Merchant Guild.

“And bringing that young lady wasn’t just to show kindness.”

“Did you notice something suspicious about her?”

Nisha recalled the woman who introduced herself as Ael. The woman who helped them catch the attacker.

The woman’s expression, looking at a loss because her belongings were in shambles and she had injured her ankle, didn’t seem false.

“This.”

“That’s…… the book she threw, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Callon tossed the small book lightly and caught it, muttering.

“Do you think it makes sense that a woman walking the streets of Denertum is reading a book that even the economists at the Imperial Academy find difficult to understand?”