Chapter 1, Part 2: Mango Pies

The same day.

Ciel has successfully entered Arbeau.

Before her was a bustling training grounds, where all the guards are trained in combat. The sounds of wooden swords striking suspended sacks of hay could be heard from the other side of the gate.

The ones who rushed in were already nowhere to be found. It seems they have already went about their separate ways.

She walked towards the nearest guard and asked a question. "Hello, where were the people who entered just earlier?"

The guard replied. "Ah, them? They all spread out. But if I were to guess, most of them will be going for the taverns where the good stuff is."

"You mean ale?"

"No, I mean something else. Apparently there's this new drink that makes anyone... 'happy'."

"Oho?" Ciel grabbed a gold coin from her pocket. "I'm interested. I'll give you this pure gold coin if you tell me everything."

"A-Alright."

(Got him.)

The guard leaned forward and whispered to Ciel.

"This drink's called Genesis. It's said that drinking it gave them the time of their lives, as if they were in a different world, but when they woke up the next day, they couldn't remember anything other than that something nice happened to them after drinking."

"And they got addicted to it. Am I correct?"

"Yeah. And surprisingly this stuff is cheap as dirt. Three bronze coins and you have yourself a swig."

(Just a swig...? That's potent!)

"What happens when they drink more than just a swig?" Ciel asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know. I'm a guard so I can't drink this stuff or it'll cost me my job. You're going to have to investigate further by yourself, miss."

"...Okay. Thank you."

She headed west and disappeared into the crowd.

...

The guard pressed a small object into his ear. "Hey. Someone's on our trail."

"Gotcha. I'm on it."

Ciel wore her hood and kept a low profile. There's always a possibility of death no matter how small, be it in a city, the Divides, or a deserted island.

There were various races in her sight. Elves, Beastmen, Halflings, and much more. Any one of them could be keeping an eye out for her.

(So most of the people lined up were looking for this Genesis drink. Those who left the line before dark probably had different purposes. I'll have to go into a tavern to investi—)

As she made her way through the crowd, an arrow zoomed through the air from above and pierced her head from behind.

"Guh—"

Ciel fell to the ground.

"Waahh?!"

"She's... she's dead!"

The crowd panicked and scurried out of the scene. Ciel was left lying with an arrow stuck to her head.

For some reason, the guards were not responding to the cries of the citizens. In mere seconds, the street was barren. Even the shops shut their doors and windows closed.

"Damn it, I should've anticipated this..."

Ciel stood back up struggling and dusted her clothes. She firmly held the arrow and pulled it out quickly. Normally her head would be bleeding profusely, but the wound was nowhere to be found.

This is due to Ciel being Immortal; an individual incapable of dying.

Her Immortality is called Absolute Regeneration. Her cells multiply instantaneously and heal her wounds. Her cells also prevent her body from aging physically, making her look like she is in her teenage years forever.

Ciel has been around fifty years before the Great War of Safruth, and during that time she became Zachary's apprentice.

In short, she has more or less than five century's worth of combat experience.

Since she cannot be physically hurt anymore, she just lets futile surprise attacks such as this one go.

"From the angle I was shot from... ah, so this guy was on top of a roof. I can track you down, no sweat."

Ciel glared at the location from which the arrow was shot. The ambusher was, for some reason, still there. Making eye contact with her, the ambusher flinched in surprise, and ran away.

Ciel went after him. She cast the spell, Terra: Erosion, at the base of the building the ambusher was on. As she quickly approached the building, the spell took effect just in time and created a staircase from the building's wall. She climbed it and chased him, who was jumping from roof to roof.

The small delays on Ciel's spells thus far has something to do with her Ability, which literally does what it is called; Delayed Effect.

Any attack she does will automatically activate her Ability and cause her attack to take effect in exactly five seconds. Simultaneous activation makes her Ability lose cook time, up to the point that her attacks take effect after a mere second.

"Hey, you! I haven't paid you back for this arrow!" Ciel cried.

Her ambusher only kept on running, performing slightly unnecessary stunts to escape her. However—

"—?! Oh, shit!"

The ambusher lost his footing and fell in an unsightly manner. Fortunately for him, he landed on the roof and not the floor, which was three storeys high. He unwillingly smacked a wooden table over and rained moist soil on him, coming from the many potted plants above the same table.

Ciel saw this as an opportunity.

She cast Terra: Erosion again as she ran towards the him and controlled soil. Before he could recover and run again, the soil began to wrap around his neck. He attempted to yank the soil off but it would not break, as if it was glued to the roof.

"Quite the chase, eh?" Ciel asked. She finally caught up while the ambusher tried to remove the soil.

"...What do you want? Money?"

"That's not something I can make use of. Besides, I have plenty."

"Then why the hell did you chase me all the way out here?"

"Huh?" she pulled the arrow out from somewhere the ambusher could not see. "In case you're forgetting, you drove this arrow into my brain."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on. There's no hiding it. You even have the damn bow on you."

"...Okay. Fine, I give. What do you want?"

"Information."

"You're gonna have to try harder than that, girl."

Ciel bent her knees and put the arrowhead near his throat. "I can kill you off right here and now and disintegrate your corpse. You're not in control of this situation, I am."

Threatened with his life, the ambusher finally gave up for real. "Okay, damn it! What do you want to know?!"

"First, I'm gonna have to remove this fancy jewel on your ear."

She reached for his left temple and removed a small green gem that was perfectly sized for his eardrum. She tossed it off the roof. Now, the gem, small as it is, cannot be found anymore.

"There we go. Firstly, this Genesis drink thing. Tell me everything you know about it."

He hesitated for a bit before answering. "...It's a drink that induces 'otherworldly happiness'. A shotglass's worth of this stuff is enough for a night of getting baked."

"If one were to consume this in more than a swig, what will happen to them? And who's with you on this?"

The ambusher fell silent.

"Oh? Since you're not answering, and are averting your gaze, I'm assuming it's bad news. Let me guess this one."

"Be my guest. You'll just get it wrong anyway."

"The guard from earlier was your accomplice, and those addicted to Genesis and drink more than a shotglass's worth disappear without a trace."

"Wha—?!"

"Oh, right on the money? I'm pretty good at guessing with vague information, plus a guard shouldn't even be knowing about this dangerous drink. You should've just told me, you know, this would've been easier for you. Now the answer was forcefully taken from you."

"Y-You're wrong, girl! I have no idea how you lived through that arrow, but one thing's for sure! They all died happy... and stuff!"

"Stuttering and futile bluffing is a bad combination. I don't think you're cut out for lying."

"Shut up! You already got what you want right?! Let me go already!"

"Sure I will. Thanks for the help."

Ciel undid her spell and the soil around his neck crumbled to the ground. He got up immediately and ran away.

"Hah! Foolish girl! You shouldn't have—?!"

The ambusher stumbled on one of the toppled pots and fell. He sprained his ankle and broke a finger upon impact with the roof floor.

"AAAAAAAA—"

"Okay, on second thought, stay here for the night."

She cast Terra: Reform on his feet. the roof floor reshaped itself and locked the ambusher in place. He screamed loudly as he held his hand shivering, eyeing his... pinky. Which should not normally bend the way it did.

"Well then, farewell. Oh, and also," she lobbed the arrow to him, "a word of advice. Learn about your victims before you take a hit at them."

She disappeared from the scene and left the ambusher agonizing over his finger. Shortly after, a resident of the building heard his cries. They discovered him flailing about on the floor and nursing his hand.

"...What the hell happened here..." the resident said to himself.

...

Ciel jumped off a building and landed on a back alleyway. She cast Terra: Reform on the ground to soften her fall.

"Now then, if he was making me chase towards that direction, then it must mean their base of operations is in the opposite direction. Scouts that get discovered often tend to lead their pursuers farther from the base."

She straight-up ditched investigating the inns and taverns, and decided to follow her guess.

Ciel blended back in the ground and wore her hood. She looked at her surroundings to look for some suspicious activity. Eventually she ended up on a district with a thinner crowd; the residence district of Arbeau.

As it was nighttime, the residence district was not very active. Every family is in their homes eating dinner and perhaps already sleeping.

Ciel wandered around the almost empty district, sitting on a nearby bench and took a deep breath.

"Hours of waiting in line... and I haven't sat down ever since. I should take this moment to relax for a bit."

She took out a small bag from behind her and opened it. It contained the same treats he gave the Elf.

"Ah, what a nice smell."

These treats are Mango Pies. She learned how to make them from a befriended elderly. It is a rectangular shaped pastry that had oozing mango jam in it. Best eaten smoking hot.

She took a large bite from one and let the flavors dance in her tongue. She blissfully held her blushing cheek as if it might fall off from the deliciousness.

Suddenly, from a location near Ciel. Two men are plotting something.

"Hey, isn't that the girl that guard warned us about?"

"Yeah, that's her, there's no mistaking it. If we let her go on she'll screw our business over. Let's do this."

They approached Ciel as she finished her Pie. "Hey there miss, why are you out here so late?"

"Huh? It's just a quarter before the seventh hour. What are you talking about?" Ciel asked.

"Oh, uh, I guess you got a point." he scratched his head and continued speaking. "Well anyway, I'm gonna have to ask you to give up everything you have on you, including whatever I'm smelling right now, it's making me hungry."

"Oh, I'll gladly share these with you. Here, have some you two." Ciel handed them a Mango Pie each. "Go on, bite into them. Be careful not to spill what's inside."

They took large bites out of the treats. A bit of golden ocre jam dripped down their chins.

"Wo—Woah?!"

"What the hell is this?! It's delicious!"

Ciel chuckled proudly. "Gentlemen, introducing the Mango Pies!"

"Yo, we could make a killing if we sell these!"

"Right?! Hey, you," one of them called to Ciel, "if we swear to give you any info you want on Genesis, can you guarantee our safety and make a new business with us?!"

A sudden business proposition. But hey, at least they are willing to change for the better.

"Heh. It seems you've discovered the beauty of Mango Pies! Revel in it's glory with every bite, ye unworthy!"

"AAAAAAA—"

"AAAAAAA—"

They bowed to her in harmony and screamed. Surprisingly, they bothered nobody.

"Very well, you two!" Ciel stood up and assumed a pose like that of a princess. "My name is Ciel Pennyworth! It's a pleasure to do business."

"I'm Phiz, and this here is Heg. Now, should we get started? I can't wait to let the world know of this Mango Pie food!"

"Very well! Then," she grabbed onto their shoulders, "you two will now be my Apprentices! My second and third ones!"

"It's a pleasure to learn from you! Master!"

...

And thus, Ciel effortlessly persuaded potential enemies into becoming insightful business partners and Apprentices.