Special Chapter V - Stalkers (part 1)

I am capable of imagining what a war looks like.

Therefore, I wasn't too surprised when I found out about how this entire city is just crawling with knights.

It's the fifteenth time I have spotted a group of knights patrolling at the roads near me. Luckily, I am moving at a high speed above the roofs, so no knights nor anyone else will be able to spot me.

If they see someone wearing a mask, they will certainly be suspicious. Too bad I don't have any stealth abilities. All I had were speed and the ability to pressure down my presence. Though, that much is enough to hide from these people.

I leaped from one tall building to another. It's very easy to see that the architectural structures in Veldon are more advanced than Mazino. Their buildings are taller, sharper, more detailed, and more modern in comparison to Mazino's architecture.

It's like the most recent British architecture. And since the buildings are quite tall, it makes it easier for me to stay hidden.

As I jumped from one roof to another, I came up with a plan.

First, I need to obtain as much information as I can about the war between the rebellion and the kingdom. For this, I came to multiple taverns, and paid the bartender for information. 

I also talked with some old dudes who sell information, after the bartender forwarded me to them. Though I don't trust their information, I need to get as much as I can. Then I can decide whether or not the information is genuine.

After gathering information, it's time for the second step. To confirm if an information is true or not, I need more than one source of information. And this second one, is rather important. Interrogation.

It's quite simple, really. Through interrogation, I can obtain a more genuine information and a much more reliable one. Though, I don't really like hurting anyone, but I will if I have to.

Right now, I stood on one of the tallest towers in Veldon, the clock tower. The tip of the tower is sharp and at least fifty meters high, with a single giant sun clock at the top. The sun clock only shows how far it has been since the last bell rang. 

And right now, it shows half way across the first bell, towards the second bell. Which means, it should be around 9 am in the morning.

A good time to do an interrogation.

Around the clock tower is a large plaza, filled with food stalls and other small markets. Aside from food, there are also others like sellers that open vegetable shops or clothings. There are also a few that sell magic tools, like a wand or some other magic related stuff.

And down there, I can see a single knight on his day off, eating away a meal that looks like a satay. 

What a peaceful day isn't it, mister?

On my right, there is a dark alleyway. I had closed that area in advance, that way no one was going to enter.

Time to begin.

I slowly leaped down from the tower, without destroying anything at my step nor even causing any sound.

The knight was too occupied in chopping away the meat on his satay, he did not realize the shadow that leaped towards him. Though the shadow was moving way too quick, it was probably impossible for him to realize.

The shadow grabbed him by the collar and leaped away. His mind was too shaky to even realize what was going on, and he couldn't even scream. His mouth was closed shut.

The people around didn't even notice the kidnapping. They just do things normally without knowing.

The shadow leaped again and landed on a dark alleyway, where he released the panicking knight.

"W-What...?"

The knight was about to shout, but he made a mistake. He looked at the person who kidnapped him.

Upon seeing the skull mask his breathing chokes. The dark brown robes are being waved around by the wind. The pressure that was emitted is focussed on the knight alone, which means he is receiving all this weight by himself.

The shocked knight couldn't breathe.

"I'm not going to harm you, but you have to answer my questions."

"Ekh... Gkhh..."

The knight was too frightened, he lost the ability of speech. Sweats are flowing hard on his head. From the looks of it, he had never been in such a horror situation before in his life.

Well, he was living an easy life.

I toned down my pressure just a little bit, so that he could at least talk. The knight controlled his breath after feeling the pressure reduced. He looked at me with a fierce expression.

"What do you want!?"

"Tell me everything you know about the rebellion?"

.

.

.

Would you look at that, a beautiful sunset?

The sunset here is unbelievable. Maybe because if you see it from one of the tallest buildings in Veldon, you can see the beach far up on the west, which is where the sun goes down.

The sun colors the ocean orange before slowly getting out of view. It truly is a magnificent view, pretty unfortunate that this is on Veldon and not at Mazino.

Right now, I'm standing in one of the tallest towers in Veldon, which is the sun clock tower from before. No one can see me up here, because the top is pretty flat and rather wide.

It has been over nine hours since we arrived here. After sundown, I'm supposed to regroup with Lyona at the gate. I shouldn't be wearing my disguise when I'm with her, since it might put her in danger. I'll just act like one of her friends.

She might be the key to solving this issue. I have to help her if there's any threat.

The bell will ring soon. Unless I want my ears to shatter from the sound, I need to get out of here.

With a single leap, I jumped away from the tower and began heading towards the gate.

Before going to the gate, I stopped at a nearby dark alley. After changing to my casual attire, I placed my other identity into my ring and walked out towards the gate. And looks like Lyona is already there, waiting. 

Silently, I approached her. Once I got close, I quickly spoke.

"The bell hasn't even rang, you know?"

"Heeek!!"

Lyona got quite startled. She turned to me, pouting and angrily stared at me. I laughed for a bit, but then I realized something was odd.

She is alone. She was never alone, and she should never be alone.

"Where's... Eva?"

"On a hunt. Listen, we need to talk somewhere else."

Her face turned serious. Something must have happened.

After she said that, it didn't take me long to realize how dumb I am. I don't even have to look, and I already know.

There are so many eyes watching us. Hostile, bloodlust, it's clear what their intentions are to me.

I put on a smiling face and grabbed Lyona's hand.

"Come with me. I know the perfect place!"

I said aloud, capturing Lyona very confused. I took her right hand and began walking while pulling her hand. She just followed, but she looked quite confused.

"W-Wait, Rize-"

"Rile. My name is Rile."

I said that with a silent face at her. I turned my face towards her and blinked one eye while smiling. She understood what I meant, but is still quite hesitating. But after a while, she walks normally with me as she follows.

We arrived at an expensive restaurant not that far from the gate. We took a seat on the second floor, in the outside area.

"What are we doing here!? We are supposed to hide!!"

"The best way to act hidden is to not act like one."

I said as I slowly took a sip from my coffee, which seemed to be a little too hot. I placed the cup back down and tried very hard not to let the coffee in my mouth touch my tongue. Once I gulped them down, I smirked.

"Too hot. Way too hot."

"Riz-I mean, Rile..."

"It's fine, you can call me Rize here. Come on, drink your coffee. I ordered the best one."

She stared at the coffee mug right in front of her right hand for a few seconds. She snapped her gaze back to me, I can sense anger in her breathing.

"Rize, listen! One of the knights got captured!"

"I see... And?"

Hearing my reply coldly, Lyona got taken aback.

"And?? How are you seriously--"

"Lyona, listen."

I placed my cup down carefully, not to spill the contents. I turned my eyes towards her eyes, and moved my right hand to hold her cheek.

If anyone saw us doing this, they might think we are a couple. However, I am merely trying to express something to her.

"Panicking won't solve anything. If anything, it will cause trouble for us. So, try not to look so panicked. People are still watching us."

Lyona opened her eyes widely after hearing my words, and she turned her gaze outside the window. I quickly pulled her gaze back to me with one finger, and I raised one eyebrow while tilting my head.

"Calm... down."

I reminded her coldly, and Lyona realized her mistake. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and she too turned calm.

"Okay. I'm calm."

"I need a smile out of you. We need to act as if we are having fun."

I told her exactly, and she proceeded to show me a very awkward smile. This must be indeed so hard for her, but all this is the bare minimum for our survival.

"Nice job! With this, we can operate just fine."

"I'm surprised, Rize... you're very calm in situations like this. I guess pros are just different, huh?"

Lyona asked with such a big smile, completely countering the words she was saying. And from what she said, I realized something odd about myself.

I'm not exactly sure myself as to how I am able to stay calm in this situation. I have never been in this situation before, so normally I would have panicked like Lyona just now. But, I understand that panicking isn't going to solve anything, so my logical brain just worked exactly like how I wanted.

But still… I am feeling calm. Scary calm…

It's weird. For sure, this is very weird. But, I'm not going to complain if it's going to keep us alive.

I shoved away that mindset and focused on what's in front of me. First, I need to learn more about her situation.