The auction ground on. In the viewing platform just a few spots to the right of Noah’s group, a man and a woman sat at a table, listening with half an ear each as Rin tried to convince the attendees to bid higher on the location of a Great Monster.

“You know, I can’t help but feel like this might be breaking a few Rules,” the masked man said. He scratched at his mask, which had the number 29 on it.

The woman, whose mask had a small star on it, snorted. “There’s no point of having Rules if you don’t break them.”

“But–”

“It’s only fair. If I spend all this time making sure that everything stays as it should, then it should be perfectly fine for me to bend things a bit when I want to.”

“That’s a little hypocritical, don’t you think?”

“Do you want me to not be hypocritical?” The woman tilted her head to the side. “I can arrange for that, but I don’t think you’d enjoy the results.”

Clearing his throat, the man adjusted his shirt. “I don’t believe I’ve broken any rules. There’s nothing for me to be concerned about.”

The woman stood up and walked around the table, causing the man to stiffen. She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward so their faces were right beside each other. “If that were true, would you be so concerned right now?”

“I say this with the most respect I can – you’re terrifying. I’d be a fool not to be concerned in your presence even if I had never so much as thought of breaking a rule in my entire life.”

“Aw, you think I’m terrifying? Thanks. I appreciate it.” The woman let out a laugh as she stepped away from the man, running a finger across the back of his neck before returning to her chair and leaning back, kicking both of her feet up onto the table. “Flattery isn’t going to change anything, though. Besides, this isn’t hurting anyone.”

“No,” the man allowed, reaching up to touch the back of his neck. “I suppose it isn’t. But don’t you think introducing such a powerful Rank 6 Rune to the area is… possibly less than ideal?”

“Are you challenging my judgement?” The woman tilted her head to the side.

“In the most polite and respectful way that I can imagine – yes. I don’t think that’s against the Rules, but I’d like to request you not kill me in case you decide it is.”

The woman burst into laughter. “You get more fun every day. First you admit you’re scared of me, and then you have the guts to actually try and stand up to me for something as unimportant as this. I’m glad I didn’t pop your head like a grape when we first met. It would have been a complete waste.”

“I’m relieved to hear you think so highly of me. If I’m being honest, I’m more concerned about drawing unwanted attention than I am of your rule breaking.”

“This is my domain.” She reached up to her mask and pulled it away from her face. “The others aren’t going to care about something as unimportant as this. Besides, I didn’t do this for no reason. It had a purpose.”

Behind the mask was impossibly pale skin with lips curled up in a cocky smile. Garina set her mask down on the table, then flicked her fingers. “Go on, Ferdinand. Take the stupid thing off.”

“They’re meant to conceal our identities,” Ferdinand said wearily, removing his own mask and setting it down beside Garina’s. “I don’t mean to antagonize you, but I am not optimistic that the other Apostles would leave me alive.”

“Oh relax. You’re under my thumb. As long as you don’t break any rules, they’re not going to care in the slightest who you are. It’s a moot point, though. They’re not going to waste their time here when I’m already searching the area for our target.” Garina paused for a moment. Her face scrunched in distaste. “Okay, one of them might be around somewhere, but he’s probably not going to care about you at all.”

“When it comes to my life, I can’t say that I love the idea of probably.”

“But you don’t mind being under my thumb?” Garina smirked at the scowl on Ferdinand’s face. “Relax. You’re being a stick in the mud. Do you really think I’d have given away a Rank 6 Rune at this level for no reason?”

“I’m not sure it’s a wise idea to make any predictions about your actions.”

“Oh, stuff it. I’m trying to lure my prey out.”

Ferdinand’s expression tightened and his eyes narrowed imperceptibly. “Prey?”

Neither of them had spoken much about their actual goals, but Ferdinand was fairly certain that they were both in pursuit of the exact same person. Granted, the only one that had to actually hide their goals was him. Garina could do just about whatever she wanted.

“I’ve always got prey,” Garina said with a shrug. “Some are more important than others. Either way, nobody’s found the one I’m looking for yet. Not the Apostles, and not your little church either. This is bait.”The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

That’s the first time she’s directly pointed out we’re looking for the same person. That… might not be good for my safety.

“What makes you think they can afford a Rank 6 Rune? What if our–”

“Our?” Garina arched an eyebrow.

Shit. I literally just took notice that she’d pointed it out. How did I slip up so badly?

“Your target. I misspoke,” Ferdinand said quickly, but his back went stiff.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke. Then Garina gestured impatiently. “Then re-speak. Finish your damn sentence.”

“Maybe I’m being presumptuous,” Ferdinand said slowly, choosing his words as carefully as he could. “But you’ve never had trouble finding someone before. That means they aren’t a Rank 7, so they aren’t standing out from anyone else.”

Garina rolled her eyes. “Yes. And?”

“Well, you obviously don’t know who they are, or we wouldn’t be sitting here. So you’re assuming your target is from some massive family in this empire, right? Did they give you any reason to believe that?”

I’m straying too close to the dragon’s den, but I can’t find anyone on my own with Garina right next to me. Honestly, I don’t think I want to find them anymore. Why am I even trying to help? Spending time relaxing in the nice forests of this backwater empire is a thousand times better than working. Either way, Garina definitely has some sort of plan. I should have stayed quiet.

“I – well, shit.” Garina crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “That’s really damn annoying. You might actually have a point.”

“I do?”

“What a waste,” Garina muttered. “I sent Runes to just about every major city in the Empire to see if I could draw my prey out. They’ve got power that a God wants! They’ve got to be one of the strongest mages, right?”

It didn’t sound like that was a rhetorical question. Garina was actually asking his opinion.

I’m not even going to ask how she distributed those Runes. I’m just glad they aren’t mine. I’d have been tempted to buy one of those myself if I had the money for it.

“If they’re that strong, it’s possible they know people are looking for them,” Ferdinand hedged. “And, if I were them, I probably wouldn’t want to be found. It’s nice here. Peaceful. If they did choose this empire to reside in, wouldn’t they try to keep a low profile?”

“Fuck,” Garina said. She screwed her face up in annoyance, then thrust a finger in Ferdinand’s direction. “This is why I keep you around. It’s hard to think like a rat, so having one like yourself around to think in a similar manner is actually useful.”

That’s an odd way to say thank you. You’re welcome, though.

“Maybe you should get your Rune back?” Ferdinand suggested. “That’s a big loss, and it’s not like the money has any real worth to us. If they were Runestones it would be another thing, but I doubt they’ve even got those here.”

Garina rolled her eyes. “I can’t be bothered. Breaking cocky assholes over my knee is fun, but messing with someone who actually belongs in this empire would be like stomping on a child. It’s not worth it.”

Their conversation paused as a thunderous clap split the air. The auctioneer definitely knew what he was doing, constantly bringing everyone’s attention back to him after the less interesting objects sold to make sure nobody missed a chance to spend their money.

“We’ll be moving into some of the requests that your fellow attendees have placed with their attendants!” Rin called. “These will be ordered, as information requests are priced at flat rates rather than bids. Let’s get started with our very first one!”

“Boring,” Garina said, covering a yawn. “I’ve wasted enough time here. Say, did you make any sandwiches? I’m hungry.”

“No,” Ferdinand said. “You already ate them. Both of them.”

“Oh, right. Why didn’t you make more? You forgot to save one for yourself.”

“Because the second one I made was meant for me,” Ferdinand said, keeping his expression flat. “If you want food, you’ll have to–”

“Our first information request is priced at one thousand gold! The request is simple – the location of the greatest restaurant within Arbitage grounds. If you believe you have a suitable answer, please contact your attendant. Please be aware that, when possible, information will be verified.”

“Who spends gold on something like that?” Ferdinand asked. “What an–”

“That’s brilliant,” Garina said. “Saves me the trouble of looking myself. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Ferdinand closed his mouth, thankful she’d spoken before he finished his sentence. It was only a few seconds before Rin spoke again.

“We’ve got some answers, and our team has evaluated and chosen the one that they believe to be the most accurate! Everyone with a matching answer was paid out an equal portion of the gold reward. Our next request is for the location that has a high concentration of Rank 3 or higher Earth based monsters. The cap is fifteen thousand gold.”

“Well, you’ve got a few million gold you don’t need now,” Ferdinand observed as Rin continued his sales pitches. “You could always put the same request that the other person did.

Garina started to nod, but before she could move toward their attendant, someone cleared their throat loudly, interrupting Rin mid speech. Ferdinand’s eyebrows raised as Rin turned, the annoyance clear in his posture.

A hulking figure stood at the edge of their viewing platform, barely contained by the clothes the Troupe had given them.

“Please keep noise–” Rin started.

“This information isn’t any good,” the figure called, their voice higher than Ferdinand had expected. They were female.

“If you have issues–”

“You told me the restaurant’s name was Pillen’s Fishhouse, but you didn’t say where it was!” the woman called, her voice echoing through the room with nearly as much intensity as Rin’s had.

“Ma’am, please turn the paper that your attendant gave you over,” Rin said irritably. “It’s on the other side.”

There was a moment of silence. “Oh. Found it. Thanks.”

Garina burst into laughter. “I wish that announcer didn’t have a mask on. What do you think his face looked like? That’s great. Getting his fancy auction interrupted because someone couldn’t read a piece of paper… absolutely hilarious.”

“And, better yet, I suppose we’ve found out where to get food,” Ferdinand said. “As did everyone else in the amphitheater.”

“Which means we should leave now,” Garina said. “Every other idiot will be wasting time in here until the auction ends, but you’ve already pointed out that I’ve completely wasted both my time and energy. Let’s go. The food at this place better be incredible, or I’m going to burn it to the ground.”

Garina strode past Ferdinand and hurried to catch up with her. He wasn’t sure if she was joking or not, but he strongly hoped he wouldn’t have to find out.

Besides, some food would be nice. I’m starving. We haven’t really spent much time in a town before now, though. I hope Garina can behave herself and avoid destroying anything too important.