Slime Girl

- Shari -

Despite having been run off by the guards for loitering where they didn’t want us to be, I still keep on trying, scanning as much of the southern district for the smallest whiff of my parents.

However, I'm drawing a blank.

Nothing coming to me.

In this manner, we continue moving further west, where eventually the buildings slowly clear out again, making room for transportation paths towards the main road and the bridge.

In this manner, we move further west, where eventually the buildings slowly clear out again, making room for transportation paths towards the main road and the bridge.

"Damnit!" (Shari)

"Shari? Is something wrong?" (Liqu)

Of course, something is wrong!

All this wandering for nothing, and meanwhile, my parents may already have been shipped to Koreso.

Or they got killed!

But... taking this out on Liqu would be unfair.

For this reason, I made it a habit to switch to high-speed processing whenever this fury rises up inside of me, to work through it, before I snap.

"Kinda. I thought we'd get more." (Shari)

"Then how about my idea now?" (Liqu)

It kinda concerns me that I'm not outright saying no.

Am I that desperate?

"How about, instead of taking on the whole town, we do it the proper way now? You know, the way our mission demands?" (Vela)

"Vela, I don't care about the mission. I care about finding my parents." (Shari)

I need to make an effort not to dissolve my body with all these acidic thoughts running through my core.

"Well, you should care. After all, you'll have to rely on our local contacts if you plan on gathering any reliable information." (Vela)

Vela isn't outright demeaning, but I can tell that she's playing me.

I'm supposed to do my job, or I'll not get the help I require.

"Fine, you got me. What exactly do you think we should be doing?" (Shari)

"Well, obviously, we are going to investigate. This includes searching for the aforementioned contacts and checking the current state of town. Which should both be related, if they're doing their job. In particular, I'm interested in information on whoever sold us out. So remarkably fast, I'd like to add." (V)

Damn!

Why didn't I think about this?

Why else would they have sent those adventurers to that particular post if not as a countermeasure against Liqu and me?

So far, so clear, but how would they've known to do so?

Someone must've told them.

But who?

And how are we supposed to find out anything at all?

Liqu and I are more for brute force, rather than delicacy.

"We’ve been going around town the whole time. So how do you suggest we gather anything relevant?" (Shari)

Foremost about stuff like 'Where did you bring the slaves?!', as a point of personal interest.

"Well, how about contacting the agents who already made it here?" (Vela)

So we got agents in here?

I thought the security was pretty tight.

But so must've been the focus against the assumed key perpetrator of the Pact.

They probably sent as many spies as soldiers against the marquis.

"Then let us do that. What are we waiting for?" (Shari)

"I don't know where they are. It's not like I got their address." (Vela)

"Then how are we supposed to find them?" (Liqu)

You're taking the words from me.

To me, it seems like just with the slaves, we are back at square one with these elusive figures.

"There should be hints. And I got some ideas." (Vela)

Then she's further than I am.

But she got a point that we are limited in options.

Now Vela takes the lead, guiding us north on this wide road back toward the main promenade through Siras, following several wagons full of cargo.

Soon, the area becomes a lot more orderly again, and we shortly arrive at the primary thoroughfare, where she promptly guides us further west.

As we walk along this tidy street, I notice Liqu's growing interest in our surroundings.

Which makes for quite the contradicting image, as she's a big, gruff guy, with eyes full of wonder.

"Look, Shari!" (Liqu)

Suddenly, I become aware of how I was called, and about the increasing number of people around us.

"Liqu! You can't call me like this!" (Shari)

"Why not? It's your name, isn't it?" (Liqu)

I need to make this clear to her, or we'll get in trouble.

"Right now we're in disguise. So we can't give out hints that we aren't who we look like. I know that's particularly difficult for you, but stay consistent!" (Shari)

"Okay, but how else do you want to be called?" (Liqu)

Oh damn.

Now that she said it, this might've turned problematic.

What again stood on the guild card?

Damn, my memory is just as bad as hers.

Then let's just look.

I take out the card and read it out loud.

"Risa. My name is Risa." (Shari)

Can't say it doesn’t feel wrong to desecrate that girl even more by using her name.

"Okay... Ri-sa... I wanted to tell you that this place is strange! They have plants, but they are all in pots. Not growing as they should grow. I can sense a lot of new compositions in the air, but almost none seem normal. It's nothing like what I was used to in any human settlements I went to before. But why would they do this? Living so detached from how living beings usually exist? This place feels wrong!" (Liqu)

Unfortunately, I must concur.

This place is strange.

It all looks so unnaturally orderly and wealthy.

There's some greenery, but then only in very strictly controlled places, raised with purpose, the houses entirely consisting of stone, and not a bit of waste out on the street.

The compositions might be scents for sale, and other things that you wouldn't find on a normal market.

Probably all a lot more expensive than what normal people could afford.

I can barely believe that people live like this.

Seriously, where do they empty their night pots?

It also makes me appreciate my decision more, from when I started my journey, to opt for Ekoras.

I never would've made it here for a day with this kind of security, as I was back then.

Something else that strikes me is the jovial atmosphere in town.

The locals don't seem to mind the brewing storm.

It can't be that they don't know, can it?

What about all the slaves passing through?

That must be noticeable.

Yet they all don't seem to act that way.

Vela leads us straight to the river.

There I see it for the first time.

The Dimés, which, as one of Ea's great rivers, marks the western border of Rakis.

Given my studies back at the Count's mansion, this was for the simple reason that Koreso thought it would do them well to maintain this place as a second barrier, in case Rakis would fail again to keep the orcs out in the Barrens.

While they were at it, they also claimed all the land that was formerly Rakis' west of the river.

So much for our good neighbors.

However, while all this political stuff would usually annoy me quite a bit as a, for some reason, still accepted citizen of this country, it all pales in comparison to the fact that my parents might be somewhere on the other side.

And the fire within me starts flaring up again.

Literally, because I think my core has to process my emotional turmoil.

Okay, back on topic.

"May I ask you, why are we heading to the river?" (Shari)

"Because this is just the place I'd surveil, were I to gather information on any relevant developments in Siras. The administrative areas might be a good place to infiltrate, as they surely keep a tight wrap on any relevant developments. However, for this reason, it's likely pretty difficult to gain access to them. But traffic, on the other hand. Traffic doesn't lie." (V)

"Ahh! How interesting! I'm learning so much. That gets memorized!" (Liqu)

Guess she's got a point.

Those deduction techniques are quite helpful to know.

So we let Vela lead us onward.

Yet progressively, I notice her getting tenser, till finally she stops.

"Ehm, something wrong?" (Shari)

Muttering the next words more to herself than me, she speaks.

"That might pose to be an issue." (Vela)

"What is?" (Shari)

"Those soldiers over there. Their uniforms. Those aren't Rakisean guards. Those are Koresoan legionaries." (Vela)

"What's the difference? We can just dissolve them either way." (Liqu)

"No. No, we can't. Not without causing a political incident the enemy is just waiting for. The true issue is, why are they here? What happened for Siras to be garrisoned by their neighbor's army?" (Vela)

"Why don't we just ask them?" (Liqu)

Both of us look at Liqu.

And I once again make use of my newfound skill and roll my eyes.

Yet, by now, I learned that such things should be explained to Liqu.

"We can't do that, or they may take action against us if they see grounds for it." (Shari)

"Ahh, okay." (Liqu)

I look to Vela, for confirmation.

"You're right. We are definitely not in a position where we can just press them for information and by doing so look suspicious. However, Liqu has a point." (Vela)

"I do?" (Liqu)

"Yes. I think asking is the right course of action. Just not them directly." (Vela)

"Do I want to know where this is leading?" (Shari)

"Up to the tavern! That's the perfect place to ask some folks without causing trouble." (Vela)

Should I tell her how my last tavern visit with Liqu went?