It was just after dawn, and the pink-haired girl, Serena Merlah, was stationed on a watchtower near the docks, she, as always, was looking for trouble, but today was different.
— Come on...Anyone, do something!
The chaotic yet calm atmosphere of the fair was making her more nervous each second that passed
— Ughhhh... — she'd pace around the watchtower, still looking out for trouble
— It's been, like, 10 hours since the last crime, what the heck are these criminals doing?
— Ummm...a-actually, it's been more like, uh, 30 minutes, S-Serena...
— Woah! You scared me...uh...what's your name again, new guy?
— It's M-Marco...uhm...w-why are you so n-nervous?
— Yeah! Maco, you don't know about my objective, right?
— I-It's Marco... — he mumbled
— I'll tell you then, Maro! It's been 5 years since I started working as a city guard, and my objective is arresting one thousand criminals!
— It's...it's Marco... — he mumbled again, now with an even lower voice
— And why, you ask? Well, Reinard, a Captain of the Order, promised me a letter of recommendation when I finished the task of arresting one thousand criminals!
The young man was now silently staring at the crowd
— Well, and you know how many criminals I captured?
— Look! Something is happening! Can you tell what's...
As the young man turned to ask Serena a question, he could only feel the aftershock coming from where his superior was.
Her eyes barely caught the small shadow that slipped into the alleyway just outside the town square, she rushed and jumped trough the tents, quickly left the fair and jumped onto the roof of a house to search for the shadowy figure.
Frustration was about to explode from within her, but a heavy sigh was heard from the alley bellow, and in that alley, a dark clothed man took out a shiny purse, looked up and saw Serena.
Caught by surprise, he leaped away from the alley, and Serena followed, ignoring the sudden heat that came from behind.
With no effort, she jumped on the the thief's back to restrain him, but the thief quickly thrusted a shiv towards her neck, and again, effortlessly, she stopped his arm.
— Hey! You can`t be doing that! I need to read you your rights!
With that, the thief no longer showed resistance.
Serena took the small purse and headed back to the fair with the now handcuffed thief.
— You did it! You got it back! I'm not gonna die! — A young man dressed in fine red clothes, drenched in sweat, approached Serena just outside the fair.
Serena looked at the purse encrusted in jewels, and looked at the young man.
— I mean, not to judge, but this thing looks a bit too much for you, is this really yours? — she said as she juggled the purse with one hand.
— You idiot! Stop throwing that around! That's more expensive than everything on this city put together!
She looked again at the purse. It was just leather purse with a lot gemstones.
— Sure, it looks expensive, but I wouldn't say it's that much... — she then opened it, and as she did, the gems turned bright — Oh! Now I get it! It's a storage-bag! It's so small...I've never seen anything like this!
The young man quickly snatched the purse from Serena's hand
— It's because this is the only one in existence, an incredible technological feat, custom made for Lady Clara of the Todberg family.
— Ok, I get it, so where is this Clara, I need her so we can arrest this guy.
— Well, she hasn't arrived yet, she was supposed to be here today to test the purse, but...
— It's fine, you were the one robbed, right? So let's just go already!
With that said, Serena led both the thief and the victim towards the City Guards' head quarters.
On their way, many of the citizens of Salman would stop to thank Serena for her service, which she replied with a smile.
— You're really famous, huh?
— Uhm? Oh, yeah, these people kinda depend on the guards since the war started, you know, cuz the Order of the Crusaders "can't spare anyone" to "stay active" in towns.
— No, no, I meant you, as in...well...yourself.
— I guess I am...
— More like infamous — the thief mumbled
— Hey, I said you had the right to remain silent, that means you should shut up!
— Well, it's not like I'm lying! You see any kind of crime and jump into it relentessly! You know, man, this crazy chick once arrested an old lady for littering! The worst part is that the lady was taking out her trash, and her bag ripped open!
— Hey, that wasn't my fault! There were no crimes for, like, a week then, I needed something get paid!
— See? She doesn't even regret it!
— But does that even matter? You stole a priceless...thingy today, and just like the old lady, your arrest also counts! I checked with captain Reinard!
— Yes, I did, but I did it out of desperation! You see, I'm an adventurer from the guild, and...
— No, you're not! You don't have the...uh...necklace thing, uncle Sieg told me anyone that doesn't have it can't be an adventurer.
— I had to sell it! All because I couldn't afford my little sister's treatment...you see, she has this illness, and before getting injured, I could still go adventuring, so I could take care of her, but nobody needs an assassin without depth perception, so I can't find any parties to take any jobs, and I can't just move out of this city because of my sisters condition, so this was my desperate attempt...I tell you, there's nothing I wouldn't do to save my sister!
Serena sighed
— You obviously didn't go talk to uncle Sieg, he would've helped you, dummy...anyways, here we go.
They had arrived at a patio-like structure that connected to the Adventurers Guild's side entrance. There, inside an almost bursting-with-papers reception counter, near a very improvised cell, was one of the guild's and city guards' receptionists, she frantically handled documents while trying to manage all the people's reports, sweating because of the heavy clothes and hat she was wearing.
Serena opened the cell and left the thief in it.
— Carina, I'm leaving these two here, so fill up the...stuff for me, ok? I'm going to the Order's HQ to rub my victory on Reinard's face, ok?
— NO! STOP, PLEASE! I need help here, can't you see? Just for today, do your job!
The receptionost hissed at Serena, but with no time to argue, she turned back to do her job.
— But I've waited 5 years for this day, can't you just...
Just before she could complete her sentece, a foot was shoved into her stomach.
— DO! YOUR! JOB!
With her knees on the ground, Serena answered — Ohkeh...shori...
She then signaled the young man to follow her as she stumbled a bit to take a document from the reception desk.
— So, uh...crap, that hurt...but anyway, you have to fill this thing up so we can send it to the guy that, uh, does the judg...send it to the judge, so he can do his thing, and stuff.
— Wow, you are really bad at your job, at least in this part of it...
— Shut up, man! I saved you from lot of hassle, so just do me a solid here!
— Yeah, sure, leave it to me.
The young man started filling the document with pertinent information, such as his name, the crime commited against him, the perpetrator, details about the crime, etc.
— Damn, that girl really is bad at her job, she didn`t even fill in her name in "Guard on duty"
He lifted his head to serach for the pink-haired girl — What's your...name?
But she was no longer there
He sighed — Might as well just hand it over to that receptionist.
The place was no longer as agitated as before. Carina was sitting down, hat in hand as she used it as a fan.
He approached her slowly — E-Excuse me, ma'am, the pink haired guard, what's her name?
He got a better look at the receptionist, seeing things he could barely notice before.
Her hands covered in white fur hid small claws, her hair disguised her sharp ears, her nose flushed red for the heat, her whiskers well groomed so they'd go unnoticed, and a fluffy, puffy and soft white tail that came out of her attire.
— You're a beast-kind, that's a rare sight this far off...
— Yeah, the guild master has some kind of fetish with us...but tell me something. — She sighed
— Y-Yes?
She raised from her chair, facing the unfortunate man who was just a few centimeters taller then the girl, her green eyes penetrated the young man's soul, his body got hot, his face flushed, and he was suddenly on the ground, below de beast-woman.
— Why in the FUCK are YOU the one handing Serena's documents to me?
— I love you!
— ...
— ...
— ...What?
— Sorry! Here! — He handed the receptionist the papers and fled the scene
She looked at the documents, scratched her head and looked at the young man running away
— ...I really hate how weird humans can be...