>>6070214The next adventure is the armored human, he bears the insignia of the Diamond- Wolves was it? You can’t remember, but it’s a decently large troup your father has spoken of on occasion, the only reason you remember it. Regardless, the mana pool you can sense is unguarded and small, most likely only learned little bits of magic to help with his swordplay. Something you respect, even if he barely knows more than a few cantrips and buffs, it shows his dedication to swordsplay at the very least.
Then there’s the demihuman who is also very quickly stricken from your list of suspects. She seems to be some species of Woodfolk, a mix of man and plant, the leaves and flowers in her hair look rather pretty even if seeing patches of bark mixed with her earthy skin is odd at first. The woman wears the attire of a servant and looks to only have scant more for magic than what her kind would have naturally. Most likely a gardener or the sort who mixes magic into the soil to improve the beauty of the estate. You wonder if Cathrine hired a few magical gardeners to speed up the growth of her tulips? A thought for another day.
The final is by far the most suspicious, the hooded figure. They wear gloves seemingly not to reveal their skin, perhaps their a vampire and allergic to the light? Would it be rude to check? Hm, since you’re here trying to solve a mystery, and you’re royalty, it would probably be fine.
“H-hey, watch it,” The man pants as you brush up against his arm to grab the bucket from his hands.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Your elbow “accidentally” bumps into him as you pass the bucket along.
He turns, “M-mi’lady please-” Then you turn to face him, grab both sides of this hood, and pull them down. He’s shocked, as are a few others who heckle you about “rudeness” but you don’t mind, because you see it. The black hair-
He looks at you under your hood as you face him-
The tanned skin-
He looks down just a little bit seeing the ramifications of your quick movements-
The smaller eyes, Like Marie’s-
He blushes-
You punch him-
“A T-tsundere-” He wistfully whispers as he falls back and rubs where you hit him on his cheek.
“Surrender, Stranger!” You shout over him uncaring for his unfamiliar words.
It’s then that a wall of flame appears between the two of you as he scurries back, much like a rat. Behind you, the flames of the house begin to dissipate as the ones in front of you grow longer and taller, the bucket brigade disperses into those fleeing and those gathering to fight… Which turns out to just be you, Marie, and the Mercianry. So much for being adventurers, you guess.
