“What are you laughing about? Guards, apprehend her.”
Initially, he had to hold an unbiased judgment and hear out both sides, but the guard captain no longer had any reservations since the [Adventurer’s Guild] should no longer be able to interfere.
“Do you want to know why I am laughing? Ser Manager, please tell the misters from the guard to stay their hand.”
Ordering around the manager directly, Nisha did not even rise from her seat, and Accalia lazily swept the approaching soldiers with a glance before closing her eyes in happiness, enjoying the thorough petting after the rough training session in the Dungeon.
“Stop right there. The guild will take over now.”
Bitterly lamenting in his mind, the official had no choice but to obey the young elf, using the pressure of his aura to keep the guards from advancing.
“What are you doing? This is obstruction of justice; is the guild declaring war against the kingdom? This is treason!”
Seeing the sweet fruit taken away right in front of him, the captain blew his temper and roared loudly, frightening the butler who hid behind him in the hopes of finally dealing with this girl who injured his escorts.
“You heard him, right? The injured guards you took into custody earlier are registered with the guild.”
Unwilling to spend much effort, the manager wanted nothing more to turn his back on the whole mess, but he had to follow the regulations.
Seeing that his words did not register with the soldiers and the butler, Nisha took it upon herself to explain it with, mirth filling her voice.
“If the assault on me happened by order of a noble, you would have every right to interrogate me and even take me away. However, things changed when he admitted that the guards are adventurers. The guild does not need to protect me anymore; this is not part of your jurisdiction anymore. Assault between fellow guild members is investigated by the guild, not the crown. I must really thank the guy behind you for making the situation more simple.”
Smirking in victory, Nisha offered the poor guard leader an outlet for his anger.
Registering how he had been tricked to stay out of this whole affair, the captain turned around mechanically and glared at the poor excuse of a man, who attempted to silently sneak away as soon as he understood what he had done.
To add oil to the fire, the elf threw out another line.
“Since the escorts he brought are registered with the guild, the guild will naturally retrieve them from your custody and do an investigation here.
But this guy, unless he can produce an adventurer’s card to prove his registration, does not fall under the regulations of the guild - which means he is all yours.”
With his voice frozen in his throat, the butler looked at the tiny elf with a look of terror; instead of simple prey, she now appeared more like a dangerous devil to him. He did not have a way out either, as he had never bothered to become an adventurer since he served a great noble and followed him to the capital when the family moved.
“Good, good, good. It seems I really have to make the best use of my single witness then. Men, put him in shackles … to ensure his safety, and take him with us. Let’s really get to the bottom of this incident and research everything carefully.”
The unit under the captain did not dare to dally and quickly chained their target up, dragging him out of the room and in the direction of their headquarters.
As panicked screams reverberated through the hallway leading to this room, Nisha idly wondered whether she ever learned the name of this butler.
“With the intruders out of the way, I am sure you do not mind answering a few questions for me? Of course, it is to clear out all doubts regarding this incident.”
Indeed, not only the guard captain felt bitter over the conclusion this time. The middle-aged manager sent by the guild gloomily questioned the elf right after his opponent left. He never had any design to yield a member of the guild over to the guard in his presence, but instead of acting as a savior, he had been used this time. While he did not have big hopes to succeed now without any leverage or threats, he had a duty towards the [Adventurer’s Guild].
“Mhm, it might be better to start with introductions. My name is Nisha, and I am an E ranked adventurer. Thank you for your help in this matter.”
If those words came genuinely from the girl’s heart, the manager might have actually forgiven her for dragging him into muddy waters alongside her. However, Nisha did not rise from her seat, bow her head in the slightest, or even stop petting her wolf. The overall picture painted no more than an arrogant young lady with insincere intentions.
“It is my pleasure; you can call me Mr. Hochfels. Well, you can start then.”
Motioning her to go on, the man waited for her story.
In truth, the ring hanging on a chain around her neck had the power to bury this incident completely. As a possible heir to a Duke House, Nisha only needed to show off the seal carved into the jewel, and the guild had no choice but to let her go.
Unfortunately, for them of course, the dragon got a taste for acting from this event. To let everyone dance along her strings, carefully laid out plans, greatly thrilled the elf. So instead of using the most simple solution, she acted surprised. Not to mention, Nisha had been prepared for the worst case scenario; the girl knew she had been in the right from the start, and taking care of this little play meant nothing.
“Yes! Start talking now, the [Adventurer’s Guild] will treat this with the same severity as the guards. Don’t try to weasel your way out just because the crown is not involved now. We have the same authority and maybe even harsher sentences for criminals!”
If it was not for the repeated provocations, Mr. Hochfels might have been more prudent in approaching the involved party, the elf, and would not have threatened her. He did, indeed, have the power to do all that he had said; nevertheless, he needed to convict someone of the crime first. Speaking this grimly only spawned from the anger he felt towards Nisha.
“I really don’t know what you are talking about. It is but a simple story. A noble coveted the monster I own and tried to extort me. When the butler sent the escorts to take me away, I got frightened and acted in self-defense; I am but a young and powerless girl. That’s all. Any questions?”
Smiling brilliantly as if to call her words a lie, the elf explained simply, not stopping once the petting of her wolf.
Mr. Hochfels almost started spitting blood; he already received a report from one of the clerks working in the front about the battle. This girl maimed and crippled two seasoned warriors in the blink of an eye and still dared to call herself weak? He might as well try to reason with an insane person; the results would be about the same.
“What about your monster then? As far as I am informed, it attacked and pressed down the man taken away by the guards. Failing to control your familiar is a punishable offense; you are lucky there were no injuries.”
The manager pursued even the tiniest misgiving in a final attempt to tie the elf girl down, to repay her for dragging him to block the attacks against her. While Mr. Hochfels did not really hate her or blame her for clashing with the guards, he still wanted to take her down a notch.
“Oh, it seems you already collected an information report; that saves me the time of recounting everything, myself. As you have said, no one got injured, and I had to defend myself; asking my Little Lia to tie down one of the enemies is not really not obeying my orders? I even agreed to let him off and told her to drop him when you stepped in with the uncle from the guards. I think you should really thank me for not finishing him off on the spot.”
Nisha never faltered. With a surefire backup plan to get out of any mess of this caliber, playing around a little really was the best. To see Mr. Hochfels’ twisting expression whenever she swatted down another attempt really thrilled the dragon. Aside from the brute force method to break through any obstacle head-on, the soft way really felt far more rewarding.
“Nonetheless, if that’s it, I guess I can go now? Or do you have more questions, uncle?”
Naturally, the dragon did not harbor any bad feelings for the manager, either. Since he helped her escape from being taken to the dungeon and forced to play her hand, revealing her identity, Nisha decided to let him off now.
“Just go; the sooner you are gone, the better. The guild will make a final judgment when all testimonies are done, but I guess you already know what’s going to happen. Don’t cause trouble during the day anymore, please.”
With a huge sigh, the defeated man sat down in one of the now empty chairs and began massaging his temples.
“So, it’s alright to cause trouble during the night?”
“At least it’s not my shift then, and someone else has to deal with you, little devil!”
Giggling from their final clash, Nisha urged Accalia to lead the way and left the guild building.
Stopping by the counters in the front, the elf did not forget to collect the gold from her latest transaction. She might not have needed that paltry amount, compared to the capital she invested in the slum areas to be rebuilt, but Nisha valued the principle of equal transaction more. Since the dragon brought back spoils, the guild had to pay up if they wanted to keep the stuff. The [Fine Marbled Meat] also wandered into her pockets, as the elf did not have the chance yet to sell it to them.
It’s too bad if the guild does not want to buy it. I remember it is quite the sought after delicacy. Maybe there is a chance for me to prepare it for everyone as dinner.
Leading Little Lia back in the direction of their home, the dragon caught a really clumsy thief who tried to take her purse. After obtaining a badge from the [Thieves Guild], pickpockets largely stopped targeting her. This one must have joined the long finger division and had no idea who to aim for and who to stay far away from.
Greeting the guards twice and stepping through the gates, Nisha returned straight home after hunting with her wolf for a day.
She had given up on going to the academy, as there was most likely only a few souls left, training either on the grounds, in a smithy, or meditating in one of the empty rooms; classes ended long ago.
The dragon did not mind missing once or twice from the lessons; there was no attendance requirement or roll call. As long as she managed to graduate from being a first year and pass all the exams, Nisha was content. Based on the level of difficulty so far, the elf expected to pass everything.
When the duo reached the Dharnas estate, Nisha climbed the wall out of habit and would have jumped over it if it was not for the whining of a certain someone who had four legs, yet was still unable to do the same.
Falling back down, the dragon used the main entrance with her beast and quickly brought Little Lia back to her room. The maids gave her some confused looks, yet Nisha did not plan to let her companion stay in the stable alone.
Collapsing on the fluffy bed, Accalia deeply sighed and refused to move over, no matter what the elf did. Although the wolf enjoyed the hunting trip with her master, the excessive strain from training under lethal conditions piled up considerable stress, and she complained somewhat in the monster language. Rolling her eyes at the lazy and spoiled brat, Nisha allowed the wolf to stay in her room while she moved towards the kitchen.
Red rays from the sun declared the soon coming evening, and Henry, as well as Luthais, mentioned they would be home for dinner.
At first, the kitchen personnel complained and tried to dissuade the lady from cooking; their concern mainly about the punishment they would receive if the girl hurt herself or messed up the meal.
Galan’s wife needed to step in and mediate; afterward, the servants still were not quite convinced, yet no one bothered Nisha when she pulled the [Fine Marbled Meat] out of her space and prepared it as a main course with some easier dishes to go with it.
Blindness had not managed to stop the dragon from learning cooking. And now, she had restored her eyes to perfect condition, allowing her nose to coordinate with her hands as they danced over the pots and dishes, sprinkling spices and stirring the pans akin to magic.
More than one of the maids discreetly glanced at their mistress to see if something went wrong only to stare spellbound at the spectacle of the elf cooking.
In the end, her main course adorned the main position in front of the head of the house when everything was carried out of the kitchen into the dining room.
“Welcome back.”
Sitting in her usual spot, Nisha greeted the father and son duo who arrived nearly at the same time for dinner.
“Hi, Nisha. Wow, it smells good.”
Somewhat greedily looking at the displayed meat dish, Henry eagerly took a seat while Luthais slowly lowered himself at the head of the table, leaking a stifled breath.
“Good evening. Let me rest for a moment; then we can start to eat.”
His tired demeanor attracted his son’s attention, who took it upon himself to serve a glass of wine for his father.
“Did something happen at work?”
Unusual events and sudden threats always loomed over the position of the marshal, who was responsible for the whole security department of the capital.
“Nothing too bad. When I was about to leave my office, some officer kept making a ruckus and escalated this account through all instances, disturbing more than one senior leader.
Something about murder in bright daylight and the brazen [Adventurer’s Guild] covering everything up.
Is something wrong, Nisha?”
Luthais looked up from his drink, disturbed in recounting his account as the elf started to cough.
“Sorry, I choked on something. Did you happen to look into that story?”
Something about the news drove cold sweat down the elf’s back. While neither the crown nor the guild had the authority to discipline her, the head of her own House was something entirely else.
“No, just before my secretary was caught by him, I slipped out and let him deal with it. Why am I paying these guys a salary if I have to deal with everything?”
Only now could the dragon relax and released a sigh as well.
“Oh well, nothing will come out of it then. Let’s eat.”