Chapter Twelve: All Done
“Tsk…”
Water Order…
At this level, it might not even qualify as third-rate.
Raindrops like a swarm of angry bees rushed towards me, and in a flash, I yanked Sarah back, took a step forward, and my right hand shimmered with blue light.
Crack, crack—
After a few crisp sounds of ice breaking, a thin, gossamer layer of blue ice suddenly formed in the air ahead, swiftly extending around us to create a shiny, curved ice wall, encasing both Sarah and me. The raindrops hit the surface with a series of dull thuds but didn’t manage to scratch it even a little.
“Ahhh—”
Sarah screamed, clutching her head.
“Sir, run—!”
I heard one of the guards shouting from a distance. Pouting, I lightly waved my arm, and the floating ice mirror began to crack apart, turning into countless shards that fell to the ground, sending a chilling mist swirling around us and quickly freezing the water on the road.
We can’t leave Sarah here too long… she might freeze…
As that thought popped into my head, my arm was already raised, palm open, staring cautiously at the figure standing up from the wrecked stall. I tilted my head, a bit worried I might accidentally k*ll him, so I pulled my arm back and gently snapped my fingers.
Snap.
Whoosh—
A sharp ice spike, as thick as my thumb, formed above my head and shot towards the figure with a barely visible speed, instantly piercing his thigh and pinning him firmly against the wall behind him.
That figure crumpled in the rain.
Done and dusted.
I turned back and scooped up the still-dazed Sarah, and with a loud bang, an ice pillar shot up from below us, launching us high into the air.
“Ahhh! Pepé… ahhh—!!”
We were rising fast; Sarah flailed about in fear, her tongue all tied up, wailing like a banshee. Then, seemingly out of sheer reflex, she wrapped her arms around my head and refused to let go.
“Sarah… uh… I can’t see…”
My face was smothered in her soft, squishy chest, and I called out to her with my muffled voice. Shaking my head desperately didn’t help; it just made her hold me tighter until I felt like I was being suffocated. Then, we started to drop, and I heard Daisy scream below. Struggling to regain my balance, I finally felt my feet touch the ground with a satisfying thud, and I released my hold on Sarah, giving her two light pats on the back.
“Sarah, let go of me…”
So dumb…
I just wanted to get her out of the icy mist faster…
“Sarah! Are you okay…”
Ah, it seems Daisy is walking over.
Seeing that Sarah still wouldn’t let go, I felt a surge of irritation and began tickling her.
“Tickle, tickle…”
“Pfft hahaha—”
As I felt her grip loosen slightly, I quickly ducked down, pulling my head out from her clutches and taking a big breath.
Oh, the hood…
As my black hair cascaded down, I quickly popped the hood back on, covering my head again, feeling a bit more secure.
“Ah! You, you are…”
I heard Daisy’s incredulous voice and turned to see her pointing at me, one hand over her mouth, her pretty phoenix eyes wide with shock and disbelief.
She saw me…
“You are, Pepé—”
“Shh!”
I hurriedly made a shushing motion to Daisy.
“Don’t say my name here…”
“Oh…”
The girl nodded, dumbfounded.
Probably scared silly, and also hurrying over, her face looked a bit pale, and her breath was quick and uneven… I looked at her for two seconds and couldn’t help rolling my eyes.
She sure has grown…
Tsk, what’s the big deal?
I’ll end up looking like that too, anyway…
Disinterested, I shifted my gaze just in time to meet Sarah’s eyes, who finally seemed to have come to her senses.
“Pepé…”
Her face was pale, her lips quivering as she struggled to say something but didn’t know how to start. Her hair was a mess, damp against her face, her expression a mixture of shock and concern, making my heart clench a bit.
Let them leave first…
“Go. You two, get out of here first…”
Sarah froze at that, then said, “But, what about you—”
“I’ll be coming back in a bit.”
I smiled sweetly at Sarah, then realized half my face was hidden by the hood, so she probably couldn’t see my expression… but whatever, I definitely couldn’t just slip away after such a fuss, first I need to talk to the folks at the arbitration office about what’s going on…
I turned and walked towards the guard’s direction.
“Let go of me… ahhh! Lord Neil!”
At this moment, those cloaked arbitration officers finally reacted. Seizing the opportunity while the guard was incapacitated, several of them pounced, tumbling him to the ground and binding his arms with ropes. The guard struggled fiercely, his eyes fixed on where Lord Neil had fallen, bl**d mingling with the rain as it spread, quite a gruesome sight.
And that guy named Neil, I probably knocked him out cold with my kick, as he was lying motionless in the rain.
…He shouldn’t be dead, right?
I really tried to hold back…
Feeling a bit gloomy, I approached, and the cloaked officers looked at me with some apprehension, but they seemed to grasp I meant no harm. The apparent leader stood up, instructing his comrades to take the captured guard away, and then turned to me.
“Excuse me… are you a Miss? Thank you for your assistance. May I ask… no, may I inquire who you are…?”
With the current strict checks in the city, the arbitration office must be under a lot of pressure. My sudden appearance would definitely raise eyebrows, and they had to cautiously determine my identity to report back properly.
I didn’t want to create any trouble for them…
So, I bowed my head, rummaging through my slightly damp satchel for a while before pulling out the Pope Knight badge and waving it in front of the lead officer’s eyes.
Then I saw his eyes widen: “You are… the Pope Knight!”
“Yep.”
After confirming my identity, the lead officer quickly bowed, lightly thumping his chest: “Arbitration Office Five, Adam Elliott pays his respects to you! By the Deity, you must be Miss Silvya!”
He looked a bit too excited, his voice involuntarily rising a bit, and the other cloaked officers turning to look at us with astonished expressions.
Ah…
I didn’t want to admit it, fearing I’d get swarmed, so I changed the subject and pointed at the guard: “So, what’s going on with them?”
“Oh, these two were continuously leaking our city defense intel to the Fortress of Fluske, allowing the Iron Guards to have a clear understanding of our city’s defensive forces… Now that their plot is exposed, they’ve been hiding nearby these past few days, waiting for a chance to flee the city, and we caught them…” The lead officer replied honestly.
“Oh, I see…”
I nodded.
Looks like those two kicks didn’t go to waste…
“Thanks for your hard work.”
The lead officer looked a bit flabbergasted at my words and quickly waved his hands: “Not at all! Compared to the efforts of Miss Silvya, our contributions are nothing to mention…”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, I didn’t want to disturb their work anymore. I tucked the Pope Knight badge away, waved at the officers, and watched them escort the captured guards away before turning to look for my umbrella.
It had only been a short while, and my cloak was already soaked through… thankfully, it was waterproof, so my dress underneath was fine.
I tossed my umbrella on the nearby curb, walked over to pick it up, gave it a pat, and reopened it.
Once things calmed down, the crowd around resumed gathering, many people looking at me with a mix of curiosity and respect, whispering among themselves about the pile of icy shards emitting coldness that I had created. I felt a bit annoyed and furrowed my brows.
Can we leave already…
Just as I took a couple of steps, I suddenly remembered I hadn’t picked up the venison pie, so I dashed back to find the stall. Just then, I saw Sarah and Daisy standing nearby, both a bit damp. Sarah was gently patting Daisy’s back while seemingly trying to comfort her. Upon catching my eye, they waved hesitantly.
Why haven’t they left yet…?
