Chapter 10: Chase in the Streets
“Sarah, want some venison pies?”
“Not really… Just thinking about what happened last time…”
It was Sarah and Daisy…
I turned slightly, following the voices, and spotted the two familiar figures in the crowd, huddling under an umbrella, whispering as they strolled past me. Their eyes darted over this way.
“So, should we go say hi?”
“Hmm… Maybe not. No one will eat them if I bring them home, and they’re ridiculously overpriced… The last batch spoiled; I was heartbroken for days…”
What a coincidence…
Here I am, running into them like this.
I instinctively raised my hand to greet them, but midway it froze. Doubts crept into my mind.
What do people think of me now?
I left the academy without saying a word, vanished for quite a while—there must be all sorts of rumors swirling around about me back at school, especially after the incident a few days ago…
Can we be as close as we used to be?
And what about Sophia… did she say anything to them?
“Hey, little sister?”
The vendor called out tentatively, snapping me back to reality: “Uh, oh… I’ll have a venison pie. And… some black goose meat… Give me lots of venison pies.”
“Alright then, how about five venison pies?”
“Hmm…”
I chewed my nails, pondering for a moment, then spread both hands, palms up: “Make it ten.”
“Ten?” The man looked a bit shocked, but then his face lit up with recognition. “Hey, you must be one of the Royal Academy students, right? Just got back to the city today? Planning to share some with your roommates?”
“Yep.”
I nodded, not wanting to elaborate further.
“Oh… Let’s wrap them up nicely. It rains, they’ll cool down too fast. You’ve got to eat them quickly!”
“Sounds good~”
He flashed me another smile, took down the hanging venison, chopped a piece off with a big kn*fe, weighed it in his hands, and directed a woman to start preparing oil. But during the delay, Sarah and Daisy had already wandered off.
Yet their voices lingered in my ears.
“…Daisy, do you think they’ll return tonight?”
“Not sure…”
“I’ve checked; the theology class is first thing in the morning… I ran into Teacher Melville earlier, and he confirmed that the Pope will definitely be there… But they probably don’t know yet.”
“Meeting the Pope, huh… if they miss it, what a bummer…”
“Yeah, they’ll be crying buckets…”
“Will they? Those two…”
“Sophia definitely will.”
“I think Peilo would, though…”
“No, she might…”
“Hey, Sarah, look! They have all these little trinkets over there…”
The two of them held hands and wandered over to a little stall, leaning down to chat with the vendor and then squatting to pick through some items. Clearly, they were just bored staying at the academy, taking advantage of the open gate to wander around, but they wouldn’t be out for long.
Fine…
It’s probably not a good time to chat. I’ll wait until we’re back at the dorm when it’s quieter…
Thinking that, my heart felt a little lighter.
The rain continued to patter down, the marketplace was sparkling with lights, crowds flowed in and out, and various noisy sounds blended together. A war chariot clattered its way through the puddles down the street, splashing water onto bystanders, who muttered their complaints, only to be teased by their friends. Suddenly, loud shouts came from the end of the street, and everyone instinctively turned to look.
Then, a piercing scream shattered the air.
“Ugh!”
Startled, I turned toward the street.
The street was already crowded, and with the rain slowing everyone down, despite the thirty-meter-wide road not being shoulder-to-shoulder, it was still a bit congested. The earlier war chariot had barely passed. Children were darting around, occasionally bumping into someone, getting scolded with a chuckle. Those voices were quickly overshadowed by the yelling of hawkers; I could clearly hear the “Pink Family” trying to lure in customers from afar.
In that scenario, the scream went mostly unnoticed—people nearby didn’t even look up; Sarah and Daisy were still squatting at the stall, haggling over a strand of beads. But the next moment, from the direction of the scream, a crashing sound echoed, and a few figures clad in green flashed through the crowd, and suddenly, a black umbrella flew high into the air.
Chaos erupted in the crowd.
With the noise growing, more heads turned, puzzled, toward the street’s end, where people began to panic, retreating. I vaguely heard shouts of “Don’t move!” “The arbiter’s here to capture someone, clear out!” Moments later, people began flooding toward me like a wave.
Clang! Clang—
Shouts mingled with a metallic clash, and a flash of bl**d appeared in the rain. Cries of pain rose as half an arm shot up from the crowd.
“Ah—”
“My arm!”
“Catch him! d*mn it, catch him!”
“Get the hell out of my way—”
Bam!
A small stall toppled over, the pots and boiling water flying like it was a rain shower—“Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle…”—only for more screams to ensue. Two figures in black raincoats darted through the fleeing crowd, chased by several green-clad arbiters, pushing people aside, swords drawn, shouting oaths. The distance between them narrowed, and suddenly, the fleeing man spun around, brandishing a blade that glinted coldly, slicing toward one of the relentless arbiters.
Thwack—
bl**d sprayed again.
“Ahhh! What the hell—”
The arbiter clutched his chest where a dagger had struck, staggering but his eyes fierce as he seized the man’s arm, raising the sword to strike down.
But the fleeing man was nimble, sidestepping easily. Instead of retaliating, he flicked his wrist, and suddenly, the surrounding raindrops seemed to freeze for a moment, and then “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh” shot outward.
“Ah—!”
“My leg!”
“Ohhhh—!”
Several fleeing pedestrians collapsed, hit by the cascading raindrops. The arbiter had a bl**d hole in his forehead, his body stiffening as his eyes bulged, and moments later, he slumped to the ground in the rain. The other green-clad arbiters, seeing this, frantically attempted to surround him, but the man had no intention of lingering—he broke away from their grasp and turned to run.
“Chase! Keep chasing! Stop them! No matter what—”
But the man in front was fast approaching me.
This all happened in an instant.
The once-bustling street devolved into sheer chaos. People were scattering, a dizzying speed to their escape. I couldn’t keep up with the onslaught, and just then, Sarah and Daisy finally caught on to the commotion, standing up in a daze. Daisy got knocked over by a guy running past, hitting the muddy ground, while Sarah rushed over to help but was nearly knocked off her feet herself.
“Little sister, come here! Hide over here!”
The vendor, all flustered, wrapped his arms around the woman beside him, urgently calling out to me, but I ignored him.
“Sarah! Daisy—!”
Amidst the chaos, I shouted their names, trying to rush over and help, but there were too many people. Those escaping from the chaos surged past me, while on the other side, more curious onlookers were pushing in the opposite direction, the road growing increasingly congested. The green-clad arbiters continued to shout, “Water Order! His guards have the Power of Order! Go get the Sword of Kanli!”
The individual who controlled the Water Order was pushing through the throngs, getting closer to the fleeing man ahead. They were trapped, struggling to move in the crowded tide, slowly making their way toward Sarah and Daisy. A glance back showed the arbiters drawing nearer, and the man in front looked visibly panicked. Just then, I heard the voice of his supposed guard yell, “Sir! Hostage! Otherwise, we’re stuck here—!”
And just a few steps away, Sarah was still clutching Daisy’s arm, still not fully upright.
