The Lord of Clyde City was assassinated.

In the morning, the news quickly spread wide like a fiery fire. The citizen was in the state of unrest, from the lifeless street and closed stores, most of them cooped themselves at their home. My eyes gaze on the city perimeter, I was standing at the highest building I could get, the bell tower which was conveniently placed in the center of the city.

The security on the wall was raised to the highest point, both gates at the city wall were sealed off, preventing people from going inside or out. The city was brimming with soldiers on the lookout for any suspicious person, because the criminal whom killed the lord hasn't been found yet. Strangely, the daughter of lord was spared of her life.

I sighed deeply, the situation has become complicated, I glanced at the wall once again, before I promptly jumped down from the bell towers. Utilizing the shadow on the building and magic to silence the sound I make, my scarf fluttered with the wind as I moved across the building from one and another, something that impossible to do when I was still a human back in my past world.

I smiled wryly at myself, how much I have changed from my past self? While I was mulling these kinds of thought in my head, my eyes noticed something plastered on the wall of a random house. I stood for a while, looking at the poster in front of me. The poster was a drawing of the most wanted criminal in this city currently.

A man with a long bang and tied hair, his cold, sharp eyes will easily convince anyone that he is the murderous criminal. His hair and eyes color, with height and other description was written hastily on the poster. All of this matched with one of the two people I know well in this city. Ambrose.

"...Hah..., what the hell are you doing, Ambrose?" I sighed for the second time for today.

I ripped off the paper from the wall and burned it. Then I continue my search for the wanted criminal all around the city. It's been three hours since I sweep around all of the places that I think he would be, in the end, I found nothing of his traces. I tilted my head up, the suns were high up in the sky, my hand shielded the light from glaring both of my eyes.

"...let's get back first." I decided to stop my search for now and ran back to my temporary hideout.

I ran while evading the soldier's eyes which was on the lookout. After a few minutes, I'm back to the house and opened the door.

"...I'm back-" before I managed to finish my words, I was promptly tackled by a girl with desperation and hope in her eyes. That very girl was Vivian, the other person I know in this city.

"Did you find him?!!" Her eyes were red and puffy, she was definitely crying while I was outside.

"No, I don't." I break my result of fruitless search to her. She immediately disappointed and plopped down to a chair. Her face is full of worry and her mind is going on full throttle.

The criminal is Ambrose, or so the soldier and the executive at the city said. The witness is the city lord daughter, Marinl Stringfray, the one that managed to escape the deadly night. When we heard the news at the morning, Vivian vehemently denied it, and said that Ambrose definitely won't kill the city lord.

Although I have only known him for one day, I also don't think he was the killer either. The fact that that lord daughter is alive and even managed to saw the killer face is strange and suspicious. Will a killer which was able to slaughter every person in the mansion leaves a potential witness alive? Even his face is revealed to that very witness? Definitely not.

Something was working behind the scenes, something more big and dangerous than I know for. The problem is, what should I do now? Searching for Ambrose will drag me more into this deep mess. It was like poking into a hornet nest, knowing what will it do to me. Will it worth it? Putting my life in front of the person I knew just for a few days?

"...I'm going out." Vivian suddenly stood up and walk to the front door, I immediately snapped out from my reverie and stop her.

"No, you can't go outside right now, people know you are acquaintance with Ambrose, do you know how dangerous is it?" I stared hard at Vivian, which was gritting her teeth in frustration right now.

"I know, I know it, but I can't just sit here and do nothing! Who knows what happen to him now? And besides, I couldn't just let you do all the work Hiiro, you are doing this for us, even though you aren't obligated to." Tears started to form on the corner of her eyes. I sighed and scratched my head roughly, then I resigned myself and decided to plunge into this madness.

"Hah.... Vivian, I need you to stay at here, there also the possibility that he will come back here, right? And I'm more suited for searching people anyway, so just sit here and scold him for being reckless when he came back all right?" Droplets of tears start rolling down on her cheeks, she nodded meekly and go back to sitting in her chair.

I stood for a while, thinking where the heck could he be. I combed the city quite through roughly, except the noble area, maybe he was hiding there? But that place was heavily guarded by soldier, more than the civilian area. I doubt he would still lingering near the murder scene happened.

Suddenly, something clicked in my mind. The underground sewer! How could I miss that place? My feet swiftly turned to the door, stooping just before I step on the ground outside, I turned my head to Vivian, glancing at her one last time. She still sitting on the chair, her red eyes raised and she nodded. I opened the door and once again, I'm hunting for the missing Ambrose.

This time, I immediately search for the entrance of the underground sewer, and quite quickly I found it, just a few minutes after I exited the house. I eagerly went down the stone stairs and immediately regretted it. It was underground and it was damp, the sloshing, murky liquid in the pathway contained all kind of filthy substance you could think of.

"Uggghh, damnit Ambrose, if I found you, you better pay me back for the trouble!!" The terrible stench was quite horrible enough for a human, and for someone who has the beast nose, it was hell. I pinched my nose and squinted my eyes, my feet tread the road padded in front of me and I could already tell that this was going to be a long, gruesome, search.

Since my nose is useless in this place, I mostly rely on my eyes to do the job. A small ball of light was floating on my palm, slightly banishing the darkness in front of me. It has been near an hour since I entered this (wretched) place, the endless passage and tunnel in this place were perfect for hiding, but in doing so, it was the worse place to search for someone who is intending to hide.

While my urge to get out of this place is getting stronger, my ears picked up a sound that was so soft that you could pass off as an illusion. I stopped walking and dissipated the light on my palm. I immediately blended in with the darkness and stealthily walked to one of the passages in this underground.

Although my appearance was a human child, my traits as a beastman such as my night vision still retained within my eyes, although I don't know how exactly the transformation potion work, I'm glad for it, especially in my circumstance right now. I avoided stepping the puddles of water and inching closer to the dark passageway. I unconsciously hold my breath and my right hand latched on my knife handle, ready to strike at any moment.

As I was getting closer, the hazy sound was getting clearer. It was soft and haggard, like a panting sound, echoing on the narrow tunnel. My eyes latched on the vague human silhouette, it seems whoever it is, he still didn't notice me yet. As my mind was on high alert, a drop of water fell down and hit the back of my hand.

I flinched a little bit, and I'm pretty sure I didn't produce any kind sound or noise, but the human seems to perceive my slight quickened motion and raised his head immediately. A determined glint, with a sharp, light greyed eye preyed on me. And I immediately recognize the man crouching before me.

"Ambrose?" I picked up my voice, I was slightly happy that I was able to find him faster than I expected, and of course getting out from these foul stenches place.

"...Hiiro? Is that you?" A weak voice traveled onto my ears, his eyes were rounded by my sudden appearance before him.

"Yes, it's me. And you look like you have been thrown into a washing machine." My eyes latched at his bloody arm, his clothes have various torn in various place and his face was smeared with dirt and filth. I walked closer to him and realized that he didn't have any wound on his body despite his bloody appearance.

"What? A washing ma, macine?" He cocked his head to the side, befuddled by my choice of words. Although he didn't have any wound on his body, his face was sickly pale, like someone who has lost a lot of blood.

"Don't mind it, just a term from my village. So? Would you care to tell what the hell happened? Vivian was extremely worried about you." I crouched down and stared at him, he immediately frowned and sighed, he sat down on the stony ground and his red-stained sword clanked with him.

"It’s a long story, tell Vivian I won't be able to come back for a while." His eyes gazing on the molding wall, his breath could be heard clearly in this silent darkness. I sat beside him, waiting for his explanation.

"So, did you kill the city lord?" I asked since he was silent for a while, but the reaction I got was more than I expected.

"NO!! Why would I kill him?!" He raised his voice and glared at me. It was the first time I saw him angry, albeit we did only know each other for two days.

"I believe in you, so calm down, all right?" I patted him on the shoulder, he seems to calm down a little bit and turned his head back to the wall.

"Sorry, I was just frustrated, haaa..."He sighed once again and closed his eyes for a few second. Then he turned to me and started to explain what happened in that night, at least the rundown of it.

It was yesterday, when the moon was high up in the sky, the Mana stone on his pocket glowed, it seems the stone was linked with the lord Mana stone. While he felt strange that the Lord called for him in this hour, he still goes to the mansion and looks for him. And when he arrived, the guard that usually standing on the mansion gate was nowhere to be seen.

An unease waved over him, so he entered the mansion with haste. The first things that came to him were the stench of blood, and he realized the lord could be in danger. He immediately went to the lord room, ignoring the corpse-littered around the hallway. When he was in front of the lord room, he could sense three presences inside, and immediately a scream followed it.

He barged in without thinking and found the lord was stabbed right in his chest, by a black-clothed man. He immediately attacked the stranger, but was interrupted by a woman from beast race. The woman managed to wound him by surprise, and when he thought things won't get any worse, a group of black-cloaked people appeared and cornered him. He has let his guard down and was put in a bad situation.

"...A black-clothed man?" Somehow the black-clothed man on his story picked up my attention.

"Yeah, he has a plain face you could find anywhere, but his smile really ticks me off." Ambrose clicked his tongue in annoyance and frowned at the man in his mind.

A black-clothed man with a plain face, I think I have seen this guy before...

While I was jugging my memory and tried my hardest to remember, Ambrose continued the story from where I have interrupted him.

"...well, in the end, I managed to run away and now leading to this situation. Hah, serve me right I guess." He laughed deprecating at himself, was it for his fugitive status or the fact that he couldn't save the city lords? We maintained a few minutes of silence.

"By the way, what do you intent to do now?" I decided to change the topic, since the prolonged silence doesn't sit well with me.

"… what to do huh.., there is only one way isn't it? I will find that man and get the bottom of this problem." A glint passed on his eyes, he tightens the grip on his sword. Then he stood up and looked at me.

"I'm sorry for involving you in my problem, but please stay with Vivian and-" Before Ambrose managed to finish his words, a knife flew past and scratched his cheeks, dodging it by a hair breath. I was surprised, not because of the knife, but the fact that someone was able to go this close to us without alerted me.

"Kuh... how persistent." Ambrose wiped the blood on his cheeks with his thumb. He glared at the attacker in the darkness in front of us. Slowly a woman with black cat ears and tail walked upon us, her face was stony and unreadable, she glanced at Ambrose for a second before turning her attention to me.

"...You are the same as me." Was the first word she uttered. I keep my silent and readied my weapon, but I can feel my heart was beating faster from her appearance. We keep staring at each other, neither of us moved and I could feel the tension is getting to the peak.

Then I opened my palm and a bright flash of light filled the tunnel.

"Wha?!" Ambrose was surprised, but Ignored his grunt and pulled him with me. He seems to understand my intention and both of us ran away, leaving the blinded enemy.

Ambrose managed to run just fine, even though his eyes should be blinded too. We continued to run, entering another tunnel and passageway, passing the canal and pathway. Ambrose rubbed his eyes, it seems his vision is back to normal.

"Is that woman...?" I asked him, and he confirmed my thought with a nod.

"She been chasing me since yesterday night, I thought I managed to shake her off by entering this place, but I guess it wasn't going to be that easy huh? This way." He turned to the right and I followed him, since it seems he knows this place more than me.

"I thought you are going to fight with her." His eyes darted to the left and right, while our feet continue to move with silence, a metal door was in front of us and Ambrose pulled a rusted key from his pocket. The door opened with creaking sound and we swiftly entered.

"...I just have a bad feeling." I looked back at the closed door, we managed to shake her off for now, but I'm pretty sure she will find us somehow.

"You aren't wrong though, we crossed swords a few times and her speed make her hard to deal with." Another door appeared again and he fumbles the pocket on his pants, just how many keys he has? "The annoying black cloaked henchmen's always near her, although they are weak, their number is quite numerous, I wouldn't want to fight that woman in an outnumbered situation."

The door opened and we went through to another pathway. There is a lot of old tools and dusty box strewn around the place, broken pieces of glass and shards of wood littered around the ground. We slowed down our pace because of the obstacle around us. The terrible smell from the sewer was gone, replaced with old iron and rust on the air. This place looks like an unused old storage room.

"… Is there something on my face?" Ambrose suddenly speaks after a moment of silence. Then I realized that I have been staring at his face for quite some time.

"Your wound in the cheeks … it healed? How? I don't think you have used a healing spell or something similar." I pointed at his cheeks, a smudge of blood was present on where the wound was, but the injury has disappeared, as if the knife never grazed his cheeks before.

"I just heal fast than other people." He replied me with steady voice, but I doubt it was the entire truth. Since he seems didn't keen on explaining, I didn't ask more.

A static sound, like a broken radio ringed, at first it was a soft hum, but slowly becoming louder as time goes. Ambrose stopped walking, it seems I'm not alone in hearing the strange sound. The static sound changed into a talking voice, or more specifically, a woman voice.

{"-ne more time, my master wish to meet with you, come to the Lord mansion or you will lose something precious to you, and for the fox, if you wish to know the truth of your existence in this world, came with the adventurer."}

The announcement ends, and so the buzzing static sound. I hold my breath, the damp air feels cold against my skin, beads of sweat rolled down from my forehead, my palm unconsciously tightens and my mind is in turmoil. The woman managed to see through my transformation, but that's not what matters.

If you wish to know the truth of your existence in this world-

They know. They know it, they know that I'm not of this world, they know why I have been summoned into this world, with this body. How much do they know? Why? Did they are the one who responsible with the summoning?

I shake my head to clear my mind. It still not confirmed yet, it could be something else, maybe I've misunderstood the meaning of their words. I breathe slowly and calmed myself down. The reason for my existence in this magical world is the greatest mysteries for me, all the book I have read never mentioned about summoning otherworld people, even in storybooks.

But the possibilities they know about it is high, this is the first clue, even if they didn't have the full knowledge, it could be something that could lead me to the whole truth. I couldn't stop myself from grinning, I was excited, even though I was a bit worried about the danger of getting into this mess, this is worth it. Getting to know why I was summoned to this world is one of my to-do list in this world after all.

"… shit!" Ambrose shout snapped me out from my reverie, I look at him and he was already far from me, running deeper into the pathway.

"?!!!" I hurried after him, we ran faster than before, and in no time we already on the outside, away from the underground sewer.

It was evening now, the orange painted the sky, and I was reminded how long I have been at the underground. We continued to run and the destination seems to be the house. I was confused at first, then the realization hit me, the woman also mentioned about losing something precious. The excitement I have before dwindled and grim emotion started budding in my heart.

"VIVIAN!!" Ambrose opened the door roughly and called for her. Only silence answered him.

Ambrose ran inside and search all of the room. I stood at the front door, everything looks the same as before, orderly and clean, you wouldn't know that someone has been kidnapped from this place. Unease and frustration, slowly becoming guilt, if I had let her came with me, then this won't happen, or so I thought. I clicked my tongue in annoyance and clear my head from dark thought, no use crying over spilled milk.

Ambrose seem done at searching the empty house, he walked pass me and stomped outside. His face was cold and devoid of emotion, but I could feel the anger overflowing from his body.

"Wait." I called him, he stopped walking and turned to me. A frown adorned his face.

"I'm going with you." I walked beside him, he seems to hesitate for a moment, then he nodded his head.

The sunset slowly overtook with dark night sky, and our fight is far from over.