I immediately turned around. How did the evil minx sneak up on me? A part of me wondered if she would have been better suited as a thief rather than a swordswoman. After all, Kalistra seemed to enjoy sneaking around behind her prey.

"Are we going to visit The Mayor's Office next?" the cat girl asked. Her whiskers twitched and her tail started swaying from side to side. While I was stuck with my assignment for the Church, Kalistra spent the past two hours wandering around the city to become familiarized with the streets again. Hopefully, the mayor will offer me a quest.

"Yes, we are," I answered.

"Then let's go!" My bodyguard put her paws on my back and started pushing.

"Hey, wait a moment!" I protested.

"No, we're going now. You don't know where the Mayor's Office is located," she pointed out. "I'll steer you to it," she grinned.

"I'm not a horse!" I retorted.

Kalistra's grin widened. True to her word, the evil minx used her paws to steer me like a horse. She pushed with both paws to indicate that I should move forward. She pushed with either paw to indicate when a turn was needed.

The pedestrians on the street had a variety of reactions to the cat girl's antics. Some giggled or openly laughed at me when they realized what she was doing. Others simply didn't care to know and ignored us.

After a few blocks, we finally arrived at our destination. I entered the non-descript building and quickly approached the secretary's desk.

Secretary Wiug'Luen looked at my caption to read my name. The gnome then opened his golden appointment book to check for my name against today's appointments. "Milord, you don't have an appointment with the mayor today," he frowned and adjusted his tiny glasses.

"No, I don't," I replied. "When I visited the mayor yesterday, he requested that I return to him whenever I was ready to be assigned quests from Mayor Wilshire."

The gnome pushed his tiny glasses up his long nose. "Xoni!" he yelled.

A young lad quickly ran to the secretary's desk.

"Please go in and discretely inform the mayor that Lord Mulligan is here to see him," the secretary instructed. Secretary Wiug'Luen then turned his attention to me. "Please have a seat until you're called."

"Thank you," I nodded politely and turned around to search for an available seat. I saw an open table in the middle of the reception room and quickly walked over to claim the seat.

Kalistra declined to sit next to me. Instead, she walked over to the back wall and started pacing back and forth.

I decided to spend the time in meditation. I locked my fingers together, placed my hands on my lap, closed my eyes, and entered a deep meditation.

*Smack*

"-2 Health." When I opened my eyes, I saw Kalistra standing in front of me. With her was another page. His caption indicated the boy's name was "Idoen."

"The Mayor is ready to see you now," Idoen announced politely.

"Did you have a nice nap?" the cat girl grinned.

"I was meditating," I replied defensively.

"Get up and let's go," Kalistra rolled her eyes.

After my kidnapping by the Double Cross Society in the middle of the night, I couldn't get much sleep. Small wonder I ended up falling asleep during my meditation. Nonetheless, I was embarrassed by the fact that I fell asleep in public. I rose to my feet and followed the boy into the Mayor's Office.

Idoen stood in the doorway to block the cat girl from entering.

However, a voice called out, "She can come in."

The boy stepped aside.

Kalistra gave a small hiss as she passed by Idoen, causing the poor lad to shiver in fear.

The page quickly closed the door behind him.

When I entered the office, I saw Mayor Wilshire sitting behind his desk. He nodded politely.

I bowed deeply to the nobleman and Kalistra followed my lead. We quickly took our seats in front of his desk. I sat directly in front of the mayor while my bodyguard sat to my left.

"I have to admit that I'm surprised to see you return to my office so soon," Mayor Wilshire began. "Just to confirm: You've switched to the Mage profession and also unlocked your old Swordsman skills?"

"That is correct," I replied.

"But you switched yesterday?"

"Yes."

"How did you unlock those skills so quickly?"

I smiled. "When I switched my profession, I happen to have a ton of unused experience points. Thus, it was easy to level up in the Mage profession until I reached the same level as my Swordsman class," I explained.

The mayor was shocked by the prospect of having so much experience points accumulated and left unused. "How come?"

"Well, I received quite a bit of experience from my participation in the Melee Tournament yesterday," I reminded him.

Mayor Wilshire nodded. He could see how I would be able to gain experience from using my skills and defeating many opponents during the tournament. Very few adventurers had the foresight to set aside experience points, and for me to do so reflected well on my wisdom. He leaned forward in his seat. "Let's get down to business. The Head Caretaker has informed me that an unknown number of bodies have gone missing from the cemetery. We don't know if it is the work of undead, a rogue cleric, a necromancer, or someone else. Your task is to discover who is doing it and why. I don't want Bristol to be overrun with risen undead in the near future. It will cause great embarrassment to my office and the church," he said.

The mayor opened a drawer at his desk, took out a small sack, and placed it on the table. "This bag contains 50 gold coins. It is a retainer for your services and expenses. I urge you to keep this information to yourself." The nobleman looked directly into my eyes as he said this to me.

I immediately understood the real reason for the gold: It was a bribe for my silence! I bowed deeply to the mayor. "We will keep this confidential," I replied.

Mayor Wilshire smiled broadly at my reassurance. "Please go to the cemetery when you are ready. Also, inside the sack, there is a note that is an official commission of your assignment on my behalf. Please show Soiretu, the Head Caretaker, this note and he will assist you. You may find that you will need to stay in the cemetery overnight in order to catch the culprit. Use the coins to buy the necessities for a few nights in the cemetery," he warned. "That is all," he waved his hand in dismissal.

I rose from my seat and bowed deeply to the mayor. I then left the office, with Kalistra following behind me.

When the door was closed, Bane dropped his invisibility and locked the door. "Kekeke. You did well," the demon lord praised. "I hope the Gamemaster will be watching Larry today," he grinned with giddy anticipation and flapped his massive wings.

"Thank you, Lord Bane," the mayor bowed deeply. His face hidden from view, the nobleman gritted his teeth at the foul creature's presence.

#

Once we exited the building, Kalistra immediately attacked me with a question, "Are you going to the cemetery right away?"

I noticed that her tail was dangling happily in the air. I realized that she really wanted to hit something with her sword. I looked at her like she was crazy. "No. Aren't you forgetting something important?"

Before the cat girl could offer a snappy response, the church bell tolled eleven times.

I raised a finger to the sky and said, "Lunch."

Kalistra twitched her whiskers to hide her embarrassment. She grabbed my arm and dragged me back to The Wild Boar.

Since it was still early in the day, the common room inside the inn was not yet filled. Thus, we had our choice of seating.

The cat girl claimed a table in the back and I sat down across from her.

A different barmaid, much younger looking than Jola, approached us. "What would you like for lunch?" she asked.

I looked at her caption and her name was "Dariyni." "What's your lunch special today?" I asked. I looked around the room and saw that Jola, the barmaid who had served me the day before, wasn't around. I simply assumed she had the day off.

"Glazed ham with carrots," the blonde girl with a thin build replied.

I turned my attention to Kalistra.

"Two specials and honey tea please," the cat girl went ahead and ordered for us.

Suddenly, someone joined our table. I looked up and saw Rijana.

"You're still here?" she joked.

"Perfect timing!" I replied.

When my magic instructor gave me a quizzical look, I explained, "I received an assignment from the mayor." Mindful of my promise to avoid disclosing the situation in the cemetery publicly, I patted the spot on the bench to my right. "I'll whisper the assignment to you."

The lovely mage with fiery red hair walked around the table and sat down next to me.

I cupped my hands between my mouth and her left ear and said in a low voice, "I need to investigate missing bodies in the graveyard."

Rijana immediately jerked her head back, stunned by the implication. Her lips tightened into a frown. "Would you mind if my companions and I become involved in your assignment?" she asked.

I turned my head toward Kalistra.

"We don't really know what we're dealing with. Having the trio join us would be helpful," the cat girl admitted.

Rijana smiled broadly at her. The mage was concerned that the proud cat girl would refuse help. But apparently, when matters involved my personal safety, Kalistra would not hesitate to accept help from others. She then turned back toward me. "If we are dealing with what I think we are, then you will find the twins to be especially effective. They had trained to fight against those sorts of monsters," she explained.

"Speaking of the twins, where are they now?" I asked.

"They're outside Bristol right now," Rijana replied.

"Why?" I asked.

"They are elves," Kalistra interrupted.

I looked at the cat girl in askance.

She rolled her eyes and muttered, "stupid human," under her breath. "Elves thrive in a natural environment. This room, this table, this bench, they are all man-made items. Elves need to spend time around plants and animals. It helps them renew their connection with nature," Kalistra lectured.

"Impressive," Rijana remarked. "Not many non-elves are aware of this."

"I do know a few things besides swinging a sword," the cat girl retorted.

I quickly recalled the guest room directly across from mine at The Noble Lady back in Tregome. The room was rented by an elf for a three years duration. And from my glimpse of the interior, the room was filled with plant life. The living quarters of Roen and his wife were also packed with plants. At the time, I thought it was rather odd to see so many plants in their living space. But now that I heard Kalistra's explanation, I began to appreciate the peculiar needs of elves. Small wonder, then, that the elves don't stay in human cities and towns for long. "When are they coming back?" I asked.

"Now," a feminine voice interrupted and giggled.

I looked up and saw Bjoukia and Bjoukin. The two quickly sat down next to Kalistra.

The cat girl hissed but the elves ignored her warning and refused to move from their seats next to her.

"Be nice, Kalistra," I warned her. "Remember, these two had brought you back to your hideout. They saved your life. You should be nicer to them," I reminded her.

The cat girl stared at the table in front of her. Her tail started whiplashing back and forth.

"Maybe we should move to the other side," Bjoukin finally spoke up. He did not want to antagonize Kalistra unnecessarily.

I held up my hand. "She owes you. It's time she started repaying her debt," I replied.

When Dariyni returned with our meals, the three newcomers requested the same dish.

Once we finished our lunches, I turned toward Rijana. "Can I learn more spells from you?" I requested and bowed deeply.

"Sure," my magic instructor smiled. Assuming that I will be facing undead monsters, it was important for me to learn some more spells, particularly from the element of fire. Additionally, a Protection from Undead would be extremely useful.

"We will find a place nearby to practice," Kalistra spoke up. The cat girl grinned as she imagined how she will start repaying her debt to these two.

"Yes we should," Bjoukia agreed with a giggle.

I nodded. "I'll go back to my room with Rijana. We'll meet in my room again at the first bell in the afternoon."