Bazaar, Ciara Citadel City, Eisenhiem Kingdom

The shopkeeper was enjoying a mug of bitter brew when he spotted the cat approaching towards him. He instantly recognized the cat from his appearance… this was the same cat who the giantess tried to protect earlier this day.

*MAW!*

The shopkeeper stood up and listened to the cat, which meowed in a tone like he was trying to extort some stuff from him.

“Hahaha, are you stupid or something… it’s good that you came here cuz I was getting bored… now I can play with you a little!” the shopkeeper laughed like a devil as he reached for the cleaver knife that was lying on the right side of the table.

“Now get ready to die!” the shopkeeper yelled as he threw his knife at the cat.

*SWISH**ZAP**CLANK*

The cat dodged the knife in an instant and moved towards his left side, he then swiftly turned towards the direction in which the big tuna that was hanging on the shop.

*SWOOSH**BITE**SWOOSH*

In an instant the cat snatched away the biggest tuna that was hanging on the shop.

“What! Hey stop! You little…” the shopkeeper yelled as he saw the whole scene develop in front of him within the matter of seconds. He couldn’t even get the chance to grab another knife that was lying near him. The cat was too fast and strong.

The shopkeeper never imagined that a mere cat could carry such a huge fish that even he himself couldn’t carry properly and the sheer speed at which the cat did it was astounding!

“Grr” the cat growled while he proudly stood on the roof of a house with his catch.

*PAT*

The cat dropped the tuna on the floor of the roof and immediately tried to eat it then and there.

Watching this; the angry shopkeeper picked up a stone that was lying on the ground and threw it towards the cat.

*SWOOSH**THUD*

The cat immediately dodged the stone that was thrown towards him.

“Give me back my fish…You pest!” the angry shopkeeper yelled at the cat; who now, again picked up the tuna that he was trying to eat.

*SWISH**THUD**SWISH**SWISH**THUD**SWISH**THUD**SWISH**THUD*

The cat swiftly and splendidly jumped from one roof to another while holding on to the humongous tuna that he had managed to steal.

The way the cat was holding the tuna was amusing to look at! He was clutching on to the tail of the tuna with his sharp teeth and powerful jaw. The tuna was jiggling here and there while creating large sounds of *THUD* as the cat jumped from one roof to another.

“Thief, Stop! Help! Somebody help me!” the angry shopkeeper yelled as he saw the cat running away from him at an astounding speed. Out of desperation he threw his knife at the cat; which was now pretty much far away from him.

*SWISH* *CLANK*

The knife landed in front of the feet of a guard who appeared in the road out of nowhere!

“Hey, you! Stop!” the guard yelled at the shopkeeper who stopped in front of him.

“Sir… ah!” *THUD* before the shopkeeper could say anything the guard pounced at him and threw him at the ground. He then turned him in a prostrated position and tied back his hands with a rope.

“Using a weapon in a public area… you’ll be prosecuted.” The guard yelled as he stood up, he then went towards the spot where the knife lied, he then gently picked up the knife and examined it. The knife was clean but smelled like fish. It was an excellent weapon to kill.

After carefully putting the knife in one of his bags he then went towards the shopkeeper who was trying to stand up. He grabbed one of the arms of the man and pulled him up.

“Walk” he then pushed the shopkeeper and pointed him the direction with his fingers.

“Kind Sir! Would you at least listen to me!” the shopkeeper tried to talk to the guard who was now bossing him.

“Shut up!” the guard yelled.

“Please help me sir! A thief tried to run away with one of my best merchandise and I was only trying to capture him!” the shopkeeper tried to persuade the guard.

“Oh, so then why did you throw you knife at me?” the guard questioned.

“The thief was pretty far away from me so I tried to stop him by attacking one of his limbs; with my knife…” the shopkeeper replied.

“Oh so you tried to attack a civilian with a knife! That’s even worse! The guard replied.

“What! But he was a thief and he robbed me!” the shopkeeper protested.

“No matter what happens, this kingdom doesn’t allow the people to harm each other in the public places… unless and until a duel or a battle royale is authorized.” The guard replied coldly.

“But he also attacked me! It was self defense!” the cunning shopkeeper lied to the guard.

“Oh! That changes the situation… So how did your thief look? What did he steal from you? What weapon did he use to assault you?” the guard asked the shopkeeper while looking at him.

“Ah… well about that… he looked like a cat.” The shopkeeper muttered slowly.

“Ok, he looked like a cat…” ‘Never heard of a man whose face looked like a cat … maybe he was wearing a mask…’ “Ok continue…” the guard thought while he responded.

“He had brown fur with black stripes…” the shopkeeper continued his earlier speech.

“Ok” ‘he wore a coat with black fur having black stripes…’ the guard gently replied.

“He stole my bluefin tuna…” the shopkeeper suddenly yelled at the guard who, at the moment got shocked by his sudden action.

“Mhm… he stole a bluefin tuna… wait what is a bluefin tuna?” the guard asked the shopkeeper while looking puzzled.

“Well, it’s a species of tuna which is huge and its typical adult weights about 150-250 kilos*… I was selling juvenile ones… they weight about 30-100 kilos, ranging from 18 inches to28 inches long…” the shopkeeper replied full of excitement as he got a chance to show off his knowledge to the guard.

“Oh! That must be a delicacy! How much does it costs?” the guard asked the shopkeeper.

“40-50 bronze coins! That depends upon the quality… the one that he stole was of 55 bronze coins … it was fresh and huge!” the shopkeeper replied with an honest answer this time as he wanted to avoid creating a fuss for himself.

“50 bronze coins that’s huge sum for a fish! I can have a pretty decent meal at a good restaurant for 25 bronze!” the guard replied.

“Yeah… but you’ve got to pay the price if you want something special…” the shopkeeper smiled as he replied.

“Hmm... you’ve got a point!” the guard spoke with a smile.

“Now can you please release me and catch my thief…” the shopkeeper requested the guard.

“I’m sorry, I can’t release you until I’ve completed my enquiry… also, the thief was nowhere to be seen, so you can forget about him for now… but I promise we’ll catch him for sure…” the guard replied to the shopkeeper while ignoring his plea for his release.

“Hrrmmm…” the shopkeeper growled mildly because of the unsatisfactory reply that he got from the guard.

“Ok, so what was his height?” the guard enquired the shopkeeper about his assailant.

“He was 18 inches long…” the shopkeeper replied in a tone that showed that he was unsatisfied with the behavior of the guard.

“Ok, he was 18 inches… what!” the guard stopped for a moment as he got shocked by the reply that he got from the shopkeeper.

“He was 18 inches long!” the shopkeeper restated in a cold tone.

“What do you mean by 18 inches long? Are you talking about the length of his arm?” the guard asked the shopkeeper, as he was puzzled by the reply he got from him.

“No… he was 18 inches long!” the shopkeeper clarified his statement once again.

“Hey, are you telling me that your thief was an 18 inches long, brown colored ‘cat’ with black stripes!” the guard replied in an angry tone.

“Yes…” the shopkeeper affirmed the guard.

“And he stole your tuna which was as heavy as ‘30 kilos’!” the guard replied feeling stupefied.

“No that tuna was about 48 kilos!” the shopkeeper corrected him.

The guard went cold and silent.

“He attacked me viciously with his sharp claws and fangs…” the shopkeeper continued speaking to the guard.

“Then where are your cuts and bruises?” the guard questioned him with a skeptic look on his face.

“Oh! I don’t have any because I managed to dodge…” the shopkeeper replied instantaneously.

“Do I look like an idiot to you…” the guard replied angrily.

“But I’m telling you the truth… that cat was as fast as an arrow, he was very swift and he jumped from one roof to another in the blink of an eye!” the shopkeeper replied in a flustered tone.

“Yeah! right! Maybe we should send that cat to fight against the demon lord… he may be able to defeat him… what do you say? Your thief cat can perform miracles.” the guard replied in a sarcastic tone while looking at the shopkeeper; who got astonished by his remark.

“Now move…” the guard yelled as he pushed the shopkeeper.