Leo yawned before rubbing the tears out of his eyes. The sun rose from the horizon a while ago, but it was still morning. Unfortunately, Wendel was too busy so today was a solo day. The first among many more to come. He made his way toward the Adventurer’s Guild when he noticed the clamor coming from the lobby.

What’s all the fuss so early in the morning?

Leo let out a sigh as his hand fell to the hilt of his sword. He hoped it wasn’t some catastrophic event threatening the city. He wanted more time to relax after the close call with the Xilisk. Fearing for the long day ahead, he massaged his neck as he opened the door.

"It's been a while since anything interesting like this happened."

"It's just another kidnapping, nothin' special."

"But they say a strong guy's behind this one, 'pparently it's someone that's worked here recently."

He overheard a few concerning conversations, but still didn't understand what was going on.

A kidnapping?

“Leo!” a fellow adventurer called out to him. His name was Vince. They had gone on joint missions before, not to mention they were friends since the Academy.

“Yo Vince, what’s goin’ on?” asked Leo.

Vince motioned him over. There was a lady next to him… it was Charlotte, the receptionist. If he recalled correctly, he was sure it was her day off today. So what was she doing here looking all disorderly. She kept fidgeting with her hair.

“Seriously what's happening? Ms. Charlotte, isn't it your day off?” he asked again.

“You see—,” said Vince.

“I-It’s Aria!” said Charlotte. Her voice hovering between despair and panic. “She-! She’s been kidnapped! I happened to run into her and we ended up having some tea while chatting but then I remembered the paperwork I needed to give to the Guildmaster so I went to get it even though I knew it was dangerous to leave Aria alone because—!”

Aria was kidnapped?! Why?

Leo tensed as he refrained from jumping into action. He couldn’t rush things, he needed more information first.

“Okay okay! Hold on. Slow down Charlotte,” interrupted Leo. He could hardly keep up with Charlotte’s panicked string of words. “You were having tea and watching over Aria, I got that. But what other information do we have? Did you see the kidnapper?”

Charlotte only shook her head.

“The only other clues are the room they were previously chatting in before Aria was kidnapped,” said Vince. He gestured for Leo to follow, and they went up to the employee’s break room. Apparently nothing was touched since Charlotte’s discovery of the incident. The signs of struggle; chairs scattered, a scorch mark on the ground, and the misplaced table. That was it.

That’s it? This isn’t good. But...

“What could have made the scorch mark on the ground?” murmured Leo. Vince only shrugged as Charlotte held her head in her palms. She seemed to have calmed down a bit.

Leo himself was barely containing himself to be truthful. But somehow, seeing Charlotte’s state had helped him keep his calm.

“Does the Guildmaster know?” asked Leo.

Vince nodded. “She was alerted almost immediately after Charlotte discovered Aria’s absence. Still, who the hell would think of doing this? Kidnapping someone in the Adventurer’s Guild… and in broad daylight. How did they get away with this?”

Leo could only shake his head. There wasn’t any logical way that it was possible for an intruder to pull off such a thing. The only way it could be possible is if they were as strong as Guildmaster, or had a really sneaky trick up their sleeves. Either way, it wasn’t going to be easy to track them down.

“I’m going to talk with the Guildmaster,” said Leo. “Vince.. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, I didn’t do anything,” he replied. “But. I’ll keep an eye out for any clues.”

Leo nodded. As for Charlotte… she should get some rest. It’s apparent that this event has stressed her out greatly.

“Charlotte.. Er, Ms. Charlotte. Please get some rest okay? It was your day off in the first place. The Guildmaster will ensure our success... And, remember that the kidnapping isn’t your fault.”

Charlotte only looked away before being led out by Vince. He’d take care of Charlotte for now. He had always been a nice guy like that.

He followed the two and exited behind them, but went towards the Guildmaster’s office. Before he could knock, a voice spoke out from within.

“Come in.”

He entered the room and shut the door behind him. The Guildmaster sat at her desk, leaning back with her legs crossed. Her finger tapped away at the armrest before she reached out for some papers on her desk.

“Aria is—”

“Missing. Kidnapped. Yes, I know.”

The Guildmaster responded without looking up.

“I have an idea—”

She grabbed the papers and spread them out for Leo to see.

“—on who it could be.”

“Really? Who!?”

Leo glanced at the papers the Guildmaster displayed to him. They were… character profiles of adventurers at this guild. So the Guildmaster was implying...

It was an adventurer?!

~ ~

The man approached the small girl who remained sitting on the ground. It seemed she was no longer willing to fight. Good.

Still, what the hell was THAT? [Fire Bolt]? Did she really cast [Fire Bolt]? She looks like she’s 5 and she’s out here casting [Fire Bolt] like it’s nothing? That’s too dangerous. Way too dangerous. No wonder she’s the one. She almost took out ME, Shiado, 4th Peer of the Sovereignty’s Hand.

It was unthinkable for a child of such a young age to be able to cast any sort of magic, much less [Fire Bolt]. He nearly died just then because he severely underestimated the girl’s strength. He didn’t even prepare any defenses.

You really can’t ever let your guard down huh.

Lesson learnt.

If Shiado reacted a second later, it would’ve been too late for him. He had to thank his naturally quick reflexes and years of experience for his quick reaction. He casted an illusion type spell— well really, it’s more than just an illusion type spell but that’s besides the point —that places the target and their magic in a separate reality momentarily. In reality, the target is simply rendered immobile and unable to cast magic. They are left hallucinating. Since it disrupts their perception of reality, any magic connected to them is also sent to that reality. Sure enough, her [Fire Bolt] must have been connected to her still causing it to disappear into the illusion, though it still seared the floor with its heat. The girl fell backwards looking shocked.

The only downside to his illusion was that he couldn’t see what they were seeing. But he usually had a good idea as it depended on the situation they were currently in. For example, the girl casted a spell, so she’s probably seeing the aftermath of the spell. It must be pretty destructive too considering she casted [Fire Bolt].

Still, that's some insane firepower.

It was when the girl started giggling to his dismay that Shiado canceled the spell.

This one’s a weirdo...

“You done yet?” Shiado asked as he walked towards her.

The girl opened her eyes and glanced about before staring at him in confusion. The destruction she must’ve seen from [Fire Bolt] was nowhere to be seen. He could guess that she saw him explode or something gruesome which might’ve scared her a bit. There wasn’t an ounce of fight left in her after all.

Still, I can take advantage of this confusion.

He leaned down to Aria, grabbing her chin to lift it up. She had no choice but to look at him.

“Listen girl. All that destruction you just saw was an illusion. You’re insanely weak. So there’s no way in hell you could cast [Fire Bolt]. You’ve got good imagination, I’ll give you that. But don’t get full of yourself. After all, as far as you know, you’re still stuck in my illusion. So let’s make haste, my boss is an impatient person.”

Aria trembled as she nodded ever so slowly.

He grabbed her arm and propped her up before taking her through the door.

“Don’t even think about escaping either. Not that you can. I’m not a big shot of Sovereignty for nothing haha. Ha.. Ugh this is so boring I’m losing my mind. It’s annoying so just don’t even try anything. ‘Kay?”

~ ~

Aria looked around as the man pulled her around through some type of underground vault. The walls and ceiling, she noticed, were cracked and rundown. She couldn’t help but worry about the safety of this location; whether or not the roof would cave in was a fear that formed in her mind. She shook the thought away, the man and anyone else here wouldn’t have chosen to stay in this area if it was as unsafe as she thought. Right?

The man took her down a large hallway which was lined with equally spaced cell rooms on either side. Every cell was empty save for the last one; a girl, around Aria's age, sat hugging her legs to her chest.

Aria was dropped off in the same cell.

"I don't know exactly what fate awaits you, but enjoy! I'll see ya'll later. Maybe."

A couple minutes of silence passed after he had left. Aria stood, clutching the bars while the girl remained in the same position.

"Why are you here?" blurted the girl.

Aria turned to look at her. "I got kidnapped."

The lighting was dim but Aria was able to make out the girl's expression. It morphed from curiosity to a flash of disdain.

"I know that. I meant what noble family are you from. I've never seen your dress before, it's simple but of high quality. I assume you're atleast a lower noble?"

Aria looked down at her clothes that she made after her awakening.

"Umm.."

"Tch. I get that your parents taught you stranger danger or don't talk to strangers or what have you but we're the same age. Couldn't you show the minimal respect of introducing yourself? Besides, as a noble you should be able to proudly declare your family name, else you bring shame to it."

Aria grimaced at the misunderstanding; she was no noble. And while she wouldn't deny they seemed to be of the same age, the girl exuded confidence that made it hard to respond.

"If you so insist on remaining silent, I shall show you how it's done," the girl stood up with one hand gesturing towards herself. "I am Rinaera Faris Ignis. Daughter of Farodin Ignis and Rinora Ignis."

"Hi Rinaera, my name is Aria…"

"Still don't trust me enough to tell me your noble name? Hmph! Also, call me Faris. Don't you understand that calling higher nobles by their primary name is extremely disrespectful? I guess standards between lower and higher nobles are different after all. Us higher nobles are taught from birth to understand noble mannerisms and responsibilities. Of course, it differs from one noble household to the next, but as a member of a family of highest status aside from royalty, there is no limit to the strict care given to raise us in proper noble fashion."

"Faris… I'm.. not a noble," said Aria.

Farins' expression momentarily switched to pure disgust before becoming a stiff, neutral gaze. Her face twitched as opened her mouth to speak.

"C—call me... Lady Faris."

"Uh.. Lady Faris. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"It's.. fine. So. It's not that you didn't trust me, but rather you didn't have a noble name to begin with… I'll overlook this just this once... To think the…"

Lady Faris trailed off and for a moment, Aria could have sworn Lady Faris' eyes flashed a different color before she blinked again.