It seemed the second Quest that the young Grimoire Heart mage was going to take would be very much like the first one in many ways, the only real difference being client and location. Unlike the previous Quest, which had taken place at the Phantasm castle (albeit outside the castle), the flyer Odin currently held in his hands was only requiring him to stay in the main streets of Oak and converse with a shopkeeper, who seemed to be having difficulties with a young orphan boy stealing the things he planned to sell to the people of Oak town. Not quite the same as a family’s secrets being given out by a snitch that had to be found and silenced, but money was money, and Odin had no issues causing another person discomfort and stopping one who was causing annoyances to people with money from continuing their activities. Similar in theme to the previous Quest, but this one could prove to be much more entertaining than following a mason home.

Walking up to the shopkeeper in question, and introducing himself as Lucifer, the shopkeeper began to describe the situation. An orphan boy, Jerr was his name (ironic since the mason Odin roughed up in his last quest had been named Jerry, but there was obviously no relation since Jerr was an orphan thief) had been constantly stealing from the local shopkeepers for some time now, and each time he had been caught they had let him go with a stern talking to, always choosing the peaceful option due to Jerr’s orphaned nature and the fact that he was simply a child. Every time they caught him they would deal with it peacefully, and every time he would return the next day and steal more. This shopkeeper, Darius of ‘Darius Fruits and Vegetables’, was fed up of trying to deal with it peacefully, it was time for a much more direct approach, and for this he was relying on the abilities of a dark mage, which meant he truly was fed up. His brief was simple: find and capture Jerr; convince him forcefully never to steal again (violence being permitted but not too much since he was still just a child); and bring him back to Darius to apologise. It seemed simple enough, and so Odin accepted, pleased that the man believed him to be Lucifer.

The nicknames of Grimoire Heart were used as codenames to hide the true names of the guild members, and the names varied depending on the holder in terms of magic, power and general strength, all given out by Icarus, the right hand to the guild master, who very few of Grimoire Heart even knew existed and none but Icarus had ever actually met. Icarus had named Odin by his Take Over demon: Lucifer, which fitted the dark mage better than some of his colleagues. For example, the names of some were emotions: Carnage, Grudge, or just simply things to do with the person or their magic: Black and Shadow, all of which would no doubt arouse suspicion if uttered as an actual name, even in a place as varied as Fiore. Having his code name be an actual name, and the name that Odin could easily associate with made it much easier to introduce himself as just another mage with a strange name, as opposed to Black or Grudge, names which lacked finesse, and barely sounded like names at all.

It was at this point that Odin had been briefed that his day got instantly more interesting. As soon as Darius had completed talking to the dark mage and explaining what it was he had to do, the shopkeeper pointed across the street to a young boy with light brown hair bordering on orange, and a red neckerchief sitting below his chin. He wore ragged clothing, but still clothing that would clearly keep him warm in the cold nights. But what was most interesting were his hands, or rather, what was currently placed inside them. In the boy’s hands, as he turned it over, was a freshly baked loaf of bread, one that clearly did not belong to him. As Odin looked over to the boy’s location, the boy noticed the shopkeeper pointing at him, and knew instantly what Odin was there to do. Without another word, the boy tucked the bread into his pockets and sprinted into the nearest alleyway he could see, at a speed impressively faster than Odin himself could manage. Dashing into the alleys after the boy, the chase began. Jerr, knowing Oak and being faster than Odin, was able to stay ahead for the majority of the day, but he made one mistake in thinking Odin had stopped for the day as the sun began to set. Sitting on a roof, Odin watched the young boy stop at a corner of the main street and began to nibble on the loaf, thinking he was free from his pursuer, which was when Odin moved, dropping behind the boy in silence and catching him, putting one arm over his mouth and the other around his neck, choking him and dragging him back into the alley, before throwing him into a nearby wall, which resulted in the boy instantly stopping any progress of leaving and staying where he was, before he received the scolding from Odin. He was fast, and he was smart, but he had to learn not to get caught. Stealing was fine until one was caught, and getting caught, especially with Jerr’s speed and height, was just pathetic.

Odin then brought Jerr back to Darius the shopkeeper, and listened as Darius spoke to Jerr in anger and frustration, before paying Odin for his troubles and releasing the orphan boy, hoping he had learned his lesson. Odin couldn’t help but smile as Jerr left Darius’ shop, holding that same loaf of bread he had previously stolen, as well as grasping a newly acquired pouch of jewels, one that no doubt had previously belonged to Darius himself. The kid may not be ready to stop his thieving ways, but he had certainly learned a lesson from Odin.

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