Another day, another job for the Rune Knights. Today she was investigating rumors of corruption. From her own people no less! Chie wasn’t that surprised as greed was rampant everywhere, regardless of occupation. The trick was to not get caught doing it, as the rewards weren’t usually worth the risk. Something she planned on proving once she found the evidence of their dastardly deeds.

Her mission was given to her by Lionel Luxar, a stuck up noble who thought he was better than everyone else. All Chie did when talking to him was nod her head, an easy way to make the conversation go by faster. You’d actually be punished for disrespecting someone of his rank, so she unfortunately had to keep her mouth shut. Soon, though. Soon her rank would rise and she’d be able to say whatever she wanted.

Say what you will about Lionel, but he was pretty prepared with his accusations. Chie had received a list of five names, with pictures and locations included. It made her work a lot easier which was nice. Currently she was watching the first rune knight from the roof, hidden away from sight. She was virtually soundless and scentless, extremely hard to detect thanks to her time spent training back home. Now it was time to see what the woman below her was up to.

After an hour of watching, Chie scratched her head before moving on. From what she could tell, the woman seemed to be doing her job. Talking to the people she had previously conversed with only cemented that point. Sure the rune knight was rough around the edges, but she didn’t seem to be doing anything illegal.

The next one, not so much. She wasn't sure if it was fate or luck, but she arrived only to see the second rune knight putting away a bag of money. Rune knights didn’t get paid that much normally, something she knew from personal experience. It was more than likely a bribe. Marking down their name on the list, Chie also wrote down the name of the establishment he was at. Although it did seem shady at first glance, she was sure that if someone did more research, they’d be able to find more clues if needed.

For the third rune knight, Chie was forced to walk through the streets. Not her preferred method of tracking, but she couldn’t see her target from the roof. Normally she’d be worried they’d recognize her, but since she was so low on the totem pole, the odds of this were virtually nil. One of the only perks of being a Page. She followed this one for a few hours before catching them accepting bribes as well. Another notch on her list.

The fourth one seemed innocent, judging from the words of bystanders. Quite the stickler for rules too, as many people complained they were sometimes too strict. While that did seem annoying, she was only here for corruption. Not really her problem.

The fifth rune knight was sadly corrupt, leaving more than half the rune knights on the lists guilty. That didn’t really bode well for her faction, but she guessed they were technically taking care of it. Lot of corruption going on though. Returning the list and getting her pay, Chie left Lionel to deal with the mess. She wasn’t high enough rank to worry about such a thing, so she wouldn’t. It was time to relax.

[576]