How had it come to this... A question that resounded firmly in Yu's mind as she walked the streets of Myras. While she had followed the advice of the enigmatic voice, instead of leading her to answers she had gotten hopelessly lost! She even had spend almost all the money from her share of the sea monster hunt adventure just to book passage to Fiore!

And now here she was, lost and trying her utmost to find out where the hell she had been currently. It seemed from her efforts to ask around that she was in South Fiore, so she was in the right region, but her destination was Hargeon! Instead she found herself stuck in a city known as Myras. This had been quite the problematic situation she found herself stuck in...

The only solution she could think of right now was to find some sort of work for an adventurer that hopefully wouldn't involve any conflict. Perhaps she could search for some herbs or do some menial chores, but combat and violence were not her forte. In fact, despite that she called herself her mage she only knew a single spell! Certainly someone might feel that nullification of magic was an amazing ability to be proud of, but what after that? Would she have to whack people with a staff afterward?

Having arrived at the adventurer's guild the lass started to look at the large bulletin board that had various posters and flyers posted about.

WC: 250/2000

So far most of the jobs posted seemed to be your typical assignments. There was a flyer about gathering some herbs in the woods, and while that seemed like a good assignment for her, the fact there was a flyer right next to it where there was a bounty for a pack of dire wolves terrorizing the aforementioned woods made it clear she wasn't going to set a single foot outside the city... She didn't want to get eaten!

No, spotting a flyer that had a escort quest inside the city Yu decided to take a closer look at it. It seemed a nobleman of Myras frequently liked to take a trip around the city to buy wares from the local craftsmen to add to his collection. A simple accompanying of a noble on a trip through Myras? That seemed like a safe and conflict-free assignment! Right? After asking for directions from the clerk Yu made her way toward the district the noble lived at, and the moment she arrived at his mansion she couldn't help but look up in bewilderment. IT WAS SO EXTRAVAGANT! If anything this was over the top stylish... Ringing the bell she announced her presence and that she had come to escort the nobleman on his trip. And now all she could do was wait...

WC: 220
Total WC: 470/2000

It didn't take long for the nobleman to appear, and just as expected the man was just as over the top as the mansion he lived in. Gaudy clothes and jewelry, and a goofy grin was plastered on his face. "Thank you sooooooooooooo much for accepting this request miss adventurer!"

Yu shook her head lightly, answering that no thanks was needed and that she was simply doing her job. The man soon started to walk toward their destination as she walked beside him, inquiring with a hint of curiosity. "You seem to frequently travel to the district where the poor live. For what reason do you go shopping there?"

Yu had been wondering about that for a while. Wouldn't a man of his wealth be able to just get designers to make his stuff? That was what most nobles did right? Was he just going there to show off his wealth? Then she could understand why he needed an escort, people would had been pissed, and rightly so. But the answer she got was unexpected.

"You see... while perhaps not as fancy as the works of other crafters, there is a certain homely charm to the creations from the craftsmen of this district. But my true reason for coming here and doing my shopping is because I want to support the district in my own way. If I just gave away my wealth the other nobles would see it as a sign of weakness, but if I go and buy their wares they have no grounds to complain, right?"

So he was actually trying to help the people in his own way... That was actually kinda sweet. "Where are we going first?" She inquired, to which the man replied with a smile. "See that shop with the large red roof? It's a woodcutter's atelier, he makes really beautiful creations like accessories, I frequently visit his store." And with that their first stop had been made. Approaching the shop she opened the door and watched the nobleman enter with a smile on his face.

WC: 340
Total WC: 810/2000

The owner of the atelier quickly spotted them and started to exchange a warm greeting with the nobleman. Indeed, just from their interactions she could see the man was quite friendly, and not condensing and haughty like she had initially assumed. Was he genuinely trying to help the people of the district in his own way? Judging from the current exchange it clearly seemed that way.

She watched quietly as the man was looking at the various designs the master of the atelier presented him, but even while they were happily doing business Yu couldn't help but notice that there was a restless moving outside, a crowd was gathering near the shop and she couldn't help but feel there was trouble brewing. Hopefully she was wrong, but she trusted her instincts and she was rarely wrong in placing her trust in them.

After a few more minutes the nobleman had purchased a small wooden statue, which he said was a sculpture of a rare creature but when she opened the door and the two of them left the shop her earlier concerns were proving to not had been missfound. "Showing off again?!" "Go back to your golden nest you filthy pig!" a crowd of angry people had gathered, a mere glance at them suggesting they were likely citizen living in the district, the poorer people of Myras.

However, for some reason they seemed quite angry, unnaturally so even, when the man didn't do anything yet to upset them aside from bringing commerce to the district.

WC: 250
Total WC: 1060/2000

Yu also couldn't help but feel a prickling sensation on her skin, a feeling she usually had when there was an abundance of mana in the air. Which was weird... she kinda doubted there were any mages among the poor citizen that made up this crowd but... As she pondered about the matter one of the people in the crowd started to grab a hold of the nobleman who shrieked lightly in panic, a sound that brought her back to focus on the current predicament.

Her mana flared outwards, a wave of pressure that caused a certain feeling akin to intimidation in the crowd, but at the same time as her mana leaked outwards she could feel her nullification magic stirring, as if it had dispelled something.

"Do you even realize what you are doing right now? This man was conducting business with one of the local craftsmen, a fair and justified price was paid for his wares and as a result commerce came to this district. This man is trying to support the livelihood of your people and this is how you repay him? With violence and being on the brink of committing the crime of theft?"

The peasant who was about to grab a hold of the sculpture the nobleman had purchased went silent, even the crowd which was in a violent uproar just now and on the verge of lynching the nobleman seemed to be calmed down by her genuine scolding.

"S-sorry..." the peasant muttered as he let go of the nobleman and handed him back the sculpture. "When we see you coming here with all these fancy clothes and all these jewels we thought you were just trying to brag about the difference between us. To show us that we weren't rich like you."

The crowd nodded their heads in agreement. "Not once did we stood still to think that you were trying to help us in your own way." The nobleman shook his head lightly. "There is no difference between us, we are both humans, simply born into different circumstances, but at its core we are quite alike."

The crowd seemed to had been dissolved, and after they apologized and left the nobleman smiled kindly at her. "Thank you for pacifying that conflict without resorting to force Yu. I detest violence but was really worried it might had almost come to that."

Yu shook her head lightly. "You were just trying to help people, although..." The nobleman tilted his head lightly to the side in confusion. "Although what?" Yu asked a very curious question: "Do you have any enemies in this city?"

WC: 440
Total WC: 1500/2000

The question might had sounded like it had come out of the blue, even for the nobleman who replied. "Not that I know of, while I know this district can be a bit unsafe at times I have no real enemies to speak of."

Yu raised a hand to her chin, pondering for a bit. "I see, that is odd... Earlier I couldn't help but notice but... That crowd was under an enchantment." The words came as a surprise to the nobleman who asked her. "An enchantment you say? Who would even do something like that?" Yu shook her head lightly. "They were likely being manipulated by someone, a mage who cast that spell onto them that made their feelings of jealousy agitate them and turn them against you. I thought you might had some enemies, but perhaps it is someone who wanted to get you into troubles instead."

Yu's explanation made the nobleman drop his shoulders lightly in sadness. "I guess I should hire an escort more often when I come here then. But how come you knew about that enchantment Yu?" As they walked back toward the mansion Yu started to explain. "My magic proficiency lies in the act of dispelling and nullifying magic. Simply said by disrupting the flow of mana in a spell I can nullify it, which is what happened earlier when I addressed the crowd."

The nobleman nodded his head attentively as the duo arrived at the mansion. "I will be more careful from now on Yu, but as promised here is your payment for today's work, I included a bonus for your excellent performance today. I hope I will be able to rely on you again in the future."

Yu smiled briefly as she accepted the pouch full of jewels and bowed lightly in response. "We'll see, have a fine day."

And with these words she excused herself, walking down the street as the man returned into the safety of his mansion. After a while she suddenly stopped, raising her voice lightly. "How long are you going to continue stalking me?"

Her words earned a soft chuckle from the shadows, a hooded figure appearing from a nearby alleyway. "You been quite a obstacle in my work today deary~ A word of advice: Don't start to mingle in my affairs. If you continue to do so I won't be as lenient as I was today."

Yu's gaze sharpened, but before she could reply or do anything the figure disappeared into the shadows once more. What a peculiar situation she had gotten herself into! At one hand she wondered if she should alert the Rune Knights, or maybe investigate more into the matter herself. But for now she was satisfied at having completed her job. After all she did need to catch her trip to Hargeon soon! But why was she going there? What could she possibly find there that was of importance to her? Only time would tell...

WC: 500
Total WC: 2000/2000