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Have you heard about the god of life?
The only hope of the Aetheral Kingdom was waiting for…
"So, how much is your offering?" the man asks the little girl who is sitting across from him.
"100 gold coins, it's a bargain…" she answered with a little hint of malice in her voice.
"I'll take 50…" the man put a sack of gold coins on the table.
"65?" the girl offers again.
"Ugh…how about 60?" the man taken back at the price.
"Never mind…that's too low after all this is a limited edition.." The girl immediately hid the box away.
"Ugh fine, 65, here you go" the man added another bag of gold coins on the table and pushed it closer to the girl.
"Sold, thanks for your purchase…" The girl pushed the box to the man in exchange.
Flashing lights, chaotic music banging both of her ears yet she doesn't flutter. It was her home after all.
Different types of people were seen here. People who had problems, people who exchanged suspicious products with each other. It was a free place run by the almighty, bravest knight of Aetheral! That's what she described to him. Zack the bartender.
"What did you get there, kid?" the bartender asked her. This is Zack, a tall bearded man, more like a bear to Yuu. She giggled at that thought.
"Just scamming people…" she whispers playfully to him.
"That's no good, kid…" the bartender chuckles.
"It's not my fault, they're easy to trick…"Yuu scoffs as she starts counting the gold coins in the bag.
"You two really are alike…" Zack answered for the last time before he went to the other customer across the counter leaving Yuu counting her loot.
There's one thing Yuu is obsessed with, and that's money. As a lower, money satisfies her, not to spend but to collect for something. A gift for her special person.
After a while, she finally finished and started packing up, not until she heard something interesting at the nearby table.
Despite the loud music and chattering of people around, there's a familiar voice she heard that get's her attention. It was Lucian, her friend.
"So the plan is to steal it?" one of his companions asked.
"The higher up ordered us to steal it from the merchant, he will travel by carriage from the Gleaner Zone…" Levi put a map on the table and tapped the specific location where the carriage will pass through.
"Carriage? Isn't that old fashioned? Why can't they transport it via train? It's faster that way…"
"And it was more difficult to steal it, so we should be thankful that it was just a carriage." Lucian lashed.
"Lucian was right…" Levi agreed.
"But the thing is, why carriage? They can use a car? Or I don't know…the dirigible or something? Why use the carriage pulled by the horse?" one of the bandits wondered.
"Maybe, they use it as a disguise, after all they'll be passing through the Gleaner Zone." One of the bandits answered.
"Enough." Levi commanded.
"We should start planning on how to raid it, the package will be arriving at the Port Reaper, then the mercenary in charge will be assisted by the Aetheral knights. On top of that, it was the Royal's knight, so we need to be careful…" he continued.
"Three days from now, the package will be set in the forest to the west near the border of the Heinrich, we need to be ready…"
Their conversation continued as Yuu secretly listen from the counter. She had been given a gift of good hearing by the god. In short, she really can hear from miles away.
However, while listening to the conversation, she can't help but notice another familiar face from the distance, her brother, Melrick.
She ditches her spot, putting the bag of coins in her little backpack. She follows Melrick out of the club, while doing so, Lucian finally notices Yuu getting up. His expression turns into worry as he watches her follow Melrick.
"What's wrong?" one of the bandits whispers to him, and he answers nothing.
Melrick, despite being a lower, had the physical trait of a noble. Blonde, golden eyes, and fair skin, but instead of being ridiculed for being different, he was feared by many, that's because of one person, the Warden.
"Psst!" Unfamiliar man called out for him in the darkest corner back of the club.
"Do you get it?" he asked.
"Yup, exchange for the information you need…"
Before doing the transaction, they both looked around making Yuun hide in the corner, but despite that, Melrick noticed her bunny plushie's ear sticking out but he chose to ignore it.
Yuu looked out for the last time, thinking Melrick finally looked away, but he didn't. She flinched as their both eyes met, making Yuu let out a little yelp making the other man look at her direction, luckily she immediately hid herself.
"What's that noise?" the man asked.
"Probably someone's making out or something…" Melrick extended his hand as he waited for the other to take it.
They both shake hands but underneath, the transaction is finally done. Melrick received a piece of paper in his hand while the other man walked away content.
Yuu covering her mouth, she hid in the corner as the man walked past her, luckily it was a dark alley making her less noticeable. But one thing for sure, Melrick already noticed her.
"Hey…" Melrick quietly called out for her.
…
Three days later, the bandit's preparation is finally complete. They quietly hid in the shadows of the trees and bushes around the road. Like a wolf hiding waiting for the hare to take the bait, they waited.
Finally, the carriage arrives, surrounded by the knights, they move in slow speed, without knowing the traps that Lucian planted.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Bomb after bomb, the trap is triggered. The knights immediately in their position, Holding their swords and guns, look around with nothing to see but smoke from the explosion. The bandits made their move.