It's morning.

James is still not awake yet...?

Wake up already! I want breakfast!

Take...that!

"Hng! Hmmmm...? Huh? What is it, Lilla...?"

"Breakfast."

"...You didn't have to hit me for that..."

"But you weren't waking up."

"Urgh...just...three more minutes..."

...Fine. You can have your three more minutes.

Leaving James to sleep, I crawled back onto the bed.

Ahh...soft and fluffy~

Hmph. If you didn't hit me the night before I wouldn't have needed to chase you to the floor this time. Serves you right.

...But how does James sleep so comfortably on the floor anyways? There's a bed sheet and everything, but it's as if he's used to this kind of thing. How interesting.

...

"...James?"

"...leave me alone...just...three more minutes..."

...It's already been three minutes though? I want my breakfast!

I guess I'll wake him up again.

Should I aim for the stomach again? Or maybe the head?

Well, guess it doesn't make any difference~

Take th-who's knocking on the door?

"Heya, you folks! How was the night? Heh...You didn't treat her too rough did ya, lad?"

What is the idiot at the door saying?

James suddenly stirred.

"Hm? ...Huh? What's...there isn't even a beast...leave me alone Leesa..."

Who's Leesa? What's James saying now? I've never heard him talk about a Leesa before...

"You there James? Anne? Ah whatever, guess you are busy then. Meet me at the stable when you are done! Guess I'll go grab breakfast by myself."

Breakfast!

Wake up already, James!

                                                             * * *

Argh...she really didn't hold back with the waist pinches.

The perpetrator is just sitting next to me, drinking mushroom soup and enjoying her bread with cheese with a big smile. She looks so carefree despite having just unleashed her attacks on me a while ago with such fury.

When it comes to food, she really doesn't hold back huh.

Meanwhile, sitting across from us is our one and only carriage driver, Edmund. I still want to kill him for last night.

If it wasn't for him taking his liberties and booking us a single bed, I wouldn't have had to sleep on the floor!

"You and your stupid grins, Edmund. I know exactly what you are thinking of right now, and I'm telling you it's wrong!"

"Oh yeah, sure thing lad. Why are you holding your waist then?"

"That's not-"

"It's fine, it's fine. You don't have to explain anything to me. I get it. Anyway, I'm done with mine, you both have a good one and I'll see you both at the stables later!"

God I hate this man!

At least this breakfast is great.

Anne seems to have finished with her breakfast and is now staring at me. Or rather, my piece of bread.

Oh no. Now she's looking at me with those eyes.

"You can have it if you want it so much, don't give me the puppy eyes."

She swiftly swiped the bread from my bowl and started munching.

I guess that days like this is at least better than nothing.

                                                             * * *

The carriage ride was mostly silence. I gave Edmund a piece of my mind at the stables and he apologised for all the teasing he did.

Well, I can't really get mad at him either way. People will misunderstand if they see a man and a woman travelling together, it's just a fact.

However, something felt really out of place the entire ride.

Anne was staring at me. Not just the normal, cold stares.

It was just a long, piercing stare that seems to be searching inside me for something.

And she also opened her mouth several times, almost as if she wanted to ask something. In the end, she didn't ask me anything, but I'm just confused at it all.

Why was she staring at me? What did she want to say?

Did something happen this morning that I wasn't aware of? The only thing I remember was the really painful pinch and twist maneuver that Anne executed on my waist.

Whatever the case is, we have finally arrived! It's almost evening now, and we have finally reached the capital city, Tido.

...What a glorious city. Just from the outskirts, I can already see the huge walls. The size was at least twice the one in Theilv, and I can see many more guards doing the patrols as well. No wonder it's the capital.

I wonder what Anne's reaction is.

She took one look and not any more than that.

That's weird? Has she already seen this before?

I really need to know more about her now. I'll just ask her tonight.

"Alrighty! We have finally arrived at our destination, you two! Take in the view that is Tido! Isn't she just beautiful? This is exactly why we are the most powerful kingdom on the continent! Heh!"

"What are we going to do once we arrive, Edmund?"

"I'll be visiting a special someone, and then I'll be contacting some buyers for the skins you've got."

A special someone? Hard to believe that a hopeless guy like him can get anyone...

"Sounds good. Where can we stay in the meantime?"

"Oh, I'll be bringing you two to an inn so don't worry about accommodations lad. This one's on me as an apology, so ya don't have to pay."

Wow. You sound so noble here that I almost didn't see your face twitching when you talked about the money.

"Thanks for that. How would we meet you when you are done?"

"You both can find me over at the bar where all the merchants and shopkeepers usually meet up for drinks at night. It's called 'The Special One'. Just look for me at the bar at night, is that alright?"

"...Yup."

That is some name to have for a bar. "The Special One"?

"Great! Isabella, here I come ~"

                                                             * * *

We've been waiting in this bar for over 2 hours.

Not a single sign of the idiot yet. I feel sleepy already.

"...Can we just leave? He's clearly not going to come, James."

"But why wouldn't he come? He's losing money if he abandons us..."

"Well, he probably just has something on. Probably with that Isabella that he talked about. Let's just go already, I'm hungry~"

"Alright alright. Let's go back to the inn then. We'll ask around for information on him tomorrow."

Suddenly, there was a loud slam.

Seems like someone just ran in and said something.

The people around him started murmuring about something. Some newly discovered scandal, perhaps?

Not that it matters. I want my food ~

"Anne, let's take a look."

"Not interested."

"Fine, stay here then. I'll go take a look instead."

What an idiot James is. Why would something like that matter to us?

Ahhhhhhh...I wish this bar would have food other than peanuts...they're all salty and not filling at all...

I've got nothing to do while I wait for James.

...James probably isn't his real name either. If he could help me get a new name, it probably means that isn't his real name either.

Why would he have to hide his real identity? By right, he should be just a simple hunter...

And Leesa...Who's Leesa? His girlfriend? No, he can't possibly have one. Besides, he doesn't usually interact with anyone other than me either.

So that can only mean one thing. This Leesa person is connected his past. A past that he had to leave behind for some reason. A reason so strong that he had to change his name.

But what would that reason be?

Argh...I can't figure anything out if I don't ask him...and I don't want to have to ask him...

What's with the Carl Renald person anyways? He had the same type of eyes as James had back when he met me.

And yet, I can see he had a resolve to achieve something. By why would a person like him have a resolve? What is his goal?

Can't think...need food...foooooooood...

"...ne! Anne!"

                                                             * * *

What?

How could this be?

"Are you sure about that, sir?"

"Darn right I am! The constables chased me away before I could really look at the scene, but I'm sure it's him! And right beside him was Isabella! It was gruesome, I tell ya!"

...How could this happen? Just a few hours ago, we were still talking! He was still laughing and cracking stupid jokes!

What happened while Edmund was with his special someone??

I have to find out!

I quickly went back to Anne.

"Anne! Anne!"

She seemed deep in thought, but now is not the time.

"We have to go!"

"Oh, we are finally going back to the inn?"

"No, we have to go to the police station. Edmund is dead!"

"...Who's what now?"