As Nolani lowered her head to sip her soup, the white flower on her collar suddenly tilted toward Celine.
Her movements paused slightly. Noticing something amiss, Celine asked, “What is it?”
“Nothing.” Nolani straightened the petals with her fingertips, her expression perfectly natural. “It probably just thinks you're beautiful.”
Moon raised its head and shot her an inscrutable look.
Nolani met its gaze for a moment before casually looking away.
“By the way, Miss Celine, where do you come from?”
“The west.”
“The west is a very big place.”
“Which is why I said 'the west'.”
Nolani blinked, then nodded. “Fair point.”
She didn't press further. Lowering her head, she tore off a piece of bread, but her fingers moved subtly beneath the edge of the table.
A tender sprout emerged from a crack between the paving stones, crawling up the table leg through the shadows. Avoiding Celine's line of sight, it slowly extended toward Moon.
A brass contract seal wrapped in green leaves was quietly slipped into the side compartment of the saddle by the vine.
Moon's ears twitched slightly. Nolani immediately plucked her lyre strings, drawing Moon's attention back to her.
Nolani flashed it an innocent smile, then picked up another piece of dry bread from the plate.
“Want some?”
Moon glanced at the bread, then turned its head away haughtily.
“Looks like you prefer sweet things.” Nolani withdrew her hand with a sigh of regret and stuffed the bread into her own mouth.
Celine was about to ask more about the situation inside Red Kite when a sudden commotion broke out nearby.
“Out of the way!”
“Move, all of you!”
Several burly men in leather armor pushed through the crowd, walking briskly toward the food stall.
The leader held a silver disc in his hand. The needle in the center spun continuously, trembling more violently the closer they got to Moon.
Finally, the needle pointed directly at the saddle.
Following closely behind was a short, plump, middle-aged merchant.
He wore brown silk robes, with six rings glittering on his ten fingers, and a ring of jingling shop keys hanging from his waist.
He clearly did not look like someone short of money.
Following the direction of the tracking disc, he looked at Celine, his expression instantly darkening.
“Hand it over.” Celine didn't get up, asking calmly, “Hand what over?”
“My contract seal,” the middle-aged merchant growled through gritted teeth. “A red-haired elf stole it earlier. The tracking disc shows that it's currently inside your saddle.”
Celine whipped her head around. Nolani, who had been sitting opposite her just moments ago, had vanished.
Only a half-finished bowl of soup remained on the table, along with a green leaf pressed under the bottom of the bowl.
Celine remained silent for a moment, suddenly realizing she had been made the scapegoat.
The beautiful image she once had of elves shattered into pieces.
A haven for swindlers, indeed. It truly lived up to its reputation.
“I didn't take your things.”
“Didn't take them?” The middle-aged merchant sneered. “Then what is that hidden in the side compartment?”
Celine looked in the direction he pointed. The leather compartment on the side of the saddle bulged slightly, clearly containing something new.
She quietly walked over to Moon and opened the compartment herself. A palm-sized brass contract seal dropped into her hand.
It was engraved with ivy, and the edges were still stained with fresh, wet green sap.
Celine looked down, and a prompt popped up before her eyes:
【Green Shade Merchant Guild Private Contract Seal】
【Status: Intact】
【Surface Adhesion: Fresh plant sap】
It was indeed the doing of that red-haired elf.
Upon seeing the contract seal, the middle-aged merchant's face turned completely dark. He pointed at her and yelled, “Caught red-handed with the stolen goods! You despicable thief!”
“I didn't steal it.”
“Save your excuses!” The middle-aged merchant was clearly beside himself with rage. He waved his hand at the burly men beside him. “Seize her!”
The man in the lead drew a short club, raising his hand to strike Celine's shoulder.
The bystanders who were eating nearby quickly picked up their bowls, skillfully taking a few steps back to watch the show while continuing to eat.
The stall owner snatched up the wooden coin box, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Fight all you want, but if anyone breaks my tables, you'll pay full price!”
The club was already closing in on Celine. She quickly sidestepped to avoid it.
A Soul Thread shot from her fingertips, wrapping around the burly man's wrist. She yanked it hard to the side.
The club veered off course and slammed heavily into his companion's shoulder, causing both of them to cry out in pain.
Celine raised her hand again.
Another Soul Thread wrapped around one leg of a nearby bench, pulling it outward with force.
The bench slid across the ground, ending up right beneath the burly man's feet.
He tripped and pitched forward.
“Don't fall toward me!” the stall owner roared.
Celine clicked her tongue. The Mana-Conducting Thread in her hand instantly tensed, dragging the man away from the soup pot toward the other side.
The burly man flew past the corner of the table, crashing headfirst into a wooden rack stacked with empty baskets.
The rack collapsed with a loud crash, and a dozen bamboo baskets rolled out one after another, burying most of his body.
Cheers instantly erupted from the crowd.
“Beautiful!”
“Do it again!”
“There's another one on the right!”
Amidst the cheering, the man at the back lunged at her while she was busy controlling her Soul Threads.
Moon suddenly raised its hind hoof and kicked him squarely in the chest.
Before the man could even touch Celine, he flew backward, knocking over a stack of wooden crates by the roadside.
Moon retracted its hoof and casually flicked its tail.
The onlookers grew even more excited, with some even pulling out copper coins on the spot to start a bet.
“Three copper coins on the lady winning!”
“No need to bet on that! Those guys clearly aren't her match!”
The stall owner looked at the collapsed wooden rack, her face growing darker by the second.
“That rack is worth three silver coins! Pay up! Pay me back!”
The remaining three men ignored the surrounding noise, exchanging looks before lunging at Celine at the same time.
One swung a blade from the front, while the other two flanked her from the left and right, trying to cut off her escape.
Celine didn't even retreat.
She raised her hand, and three Mana-Conducting Threads shot out simultaneously.
Within moments, the burly men collapsed into a tangled heap.
The laughter on the street grew louder.
“This isn't catching a thief, it's a comedy act!”
“Boss, how much did you pay to hire these guys?”
“If this keeps up, the damages will be enough to make two new contract seals!”
The middle-aged merchant's face turned red and white in turn.
Celine stood among the rolling wooden barrels. The hem of her cloak swayed slightly, slightly soiled but otherwise undamaged.
The remaining men clutched their weapons, but none of them dared to step closer.
Celine glanced at them, then tossed the brass contract seal over.
The middle-aged merchant scrambled to catch it.
“Here's your item back.” Her gaze swept over the mess before her, and she said to the stall owner, “His men started it. For any damaged goods, hold them responsible.”
The stall owner immediately marched over, wooden ladle in hand.
“Three silver coins for the rack, one for the bench, and we have to count the two bowls of spilled soup as well!”
The neighboring wine vendor also squeezed into the crowd, seizing the opportunity to name his price: “My wine barrels might have been empty, but three of them were smashed!”
Clasping his recovered contract seal, the middle-aged merchant grumbled, “I'm the one who was robbed!”
“That's your business.” The stall owner slammed her wooden ladle onto the table. “You're the one who started a fight on our turf. Pay up!”
More and more stall owners gathered around.
They had been watching the commotion from a distance just moments ago, but now they were eager to get in on the action, terrified that speaking too late would cost them a chance to add their own losses to the bill.
The crowd immediately joined in the clamor.
“Pay up!”
“Don't even think about running off!”
“Surely the Green Shade Merchant Guild can afford this pocket change?”
The middle-aged merchant's lips trembled, but in the end, he pulled silver coins from his pouch.
Just then, Moon raised its head and let out a sharp whinny toward the other side of the crowd.
Celine followed its gaze. Amid the dense crowd, a flash of red darted past.
She had always thought elves were proud and benevolent, at worst just a bit indifferent toward humans.
It seemed racial stereotypes were indeed unreliable.
“Moon.” The black horse immediately reared its front hooves. “After her!”
Moon let out a loud whinny, bursting through the crowd before they could disperse.
Nolani glanced back. Her expression changed instantly, and she leaped onto a moving cargo wagon.
Celine raised her hand and shot out a Mana-Conducting Thread, anchoring it to a nearby eave. She swung upward, soaring over the crowded street to land squarely on top of another cargo wagon.
The distance between the two wagons closed rapidly.
Nolani was taken aback for a second, then let out a helpless sigh:
“I knew a free lunch would come with some post-meal exercise.”
Rate on N.U.
