Translator: Silver Editor: Namorax
The Capital City OlavPart 2
There was a large hat on her head and her eyes were staring directly at . She had short, raven black hair and was wearing black clothes that seed easy to move in.
Although she was only around 150 cm tall, the gauntlets on her arm, her leg guards and the dagger at her waist didnt give the impression of a city girl.
The girls eyes were drawn to Ponta for a mont before looking back at .
I rember those emotionless blue eyes from sowhere.
Hmm I know you from sowhere but
Things seed to have gone well in Diento.
The girl maintained eye contact as she spoke in a monotonous voice. The figure of a cat-eared ninja in the kidnappers base flashed in my mind.
Oh, the ninja girl from the other day.
Her eyebrows twitched in response to my unintentional utterance.
Ninja so I didnt mishear you last ti.
She raised her neck up as far as she could to look up at
as she quietly muttered to herself.
Id like to talk to you do you mind sparing so ti for ?
When I nodded at her question, she looked at
with a serious expression before silently urging
into a less crowded alley, leaving
to obediently follow her.
She observed the surroundings and began to speak after calming down a little.
Forgive
for the late introduction. My na is Chio. I am a mber of the Blade Heart Clan, one of the six shinobi clans.
Though she gave a Japanese-style na
The Jin Shin clan?
I unintentionally spoke the na I was unfamiliar with.
Jin as in Blade and Shin stands for heart, and together they an Those who endure.
I couldnt help but notice that the characters in the clan na ford the kanji for Shinobi.
While I was in the middle of that realization, Chios clear blue eyes stared back at
apparently prompting an introduction of my own.
In response to her prompting, I give her my na.
I am the traveler Arc. For my own reasons Im simply wandering around.
Is that so Well then Arc-dono, why did you call
a ninja?
I stared back at Chio with sweaty palms as I try to co up with a suitable answer to her question.
She seed to know the about the existence of ninjas but the word seed to carry a different aning for her.
Hmm, in my ho country we call those that dress like you were and conduct covert operations Ninjas.
I watched her reaction to my answer.
Chio closed her eyes and nodded in understanding at my answer.
So thats it The na Ninja has secretly been passed down through our clan for generations. For Arc-dono to know of it ans that you must co from the sa country as the first clan head.
Apparently, only the Blade Heart Clan know of the word Ninja. Since the records were only kept by one clan, then there is no doubt that the man who taught it to them had co from the sa world as I
The clan head she spoke of either had to been Japanese like , or soone from earth that knew about ninjas.
Though she had called him the first generation clan head
Could you perhaps tell
what the current generation is?
Counting from the first generation the clan is now in the 22nd generation.
I hung my head at Chios answer.
Though I was expecting so ti to have passed, there is no way that the first clan head would be still alive after twenty-one generations.
Even with that in mind, I asked her anyway.
I take it that the clan founder is no longer alive?
Correct. The first head appeared 600 years ago and led the persecuted cat people into forming a new clan. That clan would later beco know as the Blade Heart Clan.
Hmm, so was it that you wanted to talk about?
According to Dylan, the mbers of the beastman race were lopsidedly hunted to be turned into slaves.
It was risky for her to be talking in the middle of a human city, especially since she was talking about her clans history in the countrys capital.
There is a job that will require Arc-donos assistance.
While I was questioning her actions, Chio gave a bold response to my question.
Thinking about her actions in Diento and the current situation, it was easy to see that the circumstances for her being in this city and that the job she ntioned would involve a risky infiltration.
Chio-dono, are you asking a human to help you with this Job?
She simply offered
a silent nod and stared at
with her deep blue eyes.
She probably wants help to rescue her countryman that is, freeing the enslaved People of the Plains and Mountains.
However, since humans were the ones enslaving them in the first place, I had to wonder why she would ask one for help.
She clearly had her own agenda, and since I was offering my support to Ariane and the elves I couldnt answer carelessly.
At the mont Im cooperating with the elves. It would go against my convictions to work with others behind their backs.
She made a thoughtful gesture before she started to speak again.
I would like to speak with the elves you a currently working with. Arc-dono, if you offer your support for this task Ill offer you the information you seek as a reward.
Although there were only a few intonations in her voice, her words carried a slight hint of challenge in them.
I-Information?
Youre looking for information on the nas that were written on the sale contracts correct?
We stared into each others eyes.
How could you guess that you should know that two of the three people have already been found.
Is that so then the only one left should be Drusus De Barishimon.
I could say nothing in response as the corners of her mouth raised ever so slightly.
More than simply knowing the contents of the contract, she even knows about the people ntioned and was able to deduce the one I couldnt find anything on.
Im to believe that you know the whereabouts and identity of that person
Yes. I know of those things.
As youd expect from a ninja.
While we certainly needed that information, acquiring it would an helping with the emancipation of the slaves.
I have no qualms cooperating with her, but theres the risk of
standing out too much during this operation.
If my actions up till now beco public, I would beco a wanted man and traveling would be difficult.
However, when I said that two people from the contracts had been found she brought up Barishimon without any hesitation.
She must have done so because she believes that hed be the most difficult person to find.
Even if I was able to find information on Barishimon through my random search of the city, the news of my efforts could reach the person in question and drive him deeper into hiding.
Dylan said that this girl and her like were descendants of spies. This ant that their information were better than what was available to us.
For the ti being, I should go back and discuss this with Ariane
I need to consult with my partner before I can give you an answer.
Please allow
to accompany you then, Arc-dono. Id like to speak with your cooperator directly.
I thought I saw a little childishness in her blue eyes as I thought it over.
There shouldnt be any problems with introducing this ninja to Ariane I hope.
Even though I still had my doubts, we should be able to deal with any problem that co up.
I understand. Well then, follow
Chio-domo.
Chio and I returned to the main street and we moved away from the third gates wall at a quick pace. Despite her small stature, she was able to keep up with .
Ponta must have been tired after my talk with Chio because she dozed off atop my head. On the way back to the inn, I occasionally had to keep her in place since she would start to slip off from ti to ti.
When we returned I invited Chio to my room on the third floor.
She sat down in the only chair in the room, while I sat on the bed.
Ponta seed fully awake now as she checked the softness on the bed with her front paws.
A strange silence soon blanketed the room.
The ninja Chio was restlessly staring at Ponta for so reason.
Chio-dono, the toilet is on the first floor.
Thats not the problem!
Though I only ant to break the ice, she beca a little red when she voiced her denial.
Even if it was only for an instant, she looked like a young girl.
I took a small leather pouch from my bag and handed it to her.
Chio might as well have a question mark above her head, given how easy it was to see her confusion. She didnt know what to do until she opened the pouch and saw Pontas reaction.
When she resud her restless gazing, I took the chance to give an introduction.
Although its a little late, this little fluffy fox here is Ponta. Those berries youre holding happen to be her favorites.
When Chio heard
say that, she intensely gazed at Ponta as she slowly began to inch a hand full of the dried berries towards Ponta with her mouth agape.
Ponta stood up when she saw the dried berries coming toward her.
Chio didnt seem familiar with sitting in a chair, but she eventually managed to lean forward a bit.
As Chios timidly brought her hand of berries closer, Ponta started to wag her tail in excitent.
When Ponta started to nibble at the berries with great relish, Chio narrowed her eyes and smiled faintly.
Im amazed that Arc-dono managed to ta a spirit beast
Chio stroked Pontas fur while muttering that.
This fellow acts like that with everyone
I tried to answer with a bitter laugh, but Chio shook her head.
No, spirit beasts can detect malice within people. The reason I can feel at ease being in the middle of a human city with you is because of the absolute trust this beast has in you Arc-dono.
At her words, I looked back at Ponta only to find her begging for more berries.
If she was to be believed, then my trustworthiness was completely dependent on Ponta.
Deciding not to dwell on that for too long, I asked her another question I had.
I take it that shes the reason you helped
save the elves when we first t?
When we first t, she had figured out that I wasnt one of the kidnappers almost instantly.
It wouldnt have been strange if she just assud that I was a normal knight collaborating with the kidnappers.
Chio looked
straight in the eyes when she hears my question.
My people, the elves, and even the humans each have our own respective scents. I slled a thin trace of the elves from you when we t. But
She hesitated for a second as she thought her choice of words over before speaking again.
Arc-dono, theres a unique scent coming from you. Its a scent that Ive never co across before.
Chios eyes narrowed as she looked at , as if she were trying to see beyond my helts visor.
The fact that Im nothing but a skeleton may be the source of my peculiar scent.
Sothing in her eyes seed to suggest that she had obtained what she was after, but that just could have been my imagination
After that, we sat in silence until we heard a knock on the door.
You have to see the kana that make up the sentence so here
this is the kanji for Shinobi This are from the clan na , .
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