Ball of Nothing

Gary went to bed with more questions than he had answers but he couldn't stop his guests from retiring for the night. Truen and Zero stayed up till the moon was high up in the middle of the night. Zero checked his mini-map to ensure that Old Gary was tucked into bed before he snuck out through the window with Truen to find Dina. At long last, they would meet the Beggar King.

The horses were very still and Zero snuck around the third stable to check if anyone was behind the horse while Truen hopped onto the roof for a higher vantage point. There was nobody in sight and nobody on the mini-map so they waited for a while, enjoying the chill night breeze.

From the backdoor, they saw a light so Zero got ready and Truen hid himself but that was only Aldina walking outside with a lantern in her hand in her nightgown. The girl tip-toed to the stable and set the lantern on the ground so that it wouldn't disturb the horses in the stable.

"What are you doing here?" Zero whispered and walked up to the girl who didn't seem surprised to see their guest outside at this hour. Old Gary was already sleeping soundly and while Zero knew that the journalist had a habit of staying up late to write her papers and letting in the beggar children who sought refuge, he didn't think she would be out this late.

Aldina took out a stone with a carving and Zero raised his brow.

"You called for Dina, didn't you?" she asked and Zero nodded.

Zero didn't ask anything and waited for something to happen so Aldina sighed. The doctor wasn't too bright. Hence, she had to tell him directly what it meant.

"I am Dina. How can I be of assistance? You don't actually have to say it, I know you're looking for a girl called Misana. Did I get it right?"

Zero's eyes widened. "You're Dina the Beggar King? B-but I thought Dina was a boy?"

Aldina laughed. "Who told you that? Well, maybe some of them would refer to me as a boy because of the way I dress during the day. Does it matter though?"

Zero shook his head quickly. He didn't judge people based on genders but he was rather shocked to learn that Aldina was really Dina that they've been looking for the whole time.

Truen decided that there was no threat as he listened to their conversation and came out of hiding.

"I assume that you have some information regarding the person we're looking for?"

Aldina wasn't surprised by Truen's appearance. She merely nodded but held up two fingers.

"Before I tell you anything, I have two conditions. You're the leader of Half Moon Village and also the ones who want to start the Humanitarian Guild so surely agreeing to two small requests shouldn't be a problem."

Zero wanted to agree right away but Truen was faster and stopped his friend. "Let's hear them first."

Aldina pouted. With this archer around, she wouldn't be able to trick the air-headed doctor. What a shame, she wanted to play a prank on them but given how serious Truen was, she shrugged and named her conditions.

"The first condition is that I want to have Lady Death's autograph. I'm a huge fan of hers and had never seen her in person!"

"Deal," Truen nodded. He didn't know why Aldina was a fan of Mitchnew but this was an easy request to fulfil. "What's the second?"

At this, the girl turned serious. "I need you to kill someone for me."

Zero stiffened. "No. I'm a doctor, killing is against my policy."

Truen looked slightly apologetic. "I'm sorry but killing is against our policy although it might not be so for Mitchnew and Desert Lily who are actual assassins. If you have enough money you can pay them for a hit."

Aldina looked sad. "They won't take that job no matter how much money I have. Nobody will kill this person."

Curious about the identity of that person, Zero couldn't help but ask about it.

"What did they do to you? Why do you want them dead so badly?"

"King Brice. Because of him, my grandfather was forced into retirement for doing what was right! The people were made to suffer and he just spends all his time enjoying the luxuries of the palace without doing his real duty as a king. Isn't this enough reason for anyone to want him dead? However, no matter how many scandals I write or how many newspapers I sell, nobody will try to remove him from the throne. They're all too afraid."

Truen and Zero looked at each other while Aldina burst into tears. The doctor went over to comfort her and Truen debated if he should tell her that she had it all wrong. King Brice was also a victim of circ.u.mstances.

"Misana is a lowly servant of King Brice's. Do you know who begged with his head bowed low for Lady Death to find her?"

Aldina sniffed and shook her head.

Zero smiled and wiped her tears gently. "It's King Brice himself. He came to us and even kneeled because he was so helpless and powerless in his own palace to protect just a single girl that he loves. Do you think a king like him would be capable of enjoying luxuries of the palace without caring for his people? You don't have to believe me but he tried. King Brice is only twenty-years-old. He's not that much older. On the other hand, Duke Connie and Duke Zurich are fighting behind the scenes while keeping the king as their hostage and puppet to continue doing evil in this country."

The token that Zero received as the royal envoy of Smargdas was taken out of Zero's inventory.

"I came to this city to receive the royal token and letter of appointment as an envoy. Your second request, I will reject for now. If King Brice doesn't become a good king after I complete his request to find Misana, you can tell Mitchnew she is free to help you teach him a lesson. Meanwhile, you should help your grandfather with the Humanitarian Guild. Many beggar children still look up and depend on you. Tell them to come to the guild, we have a lot of jobs for them in exchange for food and shelter."

Aldina looked at the token and the letter then she turned to Zero. "I don't know where Misana is now but since she isn't with the slavery guild or at the slave rings, she must have been taken by the magicians from Grey Legion. Those magicians come every month to choose slaves to be transported back to the United Nation of Uncanny. According to the normal pattern, they should have left not too long ago. If you can catch up with them to interfere with their transfer, you can still save the slaves. They don't kill living slaves until they reach their mistress."

Zero felt his heart turn cold. "The mistress of Grey Legion as in Jynx the Engraver?"

Aldina nodded. "Human experiments. Sometimes it doesn't just go to her, it goes to the mistress of the magician school. Sylvia the Silver Witch places specific orders from time to time that's why specific people get kidnapped according to her requirements. If Misana didn't volunteer to be a slave or wasn't homeless, she could only be kidnapped for a special request by the Silver Witch."

They thanked Aldina and Zero told her to return to sleep immediately because it wasn't good for children to stay up too late. The autograph from Mitchnew will be arranged alongside everything else for the guild and school. For tonight, they would sleep and tomorrow morning, Truen will visit the southern district again to see if anyone knew where the Grey Legion magicians were heading. Bob and Zero would prepare to leave the city as soon as Truen could confirm the information. Hopefully, they weren't too late.