63 Token of Appreciation

"Ahh, who knew the nobility of this country were thieves? My heart aches for the people living here!" Li Mei clicked her tongue as she slipped between the armored guards, movements swift and silent. They didn't notice her approach until the girl stood between them and the nervous salesman. Three of them looked visibly flustered, while the fourth guard stepped closer to his bossy little charge, just in case.

She had her back to them, irreverent and disrespectful. Before their very eyes, the scrawny child they were completely unable to detect had swiped the raw etherium ore from the salesman's shaking hands...

And stashed it away with a casual flick of her wrist before glancing at the noble girl over her shoulder. "I bought the etherium ore. What about it?"

"Presumptuous! State your name and affiliation at once!" The noble girl demanded, expression furious as the armored lackeys drew their weapons.

"You don't recognize me, Teresa Rosethorne? You must have been neglecting your studies, to not know a foreign dignitary present in your own country. Or is it... Brittalund's noble education is just that much?" Li Mei smirked, quirking one eyebrow. She turned just a bit, so the silver twin moon badge on her coat caught the light.

An authentic noble crest! Teresa Rosethorne, the noble girl, took a step back in surprise. The crest had a faint magic glow, unmistakable to those who knew what to look for, and catching sight of it made her armored guards hesitate before putting their weapons away once more. "You are-?!"

"A noble as well, yes. And one who is severely disappointed to find that you represent the very finest Brittalund has to offer." Crossing verbal blades with a child... Li Mei sighed with regret at having sunk so low. She pulled the etherium back out for a moment, examining it in the light. "To think you desired this small chunk of metal so, discarding your dignity and pride as a noble to bully and abuse a commoner like some withered old shrew..."

Li Mei stashed the metal away again, a mischievous grin on her face. With a casual flick of her arm, she stored the rest of the goods sitting on the display case behind the salesman as well. No use giving the armored men a chance to grab at her stuff! She paid for it already anyway. "Is the Rosethorne House so poor it can't even afford manners? Or maybe, it's the base etiquette of your people which is lacking."

Teresa was a coddled child, the wealthy heiress of a powerful family accustomed to anyone with similar or lesser status immediately trying their best to ingratiate themselves in the hopes of tightly clasping onto the golden thighs of the Rosethorne House.

They were a direct branch of the royal family, blood related to the Empress! The very peak of the High Court, the seats on Her coveted left hand!

Even if she was only a ninth daughter...

Who, aside from her own family, would dare to talk down to Teresa Rosethorne?

Condescend to her?

Insult her?!

Teresa clenched her fists, taking a second to settle herself before letting out a quiet laugh. Her chest burned with fury, but she struggled against it to keep from losing her judgment. Anger led to bad decisions, and when she was around town she represented the Rosethorne House. She couldn't lose face! "Hah! Some foreign child with an unknown Crest has delusions of grandeur? I am feeling generous, and willing to forgive your impudence as ignorance, as you seem to know my name yet lack understanding of the weight behind it." The noble girl flicked back her hair, tilting her chin to affect a haughty air of mature composure. "Present the etherium to me, on your knees, and you will be forgiven."

Li Mei grinned, taking a step forward. "I don't need your forgiveness. The etherium's worth far more."

The guard beside Teresa, more perceptive and agile than the other three, reached out to grab the back of the girl's black coat as soon as she came within arm's reach.

But his hand grasped empty air, unable to touch even her shadow. She was already across the shop with another smaller girl walking briskly a half-step behind.

Li Mei glanced over her shoulder and scoffed. As though anyone in Rank 1 could grab her so easily! Though they were close to the peak, none of the guards reached Rank 2 and it showed in how they moved. Even Otto could dodge those clumsy movements...

"Guards! Stop them at once!" Teresa shouted. "She stole my etherium!"

Shocked, the remaining crowd parted to make way as three of the four armored guards charged out the door. Slower folks got shoved roughly out of the way by Teresa's men, but by the time they caught up with the girl...

She sat astride a strange teal Fera. Its crystalline antlers were thick and long, almost sword-like, with buds at the end where they were only just beginning to branch out. Bone spurs ran the length of its thick forelegs, and its muscular structure was more dense and formidable in appearance than most Fera the nobles hired. Though the girl appeared comfortable on its back, the most jarring fact was: the Fera didn't have a saddle, instead sporting a vest-like harness with a noble Crest embroidered prominently on each side.

A Wild Fera!

When the men broke free of the crowd, one of them stumbled within two meters of the creature, and his face immediately drained of color.

Bao's four honey gold eyes widened until the sclera were visible.

His nostrils flared, and he lashed out with his sharp front claws to slice through the man's plate armor.

Drip.

Drip.

Blood hit the street.

The man gasped and crumpled to the ground, pressing his hands to the armor as blood dripped from deep gashes across his chest. Someone in the crowd screamed, but no one dared rush forward to help the man.

"Bao. Don't get your claws dirty." Li Mei sighed, giving a slight shake of her head. Bao snorted, scratching deep furrows into the ground to clean his claws. When he turned to leave, the crowd parted even faster than they had for the guards.

Teresa scowled as she watched the small group leave, emerald green eyes narrowed into thin slits. The guard at her side glanced at her with his bushy eyebrows raised.

The young miss was spoiled and arrogant, but not stupid. Someone not only dared to take something she wanted in broad daylight, but did so with ease in front of an entire crowd! And as much as Teresa hated to admit it, the brat was right about one thing - she really didn't recognize the twin moon Crest. Yet such a brat knew the face and name of a mere ninth daughter, and still dared to offend the Rosethorne name?

"We must return at once," Teresa said softly. From her own storage artifact she produced a jar of ointment, passing it over to the guard at her side. "Stop your man's bleeding, then we'll head home. I must report to Mother."

...

'Hopefully that was enough to draw their attention away from that poor salesman. It'll be interesting to see what happens next though,' Li Mei thought to herself as Bao trotted past several stores, his tail swishing in rapid annoyance. 'I wonder if they'll send assassins? Or try to arrest me? I can probably escape if they do.'

There were better ways to test it, but Li Mei had a few suspicions she wanted to confirm regarding the Yueluo background and little Teresa provided a convenient opportunity. Faust wanted her to strut around as though her background were real, but if it were fake, the actual nobles would see right through the charade.

So how much of the story was real?

The Yueluo clan most certainly existed. The noble Crest she wore was legitimate, as far as Brittalund was concerned. How deep did their roots reach?

And the story about 44's mother...

Li Mei's mana circulation technique was one passed down through a matrilineal bloodline. It had to have originated from 44's mother! The backstory Faust insisted she memorized also mentioned she'd been entrusted to his care, yet he'd claimed before that someone else was responsible for killing 44's mother, making 44 a slave, and getting 44 killed while being in Faust's care.

She hadn't caught him in an outright lie yet, but Faust favored being vague and confusing with explanations regarding himself, or 44's past and origin. It was really, truly, horribly, annoying.

'Whatever, I'll rip it out of him eventually. For now, at least I distracted them from harassing that poor salesman. Ah!' Li Mei tapped her heels, signaling Bao to stop. She turned to glance at Hana, tossing over the bank token from her storage. "Hana, go back and give that to the salesman who helped us out. Tell him he has the Yueluo Clan's appreciation and regards. I'm sure the little noble girl already ran home to complain to her parents, but make sure they aren't around before going in. Be quick, now."

Hana nodded and vanished into the crowd. Her steps were light and quick, her little body dodging people with ease. Li Mei nodded approvingly. 'She's getting pretty good. Ah, I wish I could see other people's skills and stats... But that Scan module is so expensive...'

1000 mana was probably a lot to most people, but it wasn't anything Li Mei couldn't afford... Apparently. She deposited more mana into her bank card while waiting, inwardly cursing in her heart how much mana she wasted by not having a card since forming her Core.

How many days passed where she only used half or less of her total mana pool during training?!

An entire fortune, wasted away due to ignorance!

Her teeth ached at the thought of it.

Hana hurried through the crowd, dodging gazes as well as bodies, until she reached the lapidary. The door was shut and all the customers were gone, but Li Mei gave her an order and no sign proclaiming business closure was going to stop her from following orders.

She opened the door without a care, drawing the attention of a small crowd in the back of the main room. A bunch of salespeople were clustered around a bespectacled woman in much nicer clothes, and the salesman who served Li Mei was staring at the ground trying not to cry.

"I'm very sorry miss, but we're closed right now." One of the salesmen stepped forward to usher her back outside, but Hana dodged him easily and arrived at the side of the crying man. She held out her hand, the 1000c bank token sparkling in her palm.

"The Yueluo Clan... Sends their appreciation and... Regards."

The crying man sniffled, staring at the sparkling token with a confused expression. 1000c was nearly a month's salary, and a child was handing it over so easily? And what was the Yueluo Clan? Brittalund had noble Houses, not Clans! The other employees also exchanged glances and perfunctory shrugs.

While the salesmen expressed bafflement, the bespectacled woman inhaled a sharp breath through her teeth. She turned to the crying man with a broad smile on her elegant face. "Billy, accept the young lady's token of appreciation."

Her eyes glinted with a light that made the man shiver. Billy nodded and bowed his head as he took the token with both hands. "Thank you, miss. Your mistress is too kind."

Hana nodded once and left without another word. Billy kept staring at the shining bank token until he felt a small hand pat his shoulder.

Willow, the owner of Coralheart lapidary, adjusted her spectacles with a cunning smile. Moments before the girl showed up, Willow was scolding Billy and considering how to keep her business running in light of offending a Rosethorne for the sake of some unknown noble House.

Even if the Rosethornes themselves took no action, rumors would quickly spread that her shop favored someone else instead of the blood of the Empress. Business would dwindle to nothing in a matter of days, and her store would be closed within a month even if she used her own personal savings to keep it afloat as long as possible.

Yet the 'unknown noble House' turned out to be the Yueluo Clan! Such a turn of events was entirely unexpected! Willow resisted the urge to kiss the man's cheek for his monstrous good fortune, patting his shoulder with a satisfied nod. "Everyone, we're opening back up for business! Make sure to spread the news that we've received the appreciation of the Yueluo Clan. Billy, the token is yours. Feel free to show it off if customers ask."

Willow chuckled as her employees rushed to reopen the shop. The sudden change in the owner's attitude had them walking on pins and needles, but she was far too lazy to explain. They'd follow orders all the same anyway, she might as well save her words. 'So... This is the legendary silver lining on a storm cloud, is it?'

...

Once Hana returned, Li Mei's small group once more toured the streets. They stopped for a meal at a restaurant, in which Bao was surprisingly given a plate at the table, before heading home.

Li Mei wanted to purchase all sorts of things, but she wanted to see how many necessities she could convince Faust to buy first.

On the way home, as the sky grew dark and the first moon rose into the sky, Li Mei kept feeling various eyes on her back. Sharp stares laced with keen interest, but none of them dared approach so long as Li Mei sat on a Wild Fera's back. Bao's ears flicked constantly, his four eyes turning to watch everyone that stepped just a little too close.

Hana flicked her wrists to bring daggers from her sleeves into her hands. Bright green poison caught the light of a street lamp, smeared liberally on the girl's small blades. She glanced towards the merest alley, where a shadowed figure took a step back to avoid being seen, completely unaware he was already detected.

They showed up as yellow blips on the minimap - not friendly, but not openly hostile yet. Several yellow dots trailed behind them, keeping the small group of three within view.

Li Mei grinned. "Hana, Bao. Let's lose them."

Bao crouched, then lunged with all his strength toward the nearest rooftop. Hana was close behind, not as fast or graceful as the Fera. Her feet slipped on the shingles, the heels of her shiny new shoes knocking loose a roof tile. Li Mei patted Bao's back, and the Fera waited for Hana to jump on before he took off at top speed back toward the bank.

He was used to fleeing predators in the forest. The first rule of escaping pursuit was to lose them before heading back to an established safe area. Having trouble follow you home was a worst case scenario!

The stalkers were fast, but Bao was faster. He ran in strange patterns, often doubling back to throw off the more skilled trackers, leaping from roof to roof with surprisingly light steps considering his bulk and the two burdens astride his back. Broken tiles rained upon the streets, a few of the more speedy pursuers being injured by rooftop shrapnel carefully aimed with a flick of the Fera's clawed feet.

Li Mei summoned barriers, cutting off alleys and smacking cloaked stalkers in the face in mid-jump when they got too close. By the time Bao's feet touched the roof of the bank, only a few yellow dots remained within view on the minimap. The three of them crouched in the shadows between the giant lizard statue's forelegs.

"News sure travels fast around here," Li Mei muttered as she pulled some snacks from storage for everyone to eat. Any pursuer that entered her field of vision was immediately Scanned, revealing their Rank and House affiliation alongside their names. "Spies from a bunch of different Houses, huh... At least none of them were openly hostile. Might have been different if Bao wasn't with us, though."

Bao puffed out his chest, accepting a handful of vegetable chips from Li Mei's outstretched hand. He gave her a glance with an expression that seemed to say, "See how useful I am! You better not leave me behind ever again!"