5 Chapter 5

Travis seemed to be a nice person, albeit a bit fishy. What profession did Travis do to master his stealth, and what type of job paid that kind of money? Cecil would very much like to know the answers. Mulling them over, he pictured himself buried in a pile of golden coins and grimaced.

'A little kid's dream,' he thought sullenly as he trudged after Travis.

Travis hummed as he led the pair through town until they reached a large estate that bordered on the edge of the town. Cecil stopped and frowned. He recognized this as the area where the wealthier people lived. Shuffling his feet and looking down at his trashy clothes, he got the notion that he didn't blend in here at all.

The location was located in a natural clearing, and the mansions were spaced apart evenly to give off a sense of cleanliness. Each mansion towered above the normal buildings in town, and they all were owned by ridiculously rich people. One house even had a golden bird nest on its porch!

Travis tilted his head to one of the smaller houses, and briefed, "That owner of that little abode is the one under suspicion. I am unable to give you any details behind the reason, unfortunately, but it seems you don't care much either way."

"Nope," Cecil responded easily, inspecting the mansion with a scrutinizing look on his face. 'Little abode, huh...'

Brushing that thought aside for now, Cecil cleared his throat. "The money?"

…

"Here." Travis dug his hand into his cloak and pulled out two coin bags, identical to the one he flaunted around earlier. Tossing them over, they flew in an elegant arch into Cecil's eager hands.

"All yours," He smiled again. "500 golden coins, as we agreed. Now that we are working together, what should I address you as?"

The easygoing atmosphere seemed to change for a moment before it shifted back. Hidden under the hood, Cecil had not seen the way that Travis's eyes glinted under the setting sun as an ominous shadow loomed over his figure.

"I don't have a name. You can just call me Cecil." He said distractedly, clutching the coin bags with a sense of desperation.

"Not a bad name for supposedly having no name," Travis sighed, pulling his hood off. Cecil blinked in surprise as a braid of glossy, golden hair released itself from its constraint, reaching down to Travis's back. Cecil was debating if he should pet it when he spotted a shiny crest under the cloak. Travis noticed where Cecil was staring and immediately covered it.

Truthfully, Cecil had already put two and two together to figure out that this person was of high standing, but he couldn't think of any good reason why someone would leave their noble family to wander around and pick up random street kids. He assumed it was because the family was not of particularly high standing, but this was just disproven. That style of braided hair was quite common in the upper noble families, but was shameful on someone from a lower family. Combined with the family crest that he just saw...

'What does he want with me?'

Tilting his head, Travis offered an inviting smile as a response to Cecil's bewildered face. "Since we are now working together, why don't we go out for a meal? It would be much more convenient to explain the details. My treat, of course. The local inn doesn't close until much later."

"Well, since you're offering..." Cecil coughed, hiding his embarrassment? Shame? Or eagerness?

He often found that he had trouble discerning his more complex emotions ever since the incident, but since it didn't trouble him during work, he never paid it much mind.

Travis nodded and motioned for Cecil to follow before turning around and walking away. Cecil hurried to catch up with the brisk pace.

"I hope you don't mind, but I would like you to meet a friend. He is helping me in this investigation." Travis mentioned, pulling his hood back up as they neared bustling establishment.

"It'd be the least I can do since you're treating and all." Cecil sighed, finally tucking away the coin pouches.

"Excellent! I'm sure you two would get along very well. His personality may be a bit of a turn-off at times, but it certainly isn't the worst." Travis commented, opening the door and holding it open for Cecil. Cecil ducked inside quickly, hyperaware of Travis at his back.

Travis surveyed the room as Cecil stood awkwardly besides him.

'This is way too awkward.' Cecil thought miserably as eyes turned to his ragged attire.

Travis patted him on his shoulder. "I found him. Follow me this way."

Travis weaved through intoxicated crowd, and Cecil followed him quietly to a small table under the stairs. A lone man sat next to it, twirling a straw around in his cup. His extravagant clothing was clearly on a different... scale than the rest of the crowd's. When they approached, his eyes darted up.

"Travis, you're finally here! Did you secure his cooperation?" The man asked brightly, ignoring his drink to focus his attention on Cecil. "Quite a scrawny one, isn't he?"

"Darius, this is Cecil. Cecil, this is Darius, the friend that I brought up earlier." Travis introduced pleasantly, ignoring Darius who gasped out loud.

"Is this how you treat your friend?" Darius muttered to himself. Clearing his throat, he stood up and bowed. "I'm Darius, pleased to meet you! Did Travis here already inform you of the details?"

"Not yet, that's what we're here for." Cecil murmured, looking over Darius appraisingly. He had tanner skin than both himself and Travis, and his messy, inky hair was tied into a low ponytail that fell down to his shoulder. As for his clothes... Oak looked away from them. He could tell it was made of fine quality, unlike his own clothes, but the sight was rather ridiculous.

Darius wore a red cloak over a yellow dress shirt tucked into a pair of black and white striped pants. Overall, he resembled an entertainer from a wacky show.

Darius raised a curious eyebrow when he noticed the staring, but he didn't comment on it. Patting his hand on the table, he sat down again. "Come sit! We can talk this over a nice meal! I've already ordered for myself, so feel free to choose whatever you want!"

Travis already pushed Cecil into the chair next to Darius and moved to sit in the chair opposite of Darius.

While Travis ordered, Darius leaned back as he watched those two interact with amusement.

"So, the details?" Cecil asked after he placed his order. The most expensive dish on the menu, just to test how rich Travis was. Judging by how he didn't react, quite rich.

"Of course." Darius cleared his throat, leaning forward.

"You, my dear, little friend," he started with a silky voice, "are under arrest."