The Trick of a Hawk

"Murderer," Lumi snickered. "Who's the murderer?"

"You clearly killed a man, Priestess. An Aclarian citizen, at that… do you know that's treason?" The man said, grinning even wider. His frivolous appearance and the way he carried himself made Lumi be reminded of the 'boss' they were talking about.

Was it him?

The boss they were talking about did not look like what she was expecting. He was a lean man with frivolous clothing and did not look like he could put up a fight. There was nothing about him that seemed remarkable nor intimidating.

"What about this? I'll cover up for what you did, and in exchange, you just have to come with me~" The man said in such a giddy tone, as if it was the most brilliant idea he could ever formulate. "After that, we can talk about how to settle things and then eventually-"

"Do you take me for a fool?" Lumi exclaimed, with her knuckle cracking as she slowly raised her hand. The man noticed this, which painted a small smile on his mouth.

"Alright then," the man raised both of his arms as if to accept defeat. "Clearly, you are powerful, Priestess. But know this. I witnessed you killing an Aclarian citizen..."

"He was killed by his very own sins," Lumi replied. "I have only redirected the malice he had done in his lifetime to attack his body. My hands haven't been dirtied; do not associate me with vulgar words such as murder."

"Let's say that's true," the man tilted his head, "but what would the Estelan priests here in Aclaria do if they see this?" A mana orb then materialized in front of Lumi, projecting a recording of what she did earlier. She saw the scene of her bringing the men to justice, but the way it was displayed -- it was as if she used divinity to kill them out of spite.

The man looked at Lumi in sheer delight. Even though it was vague, he was able to see the subtle crack in her confident demeanor.

The girl's face was beautiful and unrivaled; her body was small, yet her curves are properly distributed to her body. Though her clothes were shabby, she still couldn't hide her loveliness. The man's eyes met that of Lumi's; even her frowning face sent a shiver down his spine. He eyed her head to toe, and then finally gave another wide smile.

It wasn't her body that piqued his interest. It was her expression, her morality, her resolve. There was something about her that was charming.

'Ah... she's really what a merchant would call....

...a first class merchandise.' The man thought, covering his lips with his gloved hand. He couldn't stop smiling.

"You see, Priestess... the mana orb can be sent to the priests in Aclaria right now. They can come here in a split second once I do that," he said, "but I'm giving you a deal. I can help you get out of the country, and all you have to do is to take my hand."

Lumi eyed his extended, gloved hand.

"What made you think I'd do that?" Lumi frowned.

"Aah…" The man moaned. "What a delight. You are very delightful, indeed. I am delighted!"

Lumi's scowl grew deeper.

'Is he crazy?' The priestess said to herself while grimacing at the man whose behavior was growing odd at every passing second. She then shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts.

'I don't have time for this.' She thought, finally pushing the man aside from her mind.

As she was about to raise her hand to summon divine power—a hawk flew from the roofless edifice, making its way inside the warehouse. The hawk had glided swiftly, like a mere dark entity passing in plain sight.

In just a matter of seconds, with her hand raised, she was able to see pitch-black feathers falling in front of her.

Before Lumi knew it, the hawk glided briefly on her side; its talons sharply grazing her shoulder. Blood dripped from the small cut, which rendered Lumi speechless from momentary shock.

The hawk then perched on the forearm of the frivolous man, whose odd smile never disappeared from his face.

'What... just happened?' Lumi loured at her pale shoulder, which had now trickled with blood.

Lumi lifted her hand once more to concentrate her divine power. She doesn't have much time for this. What could a small cut do, anyway?

...At least, that's what she would like to say.

As soon as Lumi lifted her hand, her knees felt wobbly until her vision started to spin.

"What's… happening?" Lumi muttered as she placed her hand on her head in an attempt to straighten her vision. But all were in vain when her body completely gave up as she felt her muscles stiffen. She fell to her knees, with her hands falling limply to her sides.

'What happened? Wait. That hawk...!' Lumi lifted her gaze slowly at the hawk that was perched on the man's forearm. Upon closer inspection, its talons were covered with a purple-colored liquid.

"Ah. Of course, you are powerful… but you're still human." The man smiled maniacally. "Did you know? This hawk's talons were laced with a highly toxic plant that can paralyze even a sabretooth tiger in seconds. It was hard to acquire such a plant from willing herbalists, but I was lucky to get it~"

"Though you're powerful, you're still no exception, I guess." The man said with a sweet smile painted on his lips.

"Y-you… who are…"

"You see, this is my occupation, Priestess," The man exclaimed, pleased at Lumi's question. "In case you haven't heard of me—I am Hawk. The number one in THIS trading business. Ah, of course. Who am I kidding? An Estelan Priestess wouldn't know about me~!"

Lumi felt drowsiness kicking in at a rapid pace. Her ears started ringing, only hearing muffled voices. She tried raising her hand, but even her finger couldn't move. Her entire body was frozen stiff, and her eyes were daring to close.

The man then leaned near to Lumi's face, just an inch closer to her lips.

With knees kneeled to Lumi, he lifted her chin.

"Don't worry. This gentleman will take good care of you~ it's my job, after all."

The last thing she saw was that man's smile…

"Sleep tight, Priestess."

…before she fell into yet another deep slumber.