[28.1] The Rich vs the Poor

I yawned in the library while Cryus sat next to me, reviewing documents and evidence that the M.I.B had accumulated over the years. While Caldwell was dutifully serving snacks and tea, Zephyr was in his fox form, sleeping peacefully on the nearby windowsill.

I let out a groan in boredom, "How can they give us such an impossible task!?"

Cyrus flipped through the sparse documents, "Maybe if you help, it won't be impossible."

I let out a sigh and dramatically leaned forward to look over his shoulder.

He frowned, "Why are you so close?"

"So I can read it."

"You don't have to be that close to read it."

I smirked, "My eyesight is terrible."

He rolled his eyes, "It is not."

I leaned in closer, speaking so close to his ear that I was practically breathing on it, "Ah~ Now I can read it."

He flinched and covered his ear, blushing as he tried to hide his embarrassment, "Can you please take this seriously?!"

"Okay fine. Let me see the documents." He handed them over and watched as I scanned them quickly. I clapped my hands together, "I solved it!"

His eyes lit up, "You did?"

I nodded and laid back lazily, "Yup! It is some rich guy."

He leaned forward in curiosity, "What makes you say that?"

"Because it's always a rich guy." I grabbed a cookie and shoved it in my mouth, "You don't get rich by being a good person."

His smile fell abruptly, "Can't you be serious for once?"

"I am being serious."

He clicked his tongue then turned his focus back on the papers, "It says here that they have seen increased demonic activity near villages by the Macrabre forest. However, the last large scaled mana stealing incident was at the orphanage-"

He abruptly stopped and looked at me with a worried expression.

I didn't show any emotion on my face and calmly ate another cookie.

Somehow this cookie doesn't taste as good.

He coughed and averted his eyes, "A-Anyway. The Demon Sympathizers have been quiet since that last attack on us when we were searching for the relic as children. After catching that woman in red, it seems they disappeared. It's possible they just learned to be more overt in their operations… So where should we check for their traces? In the slums?"

I scoffed, "No. I'm telling you we should investigate the Aristocrats and the Nobles."

He ignored me, "The documents mention finding a hideout over 10 years ago in the slums, but they weren't able to capture many members. And even if a member was ever captured, they never revealed the identity of their boss or how to find them."

"I'm telling you it's gotta be someone rich."

He glared at me, "And I'm telling you to take this seriously!"

The door opened to the library and Felix strolled in. He made his way over to us, "I thought you two would be in here."

I waved him over, "Yo crybaby. Do you think the leader of the Demon Sympathizers would be a rich man that is hiding in the Aristocratic area, or the leader is a poor man hiding in the slums?"

"I wish you would stop calling me crybaby… I don't do that anymore." He sat down with a sigh and then pondered my words, "I would think he's probably a poor man hiding in the slums. It seems he has a warped personality if he's hurting children without remorse. I couldn't imagine a rich man doing that when there are too many eyes on him. Nobles and Aristocrats always have to act with the highest standard since there are many families wanting to sabotage each other."

Cyrus smirked at me, "Hah hah."

I rolled my eyes.

Suddenly a voice came out, hidden behind the bookshelves, "I think it's a rich man."

We all jumped with a scream and spun around to see Hazel walk out from the darkness with a faint smile. She strolled over to where Zephyr was sleeping, picked him up, and sat down with him on her lap.

Her eyes glared down at Felix as she pet Zephyr's soft fur, "Only a rich man could hide from the law for so many years. Without connections, one wouldn't be able to pull that off."

I crossed my arms and looked at Cyrus haughtily, "She's got a good point. I say we go door to door and investigate the rich people."

Cyrus let out a sigh and put the documents down, "We can't just barge into every Aristocrat's or Noble's house because of a theory. If we even start investigating that area, they will see it as an attack on their reputation. I can't risk losing their support in the contest for the throne. They already don't like me and I don't want to make it worse if there's no concrete evidence."

I frowned, "Oh? But we can just stomp around the Slums giving the poor an even worse image?"

Felix cut in quickly, "What if we meet in the middle and investigate the main square first? That's where both the rich and the middle class interact at. It wouldn't be strange if the Demon Sympathizers conduct business there."

Cyrus considered it, "It would be a good place to start. Although there's a lot of people, we might see something out of the ordinary."

I nodded, "Whatever. I don't really care."

Cyrus stood up and placed the documents away, "Then let's get started."

Felix jumped up, "Oh! Let me come and help."

Hazel also jumped up, still holding the sleeping fox Zephyr in her arms, "Let me come too."

We all made our way out of the building. I pulled out my wand, "Shall we use my ice chunk?"

Their faces paled.

Caldwell quickly interrupted to save them all, "Not necessary, little miss. I already prepared a carriage!"

I let out a groan and unwillingly got on the carriage. Cyrus followed after and moved to sit across from me, but I pulled him onto the seat next to me. His lips quivered as he forced himself to pretend to be calm. He ultimately looked out the window pretending not to care as I snickered from his reaction.

Felix climbed in after, casting a suspicious look between the two of us before sitting down. Then Hazel climbed on, still carrying a sleeping Zephyr, and snarled in disgust at Felix once she realized she had to sit next to him. Caldwell closed the door and took a seat next to the driver who started leading us into town.

I pinched Cyrus's side, "Oi."

He refused to meet my eyes, "What?"

I grinned, "Wanna make a bet?"

He looked at me in disbelief, "Haah?"

"I bet that I will be right that it's a rich man."

He raised an eyebrow, "And if it's not, I win the bet?"

I nodded, "That's right."

He thought for a moment then spoke, "What are the terms of the bet?"

"If I win, you'll have to do whatever I say."

He frowned, "That seems too vague."

"Okay… Then if I win, you owe me one favor. If you win, I will owe you a favor. The favor can be anything you want… As long as there is consent."

He added, "And without breaking any laws."

I laughed, "Sure. That too. So do we have a deal?"

He nodded after a while, "Alright. But if I win, you're not allowed to throw a tantrum."

I crossed my arms in a pout, "When have I ever thrown a tantrum?"

Hazel giggled, "When have you not?"

I rolled my eyes and looked out the window.