Chapter 9
Efran

Efran stretched his arms and yawned against the sunshine while crossing the Hasterberg bridge. The tail welcomed them with fresh dancing trees, black tinted lamp posts, curly-framed wooden benches, and red-bricked pathways leading to the city's open space.

He tapped his sleepy mouth and combed back his excess brown curly hair out of his forehead. He sighed, though deep inside, he was excited. "I'm still sleepy. What time did you wake up, Caesura?"

Caesura raised her six fingers, giving him a silent curious look behind her black veil. She needed to hide her eye color or people would start shouting witch, and burn her on the scene.

Efran furrowed his brows and looked at her in disbelief. "But we slept at one o'clock in the morning! You only have five hours of sleep! How did you do that?"

Caesura clenched to the handle of her violin bag, as she shrugged her shoulders without laying guilty eyes on Efran. She wasn't sure what to respond. Everyone can do that. What they can't do is to sleep twelve hours yet still feel sleepy. But she doesn't want to tell it not because of her throat, but to avoid hurting his feelings.

Efran bubbled a sigh in retreat, then recited his scripts in his head. Xienorra and Kirovah were on their way to the orphanage to investigate, while he and Caesura were going to the Civil Guard station to find missing children that her wolf would sniff. He spent all of his years being a watcher of society by rewriting reports in the Accountant's office. Now, he has become one of the actors playing a role, and it's time to show what he learned. Though he had already started a few days ago, but in a very tragic way–he wanted such fun too and not a depressing one.

They walked through the solid tracks where green vibrant leaves shattered in the air like soft hurricanes, the breeze blending with the buzzing sounds of the people around, like the group of university students reciting the books they're holding, lovers sitting on the bench on each other's arms, and a father peacefully playing with his kid as being watched by the wife on a picnic cloth. He remembered his family. They were like this, too, when he was a kid. But things had changed as he grew up.

When they got out of the park, a choir of rally welcomed their way into the wide grey space surrounding King Hasterberg's golden statue with its top of the crown bursting water fountains. A group of men in their white-sleeved shirts and brown vests were raising placards and crowding in front of the municipal building. Soldiers trying to block them from reaching the facade.

"Stop the deduction of our salary!"

"Bring back our salary!"

"Face us, Mayor!"

Efran's curiosity peaked in his head. People here were not just common laborers, but mixed with the government's office workers. He hoped Llouie wasn't here, though Efran doubted that he would be interested in such things since he cared too much about his reputation. A decent rich man won't ever beg for money because he is rich already. Efran was about to ask a girl he saw in a pineapple dress when a soldier in a brown uniform, a Civil Guard, holding a cone shaped speaker, went in front of the crowd.

"The bandits have ambushed the taxes collected when being transported into the kingdom! Blame those thieves! Not our Mayor! Not the government!"

The round of riots busted louder.

"That's not our problem! Give what we deserve!"

"There's no such thing written in our contracts!"

"You're just making an excuse!"

"We have families to feed!"

Efran remained standing, a feeling of betrayal painted on his face. Men had died to protect those lifeless piloncitos, and even he was almost traumatized by the extreme pressure of accounting their lives on his hands–all just for the sake of these golds. Now they're corrupting it?

He was about to go in front, scream out the truth, slap it on the face of these soldiers, and bang the ears of the hiding Mayor. But Caesura held his hand and nodded, telling him to let this slide for this moment to avoid causing a scene. And Caesura was right. They can't tell the crowd that he was a witness, too, because he just forged the soldier's identification documents and then escaped from the camp with his face as the Captain's new favorite lieutenant. Patience, Efran. No spies ever let their hoods uncovered by themselves. Focus on the mission and find the girl's mastermind–for her justice.

"Prince Eason must know this! He won't let this slide!"

"Yes! Once he becomes the king, your heads will be displayed on this square as an example of being criminals!"

The knights announced again, "Don't test the Mayor's patience, or everyone here, including your children, will be burned alive!"

Efran's enthusiasm had been plagued, ruining his refreshing twelve hours of sleep. He clicked his tongue and returned to his phase with Caesura. Everyone was still gambling their faith in that Prince–the invisible hope. He's just a mere puppet that everyone thought would be their savior.

Until they arrived at the facade of the Civil Guard office, welcomed by two brown Civil Guards guarding the door. He smiled warmly at them like how Xienorra always does. I can do that too!

"Your business?"

"I'm looking for missing people," Efran answered confidently.

"For?"

He smirked playfully, now mimicking Roh's reaction and love of:

"Golds."

The guards looked at each other with a face like asking how much zifa had overdosed his mind. So this was Efran with twelve hours of sleep. He came back in delusions again.

"We starve. No job. Find people. Earn rewards. Commissions," Caesura tried his best.

The guards nodded with an ahh expression and let them pass. Efran told the office the same thing and the officer responded to them with the same expression before Caesura came to clear the message again, so the officer stood up to dig documents on the shelves.

"Hmm... Brief but clear and convincing. Your method is better than mine, Caesura. I'll take note of your technique." Efran whispered, feeling genius. The Malvado girl doesn't know what to say again.

Efran wore a warm smile while waiting for the Civil Guard to check the documents and give them the details of missing people–though what they only needed to know were children. Finding missing people and investigating orphanages was the only lead they could chase–as for the only capacity of their limited intelligence.

They watched the officer open the envelope, slide up the papers, and throw it on the table.

"Pretty unfortunate youngsters, most of them dusted in the office for two or five years because they offer no rewards. Waste of time."

But aren't these still your jobs, useless dogs? Efran wanted to say, staring at the logo of dog's head in his uniform that represents the department of Civil Guard. But he's aware of not making an enemy at this moment.

It would be obvious if he would still glance over the non-rewarded papers and only biased his attention to children. So he arranged the categories instead. Adults, kids, with and without rewards. Until a soldier came inside the office and surrendered documents to the officer.

"Oh, it seems you're lucky today, kids, a fresh brew of missing people," the officer said as he unwrapped the envelope. Efran pretended to be excited while Caesura remained scanning the documents.

The officer's eyes widened in good surprise. "The reward is a big one! We can split it in half once you find–" he halted, brows furrowed, and glanced simultaneously at him and the paper. A smile stretched up more, reaching his ears. While Efran's lips turned to an inverted crescent moon, poking Caesura with his elbow.

Efran knew that kind of look on the officer's face, and the ideas now were suddenly stitching in his head–the plot holes they ignored to fill up. He snatched Caesura's arm and rushed outside!

"Knights! After that boy! His head is carrying a huge reward!"

The knights tried to block them with spears crossed to each other on the doorway but they swiftly slid their butts on the floor, passing through the blades above their head. Then they ran as quickly as they could.

"Argh! How could I miss that I'll be wanted for escaping the camp? I'm stupid!"

Their swifts made the riots shut up and watched them like thieves who just stole from the bank. The officer went outside as well to gesture to the knights blocking the riots and point after them. The group of soldiers split in half and the riots went to fire up again.

Efran panted as he entered the park. His limbs were getting heavier together with his weak chest. Caesura was now a huge step ahead of him.

"Let's split up to lose their count, Caesura!"

Efran squeezed every single adrenaline he had as they split apart in opposite directions. He looked over his shoulder and confirmed the count of the army split after them. When he was about to look back to his front, he got a glimpse of the Mzerlish old lady's grinning face, eyes wedged straightly to him, as well as the captain on her side. Until he stumbled on the canal railings and splashed in the water.

He held his breath before reaching for air, but he didn't float outside the surface. His eyes widened. He's going to get drowned. Until he realized that he wasn't feeling cold, and the water turned spherically away from him, giving his lungs the opportunity to breathe fresh air beneath the river. This wasn't an Aqua Sphere but an Aero Sphere–he was put inside.

He almost sighed in relief when he realized this meant he was caught! It's the Mzerlish woman's trick!

All he could do was wait for minutes, sparking up his brain like fuses to find tricks in his sleeve, until he wondered why it had reached half an hour. Then the sphere moved, floated him up to the water. The Captain and his Mzerlish lieutenant greeted him on the walkway canal under the bridge. Efran looked around and saw no signs of other soldiers.

"Efran Fritz," said the Captain in his deep voice.

His eyes widened. He found his name, and he's now expecting the next line.

No! Not this time!

"General Fritz is looking for you."

Damn it!

Efran Fritz
The Forge Priest

MVCabusas | The Invisible King