Chapter 09

"It looks like something interesting happened." The person behind the table grinned casually, gesturing the seat infront of him. It appears that he had been waiting for her arrival as there is a cart carrying pastries and tea beside the seat.

"I'm sorry for taking your time Sir." She spoke, sitting carefully while looking around curiously. There wasn't a lot worth noting actually except it was noticeably colder in here.

The man looking to be in his mid-30s waited amusedly for Letti's attention before speaking. "Richard Ficherson, Head of Finance. I am looking forward for this meeting since the Guild Master sent out the word about you."

Letti shook his outstretched hand, "just call me Letti."

Letti then paused once her eyes caught something perculiar in Richard's eyes. "You're blind." She remarked as she leaned back on her seat.

Richard clasped his hands on top of the table with a gleam of curiosity. "Oh? Not a lot of people could tell at first. What gave me away this time, Miss Letti?"

Letti was the next to be surprise. Disregarding how this is the first time someone called her a miss after three months of crossdressing, the man is biologically blind.

And she could tell from the clouded grey eyes and the walking cane propped up behind him.

"How can you tell?"

"I may be physically blind, but my sight is not limited to what the eyes only see. How do you think I am in-charge of keeping the money?" The man laughed heartily.

"Is that how you can keep an eye contact to the person you are talking to?" She can't help but ask. It has been bugging her since he had been maintaining eye contact since she entered the room.

"In this world, every person possess something like a presence, I use it to distinguish every person, and especially you, miss Letti, your presence takes up the entire room. I think you are destined for great things in the future."

"That's quite an exaggeration." She brushed off the compliment with a crooked smile.

He hummed with a meaningful smile. "Is that so?"

Richard exhaled loudly, "well, I won't held you up any longer since youngsters like you likes to move things quickly, "and pulled out a chinkling pouch and a piece of paper under the table.

"The Guild Master and Senior leader Kard took it to themselves to give your basic pay with an additional bonus."

Letti eyed the pouch in interest.

"If you want to reject the offer, then please think of this as—"

"I'll accept this wholeheartedly. Thank you very much." She cut him off cleanly while looking closely at the shiny gems and golds excitedly. This is the first she had seen this much wealth!

She took the paper and understood that it was the payment contract. "Where do I sign?" She asked.

Richard was taken aback briefly while wearing an undecipherable look. He can't seem to connect this person from that person except the ability as a strong evidence.

Richard cleared his throat, pointing at the lower left corner.

Letti signed swiftly after receiving the quill pen from him.

Doing menial tasks with a body the seems to know how this world works more than herself was hard to adjust at first.

She guess she was born from scholarly family since she could read and write several languages in the continent, a skill she realized while travelling.

"I should go now." She prepared to stand up having fulfilled her purpose here.

The weight of the pouch felt extremely comforting inside her satchel. She planned to check out their market to stock up for provisions in the next months afterward.

"Ah yes! It's a shame you won't stay with the guild. You're very welcome here." Richard was inwardly disappointed, but he already expect it based on Letti's little request to keep herself a secret.

"You can tell us if you find yourself in a situation in the future. The entire guild owes you forever as our saviour." Richard stated sincerely while showing her to the door.

"I'll remember that. It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Ficherson. Goodbye."

Richard Ficherson closed the door and cross the room back to his seat confidently having familiarize the space of his office for years.

He took out a palm-sized metal tube inside his drawer and tapped it two times.

"Call Adolf Wendel."

A whizzing sound echoed before a click is heard and Randell's Guild Master's clear voice soon went in the line.

"Why? Did you meet the kid? How did it go?" The voice was obviously expectant, but Richard Ficherson didn't switch the transmission case on just to have a casual talk.

"Put your niece in a 3 months probation and put her in 6 hours cleaning duties in the kitchen per day. She violated an important law under my watch and almost risked the life of every person in the building if not for Dr. Agatha's barrier." He went straight to the point, impatient to bring justice.

Adolf sputtered in disbelief. He doted on her niece and felt that it was too harsh for a young lady. "Richard, it must have been a simple argument that was blown out of proportion. Eunice is still a child. Please let this one pass for your friend."

Richard sneered. Simple argument? The entire building was almost blown off minutes ago. "I can turn a blind eye if it happened somewhere else, but your niece caused a disturbance in my territory."

The other was silent as soon as Richard mentioned his territory. Everyone knows Richard Ficherson has eyes and ears in his territory, but this is his favorite niece. He ought to defend a family. "There must have been a mistake—"

"So you're telling me I'm a liar?" Richard Ficherson didn't sound offended, but his unbothered tone felt like they were squeezing his chest.

"No, it's just that..."

Richard Ficherson held up a finger as a dark dust like wriggly creature crawled over. Soon after several other wriggly creatures spilled over from the dark crevices of the room until it was like a singular dark mass because of their number.

Richard sighed exhasperatedly. "Your niece violated the Magnanimity Code and almost blown off the entire building."

"What?!" Adolf thundered but now it was because of rage.

Richard already guess this reaction already so this didn't change his calm demeanor. "You better get here quick and handle your niece as soon as possible. The news is already spreading." He advised patiently.

Richard wisely hang up after that or else he'll get worked up for naught.

It has been four years since Leticia Annesley disappeared without a trace. Some thought she was eaten by mythical beasts in the Mist forest while others thought she ran away from the burden of regaining their family's reputation.

But nobody probably guessed that the missing noble lady is crossdressing as a man and looks to have lost her memory for some reason.

A lot of people have different intentions in knowing her whereabouts. These intentions fueled the topic of the missing lady of Annesley for four years. It was like an uncured sickness, you can conceal it but it will never fade away.

But there are people like him, who is anxiously waiting for Leticia Annesley re-emerging to the public for a bigger reason.

Even bigger than their lives.

He almost cried in joy once he heard the Guild Master reporting a mage with a powerful affinity to summoning.

Leticia Annesley is the destined catalyst that will change Arizalde in the future. The vessel that will act upon the deep rooted vengeance of the upsurped.

A retribution that is already 1,500 years late. A war that is a glorified bloodbath of the self-righteous; an act of exorcising the 'demonized' people.

The defeated were obliterated, while the winner creates the history — a history which justifes their undoing as a noble cause and disparaged the conquered enemy.

There's no point of correcting history, but to force the future to lean on their deserved present.

He leaned back, suddenly a feeling of weariness in his bones. There's no point in telling Letti her identity right now as this is the crucial phase of the plan.

He thought that it is better for Leticia to amass power in hiding, rather than under the vigilance of the enemy.

"Attack the enemy when he is unprepared. Appear when you are unexpected."

"Should I report this to them?" His voice was low and contemplative.

But he couldn't arrive in a decision even after thinking for the rest of the day.