Chapter 5
Hermie remained on high alert, meticulously scanning the faces of the people moving around the dining hall. No one who looked like a mage had appeared yet.
Even after two hours, the dining hall was still quiet.
‘It seems wizards really are nocturnal. None of them are up even at this hour?’
It was a circadian rhythm that merchants, hard at work since dawn, simply couldn’t comprehend.
It wasn’t until noon that the first sallow-looking crowd began to trickle into the dining hall. Occasionally, there were wizards with tidy appearances, but most had haggard faces as if they hadn’t slept for days.
Unfortunately, the delinquent debtor’s face was nowhere to be seen.
Lunchtime passed by in a flash. Worried she might have missed her target, Hermie strained her dry, tired eyes.
As it approached 3 PM, the dining hall quieted down again. Her spirits sank.
‘Does he not eat in the dining hall?’
That was also possible. She’d heard that wizards, reluctant to waste time going back and forth to the dining hall, sometimes just had a sandwich for a meal.
‘I’ve come this far, I have to find him.’
If she couldn’t meet him today, she’d have to go through this ordeal again next week. Just the thought was exhausting and gave her a headache. Just as Hermie was desperately scanning the dining hall with a forlorn gaze…
‘Gasp! That bastard!!’
Found him. The delinquent debtor!
The dark-skinned fellow was shambling along to get his food. It seemed he wasn’t eating in the hall, but taking the food back to his room.
Hermie carefully slipped out of the cabinet to follow him. The one small mercy was that the creep had shown up while the hall was quiet. If he’d appeared when it was crowded, following him might have been impossible.
The debtor was already passing the end of the corridor. He moved with a listless gait, but perhaps because he was tall, his pace was quite fast. Hermie adjusted her cloak and quickened her step.
‘I won’t lose you!’
Rounding a corridor corner, she saw him ascending a circular staircase. Maintaining a safe distance, she followed on his heels. As she tracked him, Hermie organized her plan in her head.
‘Secure the item first. If he had the money, he would’ve paid up already. I’ll just get the item back.’
By hook or by crook! Hermie steeled her resolve, determined to show that weak, pathetic creature the harsh realities of the world today. After climbing the stairs and passing through another corridor, an oppressively thick iron door came into view.
An iron door that thick… It seemed they were serious about security, at least.
Just as the creep was about to enter the iron door, Hermie nimbly slipped in past him.
“Huh?”
The man blinked, belatedly noticing the small human who had zipped past under his chin. Having entered the room ahead of him, Hermie turned around triumphantly.
“Hello there?”
“Uh, huh?”
The man still wore a stupid look on his face, unable to grasp the situation.
“Have you been well? Judging by your complexion, it seems you haven’t been. You look very sallow.”
“Who…?”
You don’t recognize me? Hermie’s brow furrowed.
“Who, you ask. I’m Hermie, the finance manager of the Pumpkin Flower Guild. You greeted me last time, remember?”
As she said this, Hermie squinted her eyes and scanned the room. It was an absolute disaster zone. All sorts of junk was piled up, and it was filled with unidentifiable objects.
Just one glance around made it seem impossible to find the item.
“So, what is it?”
The mage was acting brazen. Are you going to pretend you don’t know in this situation?
“If you took the item, you need to pay. How many demand notices did we send you? And you ignored them all.”
“Ahh…”
“If you won’t pay, you’ll have to return the item. So, what are you going to do?”
The mage scratched the back of his head, looking troubled, and dandruff scattered down.
“…How much was it again?”
“300 gold. Sir?”
“But, um, how did you get in here?”
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