Another world, Celeste

Chapter 39, pt 3

"They're all gone?"

Serafina returns with a look of great surprise.

"I asked them to return to their places," I tell her.

"Even the contracted monsters?" Serafina asks in doubt.

"Yes."

Serafina takes a good look around to confirm that it's true.

"By the way, why are you here, Serafina?"

"...Oh, that. There's just something I wanted to check."

Serafina doesn't say anything else and I'm not that curious.

When we exit the garden park together, a loud cheer coming from a small group of young men grabs everyone's attention.

"Woohoo!"

"The auction is finally happening!"

"Is it true?! When?"

"Says here it's happening in three days!"

A crowd quickly forms in front of the public bulletin board. After that, news quickly spread and the streets became even noisier.

Beside me, Serafina sighs deeply.

"Things are going to get busier from now on."

Serafina sighs again.

"My vacation..."

When I turn my head to the side, Serafina is showing the face of a worker who is forced to work on the weekend after already working overtime during the weekday.

"Did I look like that in the past?" I thought as I reminisced about the days when I was an office worker.

"I'm going now, Iris," says Serafina, already sounding tired. "If you see me at the Auction House, just send me a glance."

I nod and say, "Don't push yourself too much."

"Tell that to Guild Master," Serafina responds with a sour look before walking away with Peachy the songbird perch on her shoulder.

The very next day, I came back to the garden park. The tracker spell I attached to the untamed Guard Hound and baby groundhog shows they haven't moved since yesterday so I don't have to search for them.

Since there are barely any people in the garden park at this hour, I let Archie waddle about while I check on the baby groundhog.

"Is that the poor little creature you were talking about last night, Iris?"

Mint squats down next to me as I refill the leaf cone cup with a restorative potion.

"Yeah, the baby is still scared so be quiet," I scold the tactless elf in a whisper.

'Symptom: Recovering from exhaustion.'

A different result appears from yesterday's when I diagnosed the baby groundhog's condition.

"The little one is recovering well," I say to the untamed Guard Hound who hasn't left the baby groundhog's side the entire time.

"How unusual," Mint comments.

"What is?"

"An untamed Guard Hound inside a human town," Mint answers with her serious voice which makes me listen more attentively. "They're not the same as stray dogs that you can just pick up and bring home, especially in this town where the rules are stricter for letting in such creatures in the first place."

Maybe I should've just told Serafina about the baby groundhog yesterday, the only reason I didn't was because the untamed Guard Hound only showed itself after Serafina left. Also, I didn't have the time to find out where the nearest veterinary clinic is.

"...Should I report this to the guild?" I ask for Mint's opinion.

The untamed Guard Hound gently shifts around the baby groundhog, giving it warmth as it falls back asleep. Like a mother taking care of its young.

Our gaze naturally becomes warm at the sight.

"Let's wait until the little one recovers first," Mint responds to my earlier question, and to the untamed Guard Hound, she changes to elvish. "You need to eat well if you wish to keep protecting the little one."

Not wanting to disturb them further, Mint and I slowly back away after leaving some dried meats for the untamed Guard Hound.

When we're far enough, I ask Mint a question that's been on my mind since accepting Hovel's nominated request.

"Hey Mint, do you really think they're going to make a move at the Auction House?"

"It's hard to say, I never dealt with blast makers before," Mint responds with a finger under her chin. "The dwarves are saying that a real blast maker wouldn't miss an opportunity to cause a massive commotion and the auction makes the perfect target to draw them out."

"So, the two guilds are taking advantage of that trait."

"Not just the guild. Everyone seems to be motivated. Apparently, blast makers are hard to capture criminals because of how elusive they are."

"Isn't that contradictory to what you just said?"

When I voice my confusion, Mint simply shrugs her shoulder.

I was under the impression that people who commit crimes for entertainment are dangerous because their next moves are unpredictable. Yet, individuals with similar authority to law enforcement officers in this world are making it sound like blast makers are delinquent pranksters who can be captured with a perfectly irresistible trap. The only catch is both sides operate on a bigger scale.

This is one of those times that the common sense of this world baffles me. Moreover, I unknowingly involved myself because of a personal reason.

I lower my head with a resigned sigh.