The Head Lord and the Rat Thief {Kamisato Ayato FanFiction}

Chapter 16 ~ The Lord and the Lady

Chapter 16 ~ The Lord and the Lady 

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        After Ayaka said her goodbyes, Caiome went to the library, where she tried to learn even more history and symbols, but every time she returned to what she had already read, it felt like she was reading it for the first time. She hit her head on the table so many times that she felt like she was going to get a bump in the middle of her forehead.

        The librarian, Mr. Yoshiaki, sometimes passed by her and gave her some tips, such as dividing the type of operations into groups, depending on their nature. At first, it was a good idea, but then Caiome got lost in dates, numbers, and figures. And, as usual, the librarian refused to answer some additional questions she asked.

        She managed to learn the techniques and methods quickly. Too quickly for her, which left her with extra hours for history, which was a pain. How she would pass that test, she didn't know. She tried to reconcile with the thought that she still had twelve days, but they were twelve days full of information that seemed useless to her. What did she need to know about the theft of rice from two nobles who had been dead for over four hundred years? Or about the theft of an artifact that turned to dust in the end because the paper wasn't preserved properly? At least if they had given her something about current affairs.

        But no~o. She had to learn and curse some dead people whose names had started to be lost over time anyway. They were kept for a few years just because they were "former lords," and as soon as a new one, better, or maybe more problematic, appeared, the others disappeared from the scene. But probably this wasn't about issues between nobles, but about how Lord Kamisato from that time did things. After all, if it was about the operation's strategies, Caiome had another book on that. Oh, Ayato was so careful to select them for her, practically telling her that the motives and approach were as important as the operation itself.

       As if those ninjas had to know the lord's motivation. They just obeyed. Didn't Ayato say that the Shuumatsuban members had supreme loyalty to the lord? If you told a dog to fetch the stick, the dog asked why? No.

       But even so, Caiome tried, creating a table on a sheet of paper with the pages and chapter numbers to find them more easily. And when she felt like the library walls were closing in on her and the books seemed to come to life, she took her history book, put the others in her room, and went outside for a short walk, for some fresh air and a change of scenery.

       Reaching the cherry tree so dear to her, she used her Vision to sit on one of the branches. Sitting comfortably, she opened the book and left it on one knee, starting to read again and again and again. But as much as she read, she understood even less. She hit the book a few times.

       Then she heard a branch rustling more than the others.

      Caiome turned around, just to see, among the leaves and pink flowers, the blonde girl she saw hiding from her during the banquet. She was hiding behind the tree trunk, a bit higher, towards the top. As soon as she made eye contact with Caiome, she hid among the branches and flowers, at least not looking into each other's eyes. Caiome frowned at the girl, who was probably around twelve years old.

      "I know you," she said, but the girl didn't respond. "But I haven't seen you until the banquet. Where did you come from?"

      The girl remained silent, hiding behind the branches. Caiome sighed.

      "Are you following me, perhaps?"

       Once again, no response.

       "Well, if you have something to ask, now is the time. I'm quite busy with these, so~o..."