Sting E. x OC : The Forbidden Treasure

Chapter 2 - The Mirage Maiden

"Must we really do this?" muttered Sting.

"The sooner it's done, the better."

***

"It was about a week ago, I believe," recounted Rogue. "We were just recovering from the damages caused by the war. The guildhall was finally starting to look like something again, and life had resumed its course. As usual, Yukino was the first to arrive at the guild. So every morning, she would rearrange the chairs, wipe down the tables... basically, she cleaned everything out of the goodness of her heart."

"Poor Yukino!" interjected Frosch.

Rogue gave him a sympathetic smile before resuming.

"We needed a waitress. Sting was very busy, he had to go to Era that day. So he commissioned me to recruit someone."

"Did that seem normal to you?"

"We needed staff."

"A seemingly straightforward position, easy to evaluate. Something a guild master could have found the time to handle, don't you think?"

"What are you implying?" growled the Shadow Dragon.

"Perhaps he already knew her. Maybe he let you believe it was your idea, but in reality..."

"Sting would never do that," he interrupted sharply. "Who do you suspect, a rogue guild, or Sabertooth?"

"We know Sabertooth has nothing to hide. However, those scoundrels are resourceful. It might be clever to consider that one of them coerced you into certain actions, maybe with a spell or a potion... Let's continue."

Rogue decided to ignore the insolence of the councilor facing him. He had little sympathy for how he was being treated. Confined within four walls, in his own guild, questioned as if he were the enemy. The room that had always seemed so warm now felt cold under the Council's authority. In fact, that was the case for the entire guild, after other divisions had gotten involved in the matter, considering the number of councilors who had fainted. Nothing serious, though: after muttering a few embarrassing nonsense words in their sleep, they had woken up full of life.

"So, I conducted a few interviews, with Yukino and M'lady," Rogue continued. "To be honest, it wasn't very formal, it was done in front of everyone. That's when she arrived."

"'Blanche'?"

"Yes. Everyone immediately found her charming. Some even called her 'Yukino with blue eyes' because she was so..."

"Charming, yes. As a mage yourself, you understand what a charm is?"

"A spell. That's exactly the effect she had. She made the whole assembly laugh with her sleight of hand tricks, her skill."

"Sleight of hand tricks?"

"She would juggle glasses before serving them, as if she had worked in a bar her whole life. So we recruited her..."

"And what did you think of her?"

Rogue hesitated for a moment. He pictured her delicate features, and the waves of white silk flowing down her back. He remembered when she had extended her hand for him to place Sabertooth's seal, revealing a pristine white mark.

"I thought Sting would approve."

***

"That was yesterday... recounted Sting.

...It was a pitch-black night. The sky had unleashed its tears upon the city of Gazania; it even thundered a few times. The day was ending as badly as it had begun for the Master of Sabertooth, who wearily pushed open the guild doors. The journey to Era had exhausted him. The trip was long and solitary because he had allowed Lector to escape from duty. So all week, he had only spoken to disdainful councilors, High Court people who dreamed of sinking their claws into Sabertooth's machinery, eager to complain about all the commotion caused by its mages. As usual, he had been warned not to forget himself in the example set by Fairy Tail, and to order his comrades to behave.