Malin, accompanied by Spotty, found the Half-human while he was going around the square, collecting fees from each stall, and after each collection, the rascal even rudely slapped the stall owner’s face.
"Pretty proud for someone who stands on Dwarves’ shoulders, huh?"
When Malin approached, the Half-human’s subordinates had already briefed him on the situation, and the Half-human jumped down from the Dwarf’s shoulders and came over to Malin, "Mr. Malin, is there a problem?"
"Someone stole my woman’s bag using an Illusion Technique, and I have reason to suspect it was one of your people," Malin said patiently.
"What do you mean! Trying to extort the Brotherhood?" the Half-human sidekick shouted.
Malin raised his eyebrows, "Does he speak for you?"
"He represents the Brotherhood," the Half-human replied with a smile, "I’ll give you an explanation, my apologies, Mr. Malin."
"When?" Malin pressed on.
"What the fuck do you mean!" the sidekick burst out again.
Malin drew his Revolver, and a .50 caliber flat-nosed bullet painted the little Gnome across the pavement.
The Half-human’s sidekicks all reached for their weapons, but Fio, clutching Blood Roar, sliced down an incoming Dwarf, Lorrin worked the lever of his rifle and blew the brains out of two humans, while Melo pressed the shotgun Revolver to another Dwarf’s mouth and pulled the trigger.
Malin sighed, put away his gun, and asked again, "When?"
"By tomorrow at the latest, I need to consult with the senior Shadow Thieves of the Brotherhood," the Half-human replied composedly.
"I’ll expect your message tomorrow," Malin said before turning to leave.
Not until after leaving the square and settling atop Spotty’s saddle did Malin look back to see the Half-human still wearing a smile, even waving goodbye.
That’s the mark of a professional.
To be honest, Malin was growing to appreciate the guy.
Having walked eastward for a while, Malin took Clovis’s hand, the Bunny Girl carrying a box with a precision rifle. She had assisted Malin earlier at the bell tower, ready to send a high-caliber bullet driven by her owner’s loving kindness into anyone’s head, should they harbor any ill intentions.
Taking Clovis back to the train, Malin went to prepare lunch and also feed the pets.
Ah, when will you learn to pick up a bow and go hunting on your own?
"Malin’s in the kitchen," Faye cast a silence Spell Formation for their six-person group, then turned to Matilda, "Please step aside for a moment, my dear Matilda."
"Alright, I’ll go help Mr. Malin with lunch," the girl with the big ears quickly ran off.
Once Matilda had completely left, the Bunny Girl finished spilling the beans and then shook her head in resignation, "Mr. Malin can be too indecisive at times; we need to help him out."
"That Half-human is said to be one of Old White’s people. If we’re going to act, better wait until we leave the city," Jessica said while calmly filing her nails.
"Okay, Clovis and I will take care of killing him. Jessica, you distract any possible bodyguard. Lillim, help us look out for any reinforcements. Maya, you drive this time,"
"No problem," Maya extended her arms to pick up the cubs running towards her.
"We will scout the area ourselves for the sniping positions," Lillim nodded, "As your spotter Maya, once you pull back, she and I will look for the right opportunity to retreat and come to fetch you."
"I’ll draw their attention," Jessica nodded.
"Great, it’ll take Malin about 30 minutes to feed the pets and cook, leaving us roughly 30 minutes. So, Maya, can you have Salis keep an eye on our target?"
"No problem, I’m usually the one with Salis. This afternoon I’ll send it up. If we can locate our target, we can confirm his movements and residence," Maya replied to Faye.
"Take Miranda too; have her check if there are any traps in that guy’s room," Clovis said, "If possible, Faye and I will teleport directly in, and strike when he returns."
"A good idea. Can we also get Milani to come along, Jessica?" asked Faye.
"No problem, I’ll call Milani," Maya said.
"Then it’s settled, Clovis, Lillim, and Matilda will stay with Malin this afternoon, while Jessica, Maya, and I head into the city,"
When Malin came out with the food, he found the girls already sitting around the table waiting for the meal.
Feeling like a man who had raised a whole carriage of pets, Malin revealed a look of contentment.
Once the food was served, Malin raised his glass, "Ladies, to the success of our journey."
"To success," the girls echoed with laughter.
After the meal, as was customary, Malin was exempt from dishwashing, so Matilda and Lillim took to the kitchen, while Clovis, as usual, prepared a bunch of Alchemy questions to discuss with Malin. Meanwhile, Faye was about to post some local delicacies, said to be unique dried products from the Pozzoli region.
"Take some for me too; let’s see if I can whip up something delicious."
"No problem, my dear."
After a kiss, Faye smiled and departed.
Watching his girl walk away, Malin felt he was in for another headache — Clovis, can we not discuss Alchemy today?
Last time they talked about it, Malin turned pale at the mention of Alchemy for half a month.
"Sure, what shall we discuss?" the Bunny Girl asked, her ears standing straight up.
Malin chuckled, "How about the syllable fundamentals of the eighth-level Spell Formation? I’m familiar with that. If not, discussing the use of the seventeen syllables of the eighth-level Spell Formation isn’t bad either. If you’re not into syllables, the arrangement of the four nines in the sections of the eighth-level Spell Formation is also a subject I quite enjoy."