Chapter 8

The sun was a quarter away before setting beyond the horizon. The different pace of time was slowly triggering her jet lag, which was extremely troublesome.

Thankfully, no signs of familiar entities looking for her appeared but that doesn’t mean she would let her guard down. It not that she wouldn’t go back but she just wanted the stroll she always does before, something like that.

After hours of sauntering around, they decided to take a rest and fill their stomachs by a bistro they managed to find.

“This place wasn’t that helpful as I expected,” She sighed as she set her elbow on the wooden table and rested her chin on her palm. She gradually crossed her feet as she watched every creature, big and small, pass by.

“Is this your first time here in the Capital, mister?” The ‘pup’ who was eating and sitting opposite to her asked.

“You could say that,” she mumbled, "Is this the only place to buy stuff?” She would not expect a shopping mall in such a place but a smuggling illegal marketplace was surely around somewhere out of her knowledge.

“No master, this place is not even the best part, I mean; it’s just the quarter of the whole market place. The kinds of stuff being sold here is not even that valuable and excellent compared to the market place near the Council.”

“Do we need a special summon or a pass to enter that market place?”

“Well, not necessarily but kind of,” Dale replied before thrusting some bread into his mouth. She watched how mannered and unmannered he was at the same time. 

‘A kid is a kid, after all.’ She thought as she started to sadly wonder, how would her childhood look like if that massacre did not happen?

“By the way, what is your name, kiddo?” Yuna asked.

“Wah!!” In a split second, he shot her the ‘puppy eyes’ thing again.

Well, she should expect that to come because Dale was indeed a ‘dog’.

“I’m so pleased, you finally asked. My name is Dale, master.” He cheerfully introduced as he wiggled his umber tail from left to right. Knowing that he was now this guy’s official disciple was a piece of pleasant news for him. He couldn't wait to set a journey and roam around the world, proclaiming at every mountain that they would someday climb that someone had accepted him. He was that happy.

“Quit with the master thing, you can call me Teacher or Yuna.” She bit her lips before she could even utter that name, it would not take that much time until Dale would find out her identity after all.

“As you wish, teacher Yuna,” Her girlish name did not take much of his attention, he was glad enough to know his teacher’s name.

He again playfully wiggled his tail from left to right, as his waiting gaze was locked upon his young master. Yuna, who seemingly noticed his behavior, tilted her head to meet her disciple’s yearning gaze.

She lifted her delicate left eyebrow, indicating a ‘what-again?’

“Teacher Yuna, it is a tradition for us ‘Yuu’nis’ [Part of werewolf FAMILY] to be given a new name by our masters. So maybe, you could give me too.” He shyly informed her as his point fingers met.

‘Nice idea,’ She thought while her not-cooperating face gave a not-that-interested look. As she thought for an ideal name, an inexplicable word sprang out on her mind instead.

“Morgenstern,” she mumbled without lifting her chin from her palm. “From now on, you will be Morgenstern Dale. [Meaning: ‘the valley of the morning star.]’” Reading Erin Morgenstern's book "The Starless Sea" was her favorite past time. "We are all stardust and stories, indeed.

“That’s beautiful, mister.” She watched the young ‘Yuu’ni’, placed both of his palms on the table, stood on the chair, and wiggled his tail as he faced her.

“In exchange, I will lead you to the place that you’ve been looking for.” He happily exclaimed to her. 

“And where’s that?”--- She smirked.

‘Well, never thought he’d be this useful in the end.’

--

‘Geez, he seriously mistook me as a man.’ ---*facepalm.*

The place Dale was talking about was nothing but a crowded brothel in the end.

“Cr*p,” she mumbled as she massaged his furrowed forehead.

‘Man, even a house of ill reputes existed here. What a worth-puking truth!’ She deliberately wanted to puke!!

The thought of ditching the darn kid made her grin with pure evil but then, he speaks.

“Teacher Yuna, wasn’t this the place you’ve been looking for?” He innocently asked as he watched his uneasy teacher, cupping his forehead.

His words made her expression worsen, making her look at him with a piercing glare. Dale felt the freezing aura that his teacher was emitting, making him swallow his saliva. He finally understood the threat from Yuna’s glare and immediately saluted to her with ample understanding,

“Noted,”

She slowly took a deep breath after that. This scene triggered her so much because her last kill before she was immobilized here happened inside a whore house too. The priest that she saw there was only caught in the crossfire. The fact that he was able to raze temptation, it was an erratic scene for her but; a human is a human, in her killer perspective.

“Let’s move,” She muttered before they started to march away.

She should explain herself very well to the kid next time before Dale could even conclude another odd assumption.

‘Dale seems to be pretty knowledgeable about the place; maybe he knows where to look. I can use him.’

She stopped for a moment and turned to her side to look at Dale, standing beside her.

“Tell me, Morgenstern. Do you know where the forgery is? Or some metal shops like brass, aluminum, copper, and iron, something like that?” She asked with her same cold and sour mannish voice, and numb porcelain face.

“Hmmm teacher, I don’t know what you were talking about but I know someone who definitely knows about everything.” He paused, “---but, he’s kind of crazy, you know, he does researches, trials, and test---”

Hearing those specific words made her want to jump for joy but not in front of him. Experiments and researches were her nature after all, since her job’s related to science.

“Where is that guy now?” she didn’t even let him finish his statement. Even though time here does move leisurely, there’s no room for any more patience. She has to create it as soon as possible, the weapon more penetrating and deadlier than a sword, the weapon she’s accustomed to, guns.

“Like I said, teacher, the others thought he’s crazy, that’s why trouble for him is kind of inevitable, you know what I mean right?”

Of course, she knows what he meant but that doesn’t matter now.

‘It’s such a pity that creatures here presume something unknown as ‘crazy’. Well, maybe that kind of thinking is what they get when they will not let themselves think beyond magic.’ She thwarted, but someone managed to look at the world a little bigger.

“Like I said, where is that guy now?”

She watched him giving her a hesitant look before glancing back to the brothel.

“There,” Indeed, he led her to the right place to look.

‘You’re kidding, right?’ That was written all over her face. There’s no way she’s going to enter such kind of place.

“Cr*p” She puked.