Maeve sniffed up ahead while Ryan and Ellie followed dutifully behind.
The three wound through streets and alleys, circling nearly two-thirds of Caridon.
"Still haven't tracked down Mira's scent? Could the kid really have come all the way out here?" Ryan gazed at the north city gate before him, lost in thought.
The square was in the south of the city, and they'd reached the north now; by rights, even lost, she couldn't have run that far.
"Almost, almost!" Maeve kept sniffing around with her eyes closed. "So annoying — the scents in the city are too jumbled, harder than finding someone outside the walls...
The kid seems to have been with some men the whole time — I can smell men's sweat."
Maeve's tail wagged, and after a slight pause she went on, "I can smell that Mira was scared... those guys frightened her badly..."
"You can smell even that?"
"Of course! The scent you give off when you're scared is different, and so is the scent when someone's about to do something bad." Maeve nodded meaningfully, then pursed her lips and complained, "Every time you're about to pick on me, I smell a strange odor, and that's when I dodge."
Realization dawned on Ryan; no wonder Maeve dodged so fast — so this was why.
It seemed next time he couldn't telegraph it; he'd have to strike outright, or the little mutt would bolt.
"So where did Mira's scent go?" Ryan wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Should be somewhere around here. Give me a bit longer and I'll definitely find her." Maeve picked up her pace and walked ahead, with Ryan and Ellie behind.
"Don't get too far from us; if anything comes up, come back and tell me." Ryan yawned, turned to Ellie beside him, and contentedly stroked her cat ear.
This catgirl was so silent she might as well be mute; after buying the shoes and clothes, he hadn't seen her speak up once the whole way.
Ryan pinched her cheek. "You talk far too little. Can't you talk to me a bit more?"
Ellie gazed at Ryan and answered expressionlessly, "I don't know what to say."
"Say whatever you want." Ryan cupped her chin. "Here, give me a smile."
The corners of Ellie's mouth twitched, and she forced out a stiff, slightly contorted smile. "I don't have anything to say."
It looked odd, but she was beautiful all the same.
"Then tell me about the magic you're good at."
Her little face pinched by Ryan, Ellie answered without hesitation, "I'm good at killing magic."
"What's killing magic?"
Ellie raised her hand, and a round wheel of wind quickly formed in it; Ryan heard a shrill whooshing.
She was giving Ryan a close-up demonstration of her magic.
"Does this magic have any special traits compared to others?" Ryan leaned in to observe.
"No incantation needed, extremely fast, suited to mid- and close-range combat and to unarmored targets."
"Can your magic cut through plate armor?" Ryan looked around, meaning to find something to test it on, but the street seemed to have nothing but dung.
Ellie shook her head. "Usually not, but when necessary, yes."
"What do you mean, when necessary?"
"I judge the armor's defensive capability and raise my mana output to increase the magic's power; the mana cost rises accordingly."
Ellie was like an NPC — she answered each question Ryan asked and never a word more.
Just then Maeve ran back from up front, a puzzled look on her face. "What are you two chatting about back here? You weren't secretly badmouthing me, were you?"
"Since when do I need to badmouth you in secret?" Ryan raised a brow slightly and went on, "Why'd you come back all of a sudden? Did you find something new?"
Maeve pointed straight ahead. "I found the kid. Come with me, quick."
The three walked on a stretch, and Maeve followed the scent into an alley; the houses around here were all run-down, probably built many years ago.
The little mutt Maeve sniffed carefully at the doors of a few households.
Luckily there was no one around; otherwise, if seen, she might be taken for a thief or a pervert.
Maeve compared carefully for a while, finally pinpointed the spot, pointed, and lowered her voice to Ryan. "The kid is definitely inside there."
The old house's wooden door was rotted through, half the building had collapsed, and the other half was overrun with vegetation; just standing at the door felt eerie.
"You're sure?"
"Of course. My nose is the sharpest." Maeve nodded with full confidence.
Ryan looked at Ellie. "How many people are inside? Can you hear them?"
Her cat ears pricked up, and after listening a moment she said softly, "Four or five, and a child crying."
Ryan guessed Evelyn must have offended someone; in her line of work, friction with clients was common, and hiring killers happened all the time, let alone kidnapping a child.
"Ellie, is there a way you can subdue them and get the child out? I can draw their attention from the front while you look for somewhere to slip in from the back."
Ellie shook her head. "There's no need for any of that. I can go straight in from here."
"First we have to ensure the child's safety."
Ellie said flatly, "I'll be faster."
Ryan felt she was dependable and wouldn't say something she wasn't sure of.
"Then go ahead, as fast as you can."
The moment he finished, Ellie raised her hand, and Ryan hurriedly pulled Maeve aside.
In an instant the rotted door was blasted apart by a gale, and Ellie shot into the air and dove straight into the rising dust.
???
Ryan froze. She could fly too?
Before he could dwell on it, several heart-rending screams burst from the house, the shrill sounds making Ryan's eardrums tremble.
A man was hurled out the door, all his limbs broken, writhing in agony on the muddy ground.
Ellie walked out, not a speck of dust on her. "I've dealt with it."
Ryan hadn't recovered yet — from breaching the house to finishing the job, Ellie had taken less than five seconds, out almost as soon as she was in.
He got up and glanced inside; several big men lay sprawled every which way on the floor, each injured to varying degrees.
The unluckiest of them had even had his hand shaved off; he lay in a pool of blood, fingers scattered across the floor like carrot slices.
Ryan walked past them, soothing, "It's fine, it's fine, pain's normal. If you really can't bear it, just shout a couple of times."
"She's in the room," Ellie reminded from behind him.
Ryan pushed open the door and saw Mira, trussed up like a twist of dough, curled in the corner, her mouth gagged, her body trembling slightly.
The instant the child saw Ryan, her eyes lit up; she mumbled something indistinct, and tears came pouring out.
Ryan hurried over, pulled the rag out of her mouth, then cut the rope with a single stroke.
Mira dissolved into tears, a bright-red handprint on her cute little face; she was clearly terrified...