You're not kidnapping me? Even though I'm right here?!

Y’know what you never think about when you plan a honeypot like this? How god damn boring it is to stand around and do nothing for hours. Like, okay, I get it, this was my idea so I have no right to complain. But come on, man! Just kidnap me already! I’m a total sitting duck!

I leaned against the decaying wall of the abandoned building. Apparently very few people ever came here, so it was perfect for a good bit of abduction. The nearby run-down buildings also meant there was plenty of cover for Immanuel and Misty to watch over me without being seen themselves. It also wasn’t far from a road that lead straight out of the city. In theory, the set up was perfect. But it relied on one thing we could neither control nor predict: the kidnappers actually showing up and taking me.

When I pitched the plan to the old fogey, he agreed that doing it would probably eventually get me taken away. But ‘eventually’ could mean five minutes or five days. So there was every chance that I’d just be wandering around this area alone for the whole damn week.

I looked down at my clothes and frowned. I fully got why my witch robes were the wrong choice to wear, and that these dusty grey rags were the far better option. But man. They just had no style, y’know? No pizzazz. No wow factor. It just didn’t scream ‘Bakuchan’ the same way my beloved purple robes did. They didn’t even let me keep the hat! Ugh, getting kidnapped is the worst.

Just hurry up and grab me, you lazy butts. Honestly, can’t find a good hard working human trafficker these days. People used to have work ethic.

I entertained myself by kicking a small stone up and down the path. Part of me wanted to set fire to a stick I found on the roadside, but if the crooks did show up and see me using fire magic, they’d run for the hills like cowards. Plus I didn’t have my staff and it was probably a bad idea to start burning my fingers before we even got to the fighting part.

After the billionth time (yes I counted) of kicking the stone down the road, I stopped and let out a sigh. Sure, long walks were boring, but I hadn’t realised just how much Misty and Immanuel had kept me entertained until now. I was pretty used to travelling on my own before this journey started, but I’d definitely been leaning on them as crutches to alleviate my boredom since leaving on this mission. Was being alone really always this dull? Would I have to go back to this after the mission was over? I mean, once Misty became a full-fledged combat mage she’d go home to protect her family. And Immanuel was only here to keep me in line on the way to the mission. They’d definitely both leave me once it was all said and done.

Maybe I could go hang out with Misty at her place? That could be fun! Though, I’m not sure that a little hamlet practically in the middle of nowhere would have much use for fire magic. I’d just end up being a freeloader. And as much as I do love taking advantage of other people’s generosity, Misty’s mum had already done us a huge favour by letting her come with. Demanding any more of her would be a bridge too far even for me.

I would ask Immanuel to get me a government job with him, but I had the feeling that Mr Greedy Nobleman didn’t like me very much. I really wasn’t sure why, I felt like I had done pretty much exactly what he’d asked of me so far, but still, that route seemed like a no-go.

Ooh! What about forming a real adventuring party with other travelling mages! There’s always monsters that need slaying and odd jobs that require a mage’s touch. With how rare my powers are we’d be in high demand!

…but most adventurers considered fire magic too dangerous to be around. I had taken a few jobs with other mages before, but it was a lot of work finding a party that would work with me. Most dismissed me out of hand.

…man, am I really set to be alone again once all this is over?

I closed my eyes and thought about travelling alone again. It was a weird feeling. I’d never cared about being alone before. It was just the way it always was. After I left the woods and joined human society, no one wanted the fire-throwing feral wolf girl around them. Being alone was all I knew.

Man… have Misty and Immanuel turned me soft? Getting all melancholy over going back to my old job? What rubbish. I’m just being dramatic.

I shook the thought out of my mind and opened my eyes, determined not to dwell on it anymore. Weirdly, though, even after opening my eyes I couldn't really see. Everything in front of me was black. I tried to touch my eyes to figure out what was going on, but there was some fabric or something between my hand and my eyes.

“Ah, I see. There’s a bag on my head.”

The very next moment, someone picked me up from behind and booked it. I made a show of pretending to resist for just long enough that he might buy it, before giving up because it was too much effort.

A moment later, I was being thrown into a cart and whisked away. Considering how long they’d made me wait, they were pretty fast once they got to actually kidnapping me. A-minus for these criminals. Poor punctuality but excellent work efficiency.

Well, whatever. I was just glad it happened on the first day.

About time. Let’s see what we’ve got to burn down.