Chapter 34: Scout’s Lost Days

After Scout managed to escape Lord Julian’s clutches, she remained in hiding, travelling through cities and towns in order to find her friends. She does not even know how long it's been since she has escaped. All she knows is that she has been travelling for a while and she had to report on what she had discovered before it was too late. At least this is kind of distracting her since when she is alone with her thoughts and it is rare for her to do, but she tends to cry whenever she thinks of Julius and how she left him behind. She might be heart broken, but it is not going to stop her in completing her mission.

Working in a Café

Scout was running out of money to travel from city to city, so she needed some way to make money. She ends up in a small town where she got a job at a café. It has been two weeks already working there, but she had to deal with early mornings and rude people. To help her with all of this, she met her first friend Cindy who gave her the job in the first place. Sadly, today of all days, the café is buzzing with customers.

“Come on Scout, pick up the pace, we are very busy and the customers are waiting,” Cindy yelled serving the customers drinks.

“Alright!” Scout shouted at the other end of the shop.

Left and right, Scout is running around the café serving people trying not to make a mistake in the orders. It seems as she was performing her duties, the customers seemed to enjoy the view of a new beauty working. Scout, not being this type of girl, simply rolled with it as she decided to perform a show for them. The guests continued to flow in up until closing time.

As soon as the guests left, Cindy and Scout were finally able to relax, so they decided to take a break on the balcony while drinking a sip of tea.

“Phew, I am glad that is over,” Cindy said, stretching out her legs.

“Yes, today it was a little chaotic for me,” Scout said, exhausted.

“Cheer up Scout, in a few more days, you will have enough money to continue your journey to find your friends, so don’t worry about it,” Cindy said, trying to cheer her up.

“I guess. I should thank you and your family for taking me in. If I go to the Guild Offices, the people who are tracking me will find me,” Scout said, trying to cheer up.

“It is not a problem. I am glad we had some extra help, even if it was for a while,” Cindy said in a cheery mood.

“Yes, it sure is,” Scout said, continuing to enjoy their tea.

Once they finished drinking their tea, they went back to work cleaning up the café after the customers' mess. Later on, they went to camp out on the roof to sleep under the stars.

Scout’s routine continues on for the next few days until finally she has enough money for her to leave.

“I guess it is time for you to go. You were such a great help and a friend. We are going to miss you here. I do hope you find your friends soon,” Cindy said kindly, hugging her new friend.

“Thank you for everything Cindy. I will try to visit again really soon,” Scout said as she began walking away and leaving the town.

Scout the Pure

It has been a few days now since Scout left the café and found herself in an entirely different city, but this time it was not as friendly as the last one she visited. Since this city did not have a guild office, everyone treated her unfairly. She searches for a place to stay, but it turns out she found a home in a shelter with a group of orphans in an old house. Scout enjoys living there with the kids since she got to experience being a kid for a change.

One day, Scout went for a stroll in the city with the children to have some fun. As they were walking past the stores, it hurt her seeing them not able to get what they wanted, so she thought of doing something nice. At night, Scout goes through her money and waits for morning.

Before the children woke up in the morning, she went to the store and bought those toys and sweets as a thank you. She sneaks into the house and leaves her gifts for them. She quickly leaves the house and watches the children from a distance seeing their happy faces. It was nice to see some smiling faces and she made it happen. With new found hope, Scout is now more determined to reunite with her friends. Since Scout did not have much money left, she decided to save the rest and continue on foot until she found more work to earn more money for her trip.

Scout the Thief

Scout continues her travels through multiple cities and towns earning money enough to finally take a bus or different forms of transportation. At one point, she did arrive in an amazing small town she had never seen before and wanted to make the most of her stay. Exploring the town, she was instantly welcomed into a family living outside of the town. She enjoyed herself as she always did, but she still missed Julius.

One day as she was looking for work, she came across an interesting job that suited her perfectly and it paid good money. The job was to steal the money the mayor stole from his people by raising the taxes for his own greediness. Scout thought it was not fair what he did, so she was glad to take on this job. Later on that night, she met the group of thieves that also took this job at the castle gate to get started. She thought they were amateurs at this job, so she went her own way. She took the servant’s entrance and made her way inside without a problem. She went through the halls to find the treasure room. Luckily, she always knows these rooms are always in the basement.

It seemed she was the first one to arrive and she thought she would get to work on the safe. Luckily, she carries around explosives whenever she needs them. After blasting the door open, she took what she could carry and ran for her life. Making her way out, she notices the thieves she traveled with were dead. She knew she could not return to the town, so she ran for it.

A Clue after a Long Time

After many weeks of travelling and tiring days, Scout finally arrived into a city where she might have a clue where her friends might be. She walks around the city to find a place only to find a familiar face.

“Scout, is that you?!” a girl asked.

“Rina, is that you? It is great seeing you again,” Scout greeted her old friend.

“Yes, but what is the matter? You look like you have been through hell, what happened?” Rina asked.

“It is a long story, but I need to find my friends,” Scout said, exhausted.

“Come on, I will treat you to lunch and we can talk about what happened to you,” Rina said, helping Scout up.

Soon after, Scout and Rina arrived at an outdoor café and began chatting to catch up while enjoying their well-deserved meal. Scout starts by telling her story up to the point where she was looking for Silva and how she is hiding from the people that are searching for her. It seemed Rina believed her story because she did not look as crazy as the others when she told her story.

“I see…, so you have been on the run ever since? It must be hard for you being away from your friends like this,” Rina said, being sympathetic.

“Yeah, well, I have been trying my best to track them, but they have been leading me to dead ends,” Scout confessed.

“I think I might be able to help.” Rina takes out a flyer out of her bag and shows Scout the tournament.

“I should head over there,” Scout said.

“Yes, it is located in Emerald City, it is a three day tournament, but it is five days from here.”

“Damn it, what should I do?” Scout said.

“I think you should head to Serene Wind City,” Rina suggests.

“Why there?”

“If you told me the truth, There is a temple there and Silva might stop there,” Rina suggests.

“Ok, you are right about that. I better get going,” Scout explained.

“I suggest you take these. They are the keys to my bike. Don’t worry about returning it, I have a new one coming in soon. I better let you go. It is nice to see you again,” Rina said, hugging her friend for the last time.

Once they said their goodbyes, Scout ran to the bike and drove off into the sun hoping to get to her friends on time and tell them what she knows.