Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

IX

"Let's go," Shaurya said to Mriga, suddenly.

"You can't bring him here. He is still a minor" said a security guard stationed outside the drinking establishment.

The legal age for drinking has been determined sixteen years in Chandragarh. Admitting minors attracts huge penalties for establishment owners.

Shaurya leaned forward and said, "Don't say it too loudly. He is very sensitive about his growth deficiency. It's his identity card that says he's almost seventeen."

Mriga's gut hit the wall of her stomach in trepidation and joy. She doesn't know whose letters Shaurya showed as hers to help her get into the pub.

He did not exchange a word with her on the way to this place. But he doesn't mind. Whether this was a punishment or a test, he was willing to show that he could handle it.

The suspicious guard let them in while snorting. The loud chatter greeted Mriga as she entered the place.

There was a strange smell floating in the air, which he could not recognize. He wanted his nose not to shrivel because he was unhappy.

"You gave me a new, handsome customer" a middle-aged woman told Shaurya.

She was wearing flashy clothes and thick make-up and seemed to be the owner.

"You can take the regular table. I'll send someone a drink" he waved his hand in the air.

He lowered his head slightly, as a sign of gratitude and led the way towards the end of the room. Mriga followed him, trying her best not to stare at the tableau in front of him.

He had never seen anyone under the influence of liquor before. Even at the annual Zilla exhibition, which was a complicated event, he had never witnessed such a scene.

They went and sat down at a table next to a set of open windows.

"Control your interests. Your eyes resemble a large plate. You are here to observe, not draw attention to yourself. The trick is to look at people, without them realizing that they are being observed," she punishes him slowly.

He looked at her with regret. A cheerfully dressed boy who seemed closer to his age, hit a jug filled with foul smelling liquid and a few glasses on their table.

Shaurya filled the two glasses with a nearly transparent liquid and pushed one of them towards him.

"Never think of drinking it. This is just for show," he warned her.

Now, his curiosity is already raging. This is far from the time-bound courier activity she has been doing until now, as part of an administrative department internship.

But he did not dare to let out a squeaking sound.

While he was looking around the room silently, Shaurya had finished his glass outside the window nonchalantly.

He refilled his glass in an exaggerated motion and emptied it again after a while, silently.

He repeated the process a few more times before calling out another pitcher loudly.

"Don't get out of your seat" he said before rising up and walking towards the stairs next to the pub entrance.

He saw her stumbling while climbing. Suddenly a woman came and grabbed her shoulder. He swayed on his arm while climbing the remaining stairs.

"She was..oh, she was the woman from earlier this afternoon," Mriga's mind raced, imagining various scenarios.

‘He looks to be in his early twenties but is definitely older than Shaurya. Is that her boyfriend?’ he rejected the thought as soon as the thought popped into his head.

‘He wouldn't bother with such a complicated ruse to meet a girl. More importantly, she would not dress up too badly to meet her female lover. So, what exactly is he doing here? What am I doing here?’ he thought, his head working hastily to connect the dots.

"Here's your food" the same boy came to the table and put some plates in front of him.

He looked at the food in wonder. In excitement, he forgot all about dinner.

His stomach let out a loud rumbling sound which showed his displeasure of being ignored for so long.

He gave the boy a dismissive smile and dived into the food and reappeared after polishing both dishes.

There was no sign of Shaurya so he looked around the room. Some people were sitting alone, deep in their thoughts.

The others were a group of cheerful raucous.

A man caught his attention because he looked like he wasn't his place here. He continued to knock his feet firmly onto the ground.

A mixture of impatience and nervousness was seen on his face. He sits diagonally across from her, with his back facing the stairs. He looked up every few minutes to check the entrance.

‘Is he the person I should be looking for?’ Mriga thought with passion.

He recorded his clothes, his face, and a rough estimate of his height. He can't wait to share the same with Shaurya.

He gritted his teeth and pinched his nose to control himself so as not to show impatience. The man was ready to pay off the bill and there was still no sign of Shaurya.

For a brave minute, he thought of chasing after the man when he left the place. But he sat back down according to the strict instructions Shaurya had implanted into his head.

After a frustrating lapse of time, Shaurya finally came and sat down. He smelled of sweat and the smell of alcohol that could now be recognized.

"You're late. He's gone" he said annoyed.

Shaurya looked up in shock.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"The man who should be here that you want me to keep an eye on, he's gone" he said impatiently.

Shaurya's brows furrowed, "Which man do I ask you to watch out for? I don't remember ever giving such instructions."

"Uff, didn't you tell me to look around me? I did as I was told. I focused on the man sitting there, nervously, clearly waiting for someone. When the other person did not show up, he paid the bill and left," he described the person in detail to him.

"We're out of here," that's all he said in response, which left Mriga deeply disappointed.

Tilting his head to the owner of the place discreetly, he guided Mriga out of the place.

"Ah, she's a real heartbreaker. Although his current avatar was unkempt, even an old heart like mine was pounding at the sight of his appearance. Not that he cares. For all her clandestine activities, she knew nothing in receiving signals from women," she wrote, the pub owner grumbling softly.

She knew that most of the girls working at the place were fascinated by this mysterious regular customer who was always polite and tipped well.

But that's how far he interacts with them. She would not see even a girl, no matter how beautiful she was. Too bad!

They walked back in silence. Mriga was anxious to know if his assessment was correct.

He wanted to ask about the mysterious woman he had seen twice on the same day. He hoped he would be pleased with his observation skills and share some details.

Much to his dissatisfaction, all he did was walk backwards with long strides that he was hard to follow.

By the time they reached back to the store, he felt aggrieved.

"Why don't you go and clean up first? The room in the back, yours. I still have some work to do. So, finish that and sleep in the store later. Lock the room before you go to sleep," she said the instructions as they stood in the store's doorway.

"Why are you taking me tonight?" he asked, no longer able to control his emotions.

Shaurya has been betting on himself on how long Mrignayani can hold back his curiosity. He almost managed to impress her with his patience.

The explanation he gave him that afternoon about his delay in completing the task, had aroused enough of his interest to bet with people his age.

If the teachers in Gurukul found out that he had taken him to the pub, they would probably have a heart attack and give him one as well.

But Shaurya believes that one's true potential can only be measured in real-life situations. There is no simulation that can prepare a person for what is happening in the field.

He would rather take calculated risks by putting his training participants in a less dangerous environment than waste their time and time, by taking them through a cleaned-up exercise.

Mrignayani has exceeded his expectations tonight.

Not only did he control his emotions, he even had the mind to try and read the room.

Although she fell for the distraction Shaurya had made for anyone who might have taken care of her, but it was understandable considering it was her first experience.

The man Mrignayani observed and commented on, had been planted there by Shaurya as a ruse. He had to meet someone from Southern Zilla who was waiting for him upstairs and that was why he did the drunken act.

Meanwhile, the nervous-looking man downstairs has made sure that anyone looking for suspicious activity will focus on him and not on Shaurya.

It seems that Shaurya managed to meet the agent in question from South Zilla, undetected. And he has found a promising talent like Mrignayani.

Overall, the night was a success.

"I'm taking you in because I want to test if you can handle yourself in unusual situations. You will return to your courier activities from tomorrow morning," he answered his question in a monotone tone.

"Tidaaaak.please give me another chance. I promise to do better next time. I'm really very happy with tonight's experience" Mriga grabbed Shaurya's arm impulsively.

Looking at him with cold eyes, he removed his arm from his hand and asked, "Tell me one reason why I should give you a chance and not the other four?"

Mriga's voice trembled with unused emotions, "It doesn't matter whether you give them a chance or not. I'm not competing with them. What I want to promise you is that the next time you take me, I'll do better than tonight, no matter what."

Shaurya saw the determination engraved on his face. It makes for a charming sight. He could not help but stare.

"Manage the store tomorrow afternoon, just like you did today. Get ready with the same clothes and looks before 8 p.m. If you're late, I won't wait for you" he said rudely.

Mriga shouted in excitement and started jumping around excitedly.

Shaurya turned his face away from her quickly so that he did not see the smile that suddenly appeared on his face looking at her excitement.

He stepped out of the shop but waited from a short distance until he heard the sound of a key spinning behind him.

At least he maintained the feeling of securing the door in his current excited state, he thought sourly before walking away.

...----------------...

For four nights in a row, Mriga dated Shaurya. It's a different goal every time.

In every place, he left it on the scene for a short time in order for him to observe his surroundings and try and learn from them.

But he still did not know what purpose Shaurya was to visit these various places besides letting him improve his observation skills.

Last night they had visited the place where they were doing the drama.

Unfortunately, he didn't manage to watch it in the slightest because his job was to look at other customers and gauge if anything looked suspicious or out of place.

Although she reported her findings to him at the end of the trip every night, she had not received any recognition of whether what she observed and concluded was true or not. But he did not dare to question her just in case she did not let him accompany her for the next.

No matter the purpose of tonight's stopover, there are two things Mriga now knows.

First, there is something different about the administrative department and its team. They are not just a courier service. Although he did not have any evidence, he was convinced that this was some sort of covert operations team.

Second, regardless of the purpose of this apprentice, this was the first time in his life Mriga was faced with the real world, a world that existed beyond his existence.

There was an undercurrent of some sort of risk he felt on every trip and that made him very happy. He never imagined himself to be the one who would seek adventure and thrive in it.

He had never met or heard from his apprentice partner. He did not know if they were also given such an opportunity and if so, how they were doing.

He knows that they report to Shaurya every morning at 6 am but the place is no longer the shop. He wondered what time Shaurya managed to sleep.

"He may not be much older than us, maybe a few years. But he seems to be in charge of our apprenticeship and also runs a secret mission. I wonder who he would choose between us to be his successor? There are definitely our seniors from previous years who would choose to intern in the Admin department. Do they also take such training? Did they manage to return to Gurukul's routine after this experience?" with questions filling his neck, he had no idea how long he could hold back his curiosity in front of Shaurya.

That night, he would close the shop as usual before going in to change his clothes and appearance. The place has never been visited by visitors.

Suddenly, someone called out his name.

"Oh my God, I've been looking for you for days now" Yash stood outside the shop.

His face grinned widely and he ran towards her. Both of them reached out their hands to reach the other faster.

At the last minute, Mriga stopped consciously in front of him. He couldn't hug her in front of the entire bazar*.

Lowering his arm, he stretched out his hand to grip tightly.

"Uh. hi. How are you?" he asked timidly.

Yash was never satisfied to see it. He missed her so much in the last few days.

After hearing from Ishani about her apprentice outside Gurukul, she looks for a reason every day to go out and look for him.

It was a difficult task but he had used the market survey which was part of his task as an excuse repeatedly over the past few days.

And finally, he found it. His heart was pumping blood much faster than usual, making him feel dizzy.

He vaguely realized that he had asked her a question.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you were asking for" she said, a shy touch.

With a voice tinged with a smile, he repeated his question.

"I've been working hard, doing chores, trying to concentrate on learning new skills while searching for this precious girl and disappearing for the past few days. I kept thinking about it during this period. Thank God, I finally found her" she said, holding her breath for her reaction to her bold statement.

In the past, he had not managed to utter a word about his true feelings towards her.

But his shy demeanor, a few weeks ago and his absence had made him lose his inhibitions and fear.

Mriga's face turned red because of his statement. He didn't know what to say or where to look.

Apparently, the reaction made Yash happy as he closed the distance between them the next minute.

"Why aren't you ready?" the authoritative voice shattered that intimate moment.

Both Mriga and Yash parted ways in surprise.

Recovering quickly, Yash frowned at the stranger who called Mriga in that familiar way.

Ready to go where??

"I.uh, I'm sorry. I was just about to do it. I won't be long, just give me five minutes" he asked hurriedly.

"Who is this guy, Mriga?" Yash asked harshly.

She is too young to be a teacher but Mriga seems to treat her with respect.

"He is. uh, I.." He can't finish his sentence.

"I'm his friend. I consider you his classmate. Isn't it time you went back to Gurukul?" Shaurya spoke with a lazy sense of confidence.

Mriga looked at him in wonder at his choice of words, but before he could even think of clarifying, Shaurya moved closer to him quickly.

He placed his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it silently as a warning.

......................

*Bazar - Market