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Before I could have noticed it, night arrived. It was so dark that I barely managed to see my surroundings.
'It's already this late? Damn… I don't know what hour is it but I'm probably late for curfew.'
Feeling worried about my current situation, I hid the sword in the same tree I got it from and started to return to the church. The forest was, almost, pitch black and eerie sounds could be heard.
― Hoo Hoo…
'Sh*t. To make matters worse, there is even an owl here…'
Not being able to identify the current time was a big problem for me. Because of that, I hurried my steps so I could get out of the forest faster. It is, definitely, not because I was afraid or something like that.
Upon arriving in the church, I could see that everything was dark except for some magic lamps, that were inside the church's wall. I moved instantly to the backdoor, to avoid bothering the others. However, when I opened the door, I was greeted by an angry nun.
"Siegfried Sarasti! Where in the world have you been?!"
Sister Amelia had a worried face, but her eyes burned with fury and anger. Amelia was known to be harsh towards others but seeing her angry was a rare sight. To tell the truth, I did my best to never be the target of her fury, but, unfortunately, that would not be possible now.
"… Good evening Sister Amelia. I was doing some exercises but lost track of time."
I answered with a low voice, so I wouldn't instigate her fury even more.
"Do you know how much time I and Natalie waited for you? Can you grasp how worried we were?!"
Next to Amelia was the sleeping Natalie. She was sleeping leaned on the table while sitting in a chair. I felt a little happy, seeing that these two were worried about me, but I was also sad that I made them worry in the first place.
"… I'm sorry Sister Amelia, it wasn't my intention to make you two worry. I just wanted to go out and do some light exercises, but I got so engaged in them that I forgot to check the time."
I didn't want to tell them about the sword I found and my training regime. So I omitted these parts and told them a half-truth.
"Light exercises?! Light exercise wouldn't take the whole day…! Argh!"
She was so angry that the only thing I could do was to look down at the ground.
"You know what? Forget it. I don't want to know. Go take a bath and sleep. You reek of sweat."
Sister Amelia said that while taking Sister Natalie to their room. I had a bitter face as I watched them leave, but right after that, I started to head to the bathrooms. Just before I opened the door, Sister Amelia called me and spoke.
"Sieg, don't make too much noise. It is already 11:00 PM."
This world had watches and time worked just like on Earth. I had my suspicion that someone reincarnated and introduced them to the world. However, they were so expensive that only noble families or rich merchants could buy them. The church only had one because a rich believer donated it.
'Don't make too much noise? Heh. As if you were quiet while shouting at me. Hehe.'
I found her comment funny since she was yelling at me a moment ago, but I returned a normal answer.
"Okay, Sister. I will be careful."
With that, I entered the bathroom and started to take off my clothes. They were dirty and wet from sweat. The bandages around my left arm and hand were extremely disgusting, so I threw them away without second thoughts.
*
After a 30 minutes long bath, I left the bathroom with only my trousers and the shirt on my shoulders. Upon arriving in my room, I could see in a mirror my body. Even though I was only 7-years-old I could see that my body was chiseled and had tiny, but strong muscles. My hair, which reached my shoulders, was tied behind my head by a small ponytail and my birthmarks were very eye-catching.
I approached the mirror and looked at my eyes.
"They really are unique eh? Others must be envious of them…"
I said to myself, jokingly, and right after put on my shirt and jumped to bed. The moment my head touched the pillow, my body felt heavy and I could feel my eyes closing slowly.
I fell asleep faster than a drunkard after drinking an entire pub.
*
…
…
I started to open my eyes and 'search' the world around me. I was in my room, which was mostly dark but had a few rays of light that were coming from the window, covered by a curtain that possessed some holes.
"Huaamm…"
'Is it morning already?...'
With a sleepy mind and a tired body, I forced myself to wake up and headed straight to the bathroom. Upon reaching the bathroom, I did my necessities and brushed my teeth.
'Good thing that this world is already accustomed to daily necessities like taking a bath and brushing teeth.'
After I left the bathroom, I went straight to one of the donation boxes, picked one alongside my breakfast, and prepared to leave. Then, I was greeted by Sister Natalie, which was full of life, at the front door of the church.
"Good morning, Sieg! Have a good day and get lots of donations! But don't overwork yourself ok?"
'Heh. Natalie is happy, as always. I wonder where she takes all that happiness from.'
"Good morning, Sister Natalie. Don't worry, I won't."
As I was leaving the church, I remembered something crucial.
'Oh, right! I can't forget about my left arm.'
I looked at my left arm and saw that I forgot to wrap it in bandages. I returned to my room, quickly wrapped my arm and hand, and departed from the church.
*
Taking my usual path to the central plaza, I started to approach the flower shop of granny Sophia, which was deprived of life.
She was sweeping the floor with a sad and tired face, her usual 'granny feeling' could not be seen anywhere. I decided to approach her and spoke.
"Good morning, granny Sophia."
Upon hearing my voice she looked at me, with dead eyes, and returned my greeting.
"… Good morning, boy."
Her uninterest made me feel bad inside. She didn't call me 'Sieg' like always and I could see in her face that she didn't want to talk.
'She is probably having a bad day already, so I will say a brief goodbye and stop bothering her.'
I thought that and immediately bowed, slightly, to her and said my goodbyes.
It was then.
― Sieg… Sieg… Siegfried…
A strange and sinister voice appeared, out of nowhere, and started to call my name.
I hurriedly looked behind me, but there was nothing there, only granny Sophia sweeping the floor.
'… Did I imagine it?'
I turned back and started walking again, in the direction of the central plaza. However, the voice returned and started to speak to me again, while I was walking to my destination.
― Sieg… Sieg… I can help you… I can make you feel better… Let me help you…
The sinister voice started to annoy me as I was thinking about what could it be. But then, when I reached the central plaza of the city, it disappeared completely.
'The heck?'
I was a little surprised by its sudden disappearance but decided that it was for the best.
'It must have been an elemental or a pixie trying to play a prank against me.'
This world called Zephyr had 'supernatural' intelligent beings like Pixies, Elementals, Ghosts, Demons, etc. They were known to be very mischievous and liked to play pranks on others.
'Anyways, I should start looking for any possible donator.'
With that thought, I started to move around the plaza in search of donations. Like any normal day, some denied me politely while others didn't even bat me an eye. While still looking around, someone stopped me with a silver coin in hand and started to speak.
"Hey there, kid. I'm new to this city so I'm a little lost. Can you tell me how to reach the upper part of the city?"
It was a stupid question, even if you were new to the city. The city of Gliphia had a certain 'inclination', so it was easy to differentiate the lower, central, and upper parts of the city. Because of that, it was possible to find your way to the upper part of the city without any guidance. However, what caught my attention more was the appearance of the person that asked the question.
In front of me was a beautiful woman with long, pink hair and a face that seemed to be sculpted by a famous artisan. Her eyes were silver and her skin was milky white. She was wearing a cloak over her body, but the fragrance she was emanating was very pleasant.
I was astonished by her beauty that could only be seen in pure-blooded elves, but the fact that she was human was surprising.
"… Hello? Kid? Are you still there?"
She started to wave her hand in front of me with a face full of interest. I was standing still, only looking at her and saying nothing.
"Uh? What? Oh, right. If you take that path and follow it straight, you will end up finding yourself in front of a gate with some guards. They will, probably, open the gates to the upper part of the city for you."
The moment I answered, I could see that her facial expression changed from interested to serious. She was now looking at me with fierce eyes as if trying to find 'something' inside me.
'… Is she interested in my eyes?'
Her stare was intense, so I could not help but think that. I was ready to excuse myself, but then, she immediately changed her facial expression to a happy face and spoke.
"Is that so? Thanks, kid!"
She put the silver coin inside the box and left.
She was an interesting and mysterious person, but I only had one thought in my mind.
'Hehe. Another silver coin! Sister Natalie and Sister Amelia will be very happy… Wait. They won't think that I stole it... right?'
As I was having this complicated thought, someone started to shout in front of a fountain.
― Everyone, I would like to have the attention of everyone! By the orders of the Emperor, fair ladies and steadfast gentlemen are cordially invited to a ball that will happen Friday of next week, on the Imperial Palace!
Luckily, this world worked in a 'similar' way to Earth. The passage of time was counted and referred to, just like my previous life. There were 12 months, 4 seasons, and 7 days a week, exactly how I knew them. I couldn't prove my theory with the clock, but I was certain that this specific 'passage of time' was caused by someone who reincarnated.
― The ball will be in honor of the, recently born, new star of the Siberia Empire! Princess Jeanette Pendragon! Presents and offerings to the princess will be handled by the court magicians and knights, on the day of the ball!
The guy speaking was, clearly, an official of the empire, since he was wearing clothes possessing the imperial family symbol and was guarded by knights, heavily armed.
'He must have used a magic scroll to pass the message since he had such a clear and loud voice.'
After hearing the message, I returned to my 'donation asking task' until lunch hour arrived.
*
'1 silver coin and 6 copper coins… The silver coin was nice, but the amount I managed to get today is not good.'
I was returning to the church, with the donation box in my hands, when I stopped and looked to my left. There, I saw Sophia's flower shop empty. The other stores around it had a few clients, but only her shop was empty. Granny Sophia couldn't be seen anywhere as well.
I could feel my heart sinking and my mind started to feel heavy because of the situation.
'I wish I could help her somehow, but there is nothing I can do right now…'
With a single and sad thought, I continued to walk again through the streets. Then, suddenly, the sinister voice from the morning came back and started to speak to me again.
―Sieg… I can help you… I can give you the power to help the one's you want…'
'Goddamnit, the voice appeared again! This must be a stray pixie, only them are persistent to this level!'
I started to curse inside my mind and accused the voice to belong to a Pixie. It couldn't be a Demon because they only had their eyes set to 'important' and talented people, and only a Pixie could be this annoying.
― Accept me… Follow me and accept my power… Siegfried…
Enraged by the annoying voice I blurted out.
"If you don't stop annoying me, I will make sure to beat you up!"
It was then.
The voice disappeared and I started to receive the glares of the people that were also walking on the street. Some started to avoid me while others glared even harder at me as if I was unpleasant or something.
'Damnit, it really was a Pixie!'
Feeling embarrassed that I fell to the Pixie's trap, I started to increase my pace towards the church. Arriving there, I delivered the donation box to Sister Amelia and spent a few minutes explaining that I didn't steal the silver coin.
After eating lunch, I proceeded to my normal schedule of training in the forest to 6:00 PM, helped inside the church with whatever I could, and finally went to sleep.
*
The next morning arrived but it was silent and morbid inside the church. I didn't go do my usual 'donation asking', but instead, I was helping to prepare a ceremonial altar for a priestess to speak. It wasn't a normal day.
'Sigh… I didn't expect something like this today. No… I didn't expect something like this at all.'
In front of the altar was a coffin surrounded by white flowers. The purpose of the ceremony was to ask the Goddess of Light and Justice, Lumine, to guide the deceased soul to peace.
'I have a defined goal in mind and that is why I train, but I forgot that the world is full of unpredictable dangers. I have been too lax… I need to stay more alert…'
After all the arrangements, the ceremony began and everyone present was holding a candle, including me. It was a religious way of sending the dead off.
The main religion of the empire, and probably most of the world, was called the Church of Light. I was surprised when I saw that it was very similar to the Catholic religion, of my previous life. However, I came to understand that the Church of Light was a plagiarized version of the Catholic one.
After a small speech from the priestess, a group of people in funeral attire approached the coffin. They were all holding a white flower and wearing black clothes.
"??"
When I saw the group, I started to remember their faces. That was the case because they were people that gave me donations when I asked.
'I know them… They were the group of adventurers that gave me the silver coin. But… where is the elf lady?'
The group was paying their respects towards the coffin while trying to hold their tears.
'Don't tell me…'
After coming to a conclusion, I stopped thinking for a few seconds and paid my respects with a serious face. Everyone around had a sad face, but I was mostly apathetic. I didn't feel bad nor sad because of the death of the elf lady.
'Is it because I don't know her? Or that I don't feel "anything" toward strangers?'
It was then.
A shiver went through my back and I could feel someone glaring at me. The moment I started turning my head around, to see who was glaring at me, I saw her.
The beautiful woman with pink hair and a chiseled face. She was inside the church leaning her back in a pillar and glaring at me. Her silver eyes were sharp like a knife and menacing like a tiger looking at its prey.
The moment my eyes met with hers, a staring contest started.
"…"
"…"
We looked at each other for some time, but none of us seemed to want to do anything.
The ceremony was coming to an end and I started to think.
'… Why is she glaring at me so fiercely?'