The sweet scent of Amoreviolas. It seemed to follow Paley everywhere. Even in his sleep.
He rubbed his eyes open and sat up. There were five of the purple flowers littered around him. 'I gotta look into that,' He thought.
He stood up and stretched. Normally, he'd wake up at around six or seven in the morning, but today, he woke up at nine. Just when everyone else got up. Yesterday, Madella told the orphans that they would be going to school starting next week.
Paley was unusually excited. Instead of having to steal books, actual mages would be teaching him. There was one problem, however. Madella told him to choose one element to practice in school because a commoner being a Quimnia would cause an uproar.
He walked to the cottage, where Madella was preparing to make breakfast.
"You're late, Paley. I was about to start without you," She said and pulled out a new frying pan that she bought while the boys were camping.
"Sorry, what're we cooking today?" Paley asked, rolled up his sleeves, and washed his hands.
"I bought some high-quality bread and a bunch of these eggs, so I was thinking we should make scrambled eggs on bread." She put the pan on the stove - a metal counter, and Paley lit a fire in the box under it.
Madella gave Paley two eggs and kept two for herself. They cracked the eggs and dropped the yolk into a bowl. Paley mixed them with air magic while Madella spread a bit of butter onto the pan.
"Check this out. This is a tier II flavor cube." Madella pulled out a white, sparkly block about the size of a marble.
"How'd you get a tier II?" Paley asked as he carefully poured the beaten egg yolk onto the pan.
"There's a more expensive shopping district near the Lord's manor. We have a bunch of money to spend now thanks to you, so I went there to buy a bunch of goods." She smiled and proudly ruffled his hair.
She took a wooden spoon and started scrambling the eggs carefully. Then, she took a salt shaker and handed Paley a pepper mill. They seasoned the eggs in synchrony, sprinkled dill and chives onto the cooling product.
Paley took the scrambled eggs out of the pan with air magic and split them into two large parts before putting them onto plates.
"Now we do it three more times." Madella grinned, and they prepared the next batch. By the time they finished making breakfast, Amasha and Reben were already at the table. They placed the scrambled eggs on the table and called the rest of the orphans down to eat.
After they all finished eating, Paley prepared to go to the city with Teerom to find a job for him. He didn't take anything with him, but Teerom took a small notepad and his tools.
They left the orphanage at around ten, planning to eat lunch at a restaurant and come back in the afternoon. While they walked, Paley noticed that Teerom was jittering.
"You nervous?" He asked.
"A bit."
"Try taking deep breaths." Teerom listened to Paley and found that it relaxed him.
"Thanks,"
"Don't mention it." Paley sighed, "You know we would've been there by now if we just flew, right?" When they left the orphanage, Teerom refused Paley's offer to fly them to the city due to his fear of heights.
"T-This is part of the journey. It'll feel better when we get there because we took the time to walk," Teerom excused.
"Sure," Paley said sarcastically as they exited the first town and got on the road leading to the city. He also began rubbing laze powder on his face to conceal his identity.
Once they reached the main gate, Paley held up the pass that Madella gave him. She was given a pass by the school where she admitted the orphans. It allowed for them to enter and leave the city, but they didn't count as residents.
The guards nodded and let them pass through.
"Alright, where do we start looking?" Teerom asked.
"We should ask around. Pick someone who looks friendly," Paley replied. Teerom scanned the area and found a young woman carrying a box full of flowers. "Her," He walked over to her without getting Paley's approval.
"Wait- Why would you pick someone who's in the middle of working?" Paley mumbled to himself and followed Teerom to the woman.
"Excuse me, do you know where I can get a job?" Teerom asked politely.
"Buzz off," She was clearly in a bad mood, tasked with having to carry around a heavy box of white flowers like Hydrangea and Tulips.
"I just want to know where I can-"
"Can't you see I'm doing something?" She interrupted him, "I don't get paid enough for this shit." She mumbled.
"If I help you carry those, will you tell him?" Paley stepped forth.
"How are *you* gonna carry this, Twiglet? With your arms?" (Twiglet is an insult directed at skinny people) The woman sneered.
"I don't need my arms." Paley lifted the box with air magic.
"You can use this level of magic, Twiglet?" The woman stepped back in surprise. Though he was using a simple spell by mage standards, he was still a twelve-year-old producing enough force with air magic to lift a heavy box.
"Of course. So what do you say?"
"Sure, I'll tell you. Just go to the town hall. The second floor is the place you look for a job." She explained.
"Where's the town hall?" Teerom asked.
"Towards the east. It's down the street from the brothel. Expect to spend a lot of time waiting for anyone there. The dirty pigs placed the brothel there for a reason."
"Okay, thanks. But where's the b-brothel?" He whispered 'brothel' to preserve his innocence.
"Ask any fatass on the street and they'll gladly lead you to it," She replied.
"Understood,"
"You, Twiglet. Why don't you help me with the rest of the boxes? I'll pay you a cut of my wage." The woman turned to Paley.
"Sure, why not? See you at the town hall then, Teerom?"
"See you there." Teerom left Paley, who followed the woman while carrying her boxes. They walked for about ten minutes before arriving at a wedding venue out in the open. He only saw two other boxes of flowers and realized he was going to have to carry many more.
There were five other people there working on polishing up the venue and ordering the seats.
"Come on, we have fifteen more boxes to bring." The woman started to walk to her house, where she had been keeping the flowers. Paley followed beside her to a two-story house squashed by the houses beside it.
"Thanks, Twiglet. I feel bad for making a kid work for me. Especially one as fragile-looking as you," She said as he picked up the other boxes with air magic.
Paley noticed that she had a ring on her finger. He wasn't going to comment on it until he saw the small amounts of bruising on her neck that she had tried to hide with her dress collar.
"Why're you working in the first place? Where's your husband? And by the way, my name's Paley." he followed her again back to the wedding venue.
"Great name." She paused hesitantly, then sighed, "My husband... What can I do, huh? I didn't realize that every man turned into a drunkard bound to the sofa. If I knew that, I woulda never married him." She sighed again.
"Hm. I'm a guy, but I understand. You women have it tough. Most of us expect you to do whatever you're asked to do for our pleasure." Paley looked back at her house, memorizing the path back.
"It's not most. It's ninety-nine percent of you. I mean, is it genetic or something?" She joked, "You're a good kid. I like you. I'm proud to say you're part of the one percent!" She grinned. It was a fake grin. Behind it, Paley could see the neglect and abuse that her drunk husband probably inflicted on her.
"And you're a part of the ninety-nine percent," Paley replied.
"Of men?"
"Of women." He smiled. His was fake too; he was just going along with her jokes. They arrived at the wedding venue and Paley set the boxes down.
"That's all. I'll do the rest from here. Thank you, Paley." She handed him twenty silver coins. Enough to buy a week's worth of bread.
"You keep it. Consider it a service on the ninety-nine percent's behalf." Paley put the coins back into her hand and left.
"Are you sure?" She called out to him.
"I'm sure," he answered and disappeared into the streets. The streets that led to her house.
Teerom finally found the town hall after twenty minutes of searching. It was a large building with walls made of smooth grey bricks and polished wood. The windows were arches embedded deep into the wall like most other buildings in Gouon.
The town hall had four flours. The top two were for the higher class and the bottom two for the commoners. Teerom walked in and was taken aback by a cool breeze accompanied by the scent of melting wax.
The interior was made of honey-colored wood surfaces and soft marble for the tabletops where the advisors sat, painting the ambience with the soft murmurs they exchanged with their clients.
"Excuse me," he approached a girl wearing a suit and glasses, holding a clipboard, "Ahem, do you know where I can apply for a job?"
"Second floor." She lingered with him awkwardly for a moment, expecting him to say more.
"O-Oh, thanks." Teerom saw a man walking towards glass doors that led into a small cylindrical room inside the wall.
He followed the man into the room, hoping that it was an elevator. Luckily, it was, and the man requested the elevator to take him to the second floor too.
"You looking for a job too?" Teerom asked, trying to make conversation as wind magic began to lift the elevator. The man looked back at him and made it very clear with his expression that he wasn't interested in chit chat.
"Right," Teerom awkwardly looked around. The elevator ride seemed to last for an eternity before they finally arrived at the second floor. It was similar to the ground floor, but the tables where you speak to employers were built into the walls, separated by columns of old oak.
Teerom looked around and found a free table, except an old advisor woman was sleeping on it. He looked around, double-checking the room for any free tables. There were none, so he sighed and approached her.
"H-Hello," He greeted. She woke up at a snail's pace and stretched her cranky bones. Teerom watched her squint at him and then search the table for something. He assumed she was searching for the glasses right in front of her and gave them to her.
"Thank you. What do you want?" She immediately became twenty years younger after wearing the glasses. Her posture and skin improved, and her voice wasn't that of a grumpy old woman.
"I'm looking for a job," Teerom answered.
"What field?" She pulled out a notebook from under the desk and flipped through it.
"Field? Building stuff, I think?" Teerom looked around nervously. She flipped through the pages and stopped at a section for builders. Two stones with glowing white inscriptions on them hung on the side. They read 'Scan' and 'Paste'.
She grabbed the 'Scan' stone and waved it over the page. Then, she took the 'Paste' stone and pressed them together before pulling out a sheet of paper. Teerom watched with intrigue as she placed the 'Paste' stone on the paper and letters began to appear on it.
Those stones copied the entire page of builder workplaces and pasted them on the piece of paper.
"Builders aren't quick employment jobs, so you'll have to find them yourself and apply. Good luck," She explained as she hung the stones again.
"Thank you," Teerom began to take out some money, "How much do I need to pay?" He showed her two gold coins and five silver coins, but she was already fast asleep. He just left the money there and left. Town hall advisors' services are free; they're paid for by taxes.
There was no one to follow into the elevator, but he said 'Ground floor' and it was slowly blown down by air magic. 'I gotta tell Paley about those stones.' He thought to himself as he reached the ground floor.
The woman who Paley helped lived with a drunkard husband. At the moment, he was sleeping on the sofa while holding an empty bottle of cheap beer. All he did was eat, sleep, and drink both at home and at bars with his pals.
Last night he'd come back drunk to shout at his wife, slap her, and then drift in and out of sleep on the couch for around fifteen hours. Paley entered the house through the second floor's window, which led to their bedroom.
He smelled something familiar - blood -, finding dried splatters on the rough wood floors. The house was in a terrible state. Most of the walls had to be repainted since two generations of owners, and there was a putrid smell coming from downstairs.
He made his way down the creaky stairs to find the obese husband lying on the sofa. The putrid smell now made sense to him. He'd shit himself in his sleep.
"Disgusting," Paley muttered and approached him. He felt the desire to hurt the man but suppressed it after remembering Madella's constant virtues to never hurt anyone.
"Wake up," He produced a sharp icicle and pressed it against his neck. The man awoke and immediately panicked, screaming and kicking in a haze. Paley bound him with earth ropes and pressed them around him tightly.
The man looked at Paley. The laze powder was still in effect so he didn't see Paley's natural piercing stare. He tried to speak through the Earth bindings but only managed to drool all over himself. Paley sneered, feeling repulsed, and unbound his mouth.
"Who are you!?" The man exclaimed and Paley immediately had to silence him with another icicle threat.
"Don't scream, or I'll hurt you. Do you know what a curse is?" Paley said as he pushed the icicle into his skin slowly.
"Yes..." The man tried to hold back a scream.
"You've been cursed... With me. I will always haunt you every waking moment. Every time you take another, I will be there. Do you know why?" He didn't notice that he was drawing blood with the icicle. And that his eyes were wide with appetite.
"W-Why?" The man whimpered.
"Men who treat their wives horridly. Men who drink themselves until they are fat and worthless. They are cursed to be killed by me. If you don't want to lose your life. Treat your wife with respect and care. You have no idea how lucky you are because she has been putting up with you this whole time. Start working. And stop drinking so much." Paley withdrew the icicle and flicked the blood away before letting it melt.
His eyes returned to normal and he stared at the man, panting. 'Crap, this was a bad idea.' He realized that he'd acted completely on impulse.
"I'm sorry!" The man fell to his knees, "I'll change. I promise. Just don't kill me." He held Paley's feet and begged.
"Huh?" Paley was surprised his irrational actions had worked, "Get rid of all the alcohol in this house. Clean up the place. And go apologize to her." He ordered and kicked the man off his feet before swiftly getting out of the house.
Luckily, the man was still slightly drunk, so he thought that Paley disappeared like a ghost would. He stood up and started to gather up all the bottles he had.
Paley walked along the street, proud of himself. He made sure that no one was around and flew up to get to the town hall.
It took him ten minutes to get there. Teerom was waiting for him outside with the piece of paper listing all the Builder workplaces in the city. There were twelve in total, two of which he couldn't apply to without having special education.
"Hey, sorry for the delay." Paley flew down to him discreetly.
"It's fine. Check it out. These are the workplaces in the city." Teerom showed Paley the list.
"Why are these two crossed out?" He pointed to the ones requiring special education.
"They need people who went to school. Specifically in the Building Path." Teerom explained. 'Paths' are the educational route that someone takes.
"I see, let's get going then."
"Let's go,"