The rest of the journey was quite uneventful. This was because the child imposter and I, suddenly felt that silence was a very delightful subject.
Well, in any case, the silence was welcomed.
Now that I knew the truth, I had found myself in an awkward position.
I couldn't treat the child imposter as a child anymore. That would be too humiliating.
Yet, despite my rather strange circumstances, I couldn't help but wonder about what would happen next.
Perhaps, it would soon reach the time for me to face the consequences of my actions?
I peek at the child imposter, noticing a blank expression on his face as he looked out the carriage. He looked, how to say this, tired? Well, I suppose that acting like a child has taken a toll on the man, I know it would on me.
Though, I won't mention this thought to the child imposter's face.
Suddenly, the man turned to meet my gaze. But after a few seconds, he looked away.
I wondered about what the hell he was playing at, but in the end, I kept my mouth shut and didn't ask. After all, I didn't have the power to take responsibility for whatever the man was burdened with.
And so, the journey carried on in silence... That is until I found that my limbs were trembling in overwork. Strangely, I didn't feel anything at all. It was like my mind was energetic, but my body was exhausted.
Subsequently, more time passed, of which I lost count since my body lost its strength and collapsed.
"That took a while." The child imposter said in amazement.
"Thanks for the compliment." I frowned.
I was slightly miffed by the way I was being treated, however, all of this was my fault. I doomed myself to this treatment the moment I implicated myself.
I sigh at my foolishness, before turning to gaze up at the sky.
It was clear and breathtaking, like something out of an impressionist painting. The sight comforted me in my helplessness, proving to me that I wasn't at my rope's end yet.
Unknowingly, I had relaxed and fallen asleep.
×××××
The pitter-pattering of the raindrops reminded me of an autumn night, as the cold enveloped me in shame and loneliness. I hadn't noticed at the time, those fleeting feelings, but I do know that I ran away from them.
I ran so far away that when I looked back, I couldn't see what I was running from anymore. Over time, I thought that I would forget about those feelings. That I would finally be able to cast them aside and let them fade away.
But those feelings didn't fade away, they were just hidden, and when the time was right.
They struck.
When the rain settled, I walked along the wet path and onto a dark place. It was his place —my brother's new home.
I ran away.
×××××
When I awoke, I found myself being shaken by a man with black hair and eyes. It was the first person I met when I was brought into this world.
"Hello, sir? Please wake up, we're here." He said softly.
A knowing smirk formed on the child imposter's face, as he stepped back to get off the carriage, leaving me alone with the man.
"...Thank you."
"Oh," He said awkwardly, turning to avoid my gaze. "Your welcome."
The man studied me quickly before handing me a sack, which was filled to the brim with gold and silver coins. Then he escorted me out of the carriage and to the city gate.
It was there that I found the child imposter, surrounded by a group of guards, talking to the gatekeeper.
"You shouldn't be so reckless next time. You have a promise to keep after all." The child imposter said politely as I passed him.
My heart hardened at the words, at the mockery of me. But instead of showing it, I unwillingly laughed and held back my frown.
"...Thank you for reminding me. Anyhow, I must apologize for my unsightly display earlier," I pause to consider my next words. "If you ever ask me for something, I'll do anything —as long as it's reasonable. Okay?" The words were but a shallow show of gratitude. But they still had to be said, to show that I wasn't insensible.
The child imposter, with a hand to his chest, showed me a benevolent, yet vicious smile on his face. "Thank you, big brother!"
I tried to glean any sort of information from the man's expression, but all I was able to ascertain was that he probably didn't have any good intentions.
With that conversation, I bid my goodbyes then started to talk to the gatekeeper.
At first, he was quite surprised to find out that I was a man. But after calming down, I found that the old man was quite a nice person.
Grabbing an admission form from a stack of papers, the old man presented it to me respectfully. Then, after finding that I understood what was written, I filled in the necessary information. Still, I was shocked that I even knew how to read and write.
My handwriting was terrible though.
Thankfully, the old man didn't seem to mind. So, after I finished filling in the form, I asked him for directions to the Adventurer's Guild.
"Just follow the main path." He stroked the back of his neck. "And then um... You'll see a sign with a sword, a spear, and a shield. That place is the Adventurer's Guild."
When he finished talking, I paid the old man two silvers, one of which was the entrance fee.
"Be careful!" The old gatekeeper cautioned just before I walked away. "Don't go near any dark corners, okay?"
I nodded slightly in agreement, then walked away.
Numbly, I walked along the path. My feet taking me forward by instinct rather than reason. But along the way, I regained some of my composure and asked for directions from various people, just to make sure that the gatekeeper wasn't lying. When I finally arrived at the Adventurer's Guild, I felt tense, but I ignored this feeling and looked at the building's sign.
As I had been told, the sign of the Guild should have the design of a sword, a spear, and a shield. Now, right before me, is that very sign. Taking a moment to catch my breath, I examine the entrance of the Guild, a wooden door, before entering.