A few days passed by and since then Sister Melani got a copy of the house key made for me, and she was happy to hear that I was going to start working as a courier, and as we are having warm noodle soup for dinner, she asks.
"do you need me to buy you some comfortable traveling clothes?"
I answer.
"just a pair of traveling boots, and I'll pay you back once I save up enough coin."
she sighs.
"I really don't like this, you should just stay home and be like other normal kids."
I respond.
"I appreciate that offer, but I really want to attend the academy."
looking defeated because she knows there is no changing my mind, she then said.
"I know, and don't worry about paying me back, I'm your mother, and should let me do nice things for you."
I reply.
"thanks Sister Melina."
hearing me call her that everytime, really gets to her, I look down at my noodle soup.
"sorry, I know you don't like it when I call you that,
but I just been so used to calling Sister Melani, that whole time we knew each other."
she responds.
"I know, it's just I always wanted a child of my own, but I can't."
not wanting to directly ask her why she can't, I ask.
"so adoption is the only option for you?"
she hesitates a little to answer.
"yes."
she sips on a glass of her red wine.
"there is a reason I haven't been married yet and it's not like there were no proper suitors."
I wonder in my thoughts.
"I thought that only female demons suffer from the inability to conceive a child."
I stand up and think.
"Mistress Isabelle suffers from this curse."
I approach her and grab her hand.
"It's okay mom, I think I know what your talking about."
she hugs me and starts crying into my shoulders, I stroke her hair gently, even though I was never any very good at showing my emotions, I understood exactly what she was feeling, due to Mistress Isabelle feeling the same about this.
"go ahead, just let it all out mom."
she pulls away and sniffles with a smile on her face.
"you called me mom twice."
I respond with a straight and serious face.
"yes, well don't get accustomed with me saying that Sister Melani."
she giggles.
"you were always like this, even though your stoic,
you still show compassion for others."
after finishing dinner, I return to my bedroom where Sister Melani, comes in to check on me.
"so are you going to start working after I buy you the traveling boots."
I reply.
"yeah, of course the sooner the better."
she replies.
"alright, well make sure you ask for a day off when I'm off so that we can visit the academy together."
I ask.
"you have them off in the next two days after tomorrow right?"
she nods.
"yeah."
she kisses on the forehead.
"goodnight, my sweet son."
I turn to side facing away from her and grumble.
"goodnight sister Melani."
even though I can't see her, my demon senses is tellingme that she is pouting at me, so I just close my heads and pretend to sleep until she left, I then think to myself.
"I shouldn't have called her mom earlier even if it did put her in a good mood."
I turn on my back and stare at ceiling.
"I hope she doesn't expect me to call her mom just because I did it twice today."
I fall asleep, and then wake up in the middle of a forest, I look around and ask myself.
"where am I?"
I then spot someone in heavy armor walking around sluggishly, dragging their feet and sword through the dirt, feeling a bit curious about what is happening, I get closer so that I can get a good look at them, but I stop, as soon as they stop and begins to munch on the carcass of a dead hell beast, and then suddenly my head starts to pound hard, up to the point where I'm the ground writhing in pain, and then the munching sounds stop.
"shit, whoever they are must have heard me."
I try to keep quiet but the pain increases in my head, and the sounds of my yelping leads them directly to me, and in with a labored and slowed down speech, a familiar male voice said.
"ah now this meal should suffice."
the man with red eyes, looks at me and I said with
shocked expression.
"it's me, when I'm using bloodlust."
he sinks his teeth into my neck and suddenly I wake up gasping for air, Sister Melani looks at me completely worried, hugs me even with my face drenched in sweat.
"what's wrong?"
I answer still trying to catch my breath.
"nothing, I just had a nightmare."
she then wipes off the sweat with a rag, and makes a suggestion.
"maybe you should take the day and wait a couple of days before working."
I reply.
"I'm fine, it's just I haven't had a nightmare this intense before."
she sighs.
"okay, well breakfast is ready for you in the kitchen."
she kisses me on the forehead.
"I've gotta go, I'll see you later."
she points at the wardrobe.
"oh, and there is a little something for you in there,
I went out early in the morning to get it for you."
she then said tossing a key at me.
"I made a copy of the house key for you."
she hurriedly leaves my room.
"good luck today, son."
I open the wardrobe and see that she bought traveling boots for me, I chuckle.
"I wasn't expecting her to get them without me."
I put on some comfortable trousers, a dark gray tunic, and lastly the tan traveling boots Sister Melani got me, I then sit down at the table and finish eating the sandwiches she left for me, I stand up and leave the house.
"I'm going to put in a lot of effort for this job."
I arrive at the courier's office building, and I'm welcomed by Mister Stewart who adjusts his glasses.
"we if it isn't Darius Edwards, I was beginning to believe you wouldn't return."
he looks at my clothing and smiles.
"it looks like someone is ready to start making deliveries."
I reply.
"yes sir."
he gets out from behind the wooden counter, wearing his white and gold blazer suit, and white trousers, and signals me to follow him, and he leads me through an open doorways with a sign that says employees only, he then points at a huge map that is pinned up to a wall, covering almost the whole wall
"even though you'll be getting a copy of the map, I want you to study and memorize the name.of the streets in case of emergencies or when you lose your map."
he grabs a chair and sits me down in front of the map.
"everyday for two weeks I'll sit you in front of the map, so you can study it, and you'll get paid one silver coin for each hour, but you only get two hours to study it, because we'll still be needing you out at the field."
I ask.
"what happens after the two weeks?"
he answers.
"you can keep studying it, but you won't get paid for it."
he leaves me alone with the huge map.
"I'll come get you in two hours, and start you with short distance deliveries, so make sure you study the areas around the office first."
I sigh.
"well I can see why most people don't last long working here, I barely started and I'm already tasked with trying to study and memorize the map of the city."
but I shift my focus on the map.
"this is nothing, when I was a captain under Mistress Isabelle, studying maps and formulating attack plans was a normal thing for me."
after spending two hours studying the areas around courier office, Mister Stewart comes to check in on me holding a courier bad in one hand and an envelope on the other.
"you ready to start delivering son?"
I nod feeling confident.
"yeah I believe so."
he gives me the courier bag.
"I hand picked the fifteen easiest parcels, each delivery is worth one silver coin."
he then gives me the envelope, after I put the courier bag on my shoulder.
"in there is your courier card, and the map of the city."
he places his hand on my shoulder.
"don't push yourself too hard today, these deliveries are all very close to each other and there is no urgency to them."
I reply.
"Don't worry Mister Edwards I've got this."
he then said.
"oh, before I forget, make sure you knock on the door a few times and if no one answers just place the parcels in their mailbox."
I nod.
"understood."
after leaving the office, I reach into the bag and take out a Parcel, I look at the information and then already recognize the street name.
"it should take me fifteen to twenty minutes to deliver this."
while I make my way towards the first delivery, I think back to the nightmare I had earlier.
"the bloodlust was calling to me, I was wondering when it would start since it never called to me while I was at Mistress Isabelle's castle."
every Demon and Demon-Human feels the call of the bloodlust at least once during their nightmares and if it gets ignored the nightmares worsen until it unleashes itself and terrorizes everything around it.
"I'll have to do it, outside of the city and find
a random animal to feast on or I'll risk exposing the existence of Demon-Humans."
I walk to first house and knock on the door a few times, but no one answers, so then I do what Mister Edwards instructed me when I get no answer and leave the parcel in the mailbox.
"well that is one down."
I grab the next parcel and look at the map.
"he deliberately chose all deliveries close to one another."
I sigh.
"I'll just keep on doing these until he feels that I can do deliveries that pay a little more."
I continue my day delivering more parcels, and meeting a few of the recipients who were not so friendly with seeing that a dark skinned person like me was delivering their parcels, but I didn't let them deter me from doing my job and on my last delivery, I notice a familiar name.
"Daniel Goodman."
I take moment to think and then I realize.
"I kill this man and his squad in the future."
I sigh.
"well this should be interesting, since I only remember opponents that gave me a hard time."
I walk up to the front of the house and take a couple of deep breaths to compose myself.
"don't get worked up, it's just a delivery."
I knock on the door and a young man with wavy black hair and light brown eyes, answers the door.
"hello? how can I help you kid?
the memory of me pointing my sword at his neck as he shouts even when defeated pops up in my mind for a split second
"someone will beat you vile demon!"
I snap back and answer.
"I've got a parcel for you sir."
he chuckles.
"sir? I barely just graduated from the academy and turned eighteen."
he grabs the parcel and said.
"oh it's probably from my mother."
he pats on the shoulder.
"thank you kid."
I reply.
"just doing my job."
I then make my way back to office thinking to myself.
"today wasn't too bad, but I guess I'll have to wait and see."
I enter the office and spot other couriers who seem to be collecting their payment from Mister Stewart, after they all get a small coin pouch from him, he calls me over.
"Darius my boy."
I approach the counter and he asks.
"got them all delivered."
I nod.
"yes sir."
he replies.
"good job kid."
I then ask.
"is there a way you can tell, if the deliveries are made?"
he smiles.
"yes, but it is a secret that is only given to managers."
he hands me a small coin pouch.
"there you go kid, seventeen silver coins, now go take the day off and I'll have you do more deliveries tomorrow."
I reply.
"I must apologize sir, but tomorrow I've got plans with my mother, I'll return the day after."
he sighs.
"alright kid, I'll hold you to your word."
I return home to do house chores and once Sister Melani came home, I showed her the coin I earned, and even though it wasn't much, I could tell how proud she was of me.