~10 days after~
The wind came out of nowhere and blew the curtains slightly. Sunlight seeps in the gap between the curtain and lands on a certain crib as it lighted up half of the body of the baby.
*creaking* (closing the door)
'Fufufu... so, my time has come huh'
The baby smiled creepily as it talked like a 3rd rate villain in his mind as he placed his hand near his face and covered half of it.
'So weird... never gonna do that again' he said as he noticed how weird it is to say with his mind. He brought his hand down.
Even though he didn't talk, he can hear his voice inside his head. He can talk but decided to not talk for now.
'Being cautious was definitely better than an idiot who can only think to get the opportunity before his eyes without thinking how dangerous it would be...' he agreed on himself at what he thought.
He shook his head disappointedly at those people. But he didn't think much about those idiots.
'Victor has finally left for work!' After being checked up over and over again for the whole 10 days, Arledge never had a chance to act like himself.
Victor was like his kid because he always seems happy when he saw him even after a long exhausting hour of work.
For ten days, Arledge act like a baby even though embarrassing for someone his original age, but still endured it for a better future.
He originally planned to get the newspaper after drinking the strengthening potion but because he was discovered, he never had a chance.
After that incident, Arledge decided to be more cautious about his surroundings. Since he reincarnated, he had always wanted to know about this world knowing but it is a magical world where everything is possible. Here, there are more dangers than treasures.
'I needed to be more cautious and also need knowledge...' he thought.
He doesn't know the dangers but he can get information from the newspaper if available.
After Victor left, Arledge was now the only one in the room. Now that he has the room by himself, he can act like a hidden boss.
He started acting as a 3rd rate villain again.
He has always wanted to do this kind of anime thing when he was reincarnated someday. But now that he is truly reincarnated, he can do what he wants but not all, for now.
'The day has finally come!... This hidden boss baby has finally learned to stand!... He will descend on the bed to get that newspaper and dominate this certain room!... As my power shall be known to all things within the room! And all shall bow before me!' He laughed at the cheesy lines said in his thoughts.
'Operation: get that newspaper shall now begin!' he added.
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Background music ๐ถ:
Mission Impossible Theme Song ๐ถ
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He started standing on the mattress slowly to be dramatic then suddenly shot his head ahead while motioning his eyes to left and right as he observe his surroundings.
He tiptoed to the corner of the crib slowly.
*creak*
'First task: Unlocked latch door half complete!' he thought.
Seeing that the crib creaked slightly, he controlled his body to be more light and continued to tiptoe his way to the corner.
After achieving his first task, he bent his knees and brought his ear to the pillar to check the passcode. There's really no passcode needed he just imagine him as being Arledge Bond.
He crossed his hands in between two pillars while reaching the latch bolt screwed in the pillar.
*click*
'Okay, that's enough roleplaying. I need to be fast' he thought as he started tiptoeing to the other corner to unlock the latch bolt.
Although he wanted to act like an agent for more, the situation was not the best situation to act.
He bent slightly to reach the latch bolt and of course, before unlocking it, he held the side rail cause if he did not it will fall immediately after unlocking the last bolt.
*click*
'Finally, I can walk out of this hell crib...' he thought irritably. Since when he reincarnated, the only time that he got out of this crib was either sunbathing in the morning, sleeping beside Victor, though he don't want to do that, and strolling around the orphanage.
He slowly let go of the side rail off his hands. He made sure that it will not make a sound as it goes down.
*thud*
He successfully landed the side rail on the bed!
He decided to crawl to cross the side rail as standing was not a good option.
'What if I lost balance then they hear me? That was definitely a no-no...'
He bent his and laid it on the mattress. Now that he's in all fours he can crawl his way to the bed.
'Ten-ten-ten ten-te-nen ten-ten-ten... tininiw tininiw tininiw... tiniw' he sang the melody of mission impossible theme song as he crawl.
What he felt in his way was way different from what he imagined. He imagines himself on the of the building as he walks on a tightrope to get to the other building.
He also wanted to do a finger gun but can't do it as his hands were both occupied by holding a pillar.
After crawling, he decided to roll on the bed then shot his head immediately then do a finger gun with his hands.
Even though a risky move as it will make the bed creak, he still does it just because he's feeling himself.
'Secret Agent Arledge Bond 069 on its way!' he shouted on top of his lungs in his mind while physically his hands were in his ears like someone talking to his phone. Although a bit crazy if someone saw him doing that without saying anything.
'Okay, that's enough for now. let's get the newspaper first...'
Then started crawling to the other side of the side where the table is placed.
'Hope they do not notice anything...' Arledge crawled as he crossed his fingers.
He arrived at the edge of the bed and was in front of the table. There he saw a newspaper, a new one at that.
Every day, except for the 10th day, Victor will receive a newspaper by the door. He didn't know how can he get a newspaper every day at the same time but it didn't matter. What matters now is the newspaper.
Without further ado, he reached his hand out to pick up the unblemished newspaper on the table. He didn't know why but somehow his instinct say that all he ask would be answered by this paper.
Now that the newspaper is in his hands, he slowly opens it as well as his eyes. It was imaginary to some people but for him, a light was coming out of the newspaper as he open it.
The newspaper was now completely open as well as his eyes. His eyes went wide as he saw what was the content of the newspaper.
'What the hell is this sticks!' he exclaimed in his mind.
Yeah, what he saw was not the English alphabet like he thought earlier. What he saw is sticks, a conjoint of sticks to be exact.
He flipped over a page per page but all things were written by sticks. What he can only understand was the numbers and pictures posted in the newspaper.
He didn't learn the writing system of the world because Victor didn't read 'The Legend of Karpas' where he can see him reading per word.
But he can still get something from this newspaper by the numbers and pictures.
There was a large font which written 'แจแฑแแฑแ แพแแนแ แแแแแ' (Arbre News-Times) on the front page of the newspaper.
'I didn't know what that means but seems like a headline or the company of the newspaper based on how large the front is...' he thought about what he had observed.
Below the large fonts were numbers, the only written that he can understand. It says 'แแแแจ 41, 1024'
'It seems a date of published of the newspaper...' He didn't know what the first word means but he can tell the numbers.
'41, 1024... 41 days and year 1024? the days are so long?...' he didn't know if his guess was right but at least he tried to decipher it.
He didn't delve into the numbers anymore and focused his attention on the pictures.
He can only see people, accidents in an area, or places that he didn't even know he made sure to remember it as all things pasted on the newspaper are valuable. But all that did not interest him, what intrigues him was the wanted order of a girl.
'She seems familiar...' he didn't know why she seems familiar.
'I don't think that someone I know from the previous world is reincarnated here too, right?...' he thought.
'While it was possible, it is more likely that it someone I knew in this world...' he thought of the girls he met as a baby.
'Anna...' he thought but he shook his head like the girl in the picture was different from Anna in many ways.
'Seems like I can't get any information when I still haven't learned the writing system of this world...' he thought dejectedly as he remember the things he had done to be able to get the newspaper.
He brought back the newspaper in its exact placement from his memory. He reached his hand to open the drawer of the table to see if there are thing valuable in it.
But why he only saw was clothes. He thought he was definitely going to get something in value but the disappointment was what he gets.
'Why the f*ck no opportunities comes after me? Am I not the protagonists?' he thought.