Chereads / A Rat’s Second Chance (Old) / Chapter 43 - A Rat in Disguise

Chapter 43 - A Rat in Disguise

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

It was a pleasant afternoon, and all the monsters and demons inside the Adventurers' Guild were talking, laughing, and drinking. A skinny, cloaked man wrapped in bandages made his way down the crowded, dirty streets. He took every step with caution, feeling as if he was about to fall over. He approached the double wooden doors of the Adventurers' Guild and opened them. A few interested eyes wandered to the man.

The eyes' gazes naturally traveled to his face, but it was covered in a mask, except for one eye. The singular eye had a yellow iris, and a small slit for a pupil. The mask was white, with subtle hints of facial features. The other eye was hidden by a black mesh, but the other revealed that snake-like eye. Around the eye, one could see a few scales, hinting at the owner's race.

The presumed lizardman shifted his eye, staring back at the onlookers. Quickly, they averted their gaze away from the man. His staring made others strangely uncomfortable, like they were looking at something beyond understanding. The man started walking to the front desk, and with every step silence creeped over the building. People faced their heads down, but attempted to steal a peek at the man. When they did, they felt him staring back.

A muscular woman with pale indigo skin and two black horns stood behind the counter, waiting for the man to get close enough. She appeared quite strong as you can see her well-defined muscles under the red pants and suit every guild employee wore. When the man got close enough, a smile appeared on her lips, and she opened her mouth to say, "Ah, Eodum! Have you brought back the required items?"

"Yes, let me get them out." Eodum replied, as it reached into a backpack. From it, it pulled out a dead turtle snake. This snake had a tough shell but weak venom, an iron rank threat. Eodum took out the turtle snake piece by piece, as it had been cleanly butchered. Its skin was removed from its meat and its meat was removed from its bones. The monster had its organs removed, which were also taken out.

The woman inspected the parts of the monster closely, before looking up with a grin and saying, "Nice work Eodum! Here's your payment of 5 Zole." She then opened a drawer and pulled out two large copper coin and one copper coin. Eodum held its hand out, and the woman placed the money in its palm. It closed its fist, and put its hand into its pocket, dropping the coins into the void.

Eodum then said, "Thank you."

"It was no problem, Eodum." The woman replied. With that, Eodum turned around and began walking to the door of the guild. As it left, there was a sigh of relief from the surrounding customers. One lizardman said, "Geez, that guy is so uncomfortable to be around."

"I know, right?" A spider-esque woman agreed. Gossip and conversations centered around Eodum began around the guild. Conversations like this came every time Eodum entered the Adventurers' Guild. A wolf lycanthrope looked over and said, "Hey Kali, how the hell do you put up with that guy? You even put on a smile."

"Eodum ain't a bad person, just a little creepy. He's polite and minds his own business, unlike any of y'all." Kali replied.

The wolf man looked at her suspiciously and said, "I guess, but still he's creepy as hell!"

Eodum, unaware of the gossip and talk about him wherever he goes, proceeds to walk down the busy streets. His skinny figure allows him to weave through the crowds of people nimbly. He finally turned to the left, seeing his destination. It was a small building, with a sign saying Pain D'or and a picture of a loaf of bread. Eodum walked in and saw Henry.

"Oh, hey Eodum. We getting the usual?" Henry asked

Eodum nodded and answered, "Yep." When Henry heard those words, he grabbed a loaf of bread under a display, and gave it over to Eodum. Eodum put the loaf into his backpack, leading it to the void. Henry stuck out his hand and Eodum placed a large copper coin in Henry's hand. Henry said, "Thanks for purchasing bread at Pain D'or. Please come again."

Eodum nodded and left the bakery. He then went right next door to its next destination. It was a three-story tall building. It was fairly large, and had a sign out front with the words Sleeping Basilisk Inn on it and a picture of a snake in bed. Eodum went through the front door, and started walking for the stairs. He climbed the stairs to the second floor, and went down the hallway.

Eodum looked at the numbers next to each door; Eodum went down to door number 6 and pulled out a key. Eodum slid the key into the lock and opened the door. Eodum looked into the room and saw a short hallway with a coat rack leading into a bigger room. Eodum walked through the short hallway, and set eyes upon its room. It wasn't too big, but big enough to fit two beds with a gap in between and a few counters and cabinets.

Eodum walked over and put the loaf of bread on the counter. Then, Eodum walked over and sat down in a dog bed between the other two beds. Eodum's clothing fell into the void portals that appeared all over its body. What was revealed was a slim skinny human-sequence figure, completely made of darkness. Its eye was revealed to be the petrification item that Eodum used in the forest.

Eodum sat there for about an hour and heard a click at the door. Sheila walked through the door, took off her armor and shoes, and collapsed on the bed. She was clearly tired from her day; she was also an adventurer. She however, was part of a party, so she had to go along with the party's rules. Her party's name was Roirraw, mostly made of iron and bronze ranked adventurers. Eodum went solo, performing the collection and hunting quests.

Eodum and Sheila sat around and made small talk, until they heard another click. Henry kicked off his shoes, put his apron on the coat rack, and collapsed on the other bed. Henry worked at the Pain D'or bakery. He works as a baker and acts as a salesman. He does quite well at the job, and is paid well in return.

The group begins to talk about their days and what happened to them. They then prepare for bed and go to sleep. This has been the trio's daily routine for one week now. It has been peaceful for now. For now.