The crescent moon cast a faint light, but Atlus still clutched the lamp provided by the military. Its orange glow illuminated the road before him, making it easier to walk.
His heart raced with adrenaline as he walked further from the military station. It felt like he had pulled off a daring heist right under Arden's nose.
Seeing the tall men arrested in the station confirmed that he had successfully misled the investigation on the last survivor of Brightmoon. Now, the military would be looking for adults as suspects, not a lean 15-year-old boy like himself.
He couldn't contain his excitement and broke into a run.
His destination was the park where he had hidden his wooden treasure box earlier today. If it were daytime with people roaming about the street, he could have asked for directions. But with no one in sight, he could only rely on the street lamps to take him somewhere.
But he had an idea in mind. The park was located close to the Crococliff, and the cliff was beside the sea. So, he relied on the wind and the sound of the waves to guide him.
Soon he got close to the coast, and eventually, he found the park.
The lamp posts were outside the park boundary, but not inside it. At its gate, a guard was sitting on a chair. He was the night watchman at the park.
Just like earlier today, Atlus decided to take another way inside. He went around the park and found a wooden door on the back wall. It had a big lock and seemed like no one had used it for a long time.
Atlus decided to climb the wall from this spot, just like he did earlier that day. He grabbed the top of the wall with a single jump.
There was a small shed on this side of the park. It was a storage space to keep gardening tools. During the day, people avoided getting near to the shed because it smelled of rotten manure.
After Atlus walked away from the gardener's shed, he was stuck by the pleasant aroma of blooming flowers that surrounded him. The soft rustling of leaves and the distant sound of the waved filled the air.
Earlier that day, he wasn't able to explore the park because he was wearing his old clothes. He would have stood out from the crowd. But now, he was free and couldn't help but admire the beauty of the park.
In the distance, he spotted the grand fountain, pity that it wasn't working in the night. Around it were benches. The park felt like heaven when compared to the ship he spent most of his life on.
But back to business, he headed towards a tall tree. A large container rested at its base. This was the closest dustbin to the gardener's shed, and where he had hidden the box earlier that day.
With no one in sight, he retrieved the green healing pellet from his pocket. It was even more potent that he had imagined. He couldn't help but regret eating a whole pill.
Even Ormr only had green dust, not an entire pill. In fact, common people (the middle class) bought green dust because it was affordable. Moreover, if you sprinkle the dust on an injury, then it would heal in less than five minutes.
Atlus peered inside the dustbin with the help of the lamp. The best is to hide your treasure in plain sight, the novels had taught him.
But to his surprise, the box was no longer there. There wasn't any trash either. He lifted the lamp to inspect the tree again. Was this the wrong dustbin?
Looking back, he saw the shed, and he confirmed this was definitely the nearest dustbin. He moved to the next closest bin, but that was empty too. A deep sense of loss started eating away at him from the inside.
Just a few moments ago, he had been happy about fooling the navy, but now he had lost something truly important. The wooden box carried not only rubies and gold coins, but also his favorite book.
Atlus's chest tightened, and he felt all energy drain away as he desperately checked the dustbins again. From afar, he looked like a small speck of light moving all over the park. Eventually, he ended up checking all the bins.
Disappointed, dejected, lost, and tired, he sat on the nearby bench.
Unbeknownst to him, a pair of human eyes were hiding below the very bench on which he sat.
The person in hiding pondered for a moment. He decided to reveal himself upon seeing Atlus' missing shoe. "Hello there, friend," Kyle said. He was 15-years-old, and this bench was his daily sleeping spot.
"Hey, you should turn off the lamp. If the guard catches us, we're going to be in trouble." Kyle increased his voice.
Atlus was confused upon hearing the voice, but then he realized that it came from below the bench. He jumped up and climbed on top of it, shouting, "You monster! You dare to assassinate me!" He searched for his knife but couldn't find it. So, he decided to use the lamp as a weapon. "Show yourself!" he demanded.
Kyle crawled out from under the bench and stood up. His figure was lean figure but was nowhere near as thin as Atlus. He had a kind face, and his right hand was holding the forearm of his left hand. He looked weak, but had a gentle demeanor.
"I usually sleep here," Kyle pointed out below the bench. As soon as he lifted his hand, Atlus launched at him with the lantern. The lantern clashed into Kyle's forehead, and its glass shattered.
Atlus backed off as soon as he realized that his opponent was a magic user. The feeling of heaviness further increased. The world was bent on beating him since he left the ship.
"Sorry for startling you," Kyle said as he lifted his hands in a peaceful gesture. "I've never seen you around here before, what's your name?"
"Atlus."
"I'm Kyle. Your strike was weak. Did you come to this island in search of magic? I might be able to help you."