Chelsea Square.
The usually bustling dirty streets on the western part of BoneHaven were somewhat crowded today as its inhabitants came out en masse to protest the recent occurrences in their area.
Unlike the Eastern and Central Districts that received the attention of the Royal Blue, the Western District was left alone, allowing hooligans and the likes to have a field day amongst them.
Of course, this wasn't the first time they had protested, and at a certain point, it was clear that no matter what they did, those rich nobles in the Central district would never take them seriously but the events of a few days ago reminded them that just allowing things to remain the way they were would result in terrible consequences.
As they paraded the streets, they carried hand-drawn portraits of a few that had died due to the inability of the Royal Blue to take the Western district seriously.
People had died due to a lack of security in the area, something that could be easily avoided.
The latest amongst those shown in the portraits was, of course, Douglas Regulus.
A good man that had helped several in the area with varying tasks.
A darling that some wouldn't have minded marrying their daughters off to due to his upstanding personality.
Yet such a man was attacked in his home and now… his state as well as that of his siblings was unknown.
"How long will this go on!?" A middle-aged man wearing a cap bellowed in annoyance.
He stood at the forefront, carrying a machete as he spoke.
He seemed to be the leader of the protest as he continued.
"The nobles do not treat us right!... They treat us like livestock…no, even livestock is treated better than this!... We can't even remain safe in our homes now!"
The more he spoke, the more his words resonated with the people.
The men fumed and the women wept, it was truly a trying time for them all.
For today, no work would be done.
No, today, they would fight for their rights.
Not too far from where the protest was taking place, a barricade had already been formed with a few Royal Blue standing guard as well as a few others dressed in civilian attire.
One spat coldly. "Disgusting vermin. They'd better behave themselves, otherwise, I won't have any problems downing a few today."
In all honesty, the only reason they came was because of the protest.
Who cared about a few poor people?
Not them of course.
The truly important ones were the nobles and middle class which provided something for the economy.
This was why despite the rumors of rebels infiltrating the city, they only increased security in the Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts.
The northern district was already protected by the clergy so there was no need to worry about them.
Due to the tense atmosphere, hardly anyone took notice of Alex as he got down from the coach.
Using his scarf to cover his face, he slowly made his way past the crowd, toward one of the apartment buildings in the rowdy neighborhood.
Alex stopped and glanced at the fence of the building only to discover a small altar had been erected with the picture of Douglas on it.
It was a wooden structure with a picture at the center and flowers placed around it.
The black and white picture captured the essence of Douglas's smile and for a moment, Alex stood silently, his gaze trained on the image.
A few seconds later and his eyes flickered before he turned away and strolled into the apartment building.
Just as he got to the entrance, however, the door suddenly opened.
A middle-aged man wearing a sweater, scarf, and pair of khakis as well as a cap over his head stepped out, holding a walking stick with a bag in his right hand.
At a glance, Alex was able to tell that the man was blind, judging from how he had bandages placed over his eyes.
The man took a step forward only to suddenly trip and fall forward, crashing into Alex.
The latter kept his balance while helping the man to his feet.
Unfortunately, the man's bag dropped and its contents spilled out.
"Are you alright sir?" Alex asked in a casual tone.
The man nodded as he escaped his grip. "Mn, thank you. I suddenly tripped."
He spoke in a hoarse voice with his face turned a few degrees from Alex's true position.
Alex replied. "No need to apologize. It was an accident."
Then glancing at the bag on the floor, he added. "Do you need help with anything?"
The man shook his head. "No need."
With that, he used his walking stick to locate his bag before bending down to pick it up.
Alex felt obligated to help and so moved over to help as well.
Just then, he picked up a book but due to how he held it, the book fell upon and a page was revealed with a beautiful drawing on it.
For a moment, Alex stared at the page completely mesmerized.
The drawing was of an eye with glorious light flashing from its pupil, illuminating a beautiful world below.
Taking the time to study it, Alex felt weird due to the feelings the drawing elicited from him.
Just then, the middle-aged man reached out and took the book from him before placing it in his bag.
Alex shook his head before looking at him. "Did you draw that?"
"Is it wrong?" the man asked, seemingly apprehensive.
"No, not at all." Alex shook his head. "It's just…a wonderful piece."
"Thank you." The man sounded strange, almost like he was terrified of something.
Alex furrowed his brows. "Is there a problem?"
"None at all." The man replied.
Realizing how uncomfortable the man was, Alex decided not to drag their conversation any further.
With a smile, he bade the man farewell, a gesture which the man appreciated as he took his things and left.
Watching his back, Alex shrugged at the strange behavior exhibited by the man as he turned and entered the apartment building.
The building had a simple style to it with six stories with six apartments on each floor.
A damp smell that smelled a lot like musty newspaper permeated the surrounding causing Alex to scrunch his nose.
But despite the smell, Alex moved slowly, the wood creaking from years of wear while traversing the stairs silently listening to know who was still around.
It was for no other reason other than he was used to it.
As a meticulous fellow back on Earth, Alex always did his best to study his surroundings, in case of anything.
One could never know what might happen.
Finally, he got to the fourth floor and walked to the end of the corridor.
There was a room door at the end but it was currently sealed by yellow tape with a single police officer seated beside the door to guard it.
Alex made his way to him only to find the officer sleeping on duty.
Contemplating whether to wake the officer or just enter, considering it was technically his home, Alex heard the sound of movement inside the apartment.
Immediately, he furrowed his brows as he reached for the revolver on his waist.
At the same time, the officer woke up and glanced at Alex.
A moment later, their eyes met.