I rushed through the alleys before finding the church, breathing a slight sigh of relief as I knocked on its heavy wooden door, which revealed the elderly nun once again.
Smiling, she let me in before looking towards the other black haired kid, the elderly nun about to ask them a question when they rushed inside and stood beside me, looking around the church warily.
"Are you two..?"
I gave the nun a wry smile and nodded, saying "Yes, we'll be working together. If that's not a problem, Sister?"
"Oh no, not at all! More hands to clean the church? Ah, it'll make things so much easier~! Now, if you two could-"
The other kid remained glued to my side the entire time, forcing the nun to give us the larger tasks since they refused to move, insisting on working alongside me directly until we finished polishing the floor and altar, earning ourselves a large loaf of bread to be split evenly.
Ripping it in two, I handed the other half to the kid idly, staring down at my large portion with a grin as I inhaled the fragrance wafting from its freshly baked crust.
Completely fluffy and soft, the loaf was a beautiful sunny color that was just as warm as it felt, and I could smell the nice undertones of butter and milk inside its strands... and I could taste them too!
Closing my eyes, I shuffled from foot to foot as I marveled in the brilliance of this singular portion of bread, my soul at ease as I tasted something so good once again.
Bread just has such a pure, unreachable place in the world of foods that I loved; the vast array of flavors, textures, methods to bake them...
It was all so excellent~!
As I went for another bite, I glanced to the side and frowned as I noticed the other kid nibbling on their portion, their eyes dancing around the area as they continued to search for thugs that might jump out and attack us.
Pursing my lips, I sighed as I gestured towards one of the alleyways beside the church, slipping into the shade and inspecting our surroundings before whispering "Eat it quick, but savor it! Alright? Others might be drawn to the scent and try to steal it. And don't worry about looking for them, I'll do that."
They stared at me for a moment before nodding, opening their mouth and taking a large chunk from their portion, greedily chewing on it as they focused on eating...
Even if it was slightly painful to watch...
But, considering the grumbling coming from their stomach, I just shrugged and leaned against the brick wall, looking down either side of the alley as I savored the last few bites of our meal.
Today wasn't so bad all things considered; I managed to snag myself an actual weapon, and I seemingly had a follower to do things for me... if they managed to get over the fear that laced their every action after having been targeted twice.
Speaking of, I was curious if those thugs were all in some kind of gang together or if they were just friends; depending on the relationships between them, I might have to plan for different things...
But, now that I had a solid, reliable weapon in my possession, I was confident of being able to deal with some thugs slinking around in the slums.
There is a large gap between our strength's, but that gap can be bridged by technique for a long while; not knowing how to control the strength you possess is something that can be exploited and used to bring you crumbling down.
Just because someone is strong doesn't mean they are powerful; to me, the separation in those terms lies in how skilled someone is in utilizing their body and their weapons.
You might be able to lift a cow, and that's cool and all, but if you're not able to block a spear thrust to your abdomen, what good is that strength?
Battle awareness and technique is far more important than most people give credit too, at least on the lower levels of strength... the level that the thugs were at right now.
So to say I was assured in my own safety wasn't too far of a stretch, but caution keeps warriors alive far more often then arrogance.
All it takes is one smart thug to understand that the pointy side of a spear can be used in more ways than one and bam!
Second life over, and I'd be back in Her clutches... it wouldn't be entirely terrible, but I want my freedoms, especially now that I got to get a taste of them again.
Which was why I was tapping the flat of the dagger strapped to my thigh, contemplating my next move.
If it was a gang of thugs who just lost four members - no matter how stupid - they'd be seeking to settle that debt personally, and it'd be either in great numbers or with an enforcer.
That could mean the bridge is compromised, but at the same time getting to see the bridge would be confirmation - somewhat - of my suspicions, so I wanted to go back anyways.
If no one was there, then perhaps they just knew of one another and wanted revenge, or perhaps they were afraid of having someone competent on their turf?
The slums came with it's own problems, intricacies, and murky waters that plagued high society as well, with every option before you having hidden dangers and potential backstabbers waiting for your mistakes.
They weren't as large scale, but who cares about large scale when you could lose your life?
I could be in trouble, or I could be fine to carry on as I normally do; the problem was trying to figure out if I was in trouble or not.
For now though, I watched the kid beside me finish eating before pushing myself off the wall, beginning my journey back towards the bridge.
~~~
Why does he talk about the bread like that and not me?!
HMPH!
Stupid Tiberius...
~~~
---
Yes, this is going to be a slow start / slow upload speed to match, sorry, but currently I want to try and finish one of my other books before focusing on this some more, so bear with me and either let this pile up, or read along whenever I post...
---