My hands shook violently as I examined the single line that was written on the back of the letter.
P.S
Your biological mother is still alive. She's in Weiss. Do what you will with that information.
I continued staring at the line, lying on my new bed in a room I rented last night. After my argument with Mary, I stormed out of the house to start living on my own. I wandered the streets for a while and finally found myself a suitable, affordable inn to stay in for at least a month. It bothered me slightly that it'd have to pay fifty bronze coins a night, which is equivalent to half a silver coin, but I accepted the price when I compared it to other inns.
With a place to stay secured I tried to get some sleep to rest my exhausted body. My mind refused to let me sleep. It was too occupied by the contents of the letter I received from Eren. The last line written on the back of it telling me that my mother- my biological mother, is alive in the western nation of Weiss. The Compass Continent is a continent that sticks to it's name. The continent does indeed take on the shape of a compass.
Said compass has four countries pointing in four directions. In the north is the country of Neil. To the south is Sauralis. Ester lies in the east and Weiss to the west. In the centre of the continent lies the Central Empire, the home of the Saint Christian Church.
With that in mind, Ester and Weiss are in opposite directions in every sense of the word. How Eren knew about my mother being in Weiss baffled me, and him knowing about that terrified me. Up until last night I assumed my parents were dead. Why else would I be left in front of a nun's front door.
When I first read the letter I was so enticed by the prospect of exploring the vast world that Eren spoke of that I completely ignored the fact that the person writing it was addressing me directly as he wrote it. The bastard even wrote down my full name.
He knew about my mother and sister while I didn't know jack about him. His first name sounded familiar but his last name was lost to me. Come to think of it I never even had any friends to speak of. As an eleven year old, my social network is let's say, limited. My m-…. My adoptive mother, Mary. My older sister Lucy. Ginevra and I only met recently but I still like to think that we're not total strangers. Kai isn't someone I considered a friend but at the very least he's someone I know and he knows about me and my family.
The only other person I could think of was my employer and fellow co-worker. While I admit that I don't know much about Reiya except for the fact that she's a cannibal, I couldn't begin to fathom her taking the time to write me a letter like this.
My employer was the same. Sure he was a grumpy old fart but he's tactful enough to maintain a line between himself and I as employer and employee. I thought back to when and where I received the letter.
At the time I was at work preparing to introduce firearms as a new product at the store. I didn't care about the weapons themselves only the amount of money I was gonna get paid by the end of the current month. I recalled arriving at work to find Luck and Reiya unpacking mysterious boxes. I offered a quick greeting to both of them then got to unpacking immediately.
Luck suddenly decided to go out on an errand. As he was leaving he handed me a piece of paper and said "This came in for you." Then left without explaining further. Thinking back I probably should've asked him back then where exactly did he get the letter. Crying over spilt milk was pointless however.
While I laid on the bed I heard distinct chirping sounds from outside the room. A bright yellow light permeated through the window illuminating the room. Somewhere down the line I'd lost track of time and it'd had become morning. I dragged myself out of bed, my mind collected itself to settle the series of events that took place over the past few days.
From receiving the letter, to Kai entering the store, to me sneaking into the castle, the epic chase with Ginevra that led to her finding out that I'm the Water God, which subsequently led to her dragging me to a far off village where I almost died. While I fought for my life, Reiya and my sister searched for me all over the capital when I didn't show up for our date. I came home late at night, got myself chewed out by Reiya who declared that she'd be leaving in two months.
After which I got chewed out by my mom and ended up leaving home.
My life's a mess right now. I thought to myself.
The only thing I could do now was fix the mess I got myself into. My first objective should've been letting my mother and sister know that I'm alright and maybe apologize to my mom. The apology would have to wait though, I'm pretty sure we were both still reeling from last night and I didn't want to reignite another fire.
Apologizing to Reiya seemed less challenging than apologizing to mother dearest so I decided to go with that. I left my one bedroom apartment, locked the door, headed down to the lobby and met with someone I never thought I'd see again.
"Huh?"
An old man with the most intimidating biceps I've ever seen. He had a bald head that reflected the shimmering sunlight, a puffy beard hanging on his chin, and a deep scar over his forehead. The guy was around seventy or so but he looked no older than forty- fifty at the oldest. A man I've known for over three years now, my employer Luck Valentine.
***
"Hahahaha!!!!" he let out a hearty chuckle as I finished recounting the events that took place last night.
The two of us walked along the bustling streets of the commercial district where anything could be sold to anyone. That included second hand items. While we walked the streets I caught notice of how more merchants were selling firearms. Last time I was in the merchant district, our store was the only one selling firearms, now nearly every shop had them.
"You act so smart all the time that sometimes I forget that you're actually a kid." He snickered with a knowing smirk on his face.
"That line has been shoved down my throat more times than I care to count."
Luck slapped my back "What's so bad about being a kid anyway? You got an inferiority complex or something?"
"No it's just... I don't really feel like a kid if you know what I mean?"
Luck thought to himself for a moment. He hummed slightly like he was deep in thought before finally snapping his eyes open. "I understand. You're actually an old timer trapped in the body of a child."
"Hey, just because I don't feel like a kid doesn't mean that I feel old."
"I get it kid."
His tone felt condescending. That made me feel angry for some reason. I decided to switch gears and change the topic quick.
"Anyhow. Reiya told me that you're closing shop for good."
Just as I asked that, Luck and I arrived at the store. The doors were sealed shut with surprisingly big chains. The old timer reached for his back pocket to take out the store key and unlocked the door. The inside of the store was dimly lit and it had packed boxes lying everywhere.
"Truth be told kid…. I've figured it's time I move on with my life. Progress to the next stage, know what I mean?"
Luck's words caught me off guard. It was surprising to say the least but I understood where he was coming from. One chapter of his life was closed so that a new one would open.
"Man, first Reiya now you."
"Hmm?" Luck raised an eyebrow. "What about Reiya?"
It wasn't a topic I wanted to discuss but keeping it to myself felt like it'd be a real challenge. In the end I decided to open up to him.
"She and I got into a fight last night."
"What were you fighting about?"
"Well...." The words caught on my throat. I forced them out without filtering them. "She and I were supposed to go on a date yesterday but I ended up not showing-…"
"Hahaha!!!" his laughing cut me off before I could finish my sentence. I was impressed by how quickly he managed to gleam the situation.
"You look like you're getting a kick out of this."
"How could I not?" he cackled. "You've been trying to get into that girl's pants for three years now and when she finally gives you a window of opportunity you fumble it like a total newbie."
Luck's phrasing lit my cheeks on fire. "I'm not trying to get into her pants!"
"So you don't want to bed Reiya?"
I do, totally, but there are certain steps to be taken.
"I do but….. Should you be having this kind of conversation with a kid?"
Luck's cackling came to an abrupt stop when I asked that question. His gaze suddenly turned serious, his eyes glowed in a deep shade of red. His eyes were naturally red but it was my first time seeing them glow like that.
"Maybe you are a bit too young for this sort of thing."
"I'm not that young." I snapped back.
Luck snorted. "Right. I guess I do owe you for being a model employee for me over the past three years so tell you what. Let me give you some advice."
Kinda presumptuous for an old man to give a kid love advice. But due to the fact that I was walking blindly in a forest that he had years and years worth of experience in I was hard pressed to outright reject his offer.
"Fine old man. Lay it on me."
He placed his hand on my right shoulder and gripped it firmly. The strength in his grip told me just how experienced he was. His hands were rugged and worn with age.
"Tell me. What does Reiya mean to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I just said. Can you say with confidence that you'll feel the same way about her ten or maybe twenty years from now?"
I didn't doubt that. That no matter how many years would pass my feelings for her would remain the same.
"I'm sure."
"Then don't tell her how much you love her. Show her. Women are more prone to respond to a man who acts than a man who talks."
"Uh.... How do you know that?"
He scoffed. "I've been married before kid. Trust me I know what I'm talking about."
"Really? How come I've never seen Mrs Valentine?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.
"She died a long time ago."
"Oh.... Sorry."
Luck shook his head, his hand drifted off to the scar on his forehead. He didn't even look like he knew that his hand was on his head.
"In any case." He continued. "If you really love this girl then show her by acting like a guy who likes her, not talk like one."
My heart caught a slight whiff of excitement. "I hear you old timer. I'll be sure to shower her with my affections!"
"That's the spirit! And would you look at that. Now's the perfect chance!"
Luck grabbed both my shoulders and twirled me around like a ballerina. I found myself facing the store's front door, where a pink haired beauty stood with an anxious look on her face.
"Reiya!?" I exclaimed.
"Hi, Eden. Mr Valentine, there's someone here to see you."
Reiya took a step back, revealing behind her a dozen or so armed knights with weapons in hand. They pointed their barrels at me with these intense looks on their faces. A young woman emerged from the crowd of knights, her expression turned grim when she met my gaze.
"Eden….." she muttered. "Luck Valentine, you've been ordered to come in for questioning by the order of the king."
As the woman- Ginevra, said those words, a distinct cold sensation crawled it's way up to the front of my neck. Reiya, Ginevra as well as the other knight's expressions went from bad to worse.
"Mr Valentine don't do this!" Reiya exclaimed.
"Let the boy go!" Ginevra commanded.
My confusion had reached it's peak level. I turned my head to the ground and realized why my neck suddenly felt cold. There was a razor sharp blade pressed up against my throat. A blade that was gripped tightly by Luck's hand. It finally sunk in, that I'd been taken hostage by my boss.