Once again, I was all alone in the new world. It didn't bother me too much since I was used to working alone. There was no perfect match for me, and moreover, I didn't really want to see that man's face for quite a while. Apparently, he was capable of stopping time and taking physical form instead of his usual ghostliness. To think that he had the audacity to command a thief like myself to kill a god! Why didn't he try to do it himself? I had as little comprehension of this question as I did about this new world. He simply dragged me here, briefly explained my mission, and left while refusing to answer my questions.
But such was my reality. There was no time to waste on scolding some omnipotent being while I stood in a back alley penniless, thirsty, and hungry. Besides, the movement of the sun was not kind to me either. It was close to dusk, a time of easy but useless targets who always crawled out in the middle of the night to hide their mediocrity under the blanket of darkness.
I had to think fast, so I walked into the busy street. Its bustling did not diminish in the slightest, which was a good sign. I looked around to see common folks' faces. Some noticed my intent glare, despite the hoodie that should have hidden my face… or rather, the hoodie might have attracted more eyes. In the end, these clothes came with me from my real world. They were colourful and eye-catching, unlike the attire everyone else was wearing. Even walking commando might have put me in a more favourable position, but I wouldn't dare to test that theory. But there was nothing left to do anyway, so I decided to wing it.
My first target was a sly older man with a more appealing attire. His eyes were tired, so he didn't notice even my bizarre clothes. Upon further examination, I noted some dirt on his cloak, or rather something reminiscent of it, brown but more like a liquid. He was clearly deep in thought, but more importantly, his every step produced a quiet clink that came from his pocket. Payday, perhaps? Whatever, the only thing that mattered was that the old man happened to be a perfect target for pickpocketing. Tired, careless and with good fortune.
I zoomed through the crowd that was tagging behind him. Just to make sure, I examined their walking pace and attire with my peripheral vision, but didn't notice any similarities to the old man or between each other. Then, my walking speed increased, and I bumped into the old man, rotated a little as if losing my footing, and exclaimed, "I am terribly sorry!"
Then I ran, although not too fast. After all, no crime was noticed, so I could afford to save some energy. I continued my run toward a safe spot, but my enthusiasm diminished with every step as my hands wrapped around the metal ring and a set of keys that I had stolen from the old man. It was not money after all.
"Fuck, no luck… but maybe I can use it?"
The set of keys was quite large. I wasn't sure to whom it belonged, but perhaps someone influential? Maybe the old man was a janitor or a cook at some noble's house. If I presented these keys as a lucky find to the police, I might get a reward.
With this plan in mind, I moved out of my temporary hiding spot and slithered further down the street in search of the police. My only concern was that this society did not seem advanced enough to have some sort of law enforcement. But they surely must have guards or patrols; the problem of brawling drunkards, street fights, and pickpockets is as old as time. And after observing the lines of dull houses, I reached a stone wall and continued walking along it. Soon enough, my path led me to the entrance of the city. There were indeed some men dressed in chain mail armour and colourful tunics with a white symbol of a double-faced and double-tailed fish. Moreover, their hands were occupied with halberds. Intimidating people, but I had nothing to lose anyway.
I came closer to them, but then realized that I was not sure whether I knew their language or not. Aside from that freak Solitaire and the old man I stole from, I had not had a chance to speak with anyone. I didn't even focus on the language they were speaking here. It was like white noise to me, which either meant that I could understand them flawlessly, or I did not understand them at all.
"What is the matter, boy?" one of the guards suddenly raised his brow and came closer to me. I sighed after processing his words and said, "Excuse me, good sir, I found this set of keys on the ground."
I extended my hand while holding the stolen keys, but they did not seem too interested in them. Instead, their eyes ran all over my body, as if they were looking at an alien. Once again, I remembered what kind of clothes I was wearing and cold sweat ran down my spine.
The guard snapped out of his thoughts and took the keys, nodding lightly. Then, he stared at me for a little while and asked, "Thank you, but… could we have a look at your documents?"
I stood still like a deer that sees an approaching car. But I was better than some forest dweller, so my feet autonomously turned me around and started running away. I had hoped that the heavy armour would make it harder for the guards to catch me, but my hopes were futile. They quickly caught up to me, which was only natural for someone with special training. For someone who must have dealt with the likes of me every day. They wrung up my arms, so I wouldn't fight back. I wouldn't have been able to even if I had wanted to, but they couldn't know that.
The one who held my hands turned to the other men and said, "Goodness gracious, you guys stay in position and I will deal with this brat."
Then, he forced me to go along with him. People watched silently, but nobody intervened. It was indeed a common occurrence for the city, or maybe not? Why would they be so shocked seeing a pickpocket caught by the law? Anyway, as we were approaching one of the towers beside the walls, he said to my ear, "Sorry, lad, I need to ask some questions."
Good grief, I knew well that nothing good ever comes out after these words. I should have thought of my modern wear beforehand, but it was too late to regret my carelessness.