‘This is annoying.’

It was past midnight, and the old Ywein Bar had only just closed for the day.

‘You’re a hard worker,’ he said, teasingly, fully aware that the only reason the bar was open this late was because of him.

‘What took you so long?’ asked the old man.

‘Just looking around.’

The old bartender took a seat next to him as he laid down on the bed, tired. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed, far from it; it felt like he was sleeping on a slightly better version of a haystack; yet for now it was the best he would get, and compared to sleeping in the wild, this was an improvement.

‘It appears you were right,’ he said.

‘Oh?’

‘The Qing-Huan Alliance, they’ve managed to make a direct path between the two worlds.’

‘I see.’

Though his words were rather dry, his face said otherwise. His eyes sparkled, and rightfully so. To be able to build a direct path in complete secrecy, even from the one in front of him right now, was no small task. It was an achievement that definitely deserved praise.

The man looked at the old bartender, as if he was expecting a question. That’s when it clicked. The old man was deep in thought. It made little sense. The Patriarch should be aware of the prophecy, yet then why would he himself be responsible for initiating it?

‘Wei is not aware that he is from a different world.’

‘Huh?’

‘It was his daughter that brought him to this world. She seems to be actively hiding the fact that he is from Earth from her father.’

‘Now now, what might that child be thinking?’

The old bartender thought about it, but he couldn’t find a proper reason for someone who is aware of the prophecy to actively initiate it. It could be that she didn’t know, but then why would she go out of her way to bring an other-worlder into this world? However he thought of it, it made no sense.

‘It will take a year at least to reach the Qing Huan Alliance. How annoying. Why did this place have to be in the middle of nowhere?’

‘You say that, yet you were the one who saved this place and made it a part of the greater world. If not for you, we would have not known of the outer world, and they would not have known about us. The one who connected this small and ordinary world to the rest of the universe was you..’

‘Are you mocking me?’

‘Oh no, I’m eternally grateful for what you did, and I’m sure everyone else will be too once their memories return.’

‘Whatever. I’ll be leaving tomorrow.’

‘For the QHA?’

‘Where else? For now, I’ll go to sleep. It has been a long and tiresome journey.’

‘Before you do, did you use Clairvoyance to know about his arrival?’

‘Sure did,’ he said, turning his head away and closing his eyes.

‘Then would he have not sensed your presence? It should have been especially evident for someone like him.’

‘He did sense me, but he thought it was the Patriarch, so it’s fine.’

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

After a good long sleep, he left Targaros the day after, headed for the Qing Huan Alliance.

----------------------------------------

‘You may leave now.’

‘Yes, father.’

The two of them left the room, and Zhe felt strangely normal, as he usually did. The shivers, the fear, they were all gone.

‘Are you feeling alright?’ Li asked, genuinely concerned.

‘Yes. Sorry.’

‘For what?’

She raised a brow.

‘For fainting like that.’

‘Forget it. Just go sleep if you’re feeling unwell. It’s not like you to faint like that. Were you really that intimidated?’

‘Seems so.’

Liu Zhe returned to his room, where he was once again left with his thoughts. It was only after she was gone, and he had a moment to reflect on what happened, that it suddenly clicked to him.

‘I’m a homeless beggar.’

That damn Li!

He quickly got up and rushed to Li’s room. He slid open the door, not even bothering to knock, catching her off guard as she laid on her bed with a book in her hands. She looked at him, clearly annoyed. Li was about to say something, but before she could utter a word, Zhe spoke, almost charging at her with his words.

‘You made me a homeless guy!’

‘I sure did. What an early realisation.’

She put the book down and smirked.

‘Could you seriously not have come up with anything else?’

‘No.’

From her mischievous smile, Zhe was sure that she was lying, but what was done was done, and no amount of complaining would fix it. If anything, trying to change the story would make for a bigger mess, and she definitely knew that. And here I came up with the entire backstory in Artis or whatever. He scratched his head, and with a defeated face, he turned around, leaving,

‘Wait.’

But before he could, Li called him. She closed her book and got up.

‘What is it now?’ he asked.

‘First off, I picked you up from the streets and you have no memories of your parents or anyone related. Got it?’

‘If there is nothing else—’

‘Second. What are you going to do now?’

Zhe was about to leave, but he turned around. Li wasn’t smiling anymore, and you didn’t need to be a genius to tell that she was serious; her face said it loud and clear.

‘I don’t know,’ he said. He didn’t really have anything in particular to do.

‘You could try to find out about your parents.’

He could, sure, but he lacked both motivation and energy. Moreover,

‘I could, sure, but where would I even start?’

‘The Archives,’ said Li, as if it was obvious.

Zhe was a little confused.

‘The Archives?’

‘You should find something there.’

The Archives was like a giant library, a collection of all the information on everyone and everything in the Qing Huan Alliance that was publicly available. Though the first floor was accessible to everyone, you needed a special permit for the higher floors. He would definitely find something there, but he didn’t feel like it at the moment.

‘I’ll check it out if I ever feel like it.’

‘So you plan to simply sit around and do nothing?’

‘For now, yes. I should try to find a job.’

‘A job, you say? I’ve got one.’ With a mischievous smile, Li said, ‘Be my personal assistant. You’ll be paid well, and given a place to live.’

‘No,’ he said with a straight face.

‘It’s an order.’

‘And if I refuse?’

‘You’ll be behind bars.’

‘That is abuse of authority.’

‘I am aware.’

Zhe clicked his tongue. ‘Fine,’ he said.

He could hear her giggling as he left the room. He returned to his, and as before, laid down on the floor, staring at the ceiling above.

It hasn’t been longer than fifteen minutes since I came here, and I already met the Patriarch, became homeless, and now I am Li’s personal assistant. He sighed. I wanna sleep, he thought, closing his eyes.