— "What?... WHAT?!"

It took me a second to realize that... That man below us was Minnie's father.

Now that my eyes have adjusted to the dark—and thanks to my passive skill of being able to appraise items using magic which also doubled to be able to help me see—I can tell that Minnie vaguely looked like him.

My realization and sudden exclamation was somehow enough to snap Cassandra out of her sedative induced sleep- if you can even call it a sleep since we were forcefully put to sleep and—

I can feel a sharp glare from my back as I was thinking to myself and when I looked at Leo, he was holding a laugh or at least barely holding it in because a snicker escaped his mouth. And Minnie on the other hand... Was still grasping the idea that his father left her to pursue whatever he's doing with those tiny creatures.

I turned around and looked up to Cassandra's cage to see her looking at me with a scowl. And as soon as I did turn around, a loud laugh escaped Leo's mouth.

—- "AHAHAHAHA!!! You're going to get an earful from her!"

Leo kept laughing and punching the metal block of our cage and...

*Snap...*

...The metal chains attached to the ceiling of the room and suspending us in the air suddenly snapped because of Leo's cheerful punches. And it was also coincidentally connected to Cassandra's cage for whatever reason.

— "You're the one that's gonna get an earful!—"

I managed to yell that out before our cage fully fell to the ground.

*THUD!!*

— "Ow..."

We all groaned in unison. The impact, however, was enough to open the cage and tickle the guards of the whole village to be alert and come to... Wherever we are!

— "Hey! That guy with a weird looking horizontal glowing light on his cloak! That's the guy with a perverted smile on his face whilst thrusting his puny looking sword at the crystal!"

One of the guards yelled. And the rest of the other guards were laughing after he said it like it's the best joke ever told!

Okay, this is not how my reputation is going to fall! "The guy with a perverted smile on his face whilst thrusting his puny looking sword at the crystal" will NOT be what I'm going to be known for! I'm still a traveling merchant, damnit! I need a reputation to keep!

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

— "That is not me!"

— "Huh? You hear that runt say somethin'?"

— "Not a clue!"

They all kept laughing and pointing at us but on the other hand, the man, presumably Minnie's father, was instead looking at us as well. But it looked like his focus was more on Minnie instead of us.

But that isn't the point! I need to fix this mess! I will not go down like this!

— "Huh?! I'll crush you right–"

— "Stop giving us so much trouble already, you moron!"

My friends yelled in unison before giving me a smack in the back of my head. What's with them?! I can't just let those... Beasts get away with spreading that title around!

— "Ow! What was that for?!"

— "You deserved it for causing us so much trouble. Can't you just stay still, Owens?"

— "Hate to admit it, Owens, but Min-Min is right."

— "Something has been wrong with you since you saw that crystal."

— "The witc–I mean, Cassandra is right, yeah... Look, just listen to us for once, you stupid Owens."

— "Look at those idiots! They're fighting amongst themselves. And they said humans are more organized than Beastkins!"

I'm starting to reach a boiling point with these beast-like looking creatures! They don't deserve to live because of their race! They're all animals and brutes at the end of the day!

I summoned my Mana Crystal, much to the dismay of my friends. But I couldn't care less!

— "Don't you dare, you stupid Owens!–"

— "Ra Dibilito!!"

*Clink!!*

*Clink!!*

*Clack!!*

Everyone was caught in the dark chains I summoned! I looked around me to see that even my friends were chained up but I couldn't even care any more than le–

— "What happened..."

I can't move... I can't move my arms, legs, and body. What's happening? I feel so numb and out of control of my body...

...But in the corner of my right eye, I could see Minnie's father with a syringe and poking my neck. That bastard!! I swear I'll get him when I... When I... I suddenly feel drowsy.

— "There. Now you can go back to sleep and make some space for some quality father-daughter reunion. Bye-bye... Sleep tight and don't let the loose goddess bite."

— "You son of a..."

And before I knew it, I collapsed on the ground with the cloth in hand's reach. That thing is influencing me again, heavily this time. I really can't trust whatever that is.

My consciousness started to fade as light from my eyes were fading. Am I dying? I don't want to hold that chalk for a second time... What even happened? I don't remember what was happening previously. I only remembered seeing the large crystal, getting trapped in a cage and being suspended in the air but everything went black from then on...

...But as my terrible luck would have it, I woke up in a different body.

The body of a young boy that—from what I could tell—is the age of fourteen years old. Is this a dream? Is Lida trying to tell me something again?

— "What the..."

I looked around me to see everything burning. Fire was surrounding me from every side and each time I took a step, it followed me like an aura; it never got close nor too far from me. Did I cause this?

My eyes started flowing with tears for no reason. And I could finally see "myself". But I'm transparent like a ghost or spirit whilst I look at the boy crying his eyes out.

My first thought is that this was Leo but this boy doesn't closely resemble him and he doesn't look like a Beastkin to me. And this weird fire isn't a part of Leo's magical alignment either—or at least in my knowledge...

...But I remember holding something before I clocked out. It has probably influenced my mind ever since I've touched it so it's only natural that I could see... That I could see it's–No. His past.