Reinhold took a step back.
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, somehow, for some reason, that cursed symbol was in front of him once again.
Dark memories surged once more but at some point, those memories started to become numb to him. Still traumatizing but the threat of another possible life-or-death situation pushed these memories down into the deep recesses of his mind.
He slowly moved away from the crowd, the fat man’s words starting to dim out in favor of the casual conversations of the people beside him.
He didn’t care about how exciting the news was, how good was something if he wasn’t even alive to enjoy it.
His hurried movements led him out of the crowd and back home.
He sat on the chair in his living room, thinking about the possible repercussions of seeing that blasted symbol here, outside Blair Mansion.
“Blair Mansion was created from the remaining wisps of power from a living god, molded into a mansion by a mad devout follower. I just need to find out what kind of god I’m dealing with. Father, even until now you’re helping me out.”
He used his crutch as leverage to stand up, methodically inching closer towards the bookshelf.
Opening the tattered book, countless gods were named, some good, some bad, while others unintelligible due to how badly damaged the book was.
He remembered shifting through the book and glancing at the name a few days ago.
Using all the clues he gathered from the mansion, there was only one prime suspect. He quickly found the specific god that met the exact descriptions.
“Sadistic.”
That was the biggest personal gripe that his father had with this specific god.
He read the entry in the book.
“Sadistic, cruel, relentless. All his ----------- just ------- all those involved, be it his followers or ---. Sadistic, extremely --------, not even a normal follower of the God of Masochism ----- handle this -------- god’s --”
“It becomes unreadable after that, even the insignia has been burned off. Despite that, I’m certain that it’s this god. Goddess Uyioh, the god of dreams and nightmares, let the troubles that lay before me be as ephemeral as the nightmares at bay…”
The sun set beyond the horizon and darkness replaced what was once light. Countless lamps and candles were lit but soon enough they no longer needed to do so…
Reinhold felt his stomach rumble, he felt hungry. He checked his stockroom but to his surprise, there was no longer anything edible. He sighed, left with nothing but a few hundred noux to spend with he went outside, feeling that if he treated himself with something good his mood might improve.
He went to a fancy new restaurant that just opened and ate some of its special dishes. He spent more than he expected, a whopping 100 noux for one dinner. From a commoner’s point of view, this was equivalent to spending half a week’s spendings on one night, extremely extravagant.
After eating something so delicious, his mood improved a tiny bit as he decided to get some groceries on the way home.
“Rei! I haven’t seen you for so long! Hahaha! I even thought you were a goner!”
A jovial teenager drumming his fingers on the counter smiled at Reinhold. His golden hair and blue eyes contrasted Reinhold’s dark messy hair and red eyes, if it were any other scene, it seemed like the golden hair youth was the force of good while the red-eyed man carried of the will of the devil.
Unfortunately, their looks did not reflect their personalities. To those who knew them, the golden-haired man was quite the mischievous rascal, constantly pulling pranks and stealing women’s underwear. Meanwhile, the red-eyed youth was calm, quiet, and helpful to those who asked him for help.
Perhaps if Reinhold had a backbone and denied Liam’s request then Liam could still be there being scolded by his mother. Unfortunately, there are no ifs in there world.
Seeing this 17-year-old golden-haired youth named Luke, Reinhold couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes. Too many things happened these past few days that thoroughly shocked him, enough to be dazed for countless more days.
“Uh, Luke, h-how’s it going? Still grounded?”
Luke immediately tried to change the topic, trying to salvage his own already crumbling reputation.
“Man, what’s wrong with you? What happened to your leg?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, I’ve been restless these past few days, too many things to think about.”
“Don’t worry about it, Rei! It’s only a small hiccup, you’re still alive, and that's what matters!” Luke did hear about what happened but since death was lurking behind the corner in their daily lives and he didn’t really know Liam personally, he could brush it off without any mental anguish.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Listen Rei, you should get more sleep, I know a patch of mushrooms outside that give off spores that’ll knock you outright, just a small whiff would be enough to send a grown man out cold for a few hours.”
Reinhold’s ears perked, “Why do you know this? You haven’t gone outside for-”
Luke immediately hovered over the counter and placed both his hands on Reinhold’s mouth trying to stop Reinhold from speaking further. Afraid of what his mother might have in store for him if she heard it.
“Listen, I want to cut you a deal, I’ll tell you where those mushrooms are, you’ll get some good, nice rest. Think about it, you don’t want the thoughts to keep haunting you right? Better off getting some shut-eye while-“
“Enough, what’s the catch?”
Luke had a pervy smile on his face while meekly saying, “I was there when that thief was calling out for help.” Luke eventually raised his voice as if he was the hero of the story, “As a very heroic youth, I immediately ran to the blacksmith, hoping to save her little brother. You could even say I was brave enough to-“
“Stop it, long story short, you saw her face under the robe and thought she was cute. You want to meet up with her through me.”
“Err. Could you at least act like you were slightly moved by my actions? I really was a hero there.”
Reinhold heard the small rumor about what happened, as much as he hated to admit it, Luke really did play a crucial part in it.
“Then you should also know that she’s in jail. Unless you have enough money to bail her out, I can’t do anything.”
“Of course, I have it, this is my life’s savings don’t let it go to waste now.”
After Reinhold took 400 noux from Luke, he also bought some daily supplies amounting to 50 noux. This was enough for him to last a week.
“This, I think I bought too much.”
This was the usual amount he usually bought, however, when Reinhold held the groceries in his hands, he realized he couldn’t use his crutch. With no choice, he asked Luke to help him out.
“There’s a guider’s fee.”
“Five noux, it should be more than enough.”
Reinhold and Luke took the bags and slowly walked back to Reinhold’s home.
“Actually, I was thinking of you telling her how handsome and dashing I am. Also, let her know it was the sole brave hero who ran to her aid, like her knight in shining armor. I mean, if people were to choose if I was a knight or a prince, I’m sure people would definitely call me a prince. Uh… aren’t you going to stop me?”
“I stopped listening when I heard you say ‘handsome.’ I got chills sent straight down my spine.”
“Hey! You’re not supposed to be funny! I’m the funny one here!”
Reinhold lightly laughed, for the first time in a long while.
After arriving at the entrance of his home, Reinhold turned the doorknob and muttered under his breath, “Thanks.”
He went inside and sorted out all the goods.
After a long week of self-blame and agony, he finally slept peacefully for once.
The following morning, he brought 400 noux that Luke gave him and went to the prison. He asked for the thief that turned herself in, the guard only flipped through multiple scrolls and gave Reinhold the scroll that had the girl’s face.
“Name: Aya (redacted), Age: 16, Crime: Petty theft, Special: Gifted in speed and concealment, Bail: 1400 noux.”
“Wait a minute, 1400 noux? Why did the price skyrocket?”
The guard lazily leaned back in his chair, “New laws and whatnot, apparently gifted have a base bail price of 1000 noux. If you want to complain, there’s a separate department for that.”
Reinhold didn’t like how Aya’s bail basically tripled in such a short amount of time. Sudden changes were always a telltale sign of something happening. Despite this, Reinhold went back home, took out 1000 more noux, and paid for Aya’s full bail.
“Although it’ll take me a bit longer, it’s the least I could do for him.”
The guard unceremoniously took the money and brought a key chain hanging from the side, the multiple keys clanked against each other.
He motioned Reinhold to come alongside him, and they entered the underground cellar where the prisoners were being held.
There were five people occupying the same cell that Aya was in. All of them were sitting away from each other, wary of what the rest might do if they let their guard down.
“Aya, someone paid for your bail. Come out.”
Aya’s eyes glittered, she took her time walking away from where she sat. Her fellow inmates were looking at her in confusion, a random thief, and a normal gifted no less. What made her so special was that someone was willing to fork over 1400 noux for a common girl.
“Who are you?”
“The guy you stole from, let’s go.”
Aya lowered her head in shame when she heard this. If not for her targeting him, her brother wouldn’t have been poisoned and this entire scenario wouldn’t have had happened.
Reeling in the confusion, Aya just absentmindedly followed Reinhold. As the lively atmosphere permeated the streets, she could finally walk among everyone else, no longer simply watching from a distance. She missed out on the good news, but she could see the smiles on everyone’s faces, something good happened.
Reinhold and Aya finally reached the forge beside the guild. Aya immediately ran over and hugged a peculiar frail child, this frail child also hugged his sister tightly.
“Chris, I’m back. Life’s turning around for the better.”
“Big sis, sir Heinster and Johnny took care of me while you were gone.”
Aya fully bowed sincerely thanking Heinster and Johnny from the bottom of her heart. She then looked back at the benevolent man that was willing to let her go despite everything she had done.
“I don’t know why you let me go but thank you, I know that the bail was beyond my worth countless times over but I’m willing to work properly to pay it all back and more.”
Reinhold’s slight smile didn’t change and only leaned in so that only she could hear him, “It wasn’t me who paid for your bail, it was another person.”
“Then… who?” Aya slightly recoiled in confusion, she didn’t understand what he was trying to imply.
“Remember the golden-haired boy that called for Sir Heinster while u were essentially helpless?”
“You mean he paid for my bail? Then why did you go there instead of him, I don’t understand.”
“Special circumstances, he saw your looks and was smitten. If you want to pay me back for the tear ducts, just give him a chance. He’s a bit of a playboy but he means well.”
Reinhold left as soon as he came, leaving Aya in Heinster’s care. Before he was out of view, Aya suddenly felt a weird discomfort on her side, unknowingly, he placed a letter without her finding out.
“Always a sly kid that one.” Heinster rubbed his scruffy white beard while admiring how naturally Reinhold left her here.
“S-Sir Heinster, Reinhold’s not gifted is he?”
“Unfortunately, he’s not. Smart though, real smart.”
Aya was slightly confused, how could Reinhold have done that as a mortal, even having needed a crutch to move around? Despite what people thought of her, she knew how much more superior she was as a gifted, her talent was tested when she was literally on the brink of exhaustion.
Reinhold, using his crutch to slowly move around the city, was having his mind run on overtime.
“I need more information, more supplies, more trump cards. Something’s going to happen. Something real bad.”
If a coward senses danger, people best understand there’s danger lurking about.