As the sun began to set, people began to filter inside. Those who had an early morning went home; those who were looking forward to a night out found their entertainment sites of choice.

Nostel had just turned in a simple mission at the Ranger Guild and was on his way home to change out of his armor. He didn't rent a room at the guild. In a place full of Rangers, some of whom could see through walls, there was no privacy. Instead, he rented a room at an inn near the red light district. Here, there was much more freedom of movement.

His room was located on the second floor, and could be accessed from a stairwell and balcony circling the second level of the building. He turned his key to unlock the door. It was dark inside with no lanterns lit, but some orange light from the setting sun drifted in through an open window. This faint light highlighted the outline of a person, dressed head to toe in black, sitting on his bed.

Nostel’s pupils dilated. Without a second thought, he turned and bolted in the other direction. Before he could get far, a shiny metal clasp dug into his leather armor. The clasp was attached to a near invisible string, which the black figure held in its hands. Nostel let out a small cry as he was dragged into the room. The Black figure quickly tied him up with the thin string and shut the door.

“Dammit!” Nostel cursed.

“Quiet down,” a feminine voice came from behind the black person’s mask. “People are trying to get to sleep.”

“Let me go you flat-chested bitch!” he shouted, struggling against the cords.

The black person sat on a wooden chair placed against the wall and crossed her legs in a casual posture. “You shouldn't talk to your sister that way. Even I can get angry, you know? Your friends are all busy with other things, so I thought I would keep you to myself for a couple days.” Her tone was playful, “Sister needs help with a little work she’s doing.”

Nostel stopped struggling for a minute to glare. “I'm not part of your shitty Dark Guild,” he snarled.

“Oh my. Maybe it was a mistake to let you make friends? They're quite a bad influence, aren't they? Should I maybe just,” she twirled some sharp needles between her fingers, “remove them?”

Nostel glared at her coldly, sweat dripping down his back. His sister broke the silence with a chuckle.

“My! Such a cold look you're giving me. I was only kidding. It's unprofessional to kill off-contract.”

“What do you want, Nori?” Nostel barked.

Nori tilted her black-clothed head and spoke coolly. “Like I said. Help with a job.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“I need details,” he insisted. “I won't just agree without knowing how dangerous it is.”

Nori’s mask didn't move, but her voice sounded like she was smiling. “You’re cautious, Nostel. As usual, that’s the only thing good about you.” She crossed her legs the other way and tilted her head in a way that felt somehow menacing.

“A certain someone higher up is messing with the social order. They've established a new brothel in town and somebody doesn't like having their business interrupted. The offending party can't be touched at the moment, so the client has asked us to shut down the new brothel instead. These people are amateurs. They're only keeping afloat by handing out bribes. It’ll be over in a week.”

“I don't see how I can help,” Nostel turned his face away defiantly.

“You will act as a customer so that I can tail you inside.”

“No!” Nostel shook his head. “Why should I? You can follow any random person who goes in!”

“There’s no harm in it, right? And you'll get to see some of those curvy women you like.”

Nostel started to struggle against his bindings again. “Do you think I'm an idiot? There’s no way it’s that simple. And what do you mean “there’s no harm in it”?! You're an Assassin!”

“Alright, quiet down.” Nori waved her hand and sighed like her fun had been ruined. “If I tell you anything else about the plan, you could be implicated. Is that what you want? More importantly,” the tone of her voice dropped, “I'm not giving you a choice.”

***

The sleeping arrangements for our guests are the same as last time. Rudan is staying with Durghan, and Elianora is staying with Fiara.

Rudan and Durghan sparred some before dinner, but there wasn't time for much of it. I agreed to let Rudan join the hunters in the morning for some practical combat training.

Momma has her own place now, so this is the first night I've spent living alone. It's kind of quiet, but I like it.

I can't help but think about various things when it's quiet like this. It's inevitable that my thoughts wander back to Earth. I wonder what happened to the person who killed me? His life is probably pretty miserable right now. He’ll have to pay settlements to my family, and live with that guilt. It's hard to hate him when I imagine him sinking so low.

More importantly, that car was my grandma’s old car, you know?! How dare you wreck it like that! When she moved into assisted living, that was her gift to me so I wouldn't have to bike to work everyday. The winters are cold where I lived, and that car saved me from frostbite! I got to be reincarnated, but what about her?

I hope my family sold her for parts. You can make better money that way than by selling it whole. It's more work though.

There’s no longer any point in wanting my old life back. By now, my death certificate has been filed, my funeral finished, my assets have been divided, and everyone is working on moving on. It's already too late to go back.

In some ways, it's better that I died like that. If I had somehow lived, I would have medical bills to pay, I'd be out of work, and my car would be trashed. I don't want a hard life like that. But I'm still angry any of this happened in the first place. I'm already used to living here, but I miss modern conveniences. I miss modern media, especially games. I could happily play the bad guy in games because there weren't any consequences. Now, even though I'm living in a fantasy world, I still can't let loose because it's dangerous.

I want to let loose. I want to go wild. But I could end up killing myself and dooming the village.

If I had enough power that I didn't have to worry about it, I would go wild. That's what I honestly think.

Thinking about stuff like this isn't doing me any good. I force my thoughts to quiet down and roll over to sleep.