current day……...

After Ray left Layna and others got to their work as usual. As Layna was going about her daily chores around the inn, she remembered the previous day’s conversation that took place between Lucia and Baren.

She is genuinely worried for Ray and afraid if Baren or Lucia try to overstep and eliminate him for precautionary measures even before confirming his identity.

Layna was always a caring child. She had two brothers and one sister. The Sister was the oldest and then two brothers in the middle. Layna was the youngest and hence was the most loved and cared for. Although this love, surprisingly never spoilt her. She grew even more loving and caring woman. But this also made her too gullible.

She grew ever too sad thinking Ray might lose his life just because of her. She thought of distancing herself from Ray but on second thought she knew it might lead to other complications. Baren or Lucia could easily misunderstand that for a sign of me being uncomfortable. And…...

She knew it was a bad idea to distance herself as it would raise a lot of unwanted false suspicions about Ray. So, she finally decided that she would take responsibility and find the true nature of Ray. She hoped that he was clean and didn’t want him to end up hurt in any way. With this newfound determination, she continued with her work.

A little later at the Library……

“Well, this is fun?”, I stood at the entrance of the lavatory.

I was in deep shit right now. It was the bloody juice. God, I need to control myself. Don’t drink the whole jug just because it’s tasty. Ok, lesson learned. Now please someone tell me which among this is the male lavatory. I am about to cry now……please someone.

“Oh, Mr. Ash you seem to be in a lot of pain. What happened? Why are you dancing like that in front of the washroom”, Julia asked with great concern.

Oh, a Goddess. Thank the heavens. I made no delay.

“Please could you tell me which one is the male lavatory among these? Please”, I begged although not sure why.

“you don’t need to beg like that. Sure, I can. This one. Sorry, I forgot you couldn’t read.”, she said apologetically.

I hurried in thanking her hastily.

I returned after a while to make sure I didn’t bump into her on my way back. It was awkward, and I didn’t want to get more embarrassed. Believe me or not, I have always been a bit self-conscious about these things.

I returned to my position which was that of a chaperon. Well, I am just kidding but it was close to that. Since I couldn’t read or so yet, I

‘had to look around and politely monitor people and help them if they need any.’

Well, this was what told to me at least and so far, I think I have been good at it. Although I think this as a disguised unemployment as this seems too good to be a legitimate job. I believed she came up with this position because Baren enquired about an opening.

Still, I am not sure how Baren and Marcella are related. And then there is a case of that scary doctor who knows Baren and the real me. It would be really bad if she turns out to be some bad news. I am worried but with my current status, I can’t do jack.

So that brings back to the current situation. Marcella told me that she would help me to learn to read and write but for that, I had to do the simple job I am assigned right now. And I didn’t do anything catastrophic despite the linguistic barrier between me and the people who surround me. But I must make sure not to raise any suspicion.

Some kids were running around making noise and as a result, ended up disturbing others. Well, people find kids hard to reason with, but I know the trick. You see kids have a small and narrow brain. Not trying to be rude here but it’s the truth.

All I had to do was lure them towards the drink that I had foolishly gulped down a few moments back and bam works like a charm. But I will not say that I was not mad. I was always irritated by the fact of the existence of irresponsible parents who will bring their children to public service but not be responsible for them. Well, can’t do much about it.

I continued to direct people to different sections of the library when enquired about it. Occasionally would help someone get a book that was on the higher shelf and the person who needs the book wasn’t sure about his ladder-climbing skills.

At the end of the day, I was very tired and seriously the term ‘occasionally’ is an understatement. Once they saw I was available for that job people were asking for the service all over the place. There were people who, after I had climbed down the ladder, would tell me it was the wrong book and they needed the one that was next to it. That would be the most frustrating moments.

Anyways I was happy that the day had finally got over, but I understood that my job wasn’t and hence I had to bear this for the time I take to learn to read and write. I mean, I am a quick learner so it shouldn’t take much time but let’s not get ahead of us.

I was helped Julia in closing her work. She was a nice and decent girl who had godly patience. I respect her for that. For a moment I felt like beating the shit out of those old hags.

Julia was an assistant librarian. Her job was to manage the clerical work of ‘book borrow and return’ and do the things that I was doing today. Well now that I am here, her workload is probably reduced by a significant amount.

She was the in-charge of the history section. It was a small section and often visited by old scholars and small children who would just accidentally wander off. Julia didn’t mind at all. She was a full born extrovert and loved to interact with people and kids alike. During the working hours, I would often catch her brooding on the desk playing with her red hair and her dark green eyes searching for something constantly. She had the animal ears which, was becoming very common for me now that I have seen a bunch of them.

Sometimes I think if she is happy having me share the workload. Honestly, I don’t want to find out.

She finally finished up her work and started closing the section. She was very hardworking and simple-minded. I kind of felt sorry. I mean I wasn’t sure if this world forced her to be like this or she wasn’t aware of the opportunities available.

Anyways I ended up reach a bit late than usual. I figured from the dinner that was served on the table. It seems everyone was waiting for me. That was surprising, to be honest.

Well, everything that night went as usual. I had dinner, helped the staff to clean up and hit the bed. The only peculiar thing was Layna’s behavior. She was ever so anxious whenever I passed by and the way she looked at me with those troubled eyes. She was trying to hide it but it was evident. I wanted to ask her about it but I didn’t want to be too nosy. She didn’t ask for my help, besides my last attempt in trying to be the hero who saves the damsel in distress made me end up here. It pained me but I didn’t want to take any more risk.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

And so nearly a week passed by…….

This world’s people also had a paid holiday (like Sunday) and the day before that is a half-day.

I was returning from my job. I was proud of myself as I had learned a few letters of the common language here (Nilan).

I had it all planned. I would sleep for about an hour or so and then help around the inn just like the last half-day. But as soon as I entered the inn, I was caught by Layna asking if I accompany her as she was leaving for the market to get some groceries for the inn. I hate it when my plans get disrupted like this but since it was Layna I agreed unwillingly. She has been genuinely polite and a lot friendly than anyone here.

I went upstairs, freshened up and came back down. I saw Baren ready to leave with us. I wasn’t sure what was going on. I was sure since it was Layna, the shopping list would be very small. In all honesty, she doesn’t need me either. What is going on?

“Hey there, I will give you kids a lift to the market. I am bored anyways.”, he exclaimed.

What the hell. I mean it’s just a few minutes of walking. Baren and his fake gestures towards me were wearing me off. I wanted to decline the offer or bailout from going at all. But then something very surprising happened.

“Its fine uncle Barren, we can manage. It's just a few blocks away. Besides, you didn’t give a bath to Bessie all week. I sure she is pretty angry either you know.”, she replied with a strong statement of rejection.

Barren tried to make a comeback, but Layna handed me a bag and started walking out.

Well, I will be damned. So Layna isn’t the completely shy, gullible girl I thought she was. She shut down the ever so persistent Baren.

As we were walking towards the market, there was this awkward silence. I mean I have never been alone with her till today. And my sense of humor is next to null. I was never the conversation starter and how was I supposed to do it now? I think she is ok with the silence though. I never perceived her as a talkative kitty. Yeah, no matter how long I will spend here, I will never get used to those ears. It's one of the reasons I still believe this could be a dream.

Anyways I thought this as the day to break some of my bad habits and socialize for once. This way I can show my gratitude towards her. But as the trailing me tried to approach the leading cat, I caught a glimpse of the same anxious look that I have been observing for a while now. I am not sure if its all the time or just with me. I felt like I should clear the misunderstanding, but I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. Hence, I thought if waiting it out and I was hoping she would come to me when she feels comfortable.

We reached the market and started shopping. I say us but it was all her. I was just carrying the goods. I am not complaining but I was feeling kind of left out. She was crossing out the stuff on her list as we bought things. It looked like she was very fluent in NILAN. Whom am I kidding she knows it; she is from this world. It should be natural for her.

As we were walking from stall to stall, I saw the items getting crossed over in the list. It wasn’t a lot in terms of weight but a lot in terms of variety. There was a lot of crowd in the meat selling part. I never tried meat in this world and considering that I am from another world, I don’t want to discover the side effects if any. I am being too cautious cause I have a feeling that if I die here, I will probably end up dead in my world.

I was making my way towards a meat stall which was pointed out by Layna. This time because of the crowd I was leading Layna. I felt like a man for once. Suddenly I felt a jerk as I was held by my hand. I looked behind but by that time I was already dragged out of the crowd onto a thin side lane; a small area between two stalls,

“I want to ask you something and I want you to answer honestly”, she said in an anxiously stern manner.

“Uh…. ah……yeah sure”, I said still looking behind.

I had made a small horrifying discovery. There was a man at a distant store pretending to buy stuff but as I thought for a second while making a conversation with Layna, I remembered him from the inn in the afternoon. I looked away from him acting to converse with Layna and that’s when he saw us. I spotted through my peripheral vision.

From when is he following us? What does he want? Whom is he following? I hope it's not related to this face’s previous owner. This isn’t fair, I am getting wasted before I even have a chance. I had to think quick before he gets to know that I have discovered his presence.

“Who are you, Ray? I mean for real, who are you? and remember you promised me the truth”, she asked thinking I was still listening.

I turned the other way grabbing her hand. This will make her panic and hence I had to show proof to get her complete cooperation. So, I had to show her what I saw.

“From your right look at the fourth stall. There is a man in a blue hood looking our way. Don’t make it obvious ok?”, I paused so she can verify. “He has been following us for a while now. Do you know anything about it”, I asked.

She shook her head with a feared look. Well, at least I have her cooperation, but she didn’t stop panicking. I needed her to stop it for me to focus.

“I will try my best to get us out of it. I am so sorry if I am the reason for this mess. If it feels like I won’t be able to make it then I will make sure your safety at the least. So please stop panicking.”, I tried giving her confidence.

Her fear didn’t stop. It looked like I just added more fuel to the fire. I was dragging her through around. At this point, I am sure the guy has knowledge about our awareness and is on the move. I made my way out of the crowd. We reached an alleyway that I had no idea about.

Layna was panicking at her max with tears and stuff. She was mentally shut down. Well, this is bad. I need to calm her down. I thought of hiding somewhere in a small corner but the more I went deep in the alleyway, the more I felt a familiar feeling.

Suddenly it struck me. The doctor, Cecily Corsica, it’s the same one. I started to remember my way around. The alleyway was a bit dark, blocking the daylight. I didn’t possess the courage to look behind. I just made my way to the doctor’s office. Although, I wasn’t sure how safe will I be and I didn’t fully trust her either but she was my only gamble at the moment. I didn’t want to cause any trouble to Layna at the least, I could drop Layna at her office.

I finally reached her house-office. I started banging. After a few bangs, the door opened.

“Dear me. You look like you saw a ghost, what happened?”, she asked with concern.

“I don’t have time to explain. We are being chased and I think its probably because of me. Can you keep her safe? I will try to lure him away.”, I said gasping heavily as I saw a shadow approach slowly from the corner of the alleyway.

She nodded and took Layna inside but when I was about to leave, dragged me inside with herself. I wasn’t sure how to react. I was glad but at the same time feeling guilty of causing trouble. I was about to argue

“For now, don’t question anything and help me make this soup. You both must be exhausted from all that running and I can't bear to watch you in this pathetic state of yours. Meanwhile, Layna, go have a bath. I had already prepared one for myself so you can go immediately. You can get in after her.”, she replied with an authority.

We had no choice and we both did as we were told.

After a while when we had finished the soup and with the bath. I was still confused about how was she so calm even though I said had told her that we had a stalker. But her opening was very surprising;

“You think you are the only one holding lies here huh Ray. Or should I call you…… Reo “, she asked with a poker face that was held for the rest of the following conversation. That calm gentle smiling face she owned last time was nowhere to be seen.

She was revealing the secrets that she somehow knew about me. This made me more afraid of her than Baren. But right now I was more curious about what she had to say about our current situation.

I got a feeling that she already knows what’s going on. So, I didn’t bother acting smart and asked her straight forward. To which she replied in puzzle again,

“Well, I am not going to give you a direct answer. You are smart but you have been staying greatly distracted recently. You won't survive that long if you continue this. Let me give you a hint. Recall everything that Layna did or happened to her. That might at least give you an idea”, she replied sternly.

I started recalling. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what to look for. Layna was a polite, shy girl who could stand for herself when required. She has a great circle of acquaintances who care for her.

But……. But it scared the shit out of her knowing we had a stalker. It was as if she knew it was for her. I was scared but her fear was almost overflowing. Wait……. wait wait wait…... This isn’t my world. Education is a privilege in this world. Then…… then how was she able to read the list. Oh my god, I was blind. She is right; I won’t survive long if I continue like this.

But before that, I had to confirm if I was right. But when I looked at the guilty face of Layna, I knew for sure something was wrong. Who is Layna? Why were we stalked like that? Why was she so scared?

A plethora of questions and emotions rushed. I knew I had finally caught the thread through which will soon reveal a huge mystery and I was ready for it. I will finally get some answers.

But little did Reo know that this would be one of his MAJOR turning points. From here on he would grow ever so strong to overthrow a king all by himself. Here he will know and become the very thing he was introduced at the beginning. The SOUL CONTRACT.