After hearing the boy recount his story, he kept nodding his head in understanding.

Essentially, the boy was an orphan, and the man was taking advantage of that fact to continue to reduce his wages, and not pay him at all at times.

The boy, not finding anything to eat became obligated to steal some of their earning in a dry fruit store in order to feed himself. When the man would go through their inventory, he would find some money missing, which would prompt him to give the boy a slight beating and a warning. After several of those warnings had piled up, he brought him to this deserted alleyway and started the punishment he had always warned about.

Melvin stood up after he processed everything, and with unhurried steps, he walked back to the man on his knees who had heard everything they talked about.

Crouching down once again, he coldly stared at the man's eyes as if looking at a corpse, "I will keep this short," He said, bringing his dagger out of his waistband, "I could tell that you don't recognize me, but I am a killer, remember this face and go read the news when you leave here." Letting that sink in, he continued, "I will come to your store in two days' time. If you haven't given the boy his earned wages by then, I will definitely kill you and have him work somewhere else." He then grabbed the man's collars, and emphasized, "You got that?"

With a deeply hurt and unwilling expression, the man slowly nodded in agreement.

Witnessing that, Melvin was sure the situation wouldn't proceed as smoothly as he had hoped. However, he was planning on sticking to his word. If that man did anything funny, he would make him pay.

After the man stood up, he helped the boy to his feet and the two of them walked out of the alleyway. It was then that Melvin noticed a man at the very edge of the alley looking at everything with an amused expression, and he was immediately on guard.

The man's attire was unremarkable, something that would seamlessly blend with any crowd. His eyes, a piercing shade of grey, betrayed a keen intelligence, while his closely cropped beard added an air of ruggedness to his normal appearance. Strands of chestnut hair peeked out from beneath his weathered hat, framing his weather but mature face, and a faint smile tugged at his lips.

He could tell that it was the expression of someone who knew something else, and that's what made Melvin vigilant. With calm, collected steps, he got out of the alley after putting the dagger in its place.

The new guest was at the right corner, and Melvin turned to the left without giving him a single glance.

"Wait," He said from behind, and so Melvin turned around with a questioning look on his face.

"Sorry," the man said, "I hope you don't mind, but I was just curious about what happened there since I came here after hearing the noise."

With a scrutinizing gaze, Melvin studied the man's expressions, trying to find some clue that would give him something to work on. However, he decided to take his words at face value, whilst also keeping a tight guard, and so he began explaining the story between the two.

Shaking his head in disappointment, he muttered, "That is too vicious," then remembering the most important part he said, "I am sure he will beat him even more when he gets out of here."

Melvin smiled and said replied confidently, "I wouldn't be so sure unless he doesn't value his life."

The man's brows shot up as if surprised and said, "Oh? So, I take it you handled that part as well?"

Melvin had a slight tinge of pride and couldn't help but boast a little, "Well, of course, otherwise wouldn't I be too narrow-minded?"

The man chuckled to himself, and said, "You are right, it would indeed be too stupid not to think of that." A short silence followed as a wide grin was plastered on his face before he said, "But I expect no less from the altar butcher."

Hearing that, Melvin's eyes widened, and he took several steps back. "Who are you?" He questioned.

The man laughed lightly and said, "Don't worry, I don't mean no harm. And I don't believe that you actually did all of those things."

"You don't?" Melvin asked confusion evident on his face, but still very vigilant against this odd stranger.

"Most people who are worth their salt wouldn't believe it," He said as a matter of factly, "You are not the only psycho killer in town, and the attention you're getting is very disproportionate to the crime. Moreover, your backstory doesn't line up you see."

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

"And who are you?" Melvin asked, still not believing such words. To him, the excuse for his backstory not lining up wasn't up to par. The fact that a slum trash like him was able to evade the guards for this long and show that impressive strength was suspicious enough to make his crimes plausible.

Noticing his clear disbelief, the man seemed surprised, but he said, "I am just an adventurer, but that's not too important." He paused, his expression becoming solemn, and said, "Call this a stroke of fate, but me and my buddy we've been looking for someone just like you for an important job."

"What job is that?" Melvin asked, suspicious but slightly intrigued.

"I don't think we should speak of it here," He said, and then he glanced at the walls and said with a whisper, "The walls have ears, you know?"

'Is this some sort of intricate ambush?' Melvin thought with a complicated expression.

The man knew that it was very suspicious from the other side, and so he offered, "If you help us, we'll assist you to flee the city, isn't that what you want?"

Melvin's eyes widened when he heard the offer. If they could truly help him leave the city, his chances of survival would increase exponentially. And so after a bit of back and forth, he decided to follow after him.

He figured if this was indeed a plan by the guards then it was too overly complicated, after all, if they were aware of his location they could have just sent someone powerful to apprehend him directly.

Still, he was very suspicious and on high alert, after all, the guards weren't the only force after him.

"Alright," He said with a faint smile, "Let's hear what you guys have to say."

The man nodded and gestured for him to follow.

With the man leading the way and Melvin and Firrol following after him, they continued advancing, one street after the other. After a few minutes, they emerged out of a narrow alleyway into one more spacious but still deserted.

"That's the place," The man pointed with his finger, and following his directions Melvin saw what looked like a shop with a barn door, where only a single door was opened, giving it a narrow entrance.

Confused, Melvin didn't say anything but merely followed after the man. However, just as he was about to step foot inside, he felt slightly awkward. Other than the anxiety he was feeling from entering some unknown place, he was also self-conscious about the clothes he was wearing.

He felt very out of character in them, but that was precisely why he wore them because they seemed so distant. A black sweatshirt, and a bandana with flowery drawings.

Dismissing such thoughts, he quickly entered inside and was greeted by a rather peculiar scene.

It looked like a restaurant that was out of business with chairs and tables gathered in an organized pile on either side. At the center was a simple wooden circular table, and four equally simple chairs.

In one of the chairs, a man sat. His expression was rather indiscernible as he looked at him, but Melvin could clearly detect a faint trace of disbelief.

The man's honeyed hair was combed back neatly, and his face looked mature with a slight sharp stubble. However, what stood out the most to Melvin was the man's majestic bushy mustache and a palm-sized brown sparrow in the man's right shoulder.

The bird's attention was completely targeted at the gracefully walking cat, and with an intelligent gleam in its eyes, it began to violently screech in anger as it looked at it. It was only comforted when the man started brushing its neck with his thick calloused index finger.

Melvin knew that this species of bird was very abundant in this city. In his wild escapades through the roofs, he had encountered dozens of them.

The man who brought Melvin along had already sat down, and he had an amused smile as he watched everything unfold. Witnessing that the guest was still standing, he gestured for the chair beside him, and said, "Please sit down."

The man then approached the man with the sparrow and whispered something in his ears. The small sparrow seemed very familiar with the man because as his face neared him, it didn't try to evade but merely ducked down beneath his chin.

Melvin's eyes quickly caught a glimpse of an old man in the backroom sweeping, so he approached the chair and sat down. Firrol, on the other hand, returned to the shop's edge beside the door after giving the insides a brief look.

Melvin and the man with the sparrow made eye contact for the second time, and neither of them spoke.

Witnessing this, the one who brought him along coughed and said pointing at that man, "This man here is called Evarius, he's the friend I told you about."

Internally, Melvin wasn't too pleased with this man. It was necessary to smile politely when meeting people for the first time, especially in such a sensitive manner.

With an impassive look, he merely nodded at him and averted his eyes. But then he thought wryly, 'But I suppose I am a killer from his perspective so it's understandable.'

"As for me," The man said, "You can call me Borus."

"Alright, nice to meet you?" Melvin said, somewhat uncertain. But then he quickly changed the subject and got right into the heart of why they were here in the first place, "So who are you guys, and what do you need my help with?"

The man with the sparrow, or as he was called, Evarius. Spoke for the first time, with a faint smile, and said, "We are the guards."

Melvin's eyes widened as he looked at him, but after he didn't sense any hostility, he questioned, "And so what of it?"

Evarius's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he said, "I suppose if Borus brought you here, then you're safe?"

Chuckling, Melvin said, "It depends on what you mean by safe."

Smiling even wider, Evarius replied, "For a young brat, you sure are confident."

Melvin's eyes smile stiffened, his eyes unamused by being called a brat. He knew that the situation here was rather sensitive, and he couldn't allow for these people to subtly undermine him by infantilizing him.

"I don't need this shit," He muttered after he stood up a loud whoosh, pushing his chair aside.

However, before he could turn around to leave, Evarius stood and said, "Calm down, I was just kidding. Please sit."

Melvin looked at him dead in the eyes and said, "We don't know each other, and even if we did, who gave you the gall to call me brat? Are you out of your mind?"