After another minute of staring at the sizzling pot, Keifer stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. He found Anissa fiddling with the brown radio box, its screeching sounds filling the room.
Occasionally, a muffled voice would emerge, prompting her to tweak the dial.
As he stood watching her, Anissa turned and said softly, "You might not know, but the Jonathan show is on around 9 and again at 2. Right now, it's mostly just Jonathan and his sister talking about her books. It's more like an interview."
Keifer stayed silent for a moment before nodding. "Can you help me with something?" he asked, adopting a timid tone with a hint of a Canen accent.
"What?" She glanced at him, her attention still partly on the screeching radio.
"I need help with the food. It's a bit stale, but maybe you can make it better. It would take more time if I did that before dressing up."
He carefully observed her expressions as he spoke.
After a minute of silence, Anissa sighed and said, "Aren't you just itching for my cooking?"
Keifer rubbed his head in feigned embarrassment and replied, "Yeah..."
Without another word, she stood up and walked past Keifer, heading into the kitchen.
Watching her go, he profiled her actions once more before proceeding into his room.
But just then—
Knock, knock, knock!
Slightly startled by the knock, his attention was momentarily diverted to the door, a single question echoing in his mind: Is there yet another person in my life I don't know?
Sighing, Keifer walked towards the door his gaze shifting past the screeching radio.
"Who is it?" he called out.
The other party was quiet for a couple of seconds before a slightly soft voice with a Canen accent replied, "I'm Elena, sent from the Canen Credit Bank. I have a package for you." The voice paused for a moment before adding, "It's a gift from your time in the backwaters."
Canen Credit Bank. Gift. Backwaters. Keifer analyzed the keywords, his mind racing with calculations. This package—does it have anything to do with the heretic? It is suspicious that I received a package a day after her death, especially one labeled as a gift. Could I have some connection to something in that part of the city? Something that would warrant my death?
There were too many possible conclusions about the package's significance and too little time to delve into them all. Trusting his instincts, he decided that opening the door and receiving the package wouldn't immediately endanger him.
Taking a deep breath, he responded, "Alright, I'm coming."
Although he was already at the door, he spoke in such a manner to avoid giving Elena the impression that he had been eagerly awaiting the package. This was a precaution in case the contents were incriminating; he could feign ignorance with such subtle actions.
After waiting a few seconds, he tidied up his clothes and opened the door, muttering, "Good to meet you."
Outside stood an auburn red-haired lady with faint acne on her cheeks. She was blue-eyed and stood at a considerable height of 1.8 meters. Elena, as she identified herself, was dressed in a peculiar black dress with a white garment draped over her shoulder. It was a unique and utterly different style from what Keifer had seen from the women of Canen.
The threads in the clothes seemed to have been woven into a complicated rose-like pattern.
She was carrying a small brown box with a single symbol on the surface. The symbol was a golden lion. It was the symbol of the Tudor Empire!
Elena, glancing at Keifer with a smile, gently placed her fingers on her forehead and said, "Salo to you."
Salo? What's that? A different greeting style? Diverse culture, perhaps... Keifer thought, a smile on his face.
"Please come in," he said, extending his hand to show the way into the apartment.
The lady Elena shook her head and explained, "Sorry I can't do that, company policy, I'm not allowed to come into your house, so outside here is enough."
Keifer nodded, and asked, "Do you have something for me?"
Elena not responding simply passed the package forward.
Taking the package from her hands, keifer examined the weight which to him was light. Incredibly light and as such likely was not a weapon or breakables.
From the weight of the package, it was obvious the object was not big and at most was about the size of an average book.
Elena staring at keifer examined the package and decided to chime in, "It's a journal, it was said to be given to you if something were to happen to the owner."
"And who is that?"
Elena from her clothes took out a piece of paper and unfolded it, "It's not written here. The only name here is Moon. Although you are required to sign this paper once you are given the package."
Keifer took a breath and extended his hands asking for the paper.
The lady gave it to him, alongside a black pen with a golden symbol inscribed around it; It also had a lion inscription which marked the Tudor empire.
Taking the pen and the paper, keifer took a moment to read through it.
It contained basic requirements such as proving that he was keifer mors, and also agreeing that he had indeed received the package.
So my name is keifer mors. Mors? As in death?... Keifer recalled the words' meaning from his home world.
However, he recalled that it may have a different meaning in this place.
Staring at the paper, he realized that he had no idea what his signature was.
Glancing at Elena for a moment, keifer sighed knowingly and wrote the initials, "K.M." Before passing it back to the lady.
Taking the piece of paper from him, she read it through and nodded in affirmation, "This is good. Salo to you sir." Elena tapped her forehead and proceeded to turn around, but as she took a few steps, she paused and turned around, "I'm a valandorian."
"Hm?" Keifer exclaimed with slight wonder.
"I'm a valandorian." She repeated, "From valandora, I'm an immigrant. It's obvious from your gaze that you haven't seen a valandorian before." Then after her explanation, she calmly left the corridor, down the stairs.
So that's who she is? I was worried I would have had to ask her. I was close to even asking her.
Nonetheless, my initials Km seemed to have done it. Perhaps it was correct…
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Valandora was a kingdom east of the Tudor empire and was separated by the Red River and was closest to Port Santa. Subsequently, it is known as the strongest nation in the continent and was known to be the sole kingdom that stopped the salvation war of the second millennium which was started by the Tudor empire, but later down the line, they lost the industrial race to the empire.
Although, currently, there are talks of a possible war between the empire and the kingdom of gold and beauty.
They were also known for their elegant dress that seemed a tad bit flamboyant.
All this, keifer gathered from whispers and readings.
Looking at the package, keifer proceeded into his room.
Inside, he found the unwilling guest, Clarice sitting in the middle of the room, still dressed in her white peasant dress.
She stared with a piercing gaze and an annoyed expression.
"You were quiet," Keifer said while approaching his bed.
Clarice stayed quiet for a moment before saying In a spiteful tone, "Who is that person that came to meet you? And what is that box she gave you?"
"You could hear us?" Keifer asked passively while unbuttoning his clothes.
Scoffing at these words, she rolled her eyes before continuing, "I'm a demon, just because you coated your house with salt doesn't mean I'm not still a mystical creature."
Keifer said nothing and simply gave a nod. So she's a demon. Is that another of the 12 Mystical races? If so why did she give me penances that didn't correspond to her race? The two possibilities are that she either is very secretive about it or perhaps she had accommodated the powers, despite it being from a different set.
So the building is coated with salt. And about how she knows that. I reckon that she is intelligent and perhaps has some special ability that lets her see that fact. In any case, this must mean that the late keifer had some knowledge of what a mystical creature is. Or at least what their weakness was...The action of coating salt in his home seems like an expression of fear.
Keifer went silent, both in thought and in words. His hands traced the surface of the box, he waited a moment before opening it up.
Inside, solitary in the box was a black book. It seemed like a journal and was seemingly wrapped in leather.
Some sort of skin. Perhaps an animal? Keifer mulled over the information.
Bringing the paper close to his nose, keifer took a sniff before placing it on his lap. He waited a moment before glancing at the unwilling guest. Her expression remained spiteful.
So it's nothing supernatural. Keifer deduced, but he couldn't be sure since there was a possibility the salt suppression was greater than he anticipated.
Opening the book, he saw the first page which had writing written in blood-red ink.
The lettering was strange, it seemed canese at first but seemed to have other roots. Just as he peered more into it, it seemed as if the words began to rearrange themselves in a comprehensible manner.
It was the same thing that happened when he tried to read canese!
In a moment he recognized the language. It was thorin, ancient thorin!
This is the language keifer specialized in...He glanced at the now-arranged stacks of books on the desk. Although he didn't go through them specifically, he did occasionally glance. And that language was something the late Keifer seemed to enjoy.
He must have been quite literally. keifer nodded in acknowledgment.
After a while, he read the book.
It turned out that the book was a journal of some kind, and it began on June 1st, two weeks from the current moment.
But before all that, there was a warning, written in blood!
"Before you read the contents below, keep a steel mind, a steel thought, and a steel conviction. You must not showcase a desire to complete any of the actions listed on this page!"
A warning? This shares the same characteristics as penance. Does this book contain the knowledge of penances? Keifer gained a sense that he was holding some kind of treasure in the supernatural world.
Taking a minute to keep his calm and rein in his thoughts and emotions, and after an additional second, he read through the book.
"1st June. Today, I embarked on the investigation of the metal people cases—the puzzling phenomenon of individuals killed by their bodies turning into metal. Despite my superior, Chief Stanley, denying me access, I pressed on. I delved into the sightings and discovered that one of the metal warehouses had been attacked and its contents stolen. This led me to believe that the stolen metals were being used in the murders.
"June 3. Dear Craft, what have I stumbled upon? The metal from the warehouse was never used for the killings. It was for something else entirely. They were building something. They call themselves the Iron Brotherhood, and there is no scientific explanation for what they do!
"June 5. Oh, I'm overwhelmed with joy, in utter bliss. Today, they revealed to me the knowledge of the Iron Heart Penance. It was magnificent. All I had to do was kill the person I loved the most. And that was my baby girl, my eight-year-old daughter... I killed her and took her heart. And... and I replaced it with an iron heart!
"June 6. After I took my daughter's heart out and replaced it with an iron one, it was as if the wind ceased. Something illusory, transparent, like iron, smelling of metal, and beating like a heart—it entered me, merged into my body, into my very spirit. And then, I acquired power. True mystical power. I could turn things into metal. I could augment any iron weapon to make it stronger!
"June 8. My faith in the Craft and the Primordial One is wavering. Strange thoughts invade my mind; I no longer cherish the flesh. I keep imagining surgically removing body parts and replacing them with metal. My personality feels like it's being rewritten. I no longer cry when a child weeps before me.
"June 9. A member of the Iron Brotherhood approached me today. I was summoned to join them. Now I understand why they attacked the warehouses. Tonight, I join them for a heist!
"June 10. We were attacked. My Chief is one of them. He is also a penitent—a set 2 Demi-God and the captain of the Canen Public Police force. We lost, and many of my teammates died. And from my own former force? I killed three of my comrades. His power is terrifying. The might of a Demi-God is terrifying!"