The man's question was delivered simply, but finding a fitting answer seemed like an impossible task.

"I— I'm just looking around the place. I have no intent to harm anyone or anything." I delivered my answer with a small stutter in the beginning, feigning nervousness and surprise.

"You must not be from here. Did nobody tell you that being outside at this hour is not allowed," the man in front of me said and retracted his sword, convinced that I posed no threat, and I lowered my hands.

The man's words helped me recall what Eddie had said to me while we ate supper.

"You shouldn't go outside during the night," Eddie had told me, but how should I have known that was what he meant?

I had just thought that the streets were dangerous at night and had gone outside, confident that I couldn't be robbed or killed by these people.

"Ah, yes, I came to Cavea only recently. I wasn't aware of such a rule."

"Then if you were not aware that there were such rules, why did you go into the alley as if you were trying to lose us?" the man asked.

"Oh, I have a habit of doing that. I tend to get a little paranoid at night," I said innocently.

"Okay, but we will still have to place you under arrest. Breaking rules you don't know about is still breaking the rules," the man said and stepped closer to me and was about to grab me by the shoulder when a familiar voice came from behind me.

"Excuse me, agents. Is it in any way possible that you forgive my cousin here? The law has some flexibility, doesn't it," Eddie's voice came from behind me, and I turned around.

Behind me were two more agents in completely black uniforms with their faces covered, and Eddie with a complicated expression.

"You know him?" the agent behind me asked.

"Yes, as I said, he's my cousin who is visiting from the east," Eddie lied.

"Why is he outside at this time? Did you not inform him of our unique laws?"

"I did, but there must have been a misunderstanding," Eddie said.

"What misunderstanding?"

"Well, he did tell me that I shouldn't go outside at night, but I thought he was just saying that it was dangerous outside at night," I answered.

The agent stayed quiet, seemingly deciding if arresting me was the right choice.

"Please, it won't happen again. This was all just a misunderstanding, and no harm has been done, so could you please just let my cousin go?" Eddie said.

"What is your name?"

"Edward Miller, sir," Eddie said, taking out his wallet and showing his business card.

"I suppose an arrest because of a misunderstanding would be useless and a waste of time, so I will be letting your cousin go, but this will be reported, and if you get involved in a case like this again, you are the one who will be arrested," the agent said, seemingly having confirmed the authenticity of the business card from 10 meters away.

Then there was a gust of wind again, as the agents soundlessly jumped back up onto the roof of the building the alley was next to.

"Wha—" I let out a genuinely confused sound, as I watched the seemingly normal humans jump onto an over 6-meter-high building.

"Haaah," Eddie breathed out and started walking towards me.

I watched as he approached and made sure to have my guard up since he looked like he was about to attack me.

Then, when he was close enough, he grabbed both sides of my head with his hands and looked me in the eye.

"What the fuck are you up to?" he whispered aggressively.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Hey, I'm sorry. My curiosity just got the best of me," I said awkwardly with my hands raised.

"Haaah," Eddie breathed out and let go of me. "Well, let's get to my place," Eddie said, as he turned and started to walk away.

"You're going to let me stay?" I asked after I caught up to him.

"Well, this thing was partially my fault, and I still need a replacement," Eddie explained. "But if you do something dumb like this again, I'll surely kick you out."

"Thanks, and I'll make sure to not do anything like this ever again." I promised.

We had been silently walking back to Eddie's place when Eddie engaged a conversation.

"Hey, why is it not allowed to go outside during the night?" I asked and broke the silence.

"It's to lessen crime, and it has worked very well, so there shouldn't be any reason to complain."

"Sure, it works, but doesn't it feel a bit too restricting and all?"

"Well, the president's goal is to create a perfect society, so I guess people don't mind feeling a little restricted as long as their safety is protected. Besides, the president doesn't care about others' feelings anyway. He is a cold man who only cares about realizing his ideal reality by any means possible."

"I'm interested in seeing what this president might look like."

"We rarely see him, and there are no paintings of him, so I doubt that you'll see him during your time here."

"I guess my curiosity won't be satisfied then."

"Tough luck," Eddie said.

"Oh, you know what is done to the people who break the rules here, though, right?"

"Not really. Some think there's a prison beneath the president's house. I don't think so. I believe that the punishments range from warnings and fines to death on the basis of the severity of the crime and the status of the criminal."

"Ah, okay."

"Anyway, what were you so curious about that you just had to go outside?" Eddie asked curiously.

"I was just curious because you said that I shouldn't go outside at night," I lied through my teeth.

"Jeez, you're like a child that would eat steel wire because he was told not to," Eddie joked.

"Hahaha." I forced a laugh as my right eye twitched. "I guess so," I said, feigning amusement.

Although the feeling of being looked down upon and made fun of provoked rage in me, it was me who had chosen to execute the plan this way to maximize the amount of information gotten from all this, so I had no choice but to bear with it.

***

Eddie twisted the key, opened the door and walked inside before me.

"Go to sleep, tomorrow you'll need the energy," Eddie said, heading back to bed.

I walked straight into the living room and then laid down on the brown leather couch with my clothes on.

I didn't need much sleep, and I had a lot to ponder, so sleeping right now was not necessary.

The plan had gone perfectly. Although I did not expect some agents who didn't want people outside at night to exist, nor did I expect Eddie to follow me, I still managed to adapt to the situation and make the most of it.

Still, I could not figure out the purpose of my being here. The events that took place in the last two ruins replayed in my mind, and I grew more confused. In the previous ruins, the mission was fairly obvious and simple, but in this place, nothing was clear.

In this place, there were no instructions or clues, but only this town and this area that locked me up and sealed my freedom like a birdcage.