Awaited Encounter

I spent the night in quiet contemplation, realizing that every night so far in this world, I have either been under crushing stress or drugged. It was just delightful.

Maybe I’ll survive. That brat actually defended me in the end. Sometimes it pays off to get along with mentally unstable individuals.

Neither in the morning nor the afternoon did I receive any visits from guards or an executioner, so I assumed that the protocol for my execution was still being drafted. There was nothing left to do but wait. I was at least grateful for today’s morning newspaper. However I quickly put it down in disgust after I came across an article about the royal family. It even included their portraits. There was an older man with a bushy beard and a crown, a woman with a stern expression, and that little brat named Lilith Freya di Galgamo. They were all smiling contentedly at me. I was tempted to rip the newspaper apart. But my sudden outburst of rage was interrupted by a customer. I rang up a bottle of water and some durable travel food, then sank back into my chair with disgust.

Wait something is wrong. I furrowed my brow in deep thought. Right now something had happened. Something… I should remember. Something I should have been paying attention to.

I raised my gaze and focused on the back of the departing customer. It was a tall man dressed in a cloak. His hood was down, so I saw a bald head partially covered by a Cossack-style patch of hair. On his nape were deep, ugly, jagged scars that looked like giant worms.

That’s him! The criminal Kim, Kem, and Kam are looking for!

“M-m-mister, wait!” I called out, perhaps a bit too loudly.

The man turned and gave me a cold stare, as if saying: Say one more word I don’t like, and I’ll slit your throat right here, right now.

I swallowed dryly and started shaking all over.

“You… I mean, I…” My mouth reacted faster than my brain, so I had no clue what to say now. I just needed to stop him.

“What?”

“You… I gave you the wrong change, you see. I’ll fix it right away. I am so sorry.”

“Leave it. I’m going,” the man grunted curtly and turned to leave.

“No!” I cried out in desperation. “It was really quite a bit. I’ll bring it right over.” I rummaged through my pockets, looking for the box, that brothers gave me.

It’s not here! It’s not here! Where the hell did I put it?

“I said—” the man began, but then stopped. He turned back and eyed me with narrowed eyes. “What kind of game are you playing, clerk? I don’t like the way you’re talking to me.”

Cold sweat broke out across my body and chilled me to the bone. “I just want to return your money, that’s all,” I replied as naturally as I could. It’s in the vest! I suddenly realized. I quickly glanced at the vest lying on the ground next to me, probably having fallen off the chair. I have to crouch down to grab it! But if I do it suddenly, I’ll provoke him. Still, I have to give him the money now, or I’ll look even more suspicious. I grabbed a few coins from the register.

“Here they are, come get them,” I said with a tight throat.

“You reek of fear,” the man hissed through his teeth. “What are you afraid of? Could it be you know something you shouldn’t?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just made a mistake and want to return the correct change.”

I noticed the man subtly grip something under his cloak. It was at waist level, where his belt surely was. My knees started trembling.

He’s going to kill me. I once met some crazy guy in the shop who pull a knife on me. His eyes were exactly the same, and so were the gestures.

The man took a slow, swaying step toward me. It looked calm and casual, but there was a certain tension in it.

I only have one shot. I need to reach for the vest and quickly pull out the cube. The counter will also shield me if I duck behind it, so I should have enough time. Beads of sweat were running down my forehead.

I reached out to him with the coins and forced a weak smile. On three, Seiichi. One… two…

He was only a step away from me now and the distance was shrinking with every passing second.

…three!

I dropped on the ground, but something yanked me back. My scalp jolted in pain. But it wasn’t the pain of flesh being cut. I realized my hair was being pulled tight. He grabbed me by the hair! I had no time to think about it further and pulled down with all my might. I broke free from the grip, even though he surely had a few tufts of my black hair left in his hand.

I landed directly on the vest. I grabbed it with both hands and frantically searched for the pocket. Then something heavy stepped down on me. I grunted, my eyes nearly popping from their sockets. The man grabbed my hair again and yanked me up. My head snapped back, and I found myself staring into the scar-covered face of a maniac.

“You work for the brothers?” he asked icily. He didn’t wait for an answer. “Looks like they didn’t prepare you very well. What a bunch of fools. I almost feel sorry for you, pal, but I don’t think I’ll let you live.”

I gasped as a cold blade touched my throat. In that moment, something slipped into my hand. It was small box that was just as cold as the knife. I pressed the button, and a burst of darkness exploded before my eyes, like paint on a painter’s palette.