Ash

Going back to the bakery, I gave Dorothea the ingredients. She insisted on making the food herself, but it still felt wrong to leave her just like that.

I went back to the counter and continued my day. Some suspicious people were wandering around the front of the bakery whom I had never seen before, which made me more cautious.

Those people have nothing in their lives, so they try to scare a kid to feel powerful. I let out a big sigh.

After finishing the day, I turned off the lights and locked the door, leaving my apron on the chair.

Then, as I moved into the kitchen, the captivating smell reached my nose. I looked at the table and saw that Dorothea was sitting there with food filling the table.

I wouldn't have believed it if someone had told me that a blind person made all this food. She's amazing.

Without me saying a word, she said, gesturing toward the empty chair opposite her, "Good work today, Marik; sit down."

Sitting down opposite her, I looked at the plates. She really did care about the original Marik...

Dorothea wasn't the person to talk much from what I gathered in Marik's memories, so usually on days like this, we just sit down and eat while I talk about work, and she just listens.

After finishing the fish, I noticed that Dorothea stopped eating and then took out a small box wrapped in white sheets.

"I am sorry I don't have that much, but I hope this will make you happy." She said while looking in my direction.

"Why are you apologizing? I'd love anything, as long as it's from you, Ms. Dorothea!" I replied just as the original Marik would reply.

Then I took the box and opened it. There was an old pocket watch; it wasn't anything special, and it looked worn out.

"Ms. Dorothea, isn't this your husband's?" I asked in shock.

Her expression went soft for a bit before laughing, "I can't really use it anymore, and clinging to the past will just make me a miserable old lady."

I know that she's probably lying; this means a lot to her. I held the pocket watch to my heart and put it back on the table.

After we finished the small feast, Dorothea went to sleep, and as for me, I insisted that I would have to clean the dishes for tonight.

I took a robe from the wardrobe and put it on. Looking at the kitchen for a few seconds, I moved out.

I wanted to take nothing with me, but I was cautious, so I tucked a small knife in the robe.

Going out to the night street lit by the lamps, there were few to no people walking around. The snow was everywhere, covering the ground, and the sky was grey, giving a cold feeling.

I took a few steps on the snow. Last night, I made sure to learn about this gang from the merchants with small talk.

Redguard, they weren't the biggest or the scariest gang in Nerton; however, they had influence, and what's worse is that they controlled adventurers.

I stood still in front of the adventurers' guild. This is the base of the gang, and they used it as a cover-up and a way to manipulate and use adventurers to protect them if they ever had any problems.

This way, the money they receive illegally and the problems can all be filtered through here.

I stand still for a bit before walking inside, the warm feeling hitting my skin.

Am I doing the right thing? If this doesn't go well, I might put myself at more risk. But I've already come a long way; there's no going back.

Upon opening the door, gazes started turning on me. And they weren't friendly. Why would an adventurer be here at night? It only seemed weirder, but the faces of those people didn't look good.

There I walked forward only for a man with a receding hairline to stop me. Thankfully, I had my hood up so he wouldn't recognize me.

"Huh? I've never seen you here before. Who are you?" The man asked as he stepped closer.

I made sure he was the only person who saw my face, so he knew the reason why I was here. The moment he saw me under the hood, he smiled, then put his hand on my shoulder.

"Well, see this. Dorothea's little pet came here?" He whispered before making me sit at an empty table with him.

The others continued talking normally, and I clenched my teeth.

"So, what do you need?" The man smiled widely as he asked the waiter to give him a cup of beer.

"..."

This wasn't the time to have pride. "Please forgive me."

"Huh? What's that?" The man leaned in.

"Please forgive me for punching you..." I repeated, looking down.

The man sat deep in his chair with a thoughtful look. "Sure, of course!"

Huh?

"But there's one catch." The man got up, putting his chair beside me and sitting down. His hands were on my shoulder. "You see, that punch was really strong. I thought I'd die, but I am a forgiving man. How about this? You pay us a weekly fee, and Redguard will protect you. Isn't that a steal?"

At that moment, I realized it: the reason those people didn't try to help James was that he himself didn't want help.

Those people are lunatics who leech off people. People who have no strength live with greed while pressuring everyone who works for them.

And now I was the person trapped here, and I had made Dorothea stuck with me. I wanted to punch him in the face, but that would do more harm than good.

"Sure! I'd be happy to!" I said with a cheerful look, He didn't leave me a choice anyway.

"Great! I am happy we agreed on this so fast! Guys, look here, this guy is now one of our 'clients'!" The man said as he yanked back my hood, revealing my face to the whole gang.

It didn't help that the bakery had a good reputation, which just made this whole thing worse.

The man with the high hairline then looked at me with a big smile and said, "My name is Dane. It's nice to see you here, Marik. Now, Scram. We will take an early payment tomorrow."

I got up, putting my robe back on. Fuck, this is bad. I am stupid. How did I even think that I could fix this with normal talk? They are bastards.

I walked out to the cold snow, and as I did, I noticed a girl in a dark green dress walking inside.

Taking a detour to make sure nobody was following me, I felt like an idiot. A pathetic person, and now I put Dorothea in more danger. This is what the Redguard wanted; it's probably how they get more 'clients.'

And now, my only option is to pay...

My shoulders were stiff as i walked back into the dark bakery. I stood there for about a minute. What can I, a kid, do against a whole criminal organization?

Looking at the bread put on display, I could smell the lingering ash from the oven.

"..."

I put the robe back into place and went to the sleeping room. There, I went to bed and closed my eyes.

This was the life I got myself into. In the world, there won't be any good unless there's bad to make it shine more. No matter how hard it will be, I already never cared about death; it was the ultimate end, so accepting it was always in my nature.

I became myself because of the life I lived. I guess I wanted to have the goal of saving this lady. Even if it was insignificant, I am but a nobody against the world. Yet I guess that's also the beauty of it.

I was shortsighted to believe that Dane would forgive me. I showed them weakness. Now, I will use their perception of it against them.

I will have no regrets.

I will burn the guild's building down.