But People Also Want Me Dead

I missed Tifia even more as I tried to keep up with Wanda, who was about the same age as me. I'd much rather walk with the kind Dragonid than with that jealous young lady who, seeing me on crutches, told me to move even faster. The fact that I was older than her didn't seem to impress her; quite the opposite. As I was trying not to fall on the cobblestones, she dragged me into a dark alley, threw me against a wall, and then pressed a knife to my throat. Maybe it would turn out she secretly ran some local gang of thugs who would jump out any minute to beat me up, and she'd come home crying that I'd had an unfortunate accident?

"I don't care who you are, and I don't know what you've got going on in your head, but Renet is mine, do you understand?"

"Understood," I replied, because there were no other words I could say. It was also nice to live a little longer, or at least die without any particular shame, and this situation didn't exactly lead to an honorable ending.

"I'm glad," she muttered, and at least sheathed the knife. "Stay away from him. I've liked him for a long time, and I don't want anything to happen to him while he helps a loser like you."

I really wanted to blurt out something like, "I've liked him since yesterday, which doesn't mean you can claim any rights to him!" but luckily I stopped myself. Firstly, I didn't know how my orientation was handled here, and secondly, I wasn't a hormonal teenager to argue with someone about a guy. At least not when the argument was about how much time we liked him!

Then she said we'd just take a short lap around the main city so her dad wouldn't suspect if we returned too soon. I used the time to look at the narrow tenement houses and shops, many of which were located on the first floors, and that gave me a sense of normalcy. They offered everything except maybe electronics, comics, and gadgets. I regretted not having time to look everywhere and wondered how amazing it must look on a larger scale, in some metropolis as big as a capital. As dusk began to fade, a few men appeared on the streets, lighting lamps with long sticks.

The people I passed weren't dressed elegantly, but they were chic enough and, above all, neat. The women wore simple dresses, but definitely tailored from high-quality fabric, lots of jewelry, and high heels, the steady clicking of which put me in a kind of hypnosis. Most of them had their hair elaborately styled in strange hairstyles I didn't know much about. Some of the men looked similar to me, only much better-looking, and quite a few wore some kind of suit, so I assumed they might be, like Wilhelm, part of a trade group. At least that's how they would look when I threw briefcases in their hands and phones to their ears. Businessmen from my time, how lovely.

I smiled to myself; I still couldn't get used to the idea that I wasn't here for a moment, but stuck here forever. This was my world now, not the other world, not the one where cities didn't sleep and literally everything was happening everywhere. Rush and loneliness, in short, characterized every second spent there. Here, people walked normally, talked, laughed, and weren't afraid—or at least they didn't show it—of their existence the next day. I wondered how they approached the existence of their not-so-polite Neighbors, because I hadn't noticed them taking any special measures to protect themselves against their potential attempt to knock on the gates. Could the Wall be the perfect boundary?

And yet I missed it, because here I had neither a place nor someone who would be synonymous with home. Yes, I met Tifia and Renet here and I felt fascinated by this world, but it still wasn't quite right. We returned after about two hours, where tea and cookies were waiting for us, and they were so good, probably oat ones, like from the best factory, but I assumed that was standard here. I was happy when Renet also sat down at the table and looked a little better. Wanda immediately took the opportunity to sit next to him, since she didn't have to serve anything, and gave me a warning look. I obediently sat as far back as possible and enjoyed the warm drink, which I could drink without rushing or feeling guilty for not doing something more useful instead.

"And how do you like our city of Kyo?" Wilhelm asked, pushing a plate of cookies under my nose.

"Charming," I admitted honestly. "But I'm exhausted. Walking with crutches probably wasn't a good idea after all, but I couldn't resist the opportunity."

"I'm sure Wanda didn't have time to show you everything, so I hope you'll give it a visit again. You're young; you have your whole life ahead of you; you can come back here many more times actually," the old man laughed. "Besides, all three of you, youth is a beautiful treasure, but the time will come when you'll have to give him up and settle down." He looked pointedly at Renet, who smiled kindly but looked terrified, especially when Wanda moved close enough that their shoulders touched.

I absolutely didn't deny that these two were good people, but I think they'd gone a bit too far with their expectations of my companion. This was another insinuation that Wanda and Renet should get together; it suited the girl perfectly; her father had practically accepted his future son-in-law, but he didn't seem thrilled by the prospect, but he didn't have the courage to refuse.

"This day has really worn me out." I faked a yawn. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I think we'll have to get ready to find somewhere to stay. Since Renet wasn't feeling well, maybe it would be best if he rested as much as possible."

"You can stay here for the night; the guest room is really spacious; you'll fit in comfortably," Wilhelm suggested with the best of intentions.

"I can give Renet my bed and watch over him all night if he feels ill again," Wanda added, not even trying to hide her not-so-innocent intentions.

"Child, you know I'm not a staunch conservative, and I give you a lot of freedom, but I can't agree to this." Wilhelm stopped her and looked at us apologetically.

"But Dad!"

"We shouldn't abuse your hospitality. Tomorrow, before we continue our journey, we'll come and say goodbye," I announced, standing up. "We really don't want to impose."

"Okay, I see it's settled. Just give me a moment; I'll write down the address of my friend's inn and write a short request that he treat you especially well. I'll pay for your stay and breakfast; I won't take no for an answer here," the old man ordered, disappearing behind the door.

I hoped he'd finish the message quickly. Wanda looked like she wanted to kill me, even if Renet were to witness it, though I wasn't the one who ultimately put an end to her plans. None of us three said a word, as if any would set off a bomb, so I was genuinely glad when we moved a little further away.

"Thank you," Renet said, flustered. "I didn't think they'd act like this."

"I'm a stranger to them." I shrugged. "They probably wanted to let me know a few things, since they knew we were friends."

I didn't know why I'd used that term to describe our brief relationship, though it seemed the most appropriate in this context. Despite everything, I couldn't muster the courage to gauge his reaction.