Chapter 13 - Sacred festival

After quitting the academy, he went to the post office and sent a letter to the castle, especially to Rovshen, since he was the closest one to him. Because he showed the medallion Charles gave him, the letter arrived fast, and so did the reply. Tiberius' request simply explained to him that he is unable to use magic and is unsure what to do next.

The response calmed him down a little because Rovshen had good news. The letter stated that the king had turned down all offers for Tiberius, so no one could ‘buy’ him. They could, of course, use force, but the letter also stated that the king had announced that Tiberius had no power whatsoever and had no idea what was happening. He would be safe for a while, as it seems that this would somewhat calm down other kings. And of course, there was no news on how he could get back to his world.

So there was only one thing he needed to do now. Find a job. From what he learned, he could only do one type of job: skill-based. All he had to do now was go out and find a place that might pay a tall guy for a job.

…

For the next two days, he was unable to find a job. A few places required some level of magic, while others did not have extra vacancy. One of the shops flatly refused to listen to him.

Money was tight, and there was no hope of finding work, but he continued to walk around the city, asking people if they needed help.

On the third day, with almost no hope left, he entered a bar to see if he could do anything, but the manager was too preoccupied with some people from the castle to speak with him. Hearing their conversation, he suspected there was an issue with tax payment. As the debate heated up, he couldn't help but intervene.

"Hey, I heard you're having trouble with payments."

“And? You are going to pay?” said one of the men.

“No, of course not, but I may be able to find the problem.”

“How so?” asked the bar owner.

“It is my job. I am an accountant.”

“Accau—what?” one of the men asked with an annoyed face.

“Well, basically I am really good with numbers. Just tell me the problem, and I will take a look at it,” he said with a smile.

People have heard the news, of course: a man fell from the sky and says he is not from here. They were still afraid of him, even though they were getting used to him. So they didn't argue with him further and accepted his offer.

A few minutes passed. They were waiting for him to say something.

After reviewing both sides' papers, Tiberius had an odd feeling, so he asked the bar owner.

“Do you do hosting? Like rooms for people to rent?”

“No, of course not. I only have the bar!” He raised his voice a little.

“No need to get mad,” Tiberius said. “These men have added ‘room hosting’ to their tax list, and they are charging it from you.”

When he saw guards getting annoyed, he tried to explain.

“I am not saying either side is wrong; I am saying there might be a mistake. Is there any man who rents rooms here?"

"Yes," the shop owner said, "the building next to me is a motel; the owner even has the same name as me." He giggled slightly.

Tiberius did the same and explained.

“That seems to be the mistake. I believe that, since you carry the same name, they have mistakenly,” he tried to emphasize the word ‘mistake’ to not anger anyone, “added his numbers over yours.”

Both sides checked papers again, and they realized that Tiberius was actually right.

“I am sorry for the trouble,” said the man. “Guards!” he called, “help the shop owner to count the money and do not forget to remind me to behead the man who did the calculations.”

As the guards agreed, Tiberius interrupted.

“Hey, hey! No need to cut anyone’s head. It is just a mistake, and we solved it, right?” He tried to smile. “Just come to me when this problem happens, and I will fix small mistakes.”

The man nodded and left with the guards after the tax was paid.

"Thank you so much," said the shop owner. "I'm sorry for raising my voice to you. Business is hard these days, and—”

“No need,” he interrupted, “it happens.”

“Here,” he offered, “come have a drink. What do you want? It’s on the house.”

“Anything with no alcohol is fine.”

“Okay,” he replied, and told the barmen to give him their special.

…

For the next fifteen minutes, they talked about each other's problems. Tiberus talks about his short story and how hard it is for him to not be able to get a job. The shopkeeper was surprised by his inability to use mana, but he said nothing about it. Ali, the shop owner, also spoke briefly about his problems, which were mostly business-related. He mentioned that this problem occurs almost every month. They force him and other shop owners to pay more than twice what they are supposed to, simply because shop owners lack knowledge in this area.

"Just ask me when you need it, and I will help," Tiberus said, finishing his drink. "Thanks for the drink, but I need to head out now."
"Wait," Ali said, "I can't give you a job, but if you help me with taxes every month, I'll pay you 100 Velm," he said, pulling out one 100 Velm bill from his pocket.

Tiberius initially refused to accept it because he didn't do it for money, but he realized that finding a job would be even more difficult from now on.

“Sure,” he said with a smile, taking the bill gently. “Just tell me when you need it.”

Then he left the bar with a big smile on his face, because finally, he had found something he could do. He could be a freelance accountant in a world of magic!

Walking to his apartment, he made a plan. From tomorrow, he will go visit each business he came across and ask them if they would like help with their payment.

So he did. Even though some did not agree, he had already agreed with three other shops. They also agreed to pay him 100 velm a month for his work. After that day, he did not even approach shops, because shop owners were coming to him. In less than a week, he already had over fifteen clients. He would visit them all once a month, check their income and outcome, calculate their taxes, and explain shop owners' mistakes they may make. Of course, it was a little hard. He had always used computers to do this job, but now, he had to use pen and paper. He didn't argue, though. He lived in a world without technology, worked freely, and was paid. Exactly what he wished for.

…

This went on for two months. People began to accept him and stop looking at him strangely during this time, and he even made some friends. Earth started to fade from his mind. His old memories began to irritate him. A skyscraper-filled world, with all the noise and pollution. He was away from all of that. In fact, he stopped writing to the castle about it. He would only write to Rovshen occasionally and only to discuss the shops and their taxes. Rovshen would also come and visit him once a week.

…

It was another day of his work. He had prepared all the things he needed beforehand and checked his schedule. Then he went out to help a shop as he planned, but the silence in the city confused him. Most places were closed, and only grocery shops were open. You could hardly spot someone in the street, and even if you could, they seemed to be in a hurry.

However, that was not the only difference. The city looked different; it was decorated similarly to the day he arrived, with the exception that there were no drink stands or people walking around.

Seeing that the business he was going to was closed, he went into one of the shops and asked what was going on.

“You don’t know? Today is a sacred day.”

“Sacred?” Tiberius asked curiously.

“Yes. Every year, we guide the faithless children to enlightenment.”

“Faithless?” Tiberius frowned. “You guys are sacrificing kids?” He raised his voice.

The store owner laughed and said, "No, you're completely mistaken. We don't sacrifice them; in fact, those children return after a year or two. Gods, teach them their own ways, show them the value of life, and explain why they should trust Gods. They even teach them magic.”

Tiberius was confused. Why would gods do such a thing?

“Of course, some kids don’t come back,” he added. “I believe you know about the other part of our world, right?”

“Devil’s land? Yeah, I know.”

“Yes, kids who prove them to be better than others and have natural talent are called ‘Angels,’ and they stay in those lands and protect us from harmful works of evil.”

“But, weren’t Gods doing that?”

“Well, yes, but this gives us a chance to be closer to them,” the shop owner said with a smile.

“Sounds fishy,” Tiberius mumbled to himself, then asked, “Have you seen the ‘Angels’?”

“Yes, we see them every year. Angels come and guide kids to God’s land, Solmir, and while they do it, they also visit their own families.”

“So it isn't actually a sacrifice.”

"It is not! We are not murderers. We just want a better life for our kids, even if they need to live away from us. Their happiness matters more than anything.”

“I mean, as long as kids are safe, it should be okay,” said Tiberius and left after saying goodbye.

Tiberius was confused about this sudden Angel thing and had a right to do so. He had read in history books that people with strange beliefs used to sacrifice others for the gods. Of course, this time there seemed to be a difference. Gods existed, and kids here did not seem like a sacrifice. However, something prevented Tiberius from considering this a good thing; something gave him the strange impression that this event was amiss.

An hour passed, and people started to gather in the city center. Most of them were wearing their finest clothes, similar to what Tiberius had seen at the sword festival. At the same time, dozens of guards closed in on the city. After a few minutes, when people and guards had arrived fully, he saw something familiar in the sky: a carriage carried by a white flying horse.

People moved aside to make room for the king's carriage to land. People clapped as the carriage slowly touched down, welcoming the king. King waved his hand with a smile as he exited the carriage.

“People, the day is here again! Today is the day we bring everyone closer to the divinity of the gods.”

Everyone clapped again, agreeing with him. King lifted his hand, stopping everyone.

He said, "Now, let's wait a few minutes for the arrival of the 'Angels.'" and everyone waited in silence.

Tiberius was trying to get closer to the king and the main stage to see what would happen. Suddenly, a hand held him, stopping him from going too close.

“Looking for someone?”

“Oh, you are here too?” asked Tiberius after seeing Rovshen.

“Who else would ride that carriage here?” he asked with a smile.

Tiberius smiled back. “So, this was the second festival?”

“Yes, in the whole world of ours, we have two festivals that everyone has to celebrate.”

Tiberius stood silent for a moment, followed by a question in mind. “How do you know if a kid is faithless?”

“Well, we usually are careful about this topic. If our children do not engage or show a lack of interest in God's work, we observe them closely and question them on the subject. Also, the faith lessons in school help us determine this."

Tiberius did not say anything; he just waited to see everything himself. He was not going to get involved in something that could trouble him, but he was still not happy with this event or Rovshen’s answer.

Kids suddenly entered the festival, and they were guided into the middle of the crowd. Fifteen children who had worn their fancy clothes were waiting to be taken by Angels. They did not seem happy or sad. They were rather excited, but not in a positive way.

After the kids entered, four humanoid figures fell slowly from the sky. They each had a white sword and were wearing a cape on their heads. Unlike gods, they were not wearing any masks. They were shining in the sky, not as brightly as the gods did, but still enough to make people squint their eyes. They landed around kids and bowed, greeting everyone.

But even before they could continue the festival or say anything, King's servant Charles stood in front of the king, shielding him with his body, readying his hands for combat.

“Enemy attack!” he screamed, warning everyone in the crowd. However, even before anyone could react, horse riders holding large swords passed between the guards, beheading them one by one, and charged toward the crowd.