KMS RN

“Killing myself right now?!” Enishi held his head and slumped onto the sidewalk. Just beside him, one busker began to sing, “Una mattina mi sono alzato...” while the other matched the vibe on his guitar. Zed, seeing Enishi crash out like that, burst into laughter.

“Okay, fine, long story short: you are here to be killed and it is related to your bloodline’s past. Does that make sense?”

”Make sense? My foot! I can still feel the pain my gorgeous feet went through.” Enishi stood up, fixing his shirt collar and brushing off the dirt from his buttons. “Killed? You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope, not kidding. You are here to get killed, and I was informed by very trusted sources, for your information.” Zed pulled his small black codex from his back pocket and began flipping the pages. “The person you just met is a Time Walker. He can travel to the past, your present, and the future. He’s the guy who told me that.”

“You sure you’re not pulling all of that from your arse?!” Enishi clutched his head with both hands and started pacing in circles around Zed. “What the f*ck is happening? What the f*ck is happening? What the f*ck is happening...”

“Stop f*cking around. Besides, I don’t know much myself. You can get all the details from the Time Walker.” Zed snapped the codex shut and slid it back into his pocket.

Enishi’s stomach gave a loud, hungry grumble. He glanced at the cafe and the thrift store nearby. “You all brought me here! It is both of your duties to NOT let me kill myself!”

“Well, I don’t care much about you or your life,” Zed said flatly. “I just want my Yindites and the soul energy the Time Walker promised me.”

”How cruel! You’ll never get any b*tches with that attitude.” Enishi stopped spiraling and fished around in his left trouser pocket. He found 1,500 yen tucked away. “What Yindites? And what soul energy?”

“Yindites is the universally accepted currency in Universe 009. Similar to that yen of yours, except it works across the worlds,” Zed explained.

A young man crossed the street and dropped a crisp ten-euro bill into the buskers' donation box.

“And soul energy is like mana manipulation, but with restrictions. Normal sorcerers can’t manipulate it because it consumes their life. It deducts hours, days, or even years from their total lifespan.” A white cat wandered by, pausing to rub its cheeks against Zed’s legs. “Soul energy is powerful because it’s a one-time power. It doesn’t replenish automatically like mana.”

“Ah, I see. So you use mana and soul energy to perform these magic thingies?” Enishi scratched his head, staring at the thrift shop.

“I can use mana, but I can’t use soul energy. Triggering soul energy requires the user to experience death at least once. Learning to manipulate it after that is like riding a bicycle without hands. You can do it, but only if you master it.”

“I see. So you need to borrow that soul energy from the Time Walker in exchange for my life?” Enishi paused as the words sank in. “Wait, let me say that again: IN EXCHANGE FOR MY LIFE?!”

“Yeah, something like that. I don’t know the full details, I just want my payment. And I’m not borrowing it. The Time Walker has to cast the spell for me himself as per our deal.”

“And what’s this spell for?” Enishi asked.

”It’s none of your business. It’s a really long story and totally unrelated to you, so I’ll keep it personal.” Zed bent down, scratched the back of the cat’s neck, and the animal began purring in relief.

“Mhm. Well, I’m feeling hungry, plus I look like a total mess. Broken buttons, torn shirt, and all these stains... I’m going to buy something to replace this.” Enishi gestured to his ruined outfit. “Don’t just stand there, buy me something to eat, would ya? Consider it an offering for my last meal.”

Zed gave Enishi a look of pure disdain. “Fine. I’ll buy you some dog food. Meet me back here.”

“What the hell, you cheapskate?! Buy me a human meal from that cafe!” Enishi pointed at the third establishment from the thrift shop, which had a sign hanging that read Banco Magnoms.

The cat darted toward the other side of the road, and Zed headed off toward the cafe. Enishi stepped inside the thrift store. An old woman, likely in her sixties, was sitting at the counter.

“Benvenuti! Come posso aiutarvi?” she asked in a voice that was sharp yet gentle.

Enishi froze. Based on her tone, he guessed she was saying something like Welcome to my shop, but he didn't recognize a single word.

"Uh... Arigato? Thanks? Arigathanks!" he blurted out, then immediately winced.

The woman scanned him from head to toe, taking in his dirty outfit and foreign features. She seemed to instantly figure out he was a tourist and gestured toward the racks of clothes at the back. Enishi nodded, understanding the silent invitation to go pick something out and try it on.

Enishi headed to the clothing section. After browsing through several racks, he selected a plain white tee and ducked into the changing room. He pulled off his ruined lavender shirt and tossed the uniform into a nearby trash can.

Feeling slightly more human, he returned to the counter. “How much for the tee?”

The old woman pulled out a notebook and wrote the number 1,200 on a page. Enishi, still dazed by everything that had happened, remained oblivious to the fact that this was an antique shop and the currency was entirely different. He pulled out a 1,000 yen bill and a 500 yen coin from his pocket and set them on the counter.

“Kaa-chan gave me 7,000 yen and, for goodness' sake, I kept 1,500 in my trouser pocket. That freaking Time Walker took the rest of my money along with my backpack. I swear, the next time I meet him...” he thought.

To be continued in the next chapter...