Leaving the great golden castle, the afternoon slowly came to an end. The sun began to rest on the horizon, painting the sky with warm and melancholic tones. Shizu and Anin walked side by side, surrounded by a heavy silence. The air between them was tense.
Shizu cast a brief glance at Anin and, without noticing, his mind was pulled back to all those moments during the king's audience.
"So this is how she felt from the beginning…", he thought."I don't blame her. Everything she suffered in that place was too much…"
The king's final words echoed in his memory, clear as if they were still being spoken:
— With all that, I thank both of you for attending my ascension ceremony, which will take place in three days. Be prepared.— Once again, thank you for coming. If you need anything, you may come to me. I will resolve any problem.
Shizu blinked a few times, returning to reality. Suddenly, he slapped his hands against his own face, as if forcing himself awake, and shouted with excitement inside his own mind:
"So that's it. We'll prepare…"
"And I'll make up for all the time Anin was trapped in that horrible place with new memories. Good memories."
Startled by the sudden gesture, Anin lightly frowned and asked:
— Did something happen, Shizu?
He replied by giving her a thumbs-up, along with a bright and confident smile.
— It's all good!
As they walked, Shizu lifted his gaze to the sky, now dotted with the first stars of the night. He smiled to himself.
"Everything will be fine. Nothing will ruin these happy days…"
Suddenly—impact.Shizu bumped into someone.
The figure wore black clothes, a dark hood hiding part of their face. Thick chains hung around their neck, heavy and old. Startled, Shizu stepped back.
— Oh, sorry! I wasn't paying attention while walking…
The individual slightly turned their face. A faint smile appeared beneath the hood's shadow.
— Hun… hun… hun… — a low laugh escaped. — It must be fate…— Don't worry. I was distracted too. We'll see each other around…
Without saying anything else, the figure continued on their way, disappearing among the people on the street. Shizu found it a bit strange, but soon ignored it and kept walking.
Anin, however, slowed her steps for a moment. She looked back, watching the silhouette move away, her eyes filled with suspicion.
"Those chains…", she thought."They give off an aura different from anything I've seen… I hope he's a good person, because… just by looking, I can tell that's on another level."
Walking in the opposite direction, already far from their sight, the individual let out a low, melancholic laugh.
— Yes… it really must be fate…— Shizu Mark… hun… hun… hun…— Brutal…
Walking through the large city, filled with shops and small diners, Shizu observed everything around him carefully. For some reason, he had the strange feeling that this place resembled the world he came from.
Among ferals entering and leaving buildings, voices echoing through the streets, and the smell of food filling the air, he walked in silence… until he decided to speak.
Shizu turned to Anin.
— Hey… I know this is annoying to hear, but… can I ask something about the work you did for Babadar…?
Anin remained silent for a few seconds. Her steps slowed slightly. Then, she took a deep breath and nodded.
— It's fine… go ahead.
As they continued walking, Shizu finally asked the question that had been pounding in his head since the castle.
— You commanders… were kind of her pillars, right? Important pieces.— So… you did everything she ordered… even… killing people…?
Anin showed no surprise. With a calm and clear voice, she answered:
— In a way, yes. We did everything she ordered… even killing people.
Shizu stopped walking for a moment. His heart beat faster. He looked at her, clearly worried.
— Anin… have you… ever killed someone…?
She turned her back to him. Lowered her head. Her face carried deep, almost palpable sadness.
— 143…
The ground seemed to disappear beneath Shizu's feet.
— H-how…? 143… you mean—
— I killed 143 people! — she interrupted him, shouting in anger.— On the orders of that damn demon!— Are you satisfied now?!
Realizing the terrible mistake he had made, Shizu put on a serious expression and, without thinking twice, ran to her and pulled her into a tight hug.
— I understand… — he said in a low voice. — I'm sorry for asking something so horrible…— I just… needed to understand you better… to know what I should do for you now…
Confused, Anin lifted her face, her eyes watery. In a low and sad tone, she asked:
— What do you mean…?
Seeing that expression, Shizu's mind went into complete chaos.
"AHHHHHH SHE'S SO CUTE!"
He quickly pulled himself together, let go of Anin, and took two steps back, his face completely red.
— It's just that… you went through so much… you never really had a good childhood… — he looked away.— So I thought about… making up for all that with new memories.— I wanted to show you all kinds of nice things… fill that emptiness… because now I kind of understand your situation…
Anin let out a small laugh. She turned to him, also blushing. Then, she looked up at the night sky.
— You're so silly… — she said with a soft smile.— Just being with you and going out to see the world is already more than enough to make me happy.— But… thank you for thinking so much about me.
They both fell silent.
That was when they noticed the stares around them. Ferals and ordinary people were watching the scene with curiosity.
The embarrassment was immediate.
Both of them became extremely embarrassed.
Shizu quickly turned away and started walking fast, calling out to Anin loudly, unable to contain his shame.
— U-UM… SO… UH… LET'S GO, ANIN?!
She quickly agreed, and the two of them almost ran away while Shizu screamed inside his own mind:
"THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING!"
As they walked toward the inn where they were staying, hurried footsteps echoed behind them. Someone was running desperately, shouting their names.
— Shizu!… Miss Anin!…
Confused, Shizu turned around and recognized the panting figure.
— Detrin?
Detrin stopped in front of them, hands on his knees, completely exhausted. Between breaths, he tried to speak:
— Where… did you… go…? Man… I'm tired…
Worried, Anin stepped closer.
— Why are you so tired?
The moment he saw her approaching, Detrin remembered what happened earlier — when she got furious and threw a pillow so hard that it made him fall from the second floor of the inn.
Panic took over.
He dropped to his knees.
— I'm sorry about earlier!!!— I didn't mean to make you angry, miss!!— Please don't beat me up!!!
Surprised, Anin took a step back, totally awkward.
— I-it's fine… — she said, embarrassed. — Just don't do stupid things like that again, okay?— Please get up…
She then looked at Shizu with a clear look asking for help.
Shizu, on the other hand, just burst out laughing at the situation.
Later, when everything finally calmed down, the three of them were sitting inside a tavern, ready to have dinner.
With a serious face, Detrin went straight to the point:
— Earlier today… you talked to the feral king, right?— Was it something good or bad? I even tried to follow you, but I was scared as hell with so many guards around.— It looked like they were hunting a criminal…
Shizu frowned.
— Hey, I'm not a criminal, man.— But no… it wasn't exactly bad.— And I can't really say it was good either.— If we tell you, you have to keep it a secret. Okay?
Detrin hit his right hand against his chest firmly.
— Of course! I would never tell anyone!
Shizu looked at Anin for a moment. After a brief silence, he decided to tell him.
The scream that followed made half the tavern turn their heads.
— THE KING DID WHAAAAAT???!!!
Shizu reacted instantly, mixing anger and embarrassment.
— DON'T SHOUT, YOU IDIOT!!
Detrin noticed everyone staring, sank into his chair, and took a sip of water, regretful.
— Sorry…
Shizu sat down, resting his hand on his head.
— Like I said… he invited us to attend the ceremony.— After all, we're considered the city's "heroes"… after taking down that damn woman.
Detrin thought for a moment.
— Can I give my opinion? Even if it doesn't change anything?
Anin looked surprised and placed her hands on the table.
— Go ahead.
Detrin set his cup down and spoke in a low voice so only they could hear:
— Don't you think this is a bit suspicious?— Calling you like this out of nowhere…— Wouldn't it make more sense to call everyone involved, instead of only the ones still in the city?— And… how did they know?
Shizu frowned.
— Well… they said they had information from all places.— So I'm not that surprised…
But Detrin gave a strangely sharp response:
— If they knew you were coming to the city…— And they also knew exactly where you were through that "information"…— Why did they make excuses about not knowing when you would arrive or even if you were in the city?
Silence fell over the table.
Shizu lowered his gaze, staring at the wood in front of him.
"This… is really noticeable.""How didn't I see this before?""But now it's too late… what he said is definitely strange.""So… what does this mean?"
Before he could finish his thoughts, a feral waitress with feline features, wearing a maid uniform, appeared and placed the dishes on the table indifferently.
— Eat up.
Without waiting for a response, she walked away between the tables.
Detrin's eyes sparkled when he saw so much food.
— Ah, forget it! — he said with a big smile. — Let's drop that stuff and eat already!!
Somewhere else, in a run-down bar, someone slammed a drink glass onto the table, responding to someone on their left. Meanwhile, a feral with chimpanzee-like features wiped a glass with a cloth, keeping his distance.
— I see… so I just need to eliminate him and anyone who gets in the way, right?— Don't worry… I'll do as you asked. But I'm not the type who just kills my targets…— First, I'll play with that boy a lot and show him a bit of this world's reality.— And after that… we'll talk about my reward…
Standing up, the feral figure rose with a hood covering his face, making him impossible to recognize. He simply walked out of the establishment, leaving a few coins on the counter.
The assassin revealed part of his face, showing a horrifying grin as he watched the person leave the bar. Then he whispered:
— Tomorrow will be brutal…