It had been a month and a half since I'd first set foot in the citadel.
The weather, until then humid but bearable, had given way to the monsoon season.
Rain had been falling for hours, drumming on the rooftops like an unending beat, turning the streets into muddy streams. The air was thick with the salty scent of the sea and the acrid smell of rainwater sliding down rotten walls, mixing with the stench of people crammed into the slave alleys. The wind carried with it icy sprays that slipped under my cloak and bit at my skin.
I moved forward through puddles and slippery stones, my hood pulled low over my eyes.
From time to time, between a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder, I caught sight of figures being dragged by metal chains around their necks, begging someone who would never listen to them.
The Explorers' base stood at the end of a paved staircase, as if to set itself apart from the filth on the ground.
I opened the door and was hit by a wave of warmth mixed with smells: beer, sweat, and grilled meat.
The inside was divided into two areas. On the left, the counter where missions and payments were registered; on the right, a wide hall with round tables, packed with people laughing, shouting, or bickering over trivialities.
The voices of the drunkest mixed with the noise of mugs slamming and chairs scraping.
Considering it wasn't even evening yet, seeing so many people drunk should have been strange… but maybe I was the strange one, being outside in that foul weather wrapping the archipelago.
My entrance drew attention.
Some gave me only a distracted glance, others exchanged looks and words muffled by laughter. Some watched me with curiosity… and some to size me up.
It could be said that, in that period, my face had become quite well-known.
A figure rose from a table in the corner.
He was a tall man with dirty-blonde hair and an unkempt beard. The sound of his boots echoed in the partial silence that had formed as he walked toward me.
I looked at him with a sigh.
His gaze was direct, and he smiled like someone bringing trouble… and for a moment, everything suggested he was about to make a scene. His hand swung near his belt, where a curved knife hung.
When he got less than a meter away, I prepared for the show to come. It seemed the day wouldn't end quietly.
The bastard threw his arm around my neck with force, shaking me like an old friend.
"Here he is! Our damned rising star!" he shouted, and a chorus of cheers rose from the tables behind him.
He laughed and gave me a couple of hearty slaps on the back. "Another mission no one wanted to touch, and he finishes it in two days! Folks, let's drink to Leda!"
Leda was the alias I was using. Nothing original, just my name backwards, but it worked.
"Leda!"
"Leda!"
"Leda!"
"Leda!"
"Gentlemen and fair ladies!" I winked at the few women around, who answered with coy smiles. "Please."
Hearing me, the room quieted down, though not for long. "Is that all you've got?! A little more energy!"
"HOOOH!"
"HOOOH!"
"HOOOH!"
"Bartender!"
"Y-Yes?!"
"A round on me for my friends! And make it the good stuff!"
At my words, another cheer erupted, and while everyone saw me smiling, inside I was having a nervous breakdown.
What a pain… how much longer do I have to keep entertaining these people?
It could be said that, by then, I was more than settled in that place, practically a local star.
Wanting to spend as little time as possible in the citadel, I used missions as an excuse to keep away. This only boosted my fame.
As for the people's appreciation, that was even simpler. If you gave a group of hot-blooded people, whose minds revolved around fighting and sex, enough alcohol, meat, and entertainment, you magically became their idol… of course, if you didn't mind being the idol of partially evolved apes.
I smiled like everyone else and let the scene play out.
I knew how to move in that atmosphere: a few well-placed words, a quick toast to signal camaraderie, and finally the right amount of arrogance to stay on top without looking like an easy target.
I collected my reward at the counter, calmly slipping the coin pouch into my bag. Then, without another word, I headed for the exit, leaving the hall's racket behind.
Wanting to take advantage of the storm's cover, I planned to visit Erik and Alfred for the usual weekly report.
The two still weren't happy about my ties with the Explorers, and the fact that I didn't share my plans with them only annoyed them more, but there was little they could do about it.
Jokes aside, even I was starting to find the situation irritating. I already had a decent reputation among the recruits, and all I had to do was wait for an event related to the dungeon that had happened in the previous timeline.
The problem was that too much time had passed. I only remembered it happened during the monsoon, when I was the same age I am now. I was starting to fear the date had already passed and that the event wouldn't happen at all.
It wouldn't be the end of the world, but it would greatly slow my plans and complicate my relationship with Erik and Alfred.
Outside, the rain seemed heavier. As soon as I turned the corner, the sound of footsteps behind me became clear.
I kept walking as if nothing was wrong, my hand moving toward the edge of my cloak.
When I reached a deserted side street, I paused briefly to check the road ahead. The footsteps quickened, becoming more obvious. From the sound, I guessed five or six.
Unfortunately, being popular didn't mean there weren't people who wanted to cause me trouble.
I let the first one get almost on top of me, then spun around, driving my short blade into his throat. His cry was choked off as I shoved him aside, using his body to block the others' view.
The second tried to draw a knife, but my knee drove into his ribs. Being a normal man against a Grade 1 like me, his bones broke easily, and the result wasn't pleasant to look at.
The other three hesitated—but too late for them. I moved among them like a shadow, using the rain as cover. Two fell with their throats slit; the last tried to flee, but I grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed him into the wall, snapping it clean.
"Damn me… where the hell am I supposed to put the bodies now?"
If it wasn't obvious, this wasn't the first time people had tried to attack me, and the result… well, they ended up dead.
I'd had to get creative with hiding bodies: under barns, in barrels, or the slave pens, and knowing the slaves' hunger, I didn't even want to imagine what happened to them.
As for the risk of any investigation, it was practically zero. Dozens of losses among recruits were normal for the Explorers, whether from dungeon accidents or fights among themselves.
In any case, I eventually hauled the bodies and tossed them off the cliff, letting Mother Nature take care of the rest.
With distractions removed, I headed toward Valren. Obviously, with this weather, using a boat was impossible, so I had to swim, and while that wasn't a problem thanks to Water Affinity, coming out soaked and welcomed by cold wind wasn't exactly pleasant.
I made my way to the Merchants' base, careful not to reveal my identity. The chance of the Explorers having spies around was low, but not zero.
At the gate, I was immediately escorted inside, toward Erik's office, and to my not-so-great surprise, Lena was there too, sipping hot tea.
"Adel!"
She came to greet me with a hug but quickly pulled back when she felt my wet, cold body, and hurried off to grab some towels.
The reason she was here was that work in the fields had stopped due to the weather, and since she was bored at home, she asked if they needed extra hands at the Merchants' base. That's how she ended up working here.
I wasn't a fan of the idea. Even though my relationship with the prince had improved, that didn't mean I trusted him or Alfred. But it was true their base was safe, and they knew better than to do anything stupid.
"I'll go get more hot tea."
Lena left, and I noticed how Erik followed her with his gaze, making me frown.
"Eyes down, lecherous prince, that's my sister."
"Ahem… you misunderstood. I was only wondering how you two could be related, given your different personalities."
Seeing the prince clear his throat, Alfred remained expressionless, though I could swear his lips were slightly curved upward.
"Anyway, what's the situation?" Erik asked.
"Stable. No major changes. I managed to catch sight of one of the commanders. As for Paul and the other commander, they seem to never leave the main residence."
"So, as reported by the—"
BOOOOM!
A powerful thunderclap caught us off guard.
"It's even worse than usual," Alfred commented, looking out the window, but slowly, his expression changed, and so did mine.
The mana… It's condensing?
Ever since I'd obtained a core, I'd become more sensitive to mana flow.
More thunder followed, one after another, making Erik notice the strange situation too, while I was more focused on the growing mana.
Wait, I know what this is—so… It's today!
I felt the rune on my wrist pulse dangerously, and when I leaned out the window, I quickly realized it was going to be very different from the old timeline.