Percy's eyes jolted open abruptly.
For a brief moment, he stared upward blankly only to realize there was no ceiling above him at all.
Instead— An open sky stretched endlessly overhead.
He frowned before slowly forcing himself upright.
The moment he moved, soreness immediately spread throughout his entire body. His limbs felt heavy and exhausted as though he had pushed them far beyond their limits.
"…Ahh…"
Percy rubbed his face tiredly before finally looking around properly.
The surroundings were unfamiliar.
He appeared to be lying atop flattened cardboard near what looked to be a children's playground.
Hmm… I really did run a lot last night.
Percy slowly looked upward again. Only one sun currently hung in the sky while the second smaller one had yet to rise.
At least that meant it was still early morning.
That alone made him feel slightly relieved.
Probably best to find the main road first.
Maybe then I'll figure out where I am.
After gathering himself for several minutes, Percy finally stood up and slowly began walking.
His legs protested painfully with every step.
Eventually, after wandering through several unfamiliar streets, he finally reached a larger main road.
Only then did recognition appear in his eyes.
"Maelrom District…?" Percy blinked slightly. "Oh… I ran across an entire district…"
He had actually visited the Maelrom District once before around two years ago to purchase tailoring materials for the shop.
However, back then he had only remained around the main street areas and never wandered this deeply into the district itself.
Thankfully, Maelrom was relatively close to his Ferreom district.
Otherwise, Percy honestly had no idea how far he might have run last night in that panic-stricken state.
That explained why his body felt like it was falling apart.
After walking a little further, he eventually spotted a public bench near the roadside and sat down heavily.
The exhaustion lingering within him felt overwhelming.
Percy instinctively reached toward his coat pocket to check whether his wallet was still there.
If possible, he wanted to take a carriage home this time.
There was no way he could endure walking back again on legs this sore.
Thankfully, after fumbling through his pockets for several moments, he finally found the familiar pouch containing his money.
A wave of relief washed through him.
Honestly speaking, after sprinting around like a madman the previous night, he had half expected to lose it somewhere already.
Yet the moment his fingers brushed deeper into the coat— He felt something else.
Slowly, he pulled the coat open slightly before carefully peeking inside.
A silvery revolver rested within the pocket.
His expression instantly became complicated.
Right… I took that thing.
Even now, Percy still felt afraid handling it.
He carefully adjusted the coat slightly while ensuring nobody nearby could see clearly before inspecting the revolver discreetly.
The cylinder remained loaded. All six bullets were still inside. Percy quietly exhaled before immediately hiding it again.
Just then, a public carriage rolled past nearby.
Without hesitation, Percy raised his arm.
The carriage soon came to a stop. After boarding, Percy gave the driver his destination.
The coachman looked slightly perplexed after hearing it.
After all, Percy carried no luggage or suitcase that would normally suggest someone traveling across districts so early in the morning.
Still, the man simply shrugged and accepted the request without asking questions.
After what had been nearly two hours of travel, Percy finally arrived near his house.
The fare had been painfully expensive.
Four copper crowns.
That amount genuinely hurt his pockets since it would normally have been enough for him to last nearly an entire day worth of expense.
Still, considering the distance traveled and the fact that the driver could not take other passengers while hired, the price was actually fairly reasonable.
In fact, Percy even suspected the coachman had intentionally lowered the cost slightly after arriving near his neighborhood. After all the neighborhood was quite shabby .
He silently thanked the man before dragging his weary body back toward the house.
Right now, he had absolutely no intention of going to work today.
Sure, he would probably be asked plenty of questions afterward— But rest was all he needed at the moment.
Even then, Percy still forced himself to prepare a proper meal before going to bed.
Right now, the last thing he wanted was to wake up with a pounding headache or some kind of sickness after pushing his body this hard.
Especially after spending the previous night sleeping outside.
He already suspected the cold air and exhaustion had started affecting his health slightly.
So despite how tired he felt, Percy still cooked himself a full meal and ate properly.
At the very least, if his body had enough energy while he slept, it would have a better chance fighting off whatever sickness might be coming.
The meal itself was simple, but Percy made far more than usual.
He cracked five eggs into a pan and made a large omelette before slicing up three tomatoes alongside it.
Afterward, he reheated the beans Mrs. Callyst had given him yesterday morning.
He had not been home last night to eat them, as he was busy running to another district for his dear life , well now the beans had already started smelling slightly strange—
Though they were still perfectly edible.
Percy also rinsed several pieces of lettuce before cutting around ten thick slices of bread.
Normally, he would have made coffee as well.
But since he planned on sleeping immediately afterward, he decided against it.
Still wanting something warm in his stomach, he simply boiled water instead.
For health reasons, despite not particularly wanting to, Percy even added several pieces of garlic into the simple sandwiches he threw together.
Once he finally finished eating, exhaustion immediately crashed over him once more.
Without bothering to clean much beyond the basics, Percy headed straight toward his bed hoping that when he woke up later—
He would at least feel a little better than he did now.
He drifted into sleep while holding the revolver on one hand which was shoved under his pillow .