"What...?"
Vayne was startled at first but quickly regained his composure. He had seen death many times before. He stepped forward and looked closer. The tall man—the one who had taken the parcel—had a slit at his throat.
His eyes moved onto the others. He concluded that they might have been assassinated.
"...What kind of—"
He stopped. The world had stretched again. Just like before. A sharp pain split through his head. Vayne stiffened.
"..Again?"
But this time, the feeling faded quickly. He gathered his thoughts and forced himself to focus on why he had come here: the missing parcel.
He began searching the area, checking every place it could have been left.
"It's gone."
The parcel was missing. A sick, twisting feeling settled in his stomach as he realized he might not be able to earn the money he needed to repay his debt. He glanced at the watch on his wrist.
[SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY]
He slid his fingers on the display.
[ 7 UNITS ]
The scent of the skewer from earlier lingered faintly. His stomach growled.
Bzeep
Startled by the notification, his gaze fell onto his wrist.
[NEW MISSION AVAILABLE]
"...Huh"
This was completely new. He had never seen this before. Until now, the watch had only given him delivery requests.
He had received it when his debt became impossible to ignore, when every normal way of earning money had already failed him. The watch was supposed to be his last chance: accept the jobs, complete the deliveries, and slowly pay back what he owed.
But it had never asked him to do anything else.
"...Why now?"
He tapped on the screen.
[RECOVERY MISSION — ACCEPT?]
He was given two options.
[YES — NO]
He swallowed. The parcel was gone. But it seemed like something wanted it back.
"..."
His thumb hovered over the screen. A retrieval mission. Unknown variables. Unnecessary risk—But he needed the money. His thumb moved.
[NO]
Tap.
For a second, nothing happened.
Bzeep
The screen changed
[...]
[RECOVERY MISSION ACCEPTED]
"...?"
He hadn't pressed yes. At least, he didn't think he had. He stared at the screen for a moment, then glanced at his thumb, which was still hovering near the wrong option. Maybe he had tapped it by accident. Maybe the watch had glitched. Either way, the words on the screen did not change.
He tapped it once, then again, but nothing happened. After a few seconds, he lowered his arm and let out a quiet breath. A recovery mission was still a job, and a job meant payment. If the watch wanted him to recover something, then he would recover it.
He showed no signs of frustration or surprise. Refusal was not an option. The watch could be removed—but it wasn't worth it to find out what would happen.
[RETRIEVE]
[...]
[ITEM CLASS: STIMULANT — RESTRICTED]
[...]
[EFFECT: TEMPORAL PERCEPTION VARIANCE][...]
[RISK LEVEL: MEDIUM]
[...]
He sighed.
[...]
[LOCATION: WITHIN PROXIMITY]
"Here..?"
The sound of footsteps cut through the darkness. Vayne turned around swiftly.
A girl stood at the entrance of the alley. With a straight posture standing still damp strands of dark hair clung to the sides of her face, unmoving despite the rain. She looked at each of the bodies.
Her eyes widened at the sight of blood. But she quickly regained her composure and looked at her wrist.
[LOCATION: WITHIN PROXIMITY]
She looked up and gazed at Vayne who wore a listless expression.
"...Was it you?"
Vayne's eyes moved from the watch to her face.
"Was what me?"
She had a quiet but firm voice.
"Do you have the item? Answer me."
Vayne looked from the watch to the bodies, then back to her. So that was it. The item was nearby, and he was the only one still standing. Her suspicion made sense, even if it was weak. Nearby did not mean he had it, but she believed it enough to keep the dagger raised.
"I don't have it."
He said it flatly with no change in expression.
She looked at his body and found traces of blood on his sleeves.
"Then…" Her voice slowed as she looked at his clothes.
"Why do you have blood on your sleeves?"
Vayne tilted his head and glanced down at his sleeves.
"Oh, I fell down and got a bloody no—"
She lunged at him with a concealed dagger. Vayne's eyes widened at the sight of the dagger approaching him.
He dodged the lunge by bending his back going under the stab. Vayne shifted beneath the blade, the edge cutting through the air just above his face. For a brief moment, he saw her wrist pass over him, tense and unsteady. She was fast, but not practiced enough to hide her intent once she had committed.
He stepped back as she stumbled past him.
"You asked me a question, then came at me before I could answer. I don't know what you expected me to say when you barely gave me the chance."
She spun back toward him, dagger still raised.
"Chance?" she snapped.
"You're standing near a bunch of corpses like this is normal. What makes you think anyone would believe a word you say?"
Vayne glanced at the bodies.
"Ah... I guess you're right." He let out a sigh.
"I don't have it. Look at me. If I had something on me, you'd be able to see it."
Her brows furrowed as she studied his appearance. His hands were empty and his pockets were torn.
"...You expect me to believe that you would hide it where I can see it?"
"No that's...that's not what I'm s—"
She lunged again before he could finish. This time he was a second too slow. Before she could drive the dagger in his body, something flashed between them.
Clink.
Her blade was deflected.
She slid back across the wet ground and caught herself before falling.
A man stepped out of the dark as if he had been standing inside the shadow itself. Moonlight shined upon his long ash-gray hair. One hand rested in his pocket while the other held a short blade loose at his side.
He looked at Vayne and then at the girl.
"Whoa, princess," he said, lowering his blade.
"You always this friendly, or did I catch you on a bad day?"
Vayne's eyes widened. The girl's did too.
Her dagger stayed raised, but her attention had shifted from Vayne to the man behind him. Vayne followed her stare and felt something cold settle in his chest. The man had not walked from the entrance of the alley. Almost as if he was there the entire time.
The man noticed their expressions and smiled a little wider.
The girl stared at the man, in confusion. Vayne felt the same, though his expression barely showed it. His mind moved back through the last few seconds. He was sure no one had been there. He would've noticed someone else nearby. The alley was narrow and the rain made every movement louder. There had been nowhere for a person to hide. Still, the man had appeared behind them like he stepped out of the dark itself.
The girl's shock hardened back into suspicion. She pointed her dagger toward him without fully turning away from Vayne.
"..."
The man lowered his blade and gave the girl a lazy look.
"Careful, girl. If you keep pointing that thing at everyone you meet, someone might take it personally."
She grew more irritated.
"Move."
The man let out a chuckle.
"Why?"
Her eyes narrowed.Then her gaze dropped to his coat, his hands, and the blade at his side.
"Or maybe you have it?" She reached out with her other arm, hand extended.
"Give it to me. Or I'll have to use force."
Vayne thought bitterly that this wasn't fair. He'd been attacked immediately, without even a chance to explain himself. Sure, there were dead bodies around him, but he still could've been given a moment to speak.
Right?
"I would," the man said,
"but there's a small problem."
His smile widened.
"I don't wanna."
Her expression darkened. Vayne just stared at him with a blank face.
It was such a stupid answer that it took him a second to accept he had actually heard it.
The man seemed pleased with himself. He shifted his blade into his other hand, and the movement made his sleeve slide back just enough to reveal a watch on his wrist. Then he reached behind his back.
He stuck his tongue out at her as he pulled the parcel into view from his long coat.The man had no reason to reveal the parcel unless he wanted them to see it. That meant he was not hiding anymore. He was inviting them to chase.
The man gave the parcel a small shake, still smiling. And Vayne understood then.
This was not a mistake.
It was bait.