~3.550 words
Waking from a sleep far deeper than usual, Kiyotaka stepped into a steaming bathtub to soothe the dull ache in his lower back. The warmth began to loosen muscles that had been strained.
Then he wore a casual white shirt, black pants, black sweater and shoes. Finishing his attire was a long, ash-grey coat. Then he holstered his revolver in its sleeve, wore Ember on his right hand and stuffed the Hunting Ring and Cyst in his inner pockets, followed by something wrapped in an old newspaper.
After that, he stuffed all of his old and used clothes in a small bag and then without availing the free breakfast that came with the hotel's services, he left for East Borough.
Feeling much more light-hearted than before, he first made a trip to his laundrymaid—Liv.
"Good morning, Mr. Williams..." Liv's voice trailed off as she looked tiredly at him.
"Good morning."
Kiyotaka looked around and found only Freya in the corner, ironing one shirt after another. Just as usual, the feeble and cautious girl did not take his arrival well and immediately looked away.
To Kiyotaka, this reaction was understandable since Kiyotaka was oddly nice to both Daisy and Liv, which implicated that he might have some ulterior motives, meanwhile the real reason behind him unstintingly giving them money was because Liv was good at keeping her mouth shut and just doing what she was told to do.
Most of his clothes which had blood stains on them were cleaned and ironed by her.
As for Daisy, since the girl was a student at one of the public schools made by the Church of Evernight Goddess, he was trying to become her benefactor. It was dishonest, and it was quite likely that the Goddess would look through it — assuming she was bothered enough to focus on what a mortal would do — he still wanted to make his image better.
Even if the Goddess had no direct involvement or knowledge of it, if he were to slowly fund her studies and other expenses, he would soon have a good reputation in the elite circles and the church itself as well, given he already was receiving quite a lot of favorable support from the Church of Evernight Goddess.
Liv took the bag of clothes from his hand, opened the zipper and peered inside as if he had once again brought clothes that were going to be drenched in blood. Much to her surprise — which she did not allow to show on her face — the clothes were more or less already clean, save for the slight smell of sweat mingling with last traces of a citrusy perfume.
Taking out a £5 banknote that had the image of the fifth king, Henry Augustus I, he placed it on the nearby table. Liv looked at it and her eyes instantly brightened. However, her features darkened as she looked up at him. There was a look of an exploited victim in her eyes, however, when she looked back at the banknote in her hand, a quiet look of understanding flashed across her features.
"That's for your service so far." Kiyotaka — who had more or less judged where Liv's mind was going — spoke up and nodded. "Eat something good tonight and feed it to your daughters as well." Then he looked around and cleared his throat. "Is Daisy not here?"
Liv — who was still in a daze — stammered before replying. "Yes... Erm, she has gone to school. Freya will go get her soon... Thank you so much.. Thank you... Last time when you paid us, it helped us a lot as well." Liv did not reject the amount and instantly stuffed it in her pocket.
Kiyotaka nodded. "I will take my leave now. If Daisy requires anything for her studies, inform me. I am quite willing to sponsor her studies." He ruminated over his words and then added. "Her studies only."
Liv felt a little conflicted at this. While it was a good opportunity to give her daughter a good chance at life, she was worried about something else. To her, the man called "Williams Holmes" was an eccentric young man who was just above middle class. In this age and era, it was quite common for rich people to take young girls from poor districts under their wing and then exploit them.
And while Williams, so far, had not expressed any ulterior interest in them, she could not help but be cautious. However, Williams was also someone who had made their condition just a little better, so she could not outright say anything that would offend him.
"We will be really thankful... I will talk to Daisy when she comes back..." Liv answered in the only way she considered appropriate.
Once again, instead of responding, Kiyotaka merely nodded his head. Freya, who was hearing all this, froze for a while before continuing to iron the shirts.
Bidding his goodbye to Liv, he walked absentmindedly. He had a whole day before his meeting with the client who wanted to be the first ever customer and hence, currently he was unsure of what to do.
As he walked out of the district, he found himself in front of the Bravehearts Bar after a while of walking. Remembering about his deal with Maric and Sharron, he walked inside. The bar was full, as usual with people eating and some even drinking at this hour.
Kiyotaka saw a small boy with blonde hair and feminine hips standing at the counter, trying to tip-toe and look over the counter.
"Good morning, Xio." He greeted and walked up to the counter.
"Ah? Good morning, Williams. How come you are here this early?" Xio's voice was mellow as ever.
"Just here to meet someone. What about you?"
"Well, there has been a lot going on in the background." Xio stepped a little closer and Kiyotaka bent his back, lowering to listen to her as she whispered. "There are rumors that the Church of Goddess and MI9 have something going on between them. Isn't that ludicrous? How did this even happen?"
Kiyotaka — who knew very well why — feigned ignorance and made a confused look. "I wonder why. Both bodies are totally different from each other too."
"Exactly! But I don't want to pry too much into the issue, but it really is a troubling matter."
"Indeed. Perhaps someone from MI9 committed sacrilege."
Once again, he blamed someone else for the crimes he had committed.
"Perhaps... but if that is the case, then there is potential for a nationwide disaster. I hope that is not the case."
Kiyotaka nodded. "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst."
Xio looked up at him, her olive eyes a little focused. "Where did you hear that from?"
"Someone I knew. Why?"
Hanging her head, she looked at her worn-off boots and smiled bitterly. "My father used to say that. Quite ironic, given how he died."
Kiyotaka offered no words of comfort. Instead, he placed a hand on her messy blonde hair and shuffled them.
Xio placed a finger to the side of his wrist and removed it. When she did eventually look up, she was smiling. "Don't act like a parent to me now when I have been looking after your useless carcass this long."
"Carcass? That's harsh."
Xio giggled and sniffed. It was obvious that it was moist and that she had been overwhelmed all of a sudden. It was a little surprising to even Kiyotaka as well, given how much she used to talk about her father without as much as a quiver in her voice.
But Kiyotaka knew better than anyone: human emotions are highly volatile. Since Kiyotaka had gone silent, Xio initiated this time.
"Nice clothes." She stared at him from head to toe. "On a second note, it's the first time in a long while that I have seen you in casual clothes."
"I find roaming around in a full suit not very optimal. And besides, it is getting cold. Layering myself with sweaters is better than just putting on a heavier overcoat."
Xio nodded. She was about to say something again when the barman arrived. He was about to say something, but from the corner of his eye, Kiyotaka saw Xio stop him.
Taking this as his cue to leave, he turned to her. "Alright, I will take my leave. Let's meet again soon."
"Sure. Oh yes, you should probably visit us soon. Fors wanted to meet you. She wanted to say thanks to you for taking care of her when she collapsed. But I feel like she just wants you to bring some home cooked food."
"I can do that."
"Thanks, Williams."
Kiyotaka nodded without any emotion and went to the snooker room in which usually Maric would sit down and play with his zombie friends. Unsurprised, Kiyotaka found the man he was looking for, doing exactly what he expected him to do.
Maric casted a rather crazy look in Kiyotaka's direction and nodded, motioning for him to sit next to him. One of his zombies placed his cards down and stood up, leaving the chair empty for him.
Kiyotaka sat in the now vacant seat and picked the cards up. He held them in a way that his body blocked the vision of the zombie standing behind him, in the far corner of the room. While he was not sure if Maric could share the sight of his zombies, he did that regardless.
"Good morning." Kiyotaka greeted him with the Eloquence of a true gentleman.
"Morning." Maric greeted him back. His voice was strained and his overall demeanor was much different than usual. Kiyotaka could feel subdued bloodlust emanating from the gloomy man.
Looking down, Kiyotaka saw his pair of cards which were: 3 of hearts and diamonds, 7 of clovers, 8 of spades, 9 of diamonds, J of spades, Queen of hearts, King of clovers and 2 of spades.
Maric on the other hand had 3 of hearts, diamonds and clovers, along with King of hearts, spades and diamonds, and Ace of spades, hearts and clovers.
Three of a kind in threes consisting of three kings and three aces. Maric was already one draw away from going out. Kiyotaka had nothing but a scattered hand with no sets and no runs.
The max anyone could hold out was two turns, maybe three.
The chink of Ember colliding against the wooden table made Maric look up for a moment before focusing back on his cards.
"Allow me to thank you for your assistance last night. I am sure it would've been impossible, if not for you and Miss Sharron helping me out." Kiyotaka stared at his horrible cards.
"You were not present there." Maric replied in the same, blood lusted manner.
"I am quite sure my involvement was not a part of our arrangements."
Maric drew from the deck without replying, even though he didn't need it — his hand was already complete after all. He discarded the four of spades with its face up. He could have gone out right then and there, however, he didn't. Perhaps he was waiting for Kiyotaka to make a move first.
Kiyotaka passed on the discard pile and drew from the deck: a king of hearts. He held it for a long moment before slotting it into his hand without expression. He discarded the two spades — his most worthless card — and looked across the table.
Maric drew from the deck which was another card he didn't need. He looked at Kiyotaka over the tops of his cards — that crazy, unfocused stare that meant nothing and everything and discarded a king of hearts.
"That was insincere from your end, how can we trust you after that? What is to say that you would return our kindness in the same way?" Maric looked up.
"I believe you have confused the nature of this entire... ordeal." Kiyotaka sounded calm. "It was never a favor or kindness, but rather a transaction. The terms we agreed on was you helping me in circumventing my dire situation. I never explicitly stated that I would be there myself."
Kiyotaka then looked down at the cards and made a judgement that he had already lost and Maric was merely trying to bully him in the game. "Quite consistent."
"Being consistent isn't a weakness." Maric's eyes grew crazy.
Kiyotaka kept staring down. "Of course not."
Kiyotaka picked up Maric's discarded king of hearts without hesitation. He now had two kings. He rearranged his hand slowly, as if the order in which they were laid out mattered, then he discarded the queen of hearts and said nothing for a moment.
"As for your worries, I, myself, in the flesh, will be there when the time of your predicament comes. I believe Mr. Sherlock is also recruited for this?"
Maric did not reply, nor did he nod, however, his silence did little to hide anything.
Maric didn't draw from the deck. He stared at the discard pile instead — at the queen of hearts sitting there uselessly — and then finally pulled from the deck. This time, it was a jack of diamonds. He held it in his hands without any visible expression and then set it face down.
He discarded an ace of clubs. One of his aces.
Suddenly, Maric placed his entire cards down and frowned.
He just realized what was happening.
While he was resistant to mental attacks, the subtle influence of words that Kiyotaka exerted by simply calling his playstyle "consistent" caused Maric to instinctively become "non-consistent."
It was a simple word, something that would feel inconsequential, however, for someone who understood humans and their nature on a deep level, Kiyotaka knew exactly which string to pull to turn him into his marionette.
However, Maric could not complain about it either. Despite Kiyotaka trying his best to hide his cards, the number of zombies present there made it almost impossible for him to fully hide his hand. At some point in time, he had fully abandoned the idea of hiding his cards and put his efforts into guiding Maric's thoughts.
Seeing that his trick was seen through and Maric not wanting to continue the game, Kiyotaka cleared his throat. "Is Miss Sharron here?"
"No. She is away."
"I see." Kiyotaka looked inside his pocket and took out a small pouch that let out a jingle. It was full of coins and weighed quite a lot. Enough for his coat to sag a little to the left. As he placed it on the table, he spoke:
"I know this amount is paltry compared to the trouble, however, please accept this compensation. As for the favor that I owe, I will wholeheartedly fulfill it."
Maric did not pick the pouch. Part of the reason was that while Kiyotaka's words sounded humble, he had placed the pouch on his end of the table, prompting Maric to stand up from his seat and retrieve the pouch from the other end.
"Other than that, I have another commission."
Taking out a crumpled newspaper carrying something.
"I do not know about your condition, but it does not look right. I would recommend not opening, but this is a Beyonder Characteristic of a Devil. I want it to be turned into a Mystical Item. The person will be well compensated and you will be given a handsome commission as well."
Maric looked at the pouch of money and the Beyonder Characteristic sitting on the table side by side and nodded.
With his work done here, he simply stood up and waved his hand to Maric as goodbye — which Maric did not reciprocate — he took his leave from there. As he was leaving, he turned back and saw that Kaspars Kalinin was no longer in his position.
Not letting the creeping frown show on his face, Kiyotaka lowered his hat and left immediately.
Catching a carriage, he immediately rode to Inventor Leppard's house in Cherwood Borough. As soon as the carriage stopped at some distance, Kiyotaka saw another carriage in front of Inventor Leppard's house.
The carriage was beautiful, full of gems and luxury. On both sides was engraved a coat of arms with two swords, each with a ruby crown at the handle, pointing vertically down — The Sword of Judgement.
It was the coat of arms of the Augustus Family — the current crown family of the Loen Kingdom!
Kiyotaka instantly felt the need to equip Cyst.
As he walked through the small entrance door of the house, Kiyotaka found Leppard nervously standing in front of someone. The newcomer looked to be in his thirties and wore a black suit, a silk hat, and a gold-inlaid cane, looking like a gentleman of status and wealth. His skin was dark as a result of frequent exposure to the sun. The back of his hand was like dried wood, and his fingers looked extremely rough.
"Ah—Mr. Holmes... Thank God you are here... Ah!" He looked at the newcomer and shut his mouth up.
The newcomer extended his hand towards Kiyotaka, which he shook despite being a little reluctant at heart.
"Good morning, Mr. Holmes. I have heard a lot about you." The old man spoke with an odd amount of friendliness. "I am William Sikes, the land steward at Prince Edessak Augustus' Manor."
'That tracks.'
"I am Williams Holmes." Kiyotaka gripped the man's hand tightly. Much to his surprise, even as a Barbarian, Kiyotaka could feel the crushing grip of William Sikes.
William smiled. "As you might've guessed by now, Prince Edessak was the one who wished to acquire the first ever model for himself. As such, to gain the attention of our young prince, it is really an honor to share a first name with you."
Kiyotaka nodded. "The pleasure is all mine." He looked at Leppard who shook his head, not wanting to have any part in whatever discussion was going to happen. "I believe you are here to escort me?"
"Yes."
Kiyotaka nodded. "Of course. Let's leave immediately then. I do not wish to make the prince wait for someone of my stature." Each and every word leaving Kiyotaka's mouth was eloquent and smooth. "However, before we do that, may I excuse myself for a moment?"
William Sikes smiled once more in a warm manner. "Of course."
Kiyotaka walked with unhurried steps inside the house. Before Leppard could walk inside and strike a conversation and praise him for his big brain, he entered the toilet and quickly took off Ember and Cyst.
Even if possession of the Mystical Items could be justified as self-defense, the fact remained that they were already the signature hallmark of a known "terrorist" — and being found with them would be catastrophic enough on its own.
What really compounded the danger further was that MI9 was quite close to the Royal Family. If they uncovered even the faintest thread of Kiyotaka's involvement by channeling Jason Beria's spirit, his ruin would be absolute and inescapable.
Hence why, he quickly sacrificed his Mystical Items to the Space Above the Grey Fog.
After that, he quickly washed his hands, threw some water on his face and ran wet fingers through his hair that were much more silky and shiny — attributed to the fact that he bathed daily and used better hygiene products — than the time he had first transmigrated, he slicked them back.
However, after a moment of deliberation, he let a few strands loose.
Since his face structure was long, fully slicking his hair back made that feature even more prominent. It didn't help his case as he was losing hair on the sides, giving it a weird look. With a few strands resting on his eyes, it gave a much more dangerous look.
Satisfied with himself, he walked out and after bidding his farewell to Inventor Leppard, he sat inside the carriage that was attached to two giant, grey colored stallions with William Sikes sitting opposite to him.
Before long, the carriage began to roll towards its destination.
*****
Sitting on the bed with a complicated expression, a few words left parched lips. "That... was a really bad idea, ughh... it still hurts"
*****
Author's Note: Surprised? So am I, frankly but don't get used to it.
This chapter had no explosions and conspiracies — which means my second brain cell got the day off and I actually finished this in under three weeks. A historic occasion indeed.
I also finally got around to finishing Volume 2 of Shadow Slave, which was genuinely excellent and has absolutely nothing to do with why I suddenly found the motivation to write again...
... Okay it has everything to do with it.
Nothing humbles you into productivity faster than reading something good and thinking I want to do that immediately followed by I am nowhere near that immediately followed by opening a document out of spite.
LOTM still has my heart though. Anyways, the chapter is done. I'm going back to staring at the next one until it writes itself, kind of like how I look at the tax returns in my company — even though, much to my disdain, historically has not worked but I remain optimistic.
Anyways, see you all whenever. Tschüß