A month has passed since then, and now–we are living in the City of Pasage–Pervis.
We three now worked for a man named Lucas, a Nameless like us. Our job is to help him manage the bookstore.
We were very thankful to him, because not only did he teach us how to read and give us jobs, but he also found us suitable places to live. To us, he was our savior, our hero.
One day while I was placing books on one of the shelves, the same Magician whom I had seen a month prior entered the store. How did I know? The Magician wore the same clothes.
The Magician came up to me, asked me for my name. Their voice was soft, strangely gentle, "Child, what is the name you bear?"
When I turned to look at their face, my face flushed red the moment my eyes met hers. She was a real beauty! Her eyes glowed with a hint of silver while her smile widened. Unfortunately, I didn't see her hair because her black outfit hid it all.
She asked, placing her hand at her chin as if pondering, "What time has been allocated to let you do as you please?"
I scratched my face, nervously asking, "Um… what do you… mean?"
Her smile widened but I didn't understand why. She sighed, asking, "Is my way with words simply too extravagant?"
"Uh…" I stood there, not understanding what the Magician just said.
She chuckled, waving her hand, "Okay, I understand. My sincerest apologies for the overly strange wordings."
She asked me once more, "But now, I will ask you again: when are you free today?"
Still nervous, I answered, "A-After two hours…"
"I shall wait then." She took one of the books I held and bought it.
Time passed but it felt tiring, almost torturing. I wanted to see and meet her. I was so curious to the point that I had already forgotten what I was supposed to do.
I shook my head, remembering to do my work properly. This is the one way we three had previously agreed on that would be our way of repaying Mr. Lucas.
Before I knew it, my shift finally came to an end. I rushed to the Plaza, hoping to see her there.
Once there, I saw her sitting at one of the benches and playing tricks for the kids around my age.
I slowed my pace down as I walked towards them.
She soon noticed me and clapped her hands. Telling the kids with a smile so warm it rivaled the sun, "Play time is unfortunately over!"
The kids looked disappointed but she handed them all one piece of candy each and said, "It may be over today, but who said I won't be back tomorrow?"
The kids look happy again, leaving the Plaza with a smile.
She stood up, bowing politely to me which sent shivers down my spine. I've never seen anybody act like this before.
She spoke, her tone inviting, "I shall kindly introduce myself. I am Zhan Xie, a Nameless just like you."
She gestured at me, and I followed. I sat down with her, my nervousness becoming apparent.
"Um… d-do you need anything?" My hands are continuously shaking.
That warm smile of hers never faded while she explained, "A month ago, you awakened. Congratulations on stepping into the world of Holders. The world where none ever ruled without a price."
Puzzlement crept into my expression which seemed to make her elaborate, "At that time I used an artifact to make the crowd awaken, including you."
"Why would you do something like that?" I asked with genuine curiosity.
"I was looking for a Theft Holder or to put it simply, a Holder whose abilities originate from beyond the realms."
"Do you wish to be recruited?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I want to make use of your ability to… help people."
I opened my mouth only to close it again. I didn't know how to respond to her.
"You don't need to worry, this offer will be here if you ever need it."
The conversation soon ended as we parted ways. I walked back home, my head down in confusion.
Not long after, I saw our apartment. The building was made of bricks and it had three floors. We lived on the second floor.
I entered and walked up the stairs. When I saw the hardened wooden door, I opened it to see what was happening.
Sitting near the door, Michael who was currently reading a book turned to look at me.
"Welcome home."
"Oh right, where were you?"
I scratched my face, answering, "Can we talk about this at the dinner table?"
He sighed, heading towards the dining area.
The three of us sat around the wooden table with the food right in front of us.
Charlotte asked me, feeling concerned, "You were out for quite a while today. Did anything happen?"
I explained to them what had occurred.
Charlotte advised me, after pondering over the topic for a few seconds, "The offer certainly seems tempting but you shouldn't take the offer. First, she didn't explain anything about the benefits, it just sounds good on paper–no–not even paper could make it sound good. Second and lastly, if she truly was the reason you awakened, don't you think the risks of going with her outweigh everything else?"
"I understand. Thank you."
…
Two weeks flew by and on our day off, we spent the day admiring the City.
We bought sweets, played, and read. The day was amazing!
While walking, a beautiful lady came towards us.
She had long red hair and combined with those glimmering green eyes of hers, she captivated our hearts. She was dressed in a formal scarlet dress and black shoes.
She asked us, her words the complete opposite of what we had thought about her, "Do you know where the Company is?"
"Huh?!" We three said in tandem.
She blinked her eyes twice, explaining, "The Company is two stories tall. Is that not obvious?"
Her eyes widened, as if remembering something. She cleared her throat and introduced herself, "Ehem. My name is All, All of Existence. If you want to know why I was named this, my Father was just out of ideas. I know, unsurprising." She added, "My daughter bought the building but never told me anything more than it's in Pervis."
Charlotte replied, "We sadly don't know where it is."
Miss All raised her head, sighing while she looked at the sky. She muttered, barely audible enough for us to hear, "Why am I so unlucky today?"
She soon left and I commented, "Everyone from a Bloodline seems rich."
Michael explained, his tone filled with confidence, "That's because they would have already built enough of their foundation to allow them to live such lives."
"How do you know this?"
"I recently read a book about it."
After hearing his reply, I immediately remembered the book he had read before. So he was actually studying. How nice.
A year passed since then and due to unfortunate circumstances, Mr. Lucas passed away.
On his deathbed, he explained to us why he decided to help us–the misfits, "I don't have much time left… so I will tell you three so I can pass on to the After Life without regrets." He paused and coughed before continuing, "I never found someone I could love, so I opened my bookstore to share my love for reading. Then, on that fateful day, I found you three searching for a new home. I felt that I needed to help you three so I did and it all led up to this."
He let out another cough before continuing, "So from this day forward, I will let you three inherit everything that I own. It's nothing much but… I hope you will appreciate it."
He smiled before eventually passing away. Tears flowed down my face, it almost felt endless but eventually, my tears dried up. I no longer have tears left to flow. My face was read, but I promised myself that I would honor Mr. Lucas's legacy!
Months passed by and we three diligently worked, never being swayed by our exhaustion.