Shuppastu Shuppastu

Death is the ultimate loss for the departed which fades away the very existence of oneself.

--

The next morning, Severus woke up early, a habit he had maintained throughout his 26 years of serving the crown prince in his previous life.

He couldn't help but reflect on the fact that not even death had freed him from the patterns of his past life. Noworry, the black raven, glided in through the window and perched on his shoulder.

"[Hey, the early bird catches the worm,]" Noworry said with a hint of mockery.

Severus replied, "Yes, I am. Do you have a problem with that?" Noworry gracefully glided through the air and settled on his shoulder once more.

"[Hey kid, why the glum expression?]" Noworry inquired.

"Don't worry, I'm not feeling down," Severus chuckled.

Noworry, basking in the praise, playfully threatened, "[If you dare to disrespect me again, you might meet an untimely end.]"

Severus promptly apologized, "My sincerest apologies for my impudence, Lord. Spare the life of this humble mortal." He spoke with a wry grin.

Noworry found satisfaction in the flattery. Severus grasped that the old bird was indeed quite arrogant and had a fondness for praise, which might shed light on why he was punished by Hades.

"[So, what are your plans? With your handsome looks and your past title, you'll undoubtedly become the center of attention the moment you step outside]," Noworry boasted.

Severus's countenance dimmed, and he responded, "No, nobody will recognize me. I've been invisible to everyone except royalty and a few high-ranking individuals. Recognition was never in the cards for me."

"[So, what are you waiting for? Let's go and attack the king's palace. I can easily destroy it with a flick, and then you can eliminate that treacherous crown prince and his fiancée]," Noworry suggested.

Severus hesitated before responding, "No, this isn't a fight I want to win so easily. Why do you think I was killed in the first place?"

Noworry retorted with disdain, "[Because you are weak. What other reasons could there be?]"

Severus shook his head, his voice tinged with hidden anger as he said, "No, I am weak compared to you, but in the mortal world, I was the strongest in my entire kingdom, even more powerful than the king himself."

Noworry continued to prob, "[So, how were you killed? Is it because of that useless princess? Do you also love her?]"

Severus fell silent, contemplating his feelings for the princess.

He admitted, "Yeah, you can say that I loved her, but I didn't die for love. I died because of betrayal. The oaths and vows we took were just a joke. The so-called brotherhood was fake. The truth was that they never accepted me. No one, no one accepted my existence."

Noworry was at a loss for words, and he simply commented, "[It's okay, lad. Mortals are fickle-minded]." The wise old bird offered some consolation.

Severus then shifted the conversation to their strategy. Noworry asked, "[So, what is the strategy? We can't just hide here and wait for the opportunity to fall from the sky. Can we?]"

Severus responded, "What do you think I am best at, Noworry?"

Noworry guessed, "[Strength and attack.]"

Severus corrected him, "[no.]"

Noworry tried again, "[Strategy.]"

Severus confirmed, "Yeah, but something else."

Noworry was puzzled, "[....]"

Severus explained, "The thing I am best at is disguise."

Noworry seemed taken aback, "[....]"

Severus continued, "Don't give me that look. I was never allowed to show my true face to anyone, not even to Melanie. The only people who have seen me can be counted on fingertips."

Noworry, surprisingly, felt a sense of sadness for Severus. He realized that despite his many years and his status as a raven, he still had attachments to human emotions and desires.

With limited funds, Severus stole some clothes and accessories from the inn, disguising himself as an ordinary merchant before leaving.

Noworry refrained from perching on Severus's shoulder, opting to glide through the air beside him.

Severus meandered through the city's streets, and his eyes fell upon familiar faces. Gemmi and Shenni were engrossed in selling books. Shenni stood there calmly, responding to inquiries, while Gemmi enthusiastically employed his over-the-top promotional tactics.

"Shuppastu shuppastu!"

Get this book, my friend, for just four shillings!"

"Explore these books, see the future! I, Gemmi, promise on my dear brother Shenni's life that this book will solve all your problems. If it doesn't, we'll give your money back and throw in some candies."

Gemmi loudly pitched their books, while Shenni stood there looking embarrassed.

Severus walked over, grabbed a book, and said, "Only four shillings? You're not great at selling."

Gemmi and Shenni were stunned when they heard his voice and recognized him. A crafty smile appeared on Severus's face, sending shivers down the brothers' spines.

Gemmi stammered, "YOU, YOU...aren't you that man..."

Severus interrupted, "Pack up. You both are pathetic at business. Let us catch up; we have so much to talk about."

With that, Severus entered a nearby bar, and Gemmi and Shenni reluctantly followed him inside.

Severus sat at the bar with a beer cup under the dim lights, his movements retaining their elegance and grace despite his simple merchant disguise.

Shenni and Gemmi took seats beside him, and for a moment, the three sat in silence.

Shenni was the first to break the silence, asking, "So, what's on your mind? What do you want to know?"

Severus didn't beat around the bush, getting straight to the point, "Tell me everything"

Gemmi and Shenni fell silent once more.

Severus remained persistent, prompting them to speak.

Shenni hesitated before answering, "You see, that old monk... we've only met him once. He told us about a treasure hidden in the wilderness and suggested we dig it up to live a better life."

Severus "...."

"I know it's hard to believe but this is the truth." Gemmi too joined the conversation.

"Why did the old monk help you?'

"Because we gave him a meal when he was hungry," Gemmi said simply.

Severus "...."

Severus was speechless. That old monk was a scammer who scammed these idiots.

Severus sighed deeply. "Twinnies, I have an offer for you."

"Will you pay?" Gemmi asked.

Severus "...."

Shenni "...."

"You both will be paid and wouldn't need to sleep hungry. Are you ready to take up my offer?"

Gemmi shrieked in joy, "YES! YES, we accept it."

Shenni "...…."

Severus "...…."

Shenni was truly humiliated by Gemmi's shamelessness. "Why do you want to hire us? What type of work do we need to do?"

"Aah. Don't worry. You could continue selling books. The thing that I want is information."

Shenni frowned, "Anything else?"

"Well, I know that you guys know the entire city by heart and probably would have heard about rumors and prophecies, so I want both of you to suck information from people."

Shenni frowned again. It was a simple task for them, but he had an intuition that the man in front of them wasn't simple.

"Okay, we agree to it, but how will you help us," Shenni asked.

"Oh, it's very easy. Just use one silver coin for a book and promote it the same way but add more shamelessness. It would be better if you could just smile and nod when your brother promotes the book, Shenni."

"There is something called face value in business." Severus grinned.

Severus gave them a pouch of gold coins and bid farewell to them.

[Don't you believe everyone easily, Severus?] Noworry said while frowning.

"Why else did you think I died then," Severus replied with a forced smile. He knew that he took a risk but in order to gain something, you need to risk it.