The Calm

"Well, there's nothing really left for me to do…" 

Regis breathed out a sigh.

Aunt Amabel had some business outside.

On the other hand, Dahlia was having her rest upstairs.

'Maybe I should go out for a bit…'

Regis thought, feeling bored.

Thinking about it, he had really been busy in the past few days.

His routine consisted of feeding and taking care of Dahlia and helping Aunt Amabel with the household chores.

It was the first time for him to have some free time.

After all, during the time when he and Dahlia were living by themselves, he was also quite busy.

In fact, he was even busier back then.

Thus, having some time for himself really put Regis at a loss.

'Well, Dahlia doesn't really need me by her side at all times anymore…'

This was true as well, although Dahlia had difficulties in walking by herself, walking with support was possible for her.

This added to the fact that she was now able to move her hands freely.

Getting up from the chair, Regis finally decided.

'Alright, I'll go out for a bit!'

Creak~

'Hmm…'

Regis opened the door and walked outside.

Seeing the trash and gangsters that littered the roadside, he thought, 'Should I go back inside?'

He hadn't really had the time to go outside in the past few days, this caused him to forget that he was in fact living in the slums.

And that the slums really weren't suited for his plan to 'go outside and breathe some fresh air'.

The air in the slums was not exactly fresh after all.

'Well, I'm already outside so I might as well.'

Thinking this, Regis strolled around for a while.

It was still the same old slums he grew up in.

However, there was a difference this time.

It was the fact that he was not scurrying to find ways to earn money nor did he feel the urgency he had always felt.

The slums were still the same, but he had changed.

As he continued walking, he saw massive walls.

The slums were located right outside the walls of the city.

'It must be nice to live there…' Regis thought with curiosity and longing.

After all, he had never been able to enter the city.

However, he was sure of one thing; it was nmway nicer than the slums.

'Hmmm, I'll try to ask Aunt Amabel later…'

Regis thought as he continued his stroll.

"Hey Brother, where do you think we lost our money?"

"I don't know. But I swear that I'll kill that thief for sure."

"It's because of that Devil Spawn! If we didn't meet him, then we wouldn't have been unlucky!"

…

Regis's eyes widened as he heard familiar voices in a nearby alleyway.

He slowly took a peek and saw two burly men.

They were people who he was all too familiar with since they were the ones who had beaten him up.

'Shit…'

Regis became wary as he thought, 'They might suspect me if they saw me right now.'

He was well aware of the changes he had gone through in the past few days. 

He was not skinny anymore and although these wouldn't prove anything, the burly men might still suspect him.

This would lead to them beating him up.

After all, even if he was not the one who stole their money, nothing would stop them from taking out their frustrations on him.

Therefore, he didn't waste anymore time and walked the other way.

"Well Brother, where do you think is the boss' Aura Primer?"

"I don't know. Even the others weren't able to find it."

"Why is the boss so stupid? Why would he smuggle the Aura Primer in the slums using a food carriage?'

"It's so the guards wouldn't bother checking them, you know how lax they get when it comes to work."

"Even then, he should've– Brother! Look there!"

The burly man stared at the direction where his colleague was pointing at and was surprised.

They saw a child with long white hair.

Even though it was common for the pigmentation of human's eye, hair and skin color to differ, someone with white hair was still quite the rare sight.

In addition to the child's stature, they were able to quickly figure out who he was.

'Why am I so unlucky? Did I spend it all on stealing the primer!?' Regis felt frustrated.

"Hey, kid! Come here!" One of the burly men called out.

Thud–

"..."

"..."

The two burly men were caught off guard as they saw the child suddenly trip and fall.

'I sweat I'll kill you…' Regis's blood-red eyes were filled with anger.

It was the safest choice of action.

He knew that he would not be able to outrun the burly men, so he chose to use a little 'disguise' instead.

The burly men silently watched as the child slowly got up and faced their direction, all the while covered with mud.

"Big Brothers, what can I do for you?"

"Pffft! Hahahahahaha! Did you hear that, Brother? He must've been scared of being beaten up again!" One of the burly men started laughing.

The other burly man scrunched his face and said, "Nevermind, go away."

"Eh? Brother, we haven't even beaten him up yet."

"Nevermind that, I don't want to get dirty."

"Well, you're right!"

"Don't bother with that Devil's Spawn anymore, we'll just need to start a gang war with the other gangs to make up for what we lost."

The other burly man said before walking away.

Ptui!

The burly man spitted at Regis and shouted, "Get out of our sight! If we get unlucky again, then we'll beat you up!"

"I'm sorry, Brothers!" Regis turned around and ran quickly.

After a while, Regis smiled.

It was, in no way, a happy smile.

'Once I find a primer again then I…' Regis shook his head.

'No room for such useless thoughts. But anyway, did they mention something about a gang war??'

He proceeded to walk again, he was planning to head home.

The encounter with the burly men reminded him of how disgusting the slums were.

'No wonder they were able to have gold coins…'

Regis thought as he soon saw Aunt Amabel's house in the distance.

He was lucky that they didn't suspect him of stealing their money. If they did, then he could kiss his life goodbye.

Creak~

Entering the house, Regis saw Dahlia sitting on a chair in the living room.

"Regi– Eh, what happened to you?"

Just as she was about to greet Regis, Dahlia saw him covered up in mud from head to toe.

"Erm… I tripped." Regis said with an embarrassed expression.

"Really?"

"Yes. Well, I'm going to wash up first…"

"Okay."

Dahlia frowned as she saw Regis hurry to the backyard.

"Strange, I don't remember him being clumsy…"

***

Later in the evening.

"Hmmm! Delicious!" Dahlia blurted out as she took spoonfuls of stew.

Regis also had a delighted expression on his face, "Hey Aunt Amabel, can you tell us about the city?"

"Oh? Why? Are you interested in going to the city?" Aunt Amabel asked with a smile.

Regis nodded, "I would like to enter the city with Dahlia after she is cured."

Dahlia's shell-pink eyes sparkled at his words.

Aunt Amabel nodded, "Well, it is true that it would be a better environment to grow up in than in the slums…"

She then took out something in her pocket and showed it to the two.

"This is called an official identification card, or an Official ID. This was the thing a guard checks before letting someone inside the city. This is also their way of monitoring anyone who enters the city to prevent terrorist attacks from happening."

Regis and Dahlia stared at the so-called Official ID with wide eyes.

Name: Amabel

Age: 57

Sex: Female

Address: Toran City, Acheron Kingdom

It really was quite simple.

Regis excitedly said, "Then all we need to do is make some Official IDs and we can enter the city?'

Aunt Amabel chuckled and said, "No, you can't forge an Official ID. It may look simple, but it's enchanted by a mage of the royal government and a priest from the Temple of Light."

After sipping water from a glass she took out another thing from her pocket, "This one is an Adventurer ID. It can also be used to enter the city."

Regis and Dahlia observed the Adventurer ID carefully.

Alias: Bel

Profession: Trainee Warrior

Realm: Starless

Rank: Adept Adventurer

"Adventurer IDs are issued by the Adventurer Guild. They use the same process as the Official ID wherein a mage and a priest enchant the card. Anyways, both of them are important and are vital in keeping the cities safe."

'...only the cities.' Aunt Amabel added in her mind.

She soon noticed Regis and Dahlia's downcast expression and smiled, "Don't worry, after Dahlia is cured, I'll take you to the city to get IDs."

"Really!?" Regis asked excitedly while Dahlia's eyes widened.

"Of course, now finish your food and rest early. After all, tomorrow is the big day for Dahlia."

The three of them continued talking as they ate their dinner.

And just like that, the day came to an end.