Fateless (9)

'Now that I've initiated, I should prepare for the gang leader meetings...'

Xavier went out of the abandoned building and headed back to his home. He knew that assembling those thugs would take at least a few days, so he wanted to prepare well to fight in case they were stronger than he expected.

'Well, I need a better sword first. I should ask Luke if he knows any good places for that.'

He walked the desolate streets of the slums, rife with broken buildings and dirty, trash-filled surroundings. The whole place had a horrible smell, but Xavier had grown up under these conditions. To him, the trial up until now felt like a humble reminder of his roots.

'No matter what era, the suffering of the poor continues. I grew up in this filthy place, living among people whom you could barely call human, living like wild animals trying their best to survive the next day. No hope, kindness, or empathy can be born from such a place. The family this boy I possess has, I don't think he knew just how precious such bonds are in a place like this. They cared for each other and shared their hardships, cultivating empathy even in a place where one can afford none. He probably doesn't know, but he lived a far more humane life than I ever had, even when I ruled the underworld.'

Lost in his thoughts, Xavier wandered the streets with an absent gaze. The few people looked at him strangely, weirded out as to how a young man like that walked the dangerous streets so carelessly. Little did they know that he was the danger instead for those who had ill intentions.

Xavier arrived at a somewhat cleaner area, already smelling the dinner Luke had cooked for him. He opened the doors and was once again greeted by his temporary family.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back. Was the guard duty overnight today too?"

"...Yeah, it's a lot of work." Xavier forced a smile as he replied to Luke, who went back to the kitchen. He had hidden the fact that he worked in the underworld from both Luke and Ava. Even though he knew that they would be able to handle this news, he wanted to keep them away from such a dark and dirty place.

 "Oh, by the way, Ava wanted to talk to you. She seemed pretty serious, you better have not done something to upset her..."

Xavier was quite surprised when he heard this. He hadn't done anything to anger her, nor had he exposed the fact that he was working with the underworld.

'So what is it then? Well, let's just ask her. I'll sort out the equipment problem later.'

Xavier headed towards her room and knocked on the door.

"Come in." A soft voice sounded out, inviting Xavier in.

He opened the door, and he found Ava sitting on her bed as usual. She had grown much healthier ever since he started feeding her properly, and Luke was also mixing in some 'medicinal herbs' in her food that Xavier had suddenly announced he found for cheap.

They were not cheap at all. In fact, they were stolen from a very high-profile store. Moreover, these herbs were so precious that the whole prefecture was searched high and low.

"What did you want to talk about, did I do something wrong?" Xavier asked while smiling, but found himself in an awkward position due to Ava's serious face. Soon, however, even that smile vanished as Ava pulled out an old, tattered book.

"You have some explaining to do."

It was Xavier's diary.

"W-Wait, how did you even find it? You were not supposed to-" Xavier was going to continue speaking, but once he saw the look in Ava's eyes, he stopped.

*sigh*

With a face that said "I give up," Xavier slowly walked over to grab a chair and sat down.

"Well, where shall we start? You are the one with the questions, I'll try my best to answer them."

With a wary gaze, Ava said to Xavier, while holding the diary close,

"Who are you?"

Xavier smiled frankly and said,

"Haha, a valid question. I am Xavier, just not the one you know."

"Are you telling the truth?" Ava interrupted with a bit of distrust in her eyes. Xavier perfectly understood this sense of betrayal, he couldn't blame her for it. But if he was being honest, it did hurt him a little bit.

'Heh, me, the Demon King, getting hurt by a child's words... I have gotten soft.'

"I have nothing to gain by lying. Now, let me continue.

I am Xavier, a former Demon King and a rank 9 Crafted Archon. I come from a future many eras later, and I was known as the strongest individual to ever exist. Right now, though, I am just a lost soul."

"Then you're not the big brother I know. I-I read your diary and it mentioned some sort of 'trial' and your objective and your plans and..." Ava stopped and took a deep breath. She could sense her trembling fingers and anxiety, but she needed to steel herself and be calm.

"What happened to my big brother?"

Upon hearing this question, Xavier made a troubled face, which made Ava look horrified. Xavier saw that and immediately reassured her, he did not want to scare the poor girl more than she already was.

"Wait, Wait! He's not dead! I swear! I am just temporarily possessing this boy's body, I will be gone after my trial is complete."

"You sure?"

"...Yeah."

"I didn't like the hesitation..."

"Well, look here." Xavier said with a serious face as Ava listened attentively.

"Even I'm not completely aware just what the fuck is happening to me. First, I died. Then, I woke up back to my childhood. After coming to terms with that fact and becoming an adventurer to pick my life back up, I was gone on a quest to explore some ruins, and then suddenly I was sucked into some god-forsaken trial. This damned trial made me wander around a maze for a whole decade, then made me face absurd, overpowered creatures multiple times stronger than me. I literally fucking died a thousand times trying to kill them! After that, I was thrown into the body of a malnourished slum kid just hours away from starvation! And what do I have to do?! I have to fucking change this world somehow!"

Xavier, in a single breath, ranted out about all of his problems to Ava. Midway, he had even stopped caring if his words even made sense to her. He was frustrated, and when he was questioned so intensely, he broke down and dumped everything he was holding in.

Ava was speechless at the whole rant. She even had to take a few moments to process the crazy stuff that came out of Xavier's mouth.

"Wow... And here I thought I was in a pitiful situation, you really have it worse than me."

Xavier made a bittersweet smile as he playfully replied,

"Tell me about it."