Zero to a hundred

The night went perfectly, much to my surprise. Esmeralda and I got home to find a plate of patties with a note telling us to eat before sleeping and that the two of them already dozed off. I was about to give Esmeralda her share, but she insisted that I eat all of it and went upstairs. My body still feels hot because of the tonic, so I took a shower before sleeping... That was undoubtedly the best sleep I've ever had in my whole life.

"So? Where did you guys go?" I ask Jean as I scoop some soup.

"Nothing much. We went to the king." He casually says.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ask Arra and Nelen."

"Oh, okay. Cool... Wait. You guys really went to the king?"

"You don't believe me?"

"It's not that. Just... What the hell did you guys do there?"

"We... Uhh... Gathered intel. The queen's a looker, by the way. I think I have a crush on her."

"Are you a kid? Shouldn't we be focusing on helping Nelen?"

"Yeah, there's that, but you don't really need to take everything seriously. We'll find the killer. I can guarantee that."

"You sound sure of yourself."

"That's because I am. By the way, what happened to you guys?" He grins.

"We got attacked in the slums. By thugs. Blue eyes. Victims of voodoo. You get the picture."

"Really?"

"You don't believe me?"

"When did this happen?"

The steam coming from the bowl of soup gets blown by the morning wind as we sat outside, our butts laying cozily on the porch steps of Esmeralda's store. The morning's cold, a large bundle of clouds huddled in the sky, and Nelen goofily smiles as Esmeralda feeds her.

"Yesterday. A large number of thugs ambushed and the two members of the Cerberus showed up. The one with the bandages is a girl, by the way. Her figure's feminine."

"She's a girl? Wow. I didn't notice that. Good job, Sol."

"Are you being sarcastic?" I sigh.

"Not this time. I meant it. Thanks for the information." He smiles, takes the large spoon sitting near him, and scoops a healthy serving.

"What's the formation this time?" I ask.

"Well... We go with Arra, and the lovers over there gather intel by themselves. They deserved it, to be honest.... YOU HEARD THAT, GUYS?!"

"Heard what?" Nelen turns to us. She still has soup on her face.

"You guys get to go on a date today, but you still have to look for more information. Because I'm a very considerate boss, the two of you get to go by yourselves."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously."

Esmeralda gasps, goes up to Jean, and hugs him tightly. Nelen's face pouts for a second, but smiles once Esmeralda turns to her. Esmeralda hugs her this time, and her face... She really looks like a puppy.

"I think Nelen's a little jealous." I said.

"Wha-- Sol! No, I'm not... No... I'm not." She blushes and proceeds to give me the death stare.

"Sol and I will get going now. Have fun!"

Jean drags me by the arm and another day with the weird knight begins. It's still early, so we bought drinks and loitered on the town square for an hour. I examine my surroundings as we sat on the wooden bench. The sun's rays are still blocked, but the kids don't seem to mind. They still kept on playing, even with Jean watching them.

"Are you a pedophile?"

"No. What about you? Are YOU a pedophile?" He smirks.

"No. Also, isn't this a bit too early? We usually go around twelve."

"It's better to wait than to waste time. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Do you ever worry about what would happen if you do get your memories back?"

"And why exactly are we talking about this?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe you had people who mattered in your past life. You really can't remember anything?"

"Yeah."

"Not even your parents?"

"Not even my parents."

"Everything that's happening to you right now. It doesn't feel weird? You're living in a world of magic, Sol. You're supposed to feel weird."

"Hmm... But I do feel weird. I'm curious and fascinated, yet at the same time, I'm lost, and I don't know anyone. I don't even know you that much."

"Understandable. You don't really need to join me in the first place. You only do so because it makes things easier for you."

"... You're right about that. You recruited me, though. That's your mistake."

"We really do think alike. I'm starting to like you, Sol. Let's get going, now."

... Is what he said, but we wasted our time wandering around for three hours. The cookies Jean bought tasted amazing. Hmm... Cookies... Oh, that's right! I forgot about the cookies! Esmeralda and I were supposed to buy some. I should ask her when we get back. We get to the front of the subquarters twenty minutes before twelve. I look at Jean. His armor really is beautiful... Maybe if I ask him...

"Hey, Jean."

"Hmm?" He turns his head, as if he got surprised.

"Do you know where Esmeralda bought the cookies?"

"Oh, yeah. It's in the corner around that alley. I'm assuming you guys didn't go?"

"We were in a street fight, so..."

"Do you want to go right now?"

He asks, and I swear my eyes literally sparkled for a second. It shone through Jean's armor, and an amused grin slowly forms on his face. I stare back for three seconds before looking away.

"I don't know what just happened, but let's do it."

...

The trip to the bakery was a four-minute walk. A market area, just like the town square. Why here, though? Is it because it's closer to the Legion's subquarters? Oh, well. That's none of my business. I follow Jean through three bakery stalls, and he stops at the third one, exactly in the corner of the are. The smell of different cookies made me ecstatic.

"We've hit the jackpot, Jean."

"Right you are, chief. You got any money on you?"

... Oh, shit.

"Uhhh. Hehe. You see, I kind of forgot. Promise. I'll pay you back."

"I knew it."

He sighs and takes a few thousands from his pouch. I bought two pouches of the same gingerbread cookies from Esmeralda's house, along with four pieces of chocolate chip cookies that looked appealing. However, their price didn't sound as nice, staggering at five hundred Cings per piece. We get back to the station seven minutes before twelve. Still no signs of life. That's it. I'm opening the door.

...

Huh. It's locked. Aren't these establishments supposed to be open twenty-four hours? That's weird.

"It wouldn't budge." I said.

"Oh, well. That's it, I guess. Job's done for the day."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Feel free to wander around. I'll go back and sleep some more."

"... Is this really happening?"

"Yes. I'm tired. I'll go back to the shop and indulge myself. See you later."

...

Geez. How should I spend my time?... I guess I'll sleep. I don't want to sleep at the shop, though. It's my vacation, and I want to sleep somewhere new... Hmm. That sign looks nice. An inn? Maybe I should go there.

"Welcome! How may I help you?" The young lady asks... It's the girl who stopped our fight back at the guild. I've been seeing her a lot lately.

"I'd like a room for one, please."

"No problem. That would be seven hundred Cings."

"Hold on. I think I have my pouch somewhere..... Hmm... Ah. Hold on. I'll be right back."

Despite my mind screaming its lungs off, I smile at her, hoping that it somehow cures the embarrassment I brought upon myself. Gods. That was so bad. Good thing she's nice, though. I think she noticed. Oh, well. I guess I'll be goi--

"LOCK ALL THE DOORS NOW!"

An old man with fancy clothing screams and slams the door behind him. He plops to the ground shortly after and begins to sob. I rush over to him to see what's going on as one of the guards locks the door he arrived in. They help him lie on the couch, so I opened the door and got outside. Someone in the hotel angrily called me stupid, but I didn't care. I'm more interested on what made the old man hysterical.

...

A sweet scent I'm all too familiar with. Phantom lilies. Where, though? There's no blue smoke anywhere. And that's when I noticed. Blue eyes glowing everywhere, along with the wails of children. Some of them wandered aimlessly, while most attacked by either scratching or slamming people to the ground. Stalls, carts and carriages lay broken as Snakes storm on the scene. Some tried to fend them off from civilians, while others tried to escort the injured inside buildings. A Snake assisting an older lady looks at me.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Dolls. They showed up out of nowhere and started attacking people." She says.

"Dolls? What's that?"

"A short term for puppets of voodoo."

"Aren't these people human?"

"They used to be. Now, they're just as mindless as the animals you see in the wild. Mind helping us out? You look strong enough to take at least one down."

"R-right, er... What's your name?"

"We don't have time."

"Oh. Yeah. Go get her inside."

I press my mark and swiped at a Doll shuffling towards them. They got inside safely, and I assisted a few more people before rushing off. Now... Onto business. What the fuck is going on? I rush to the market area. There's chaos everywhere, and yet the first thing I saw was the old man on the corner still selling cookies. Shit. I help some of the Snakes by decapitating three Dolls to my right. In front of the kids hiding behind one of the stalls. Now they're even more scared.

"Don't look." I said, and they ran somewhere inside the shop.

"Stronger! Don't let him sleep!"

"This is as strong as I can get!!"

I rush to the fruit stall where the sounds came from. Two Snakes argued as they casted healing magic on the wounds of a young boy. A middle-aged man laid near them. He's already dead.

"You! Help us over here!" One of the Snakes screams at me. The wound glows a green hue as I place my hand over it.

"What happened to him?" I ask.

"Those bastards. Their hands have poison. Be careful, lad."

"The Dolls?"

"Yeah, you dingdong. How's the kid doing?" The old Snake turns to the other.

"Not good. His breathing's slowing down."

"Fuck. Can you determine what kind of poison it is?"

"Stop shouting! I don't fucking know! I'm not a doctor!"

"FUCK!" He kicks a trash bin and vigorously looks around. Shuffling can be heard in the distance.

"Phantom lilies." I mutter.

"Whatcha say, kid?"

"Uhh. The poison from phantom lilies. It must be the cause. Do you guys have anything that acts as an antidote against those?"

The old man goes and scours the shelves of rations and juice as we tried our best to sustain him. Every second I can feel his chest getting lighter, and the old man is getting agitated now. I can hear the tapping of his foot even though he's far away. The sound of shuffling is also getting louder. Sweat dripped from my chin as the room got darker, and the sound of tapping stopped. I look at the shelves, and the old man was gone. The other guy just seemed to look at me, hands shaking and lips trembling. At first, I didn't have a clue.The room getting dark. The old man who ran. The healer's petrified stare. The sound of shuffling. I didn't know... Until a pair of eyes glowed behind me.

And then it all made sense.