Ch. 9 - Encountering a kind old man

Upon my entry to the tavern, the bustling chatters inside quickly went to a halt.

I could already feel everyone's eyes glued to me.

Resisting the embarrassment that I was feeling, I cleared my throat and proceeded to enter.

I know it's unusual to see a child no less than 15 years to enter a tavern but seriously, please stop looking at me like that, if this was the modern era, everyone here would be branded as a pedophile.

Thank the go-devils the stares didn't last long before resuming their brimming activities.

Now that the stares were out of the way, I could finally distinguish the interior of the tavern.

It looks greatly similar to what I have seen on the internet and movies.

Using candles as a source of light, the meads on the table along with the intense aroma of scent that I can't describe.

It really feels like I'm in some sort of adventure world instead of the past era of the world that I used to live in.

I wouldn't be surprised if there would be adventures around here or something.

Making my way towards an empty table, I sat and tried to make myself as invisible as possible.

Unfortunately, I don't have a spell that will allow me to blend in with the surroundings or turn fully invisible.

It's not because I don't want to learn one back in Kamar-Taj but because there aren't any spells related to that.

I remember asking the librarian himself about such spells and all I received was 'There's no spell like that here' as a response.

I'm not sure if he's telling the truth or if it's just hidden in the forbidden section of the library. Or maybe it was indeed forbidden because of, well you know, certain reasons.

Maybe it is a correct decision to hide those kind of spells. It would be a bit scary to think that someone can turn themselves invisible and do unimaginable things.

Unfortunately for me, it seems like trying to stay hidden failed as a buff man approached my table, is he the waiter here or something?

Do waiters even exist in ancient times tavern?

"May I help you?" Raising my head, I asked the burly man.

"What's your business here, little lad?" Standing in front of me, the burly man tried to muster a kind smile as he looked down upon my figure.

Keyword 'tried' because his smile looked like the killer clown, Art.

Is that what a 'kind' smile looks like during this era? Weird.

"Nothing. I was just looking for somewhere to sit." I answered, mustering my innermost innocence.

"Well little lad, I don't think this place is suitable for someone of your age. Where are your parents?" He asked, looking around the tavern, searching for any presence of my supposed parents.

'They're in another world.' Was what I wanted to answer but it would just confuse him so I simply answered.

"My parents are very far away. I'm all alone." Why does it sound like I'm showing vulnerability to this guy?

"….Say, would you like to come with me? I think I could help you find a place to stay until your parents come back, how about it?" Plastering his 'kind' smile once again, the man thought his words would sway me.

'This is definitely child trafficking.' I mused to myself, from what I know about ancient history, child trafficking was more frequent in the past compared to the modern era.

Just as I was about to agree with the man, we were suddenly interrupted.

"If you don't mind my interruption, but the child was already placed under my care by his parents." Surprise, a wild old man appeared from behind.

He was wearing nothing but a bright white robe that looked like it just came out of laundry, his white beard covering almost his lower face along with his unkept white hair that almost blinded me. The wrinkles on his face speaks of his long life on this world.

Why is this guy full of white? It hurts my eyes.

From the expression of the burly man, I could tell he was annoyed at being interrupted at snatching a potential 'product'.

"Old man, you know it's hard to trust strangers, right? What if you have bad intentions for this child? I can't let you just take him away." The burly man said with a cautious tone.

Wow, the audacity of this guy to say those words. As if he wasn't one himself.

The old man, showing no concern towards the accusation, showed a bright smile seriously, why is this guy so white? What's his secret?

"Child, the path you're taking is not right. It would lead you to the destruction of your life. It's not too late to change yet."

When he said the word 'Child' you must be thinking he was talking to me, right? You guessed wrong, he was talking to the burly man.

I watched as the old man placed his palm on the man's shoulders as if they were close.

Assuming that the burly man would retaliate, I leaned back to my chair and rested, as if I was in a cinema and about to watch a good show.

I noticed that everyone's attention was already on us, thinking the same thing as me.

Much to everyone's surprise including myself, the burly man didn't show any aggressiveness, instead tears welled up in his eyes as he started sobbing.

Eh?

'What's going on?' Was what everyone inside the tavern was thinking.

As if that wasn't enough, the burly man came and hugged the old man, crying on his shoulders.

"There there. Its okay, let it all out. Now be a changed man, okay? The world outside is not just black and white, it can have its rainbow sometimes." After sending a few more words of advice and enlightenment, the man finally stepped outside the tavern with his chest high and chin up, as if he was about to set forth towards an adventurous journey.

As for me, I was gawking at the old man who has now turned his attention to me.

For some unknown reason, I felt a shiver in my spine as soon as he laid his eyes on me.

Before I could make up an excuse to leave, the old man went and patted me on the shoulder, flashing his shiny teeth as he smiled.

"Its quite unusual to see someone like you around here, don't you think so, child?" He said, he then continued.

"Come with me." I could feel that he won't be taking a 'No' as an answer. So I could only swallow my saliva and nod.

Under the watchful eyes of the people inside the tavern, we left through the front door.

As we walked across the small streets full of bustling villagers, I stole a glimpse of the old man who seemed to be relaxed and casual.

In my head, I was already forming several plans to escape. Thankfully, I always wore my sling ring, so if I could make a small enough distraction, I should be able to-

"Although your ring is quite fancy but I don't think it would be enough for you to escape, little Chamber."

That's when I felt my blood run cold.

Slowly raising my head to look at the old man, I saw his eyes stare back at mine, once again plastering a smile on his face.

"No need to be afraid, little Chamber. I'm not here to do anything to you. I am simply here because I want to have a small chat with you." Hearing his words, I cautiously squinted my eyes on him, trying to assess any hints of lies from his words.

However, I came to a realization that I can't read this man at all! So many questions were forming on my mind such as, who is this old man? How did he know my name? Why does he want to talk to me?

"You seemed to have so many questions. Fret not, little Chamber, I'll explain everything soon. So how about we find a good place first?"

I nodded at his words. There's no point fearing him now, my guts are telling me that this old man is beyond me when it comes to strength.

So I might as well cooperate and hope for the best.

***

'A stables? Really? You call this a good place to talk at?' I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the chosen place for conversation.

The neighing of the horses along with their loud stomps is definitely the ideal location for chat alright.

"So why did you bring me here?" I asked first, initiating the conversation. I tried my best to ignore the noise around us.

"I really love horses you know?" The old man smiled, caressing a horse's mane, he didn't even answered my question and directly start talking about a horse.

"…Are we just here to talk about horses?" I monotonously said.

"If that's what you want then sure, I don't mind." He answered, still caressing the horse's mane.

"…Who are you and how did you know my name?" Resisting the urge to punch the old man in front of me, my eye twitched several times, thankfully, I successfully resisted and asked.

"Hmm…Good question. Many people know me but most don't know what I look like." The old man changed from caressing the horse's mane to his long white beard.

What is this, a riddle?

Although his answer annoyed me, I still racked my brain trying to find the answer to his riddle.

Many people know him but most doesn't know what he looks like? What does that entail? He's some sort of famous figure or something.

A King? No, a King is someone that is plastered on almost every corner of his kingdom.

An assassin? Maybe. But he doesn't look like one.

What else. Think Chamber, think!

After a few moments of contemplation and guesses, I was left with one last guess.

"Are you…Big G?" I hesitated before asking. Surely that's impossible, right? If this is the Big G of the Bible then I'm Jesus.

"I thought it would take you more time to guess the right answer." With an amused chuckle, the old man watched as all of my blood was drained from my face.

I could feel my palms sweating and knees getting weak.

"Ah, you're afraid again. Seriously, I don't look like someone that people should be scared off, right?" Caressing his beard, the old man, now known as Big G of the Bible, contemplated.

I'm not scared of you because of your physical appearance! Goddammit!

"W-What do you want from me then?" I mustered my remaining strength to ask. Could it be I'm exposed now? Does he know that I'm a devil? Is he here to kill me? But why? I'm still just a small fry!

"Nothing much, I just want to see how you are doing." For some reason, I saw his eyes went soft and warm as if he was looking at his own son.

Well, I'm technically his son, right? After all, all creation came from this old man right here so he's the father of everyone and everything, right?

"….I'm fine." No way I'm gonna reply with a question, that just seems off-putting and quite a bit rude.

"Good. Good. That's all."

"…"

For the next few seconds, me and this old man just stared at each other. My dull eyes meeting with his vibrant and colorful one.

"…Can I ask why?" I tried to be respectful. Obviously I should be! Although I'm a devil, but I still believe in Go- Big G! He used to be someone I approach through my prayers whenever I feel despair and need saving.

This old man right here is my…hero and savior.

"Nothing that you need to know. Just…you know, take care of yourself, that's all." Patting my head, I tried to endure the sheer embarrassment at being patted on the head but thankfully, I held on.

"You know, if you're in a pitch, don't hesitate to shout my name." He then gave me a wink.

Weird, that just came out of all the sudden.

"And you want me to zap myself to death? No thanks." I answered with a dry chuckle.

"Well, not anymore."

What? Did I just gain a G-pass all of a sudden?

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[Power Stones everyone!]

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 10 - Having God as a backer?]

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