The watch was showing at 5:00 a.m.
The first time I felt dizzy was the moment I entered this town. Not as bad until I get nausea. I continued walking, and sure enough, my head became lighter than before. I was a bit confused and unsettled. Something was going on here.
This town was abnormal. Stepping on the street felt uncomfortable. The building was old but sturdy.
People walking by commonly wore suits and dresses. The smell… Strangely it affected my nose. The metallic blend in the cold windy air. Suspicious.
Through the walkway, posters were scattered along the wall. Plenty of them were an invitation to a circus show. Some were advertisements.
Then I accidentally stepped on a poster. I picked it up. It got dirty and wet. I glanced at the text but it was an ordinary job vacancy.
"Histrionic Kin," it seemed an interesting name. I put it back on the wall and continued walking. The path became increasingly visible. Rays of the sun began to cover the darkness.
But my tummy was rumbling, begging for an intake. I barely had a spare penny to buy bread. People were slowly crowding the town. They were doing a daily routine.
I felt something was extraordinary. They all had a revolver, or a handgun exposed. It was anything but a normal style for them. Perhaps a self-defensive mechanism.
Suddenly, I crashed into someone's back. He was a man standing still in front of a bakery shop.
"Sorry mister," I begged an apology.
He turned his gaze to me. I stared at his eyes, fearlessly. On the left of his chest, there was an insignia. A color of amethyst with a reflective ruby in the middle.
"Not a problem little kid," he responded with a generous smile on his face.
Noticing a bag of bread in his hand, my tummy took another rumbling again. He probably heard it.
"Do you want bread?" He asked.
I nodded a little. Then he took one of the bread and handed it over to me.
"Is this free?" I asked.
"It's all yours, no need to pay me," he said.
I ate the bread immediately. It was salty. Looking at his gaze, he seemed to be curious about me.
"Hey, what's your name? Where are you from?" he asked.
The same question without an answer. I wondered how I must reply to him, since I didn't even know it.
"I… I don't know," I answered.
But interestingly, with the same response, he was smiling. Grin.
"Can I give you a name? I will reward you with something valuable," his voice was gentle yet convincing.
He offered something valuable with another gift. I was thinking that he might have a purpose or something menacing. I looked at his expression, but I couldn't tell the reason. Name…
"Okay…" I made up my final thoughts.
"Rirthe Virtanous, how about that?" He immediately gave me the name.
It was surprising that he had already come up with a name so quickly. Or he already knew that I would accept the offer. Not a bad name I could tell.
"Fine… I guess."
"Okay, here are the rewards that I promised before," He pulled out a revolver from his pocket and handed it to me.
"Revolver?" I asked with confusion.
"You don't have it, have you? Everyone has had this metal since they were five years old."
But why should I have it, I didn't mean to murder someone. Self-defense. As I finished eating my bread, I took the revolver. It was shining in silver. No marks or scratches, brand-new.
Then, a loud ding noise spread over the town. I looked up my watch. Six o'clock. The man was about to say goodbye, but before that, I asked, "What's your name?"
But he was already too far away to hear it. Same as before, they left without knowing their names. At least he went off. I felt an unpleasant feeling when I was near him.
I saved my revolver in my pocket and then continued walking around the town. In the morning, the town looked more like a living place, rather than a dead city like the previous day. The architecture was mainly using a dark fancy style.
For the past hour, I wandered around cluelessly. Nothing really caught my attention. Except for a mysterious store near the edge of the town. The displays showed a magical-like stuff.
Before I entered, a young girl walked in with unique apparel. Unlike the people in the city, she appeared in lolita fashion. A small charcoal-fedora hat. A simple night gown. And a rose flower on her left chest. Majestic.
Curious, I stepped into the store. As expected, there were a bunch of mystical items on the shelves. Wands. Floating tome. Magic-crafts. It felt like a fantasy world.
The girl was standing still near the cashier's. She was probably waiting for someone to talk to. But she noticed something.
When I was looking around, "Hey, you!" She called someone. I pretended not to hear it. Perhaps she was calling someone.
"Hey brown hair kid," she nagged.
Now, she directly mentioned my appearance. I slowly moved my gaze to her. I saw her right in front of me. Her face looked a bit flushed.
"Pardon?" I asked without expression.
"Why didn't you respond the first time?" She fumed.
"Because… You didn't specify it?" I replied.
She seemed pissed. Judged by her looks, she wasn't a bad person or dumb. Or she was still young, around ten to twelve years old, where their emotions were still in a state of development.
"Forget it, why are you stalking me?" she now sounded calmer.
Since when did I stalk her?
"I'm sorry, miss, maybe you misunderstood," I said gently.
She stepped back for a while. Her expression showed deep thinking, then she looked back at me.
"I'm sorry for bothering you. For the compensation, you can select one item here, I will pay for it," she asked, apologizing.
"I have no need here, I was just looking around," I said.
Then I faced off against her. She seemed really unhappy to me. Not giving up, she tried another offer.
"How about pendenty, you need money right?"
Maybe it was the name of the currency here. I might have to take the offer.
"Sure," I agreed.
She handed me a bill of banknotes.
"How much is this?" I asked her for the details.
"This is two hundred pendenty, worth forty pieces of bread," she said.
That was a huge amount I can say. I thanked her. It would help a lot later. Not stopping, she continued to ask me.
"What's your name?"
That repetitive question every time. Thankfully, now I can answer it. Sadly, the man didn't give it in writing. I remembered it.
"Rirthe Virtanous," I answered.
"That was a good name, and familiar," she said.
What could be familiar from that abstract name?
"Oh ya by the way, my name is Philia Kyline," she was more open to me than before.
"Nice to meet you Philia," I replied.
I realized that she was warmer when talking casually. Except, I felt a deeper sensation from her. It was like she tried to get some help.
What possibly happened here?