Meanwhile, the fake Dave who stood beside Zavi burst into a wide grin, turning the narrow alley that had been silent into something gloomy, and he realized that his disguise had failed.
"I've been found out, what can I do…" He turned his head, looking at Zavi's face that was filled with confusion over the situation that was happening.
Thunder roared again, this time extremely loud until it was enough to make the ground tremble violently. The sun also vanished from the horizon, completely swallowed by the gray sky as if the sky itself was mourning with a world that had already been damaged.
Meanwhile, the three of them exchanged sharp glances. After that, the fake Dave grabbed the teenager standing beside him, and the boy's body dissolved into a lump of black smoke before entering his body, and a man with straight black hair appeared, wearing a gray shirt under a long black coat, and his blue eyes moved observing the three of them carefully.
Zavi's eyes widened, the same as Dave and the teenager on his shoulder.
Click…
The man snapped his fingers and said calmly, "No need to look at me like that!" He paused for a moment to take a breath. "Besides, I am your acquaintance, am I not, Mr. Lamena?"
He turned and looked at him with a faint smile, observing Zavi's face that was filled with tension and confusion.
'Who is he? A man with glasses, I do not remember having an acquaintance like him?'
Zavi remained silent, closing his eyes while trying to remember the man standing in front of him. A few seconds later, because his memory was poor, he gave up, unable to remember who he actually was, let alone other people!
Strangely, he did not remember that the man was Karl Vairanz, the person he had shot last night and briefly talked with.
"So, who are you?" Zavi asked, unable to remember him clearly.
Karl let out a soft sigh, thinking that the older brother he had known for a long time and his younger brother were actually no different. Both of them were equally strange, unable to remember him properly and having the same traits.
He stepped closer to Zavi, stopping only a few inches away from him, intending to say something to him.
"The person you shot that night… you do not remember?" he whispered.
Then quickly he added, "Do not worry, that person will not hear our conversation!"
Zavi frowned, turned his head, and stared sharply at Karl's face amid the rumbling thunder and the sky that was growing darker.
"Where are your glasses?" Zavi only realized after hearing that, that he could not recognize Karl without those glasses.
From Zavi's point of view, he could not recognize Karl's real face, because Karl was very skilled at disguising himself and acting very convincingly, like when he previously played the role of the man in a robe.
Hearing that, Karl realized his mistake, with one quick movement he took out his glasses from his coat pocket.
"Thank you for reminding me." Karl cleaned his glasses with a cloth before wearing them.
'Strange, how are the two of them not reacting to our conversation?' Zavi looked at the two of them who stood stiffly staring at him.
Zavi laughed softly and said, "In that case, I can remember your face, even though I do not know your name, Mr. Glasses."
Meanwhile, from the point of view of Dave and the teenage boy, they watched the two of them staring at each other, standing frozen, and not speaking at all as if the two of them were wary of each other.
Of course they knew, and realized that Zavi was being cautious toward someone who suddenly appeared and could even change into his figure.
He stepped steadily toward the two of them.
"Ah… Lamena's friend, yes? Nice to meet you," Dave said with a friendly smile while extending his hand.
Their conversation ended before Dave's words finished.
Thunder roared louder than before, signaling that rain would soon fall.
The wind blew strongly, carrying trash such as cardboard, pieces of cloth, and dry leaves in the alley scattering in every direction.
The hair of the four of them fluttered like waves struck by strong wind, and dust from the narrow alley flew and stuck to their bodies.
Dave looked up toward the sun that had been swallowed by the horizon, replaced by dark gray clouds covering the sky. "Huh, the weather today is really bad," he muttered.
"It will rain," the teenager said in a low voice.
"I know," Dave replied, looking at the two of them who approached.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"So… what are we going to do?" Zavi asked in confusion, covering his face from the dust blowing toward him. "It seems I cannot come to that place."
"I see," Dave replied resignedly, knowing he would not get the bonus.
"This is not good…" Karl suddenly held Zavi's shoulder, telling them to extend their hands.
Not long after, the sound of light raindrops could be heard wetting the roof tiles and buildings around them. A light drizzle fell, its drops landing lightly on their hands, its rhythm rising and falling in the silence.
Thunder roared three times, and a few seconds later, the drops turned into heavy rain, soaking the four of them in an instant.
Seeing that, they panicked and ran out of the narrow alley to look for shelter while waiting for the rain to stop.
In front of a drink stall, not far from the previous location, they sheltered near the door where a wrinkled brown tarp hung above it, choosing not to enter because their clothes were already wet and they did not want to trouble the employees inside and the customers.
They were forced to stay there and wait for the rain to subside. But unexpectedly, the stall owner came out, signaling them to come inside, and offered a cup of warm tea.
After that, they went inside, leaving water trails on the shiny wooden floors.
They all asked at the same time to make sure, "Is this free?"
The stall manager, a neatly dressed old man, a black vest under a thin white shirt paired with a red tie, shook his head and said with a businessman's smile, "No. I would lose money if I gave it to the four of you for free!"
"What?" They were all surprised, not expecting to be "tricked" by the man after taking a sip of the tea.
'Damn. I could lose money if I pay for all of this, I hope not.' Zavi thought with trembling hands while holding the cup of tea.
A hanging lamp with ten candles as the main light of the café hung from the ceiling of the stall, making the room feel calm and warm from the rain outside with a soft orange light.
But that comfort did not last long. Cold air entered from outside as several people went in and out, and its breeze touched anyone inside.
Inside the stall there were around ten people, including the owner, two employees, the four of them, and three other customers who had already been there before the rain fell, busy working on something on papers piled on the table.
They had been there for approximately five hours, ordering drinks and snacks while hoping the rain would stop, because the work was almost finished.
But waiting for the rain to stop felt useless, because the longer it went on, the heavier it became.
Dave let out a long sigh, feeling that this rain truly brought him bad luck. He looked at the other three with a cynical gaze.
"I even asked for my salary first, and now it is all gone?" Dave grumbled irritably, opening his wallet from time to time while glancing at them.
In the right corner of the room, Dave and the teenage boy sat side by side on a long soft sofa that had a wooden divider about two and a half meters tall beside it as a divider for each table area according to number, with a round table that had a small rotating circle on top standing in front of them.
Meanwhile, Zavi and Karl sat on soft single chairs facing each other, number 5, close to the café supply room. One of them faced a wall with a tree trunk pattern with a few accents of plants and small insects. Behind the place where Dave and the teenager sat, there was a large glass window beside it with decorations of tall grass in a long pot, adding an aesthetic touch to the view.
The teenager sitting beside Dave heard his muttering and became curious, then asked, "Are you angry with those two?" He pointed at the divider, on his right side.
Dave turned and replied with a forced friendly smile, "No, I am smiling." He pulled the corner of his lips with his hand.
The teenage boy nodded innocently, believing him.
"Alright," he said. "But… are you sure it is okay to give me all this food and drink for free?" he asked curiously, because this was the first time he had been treated like that by someone he had just met, and moreover someone who had saved his life.
Dave's mood slowly improved after hearing the boy's words.
"It is okay," Dave replied with a sincere smile. "Do not hesitate. If you want more, just say it, and those two will pay for it," he said with a slightly pressing tone, not wanting to lose money.
After more than three hours in the stall, Dave finally realized that he had never introduced himself to the teenager, since he saved him from the crowd earlier.
He also did not know what kind of trouble the boy had caused until he was beaten by around ten adults, leaving bruises on several parts of his body, including the back of his head because it hit the sidewalk, being hit repeatedly, as well as a cut wound on his arm that made his tattered clothes stained with blood that still remained, although some had been washed away by rainwater.
Dave looked at him with pity, hesitating whether this question would hurt his feelings and at the same time worrying whether the boy would answer. After thinking for a moment, he finally gathered the courage to ask;
"There is something I want to ask. Will you answer me honestly?"
The teenager, who had just put a piece of dry bread into his mouth and swallowed it, was surprised, choking when he heard the question.
Cough… Cough...
He immediately grabbed a glass of non alcoholic soda on the table and drank it quickly to relieve his throat.
Ah…
"What is it?" the boy asked nervously, his fingers restless under the table.
Cough…
Dave placed his right hand on the table and tapped it three times.
Tok… Tok… Tok…
The boy looked at Dave with a tense expression, not knowing what he was thinking.
Dave cleared his throat softly. "What is your name? And did you really steal something from the people who beat you?"
The boy felt awkward, not knowing where to start. After thinking for a moment, he exhaled slowly to calm his mind and the pain throughout his body.
"My name is Hanetuse Sarana," he answered softly. "And that beating had nothing to do with theft at all."
He coughed once more to calm his thoughts.
Dave's eyes widened, remembering the words he had said earlier.
"I am sorry for accusing you of being a thief." He lowered his head with guilt.
"It is okay. I should be the one apologizing for involving you," Han said with a smile, telling Dave to raise his head.
But Dave was stubborn and kept his head lowered. Seeing that, Han chose to continue what he had prepared to tell.
"But if you are really curious, I will tell it from the beginning, until the moment I was beaten," he said with a smile, even though inside his heart he held back an indescribable pain.
Hearing that, Dave immediately raised his head and turned to listen with full enthusiasm.
Han saw him and laughed softly.
"Alright, if you want to hear it."
"May I tell it briefly?" he asked flatly.
Dave only nodded and waited for him to continue.
"Hmmm. It started on Monday morning. My mother brought me to the market in the town square. It was very crowded there, especially on Monday."
"Not long after, two people wearing strange clothes came to us. They told my mother to go with them, without a clear reason, and kept telling me to stay where I was. I dared to ask, 'Why should I obey?'"
"One of them immediately approached and slapped my left cheek, knocking me down in the middle of the crowd. I was not angry because of the pain, but because the people around me seemed not to care and kept walking. I know they were busy, but there is nothing wrong with helping someone, right?"
Dave nodded, knowing the people around were afraid or did not want to get involved with them.
Han took a deep breath before continuing. "I stood up and saw my mother being held by one of them. Their clothes looked like your friend's," Han pointed toward Karl.
Dave thought, 'Oh, maybe that is Lamena? Is not that classic clothing often worn by other people?'
Dave kept listening to Han's story and ignored the matter of the clothing.
"After that, I was chased by a group of people who seemed to be controlled using a strange object in the hand of one of them who was holding my mother. I could not see its shape clearly, but it must be something terrible. They chased me until this morning, and I could not save my mother…"
Han stopped continuing his story, no longer able to hold it. The wounds and exhaustion made it impossible for him to focus. He growled in frustration.
He never expected that his fear and hesitation would endanger his mother.
"Do you know that person?" he asked curiously, then continued, "And I am also curious about the person over there. He can change his form as he wishes. Is he a very strong person?"
Hearing that, Dave laughed softly. He shaped his hand like a pistol, before tapping Han's forehead with his index finger.
"Dor," he said softly, then added, "If I say I shot you with this, would you believe it?" Dave smiled with the corner of his lips raised upward.
Han brushed Dave's hand away and answered with a confused expression, "No. How could your hand fire a bullet?"
"Hahaha, there is no such thing in this world. At least, I think so. I do not believe one of the people you met could control other people," Dave said, raising his hand and placing it on Han's head, ruffling his hair slowly.
'But, that is actually true. I should not say anything more,' Dave added in his heart.
"Your future is still long, Han," Dave said with a smile, thinking that what he said earlier sounded quite cool.
Han nodded slowly. "Alright. I do not know how to repay you, and I also do not have any money." He reached into his pants pocket to make sure that he truly did not have even a single coin.
Dave only laughed seeing his absurd behavior.
'Hahaha, I hope I can get money today," he thought.
Not long after, the two of them saw Zavi and Karl standing silently for several seconds in front of them, before Zavi slipped his hand into his coat pocket, then took out about three banknotes and handed them to Dave.
Without saying a single word, they left the two of them, stepping heavily toward the stall door.
They left the stall and walked who knew where. The heavy rain and cold wind did not stop their steps. They kept walking, as if there was still a purpose they had not yet finished.
