Chapter 125: Chapter 78: Preparations (11)
I didn’t care much about Verona sending the carriage driver to watch me, though honestly, I could guess the reason. It was most likely about eliminating the two assimilators belonging to the Claw.
I turned toward the driver, who was still sitting on the ground with both hands covering his mouth, and said:
"What are you waiting for? Get up. Now."
The driver moved quickly and stood up, but then froze in place as if he’d forgotten how to use his legs, trembling where he stood.
I let out a long sigh and said:
"Aren’t you going to move? Who’s supposed to drive the carriage if you just stand there like that?"
Luckily, he finally understood what I meant. He started walking straight ahead, and I followed behind him. We kept walking until we reached the inspection area, where a large group of Skull Men were stationed.
I could see the tension clearly in his expression. His eyes darted rapidly between the Skull Men at the checkpoint and me.
Then he leaned toward me and whispered:
"Masked sir, could you please walk behind me?"
Without looking at him, I replied:
"Don’t worry. Just follow my lead."
He seemed on the verge of protesting, but eventually gave up and accepted reality. I walked ahead of him steadily, while he walked as if heading to his own execution eyes down, avoiding contact with the Skull Men. We passed through the checkpoint without anyone stopping us.
Once we were past the barrier, I turned to him and said:
"Lead the way."
The look of shock didn’t leave his face, but he quickly nodded submissively and continued forward. We walked until we reached a narrow alley, where the carriage was waiting.
He climbed onto the front seat and took the reins, while I sat in the back, watching the dark streets through the curtain. The carriage started moving, and I heard the rhythmic sound of hooves striking the stone pavement.
...
When the carriage stopped in front of the inn, I stepped down and walked straight inside. The moment I was gone, the carriage rolled away again.
I climbed the stairs to my room. When I pushed the door open, the masked woman was standing in the middle of the room, with the talking Crow perched on her shoulder.
I instinctively stepped back in surprise, then composed myself and walked inside.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
As usual, she didn’t answer. She just stood there, staring directly at me through the mask.
Honestly, what did I expect?
I turned to the Crow and said:
"What exactly are you two doing here? Did one of you forget that this is my room, not yours?"
The Crow replied in a voice full of respect:
"We were looking for you Master."
I nodded.
"And why exactly were you looking for me?"
The Crow glanced toward the masked woman, then gestured at her with his wing.
"She’s the one who was looking for you, sir."
I knew they could somehow communicate in a way I didn’t understand, so since I couldn’t talk to her directly, I said to the Crow:
"Then ask her why she’s looking for me."
The Crow turned toward her, and they started silently staring at each other for a while, not saying a word.
Finally, after several minutes, the Crow looked back at me and said:
"She says she wants to make sure you won’t run away before keeping your promise."
"What promise, exactly? If she’s talking about the promise made with the original Jevan, that’s his business, not mine."
Of course, that’s what I wanted to say but I couldn’t say it to her face, or to that Crow’s. That Crow might act all respectful and solemn now, but who knows how he’d react if he discovered I wasn’t the real Jevan, especially with her around.
So I simply said:
"Don’t worry. I’m not running anywhere. I’m not leaving the Lower District anyway I’ve got plenty to work on here. So could you leave now? I need some rest."
Thankfully, after hearing my answer, the masked woman left the room immediately. When I heard the door close behind her, I removed the mask and cloak and set them on the table beside the bed. Then I threw myself onto the bed, letting my body sink and relax completely.
The surrounding spirits hadn’t vanished they now appeared even when I wasn’t wearing the mask. But when I did wear it, they became faint, not gone entirely, just more transparent.
Right now, I’m in serious trouble. If those spirits ever get angry at me, how would I drive them away? By the Creator, I can’t even imagine hearing their screams again.
Will I start seeing and hearing them more clearly as I assimilate my Authority further? Should I keep fulfilling their wishes, hoping they’ll disappear like the old man’s spirit did?
What options do I really have? If I grant every spirit its wish, maybe they’ll vanish just like the old man’s spirit and that other man’s spirit. But will they all vanish every time?
There’s no guarantee. What if one of them decides to stay just hiding temporarily? And even if I assume every spirit truly disappears after its wish is granted, fulfilling one wish a day means it would take me thousands of days to get rid of them all.
And in that process, I’d be killing more people meaning more spirits.
Either I find a way to banish them all at once somehow, no matter how, or I start a massive war against the gangs of the Lower District. Maybe if I teamed up with the Night Wolves, I could pull it off somehow.
There are many ways I could go about it, I suppose. Maybe I could gather a group opposed to the Lower District gangs a group of people who’ve suffered because of them.
What a great idea... if only the gangs weren’t filled with people who possess Authority powers. No ordinary civilian could stand against that.
And besides, I’m a gangster myself. I’ve got a terrible reputation people whisper that I eat human flesh. I doubt anyone would be willing to follow me.
I sat on the edge of the bed, placed my hand on my cheek, and muttered:
"I have to find a way. I will find a way to get rid of those spirits... right?"
I didn’t care much about Verona sending the carriage driver to watch me, though honestly, I could guess the reason. It was most likely about eliminating the two assimilators belonging to the Claw.
I turned toward the driver, who was still sitting on the ground with both hands covering his mouth, and said:
"What are you waiting for? Get up. Now."
The driver moved quickly and stood up, but then froze in place as if he’d forgotten how to use his legs, trembling where he stood.
I let out a long sigh and said:
"Aren’t you going to move? Who’s supposed to drive the carriage if you just stand there like that?"
Luckily, he finally understood what I meant. He started walking straight ahead, and I followed behind him. We kept walking until we reached the inspection area, where a large group of Skull Men were stationed.
I could see the tension clearly in his expression. His eyes darted rapidly between the Skull Men at the checkpoint and me.
Then he leaned toward me and whispered:
"Masked sir, could you please walk behind me?"
Without looking at him, I replied:
"Don’t worry. Just follow my lead."
He seemed on the verge of protesting, but eventually gave up and accepted reality. I walked ahead of him steadily, while he walked as if heading to his own execution eyes down, avoiding contact with the Skull Men. We passed through the checkpoint without anyone stopping us.
Once we were past the barrier, I turned to him and said:
"Lead the way."
The look of shock didn’t leave his face, but he quickly nodded submissively and continued forward. We walked until we reached a narrow alley, where the carriage was waiting.
He climbed onto the front seat and took the reins, while I sat in the back, watching the dark streets through the curtain. The carriage started moving, and I heard the rhythmic sound of hooves striking the stone pavement.
...
When the carriage stopped in front of the inn, I stepped down and walked straight inside. The moment I was gone, the carriage rolled away again.
I climbed the stairs to my room. When I pushed the door open, the masked woman was standing in the middle of the room, with the talking Crow perched on her shoulder.
I instinctively stepped back in surprise, then composed myself and walked inside.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
As usual, she didn’t answer. She just stood there, staring directly at me through the mask.
Honestly, what did I expect?
I turned to the Crow and said:
"What exactly are you two doing here? Did one of you forget that this is my room, not yours?"
The Crow replied in a voice full of respect:
"We were looking for you Master."
I nodded.
"And why exactly were you looking for me?"
The Crow glanced toward the masked woman, then gestured at her with his wing.
"She’s the one who was looking for you, sir."
I knew they could somehow communicate in a way I didn’t understand, so since I couldn’t talk to her directly, I said to the Crow:
"Then ask her why she’s looking for me."
The Crow turned toward her, and they started silently staring at each other for a while, not saying a word.
Finally, after several minutes, the Crow looked back at me and said:
"She says she wants to make sure you won’t run away before keeping your promise."
"What promise, exactly? If she’s talking about the promise made with the original Jevan, that’s his business, not mine."
Of course, that’s what I wanted to say but I couldn’t say it to her face, or to that Crow’s. That Crow might act all respectful and solemn now, but who knows how he’d react if he discovered I wasn’t the real Jevan, especially with her around.
So I simply said:
"Don’t worry. I’m not running anywhere. I’m not leaving the Lower District anyway I’ve got plenty to work on here. So could you leave now? I need some rest."
Thankfully, after hearing my answer, the masked woman left the room immediately. When I heard the door close behind her, I removed the mask and cloak and set them on the table beside the bed. Then I threw myself onto the bed, letting my body sink and relax completely.
The surrounding spirits hadn’t vanished they now appeared even when I wasn’t wearing the mask. But when I did wear it, they became faint, not gone entirely, just more transparent.
Right now, I’m in serious trouble. If those spirits ever get angry at me, how would I drive them away? By the Creator, I can’t even imagine hearing their screams again.
Will I start seeing and hearing them more clearly as I assimilate my Authority further? Should I keep fulfilling their wishes, hoping they’ll disappear like the old man’s spirit did?
What options do I really have? If I grant every spirit its wish, maybe they’ll vanish just like the old man’s spirit and that other man’s spirit. But will they all vanish every time?
There’s no guarantee. What if one of them decides to stay just hiding temporarily? And even if I assume every spirit truly disappears after its wish is granted, fulfilling one wish a day means it would take me thousands of days to get rid of them all.
And in that process, I’d be killing more people meaning more spirits.
Either I find a way to banish them all at once somehow, no matter how, or I start a massive war against the gangs of the Lower District. Maybe if I teamed up with the Night Wolves, I could pull it off somehow.
There are many ways I could go about it, I suppose. Maybe I could gather a group opposed to the Lower District gangs a group of people who’ve suffered because of them.
What a great idea... if only the gangs weren’t filled with people who possess Authority powers. No ordinary civilian could stand against that.
And besides, I’m a gangster myself. I’ve got a terrible reputation people whisper that I eat human flesh. I doubt anyone would be willing to follow me.
I sat on the edge of the bed, placed my hand on my cheek, and muttered:
"I have to find a way. I will find a way to get rid of those spirits... right?"
I’m really exhausted. I think I should postpone all these thoughts until tomorrow. Besides, I believe I might finally be able to sleep.
At least I’ll be able to get some rest.
Or so I thought because when I opened my eyes, I had returned to the past, standing beside Little Jevan.