Escaping the watchful eyes of the guards was much easier than Haruki imagined, and now that he was out of the guest quarters where his companions were still trapped in, this was his chance to sneak around and begin piecing his plans together.
The very first matter he wanted to attend to was to visit the merchants selling fruits and regular necessities for the people in the city. After which he'd spend the night back in the guestroom, waiting for the night to grow deeper before into the castle as well.
'Hopefully, Rose brings the army here in time if my plans don't work out as intended.' Stepping out of the massive gates of the archaic castle, Haruki quickly shifted into a vagabond with an unkempt beard and a ragged cloak covering his entire body.
Making his way onto the main path leading towards the inner city, he already began noticing all the changes the city has gone through since his last visit. Being the site of his execution, Haruki wasn't too thrilled about exploring the place, but given his circumstance, he had no choice but to.
'Don't look there, don't look there, don't look there,' he kept mumbling, passing through the town square where his head was chopped off on a stage in front of a massive hoard of people. 'Don't look at anyone, just get to the merchant's street!'
Passing through a busy collection of houses running shops in front of their doors, ever so often, he noticed a familiar face and the scornful look he'd been given by that person at his execution. Shot with a fit of rage, his heart was pumped like a piston, and his ling drew long deep breaths trying to somehow soothe his nerves. But no matter where he looked, he was mocked by the familiar faces of the attendees of his execution.
'Not here, not now!' The feeling of cold dead fingers coiling around his heart, tempted him to tear into his chest and pull out his own heart. Digging in with his fingers, his nails were painted crimson from his foolish attempt to tear himself apart. However, not realizing where he was going, he bumped into a beggar and the impact forcefully pulled him back from insanity.
"Ouch…" The young beggar cried in a flat voice.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," leaning forward, Haruki offered the boy a hand.
"That's fine, most people don't notice me," glaring up at Haruki, the young boy took a moment to just soak in what he saw. "I'd prefer to keep it that way to be fair."
Finally taking Haruki's hand, the boy got back on his feet. Both of them dressed in overhead cloaks could barely make out any of each other's features, despite that the boy kept staring at Haruki's face with a strange fluid movement in his hollow eyes.
"If you don't mind, I have to go," his thought once again catching up to him, Haruki didn't want to stick around the streets for long.
"Certainly, I don't mind you visiting at all," not taking even a moment to let the boy's words register in his mind, Haruki tried walking past him.
Grabbing him by his arms, however, the young beggar stopped Haruki in his tracks. A bit annoyed, Haruki jerked his hand off of his grip and turned around with a furious look in his eyes.
"I said I'm sorry and hate to say, but I don't have anything to give you," once again he turned around to leave, but what the boy said next made him turn around in an instant.
"How's the Mistress?" Upon looking back, Haruki was baffled to find nobody there.
For a brief second, he wondered if he was hallucinating from the discomfort in his body, but the lingering feeling of the body's fingers wrapped around his arms proved him wrong.
'Who was that? And Mistress?' Knowing only one person who could be called the mistress, the whole incident turned into an enigma. 'Shit, I don't have time for this!'
With the sun laying low in the sky, Haruki made haste towards the merchant's street. Getting there before everyone got off of their duties and stormed the place for produce and necessities was the most essential part of his place, hence even a moment's delay was bound to prove detrimental.
Hidden inside an alley and away from all the ruckus, a pair of watchful eyes were peering right at Haruki as he made haste toward the merchants. The young beggar, holding a ball of crystal in his hand, showed great interest in what exactly Haruki was trying to do in the duchy.
"Here you are…" walking into the alley from the opposing narrow end, the one who walked in was no stranger to the young man. "I've been searching the entirety of Atlas to find you, and you're here, in Aria of all places."
"Rezaarrr," purposefully stretching his name, the young beggar squeezed the crystal ball in his hand and made it disappear. "How many times do I have to tell you not to follow me around like a dog?"
Clicking his tongue, the man in the blue suit didn't seem particularly fond of being compared to a dog. Shrugging it off, however, he slowly made his way closer to the boy, with a single intention in his mind.
"I'm grateful that you helped me escaped that witch's prison, but-"
"Witch?" The word repeated by the young boy was enough to strike mortal fear in the man's heart.
Realizing his mistake, the man tried to divert from the topic instead.
"Why are you here anyways?" He asked, getting ready to teleport them both away through a tear.
"I was told a demon was trying to take over the kingdom of Marquis," the boy muttered, his tone could not have conveyed any less interest in the topic. "I just wanted to see who this demon was for myself."
"And, who is it? Also, do you want me to take care of him?" Moving his head in denial, the boy let him know not to take any action. "But why? If we lose a kingdom to a demon, then what's the point of our fight with the demon hoards at Scorchen Gaia?"
"We're fighting for a cause, not for the land," his answer, while it made sense, still wasn't satisfactory for the man. "Besides, if a king can't hold his crown, then that demon more than deserves to take over."
'He's either gone insane, or that witch's lumber has made him desperate to wake her up early.' Opening a realm tear, the two men passed right through and left the duchy behind.
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