Astolfo eyed the group of people like an eagle, his previous display of innocence had disappeared like a mirage in the deserts.

“These people are heading to the same building that lady had gone to.” Astolfo made a mental note of their path and formulated a plan. He launched into a sprint and circled the block, coming up from the other side. Thanks to the simplicity of the town and the bustle of the streets, he could do it without getting lost or acting suspiciously.

Astolfo caught up to them right before they reached the entrance of the door. He lowered his gaze, slowed his gait, and moved right towards the guy in the center. Just like Vincent had instructed him, Astolfo kept his eyes peeled on the man’s coat.

‘There it is.’

Like a lost child, he shook his head around and bumped straight into the man. Right as he collided, he slipped his hand into the coat and took out the pouch from the pocket. He was going to act, but the hit was surprisingly large and he fell down while placing the pouch in his pocket.

“Ah, I am so—”

“@#*#*@*!(”

Dark red eyes, deeply furrowed brows, and a daunting large scar. The very sight of the scary man in front of him sent shivers down his spine. Behind the man were people who looked almost the same as him with their bulky muscles and scarred bodies, but they weren’t half as scary as this person.

‘J-just who did I rob?!’

The scary man raised his hand and waved it in front of his face.

“&$*#(@)$&@(!)” The gritty voice that contained a forced sense of helpfulness rang Astolfo’s survival bells and urged him to run.

“%*$*(#)@(*!#(#@” He could not understand a word, but Astolfo could tell this man was threatening him. He was surely threatening him. He was probably saying something like, ‘I am sorry, now let's kill you! AHAHA!’

Astolfo shook his head from left to right and clasped his hands together. The thought of taking him on didn’t even enter his mind. He immediately stood up, bowed, and sprinted as far away as he could.

Only after running in circles for five whole minutes did Astolfo stop. He heaved deep breaths with his arms against the cold brick walls.

“At least, I have the money.” Astolfo pulled out the pouch he had stolen and loosened its tie. A bunch of coins with strange stamps on them. There were distinct patterns engraved on the bronze coins which he could only imagine to be numbers. There were also a few of the coins whose rims were plated with silver and gold and were a size bigger than the previous ones.

“He should have had enough after a mugging of a few hundred people, right? There should be more than enough in this thing…“

Shaking his head, Astolfo stepped back and looked at the building he was leaning on. A wooden board draped over the entrance with writings in the different language. Around the name of the establishment were drawings of skewers and mugs of beer.

“Is this is a restaurant?” Astolfo muttered. Though his knowledge exceeded well past his age in certain areas, he only had the worldly knowledge of a child and was completely unaware of the existence of pubs. Unsuspecting, the boy pushed the door open.

Immediately, the foul stench of alcohol and cigarettes assaulted his nose. The babbles of the guests and the clangs of their mugs and plates formed a strident melody. Astolfo was strongly against stepping in, but the sight of the cooked food on clean plates that he hadn’t seen in ages pulled him like an apple falling from a tree.

With drool dripping from the edges of his mouth, Astolfo walked up to the counter and stared at the master of the restaurant. He placed the pouch of money on the counter as the man behind it raised his chin. With furrowed brows, he looked around him and saw a woman chomping down on some meat skewers.

Astolfo stared in the waiter’s eye and pointed at the food on the woman’s table. The man tilted his head in confusion before nodding and walking away.

Everyone around him was eating and drinking merrily. Seeing them, Astolfo’s stomach gurgled in anticipation. His mouth was filled with saliva as he calmed himself down by licking his lips. At long last, the two-minute wait that felt like two hours ended and the waiter placed the plate across him.

Just the sight of the sizzling meat dripping with sauce made his eyes bulge out. The bits of vegetables separating the chunks of meat looked more delicious than most things his mother had cooked. Astolfo slowly picked one of the skewers up and stared at it from top to bottom. Oh, how he had missed real food that wasn’t fruits or monsters. Carefully, he brought the skewer close to his mouth, the tip of the meat just shy from touching his lips—

“&*^&@!!!”

—When a loud shout rang out and he dropped it.

“Ah…”

**

“YOU THIEF!!”

With those two words, the loud pub descended into silence for the second time today. Standing at the entrance with red eyes and a huffing nose was Derrick. The dark-skinned man with sharp eyes and bulging muscles was someone every regular knew, so they all turned to look at the young red-haired boy frozen in place with his eyes stuck to the ground that he was pointing at.

“You dare steal from our big brother?! That money bag is his. He even asked if you were you hurt, and you repay his kindness like this!?” Shouting again, Derrick started walking towards Astolfo.

The heartbroken little kid who had lost his food took a while to process things. With teary eyes, he turned around at the culprit behind his loss. Derrick looked at the boy with a furious glare, he was ready to tear down into him. The eyes of everyone in the pub were filled with inquisitiveness.

He was surrounded by enemies.

Derrick continued stomping his feet towards Astolfo when the boy’s expression dried away. The innocence in his face disappeared and the air around him changed. Under the long scar on his left, his eyes turned into the cold stare of a predator. Derrick was stunned in place for a second.

“Hah… Are you kidding me?” he muttered. Shaking his fear off, he clenched his fist and ran towards the boy. “You’re just a little brat!”

Derrick lunged upon Astolfo with his fist glowing a green hue. He arched his shoulder and swung his fist at Astolfo. A stalagmite of ice ruptured through the ground, cutting a thin line on Derrick’s nose. Unable to land his punch, the hot-headed man jumped behind.

“AHH! SHIT!”

“WOAH! A Fight!!”

Within seconds, the people of the pub cleared away from the two. Some ran away in fear and surprise while some excitedly backed off to watch the battle. Astolfo gazed at the people circling him, some humans some elves. They had backed away with their tables and chairs and had created a makeshift ring for the two.

“You bastard!” Derrick exclaimed and outstretched his palm. “[Metal Resonance]!” Magic power gathered around the room. Forks, spoons, and knives around the pub floated and all of them turned towards Astolfo. “[Attraction]”

The floating cutlery formed a circle around the boy. At once, all of them moved towards the boy with breakneck speed. Astolfo clicked his tongue while accurately dodging the initial few, his palm ceaselessly pointing at the projectiles.

“Hah! How’s that, thief—”

All the knives, forks, and spoons stopped in the air, a faint golden hue wrapped around them. Astolfo breathed a sigh of relief, dusted his hands, and looked at Derrick.

“H-how is this… what…?”

The projectiles turned towards the man. Just as Astolfo pushed his hand out, a ball of earth zapped through the air and lodged itself in Astolfo’s side. The boy twisted his body in the nick of time and avoided the brunt of the attack, but his clothes could not survive it and tore off. The dozens of scars on the right side of his body were out in the open.

“Skipper!” Derrick exclaimed. Standing next to him with a short staff in his hands was another one of Morris’ group, Skipper. “That kid! He is the damn thief that stole big brother’s money!”

“Tsk. You always bring trouble, damn it!” Skipper gritted his teeth at Derrick and turned towards Astolfo. “Hey kid, just hand it back and we’ll be on our merry way, alright?” he said while pointing at the pouch of money on the counter.

“What! Skipper!” Derrick countered, but by then, the rest of Morris’ group had appeared and he had to shut up.

Seemingly understanding what they meant. Astolfo nodded his head and picked up the pouch from the counter with his right hand, his left still pointing at them in defensive. Soft breezes of wind blew as Astolfo turned around with the pouch of money in his hands. With a sigh, he tossed the pouch over, and disappeared.

An unbelievably large squall of wind crashed into the four people at the entrance. Before he could open his eyes, Astolfo appeared in front of Derrick and punched him in the face.

“Shit!”

**

A loud commotion was brewing in the streets near the Moons’ hideout. Worried, Morris rushed over to the place. He had been looking for his money around the path they had taken, thinking it might have fallen somewhere, but his friends had suggested they split up and look separately to cover more ground. He hoped nothing had happened to them.

A swarm of magic power was swirling inside the pub while people were rushing out of the place.

“A fight!” Morris said. A cold, harsh wind blew out of the pub from the masses of ice and the constant use of wind magic. He ran ahead and peeked inside just to see the rest of his people… All of them fighting against a small child.

It was the same scar-eyed child he had bumped into a while earlier. Morris was stunned in place. That same child was making a face grimmer than what he had seen in unconquerable tombs and endless ruins. His body was riddled with scars from left to right. Scars that were surely accompanied by unimaginable pain. His eyes were devoid of any compromise or hope. That little boy in the pub was right now but a mere cub surrounded by a wall of Hyenas.

“STOP!!” Morris’ scream bellowed in the pub like the roar of a lion. Everyone stopped in their tracks at his voice, except the little boy. He took the chance and slugged Derrick in the jaw again.

“You bra—”

“I SAID STOP!”

Morris’ scream interrupted Derrick.

“Just what do you think you all are doing?” Morris softly walked towards Astolfo with his hands raised high. “Did you not see this boy? Why were you attacking him?”

“H-he stole your money—”

“And?!” Morris demanded. His eyes piercing into his friends. “It’s just money. He must be in so much pain. Even his clothes are no better than rags. If my money could help this child even the slightest then I would gladly give it away.”

Morris turned towards Astolfo. Seeing the boy take a fighting stance while quivering melted Morris’ heart. He dropped to his knees to match Astolfo’s eye.

Before the boy could realize it, Morris had wrapped him within his arms. “You are hurt, aren’t you? It will be alright now.”

Though he could not understand his words, for just a second, Astolfo felt as if he wasn’t surrounded by enemies anymore.