Chương 30: Chapter 29 - Chased

The sun was just beginning to rise as Ren stepped out of The Bumbling Magician's warm lobby and into the cold winter air, marking a week since he had been transmigrated to this world. So much had happened over the course of that single week, and yet, aside from the thin sliver of hope that some method of getting back home might actually exist, Ren felt as though he'd made no real progress at all.

And now here he was, bound in service to a mysterious jester who took absolutely everything far too lightly, all to hunt down an enemy whose very name set his skin crawling the moment it was spoken.' Not to mention that the method Mr. Jester said existed 'wouldn't be up to my standards',' Ren thought gloomily as he began to walk down South-East Quarter's cobblestone streets.' Whatever that means...'

Even as the sun's first rays were only just beginning to illuminate the Crossroads, there were already plenty of people out and about, setting up stalls, sweeping debris away from their storefronts, or simply hurrying off to wherever it was they needed to be. Ren could even see a couple of wagons and carts being hauled along the streets. All of which begged the question...' Where was everyone when we got attacked in the park!?''

I get that South-West Quarter is quieter than here, and a lot less populated,'Ren complained,' but not a single person saw what happened?' He sighed heavily before slapping his cheeks a couple of times.

"I guess it doesn't really matter now," he told himself quietly.

"One day at a time. Focus on what you need to do right now." And what he needed to do right now was kill four Blessed who each stood an entire rank above him, all while possessing little to no real fighting experience and a Soul Power he couldn't so much as utilise yet. Ren reached down to rest a hand on the hilt of his cleaver, only to realise it had been confiscated the moment he'd been captured, leaving him utterly defenceless.' How does Mr. Jester honestly expect me to kill any of these guys?' Ren scoffed.

Kill. The word hung in his mind for a moment. Could he do it? Would he really be able to end a man's life to further his own goals? Even if it was his owl survival?' Maybe I could just make a run for it...?' Ren shook his head the moment the thought crossed his mind. Somehow, he strongly doubted things would end very well for him at all if he tried something like that. Regardless, it was a problem for future him to figure out.

Present him just needed to learn the habits of the preacher to grant him the highest chance of succeeding. Yumè's life depended on him getting back home and Mr. Jester had given him a second chance. Ren continued down the crowded street, his breath visible in the winter air as he pulled his cloak tighter around himself.' Where to even start…?' he thought.

Staying well away from the South-West Quarter was the obvious first step, seeing as Lady Darla knew exactly what he looked like, having even supplied the very clothes currently wrapped tightly around him. So Ren's newly formulated plan was a simple one: to attend more of the sermons the preacher gave, then attempt to tail him back to wherever he was staying, all without getting caught by the Flameguard in the process. Or something like that anyway. Sounded easy enough.'

Now that I think about it though, Esteban and that doll-like girl, Alice, had seen what I looked like in these clothes too,' Ren mused, turning a corner. But The Crossroads was massive.' What are the chances of running into one of them again? They have probably got important cult things to do.' His stomach suddenly grumbled as he passed the same bunch of popular stalls, from a couple of days ago. The appetising smells of fresh pastries and roasting meat already strong despite the early hours.

He also knew he still had absolutely nothing to his name other than the clothes on his back. So, sighing heavily, Ren decided that if he couldn't actually eat anything, he might as well at least go and look at whatever it was that smelled so good. He edged his way through the small crowd, drawing closer and closer to that tantalising scent, only to accidentally bump straight into someone.

"Oh! I'm sor—" he started, before getting a good look at who it was. A girl with waist-length black hair neatly tied into pigtails, wearing a dress that only served to accentuate her doll-like features, stood there with a blank look upon her face as she stared down at the now-crushed pie in her hands, its steaming contents spilling out onto the cobblestone below. The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

When she looked up so see who had just ruined her breakfast, Alice's eyes widened in surprise at the same time Ren's did.

"Oou!" she tried to say something through a mouthful of whatever she was eating, but Ren had already turned and started sprinting as fast as he could.' How is this even possible!?

'he screamed in his head.' What type of luck do I have!?'

"Hey, wait! Stop!" Alice's voice called out behind him, but that was the last thing he was planning on doing. He weaved his way back through the small crowd and burst out onto the more open road, sprinting straight back the way he'd come, toward the Bumbling Magician. Ren hoped that Mr. Jester would jump in to save his 'little protégé'. People all around him gasped and yelped in surprise, jumping out of the way in an effort to avoid colliding with him.

Ren heard a flutter of cloth as something soared over him and Alice landed gracefully right in front of him.

"Alice won't let you get away this time!" she declared.

"Please let me go!" Ren said as he skidded to a stop, "I don't want to be a part of your 'new family'!" Without missing a beat, he twisted his body and quickly turned into a narrow alley. Both sides were littered with junk and debris, making it even tight space even tighter, the tall walls choking down around him. Thinking quickly, Ren began to pull and shove things down behind him as he ran, using anything he could to try and slow Alice down when the exit finally came into view.' Yes!

'he thought, just as someone opened a door into the alley, blocking the way.' No!' Rapid and unperturbed footsteps echoed close behind him as Alice steadily gained ground, so rather than waste precious seconds trying to squeeze past the door, Ren simply shoved the poor man attempting to exit back inside and barrelled into the house right along with him, slamming the door shut behind them both.

"Hey, just wha—" the man started but Ren was already running deeper into the house.

"Sorry!" he called over his shoulder, just as he heard the door behind him crash open once more, followed by a pained grunt from the man as it slammed into him. Ren turned sharply into a stairwell and climbed all the flights he could at full speed, boots hammering against the steps, and upon reaching the door at the top, he wrenched it open to reveal a family sitting down to breakfast together They shouted in shock as Ren sprinted into the room, headed straight for an open window at the far end the room.

"I'm sorry!" he said, clambering up onto the windowsill just as Alice appeared in the doorway.

"You can't run from Alice forever!" Ren didn't respond because he had already leapt out from the building, the cold winter wind whistling in his ears for a moment before he crashed into a tiled roof, stumbled, and forced himself back into a run. Even with his heart pounding wildly in his chest, Ren couldn't help but marvel at how much faster he was moving now, his body carrying him along quicker than it ever could have back before he'd become Blessed.

It was almost enough to make him forget the doll-like girl hunting him down. Almost. Ren quickly spotted The Bumbling Magician's blue roof, and he couldn't help the relief from flooding him. The last obstacle that separated him from safety was a single gap, a wide chasm between two rooftops where a road cut through below. For the briefest moment his stomach lurched, his instincts screaming that the jump was way too far to clear. But then he remembered himself, and how much better a Blessed's capabilities were.

He could make this now. Gritting his teeth, Ren pushed just a little harder off the edge and hurled himself across the divide, the noise of carriages and passing people rising up from the road beneath him. His optimisms were misplaced as he wasn't quite enough, though. His chest slammed into the lip of the opposite rooftop, legs left dangling over the street below as he scrabbled desperately for something, anything, to take hold of.

Behind him, he heard the rustle of Alice's dress as she cleared the very same gap without any problem, landing gracefully in front of him.

"Dammit."

"Alice won't let you go this time," the doll-like girl said softly, her eyes gleaming.

"Your jester friend can't save you again." [Survival Instincts] flared just as shadows began to swarm around them, warning him of hostile intent, so Ren did the only thing he could. He let go. The wind tousled his hair as he fell, watching Alice gasp and lunge forward, arm outstretched in a desperate bid to catch him, only to miss by a hair's breadth. His plummet didn't last very long.

Ren crashed heavily into a stall below, its awning snapping and tearing, luckily breaking the worst of his fall, though the impact still forced the air from his lungs. Knowing his pursuer would be back on him again before long, he quickly heaved himself upright with a groan, staggering a little as he dragged himself free of the wreckage amid the screams and shouts of the surrounding crowd.

"Is that person alright?"

"Where did he come from? Up there?"

"You're gonna have to pay for the damages, boy!" the stall owner yelled, pointing furiously at all the exploded cabbages surrounding them.

"I'm sorry!" Ren said quickly, not even looking back to check if Alice had followed, knowing he needed as much of a head start as he could possibly manage. He continued on the ground floor, sprinting along the cobblestones and weaving between people crowding the side of the road until he finally reached The Bumbling Magician, slamming the door open without a second thought, startling the tavernkeeper behind the counter.

"By the Flame, boy!" the man barked, nearly dropping the glass he was holding.

"You scared the Fire outta me! You only just left—what are you doing back already?"

"Later!" Ren yelled before shooting all the way up the stairs, and sliding to a stop outside Mr. Jester's room before barging in. The jester didn't so much as glance up from the tome he was scribbling away in, one leg bouncing rhythmically as his tongue poked out in concentration.

"Mr. Jester!" Ren pleaded, words spilling out fast.

"You've got to help me! That same girl from before in the dungeon is after me, and I don't even have a weapon to defend myself with!" Mr. Jester stopped writing and leant back in his chair, stretching lazily.

"You mean the person about to jump through the window?"

"What do you m—" Ren was suddenly cut off when, true to the jester's word, Alice flew gracefully into the room through the open window, landing with ease before pointing her dark sword straight at him.

"Alice has caught you now!" she proclaimed triumphantly, only for her eyes to lock onto Mr. Jester.

"You again!?" they both said at the same time. Her words laced with icy contempt. His laced with amused delight.