Return of the Fallen Volume 7 Chapter 13
The moment Kazuki left, he knew he may have made a mistake. Leaving the scene would make one look guilty but at the same time, standing over the unconscious bodies of several guards was not a good look either. It was too late to return so Kazuki opted to make a steady retreat and come back later.
(Maybe I’ll just sneak in next time. With my current speed, I’m sure I can move past the guards without notice.)
Making his way back into the depth of the city, he weaved his way into the crowd and tried not to stand out too much. Though with his height and body frame, standing out kind of just came with the territory.
As hundreds of guards spread out through the city, Kazuki decided it might be better to get off the street. Seeing a nearby store, he walked in without much thought.
*Ching ding*
A small bell rang out as he opened the door to a large shop, announcing his presence.
As soon as the bell on the door rang out, a young man wearing a spiffy uniform approached Kazuki. For a brief instant, the young man was intimidated by Kazuki’s sheer size but his professionalism shone through. Wiping the surprise from his face, he gave a slight bow followed by a bright smile.
“Hello sir. My name is Jaken and welcome to Master Sid’s craft shop. Here we sell a many variety of things. Mainly we deal with magic tools from staffs and magic storage rings to inscribing weapons and armors, though we don’t sell armors or very many weapons, our assortment of items is sure to entice the eye. Please name it sir and I will be glad to assist you. So have you something in mind already or do you have any particular interest, just let me know.”
Hearing the name Sid, Kazuki looked around, only now noticing that this place was actually old man Sid’s shop. He had purchased a few items here as well as gotten Limiter inscription tattoos removed from Tsura’s body.
Kazuki remembered the short old man how ran the shop. He stood about 2 and 1/2 feet tall and was a bit tempered as well as eccentric but a good fellow nonetheless.
Kazuki hadn’t noticed the shop was Sid’s earlier because of how large the shop was. This building in particular was nearly 6 stories tall. From what he remembered it wasn’t nearly half that the last time he was here.
(The old man must be doing rather well if he’s expanded this much.)
Kazuki was lost in thought and was still looking around, ignoring the young shopkeeper which caused some annoyance from the young man.
(Great, another person just window shopping. Why do I always get poor customers? I’ll never get a good commission at this rate.)
The young shopkeeper began to think of a way of stepping away from Kazuki without seeming rude when Kazuki finally spoke.
“Jaken was it. If it’s not too much of a bother, I’d like to speak to the owner of this shop. Is old man Sid in?”
Mentioning Sid, the young shopkeeper grew suspicious.
“Eh, sir, I don’t know what your inquiry is with the boss but I can speak on his behalf. He’s left me in charge while he’s out. So if you need something, please direct it toward me.”
Kazuki shook his head.
“No, I wish to see old man Sid, I have some news for him and only him.”
Kazuki knew that old Tilly and old man Sid had a good relationship. The news of her death, old man Sid might want to know. Though he walked in here by coincidence, it wouldn’t be bad to pass the news to Sid while he was here. Kazuki thought about it. If a friend of his died would he want to be told directly or in some roundabout way. Especially when you’ve not heard about that person in a long time. He figured it would be better to inform Sid in this way.
The shopkeeper though knew none of this and only saw Kazuki as a suspicious character. He had never seen Kazuki in his life and he knew all of Sid’s contacts through and through. Seeing a large bulking person walk in wanting to see the owner and wouldn’t directly state their business, Kazuki only appeared more and more like a trouble maker.
Jaken stayed professional though and spoke calmly.
“Sir, As I’ve said, I can speak on all business matters for boss Sid. So if you have some business, then we can discuss it. If it’s not related to business though, I would ask you to leave.”
Hearing the way the conversation was going, a few customers began to take interest in the happenings at the front of the shop. Kazuki as well wasn’t trying to start anything or draw too much attention so he quickly added.
“Can you just tell Sid that Ryuta is here? I’m an acquaintance of his and a friend of his friend Tilly.”
Kazuki used his old alias because that was the only name Sid knew him by. It would make no sense to leave his actual name with this shopkeeper to relay the message. Even if it got back to Sid, Sid would most likely be confused by Kazuki’s real name.
Jaken heard the name Tilly and found it familiar but the only Tilly he knew of was someone who disappeared well over a year ago. He was about to tell Kazuki to leave once more when an old yet loud voice came from behind a closed door deeper in the shop.
“Ryuta! Boy! is that you!?”
*Bang*
A door in the shop swung open and a short old man jumped on top of the long counter and ran across it until he stopped at its edge, right in front of Kazuki.
The short old man had a long scraggly beard and his eyes had dark circles upon dark circles as if he hadn’t slept in ages. This man though was definitely old man Sid. Seeing Kazuki, the old man took a step back hesitantly. He didn’t recognize Kazuki’s large build.
After wiping his tired-looking eyes though, he was able to get a better look and was left confused.
“You…You’re freaking huge! What in the 7 realms of hell did you eat to get so damn big and where’s my share you greedy asshole? hehe.”
Kazuki chuckled along before teasing old man Sid right back.
“Only ate what I could find scrounging around in the dark but forget that why in the world would Sid the giant need to grow any taller. If you get too big I might have to start looking directly in front of me instead of below, hehe.”
The entire shop went deathly quiet as the other workers and customers stared in silence. A moment later though, both Kazuki and old man Sid erupted in loud wild laughter.
*Bwahahahaha*
Jaken had never seen his old boss this happy before. Yet this stranger made his boss crack up like a hyena in only a short exchange of words.
(I thought I knew all of the boss’s contacts but this big man shows up from god knows where like this and changes my depressed boss’s spirit in seconds. Who is this Ryuta and just where exactly did he come from?)
After letting out a belly full of laughter, old man Sid invited Kazuki to a back room.
“Come come, I want to hear what you’ve been up to all this time and you mentioned that old crow as well. What’s the leather bat been up to these days? When is she gonna show that wrinkly old face and smash a few dozen bottles of the devil’s liquid with me?”
Kazuki’s entire demeanor changed, along with his expression.
“Let’s speak privately.”
Sid again was confused but he knew right away by Kazuki’s change that something had happened.
The two headed into a back office and Sid shut the door. Sitting down in a chair, there were several inscriptions upon it. Old man Sid tapped the armrest of his chair and a barrier formed around the entire office. Kazuki toom one look at the inscriptions and knew the barrier was not one to prevent attack rather it was meant to prevent curious ears from listening in.
Sid noticed Kazuki staring at the chair and confirmed what Kazuki already knew.
“Don’t mind this. It just keeps people from hearing our conversation.”
Kazuki nodded.
The news wasn’t something that mattered if it were leaked out but Kazuki appreciated the gesture anyway.
Sid offered Kazuki some tea but Kazuki flatly refused.
“Old man, I’ll get straight to the point. It’s about Tilly.”
Kazuki pulled out Tilly’s ring from his own magic storage ring and showed it to Sid.
As soon as Sid saw it, his face went pale and he froze in shock. He reached forward to grab the ring before pausing in hesitation. Looking at Kazuki for a brief second he was seeking confirmation. Kazuki nodded and handed the ring over willingly.
Sid pulled out a small loupe from his chest pocket and put the magnifying eyewear over his left eye before examing Tilly’s ring more closely. It only took him but a moment to confirm that it was indeed Tilly’s ring. Old man Sid’s hands began to shake when he realized what this meant. The only reason why Kazuki would have it, the only possible reason…
Sid found it difficult to swallow and his hands began to sweat. A few tears began to stream down his face and after a minute f this he finally built up the courage. With a shaky voice, he asked the painful question.
“How…How did she pass?”
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