Chapter 8: 6 – Chaos and Abyss

-"Sir! How do you feel about the incident?"

-"How was your experience?"

-"What do you have to say about 219 passengers dying in the attack? Reports say that only the 50 passengers in first-class compartments survived.

-"Was the princess of Arline empire really on the train?!"

-"Sir, will you—"

Glenn ignored all the reporters' questions and pushed through them while holding Ava's hand. It took a while, but he finally managed to exit the station.

"That was something...", muttered he under his breath. Then, he suddenly heard hooves kicking against the ground at short intervals right beside him. Instinctively, Glenn grabbed Ava by her collar and pulled her back with him. As soon as he did so, a carriage pulled by horses whooshed through the place where he and Ava had just stood at high speed; gusts of wind stirred up by it stung his eyes. 

"Fucking hell! Watch where you're going!" Cursed the carriage driver as he raised his fist up and glared at Glenn.

Watching the carriage getting further away from him, Glenn muttered, "Ah, I shouldn't have done that. I should've pretended to get hit and then sue him for— ouch! What did you do that for?" Glenn massaged his head in pain as Ava had just interrupted him by knocking him on his head.

"Hmph! You deserved it! Conspiring to scam money out of people on our first day here, you're hopeless. Just carry the luggage and follow me."

Still caressing that spot on his head, Glenn picked up their luggage, which only contained their clothes, papers, and money, and followed Ava.

On the way, he could see how different the capital was from the town where he had spent the past 8 years of his life. He saw buildings as tall as the highest trees in the forest he used to hunt in, exposed pipelines running along the walls of such buildings occasionally letting out hot steam, and the gas streetlights being lit up one by one, signifying that it was now evening.

'Speaking of which, it's getting cold...'

Although it was still August and thus, Autumn hadn't exactly arrived yet, the weather was still chilly, even if it was noon. It was because of the special geographical location of Asward that the average temperature here rarely exceeded 28°C, and that was all Glenn knew. He didn't pay that much attention to geography after all, especially when it wasn't a compulsory subject and he only attended the classes because his dad made him do it.

However, architecture and weather weren't what intrigued him the most. No, it was mainly the residents here that interested him. Although the sight of families, factory workers, or businessmen in fancy suits walking down the street was familiar to him, the type of people that made up these groups was something new. He could see a man with pointed ears wearing a top hat, a girl with dog ears and a tail carrying bags of groceries, a short, burly, but drunk man—a dwarf—singing on the streets, and many more.

'Asward is truly diverse. If it wasn't for the fact that children of all races were collected in the 'white hell', perhaps I'd have been more surprised,' thought Glenn as he jumped over a water puddle. In fact, he had to jump over another after it. 'Did it just rain?'. After all, through what he'd read in books—or rather, through what Ava had read to him in books since he was too lazy to read them himself, it wasn't strange for there to be rain in Asward for a week straight.

'Even if that's the case, this place seems like a nice place to live. The people here look so happy despite living right under Joseph Persuv Cetial's rule. I guess the alliance leader isn't that bad.'

Pausing his thoughts there, he avoided colliding with a pedestrian whose eyes were glued to a newspaper and continued following Ava.

...

The impression of a city where everyone could live happily soon crumbled as the scenery around him slowly turned worse. Buildings were now 3 stories high at most, pipes were more exposed and releasing more steams now—pointing to the haphazard and flawed architecture, and there was only a streetlight once every 100 meters or so. The ground was awash with dark, murky water and rubbish, forcing Glenn to watch his steps unless god forbids he stepped on whatever filthy shit the people here tossed inside trash bags.

Even the appearance of the residents changed too. There were more being wearing rags for clothes now, women buying food had to conceal their groceries and even themselves in the cloaks that covered their bodies, and drunk men didn't sing on the streets; they were either passed out on the ground or beat up by thugs if they decided to sing.

"Ava," whispered Glenn as he walked up to Ava and matched her speed. "Are you sure this place is safe?"

"Nn. Dad said that this is the safest place in the capital and that if anyone here messes with us, just say that 'the king's crown is adorned with amethyst' and they will leave us alone. He also said that if it doesn't work, use our last name and we'll be fine."

"Huh... did he actually say that?"

"Well, not word-for-word, but that's the gist of it."

"I see..."

'Is he actually senile?'

Glenn could've sworn that his dad looked like he was in his 40s. Hell, when he secretly checked his birth certificate, it showed that he was only 46!

But it didn't matter now. With them being so short on money, staying here might prove to be a good idea. When Glenn walked through the so-called 'pretty' areas earlier, he saw posters about apartments available for rent. Let's just say that he almost had a heart attack upon seeing the prices.

'But Ava might not be safe here... I'd better buy a revolver for her to defend herself. She can take on mere street thugs but who knows what'd happen if she accidentally provokes an awakened or gets ganged up on?'

It was then that Glenn suddenly bumped into Ava, who suddenly stopped dead in her track. As he was about to ask her what was going on, he noticed that her gaze was fixed on a certain something. Following the direction of her gaze, he saw an old 5 stories building with more than a dozen of windows on its walls.

"Ava, is that..."

"Yes. It's the place we're staying in," answered Ava as she walked into the entrance of the building.

As soon as Glenn got into the building, he saw an old man with white hair and beard sitting on a wooden chair with one of his legs on top of the other, reading a newspaper while smoking a cigarette at the same time.

The man noticed Ava and Glenn's presence and put the newspaper down. Leisurely putting out the cigarette and throwing it in a nearby trashcan, he stood up and stared at Glenn and Ava... mostly Glenn though.

"What are you doing in my building? I've never seen you before," spoke the man in a hoarse voice.

"Um... we're here to rent an apartment," Ava said as she fumbled through her pocket and took out a piece of paper. "Here, dad told me to give it to you."

The man received the paper and scrutinized its content.

"I-It can't be!" Soon, his expression brightened and he looked like he was going to cry in happiness.

Seeing this, Glenn asked Ava, confused. "Hey Ava, what's in the paper?"

"I don't know... dad said that I should give it to the old man who is the landlord of this building."

"...Why didn't you read it?"

"Dad told me not to."

"But why didn't he tell me anything about it?"

Ava rolled her eyes as if the answer was the most obvious thing ever. "He knows that you're going to read it regardless of what he said. Frankly, I think that he made a good choice."

"Tch."

It was then that the man finished reading the piece of paper. Clearing his throat to get the bickering siblings' attention, he spoke up once more, this time with a lot more respect in his voice. "I'm Mason Jackett. Since you were referred to this place by that person, I'll lower the first month's rent by 25%."

Hearing this, Glenn cheered in happiness while Ava bowed in gratefulness. 

Chuckling at the reactions of the siblings, Mason continued, "I'm sure you've seen the unfortunate state of the surrounding area. And I'm sure that you know what the rough men outside want to do to young ladies." He briefly glanced toward Ava.

"What are you getting at?" Asked Glenn.

"Ah, straight to the point, huh? You act just like the King— nevermind. Anyway, what I'm saying here is that you can pay an extra 80 Arthens a month to have an extra secure lock made by magic engineering installed. Although normally, only nobles can have access to pieces of magic engineering, I can get my hands on the lock just for you."

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'This old man... he's a professional.' Glenn frowned. 'He knows exactly what I'm worried about and instantly provides a solution to it... I don't think I can haggle with him and come out of it victorious.' But rather than annoyance, Glenn felt a weird sense of respect toward Mason.

As such, without any further hesitation, Glenn nodded. "Okay. Please install the lock then."

"Alright. Just sign these documents and we're good to go." Mason took out some documents and pens and handed them to Glenn and Ava.

Glenn read through them all carefully. They were mostly rules and disclaimers stating that Mason wouldn't be responsible for whatever happened inside the apartments, be it murder or rape.

'Fair enough. Considering that he lives in a place like this, it's a good choice.'

As such, he signed the documents and urged Ava to do it too.

Mason took back the documents and put them in a secure cabinet. He then took out a pair of keys and handed them to Ava and Glenn. "Welcome to my apartment building, mister and miss..."

Glenn answered, "Glenn and Ava Claidar—"

"I'll have to stop you there," Mason suddenly interrupted Glenn. "Don't ever mention your real last name in these parts."

"Why?"

"It's not that it's a taboo per se... It's just that your last name specifically would bring both me and you a lot of trouble."

Glenn nodded in understanding. His dad seemed like he trusted Mason quite a bit, so his words bore more credit than some random strangers he met on the street. After discussing it with Ava, Glenn turned back to Mason and give him his answer.

"Alright. We're Glenn and Ava Ialcard."

Mason raised an eyebrow at this. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. We're sure."

"Okay then. It's good enough, I guess." He sighed. "Anyway, your rent is 375 Arthens for the first month. Every month after that is 500 Arthens. Gas and water are not included in the rent, and you'll have to get food on your own. Now, go to your apartment and rest. I'm sure you're tired coming all the way here."

...

After saying goodbye to Mason, Glenn and Ava went up to their room, which was on the 4th floor. As the wooden door of their room opened, Glenn could see its interior. 

The room was a bit bigger than he expected. Just from the door, he could see the kitchen, the living room, and the door to the bathroom. Seeing that the kitchen was fully equipped and the living room was furnished, Glenn nodded in satisfaction. 'This old man, he's more generous than I thought.' Granted, the furniture was very basic and sparse, but having furniture at all meant that he didn't have to waste more money.

'And the kitchen appliances are clean too... Not that any of us will use most of it though, but still!'

Then, Glenn went to check on the bathroom with Ava. As soon as they got in, they noticed a grayish-blue pipe near the entrance with a note stuck on it.

===

I'll cover water bills up to 300 liters. You're on your own after that.

===

"Huh, only 300 liters?" Muttered Glenn.

"Just be grateful that he's covering water for us at all."

"Alright fine. The bathroom looks clean enough, let's go find the bedroom."

Exiting the bathroom, Glenn and Ava got to the only closed door in the apartment. After opening it, they could see a neatly-made bed, a drawer next to the bed, a wardrobe, and a window with pale-purple curtains.

"Yeah, this is definitely a bedroom but... 1 bed?" Muttered Glenn as he walked up to the bed and pressed a finger on it. The mattress wasn't fluffy. Instead, it was... bouncy. The only fluffy thing there was the pillows and the blanket.

Thinking, for a while, he sighed. "Guess I'll have to take the couch—"

"Oh no you don't!" Exclaimed Ava as she pushed Glenn down to the bed with her. Using him as a hug pillow, she pulled the blanket over her and Glenn and closed her eyes while giggling.

"What are you doing?" Glenn frowned.

"Saving you from the flea-infested couch. I checked the living room while you checked the kitchen."

"O-Okay, I'll sleep on the floor then—"

"Nope. It's dusty, and who knows what kind of insect will crawl there at night?"

"Then at least stop hugging me."

"Nope~! It's warm."

"We're not kids anymore."

"But we're still siblings, are we not?"

"Y-Yes, but that's—"

"No but's. It's only weird when you make it weird."

Seeing that he couldn't convince Ava no matter what he did, Glenn gave up and tried to sleep through this whole situation. Surprisingly enough, he fell asleep soon after.

...

Morning.

Glenn groaned as he woke up. Waiting for his eyes to unblur, he felt a certain sensation in his stomach. "Ah, I'm hungry."

"Of course you are," chuckled Ava, who had woken up before Glenn did and was now putting on her coat. After making sure that she had buttoned up the coat fully, she continued, "You slept too early. Seriously, I was just teasing you last night. Who would've known that you fell asleep that fast?"

"Whatever." Glenn scowled, hiding his embarrassment. Staring at Ava's brownish-yellow coat, he asked, "Where are you going?"

"Getting some groceries. There's nothing in the fridge." Ava answered as she opened the bedroom door. Before she exited the room, she left Glenn some last words. "Oh, and remember to claim your reward for killing the raiders at a police station, we need as much money as possible before Kevlas' entrance exam next week. Hugh said that he'd put in a good word for us so they'll give us bonus money." Then, she left.

Sighing, Glenn went to the bathroom and washed up, readying himself for the tiresome day.

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