Ron’s eyes and mouth slowly dropped open in shock.
“Th-That’s impossible! Just painting stripes on a pumpkin doesn’t make it a watermelon!”
The sheer level of denial made me snort without thinking.
Guess he’s not much of a liar, which is weird for a merchant’s kid.
“Yeah yeah, I won’t aim for watermelon status, so cool your head.”
I ruffled Ron’s hair—he was a full two handspans taller than me—and turned to the Mister Guild Master to offer my goodbye.
“Well, I’m done with what I came for, so I’ll be heading out now.”
Then I gave Ron a quick parting nod too.
“Take care. But you…”
Even as he tried to act tough, the flush creeping up his face gave him away.
I silently mouthed another “jab” at him and walked off, chuckling to myself as I strolled out of the guild.
✦ ✦ ✦
After wrapping up a satisfying deal with the Ageratum Merchant’s Guild, I decided to take a walk and headed toward the open-air market.
Market prices were always a reliable snapshot of the current economic state.
And honestly, comparing them to what I remembered from the future was kind of fun.
I sucked on one of the hard candies I’d gotten from Ageratum, rolling it around in my mouth as I strolled through the stalls.
“Hmm, around here?”
I’d made it sound like I was just out for a stroll, but that wasn’t the real reason I came this way.
Down the alley where the central clock tower stood—tucked between rows of market stalls—was a particular city shop.
It was the one I’d blamed on Missus Cecil, claiming it was where illegal Abiliter trades happened.
“Knew it.”
They must’ve had ties to the city guard.
Looks like they got word that the location was exposed and ditched the place in a hurry.
Inside the busted door, the shop was a wreck, scattered with abandoned junk.
Not that I cared what happened to it.
Since they fled in a panic, that basically confirmed Missus Cecil’s guilt, so whatever became of the place didn’t matter to me.
I’d just swung by out of idle curiosity.
And now that it was satisfied, I shrugged and turned away without any lingering attachment.
“…Hm?”
That’s when I saw it.
Right in front of the ruined shop, lying collapsed between two buildings, was a frail-looking kid.
Food to steal, food waste to scavenge—markets always drew in the starving.
Problem was, the starving were nothing more than pests the merchants wanted gone.
“Hope he didn’t get beaten up…”
Biting my lip, I approached the fallen boy.
As I got closer and looked carefully, he twitched—he was still alive.
At least it didn’t look like anyone had assaulted him.
But his body was covered in scrapes and cuts, like he’d been barely surviving out here for a while.
Slowly, he raised his head—and I saw his face contorted in desperation.
He tried to push his body upright even though he clearly had no strength left.
Curly black hair. Green eyes.
The second our eyes met, I narrowed mine. That face looked weirdly familiar.
Did I meet him during the previous timeline?
My thoughts were racing when he suddenly muttered something, eyes unfocused and staring into space, as if he didn’t realize I was there.
“I’ll destroy them… I’ll destroy them all…”
The second those words came out of that small child’s mouth, a lightning bolt went off in my brain.
No way.
Isn’t this the guy who starts the Imperial War all on his own later?
I’m running into that future Empire-wide criminal… in a marketplace?
Back in the previous timeline, he was infamous—very infamous.
His face had been plastered all over the Empire on wanted posters, and any news about him always made the front page.
One man versus the entire Empire.
It sounded absurd, but he pulled it off.
And the reason that was even possible was because he was an Abiliter who could control demonic beasts.
A so-called demonic beast tamer.
“Hey, are you alright?”
I knelt down to get eye-level with him.
“Destroy them… all…”
Thump.
He collapsed, just like that. His body had clearly hit its limit.
I guess he’d been running on sheer willpower until now.
And the fact that he happened to pass out screaming in front of this shop?
He must have some kind of grudge against it.
Goodness.
I ran a hand roughly through my hair, sighing in frustration.
“No wonder he snapped. Growing up in a hellhole like this—how could he not go dark?”
✦ ✦ ✦
With a grunt, I got my arms under the boy’s and dragged him all the way back home.
Once there, I treated his wounds with herbal salve and gently dribbled sugar water into his mouth.
Maybe it worked, because he woke up by late afternoon.
“You’re awake?”
I closed the book I’d been reading and got up from my seat.
His face immediately stiffened. He glared at me warily and spoke.
“Where… is this place.”
“Where else? A house where people live.”
He looked around, seemed to realize there were no immediate threats, and relaxed a bit.
“…Then I’ll be going now.”
“You can leave if you want. But at least eat something first?”
He ignored my offer, sprang up from the bed, and started limping toward the door like he meant to go straight outside.
I clicked my tongue.
“You go out like that, you’ll be faceplanting after three steps.”
I wasn’t expecting a thank-you. I just wished he’d accept help without making a fuss.
“Whatever happened to you, if you want revenge, you’ve got to take care of yourself first.”
At that, the boy froze and slowly turned back to look at me.
“I don’t have time for food.”
“What the hell happened?”
He stared straight at me with those deep green eyes, then finally spoke.
“…I have to save my twin sister.”
“Twin sister?”
I frowned slightly. I didn’t remember him ever having family.
If he did have family, there’s no way the Empire would’ve let them live.
They definitely would’ve executed them together, under some “purge the root of evil” bullshit.
“So you were in front of that shop to rescue your sister?”
Still don’t know why he was collapsed on the ground, though.
That shop had been a spot where Abiliters were abducted and trafficked.
The auctions happened elsewhere, but that place was the drop-off.
When I asked, his face twisted.
Most kids wouldn’t know anything about that kind of stuff, after all.
Maybe realizing it was better not to get tangled up, he started walking again.
“Well then. I assume that answers your question. I’ll be going.”
“Hold on.”
Still sitting in the chair, I swung my legs lazily as I stopped him.
“You saw it too, right? That place got exposed by the city guard a while ago. Everyone’s already bailed. Even if you go back, it’s useless.”
“…Then who do I have to threaten to find out where they took her?”
Wow. Way to lean right into the future-war-criminal energy. Already planning your extortion strategy?
“Let’s hold off on the threats for now.”
Technically, that shop was only gone because I told the city guard about it…
So really, I was kind of responsible for this.
“I’ll help you. With my ability, I might be able to find out whether your sister’s still alive.”
It happened in a blink.
One second, he had his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave.
The next, he was right in front of me, eyes blazing.
“You… you’re an Abiliter, aren’t you? Where is my sister now? What is she doing?!”
“Whoa, calm down. My ability is foresight. I can’t see present details. And what I can see is extremely limited.”
I gently pushed his shoulder back—he was way too close.
“And just because I activate it doesn’t mean I’ll get answers.”
Only after I explained did he finally start to calm down.
The speed at which he reined himself in suggested he was more rational than he looked.
“What do I need to do to get your help?”
“Cooperate. Starting with telling me your name.”
“…Raspie.”
“And your sister—the one who got taken. What’s her name?”
“Rosemary.”
“That’s a pretty name. …Wait. Rosemary?”
Honestly, when I said my ability was foresight and that I might be able to tell if she was alive, that was just a bluff.
I only said it so he’d stop pushing himself and get some rest.
But the problem was… I did know someone named Rosemary.
And she had the exact same black hair and green eyes as the boy standing in front of me.
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