"Urgh... What happened... Where..."
Yamato crouched down to him and pulled in his hair, staring right into his eyes. In a cold and threatening voice he spoke. Mocking him by using his own phrase.
"Hey... I don't like people like you here... Just kidding. I'm quite ignorant to the relationship you have with humans, you know? So please, educate me a bit."
He stared back at Yamato. First putting on a tough facade. But as he glanced behind Yamato, he saw the person Yuki killed earlier, lying on the ground. His pupils widened at that. Yuki casually standing next to the body, poking it with her feet as she was bored.
"What did you-..."
Yamato punched him in the face. Not too hard, but hard enough to make him lose his sense of direction for a moment.
"Please only talk to answer my questions. If yoi scream, we will kill the other one too. You seem to care for them, so I assume they were your friends. Well, one was. The other one still is, for now. Alright then, I'm curious… Why you said that? Obviously it was racially motivated. But I don't have much context to work with here… Which sucks but hey, what can you do?"
He looked at Yamato, trying to look unbothered, still. But when he held eye contact for too long, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Yamato did not blink much, as he was completely calm about this. As if he could not care less, which freaked the elf out a little. And even though Yamato's tone had shifted to somewhat casual and friendly, his facial expression and eyes remained devoid of anything of such concepts.
"Say... Could it be that you are owing a great debt to someone?"
"...W-what…?"
"When you were young... You and your friends did something bad. Maybe you were forced into it by poverty, or maybe you were just bored. You were just kids. You couldn't help being stupid and doing stupid things. But you got into big trouble, did you not? The trouble was so big that you did not know what to do, or who to turn to. But then you found someone to save you. I'm guesing they were a person with a lot of power and influence here. They took care of you, raised you. When you had no one, they were there. That's why you feel like you have to pay that person back. With all you got. What you did here.. I mean why you came here to us in the first place, was because of that persons order, right?"
He started sweating nervously. He was afraid. He had no idea how he could posibly know any of that.
"W... How...."
"Don't you wanna tell me who that person is? And where to find them?"
"...I-I..."
"You have three seconds. Or else your other friend dies right now."
He looked to his right, where his friend lied, seemingly unharmed. Oblivious to the scene playing out right next to him.
As he struggled to think clearly, he began doubting that he would escape at all. Looking at his comrades, one dead, the other unconcious next to him. Not really motivating. Yamato knew about his childhood to such a degree, that he suspected him of using some sort of magic. However, even if he was not very talented in using it himself, he thought he could tell when someone was using it on him, which was not the case here. Even Yuki, who before meeting Yamato spent a lot of time judging people, was suprised by his insight. Maybe they would be spared if he told Yamato what he wanted to know. Maybe not. But there was no alternative in sight. So with no motivation but a slim chance of hope left, he began to speak.
"...The person that sent us... It's the personal advisor of the empress: Masami Ryo..."
Yamato looked at him, his eyes turning bored the second he got what he wanted.
"That's his name?"
"...yes... So... Please, let us go..."
"What a coincidence... Thanks for the name. But I don't think I'll let you live."
Hearing Yamato say that did not surprise him, but it was still a horrifying thing to hear. Deep down, he had hoped to escape. Even though he knew he could not.
It was poetic in a way. How his life was about to end, not in a hasty action, an accident or a quick fight. But while being powerless and at someone's mercy, in the need of rescue like he was when he was "saved" back then. He could not help but wonder, if the life he had been given by this man, truly had any meaning behind it. Silence filled the alley, and it was only after leaving the alley, with no survivors, when Yuki asked Yamato.
"Hey, Master? Does it really matter who sent them? Or rather, how does that name help us?"
"Masami Ryo... Personal advisor of the empress. A scumbag. Smart. I don't think he is on common ground with the royal family, or at least there is some sort of tension there."
Yuki was once again surprised by just how much information he got from a mere name. It was like that earlier as well, when he analized that one stranger, and suddenly had his whole childhood figured out. She just did not understand how there could be no magic involved.
"Master, how do you know so much about him already?"
"...It's simple. Remember the childhood of the first guy?"
"...the one you just knew all about all of the sudden?"
"Yeah. Let's call him Stranger 1. When he was young, he and his friends did something bad. They were kids and couldn't help being stupid and doing stupid things. But the trouble was so big that he lost everything. His peaceful life as a child, family, home and stuff. But then he found someone to save him. I guessed they were a person with a lot of power and influence here. We now know that this person was Masami Ryo. He took care of, raised and educated him. When he had no one. That's why he felt like he'd have to pay him back. With all he got."
"I still don't believe you guessed all that, Master..."
"It was a guess based on an assumption followed by a bit of story telling. I looked around the city and noticed most people had a gold ring on their index finger, Satomi had one as well but hers was some sort of crystal. Since she gave Ken orders, I assumed they referred to some sort of hierarchy. You remember what his index finger looked like?"
She thought back to the alley, while noticing all the people around them did indeed have a gold ring on their index finger, except some.
"I believe he had a gold ring too though… But I didn't really pay attention… Am I remembering it wrong?"
"No, he did have a gold ring. But there was something else that differentiated him from the rest here."
"Something else… Ah, his finger was a bit blue-ish! But why…?"
"My guess would be argyria. Also known as silver staining. It's a rare, irreversible discoloration of the skin, caused by silver particles depositing in the skin and reacting with the sun light, which is why it usually occurs on areas exposed to the sun, like the hands."
"He had that then. So what?"
"It usually only happens when silver comes into contact with open wounds or through some other way entere the body directly. Now, from the form of the discoloration it was likely that it was a ring. If you look around for a bit, who do you see wearing a silver ring?"
She looked around again, seeing no one wearing a silver ring on the street. But when she looked a bit closer, she spotted a group of poor looking elves sit in an alley, similar to the one they just exited. Their rings were silver.
"Ah, so a silver ring most likely refers to a lower social class!"
"That's what I thought. But since he had a golden one, I assumed he somehow ascended. The rest was imagination that just so happened to sound about right. It probably wasn't perfect, but close enough for him to break down. I also figured that since his life seemed to have been pretty hard from the poverty standards I saw around the city earlier, pressing for some sort of trauma would probably work."
"I see… I'll be paying more attention from now on then! So you can praise me for my usefulness!"
"Looking forward to it…"
"Shouldn't we leave now? The city, I mean? Sooner or later we are gonna get in trouble again. And I remember you saying that we don't want to be draw attention to us."
"I suppose so… We shouldn't stay in an unstable country like this anyway."
"I'd say their racism is kinda uniting and stabilizing for them…"
"If it were unanimously agreed upon, maybe. But from what I can tell, they have some deep rooted issues in their government. It might even collapse soon, or undergo some drastic changes."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Just a feeling. I don't have any definitive proof of that. But before we leave I'd like to talk to Satomi one more time."
"You would, huh…"
"Why are you looking at me like that…?"
"No reason. None at all. It's just too bad that she left without giving you her number."
"This world doesn't seem like it has cellphones or anything alike."
"You know what I meant!"
"Can't you track her mana or something?"
"It's not that precise, Master... I can sense everyone as a separate entity, and roughly tell them apart by the amount of mana they have but that's it. And most people in the city have about the same amount of mana, aside from some exceptions. But Satomi wasn't one, so she just blends in with the rest of the city."
"Ah... I see. I guess it can't be helped."
"Yes, too bad. I'm sobbing, Master…"
"Okay, I get it, you didn't want to meet her again… Let's just get out of here then."
"They were now past the gates, walking away from the road to an area where they would be alone.
"So which direction are we gonna head, Master? I like the south!"
"Let's just follow the road on foot to the next town and then try to get a better way of transportation from there. That way, in case Masami took our self defense personally, he will have it a bit harder to follow us."
"He would not pose a threat to us anyway, as long as you have me~!"
"Aren't I lucky…•
"We are lucky together~"
"Why are you lucky?"
"Because I have you all to myself, of course!"
"Ah… Lucky you…"
Yamato looked around the place they picked out observing the trees.
"Do you think you can spot if someone is in these trees? I'd hate to be surprised like that again…
"Leave it to me! I will make sure everyone who tries to sneak up on us will get hit by instant pain and misery for life!"
"Maybe just give me a heads up…"
Yuki looked excited while Yamato looked rather neutral at the road ahead.
"Master, do you wanna have a sandwich now?"
"Why not…"
"Ah, but I have to taste first!"
"Okay?"
After handing him a sandwich, she took it back to take a bite out of it. Proceeding to give him the one she took a bite out of and watching him expectantly.
He hesitantly took a bite, unsure of what to make of her intense stare.
"It's good… thank you?"
"You're welcome!"
With Yuki's mood now lifted, they could start getting on their way.