The morning sunlight peeked through the small gaps of the wooden walls.
Birds chriped through the cold morning, flapping their wings and flying into the horizon.
The tranquil atmosphere was like something straight from a fairy tale.
While drooling from my mouth, I opened my eyes—trying to shield myself from the sunlight blinding me with my hand.
I found myself lying on the floor, lying on my stomach.
I lifted my head slightly, a few centimeters at most before spitting out my saliva.
Slowly, I began to help myself up by grabbing on the rotting wooden bedframe.
I groaned. This was the consequence of sleeping on my stomach.
Naturally, a person would touch the spot that causes them pain. I did as such only to be reminded with the experience I went through that night.
Panic set in, my breathing became heavy, prompting me to lift up my rags, just enough to see the area where I was impaled.
My eyebrows furrowed, to my surprise, there were no signs of impalement.
"What?"
I inspected the area in confusion, touching it and caressing the spot. I was not a donut.
Odd, that was too realistic for a dream. Though, I am in another world so it may be possible that I encountered a real malevolent entity.
In order to get a clearer picture, I recalled the details of last night, piecing together the timeline.
"Right after the chatbox left, I started to search for clues regarding what kind of person 'Jean the Peasant Orphan' was."
"Eventually, I happened to discover a book."
"The book..."
I quickly scanned the surrounding.
"Bingo."
I walked a few steps to the left, crouching down to grab a book on the floor. This was no ordinary book, it was a diary—Jean the Peasant Orphan's diary.
"I read the contents of the book. Through this... I had somehow inherited all of his memories."
"The process of this memory transfer however, was unfortunately unbearably painful."
"Hence why, I asked for help."
I paced back and forth, pausing abruptly with each sentence while clutching the book against my chest.
"The entity then, saved me."
"In order to return the favor, I had to play a game with it."
"I won one game but from then on, everything went downhill."
I was still baffled, defeat was on me but what exactly did the entity take as a prize?
I stopped, finding myself in front of a wall—both literally and figuratively.
I remembered that whatever the entity took, was glowing in a light blue hue.
"Is that all of it?"
[Hey!]
My shoulders jumped out of shock.
Glancing over at the voice's direction, I was filled with a sense of relief. Never would I have imagined that I'd be glad to see the chatbox again.
[You're not allowed to step foot outside of this house.]
Okay, maybe I'm not relieved to see the chatbox. Its a free country no?
"My day just started, its already ruined."
[I don't want to get fired]
"And I'm not a wanted criminal locked in a jail cell."
[What if I tell you, that you're technically one?]
"No thank you."
I reply as I shook my head.
Maybe, staying in the house wouldn't be that bad. It's like a leave for work. It's only permanent if I decide to stay in this world.
[Remember, do as I say.]
[I'll be back in a bit]
*beep*
The sound came from my wrist, it was the watch she gave me.
[When it beeps answer my call.]
I pressed on the tiny hang up button.
"Loud and clear."
This was Jean the Peasant Orphan's signature line. He'd always say that whenever the chatbox commanded him to do something.
[Good.]
Like before, the chatbox turned to static before disappearing into thin air.
I walked towards the bed and sat down, pondering on what to do next.
There's no use in theorizing what the entity possibly took, I lack sufficient evidence to create concrete theories.
Out of the blue, I heard a loud grumble, like thunder, lasting for a few seconds.
*grrrrrrrr*
It came from my stomach.
"Ah..."
It made complete sense, based on the diary, Jean didn't eat for two days.
Only now, I feel the ravenous hunger of this body. Such comedic timing.
*grrrr*
Jean didn't have a single penny saved up, he had used it up when buying himself a loaf of cheap bread that fed him for a good three days. He got the coins as a reward, for helping lift heavy wooden crates around the slums.
It especially didn't help the fact that he did this while starving. This was Jean the Peasant Orphan's regular routine, work while starving for a few days and repeat.
This may also be how, Jean was poisoned. Through the consumption of his hard earned bread.
What I found weird is that, why would someone poison a peasant like Jean?
*grrrrr*
My lips frowned. I don't wanna work with an empty stomach.
A beeping sound came from my wrist again. It was a call from the chatbox.
[Hello? I'll be more late than expected.]
All of the sudden, I felt a lightbulb switched on in my head.
"Can I have some food?"
[No.]
*grrrrrrrrrrr*
[Was that your stomach?]
"Yes"
[Still, no.]
That idea went out the window. The chatbox hung up soon after without saying bye. Rude and no etiquette, makes me frown even more.
From Jean's memory, this thing has a GPS tracker...
She'll definitely get mad at me for not listening to her and leaving the house...
The table near Jean's bed caught my eye. More specifically, the table's leg.
If I were to take off this watch it'll send a signal straight to the chatbox.
My lips curled up, creating a devlish expression no—saying that would be an understatement. I was scheming something up.
Swiftly, I took the bands of the watch off, wrapping it around the table's leg. There was no alarm, nor did the chatbox call me. Even after a few seconds, nada.
In math, there is something called the substitution method, this is my—an F student's personal take on it.
***
"Carry all of these."
There are approximately fifteen crates right before my eyes. All of them are as big as my torso.
"This time, deliver them to Cardinel's."
Maybe, overtimes at the office weren't that bad?