The sun peeks at the window with bold intensity. The lamp hanging on the wall responds in kind, waking Kai from his slumber.
"Why is it so bright?" Kai winced.
The question lingers as muscle memory kicks in. Kai gets up and tidies his bed, his movements precise and elegant. His motion exaggerates as the music from outside visits his room. He closes his arms like wings surrounding his body. He made a beat and a two, then two more as if his body became a giant heart.
Open! Kai welcomed the fresh morning with open arms, yet his elbows were slightly bent like clotheslines bearing the weight of clothes. His feet shuffle to the side with restraint while following a T-shape. His arms swing like a bassist playing a slow tempo.
Kai pushes the air as his body backs off, then follows it up with a pull. He stands basking in the memory.
'This body is still sluggish compared to mine, but my movements still feel natural. The legs are easier to coordinate,' Kai mulls over. 'Come to think of it. My balance was good.'
Kai practices a bit more, not realizing the knockings on his door.
"SIR CUSTOMER, I'M SORRY, BUT I HAVE TO CLEAN YOUR ROOM, OR I'LL LOSE MY MEAL FOR LATER!"
A youthful, bold voice booms from the other side of the door. Her knocks thundered louder, waking Kai up from his immersion. The banging at the door summoned panic in Kai's heart.
"Wait a minute!"
'Where's my robe? Where!?'
Creaks
"How can I help you?" the youth replied after opening the door. His demeanour was curt and cautious.
Kai's cheek twitches as he shows off a polite smile. His eyes hide within the shadow of his robe. He's screaming in his mind at how he forgot to grab his mask. The annoyance and frustration must have intimidated the stranger… if they weren't so starstruck.
Who could blame the girl? Kai stood with sweat rolling down from his fair neck to his white chiton, hints of his chest peeking from the wet fabric. Strands of hair hung down like princess vines, keeping others from seeing the idol's mesmerizing eyes.
"Oh wow! Are you single?"
The stranger stunned Kai. Her weird expression of overbearing excitement woke up a conditioned fear. Her face starts to overlap with the stalkers that the idol used to have.
Adrenaline pumps through Kai's blood, his months of media training taking over his body.
Kai does not remember much about what happened after. The girl who introduced herself as Thero left cheerfully.
Kai closed the door with so much focus that it did not make a sound. His legs gave out, dropping him on the floor.
Traces of adrenaline still flow, leaving him gasping for air. His vision darkens with clouds of nothing slowly expanding and retracting. Sweat drops on the floor, distracting Kai from his thoughts.
'Am I sweating from my dance practice or from dealing with that Thero?'
Kai tidies everything to prepare for his errand. He should find a shop to buy a weapon. If not, he must procure materials to make one.
Kai carries his bag of coins like a pouch, keeping it tied to his wrist. With the tension from yesterday gone, he notices how inconvenient his clothes are. A robe with no pockets. Pants with no pockets. AND A BAG WITH NO POCKETS! No pockets…
This is just like a city with no sewer system! Speaking of sewer… does this place have one?
'No, Kai. Focus on the matter at hand. I need a weapon. Argh! Right! Food!!! Stupid. Stupid! How could I forget about food?'
[Kataluma] provides food for its customers, but it is exclusive for those staying at its inn or when the tavern opens in the evening. This is written at the sign outside the building, something Kai would have read if he weren't so nervous last night.
"Hi, hottie!" a cheerful voice chimes behind Kai.
"Oh! You. Hi," Kai replies, hoping the short stranger loses interest.
"Are you coming to eat? Come! I helped with the cooking. Although Sir Eukleides is strict and scary, I was able to convince him to let me help. I'm quite the cook, if I do say so myself."
Thero nudges Kai with her hands clasped behind her back. Her shoulder rubs Kai's arm. Contrary to her expectations, it's rubbing him the wrong way.
Kai reels slightly away, hesitating whether to keep his distance or act unbothered. Seeing as the... "interesting" lass was not taking the hint, the idol might have to start ignoring her displeasing, passionate curiosity.
Annoying as the girl may be, she still provided Kai a necessary information. Food. Ah! That thought just sent signals to the boy's brain and made his stomach growl. Embarrassing.
'Is she… is she smirking?'
The girl wore a mischievous smile. Her stare felt insulting. Kai wanted to get away from the smug youth as quickly as he could.
#
The smell of exquisite beef broth is paired with a hint of bay leaf and ginger. Ah. How modern. How earthly! Which begs the question: where did such ingredients come from? Kai thinks about it and concludes, 'Who cares? It's food! And besides, the current problem is weapons and FOOD!'
"Wow. You said this was five pence?" Kai asked the stoic man.
"It has always been five pence. You stay in the first room; you get the five-pence food."
Woah. The man was standoffish and unexpectedly sensitive. It was just a curious question. Kai was going to praise the meal, but the cook's cold attitude left him silent.
'Ugh. It's not as tasty as its aroma,' Kai chews the comment, refusing to acknowledge this bland feeling.
'If I don't eat this like it's worth more than five pence, I'll look like a rude customer.'
"Tsk!" the displeased man rolls his eyes.
He walks off with measured steps, and his grip on the ladle tightens. Kai felt heavy and embarrassed as he noticed this small detail. Across the table, the usually cheerful lass was knitting her brows. She gave Kai a concerned look.
"I think you just hurt Sir Eukleides' feelings," Thero whispered.
Kai eyed Thero with a heavy heart. His gaze fell upon the soup. The steam welcomes Kai, calling him a memory of his mother staring at the ramen.
'I should apologize.'
"Sir Eukleides!" Kai calls out.
The boy stood up with sudden movement, and the chair moved back in surprise. Kai marches to the kitchen.
"I apologize for my rudeness. I did not mean to—"
"Drop it, boy," a weary voice demands.
Eukleides stood before Kai with authority, but his eyes were pleading. Is this the sincerity of a professional who spent his life studying his craft?
'Thinking about it, Sir Eukleides mentioned that staying in the first room begets the five pence food. Is this a privilege system?'
The cook disrupts Kai's thoughts, "Thero helped with the cooking, and the lass forgot about the salt. I was too embarrassed to admit that I should have tasted it before giving it out. I went back to fix it."
Eukleides hands Kai a small clay container.
"I'm glad you came here yourself. Here's some salt."
"Blegh! Why is it so bland!?" a whiny voice resounded.
Rapid steps approached the kitchen. A face popped up from the doorway, followed by two hands holding a bowl in discontent.
"We forgot the salt, Sir Eukleides!" Thero beams accompanying her words with an audacious smile.
Eukleides smiled with benevolence before his face turned into the face of the devil. Kai was guessing that the man was screaming, 'What do you mean we?' in his mind.
#
"One, two… twenty-five coins."
Kai counts the pennies in his pouch. The bronze alloy features a leaf image with crude lines and shape. The youth noticed how inconsistent the sizes and shapes of the coins are. Or maybe they have the same size, but it looks different due to the dimensions? Some are perfectly flat, while some have bumps.
'How did people live using these inconvenient things? I can't even trust that these coins have the same value.'
Kai examines a coin, holding it in his fingers. The pouch was tied around his wrist, but the weight felt uncomfortable, which compelled the boy to tie the thing around his other wrist.
A strong bump to the shoulder left the idol stunned. Kai turned his head, discovering an intimidating guy glaring at him.
"What are ya looking at? Huh?!"
"…sorry."
Kai looked down at the ground, mustering the courage to glare back at the rude stranger, only to notice that his coin pouch was missing.
"HEY! Rudey-oh! You bothering my friend?" a tanned individual approached.
"Mind your own business, Nyx."
"Whoa. Ain't you shameless, my guy? Want me to tell Zelus you're back to old habits?"
The intimidating stranger clammed up. His glare intensified as his hand moved to his pockets. The criminal pulled out a coin pouch identical to Kai's. No, it is exactly Kai's.
"Tsk. I'll remember this."
"Oh? Can you say that louder so I can tell Zelus and maybe Katherine in good detail?"
"Arrrrgh! Nothing!"
The criminal walked off huffing his breath like an ox. Scary.
"Here, friend. You owe me," Nyx winked.
The saviour paused as soon as he glanced at Kai. You could hear the gears in his head turning rapidly. His eyes shone in recognition as he exclaimed, "Oh! You're the guy Uncle Methysos was talking about."
"Uncle Methysos?"
"The drunk uncle staying at the tavern every night," Nyx replied.
"Oh. Him. I remember."
Nyx made a suppressed giggle, creeping Kai out. Did he just owe someone dangerous?