This wasn't just a coincidence anymore.
This was a curse. A very energetic, extremely talkative curse.
"Heeey~! What a coincidence to meet you here!"
Reol froze mid-step in the marketplace. He hadn't even turned around yet, because he didn't need to. That voice alone was enough to shave several years off his lifespan and possibly his sanity.
Slowly, with the dread of a man already attending his own funeral, he turned his head.
And there he was.
Green hair, same too-wide grin and same indestructible cheer. Standing comfortably between a vegetable stall and a butcher's cart. It was that same kid who wanted to scam him.
"For the love of god—"
Reol vanished as he used another flawless use of teleportation arts.
For a while, peace came... but only for exactly 30 minutes.
Because after that...
"Oya~? What a coincidence!" A familiar voice chimed in again.
Reol nearly dropped his skewer.
He was seated at a small roadside eatery now, morning rain washes through the smoke, and the sizzle of meat. He had just taken a bite... when suddenly the boy slid onto the bench beside him.
"Who knew you liked skewers!" the kid beamed. "What a coincidence! I also happen to own a Very Successful Chef Compa—"
But before he could finish that sentence, Reol was already gone as he used teleportation again.
Moments later—
"My~! What a coincidence, sir!"
The boy reappeared in a narrow alley, pressed between damp stone walls where Reol was hiding for an hour or two.
Thus, he teleported again.
"What a coincidence, sir!"
Even in a bell view above the tower, the child appears to be calling for him.
Teleport.
"What a coincidence, you also like this place!"
Even in an apothecary shop.
Teleport.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each time, the same voice.
Each time, the same smile.
Each time, that damned phrase.
This was definitely not a coincidence.
Reol finally reappeared inside a public comfort room, collapsing inside one of the rows of stalls.
His knees buckled as his energy screamed in protest from overusing teleportation arts.
If not for the range restraints of the spell, he would have crossed into another kingdom by now, possibly even another continent.
"…This has to be some kind of divine punishment," he muttered weakly.
Surely—... the boy wouldn't follow him into a place like this.
Surely there were limits.
Alas, he was deeply wrong, as a small hand tapped his shoulder.
"What a coincidence~!"
Reol nearly screamed as his soul simply left his body.
At this point, he was beginning to believe the boy wasn't following him at all.
Because how on earth did this boy keep appearing wherever Reol went?
Reol could swear he hadn't made a sound. He'd changed routes, doubled back, even taken paths that made absolutely no sense unless one enjoyed unnecessary staircases and dead ends.
And yet, there he was again. Standing where Reol least expected him, like an aggressively cheerful landmark.
Even if the kid possessed strange senses, this level of accuracy was absurd.
You couldn't just guess someone's exact location every time. This wasn't tracking... this was haunting. Reol began to suspect the unthinkable.
Was he an arts user?
That alone was troubling. But honestly, it wasn't even the worst part.
No, the worst part was the expression.
Every single time Reol spotted him, the boy looked… happy. That kid seemed genuinely delighted, like this was the highlight of his day.
"How do you keep finding me?" Reol demanded at last while rubbing his temples
Upon hearing his question, the boy clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. "It's just a coincidence~!"
Reol stared at him long enough, as he was extremely baffled by the kid's sheer persistence.
At this point, running seems pointless.
Thus, he exhaled and sighed defeated.
"…What is it you want?"
The boy's eyes lit up, sparkling like he'd just won a prize.
"I'll tell you once you avail our service!"
"I don't have money."
"Don't worry!" the kid replied instantly. "I won't ask for anything impossible!"
"That was not reassuring at all", Reol muses inside as he adds. "It sounded ominous."
Reol pinched the bridge of his nose, weighed his options, found none of them led to peace, and surrendered.
"…Fine."
****
Standing at the mouth of the forest in the middle of the afternoon, Reol arrived alongside the green-haired kid.
Trees loomed tall and dense ahead, and leaves rustled softly.
"…Was it in this place?" the kid asked, peering into the woods with bright curiosity.
"Yeah," Reol replied immediately and nodded far too quickly.
"Alright! I'll search for it until dawn!"
And with that, the kid bolted straight into the forest, vanishing between the trees without even a second thought.
...Stupid.
Reol watched him go with arms crossed and an expressionless face, but his thoughts were anything but calm.
He just asked the kid to find him his missing ring.
But the 'missing ring' didn't exist. It never had at all. He'd just made it up on the spot, carefully crafting a tragic little tale about how it belonged to his fiancee, because obviously that would make the kid take it seriously.
And it worked.
The child hadn't even waited for the explanation of why the ring was important before agreeing. There was no hesitation in that kid's eyes, no questions, just blind enthusiasm for accepting the little quest.
"Oh well," Reol muttered to himself. "That should keep him busy long enough."
Of course, before going here, he checked if the forest itself was harmless enough.
Through the findings, there was a public path running through it, commonly used for transport and travel. He was sure there was no dangerous beast inside.
Still, Reol stayed at the entrance just in case something went wrong.
He convinced himself that he was doing it not out of concern, but just purely out of responsibility.... And definitely not because of guilt for tricking him.
He pulled out an old rusty pocket watch from his pocket and flipped it open.
1:46 in the afternoon.
Only three hours and fourteen minutes left.
"Heh… hehehehehe…"
A low, wicked laugh slipped out before he could stop it. Then, a chill ran down his spine from the disturbing realisation that he was enjoying this.
Before anyone could see, he quickly wiped the corner of his mouth, scowling.
"Argh, why am I enjoying the fact that I just fooled a kid…?"
There was a pause.
Then, quieter, he added— "…Well. It does feel good."
Reol snapped the pocket watch shut and leaned against a tree, perfectly content to wait.