Another Stupid Isekai

The day started as usual. I took a bath, ate in the cafeteria, and went straight to Hatta. with the old man in my mind. I didn’t really know why I wanted to help him, but there was something annoying in him begging on the streets. It was not like we didn’t have enough to share. The starvation days were past us.

I managed to squeeze myself before the meeting. The guards didn’t want to let me in, but there was very little they could do about my shadow walk. I just popped in the room out of nowhere, scaring Hatta.

– Can’t you knock?!

– I tried, but your boys told me you will be busy in few minutes, so I just went for it.

He sighed. The guards picked in, to at least show that they are not useless, but he sent them back with a gesture of a hand.

– What do you want? By the way… It’s good to see you back, Peter.

– Just small favor. There is an old man that’s begging on the streets. Couldn’t you find something for him? I bet you have some decent, not exhausting job so he could get a roof over his head, and some food.

He scratched his chin.

– I’ll look into that.

– By the way, how is it going with Maia and her lovely group?

– Good. Aisha is doing an amazing job handling them. Maia is not a threat right now, although she is pretty pissed off on you. Fortunately, there is not much she can do. We are also keeping an eye on her.

– Good. Very good. Thank you.

– It’s my job… I think.

I nodded and shadow walked out of the room. Before even getting out of the building I already knew where I’m going next. To Velvet Lotus, to pay a visit to Aisha if she was in the city. I also wanted to see Tam. I needed to figure out a way to start bringing him with me to hunting.

That involved crystals. It was always like that. No matter how much I had, I always needed more, way more.

Entrance to the club was protected by Zoë. She was sitting on the usual stool, polishing her knife. She noticed me but didn’t say hi. I had to say it first.

– Hello Zoë.

– Hi, Peter.

– Is Aisha inside?

– Yes.

– Can I get in? – I pointed at the door.

– If you have to.

I sighed and went inside. It was so hard to talk with her.

Pink-blue duo played cards at the bench, but there was nobody behind the counter. I went to the main hall, but it was also empty. I shadow walked up to the mezzanine, and there was still not a single soul, so I decided to knock on Aisha’s door.

– Come in – she responded.

I got inside.

– Hi. I came to visit Tam…

My chicken responded to my voice and jumped down the desk, to run and greet me. Aisha was wrestling with some papers.

– Bawk!

– Hi – she smiled a little. – How was your hunt?

– Good.

– Will told me you want to start going back to the canyon…

– I do – I said while picking up Tam. – By the way, why is so empty here? There is nobody downstairs.

– I send Alice and Hailwic with Will, and the rest is probably resting. It’s still early, and we have plenty of time to prepare everything before opening. It’s like that those days. Everything seems to be slower. Probably because people feel safe now. We never had defenses like that, so I don’t blame them. Although few people still chase crystals like mad dogs.

– You mean me?

– You, Blue, Will the Followers, and a few more – she shrugged her shoulders, and slowly came out from behind her desk.

– Well, somebody has to work, while you lazy bastards sip drinks and listen to music.

She laughed.

– The fact that we are not hunting doesn’t mean we are not working hard. Somebody has to keep the city intact – she came closer and stabbed my chest with her finger while finishing the sentence.

– Ok miss manager – I smiled a bit and started to pet Tam. – And now on a serious note. How are you doing?

She shrugged her shoulders again.

– It’s not bad. A lot of work with those parties. We started to organize them every seven days. So far they are working great, and more people go out of their way to support the city. Followers seem stable, although Maia is still out there. We are keeping an eye on her, so don’t worry.

– And how about you-you?

– Me-me? – she sighed. – I had a little argument with Zoë two days ago. Except that everything is ok.

– Argument?

– No offense, Peter, but it’s none of your business.

– I know. I just want you to… I just want you to finally have a life here. Honest, and good life. You deserve it, despite the differences we had in the past.

She smiled.

– You are a good guy, Peter. Sweet, even, but it’s still my business.

– I understand. Anyway… I’ll be taking Tam for a couple of days, maybe longer. I don’t know when Will is coming back.

She nodded.

– And what after that?

– Canyon probably. Maybe I’ll take him with me. He is a smart creature and a brave one.

– Oh, I know – she smiled.

[0)ᴠʟ – So yeah… I’ll be going. You seem busy – I pointed at the desk.

– I am. Bye, Peter. Visit me later. Maybe we will have a drink?

– Sure.

And I left with my chicken. There was not really much to do, as most of my friends were probably hunting, and I actually didn’t want to do anything. I was content with spending the whole day in my room and chilling.

I swung by the device, to get some food, and grain for Tam, then I bunkered in barracks, enjoined snacks, bed, and my own company.

The lazy day came to an end with 9 698 250 points remaining on my account, and forty-two class points.