The Gamer's POV

’Just give it to me. I’m fighting for you over here when I should be sleeping!’~~ Redd yelled.

Cedric scowled. ’Don’t act like you are not enjoying the fight and using it to vent! I bet you wish it was me you were fighting!’~

’Hurry already! Enough with the talk!’~~

Cedric snapped back. ’You know what? Die! Just die! I’m in a foul mood already as it is!’~

’Don’t you care about me? What sort of Lord are you? I’m already breaking my back for you everyday as your slave, goddammit. The least you can do is give me a little fuel—’~~

He had barely finished his complaint when Cedric cut him off. ’Sod off!’~

...Since when could this dumbfuck speak properly?

It was silent for a few seconds, and then, Redd finally relented.

’Arghh! Fine! My lord, give me mana.’~~

Cedric did not reply.

’Please... my lord!’~~

Cedric still didn’t reply.

’Hurry, my lord! Come on, please. I beg of you.’~~

It was only then that Cedric exhaled and hesitantly released some mana for him, only to hear Redd laughing victoriously in the background.

"Annoying piece of shit," he muttered as he crossed the road and began to make his way to the temporary food stalls set up along the market square.

’Thank goodness I have a Kushala who doesn’t give me headaches.’

He took off his duster coat, leaving only his simple linen shirt and trousers underneath. After tossing it into his inventory, he took out a worn brown cloak instead. Since he was walking through a crowded lower-class market, looking like a noble would just make it so that people would try to scam or overcharge him, and he didn’t want that headache.

A short while later, he got to the busy stalls. The smell of all the delicious cheap food on display immediately filled his nose, and the sight of it all made his stomach growl. Drawn by the rich, savory aromas drifting through the air, Cedric approached a man in his fifties who sold beccafichi and small birds, alongside skewered offal.

"Hot and fresh off the coals, lad! Best birds in the empire, and the liver is perfectly salted!" the man called out, wiping his greasy hands on his apron as he offered a wide, gap-toothed smile.

"Two skewers of the offal and a roasted bird," Cedric said, nodding toward the grill.

"Aye, coming right up for you!" the vendor said, expertly wrapping the piping-hot skewers in a thick piece of flatbread. "That’ll be four copper bits, lad."

When ordering skewers like this, a piece of flatbread was usually used as a disposable plate or wrapper.

The man was still speaking when a young boy of around ten, wearing tattered, oversized rags, suddenly bumped into Cedric. The boy stumbled, mumbled a quick, breathless apology, and immediately turned to sprint away into the crowd.

Cedric studied the boy with half-lidded, cold eyes until he disappeared. Then he looked away and reached into his cloak toward his belt, but instead of panicking, he smoothly dipped his hand into his pocket instead and took out a silver coin.

Just as he dropped it onto the wooden counter, the vendor, who had finished wrapping the hot bird and skewers, looked up with wide eyes. "Aren’t you going to chase after that little rat? He clearly took your pouch of coins which was hanging on your belt."

Indeed, the belt was now empty.

Cedric grinned as he reached out and grabbed his food. Then he chuckled softly. "Oh, don’t worry. He’ll get his karma."

For some reason, those words, coupled with the creepy smile on Cedric’s face, made the vendor shiver.

"Tis why insiders don’t like us outsiders coming into the walls, tsk," the man muttered to himself, shaking his head as he took the silver.

Cedric ignored the vendor’s grumbling and began to eat the savory offal right there. When he saw the man reaching to grab change, he muttered through a mouthful, "Keep the change, sir."

The vendor halted in surprise, then he smiled pensively, "Ah, I see. You must be an insider."

Insiders were what those who lived outside the walls called those who lived within them, regardless of whether they had Bonds or not.

Cedric paid him no mind and continued eating.

Meanwhile, the little boy ran until he reached a secluded alley, where he stopped and leaned against the brick wall, breathing heavily.

"I can feel a lot of coins in here. How much did I get...?" he muttered as he opened the small, brown leather pouch, then his eyes suddenly widened as a gasp escaped his lips. "Gold pieces?! What the... a lot of them!"

He paused and lowered his voice, looking around quickly.

"What is someone like that doing here near the outskirts? Wait, was that a noble?"

He couldn’t believe his eyes. The wealth inside the pouch was enough to feed him for many months.

He quickly snapped out of it, though, and shoved the pouch deep into his cross-bag to hide it from sight. "This is easily the biggest catch of my life! Oh, thank Gods!"

There were other coins and odd trinkets clinking inside his bag from earlier thefts.

He had barely shut the bag when a murder of ravens suddenly descended from the sky, blocking out the light of the alleyway.

"Huh? What the... Get away! Shoo!" he shouted in panic as he waved his arms frantically, but the birds didn’t fly off. Instead, they surrounded him and began to peck at him.

One of the birds took his newsboy cap, and while he tried to retrieve it, another took the cheap necklace on his neck. In his attempt to protect his face, a few others snatched the bag from him.

"Hey, give that back!" he yelled as they took flight and before he could do anything, they were all gone, leaving him in silence and disbelief.

***

Cedric was now eating a warm meat pie from another stall when he suddenly heard someone from the far right yell,

"Hey, somebody stop that thief!"

Curious, Cedric turned to see what the fuss was about. Through the gathering crowd, he could see someone wearing a hooded cloak weaving through the street. The lady, whose face was mostly hidden, was holding a handful of pastries which she kept stuffing into her mouth while running.

Cedric looked away just after the woman passed him, and returned his attention to his meal.

The thief didn’t concern him.

So there was no need to get involved.

But wait...

Wait a minute...

Doesn’t that woman look awfully familiar?

He suddenly turned to see the woman jump over a vendor’s cart.

’I know that woman!’

Suddenly, he tossed his food aside and sprinted after her.

In the same fluid manner, he effortlessly jumped over the crate blocking his path, then landed on the ground, after which he closed the distance between them in seconds.

When he caught up to her, he reached out to grab the woman’s shoulder to stop her and fully confirm her identity.

But all of a sudden, the woman reached behind her for his outstretched hand, then halted and gritted her teeth.

Then, using his own forward momentum, she pivoted to hurl him over her shoulder for a heavy body slam.

She managed to launch the throw, but instead of letting his back hit the ground, Cedric drove his feet hard into the ground mid-toss. His boots stopped the slam instantly, leaving him balanced but deeply arched backward from the force of the momentum.

Before she could even register his recovery, he grabbed the lady’s hand. In the exact same manner that she had tried to throw him, he countered her movement and hurled her over his shoulder, slamming her onto the ground hard!

The air was knocked right out of her lungs, but she immediately tried to scramble back up to her feet. However, Cedric raised his foot and slammed it squarely onto her chest, forcing her back to the ground.

She winced and gasped for air as she squinted through the hood of her cloak, trying to see just who it was that was overpowering her.

And then, her eyes widened when they saw that it was Cedric.

"M-my, my, my lord?!" Athena stammered in shock.

"What the ’byss are you doing stealing, miss?" Cedric asked in a very confused voice.

"Ah...." Her face flushed red as she turned her face away and awkwardly avoided his gaze.

An expression of "I’m screwed" was now written all over her face.