Irium

That is true even for a legend like Saitama. Even he wants fun, something he doesn"t have. So how can I not want what I don"t have? That"s right. It makes complete sense for me to want something I don"t have. It"s a part of my humanity. It is what gives me character, makes me a relatable and great protagonist.

No, I am not monologuing over an adult scene in a cla.s.sic novel and I am not trying to imagine lewd thing – at all. I"m not, alright? I-I was just trying get acquainted with the literature of the world and found this book to fulfill that purpose so I started reading it and I liked it so I continued it and halfway through the book the romance got "intense" and well ... Calm down, Irium, calm down! You have been labeled a sarcastic a.s.shole so many times that no one is gonna listen to you even if you aren"t lying.

Knock! Knock!

"Get outta that d.a.m.n room!" A depressingly hyper voice of a drunken man comes from outside the door. What should I do? Should I do, like, have a weapon with me for insurance? I probably should. Thinking that, I pick up a knife and put it in my belt like some bada.s.s old-school cowboy. By this time though,

CRACK!

With that voice, the door to my room breaks apart and a guy about my size and not-very-special appearance (I mean he looks like most Frosts do, nothing striking about his appearance) enters and looks at me angrily.

"Hi!" I wave to him as politely as I can but his anger only escalates from it.

"You are the one who caused that fire, ain"t ya?" He asks in his shaky, drunken voice.

"No, I am not." I was here in my room, enjoying some peace, just like before you broke in.

"Don"t talk bulls.h.i.t!" He charges at me. "I know it was you."

Well, you know WRONG! Though I consider jumping to the side to avoid his charge more important than saying it, I am getting pretty annoyed by him.

"You caused Furi"s home to burn down." He looks at me with angry, bloodshot eyes as he says that.

"Who the heck in Furi?"

"Furi is the most beautiful girl in the world! How dare you do that to her house!?" The idiot charges at me again. However, this time, I don"t try to evade. I stand my ground and get ready to fight back, which I don"t get the chance to do since the guy is drunk enough to slip on the d.a.m.n floor.

"Well, that was … anticlimactic." I say, slightly disappointed.

"Who the h.e.l.l said it was over!?" He gets up and tries to attack me again … and slips again.

Well, now I am even more disappointed. What the heck is with this guy anyway? I mean, are people starting rumors like me starting that fire? I guess it is common to mistrust a guy who looks different from oneself but still, there should be many people down in the inn willing to tell that I was here and was not responsible. Or wait, maybe that is the problem. Maybe because they are of a different race to me, they think I might have some mage-craft that allows me to deceive them like that. If that is the case, then everything I do will be looked upon as suspicious behavior.

"I need to get to the bottom of this." … … … "On second thought, I need to get out of this village and continue my journey."

I was planning to spend today here and then head out tomorrow but since this all is starting to happen, I should probably just leave today. Since I have the map now, well, nothing – a world map doesn"t really help with short distances. But since I have also looked at the state map in the inn"s reception below, I know that a village is not very far away and I can reach it by nightfall if I head-out now.

So, that"s what I"ll do.

*****

As I called him, this little annoying voice came to my ear saying, "This is Grey. Leave a message."

"Hey Grey, I just wanted to tell you that I found Roswaisa and we have teamed-up since we kinda sorta have the same goal. I also found a clue as to where Cartel Hopkins might be so I am going to investigate it with Roswaisa. When you get this message, contact me so we can team-up." And so I leave the message, as the voice asked me to do.

"What! No way!" And then I heard the familiar voice of the man I have called to saying through the phone, "If you already have a clue, do your job. I have to take care of other stuff."

"So you were listening all along?"

"Ah, well,"

…

"I am sending you a location. Get there within 10 minutes."

"H-Hey, I have stuff to do, you know?"Grey complains, much to my annoyance.

"I know." –and I cut the call.

I have stuff to do too, Grey – stuff like punch Dues, take care of Glice, kick Dues, take care of Glice, slap Dues, take care of Glice, etc. But I am not able to do any of this because of the mess we are in. I really despise situations like these. They make me frustrated enough to want to break someone"s neck but I have to hold back and wait for the right opportunity to strike at Dues. I need to wait and do her bidding till then.

"You seem angry?" The flying woman carrying me by holding my arm says.

"That"s because I am angry, Roswaisa. How can I not be angry at a time like this?"

Why can"t things ever be easy? Why does it always have to be complicated and convoluted? Cartel Hopkins, Dues ex machina, Kaylith Glice and I don"t know how many others – why do they all have to be so d.a.m.n cunning and hard to catch?

*****