Several minutes later, Liam finished his meal, leaving the two of them shocked and unable to believe that he needed only five minutes to finish everything.
Liam stood up, pushed his chair back, then walked to the sink carrying two plates and immediately washed them under the running water.
The clock showed 6:00 PM.
The three of them had finished eating before sunset, but afterward something crossed their minds that made them uneasy. They began to wonder why their mother had not yet returned at this hour. Based on her routine as a merchant at the city square, she should have arrived home at least thirty minutes earlier.
At 5:15 PM, according to the policy of Mayor Novewilian Alistair, merchants at the city square were required to dismantle their stalls and return home no later than 5:40 PM.
But this time it felt different; they had a strong premonition that something had happened to their mother and perhaps to the other merchants as well.
Isabelle told her brothers that if their mother were going to return late or planned to go somewhere after leaving the market, she would always inform Isabelle before departing for the market in the morning.
Hearing that, Liam and Ren considered other options, deciding to wait fifteen minutes, and if the allotted time passed, they would immediately begin searching.
However, Isabelle did not agree with that plan. Acting impulsively, she ignored her brothers' advice and wanted to look for their mother on her own.
Liam watched Isabelle hurry up the stairs, running toward her room as if searching for something.
'Ah. She is about to do something reckless,' Liam complained inwardly.
"Ren, stay here! I will stop her from doing something stupid."
Ren nodded, and after that Liam went upstairs toward his sister's room. After all, after what had happened yesterday afternoon, going out at night was an extremely foolish act. He did not know what lurked out there. Even so, perhaps it was worth trying.
Liam exhaled slowly. His body seemed to trigger its own adrenaline after recalling the horrors of this world.
He stood facing the closed door, hearing the sound of objects colliding inside. Liam raised his hand, about to touch the door, but then withdrew it when the noise stopped.
"What are you doing in there?" he asked, trying to prevent his sister from acting carelessly.
Liam heard only his own breathing, his heartbeat rising rapidly, and the sound of the kettle downstairs.
"Why are you silent?" Without hesitation, Liam asked again, placing his right hand on the doorknob.
He sighed and shook his head, not knowing what his sister was thinking. Liam turned around, walked away, went downstairs, and approached Ren.
"So, did you find an answer?" Ren asked, watching Liam descend the stairs.
"I do not know what she is thinking right now," Liam replied casually, continuing forward.
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Ren walked toward the stairs, telling Liam to prepare himself while he went to his room to retrieve something he believed might be useful for the search.
Nodding, Liam headed to his room, took his coat, and did not forget to bring the silver revolver, slipping it between his trousers and shirt.
Inside his room, Ren appeared calm as usual. Yet behind that calmness, something crept into his body and swirled within the room as he whispered to himself as though speaking to someone.
"Yes, find her. That group must have caused trouble again."
"Alright," a weary yet clearly feminine voice sounded distinctly inside the room, then continued, "I will ask him to take part."
After ensuring his preparations were complete, Ren immediately left his room and walked with steady steps toward the ground floor.
The two of them stood side by side, waiting in the living room, while Liam tightened his black leather belt, staring carefully at the hands of his pocket watch.
"Fifteen minutes are up," Liam said, closing the watch and slipping it into his trouser pocket.
Ren nodded. "We are going to the city square. Now."
"Even if we walk, at least we get some exercise, Zavi." Ren added inwardly, then unconsciously nodded.
Several minutes later, they had left the house, while Isabelle peeked from behind the upper floor wall, clenching her fists and praying that their mother would be found and return safely.
"You are the God Auneron, bringer of fortune. Please help them find my mother," Isabelle whispered, then turned around and returned to her room.
Outside. The sun sank beyond the horizon, replaced by the soft glow of a blue full moon illuminating the world shrouded in darkness. The stars shimmered in the sky, slowly dissolving the tension of the night and replacing it with a gentle calm.
Half an hour had passed since they left the house, and now the two of them quickened their pace toward the city square, observing their surroundings and calming their thoughts after passing several obstacles along the way.
That evening turning into night, they did not find any horse carriages passing along the road toward the city square. Yes, it was true that Operation Xirc ran from morning until five in the afternoon, and they were well aware of that.
Like it or not, they had no choice but to walk hundreds of meters from their home in the Chapena District, Vica, to the city square.
Their journey was disturbed by unexpected incidents. They saw a box moving on its own as if something mysterious had pushed it, and they witnessed it twice along the way. Only Ren could see the mischievous wandering spirit playing with it, and of course Zavi could not see it, only the boxes moving by themselves.
Both of them knew of such things, especially since several citizens in Moran frequently experienced similar supernatural events and other strange phenomena.
Moreover, the increasing mysterious deaths each day made Liam's heart feel as though it were being slashed by hundreds of sharp knives as he imagined what his mother might be experiencing.
He shook his head, trying to dispel those negative thoughts. Hearing the word "mother," Liam suddenly remembered his family on Earth, though vaguely. But now, he was in a foreign world with his new family.
He completely rejected the idea, yet deep in his heart, Liam did not want to lose the people he loved again. But why? Even though he remembered nothing from before?
Even so, he would still do it and would search for a way to restore his previous and current memories.
Ten minutes later, about a hundred meters ahead, Liam and Ren were startled by a crowd accompanied by shouts and shock mixed with anger.
"Did something happen over there?" Ren said softly, then turned to look at Liam intensely.
He saw his brother's face suddenly turn pale. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, slowly running down his cheeks, and his eyes widened as if seeing something unspeakable.
'So that is it?' Ren thought.
"Damn it, do not talk. Let us go!"
For some reason, Ren's vision became slightly blurred, yet he faintly saw what Liam had seen earlier. He chose to follow Liam, who ran toward the crowd.
When they arrived, they were shocked by the unpleasant sight. Fruits were scattered everywhere, and drops of blood surrounded the fountain in the city square.
The road ahead led to the Hava District, surrounded by blue tents and other tents. The road to the right led to the Tezny District, and the road to the left led to the Forgenate District, a district three times larger than Chapena.
The fountain in the center flowed as usual, but its water had turned red with blood. It was unknown whose blood it was, yet several citizens there confirmed that a riot had occurred a few minutes earlier.
The situation grew tense, with whispers spreading in every direction.
Liam, already feeling nauseous and on the verge of vomiting, realized that what he feared had become reality. He immediately collapsed onto the stone pavement, covering his face with both hands.
He did not know what to do, thinking that his arrival in this body had brought disaster, especially to the people he knew. Meanwhile, Ren merely glanced at him with a cold gaze.
'Ah. Is this going to happen again?' he thought, then straightened his gaze forward.
Without saying anything, he approached three men standing in front of him, seeking further information about what had happened.
One of the men noticed Ren's presence. He turned, raised his lantern, and illuminated Ren's face with its light, causing him to reflexively raise his hand to shield his face. The other two stared sharply as well.
"Excuse me, were there any casualties? And did you see the perpetrator?" Ren paused briefly. The three of them exchanged glances before one of them, a man wearing a bowler hat with black hair hanging down, stepped forward.
"I did not see him," he said. "But there was an old woman who witnessed the incident." He pointed behind him.
In front of a blue tent, on the left side of the roadside square, there were three people: an elderly woman, an injured man, and a citizen attempting to stop the bleeding from a stab wound in the victim's abdomen.
The old woman had indeed seen the perpetrator. She said that a man dressed in a black robe with cloth covering part of his face had suddenly stabbed the victim. She also witnessed several merchants being taken away to an unknown place, one of them being her own child.
One hour earlier...
The elderly woman's sharp scream shattered the calm of the late afternoon. She hoped someone would hear her and save the hostages before it was too late.
Realizing their actions had been exposed and that the sun was about to set, the robed group from a Finiscya sect immediately left the city square, bringing several hostages with them, including Mei Actitus, toward Forgenate.
