Chapter 4: New Faces

A dark and quiet room surrounded Mitsuna as he lay on the cold and hard floor. He was fast asleep and would've slept there longer if the floor was just a bit more comfortable. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and Mitsuna eventually woke up because of this. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He examined the environment around him and found himself in what seems to be a small shed that contained some haystacks. In front of him was a large door that he assumed was the entrance of the shed.

"Today, sure is a strange day." He told himself. All of a sudden, he realized something "Do I still have my-" as he said this, he quickly turned to his hand and saw that the crossbow he had picked up earlier is still there. He sighed relief and said, "Oh good. You're still there." Mitsuna began to treat the crossbow as if he had used it his whole life, but he only had it for about five minutes. "Well, time to see what's on the other side of that door." He got up and walked to the door with the crossbow in hand before he could even lift a finger on the door someone opens it from the other side.

Mitsuna is greeted with a male that's slightly taller than him, has a full beard, looks like he's in his mid 60's or 70's, and is wearing the typical attire that a farmer would wear. "Who are you and what are you doing here?!" the old man exclaims while raising a pitchfork to Mitsuna's neck. "I..... I don't mean to intrude, sir, but I'm just as clueless as you are." He was unsure of how to respond at all. Would they believe him if he had said that he came from another world? Most likely not. "What's that supposed to mean?!" The farmer looked at him in his eyes, intently and with anger. This worried Mitsuna as he didn't know what to say or do, so he just stared directly back at him while thinking of what to say.

As he stared back at him he felt his eyes heat up a bit and then all of a sudden ideas start rushing through his head, he could just move back and fire his crossbow at him, or he could try to talk his way out of it, he could even try just to turn around and run. But his thinking was interrupted when he noticed that the farmer's hands were shaking. "J-Just, get out of here!" He yells at Mitsuna, who politely follows and exits the shed. Outside he saw a farm which had a wheat field, carrots, potatoes and all sorts of plants growing. And across the farm were other buildings, some looked like a store, others he had no clue.

As Mitsuna looked around, he slowly forgets about the farmer and how he had his pitchfork raised at him. "Wow, this place is nice." He casually says. Once the farmer heard this, he slowly lowered his pitchfork with an eyebrow raised and said, "Look, kid, I don't want any trouble, but you can't stay here." The boy then turned back to the farmer and said, "Oh, that's alright. But do you happen to know where we are?" This question gave the farmer a surprised and dumbfounded look. Mitsuna, obviously seeing this reaction, realized that his question isn't brilliant in the eyes of someone who lives here. So he just smiled cheekily and hoped that he responded.

"Is this a joke?" The farmer asked him.

To which he replied with a serious, "No."

"Well, boy, just how did you end up in my shed then?"

"I have no clue." He said with a shrug.

"Just admit it."

"Admit what?" Mitsuna was confused as to what he should admit to.

"That you snuck into the shed in the middle of the night while trying to hide."

"Hide? Hide from what?" He was filled with confusion.

"From the people, you probably stole from."

"And what made you say that?"

"That weapon you have in your hand." The farmer pointed to his crossbow. "That right, there is a weapon that only a thief would have. No exceptions."

"Wait, sir, I think you have the wrong id-" The farmer had cut him off.

"Look, if you need help, don't go to me. It is tough enough to survive here already. Go to Ashe; she'll be able to help you."

"Ashe? Who's Ashe?"

"Just how new are you here?"

"Very new."

"Follow that road until you find a bar. She's normally found there." The farmer points to a paved road

"Alright. Many thanks for your help." Mitsuna says before walking away and following the dirt path.

Before Mitsuna could go far from the farm, he immediately heard the farmer's voice from the back saying, "Hey! You left something!" So he quickly jogged back to the farmer where he gave him an empty blank book. "You left that in the shed. Good thing I found it before you left." Mitsuna thanked him and continued to head back to the path.

As he follows the paved road, he sees multiple buildings that indicate he's in the medieval or renaissance period. "So this is happening, huh? A new life in a new world." He thinks to himself as he walks down the path. Everything went smoothly until something caught his eye. He saw something that didn't look human. Or at least had the characteristics an average human wouldn't have.

It had thick green scales, a big long tail, it's ears couldn't be seen, and the front of its face extended forward like a Lizard. Oh wait, it IS a lizard. A lizard person to be more precise. Mitsuna was not expecting this at all, and the sudden sight of it made him stare. But his stare was broken when he saw the Lizard person talk to something else that wasn't human. He saw the Lizard speak to something that had four arms and four eyes. He wasn't sure what it was, but it caught his attention very well. And passed by in front of him was a Centaur, which he then switched his focus to. And then more and more people of different species passed by in front of him, and Mitsuna was purely intrigued in every one of them. But he suddenly remembered what he had to do, so he continued walking while looking at every new species he would see.

People would look back at him with a menacing or confused look, and it made him wonder why. But then he remembered the older man telling him that the crossbow he held was something that only thieves would have and that there were no exceptions to this. Not to mention, his clothes were not the type you would see in this sort of time. Mitsuna was no longer surprised that they would give him this sort of look but wondered, if they saw him as a thief, why hadn't they called the guards yet?

Eventually, he would find a building that had a sign that said "Bar" on it. He entered quietly, and there he was greeted with multiple angry faces of people who looked like they would beat him up the second they had the chance.

Mitsuna did his best to look as composed as possible, and as if their menacing looks had no effect on him, but deep down inside, he was scared. Although if he wanted to make any progress in this world, his best choice would be to press onward. Or at least that's what he thought. He could've left and gone back to the farmer to ask what Ashe looked like, but he chose not to since that would be a waste of time, and he'd instead look for her than walk back. So he continued and walked to the counter while keeping a composed look.

But before he could even reach the counter, he was stopped by a tall menacing figure that would make anyone wet their pants. But this had a different effect on Mitsuna. Multiple emotions began rushing through his head as he saw this creature. He felt slight confusion, a small bit of fear, a pinch of awe, and to top it all off, the tiniest bit of joy. This was because the creature reminded him of something that he was once obsessed with for a very, very short time.

The creature's skin was colored sea green. Its head had four glowing eyes with two on each side. It had a beard that completely covered the lower half of its head and looked like it was made out of tentacles. It wore what looked like a cultist's robe that covered the rest of its body.

This creature spoke in a deep and dark tone and said, "Stop. We do not let people like you into this place. Give us a reason not to kill you right here, right now." As it said, these words, a combination of monsters and people, stood up and surrounded Mitsuna menacingly.

Most people would consider him dead at this point, but he still had something that could help him; he didn't know it. "Well...." He paused for a moment to think of what he should do. His grip on the crossbow tightened as well as his grip on the book. Wait. The book! This is what went through his head the moment he tightened his grip. "I have this book." He raised the book and showed it to them.

Grumbles and mumbles were heard all across the room as the people who stood up now went back to their seats. All except for the one that blocked his path. It made a strange, indescribable noise before saying, "Perhaps I misjudged you. But I still don't like you." It then proceeded to walk past him and exit the bar. As it passed by him, Mitsuna whispered to himself, "Well, who said you have to like me?" This was a wrong move for him, a terrible move.

The creature heard this and immediately turned its head back to Mitsuna and moved in, leaving about an inch of space between his head and Mitsuna's. "If I was allowed to kill..." Its eyes suddenly changed color to a bloody red. "You'd be dead where you stand." it then quickly turned back to the door and stomped its way out.

Knowing that the creature has now left the bar, Mitsuna was filled with relief as he no longer had to awkwardly try to pick which eye he would look at every time the creature would look at him. He felt even more thankful for the book that practically saved his life. Speaking of which, what's in the book? He held it with one hand and opened it with the thumb of his other hand. And on the first page of the book was a completely blank page.

He didn't bother to check the other pages if there were anything written in them since he knew he has already stood there for too long and that it would be a pain if he tried to flip the pages with a crossbow in hand. So he closed it and continued his walk over to the counter. He took a seat and looked at the drinks that were on display. The bartender walks up to him and asks, "So what'll it be? A drink? Food? Or are you up to no good." Mitsuna felt very insulted that the bartender assumed that he was up to no good. He wanted to give the bartender a disgusted look, but he knew that doing so would not help him whatsoever.

Then all of a sudden, a voice of a girl could be heard saying, "He's most likely up to no good." followed by a small chuckle. Mitsuna turned to his left, and beside him, he saw a young girl with red hair wearing what seems to be a mage's outfit. He felt even more insulted by her assumption. Therefore he said in a slight jokingly manner, "Did you just assume my intention?" Of course, the people of this time could not understand the joke that Mitsuna was trying to say, but the thought of this flew right over his head.

The girl responded with, "Well, what else could thieves like you be up to?" For an average person, they would've most likely would've left by now or just ignored what they said and looked for Ashe. But for Mitsuna, they were throwing insults at him left and right. First, they assume his intention now they assume his occupation? Ludicrous! But he was acting this way as a joke that the people there will most likely never understand.

"And what makes you think I'm a thief? This crossbow?" He was slowly getting annoyed with everyone thinking that he is a thief or a murderer or any bad guy.

"No, it's your face." The entire bar was filled with laughter after that statement. Once the laughter died out, she continued her statement with, "Of course it's the crossbow, what else could it be? Everyone knows that only a thief can have a weapon like that."

"Care to explain why only a thief can have a crossbow?" Mitsuna raised an eyebrow, curious as to why a humble janitor like him can't have a fantastic and spectacular crossbow with a glowing string.

"Well, with a crossbow, you can load it, and now you're ready to fire it at any time. Now, who would need a weapon like that?"

"Guards would need that. Hunters too."

"They have bows for a reason."

"But what if an enemy suddenly attacks?"

"Then they could grab an arrow and draw their bow."

"But with a crossbow, you could just aim and shoot."

"Yeah, sure, having a loaded bow that can accidentally go off at any time is a good idea."

"What's your point here?"

"My point is, good guys do not need a crossbow because it is superior and only cowards like you need a weapon like that for stealing or killing."

"What if I can prove to you that I'm not a bad guy?" Mitsuna wanted to see if he can prove that his intentions weren't as bad as it seems.

"And how are you going to do that?" She asked with an intrigued look.

"Give me a task, any task. I'll have it done in no time." He was feeling confident that this will get them to change their minds.

"Huh, so you're not a thief." She said in a somewhat serious manner.

"Oh, guess that was easy." Mitsuna was a bit surprised.

"You're a mercenary." She had a smirk on her face as she said that.

Mitsuna's eyes widened. He was quite surprised by her response. He managed to change her mind but not in the way that he wanted. "Wait; what? I think you have the wrong idea."

The bartender and the girl laugh once again. "Ah geez, you are new here, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Confusion was filling the young boy's head. He didn't understand what was going on or why it was happening. He just wanted to do a job and get paid so that he can move on with his life. But this girl is making it even more and more complicated than it needs to be.

"Look, kid, Judging by the fact that you walked in quietly instead of making a dramatic entrance, didn't try to murder my friend when he gave you his killer eyes, and las-" She was quickly cut off by Mitsuna.

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Was that creature your friend? Cth-" The girl then retaliated and cut the boy off.

"Yes. That was my friend. And don't call it a creature. Just because it's not human doesn't mean it can't BE human. And he has a name, you know. It's Joe."

Mitsuna was trying to hold back his laughter and managed to do so, but barely. He keeps a somewhat composed look and asks, "If his name was Joe, what's your name?"

"It's Ashe. Now, as I was saying before I was rudely cut off, the third and final reason why you couldn't possibly be a thief is. Well, that book you have over there."

"Oh? This little thing? What's so special about it?" He raised the book and placed it on the table. He began to open it and began flipping through the pages and noticed that they were all blank. "It's just an empty book."

"So you have no clue how things work around here, don't you? How did you get here?" Ashe began showing signs of suspicion.

"No clue. But please explain all of this for me." Mitsuna tried to be as honest as he could by not making up a random story and saying that you're a traveler from a faraway place and that your ship got crashed and you have washed up ashore or anything like that.

"Hmm." She rubbed her chin as she thought about this for a moment but eventually concluded. "Alright, fine. I'll tell you everything you need to know. But on one condition."

"What is it?"

"There's been a group of bandits that have been harassing a certain friend of mine. Everyday they'd go to him and rob him of everything that he has. If you're truly not a bad guy, then surely taking out actual bad guys should be fine for you, right?"

Mitsuna hesitated if he should accept this offer or not. Yes, he has a crossbow but only one arrow? What is he supposed to do? Plus He's never done actual combat before; the only experience he's had is from video games, online videos, and small talks with friends. So he chose the best course of action for this, which is... "Yeaaaaaah. Sureeeeee." to accept her offer? "Where can I find these guys?"

"Around this time of day, you'll find them at the store across us. They're probably mugging him right now." She points to the store that's right across the inn. "Don't worry; we'll be watching from the window in case something bad happens. Off you go now" She gave him a small pat on the back, which was enough to push him off his seat. Thankfully he made it look like it was natural.

He slowly walked out of the inn and began making his way to the store across the inn. His heart was racing faster than a race car. As he walked, he stopped when he made it halfway to turn around and check if they are watching in the windows of the inn, and sure enough, they were ALL watching him. He could see everyone's faces from the inn, all glued onto the window, including Ashe and the bartender.

They were all talking about how he's going to end up. Whether he'll manage to do the job or end up getting himself killed. Of course, Mitsuna was oblivious to all of this.

Ashe gave him a comforting smile with a thumbs up along with a small message, he wasn't sure what she said, but he was able to make out something. It was either "You're gonna die" or the name of a great emperor "Yuu Gan Di." He was hoping that it was the latter. He turned back to the store and continued his walk until he was right in front of the store. He turned around once more to check on them and then turned back into the door.

He took a deep breath and walked in.

Inside he saw three men wearing padded leather armor with daggers on their waist and bandannas covering the lower half of their faces. These men were threatening a hooded man that wore a robe similar to what Joe wore earlier. He could hear these men saying things like, "What are you, deaf?!" or, "Give us the money already old man!" These signified two things for Mitsuna.

One, they haven't noticed him yet. Two, the owner refuses to say anything or give the money. Like every assassin wannabe, he used this to his advantage. He snuck around and looked for anything useful. He went to the side of the store, and there he saw a bunch of boxes filled with valuable items. He took a simple metal helmet and placed it on his head; he also took some gauntlets and put it on his forearms. By this time, he could hear the bandits getting tired of waiting, so he decided to give them a distraction.

He took a metal boot and threw across the shelf that he was behind. This brought their attention and gave Mitsuna more time to... steal? He continued to get a few things, a small bag, a sheath for a dagger and a throwing knife and the weapons themselves, and lastly, the plainest mask that you'll ever find, to cover his identity. Once he was finished, he had an idea. If he threw the boot across the shelf that he was at, then most likely, the bandits would be there, right? Now, what if something were to push the rack over? Assuming that they were there, Mitsuna pushed the shelf with all his might trying to make it fall over.

He failed. Horribly. And made enough noise to make the bandits investigate him. This flew over his head as he kept on pushing the shelf anyway even though it didn't do any good for him. One bandit walked over to the "aisle" that Mitsuna was at and was just purely confused at what he was looking at.

"What in the world do you think you're doing, boy?" He had his dagger out, ready to fight Mitsuna at any time.

Our assassin wannabe quickly turns to his right to see the bandit standing there, asking a question to which he responds by drawing his crossbow and firing it at him with the intent to kill. The arrow flies right at him and hits him right in the center of his chest, piercing his leather armor. The moment Mitsuna saw the arrow hit the bandit, he quietly said out of habit, "Sorry!" But then another thing went into his mind, and he was out of bolts. So he quickly grabbed the bandit by the leg and dragged him further back where he could pull out the arrow and re-use it.

For the remaining two bandits after seeing their friend suddenly get hit by an arrow to the chest then dragged back by something, they quickly felt a sense of danger. The one that seemed to look like their leader shouted out to the hooded person, "Who's with you?! If you don't talk, I-I won't hesitate to kill you!" And yet, the mysterious figure did not respond.

While all of that was happening, Mitsuna was busy trying to pull the crossbow out of the dead man's chest. After giving it a reasonable effort, he managed to pull it out. He then drew his crossbow back, and right when he was about to place an arrow inside it, something strange happens. A new one appears on it out of thin air.

"What?" Mitsuna whispers under his breath. But he didn't have time to think about this, and he needed to get the job done. So he went back the way he cam and ran to a different location as quickly as he could while hitting a few objects along the way.

As for those two bandits, all they saw was a strange white figure dash across the room. They didn't know who it was or what it was, making them even more scared than Mitsuna already is. "G-G-Go check that out!" One tells the other. "N-No way, man! I'm not checking what that thing is!" the other responds.

Mitsuna was ready to suddenly appear out of nowhere and fire his crossbow at one, then throw a knife at the other, but something caught his eye. A small bottle with a green liquid in it, he picked it up and read the label which said "HELL'S WRATH" which the young boy assumed was just some acid. He picked this up with the intent to break it but knowing that some of it might spill onto him, he grabbed what looked like a worn out and badly danged cloak and quickly wore it which really, only needed a few seconds And throughout this entire time the two bandits finally decided to investigate Mitsuna.

One slowly walked ahead of the other while one stood behind him. Then all of a sudden...

Mitsuna quickly turned around the corner and instead of throwing the bottle, smashed the bottle right on the bandit's head since he took too long, and they were able to get too near. He shielded himself with the cloak right after as he took a few steps back. Both sides were not expecting this.

Mitsuna watched as the green acid melted the Baddie's face off as he screamed and cried out for help from his teammate. Who out of fear ran outside the shop screaming for help even though THEY'RE the bad guys and that HE'S supposed to be the LEADER of the group.

Mitsuna couldn't let a bag guy go away Scott-free, so he quickly dashed out of the store where he saw the bandit running at a surprisingly slow rate. It seems that some of the acids had spilled onto him as were slowing him down. Mitsuna felt like he wanted to look cool in front of the people watching in the bar and did a slow walk towards the bandit and wanted to change things up a bit, so he pulled out his throwing knife.

He held it back and threw it at the scum, attempting to hit him right at the back of his head. But it only hit the back of his foot. Which was enough to make him trip and fall. With him on the floor, he could be seen crying out for help while trying to get the knife out of his foot. The closer Mitusna got to him, the more scared he was. He practically begged for his life when the masked protagonist stood right in front of him. People began circling the bandit, and once the numbers were significant enough, The cool-guy said, "He's all yours." he walked away and headed back into the bar.

Although, what would they do to the guy? Bring him to the guards? Kill him? Hang him for his crimes? Mitsuna didn't look back to check; he just continued walking ahead.

And ahead, he saw multiple people with mixed faces. Some were delighted, others confused, and a few looked quite grumpy. He wasn't sure what to expect when he walked in. He only heard one thing, which was...

"Good job. Thief."