“Is this why information guilds in novels were in taverns?”
I muttered without realizing it and leaned against the wall. It had already been 3 years since I joined the guild. I was already 10 years old now. The reason I knew my age was thanks to Rose.
When she picked me up, she called a doctor to give me a health checkup and estimated roughly how old I was. At that time, the doctor said I was probably about 7 years old. I was so small that I thought I was only about 5 years old, so I was quite shocked inside. It seemed I probably hadn’t grown well due to malnutrition.
“Jay! Order!”
Another employee called me. Jay. Since I couldn’t use my real name when doing guild work, it was an alias I created. The alias roughly made from the first letter of my name suited plain me quite well.
It wasn’t just the name that was different when I worked. My appearance now was that of a fairly neat-looking boy wearing a black wig.
After entering the guild, I learned that my plain appearance had an advantage in infiltration missions. A plain impression meant no distinguishing features. And having no distinguishing features meant there was nothing to remain strongly in people’s memories.
Also, being plain meant makeup and disguises worked well on me. In my case, I just changed my hair color and behavior a little, but people said I felt like a different person.
“Yes!”
My brief rest was over. The tavern exploited everyone equally, whether child or adult. Even before I was possessed, I think I was exhausted from overtime and hit by a truck, so would it kill me to rest a bit after possession? Would it hurt to possess the youngest son of a rich family and enjoy luxury and comfort?
No matter how much I grumbled inside, it didn’t change the fact that I had possessed an insignificant extra. Actually, an extra’s life wasn’t bad. No, rather it was good. Unless something went wrong, I wouldn’t get caught up in dangerous situations.
“I’m really going crazy, that son of a bitch.”
“Why. Who got hurt again?”
“He cut off a gardener’s finger because he killed one flower. He should tone it down a bit.”
A man heavily drunk on alcohol gritted his teeth as if unable to contain his indignation.
That man was a regular at this tavern. The son of a bitch he was talking about was the head of a household, and his title was Baron. He boldly cursed the noble who was his employer whenever he had alcohol in him.
That Baron was famous for his bad hand habits. He must be so harsh that the man couldn’t endure without cursing. Not thinking that such thoughtless blabbering would be information that could be the Baron’s weakness. Not imagining that someone like me would be gleeful inside.
A Baron…… And a violent man at that. The son or daughter under such a man’s control might be the protagonist. Or who knows, they might grow up as a villain with an unfortunate past.
I continued my delusions endlessly inside while taking orders and carrying food. My wrists ached from the heavy food for a young child’s wrists. But if I listened to people’s conversations and imagined things, the pain was forgotten. This world was so enjoyable, and I was enjoying it with all my heart.
But putting aside the enjoyment, the problem that I couldn’t tell who the protagonist was like this revealed itself.
The information I, a low-level member, could obtain was limited. The great events the main characters would experience were clearly somewhat higher-level information. No, there was also the possibility that such incidents hadn’t happened yet.
Then, to know about those incidents faster than anyone else, I shouldn’t be at the bottom. I had to work a bit harder and rise to at least mid-level.
“I’ll be going now!”
“Alright, good work!”
Thinking about the future and daydreaming with information the surrounding characters talked about, my workday quickly ended. Moreover, today was a day that ended a bit earlier, so I was in a good mood.
If the tavern had any conscience, it was that they didn’t give children the same amount of work as other adults. If it had been the same as other adults, I would have had to work my bones off from lunch until dawn.
“If that’s the case, don’t make kids work in the first place. This is child abuse.”
Grumbling, I trudged along the road to the dormitory. Thanks to finishing early, it was only about 3 PM so people were bustling about the streets.
I passed through those crowds of people and entered the alley that was a shortcut. Unlike the alley where I used to beg long ago, this one was somewhat maintained. It must be because the guild was nearby. Although it wasn’t exposed to the surface, the guild always maintained the surrounding security.
“I’m gonna be juice~ I’m gonna be ketchup~ ……Huh?”
While humming a children’s song I couldn’t even properly remember where I heard it from, I discovered something strange. It was a small black lizard lying sprawled in a shaded space all alone. Its color was dark and it was in a shaded spot, so I almost didn’t notice it.
“Hmm?”
At first I was going to pass by. Lizards were common creatures after all. But this lizard was different from such ordinary animals. It wriggled and twisted as its appearance continuously transformed. Snake, chameleon, lizard, etc. Various reptile forms were mixed together chaotically. It was a bizarre phenomenon no matter who looked at it.
What is this? A dragon?
Since it had a reptilian form, that was the species that immediately came to mind. Because it was an existence that appeared without fail in fantasy novels, and I liked them too. However, that thought was immediately refuted.
No, there’s no way it’s a dragon. Besides, it’s uncertain whether dragons even exist in this world. I’ve never heard of them while living here. If there were dragons, I would have heard ominous rumors at least once.
Then what is that? A magic beast? What on earth is it?
Without prior knowledge, I couldn’t reach a proper conclusion. However, what was certain was that this was a character positioned importantly in this world. A groundless conviction firmly coiled within me. There was no reason. It was just instinct-like intuition.
Interest rose uncontrollably at the thought that it might be the protagonist.
I approached closely and examined the lizard. Its hissing breath was hot enough to be concerning. I walked quickly to the dormitory with the lizard on my palm. The lizard wriggled its body several times as if it wanted to escape from my hand, but it ultimately couldn’t escape, as if it didn’t have the strength to do so.
I headed to my room in the dormitory while carefully cradling the lizard. While crossing the main gate and heading to the stairs going up to the second floor, a friendly voice was heard.
“Just getting back?”
“Ah, uh……. Hi, Carl.”
Because I was paying full attention to the existence on my hand, I didn’t notice Carl’s presence on the first floor of the dormitory. That guy is bothersome…….
Regardless of what I thought inside, Carl approached with a beaming smile. Even though he was clearly a young boy the same age as me, that guy was somehow mature. It was somewhat strange that he looked more mature than me, whose insides were in their thirties.
Anyway, for me, Carl approaching affectionately was bothersome but not dislikeable. Just because he gave me a strange feeling didn’t mean I had feelings of dislike. Moreover, it was difficult to be hostile toward someone who always had a smiling face.
“You must have had a hard time working at the tavern again today.”
“No, I’m used to it now so it’s okay.”
“Hmm…….”
Carl approached closely while smiling brightly. I quickly passed him and headed to my room, worried the lizard’s existence would be discovered. It was an unconscious action stemming from the intuition that the existence on my hand shouldn’t be discovered. Although I acted carefully, I myself didn’t recognize such behavior.
“I have something to do today, so see you! See you later!”
Without even listening to a reply, I hurriedly entered my room, which was chilly without warmth.
This dormitory created by the guild was a building where the children Rose brought lived. Now, excluding a few who had become independent, over twenty people lived here, so it was quite crowded.
It was fortunate that we each had individual rooms since the building had more space compared to the children brought in. If not for that, picking up the lizard wouldn’t have been feasible.
After placing the lizard on the bed, I flipped over a wooden box in the corner of the room and completely emptied its contents. It was to create a space to put the lizard. Since reptiles were cold-blooded animals, there was much to be mindful of.
“Huh?”
However, when I turned around to look at the lizard on the bed, I could confirm that the box was no longer needed. Because something unexpected had happened.
“Haah……. Huk…….”
A young child breathing heavily was curled up on the bed with eyes closed. Even naked.
The child was smaller than me and seemed much younger. Brown skin and ash-gray hair like embers. Also, black scales appeared and disappeared on the skin as if rippling, and the color of those scales was the same as the lizard I had picked up.
As expected……. My groundless thought from earlier was right. This was definitely an important character.
“Are you okay?”
I couldn’t accidentally kill a character who was clearly the protagonist, or at minimum a supporting character.
I approached the lizard to check the condition of its body. Just as I was about to place my hand on its forehead to check for fever, a tail struck my hand. The force was so weak it was ticklish rather than painful.
“Don’t…… haah, don’t…… touch……!”
The lizard’s eyes glaring threateningly were a deep green resembling moss. They sparkled like jewels, wet with tears that came out physiologically, perhaps due to the fever. I stared blankly as if being sucked into those beautiful pupils.
It was different from me. Different from birth from an extra like me.
