“He’s really gone and done it again,” Bryan muttered. “The person you just saw was his stand-in. Caesar hasn’t left the barracks in over a decade now. That guy has been doing his dirty work representing him outside.”
My mouth gaped open.
“Well,” I said. “That explains the way he was acting.”
Honestly, it was too bad to be true. Caesar was known as a brilliant person if history class can count as credible. I know my experience with Plato and Aristotle was bizarre, but at least they were still knowledgeable. What I saw from that, uh, ‘stand-in’ was nothing short of embarrassing. I’m relieved that he wasn’t the real deal.
Bryan stood, swiping away the dust on his trousers as a deep sigh escaped his mouth.
“Let me take you to the barracks instead.”
“Wait, Bryan,” I stood as well. “If he hadn’t shown up for the last ten years, why did we even bother coming? Shouldn’t we have gone straight to the barracks?”
“The location of the barracks is kept hidden due to the animosity residents have against us. We can't just let anyone inside before something like the plaza incident happens and jeopardizes our operations.”
That makes a lot of sense. We began to walk out of the town square and through the still-busy streets as Bryan continued to explain.
“It wasn’t always like this, though,” he sighed. “A long, long time ago, people supported our endeavour with open arms. But as you heard from some of the residents, a few of our scouts were lost to the fog. Never to be seen or heard from again.”
“In a place where death does not exist, knowing your loved ones could potentially ‘die’ in this manner is rather scary. Since that became widespread information, our recruits dropped to about one or two a year.”
He finally came to a halt in front of a rather sketchy alleyway.
“From here,” he started. “I’m going to have to blindfold you. Don’t get me wrong, I trust you, but it’s just procedures.”
Blindfold? Again?
At least this time, I won't be getting stripped as well.
“Sure,” I shrugged. “I don’t mind.”
“Do you mind having your ears plugged?”
I gave this man a cookie, and now he wants the whole jar!
“That’s fine as well,” I laughed.
Thanks to [Red Realm], even if my vision is impeded, I’ll still get an idea of the path he takes and the people he will see as long as I remain conscious. So if it doesn’t involve getting knocked out, I’m willing to take the risk
There were a few more turns and twists, some exchanges of passwords and codes, and maybe even a little handshake as well before we finally got to our destination. [Red Realm] could make out another dingy alleyway. He ushered me forward toward a manhole cover in the center of the sketchy place. I'm quite surprised that I actually agreed to this. It better be worth it.
I felt the cloth in my ears being taken out. The sounds of a muffled city could be heard beyond the walls.
“We are here,” Bryan spoke. “Thanks for your cooperation. I’m going to help you down a ladder now. Once we reach the ground, I’ll take off your blindfold.
“Sounds good to me.”
He removed the manhole cover, and we began our descent down. I had to pretend to struggle on the rather coarse bars so he wouldn’t suspect that I could see what was happening. I’d say my acting was A-Tier.
He removed the blindfold, and I rubbed my eyes open.
“Here we are,” he said. His voice echoed throughout a pitch-black room. “Wait one second.”
[Red Realm] is pretty much an ultra-advance night vision with hallucinations that can direct me. Thanks to that, I was clearly able to see him struggle while rummaging through his bag to take out a torch and what I assume to be some matches.
The stick was lit.
“Perfect,” he exclaimed. “We can finally see again. That took a little while, but now we can finally get going. Watch your step, though. You could still trip if you're not careful.”
We made our way through the sewer and towards a massive vault door. I held the torch for Bryan, who gripped the handle and turned it clockwise with some effort. On the other side of the door was an all-white room with white tiles. There was nothing inside but another door on the other end.
Bryan rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a key. We approached the other door, and he slotted it in. The door clicked open, revealing an all-wooden interior.
“Welcome back, Bryan. You’ve been out for a while,” a woman spoke. She was to our right, sitting at what I presume was a receptionist's desk. “I honestly thought you weren’t coming back. But you did with some baggage as well.”
“Baggage?” Bryan smirked. “If you’re talking about my friend Shi then that’s quite rude. Though I suppose it's typical of you and your sour attitude.”
She stuck out her middle finger at us. What’s her problem? Anyways, I don’t want any problems, so I’ll be kind and ignore the disrespect. I extended an arm out to her and smiled.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Shi.”
“Do you think I'm deaf?” she spat. “I heard Bryan say your name already. Just head on inside and stop wasting my time. I’m tired.”
Never mind, fuck her. My smile remained, but my extended arm quickly jutted out a returning middle finger just for her. She has some kind of problem.
Bryan placed his hands on my shoulders, ushering me forward.
“Whatever, let’s go,” he muttered. “As she said, let’s not waste our time entertaining her.”
We took off down the hall. But I’m still pissed.
“Who even is that? What’s her problem? Why is she so rude?”
“That’s Dahlia, and don’t mind her. She has an attitude problem,” he sighed. “We are going straight to Caesar's office. Hopefully, you’ll be recruited right on the spot, as we still have no recruits for this year.”
We made our way down the halls and towards a room at the very end with two grand double doors. Bryan gave it a quick knock.
“Caesar, I have someone here who wishes to see you.”
There was no response.
“Caesar?”
…
“Bryan, is it?” a voice from beyond the door spoke. “Come inside.”
Bryan pushed the door open, revealing an extremely messy interior. Even the air within was stuffy. Countless books riddled the floor leading up to a desk at the end of the room. On the desk was a mountain of papers and documents scrambled on either side of a dishevelled figure who looked exactly like the man I saw earlier today. The real Julius Caesar.
He looked up at me, placing his hands together as his eyebrows furrowed.
“And you are?”
“My name is Shi,” I bowed for some reason. It just felt right. The air he exudes is nothing like what I have ever felt before. “I-I wish to join your upcoming expedition as a scout.”
He sank into his chair.
“Really?” he sighed. There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “You must be new to Citadel Castrum if you can say that so boldly. Are you not aware of what has happened to the many scouts before you?”
“I am,” I began. “But I know a way around that. If you choose me to be your scout, I’ll ensure nobody gets lost and we reach the exit of Limbo.”
His eyes widened for a slight second before his stoic expression returned. His lips curled open.
“How so?”
I looked over towards Bryan.
“Sorry, but could I ask you to step out of the room? What I am about to tell Caesar is confidential.”
“No problem,” he nodded. “Don’t sweat it.”
He left, closing the door on his way out.
After a moment of silence passed, I opened my mouth.
“I have a navigation ability. With it, I was able to arrive at this city in under forty-eight hours.”
He stared at me for a moment.
“I’m guessing you won't reveal any more information?”
“I’m only revealing what is necessary for us to cooperate. I hope you can respect that.”
A slight smirk graced his face.
“Well then, I’ll have to ask you to prove it. You may not know this, but I am a very busy person. I will give you five minutes to prove you have an ability capable of performing navigation. All I ask is quite simple: Find me a book in this room titled Aspirations of Glory. If you can do that in this mess, then I’ll have no choice but to work with you.”
He waved his arm as if he were gesturing for me to leave him alone.
“Your time starts now.”
Shoot.
He’s not even going to give me time to prepare?
I quickly closed my eyes and began to focus on my desire… Just like Snake-Sama had told me. Once again, the world of [Red Realm] materialized before me. My good friend Dark-Matter-kun appeared. He bowed his top hat and began floating around the many books in the room. Finally, he landed on one, making everything else in my vision disappear except for it.
I moved over towards it and picked up the book. My eyes opened, and I read the title out loud.
“Aspirations of Glory,” it said. I held it out towards Caesar. “This is the one, right?”
He smiled. This time, it was completely noticeable.
“Correct. It is,” he clapped. He seemed rather amused. “Well, I now know that to activate your power, you must close your eyes and focus.”
My eyes widened.
“Huh?”
“That power,” he continued, ignoring me. “Seems to be some form of a materialization mechanism. Once you thought about what you wanted, a clear path formed for you to acquire it. Quite magnificent.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” I lied.
“The fact that you’re protesting it means I’m on the right track,” he glared. “Nevertheless, now that we’ve established your usefulness, it is time to see how we can put it to use. If my deduction is correct, then once you manifest the desire to leave Limbo, it will materialize as a clear path for us to follow.”
He frantically cleared his desk of all the books and papers, leaving only a single one. He took a quill that I hadn’t even seen and dapped it into a bottle of ink. He began to scribble on the paper.
“Come look at this,” he ushered.
He held up the paper, and on it were three different scenarios titled Lost, truth, and Danger.
“If it’s the first option,” he began.” Then we are to assume that there is no ‘second realm’ and that what Virgil had said was a lie. If it is option number two, Virgil was right, and your ability will lead us to this second realm right away… or it is option number three. We reach the way to enter the second realm, but doing so is extremely dangerous.”
He put the paper down.
“While I am hoping option two is the case,” he continued. “If we are faced with options one or three, then that is also fine. In both scenarios, we can have your desire shift to taking us back to Citadel Castrum, with three meaning I and the rest of the Barracks will fight to protect you.”
“What about the possibility of my ability being a hoax? Aren't you going to consider that?”
“There is no point in doing that,” he sighed. His eyes looked completely dead. “I’ve been here for so long already. Maybe it would be a favour to get lost in Limbo, who knows?”
I don’t even know what to say. He doesn’t seem to be at his best, but despite that, he is still thinking up plans to find a way out. I have to do my part as well.
“I’m joking,” he laughed. “Don’t look so uptight. I just need some sleep, that is all. Plus, I want to approach this final ray of light I’ve been given with positivity. Let's make this work together, Shi.”
He extended an arm out to me.
“Likewise,” I agreed. Taking his hand and shaking it. “I look forward to working with you.”
“So, he made you a scout,” Bryan cheered. “And ended up pushing forward our mission to the day after tomorrow! Seems like things are finally starting to work.”
“Seems like it,” I laughed.
Caesar and I spoke for a little longer after my little trial. Around two hours have passed since then. Bryan spent some more time showing me around Citadel Castrum, and now we are finally heading back to Somnus.
“You think Sola will be upset that we are coming back this late?” Bryan chuckled. “Seems like she wanted to serve us some good soup.”
“Hopefully not,” I feared.
I did promise to play with her again, but now I’m leaving soon. How am I going to fulfill that promise now? A part of me also wants to know who Barbara Weinstein will pick (it better be Donovan Glouchester).
…
That same dingy-looking sign greeted us. We are back. Bryan opened the door to the inn, where a pouting Sola lay waiting.
“What took you so long?” she asked. “Dinner was already served!”
Bryan instantly snuck towards the steps, closing one eye and smiling at me with a little wave.
“Right,” he said resolutely. “I’ll leave this to you, Shi!”
And he scurried up the steps… no help!
“Well? Answer me?”
I bowed.
“Sorry, Sola. I honestly lost track of time and had a lot of things to figure out.”
“It’s alright,” she sighed. “I’m making my special peanut soup tomorrow night, so just be here for that to make up for it.”
“About that…” I started.
I spent some time filling Sola in on leaving the day after tomorrow… and never coming back again. Her frown got deeper and deeper the further along in the story I got.
“I see,” she muttered.
“Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” she smiled. “You can stay in my room again for tonight. I’ll be there in a bit.”
…
I couldn’t bring myself to sit on her bed, so I sat on the floor against the wall facing the door. Time is going really slow, and I feel pretty bad for basically breaking my promise with Sola. The door creaked open.
“Why are you over there?” she said quietly, tiptoeing in.
“Why are you whispering?”
“I dunno,” she shrugged sheepishly. “Just felt like it.”
She sat beside me.
“Shi, I have a question.”
“Ask away,” I replied.
She held my hand.
“Can you take me with you?”
