Before he could take another step, the shadow of a person could be seen. Steps were heard as they came closer. Until it revealed a lone man. If there was a crowd of people, he would blend perfectly. That's how normal he looked.
Another problem after another, why can't I take a break. Does this world hate me this much? Or am I the one putting myself in these situations.
"Is there something I can help you with?" The main character spoke cautiously.
"Nothing. I just need you to hand over your belongings."
Ugh, I don't want to deal with this. Can't you just leave me alone and I'll do the same? We're all struggling, don't make it worse for someone else. They wouldn't listen even if I told him.
"And if I refuse?"
Although the protagonist blended in with the people of the slums, his hair and clothes still stuck out among all the other people. Naturally someone would try to steal them so they could sell it. Since they were unique someone would believe it would fetch quite a good price. By this logic it would also mean that he might own equally rare items. Even if he didn't they wouldn't lose anything.
"Well, it'll be taken by force."
"Makes sense." He clicked his tongue.
He didn't want to cause trouble or get involved with these types of people. Trust me, back on earth he was surrounded by people like him, some even worse. He had enough with these people. That's why when faced with this situation his first option was to peacefully talk it over. Of course that never goes well. Now, seeing that option not being available he prepared for what would happen next.
Where he communicated with the spirit was an alleyway. So behind him was a dead end, meaning that he needed to get past the man to leave.
Comprehending that the main character wasn't showing any signs of compliance, he was about to take out his weapon until he stopped.
What should I do? Fight him directly, nope. Wait, I got a better idea. If he won't move I'll force him to.
The main character's thoughts were along these lines. Not giving the chance to do anything the protagonist dash straight at the man, unsheathing his dagger. He swung it, aiming for nothing in particular. The one on the receiving end of the attack was barely able to dodge it. He quickly took his own weapon to retaliate. Only to see him sprinting away from the location.
"Bitch, you thought. I'm not going to fight someone with a weapon!" He shouted, raising his middle finger.
If this was a fist fight he would've won due to his history of getting into fights. He was no martial artist or trained as one but he at least had experience. This all changed when it came to someone pulling a weapon. All he could do was either run or pull his own. He knew way too well that people wouldn't fight fair hence why he brought one in case.
After running for a while he stopped, slowly breathing inwards and outwards. As he was far away from the previous location, he relaxed slightly. To his surprise the spirit was still with him. At first he thought that it was joking about following him but it actually kept their word.
I feel it will be keeping me company for a while, not like I'm complaining. Sometimes you need company. More when you get isekai'd into an unfamiliar place with no help or guidance. It is what it is.
He continued, going back towards the market district. He searched for someone to teach him how to read but he couldn't find one. Most looked at him weirdly, others asked for a lot of money, some even tried to take advantage of him.
Finding something to eat was a priority so he bought someone. Which was an apple or appa, how they apparently call it, water, and went back to the slums. Specifically where he slept, on his way there he talked to the spirit. Well, more of him speaking and the orb listening.
Something he noticed while talking with the lesser spirit was that if he concentrated a bit he could converse with the flying color way better. Sadly due to the lack of sleep, he couldn't properly do it.
Recalling his interactions up until now he found it that all of them weren't pleasant. Being summoned to another without a purpose, questions people for information, having to be on guard every single second in this world, not being able to sleep properly, finding a empty book that appear next to him, contacting a lesser spirit, the same book he found that was supposed to be empty had something written on it, on top of that he was about to get mugged if it wasn't for him being lucky that the person who tried to rob him was stupid.
It's been an eventful two days and it isn't even night, it's evening. Haaaah, this is taking a toll on the body. I have no motivation to do anything, my last piece of energy was wasted on running.
He laid down on the rock hard floor in the outbuilding. He wanted nothing more than being able to get a good night's rest, so he couldn't care if he did it in the middle of the day. Unfortunately there was the possibility of someone entering but he observed for a long time only to find nobody going near.
I made sure it was unoccupied. If it isn't then I messed up though what matters is that I get sleep.
His eyes grew heavy from two days worth of non-existent sleep. Soon they completely closed as he dozed off.
Yawing, he woke up having one of the best naps of his life. Taking into account the time he slept for normally you would be sleepy. However, it was one of the times where you feel better when you take a nap instead of sleeping longer. Otherwise he would've gone back straight to sleep. Having the urge to urinate, he stood up, went outside, found plants and did whatever he needed to do.
Afterwards he attempted to go back inside, and once again he got interrupted. Since his back was turned the only thing he knew that there were multiple people standing. Annoyed, on how he has been facing things ever since his arrival. He thought it was probably that one person he ditched and wanted payback.
Slowly turning around, that's when he realized it.
He was surrounded by a group of silhouettes.
Each wore a jet black clerical robe with triangular hoods which had two red cut-outs for the eyes and a large red symbol resembling an eye, located on their forehead.
Their eyes looked dead and insane. He suspected if he didn't have the mental support he did, his eyes would look the same. Just by staring into their eyes he felt extremely uncomfortable.
Everything about them gave multiple signs of them being dangerous. He waited, waited, waited, for any actions.
They bowed...
They bowed...
They bowed...
Huh?
What the fuck?
Still processing what happened he glared at them.
They bowed, clearly showing respect. Why? What about him made them bow? Is there even something worth bowing for? What are they trying to do? Countless questions popped up but none of them could be answered unless he chose to speak.
What do these people want? Clearly this isn't a normal group of people. I can tell by just looking into their eyes. I already know something is wrong with them.
He opened his mouth but no sound came out of it. Before he could say something they quickly disappeared. Feeling relieved, just as he was going to relax his tense body he footsteps could be heard.
I may have very bad luck, how could I have just realized this now?
Which could possibly mean that the reason for them leaving him alone was because someone wanted to have a private conversation.
A thin man, around his height, cheeks gaunt with the skins of his bones unusually thin. Deadly pale skin, deep-green hair stylized neatly into a bowl cut. His outfit was similar to the previous people he saw.
Is this where I die? After struggling in this world, will I be put out of my misery without explanation?
Due to the man's appearance, the main character could only think negatively. The worst possibilities he could think of.
"Hello there, believer in love. I am the Sin Archbishop in the Witch Cult, representing Sloth, Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti!" The man named Petelgeuse cackled.
W-w-wait...!
The madness in his eyes paired with the laughter gave the impression of a mentally unstable person, one could say insane. Forcefully stopping himself from panicking, he casually raised his arm.
Don't tell me I was actually right? This is a cult and by hearing the name of it...It's a cult that worships the witch?! At least don't make them have sacred texts!
"Hey. I don't want to sound rude but is there any specific reason for this unexpected visit?"
While his right arm was raised, he used his nails to once again dig them into his skin. One of his worst habits when he becomes affected by negative emotions.
"That is to bring you!" He dramatically paused, pointing at him.
"Blessed with her love, to delightly repay the goodwill shown to you." He finished by hugging himself as remembering something precious.
"I'm not too sure about this "love" you keep talking about." Creeped out by his movements, he slowly distanced himself away from the madman.
Me, loved? Stop playing around! There's no way that someone will love me! Much less a witch...
"It always begins suddenly." He started, closing his eyes.
"Huh?"
"Everyone, on a certain day, realizes that they are loved. They feel the love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love!" Violenting opening them while still hugging himself, Petelgeuse began to move back and forward.
"So does that mean I'm loved?" He muttered in disbelief which was more to himself.
There's no way that's possible, he has to be joking. In the first place how can I even be loved by a person who I've never seen, heard, or met?
"Ah, the rich scent of the witch's love..." That didn't stop Petelgeuse from hearing it as he confirmed that he was indeed somehow 'loved.'
"You wouldn't happen to be Pride, would you?" he said, barely able to contain his excitement.
"Pride?" Clueless, he tilted his head.
Like in the seven deadly sins? Well, he did mention how he was the Sin Archbishop of Sloth. But he sure is energetic for someone who is supposed to be slothful.
"Of the six Sin Archbishop's, only Pride's seat remains vacant."
Petelgeuse drifted closer as he appeared to have moved without taking any steps, like he got slowly carried away by a current of air or water.
"You have received the Gospel, haven't you?" Compared to his head tilt, Petelgeuse's one might as well have been inhumanly impossible without snapping your neck which he did.
"The Gospel." Having all these different terms being thrown at him, the only thing he could do at the moment was to repeat those important details.
"Presentation of the Gospel, proof of love..." Petelgeuse took out quite a familiar book and started going through it's pages.
Oh no. This is not good! So it was that book after all...Doesn't that mean that I have been carrying around a cult's sacred text without even knowing?
"Proof! Proof! Proof! Proof! Proof!"
Eyes swiftly darting left to right as he searches or reads through the contents of his Gospel. Satisfied with what he read, he nicely placed his Gospel back into his robe. Now, Petelgeuse's focus was upon the young man, who was seemingly frozen still.
"That's the Gospel..." he mumbled.
I am still unwilling to believe it but I have no other choice.
"Show me your Gospel." The tone had no trace of his earlier behavior, this one was filled with seriousness and with more of a demanding voice.
"I understand, here." He, with his most confident voice he could, took out own copy of the Gospel. Which was technically newer though the two looked exactly the same.
"How truly wonderful! With all of us together, we must work diligently to bring her back!" He went back to his usual antics.
"My brain trembles!!!" He grabbed his head, pulling out many strands of hair.
"However, we mustn't allow our existence to be discovered. We must head back and further discuss our current situation." He spoke commanding the now present hooded figures, the last sentence being directed at the newly Gospel owner.
The 180's he did were still unpredictable and couldn't get used to it no matter how many times he witnessed it. They soon once again faded out of existence. Left with nothing else to do, he chose to follow Petelgeuse to their hideout.
For what reason am I following them, you may ask? Well, I got no purpose, no goal, nothing. I'm still ignorant about this place. While I don't want to associate myself with a cult, what else can I do? Keep living a life like this? Wasn't the reason I used every ounce of my energy was to find a way out of this world and back to my old one?
A/N
I would like to say you can comment whatever you want. Though I hope some of you may give constructive criticism since I wrote this mainly to improve my writing skills.
Going back to what this answering readers. The one saying that this is OC is my ideal mc.
The mc of this fanfic is not my ideal mc by a long shot.
Look at my OC from my Classroom of The Elite fanfic . While he may be a likable mc, (according to my readers), he's not my ideal mc either. Looking at him from a object perspective, he's overall a shitty human being.
Anyways, if my OC from this fanfic was my ideal mc, then the story would of have went differently in the very first chapter. But no, this mc already messed up which you can notice when reading. Yeah, the mc won't be having a good time either. This is Re:Zero we're talking about after all.
Thanks for reading!