NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: Shuppastu Shuppastu
Death is the ultimate loss for the departed which fades away the very existence of oneself.
-----------------------------
The next morning Severus woke up early. In his 26 years of life that he served the crown prince, he had never once woken up late, so it became his habit which continued in his next life too.
What a pity!
Even his death wasn't able to free him from his past life's traps.
Noworry came inside from the window and perched on his shoulder.
[Hey, you early bird] Noworry said with ridicule.
"Yeah, I am. Do you have any problem?" With that Noworry gracefully swayed in air and again perched on his shoulder.
[Hey kid, why are you sad?] Severus chuckled.
"Your bird brain is thinking too much. I am not sad", Severus smiled.
[You dare to disrespect me again. Dare to do again and in no time, you will be dead]
Tsk, tsk.
"I apologize for my rudeness, lord. O' humble lord, please spare this mortal's life." Severus spoke with a grin.
Noworry became very happy when he heard praises.
I was right, from the beginning. This old bird is just overly arrogant who likes praises. I now understand why he was punished by Hades.
[So, what are your plans? With this handsome face and your previous life's title you would be the center of attraction as soon as you set your foot outside]
Severus' face dimmed," Neeh…no one will recognize me. No one has ever seen me aside from royal members and some higher-ups."
"I was never destined to be recognized"
[So, what are you waiting for? Let's go and attack the king's palace. I can easily destroy it with a flick then you can kill that bastard crown prince and his fiancé.] Noworry gloated.
"Neh…this isn't a fight that I want to win so easily. Why do you think I was killed in the first place?"
Noworry replied with contempt, [ because you are weak. What other reasons could there be?]
Severus shook his head. "No, I am weak in comparison to you but if we compare regarding the mortal world then, I was the strongest in my entire kingdom, even more, powerful than the king himself] Severus said with hidden anger
[So, how were you killed? Is it because of that useless princess? Do you also love her?] Noworry asked with amusement.
Severus became quiet.
Did he love her?
Of course, he had always loved her. But did she ever love him?
An ironic smile covered his lips. Yeah, she too loved him, but she also became the cause for his death.
"Yeah, you can say that I loved her, but I didn't die for love. I died because of betrayal. The oaths and vows we took were just a joke. The so-called brotherhood was fake. The truth was that they never accepted me. No one, no one accepted my existence."
Noworry was lost for words. [It's okay lad. Mortals are fickle-minded.] A certain bird showed his wisdom.
[So, what is the strategy? We can't just hide here and wait for the opportunity to fall from the sky. Can we?] Noworry cheered up.
"What do you think I am best at Noworry?"
[Strength and attack.]
"no."
[Strategy]
"yea, but something else."
[....]
"The thing I am best at is disguise."
[....]
"Don't give me that look. I was never allowed to show my true face to anyone, not even to Melanie. The only people who have seen me can be counted on fingertips"
[...…..]
Noworry felt sad. It was a strange feeling for Noworry, but to his surprise, he felt sad for Severus. He thought that he was above all those worldly desires and emotions but somehow, he was still attached to it, even after centuries.
Since Severus didn't have much money, he just stole a few clothes and accessories from the inn and disguised himself as an ordinary merchant, and left the inn.
Noworry did not perch on Severus' shoulder, instead, he was flying in the air.
Severus was wandering around the streets when his eyes seemed to recognize someone.
Gemmi and Shenni were selling books. Shenni was quietly standing there and answering all the questions whereas Gemmi was doing shameless promotion.
"Shuppastu shuppastu"
Take this book lad.
Just 4 shillings"
"Check these books out. Take a look and see a glimpse of the future. I Gemmi, swear on my dear brother Shenni's life that this book will give answers to all your problems in life. If it does not, you will get your money back with lots of candies." Gemmi was shouting nonsense whereas Shennni was quietly standing there with shame written all over his face.
Severus approached the stall and picked up a book," Just four shillings? Che! You don't know how to do business"
Shenni and Gemmi were shocked when they heard the voice, soon their eyes met with Severus.
A crafty smile spread across Severus' face which gave shivers to the brothers.
"YOU, YOU...aren't you that man…" Gemmi stuttered. Shenni was shocked too.
"Pack up. You both are pathetic at business. Let us catch up, we have so much to talk about." With that said, Severus went inside a bar.
With no choice in hand, Gemmi and Shenni followed him inside the bar.
Severus was holding a beer cup under the dim lights. His movements were elegant and graceful. Although he was disguised as a simple merchant, his charm didn't fade away.
Shenni and Gemmi went forward and sat beside Severus. Nobody said anything for a while.
"So, what is it? What do you want to ask?" It was Shenni who asked.
"I want to know about that monk"
Gemmi and Shenni quieted down again.
Severus too spared no effort to speak.
Shenni said while hesitating, "Well, the old monk...we don't know where he is. We just met him once and he told us that there was a treasure in the wilderness and asked us to dig that treasure out and enjoy our lives."
Severus "...."
"I know it's hard to believe but this is the truth." Gemmi too joined the conversation.
"Why did the old monk help you?'
"Because we gave him a meal when he was hungry," Gemmi said simply.
Severus "...."
Severus was speechless. That old monk was a scammer who scammed these idiots.
Severus sighed deeply. "Twinnies, I have an offer for you"
"Will you pay?" Gemmi asked.
Severus "...."
Shenni "...."
"You both will be paid and wouldn't need to sleep hungry. Are you ready to take up my offer?"
Gemmi shrieked in joy, "YES! YES, we accept it."
Shenni "...…."
Severus "...…."
Shenni was truly humiliated by Gemmi's shamelessness. "Why do you want to hire us? What type of work do we need to do?"
"Aah. Don't worry. You could continue selling books. The thing that I want is information."
Shenni frowned, "Anything else?"
"Well, I know that you guys know the entire city by heart and probably would have heard about rumors and prophecies, so I want both of you to suck information from people."
Shenni frowned again. It was a simple task for them, but he had an intuition that the man in front of them wasn't simple.
"Okay, we agree to it, but how will you help us," Shenni asked.
"Oh, it's very easy. Just use one silver coin for a book and promote it the same way but add more shamelessness. It would be better if you could just smile and nod when your brother promotes the book, Shenni."
"There is something called face value in business." Severus grinned.
Severus gave them a pouch of gold coins and bid farewell to them.
[Don't you believe everyone easily Severus] Noworry said while frowning.
"Why else did you think I died then," Severus replied with a forced smile. He knew that he took a risk but in order to gain something you need to risk it.