In a Civilized Manner

"...Just what are you?"

Edris's question was left unanswered, however, as the culprit behind the fallen flower pot hurried down the cobbled steps.

— There are two of them.

The voice echoed in his mind as the latter turned in the direction of the emerging footsteps. Half-expecting to confront some alleyway punks, Edris—to his chagrin—came face to face with a woman and her child.

"Sir, I am so sorry for my child's rudeness. I promise he didn’t knock the pot on purpose." The woman's voice shook as she spoke with downcast eyes. "We have nothing to give to you as compensation. Please let us go just this once, I beg of you."

With one arm, she pressed down on the back of the younger one so he was also in a bow.

"I'm sorry..." The child with curly, orange hair, looking to be around five or six, was sickly in appearance.

Edris stared at the mother and son with a baffled expression. Did he look like such an unreasonable person? Sure, his appearance was far from a noble gentleman, but he'd at least consider his face somewhat pleasant to look at. After a few seconds of silence, Edris shook his head gently.

"Please, lift your head," he said, and they hesitantly looked up. "I won't ask you for anything. It was an accident after all."

The woman's eyes widened at the dark-haired man's words as if they were coming from a saint. Tears accumulated in her eyes as she entered another deep bow. "We thank you for your benevolence."

Benevolence?

Hesitantly, Edris accepted her words with a complaisant smile. If people posed no threat to his well-being, it was in Edris's philosophy to treat them with respect. After all, it was always better to make more friends than enemies.

Watching the backs of the mother and son slowly fade into the distance, Edris refocused his attention on the speaker inside his head. His questions remained unanswered.

"The flower pot. The footsteps, too. How did you know?"

— I could sense it.

The voice didn't explain anything further than that, but nonetheless, his answer came as a surprise to Edris.

"What else can you sense?” Arching an eyebrow, the man grew curious about the voice's capabilities as he anticipated his next words.

— You're weak.

"..."

Ignoring his offended expression, the voice continued.

— However, you are nimble. More agile than 70% of the people within a two kilometers radius.

— The merchant to the northwest direction, fifty meters away from you. He's trying to scam a man by claiming his swords are artisan-crafted. He created that shit by hiring someone who knew mana sculpting with four silver yones.

"Hah..." Edris nodded thoughtfully. "And aside from people? What else do you know?"

The voice was starting to get annoyed at incoming questions.

— ...To your left. The third apple on the second row is the freshest one.

At his words, the man shifted his eyes to the fruit cart to his left, eyeing the bright, red fruit. It was useless but impressive information, and Edris was fascinated. A smile emerged from his lips. Contrary to his previous opinion on the voice, simply hearing it now was music to his ears.

Edris changed his mind.

It would be a pity to offer the voice to the factions now that he had realised his potential. He couldn't help but start thinking about all the wonderful feats he could accomplish using this system-like entity—a whole perceptive database.

Edris thought he could already see the imminent day where he’d live his life in carefreeness and affluence.

"Miss, how much are your apples?" He called out to the store owner.

"Two copper yones!"

Tossing the amount onto the cart, Edris grabbed the third apple on the second row, giving it a few joyful tosses into the air.

"For you." He spoke into the air and offered the apple from his palm. After a few seconds, he lightly knocked himself on the head. "Silly me, I forgot you couldn't eat it. I shall savour it for you."

— ...

The voice fell silent as Edris's teeth sunk into the fruit, a refreshing crunch echoing through the alleyway.

"Now that I think of it, you mentioned that you've never met anyone other than me who could hear you, right?"

— Correct.

Good.

This made things easier. Edris was growing excited simply thinking about his plans after getting the system-like entity on his side. He’d never openly admit it, of course, but Edris was quite good at talking. It was a natural skill to develop, because he would have never been able to reach the Zacriya Kingdom otherwise. Not to mention with bare minimum money and abilities.

"Considering your current situation, I think it's better for you to stay with me then." Edris started laying his trap. "Of course, I'm not forcing this upon you, not at all. I just think it's quite strange that we were able to meet despite the circumstances, don't you?"

— Strange?

Confirming that the voice had taken the bait, Edris nodded before continuing to speak. "Indeed. It's been, what, a few days that you've been wandering around here?"

— Three days.

"Exactly. Three whole days passed without you meeting anyone who could hear you, yet guess how long I've stepped foot onto this city's land?" The dark-haired man carried on by answering his rhetorical question. "Barely half a day. Just a few hours in, and we ended up in this magical encounter. I think it's more than a mere coincidence."

Edris was mentally laughing at the words coming out of his mouth. He angled his eyes towards the clear sky as a ray of light shone onto him.

"It must be the Will of Serenity. It's fate.”

Although the major kingdoms on the Eastern Continent were largely independent of one another in terms of specialities and traditions, there was one commonality they all shared:

Their reverence towards the Church of Serenity.

Needless to say, Edris didn't believe in fate. Nor was he a follower of Serenity. But none of that mattered. All he had to do was connect a series of coincidences, coin them into the category of 'fate' and voila—everything just makes sense.

However, he heard no response from the entity even minutes after he had spoken his words. Eyebrows furrowing, he was almost convinced that it had lagged before hearing the baritone voice again in his head.

— What nonsense are you spewing right now?

Blinking twice, he quickly recovered from the voice’s blunt response.

"Not a follower of the deity? No worries, me neither." Edris waved his hands half-heartedly, not expecting his actions to be seen.

Contrary to his assumptions, however, the voice—residing inside his consciousness—could perceive his every expression and movement. In fact, a conceptual frown was appearing on his abstract facial features. He had seen the dark-haired man's interactions with the woman and child. At that time, Edris spoke with tact and compassion, perfectly delivering himself as an empathetic, thoughtful traveller who had seen and witnessed too many of the world's cruelties.

So what was this sudden contrast in personality?

"How about a deal?" Unaware of the voice’s current thoughts, Edris spoke again, this time more clearly. His cunning look from earlier was washed off by a gentle smile.

— A deal?

"I'll help you retrieve your memories. In return, you will aid me to the best of your abilities throughout my travels."

Edris made sure only to offer to help him with his memories, not stop the 'war' that was mentioned.

The reason?

Edris just wasn’t someone who would go out of his way to put himself through unnecessary troubles.

Sensing the voice’s wariness, he spoke again. "Just think about it. What are you going to do during the times when your memories are still lost? Wander around aimlessly like you've been doing the past three days?"

The voice was quiet, and that prompted him to continue.

"Right now, I’m the only one who can hear you, and very likely the only one willing to help you. However-" he paused for effect, "-you’re not the only one who can help me. I'm telling you all this because you seem to not know much about the kingdoms nor their people because of your amnesia, but not everyone is as kind and compassionate as myself."

The voice is momentarily baffled at the dark-haired man's self-proclamation. No one in their right mind would fall for it after seeing the calculations in his eyes. Yet the man didn't even bother to hide his intentions as he spoke.

"Here, I'll even write up a contract," Edris offered, and without waiting for a response, he messily scribbled down the conditions on a piece of paper and signed his name. He lifted the paper into the air. "Here."

— I cannot touch it.

"Oh, right. My apologies. I'll write it for you. What's your name?" Edris's tone was nowhere close to apologetic, but the voice did not pay much attention to that as he was deep in thought. The former spun the pen in his hand, patiently waiting for a response.

— ...I do not have one.

"Ah."

The voice's thoughts became complicated after his own response. He felt a pent-up frustration at all the unknowns, his unknowns.

On the other hand, Edris was not in the slightest bothered by his lack of identity. He was still trying to suppress his excitement thinking about how to best make use of this being.

"How about this? I'll temporarily make up something you can use for now, and once you regain your memories, you can drop it. You just need to agree verbally, and we'll be bound by the contract."

— You're going to make up a name for me?

"Why not? I can't just call you 'you' forever, right?" Edris stroked around with an air of nonchalance, his tucked chin indicating contemplation before it was suddenly replaced by a gentle smile. "Oh. By the way, there's a default penalty of fifty thousand gold yones for breaching any part of the contract, but I assume we don't have to worry about that happening."

— ...

Taking the silence as affirmation, Edris nodded in satisfaction. It was true—he did not plan on breaking the contract.

Edris wasn't a good person, but he had not yet stooped so low as to scam an amnesiac perso…entity. He aimed to live a comfortable life free of restraints, so he believed these sacrifices to be, in the least, necessary.

After a couple of added moments of contemplation, he lifted his index finger.

"How about Ace?"

— Ace...

The word was repeated by the being’s deep voice.

Ace. Number one. It represented the start of a new beginning. It also represented Edris's high hopes for the system-like being inside his head.

He was going to turn him into his ace card.

Edris did not verbalise the second part of his thoughts as he smiled into the air. "Quite a symbolic name for a new start, don't you think?"

It was at that moment.

As these words spoke into existence, a surge of gust bellowed throughout the alleyway, creating a whirlwind around Edris’s feet. The force tore off the posters on the walls, sending them flying into the sky. Edris welcomed the roaring air as he spread his arms, extending them like an embrace. His hair, dancing frantically in the wind, was a darkened blue that revealed the extension of galaxies. Contrasting with the state of his surroundings, his eyes were calm like the center of a storm.

"Well?"

He awaited the voice’s response. Despite all the commotion around them, the answer was crystal clear in his ears.

— ...Do as you wish.

Like a magic spell, the hysteria around him dissipated instantly, leaving the alleyway as abruptly as it came. The voice—now Ace—peered towards the dark-haired man from within his mind and couldn't help but frown at what he was seeing.

Edris's eyes, although composed, now had a peculiar glint as they curled in satisfaction.