Rin woke up in his dorm room, blinking at the sunlight streaming through the window. He checked the date ,then sat up with a yawn. "No classes today," he muttered.
He got dressed and headed out, stopping by Taro's room. He knocked a few times, but there was no answer. "Maybe he went out early... or he's still asleep," Rin thought.
As he walked toward the training ground, he spotted a familiar figure. Taro was there, drenched in sweat, throwing punches at an invisible opponent. Taro turned and smirked. "Princess, you're finally awake."
Rin gave him a weird look. "I guess."
"Where you headed?"
"The office. I need to pick up my student watch."
"I'll come with. I'm done training anyway."
As they strolled through a hallway with an open ceiling and students milling around, Taro asked, "Any idea who our third group member should be?"
Rin froze. "Crap... I forgot." He cleared his throat. "Maybe the teacher will assign someone. I'm not too worried."
"If you say so. Also, we need to head to the city later. I need to buy stuff, and we can't keep living on ramen."
Rin raised an eyebrow. "We don't even know how to cook."
As they neared the office, Taro said, "I'll meet you at the center. I need to shower first."
Rin gave him a thumbs-up and entered the office. Inside was a deep-voiced man with dark brown skin and a face covered in scars, lounging with one leg crossed over the other.
"State your business," the man said without looking up.
"I'm here to pick up my student watch... sir."
"Name?"
"Rin... uh, Rin Takashima."
The man grabbed a watch from behind the desk and handed it over. "Here. Now leave."
Rin nodded quickly and left without another word. As he walked back toward the academy's center, he muttered, "That guy's scary as hell."
A few minutes later, he spotted Taro—now clean and dressed like a rogue from a fantasy novel.
Rin frowned. "Are we robbing the city or shopping?"
Taro just grinned. "You never know."
At the academy gate, a pair of guards stopped them.
"We're heading to the city nearby," Taro explained.
The guards nodded and opened the gates.
The city was a bustling maze of shops and people, livelier than anything either of them had seen before.
"This place is amazing! I wish Gloomshade was like this," Taro said.
They bought groceries at a small store, then Taro said, "Let's grab lunch here."
Rin looked around, confused. "Do we even know where we are?"
Taro laughed nervously. "Don't worry. We'll figure it out."
As they wandered, they passed a narrow alley that looked like it belonged to another world. There, they spotted a few bronze coins scattered on the ground.
"Lucky day!" Taro said, scooping them up.
Suddenly, a ragged man with wild hair pointed at them and yelled, "They stole from me! Somebody help!"
Rin blinked. "Stole? We didn't even talk to you."
The man shouted again, drawing a crowd. "They threatened to kill my family if I didn't give them money!"
Taro clenched his fists. "We didn't threaten anyone!"
A magic knight, clad in white with a brown sword and sharp eyes, appeared.
Rin stiffened, his breath catching. Taro's smirk vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, wary stare.
"What's going on here?"
The man repeated his accusation.
The knight frowned. "Show me your hands."
Taro and Rin hesitated but held their hands out, revealing the bronze coins.
The knight studied them carefully, then took one and held it up. A faint glow pulsed from the coin.
"This is city-marked aid currency," he said. "It's only distributed to the homeless."
He turned to the boys. "So tell me—how did this end up in your hands?"
"Where did you get those?" the knight asked.
"I picked them up off the ground!" Taro answered instinctively.
Rin smacked his own forehead.
The knight's expression darkened. "You're both under arrest."
"But we didn't take anything from him!" Taro protested.
"Enough. You'll explain yourselves at the station."
Rin grabbed Taro. "Run!"
"What?! We can talk it out—"
"He won't listen! We look like thieves!"
As they fled, a sudden gust of wind cut them off. It wasn't wind. It was the knight himself.
He landed silently, glaring. "You've committed three crimes: stealing from the homeless, lying to a magic knight, and fleeing justice."
He drew his sword.
"You shall be punished."
To be continued...