Cain overheard a conversation between a patrolling officer and a citizen. It wasn’t a secretive conversation, so everyone around, including Cain, could hear it.
“Excuse me, sir, where are you headed?”
“To the leather workshop. It’s over there on 13th Street…”
“Did you just leave your house?”
“Yes, I did. Is something wrong?”
Cain moved on, leaving the two behind. The leather workshop on 13th Street that the citizen mentioned was right in front of him.
Before coming here, Cain hadn’t realized that the capital had so many leather workshops. It seemed that the demand for accessories was high due to the bustling environment and large population.
The workshops lined the alley, each with varying sizes. Some looked grand enough to be run by master craftsmen, while others were barely more than small shops. The sizes of the signs also varied.
The people passing by were diverse. There were laborers hurriedly moving materials since early morning, craftsmen taking a break to smoke before starting their work, drifters looking for a place to learn a trade, and even foreigners.
‘If someone dressed as a clown danced around here, no one would bat an eye,’ Cain thought to himself as he scanned the gaps between the workshops and the busy passersby who paid no attention. In the city, every inch of land had an owner, even the sunless spots.
‘Let’s see…’
As he stepped into a narrow gap, he saw staircases without railings leading up to small doors clustered together like flyers. Although the atmosphere was different, Cloverland had similar places. However—
‘There are too many.’
Searching every room in the long alley would take more than a day.
Cain thought calmly. Satin wouldn’t have prepared a place to stay in advance, and to find a room, he would need money first.
Cain stepped back into the alley. He slowly walked along the increasingly crowded alley, carefully examining the dirty walls.
[Room Available/Preference for 3 months or more]
[Bed Available/Window Available/Bathhouse 5 minutes away]
[Short-term Available/Immediate Move-in]
Advertisements for rooms for rent were plastered everywhere. The bland and similar posters continued endlessly. Just as Cain was starting to feel overwhelmed, he spotted a very special job posting.
[Caregiver Wanted/Room and Board Provided]
***
“You look familiar…”
An elderly woman with glasses scrutinized Satin’s face. Despite the glasses, she seemed to struggle to see clearly, her eyebrows furrowed deeply. Satin smiled casually, trying not to appear nervous.
Eventually, the woman shook her head, unable to place Satin.
“My memory isn’t what it used to be,” she laughed.
“Ha ha.”
“You looked quite gloomy earlier, but you seem much brighter when you smile.”
Although she was smiling, her gaze was sharp as she looked Satin up and down. Satin quickly relaxed his facial muscles. He had never been called bright before, but it didn’t sound like a compliment.
The woman patted Satin’s arm. He instinctively tensed his muscles.
“Have you done this kind of work before?”
“Yes, my late grandfather had dementia. I took care of him for about four years.”
It wasn’t dementia, but Satin saw no need to explain further. Besides, the woman had no way to verify his story.
The woman’s expression softened.
“Oh, that must have been tough. You did well.”
“It wasn’t that hard. I guess it suited me.”
“Really? Let’s talk more inside, then.”
Finally ready to have a proper conversation, the woman gestured towards a sofa inside. Until then, Satin had been standing at the doorway.
Satin quickly took a seat on the sofa, and the woman sat across from him, smiling awkwardly.
“I hope you weren’t uncomfortable standing there.”
“No, it’s just for a moment.”
“Many strange people come by, so I had to be cautious. It seems you don’t even know who I am.”
“…The notice was a bit torn.”
Satin recalled the job posting he had seen before coming here. It was for a live-in caregiver, but the bottom part was torn. Perhaps important information was written there.
Noticing Satin’s hesitation, the woman smiled.
“You really don’t know me. My husband is a very famous leather merchant. Every workshop in this alley has bought leather from him at some point.”
“I see.”
Satin wondered if this was important information.
The woman continued, “Many people come pretending to be caregivers just to get close to my husband. They never last long.”
“Aha…” Satin nodded, thinking of the many workshops he had seen on his way.
Good materials are essential for quality products. It made sense that craftsmen would want to be on good terms with a reputable leather merchant. Producers would benefit from partnering with distributors, especially in a big city.
“ Truth is, my husband is quite eccentric. He’s even more so now that he’s injured. Most people who come to impress him quit within three days.”
“I understand.”
“You might feel the same once you start working.”
“I won’t know until I try.”
“You look soft, but you’ve got some backbone.”
The woman mentioned his soft appearance again.
‘Do I really look that unreliable?’
Nevertheless, he got the job. The woman wrote an address on a note and handed it to him. It was nearby.
“This is where you’ll be staying. Go settle in and come back. I’ll take you to meet my husband.”
“Alright.”
Satin had no bags to unpack, but he decided to check out the accommodation. As he was about to leave, the woman hurriedly called him back.
“Wait, wait!”
“Yes?”
“I forgot to ask your name.”
“Oh, I’m…” Satin hesitated, wondering if he should use his real name. “…Call me Velvet.”
“That’s an unusual name.”
Satin thought Velvet sounded similar to his real name, but the woman didn’t seem to notice.
With his accommodation and job secured, Satin left the office feeling relieved. He limped down the stairs, trying to hide his injury from the woman. The noise from the workshop below echoed his steps.
‘Turn left out of the alley…’ he thought, checking the note. Suddenly, he heard a strange voice.
―Hero.
Satin looked around in surprise, but no one in the busy alley was paying attention to him.
‘Did I imagine it?’ he thought. Then the voice spoke again.
―Hero, you should go right.
The voice came from inside his robe. Satin quickly lifted his robe to reveal the Sacred Relic in his vest pocket, which grinned at him.
―Ah, finally, we meet.
Correction: it wasn’t the relic but the demon inhabiting it.
“You fraud! What are you planning now…?” Satin was about to get angry, but the demon quickly intervened.
―Let’s move. Your friend is coming.
“Friend?”
―The one who’s always with you.
Satin’s expression hardened. The demon had said to go right, but the note said to go left.
“Is Cain nearby?”
―Yes, he’s approaching from your left. You should hurry, or you’ll run into him.
Satin decided to confront the demon about possessing his belongings later. For now, he hurried away.
***
“Velvet?”
Cain chuckled as soon as he heard the name the old lady mentioned. It was such an uninspired alias. Then again, Satin wasn’t known for his refined aesthetic sense, so it wasn’t surprising.
“He’ll be back soon. But why are you looking for him?” the old lady asked, suddenly curious about Cain’s intentions.
“It’s a personal matter.”
“It’s nothing bad, right? That young man seemed a bit naive, but he didn’t strike me as someone who would do anything wrong.”
Despite having just met Satin, the old lady seemed to trust him. Satin had always had a way of winning people over. This lady was no different, easily taken in by his kind demeanor.
Cain smiled, trying to appear friendly. “No, it’s just a personal matter.”
He glanced around the small office over the lady’s shoulder. At first, he thought it was connected to the workshop downstairs, but on closer inspection, it seemed otherwise.
‘She must be an importer,’ he thought.
The desk was cluttered with samples and invoices. The lady’s attire also suggested she wasn’t a craftsman.
Regardless of what this place was, the important thing was that Cain had successfully tracked Satin. He had expected it to take longer, but he had found him surprisingly quickly.
“Can I wait inside?” Cain asked.
The lady narrowed her eyes, studying Cain’s face for a moment before nodding. “Don’t touch anything.”
“I won’t,” Cain assured her.
He had no intention of touching anything. The lady adjusted her glasses and went back inside. Cain quickly followed, closing the door behind him. He didn’t want Satin to see him and run away.
As the lady sat at her desk to finish her work, Cain pondered what he would say to Satin.
‘Why did you run away? Was it because Satin didn’t want to regain his memories?’
‘Should I tell him he doesn’t have to remember if he doesn’t want to? But would that really put Satin at ease?’
