Grey tasted the pasta Viola put in front of him. It was much better than he anticipated.
There was at least salt and garlic. He didn't know if garlic was common or not. At their home, Talas was the one who made food.
Still, the pasta was much better than this world's standards.
When he raised his head, he saw Viola turn her head. She was probably looking at his reaction.
"It tastes good. Thank you for cooking it for me," Grey said before he continued eating.
On the other hand, Luca was also looking at Grey frequently, but it wasn't something new. He was probably looking at his hair since it wasn't common to have hair with two colors even in this world.
"Not at all. By the way, where will you be staying?" Viola asked.
"I was also wondering about that. Which inn do you suggest?"
"Hmm... I would definitely suggest the one at the center of the village, but due to the festival, it is full."
"Isn't there any other one?"
"Of course, there is. You can just head toward the center and enter anyone you like. All the other inns are the same. But..."
"But?"
"You should be careful. Thieves will come out during the festival time."
Thieves again?
Viola had also mentioned the thieves when she was talking about the building they were in.
"Are there too many thieves in Mila?"
"No, not at all. Normally, we don't have that many. But they appear during the festival times. Do you know about the Art of Stealing?"
It was a new Art name, so Grey was interested.
"No, I haven't heard of it before."
"Your village must be really small, then. It is a really common Art. Thieves in almost every city or village have it. And since it is easy to learn, they teach the members of their 'organization' or 'gang' as if it were nothing.
In Mila, those with this Art appear, but don't do anything absurd. They aren't interested in anything big. They just steal money from some of the tourists. But it seems like this year will be different..."
"Why? What happened this year?"
"I only heard this, but apparently, they entered a closed shop and cleaned it out when the owner was in the ceremony."
Normally, the thieves wouldn't come out until two months after the ceremony, when the festival was held.
Also, even Grey knew that no one should have touched someone in the ceremony. If the ceremony wasn't held, monsters would overflow into the village.
"Is that why you work in a cheap-looking building?" Grey asked.
"Yes. I just turned fifteen this year, and my parents rented this building for me so that I could develop my skills here. They would get it renovated, but after this event, we decided not to."
"I see. Thank you for your help." As they talked, Grey had already finished his food. "I don't think they will come after me since I am poor, but still, I will keep it in mind."
"Ah, are you leaving?" Viola and Luca asked at the same time.
"Yes, thank you for the food once again. I will try to buy one again the next time I see your stall."
"No, thank you. I hope you have fun at the festival. Good luck!"
With that, Grey left the decrepit building.
This wouldn't be the last time he saw these siblings.
---
The sun had started to set when Grey left.
According to Viola, if he followed the almost straight path in front of him, it would bring Grey to the center of the village.
As he walked, he also checked the people and the shops on both sides of the road.
The living area was apparently in some other section of the village, making it easy for the visitors to reach the shopping area without walking much.
It also prevented outsiders from causing trouble in where people lived. But it also made this area crowded.
Grey didn't mind the crowd. It even seemed lively. After living 10 years in his small village, where it was hard to even find people after certain hours, he felt good.
But there was one thing on his mind. He put one of his hands inside his reddish robe. There, he felt the pouch with all his money in it.
Now, there were two options. One was holding onto it the whole way, making sure that it was secured, especially after what Viola said.
But that could attract more attention from the thieves since it could seem like he was trying to protect something valuable.
Also, he didn't know if there was still a way for the thieves to steal it since there was an Art in the equation.
And the second option was acting like nothing was wrong and checking his money once in a while.
But this time, he wouldn't know until later if his money was stolen or not.
Sigh... Should I just leave?
But he decided not to leave. He had left his village to roam the world, and there would always be dangers.
Getting his money stolen was the lowest risk among these dangers. So, he needed to face this issue head-on.
Also, probably nothing would happen to him. He was only one among many tourists if the inn was already full.
In the worst-case scenario, he would lose his money. He was already planning to earn this money himself.
While he was thinking about that, he realized that he was near the center of the village.
He knew because there was a big monument, in the shape of a long pillar, seen behind the buildings. Viola had told him that the monument was in the center. So, he knew he was close.
Now, all he needed to do was find an inn that had available rooms and sleep the night away.
But his wish wouldn't be realized soon.
Thump
A kid hit him and fell to the ground. Obviously, Grey was ready for possible pickpockets, so he wasn't pushed over, and instead, the kid had hit the ground.
Grey first checked his pouch inside his robe, and it was there. After that, he turned around to look at the kid with a relieved heart.
Just when he bent his back to check the kid, he felt something and checked inside his robe again.
The coins were gone.