After two hours of journey, Haina did not feel tired at all.
As we move away from the Red and White Queen District, which is the city center of the capital's "Glass Island", the number of factories belching thick smoke and speeding trains gradually increases.
The choking fog was accompanied by the fishy smell of fish and shrimp, and the sound of whistles mixed with the cries of vendors.
The aroma of baking wafted from the street bakery, and people wearing thick windbreakers and top hats walked by on the street.
A down-and-out painter wearing a beret sat on the street, painting the dark high-rise buildings across the street and the metal pipes that coiled around the outer walls of the factory like snakes; the inspector in silver-white armor flew through the sky on a tall and majestic white griffin that was more than two meters tall.
An 11-12-year-old newsboy with short red hair was carrying two bundles of newspapers and shouting on the street:
"The Glass Steps' headline today! Bishop Mathers of the Red Queen Parish was recently appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as a spiritual councillor! The number of spiritual councillors from the church has now increased to six!
"The finance minister plans to impose a tax on matches and kerosene lamps next year! The Star Antimony Kingdom expelled three knights from Avalon for murder, espionage, and interference in the internal affairs of another country. Her Majesty the Queen strongly condemns this!"
More than half of the Glass Steps newspaper had been sold, with only a few copies left. The rope had to be tightened again and again to prevent it from slipping off his shoulders.
The other bundle of newspapers behind the newsboy had only sold less than a quarter of it.
He shouted with his cracked lips: "A copy of Lloyd's Weekly is only five red coins - the hanging day is approaching, and the list of November death row prisoners has been confirmed! Thirty-eight people will be sentenced to death this month, which is the second most in the past three years. There is a clear list of death row prisoners!
"The third round of apprentice recruitment for the Nicas Gypsum Factory in the harbor has been lowered to 14 years old!"
"A painter in Green Flute Street committed suicide at home last week! Lloyd's Bank was robbed yesterday, and all the robbers have been arrested! Come and see! Only five red coins for one copy—"
"Senior."
Aiwass suddenly said, "Buy me two newspapers."
"Um?"
Haina was stunned for a moment: "I think someone in your family should have given you a copy of The Glass Steps? Do you want to buy a copy of Lloyd's Weekly?"
"No, buy one for each," Aiwass emphasized.
"… Oh, I get it."
Haina finally realized that Aiwass saw that the newspaper boy was working too hard and wanted him to sell all the newspapers as soon as possible.
"It's almost noon now, no one will buy it. Besides, this is Lloyd's Quarter, full of sailors, fishermen and laborers, they don't have that much money to buy newspapers."
She whispered, "How about I buy them all?"
"No, just buy one of each."
Aiwass shook his head: "The child is working, not begging."
"… I see."
Haina was in awe.
She nodded seriously and reminded him, "I'm going to buy the newspaper, be careful."
Aiwass opened his eyes and nodded silently.
Just as Haina left him, a girl tiptoed over to him.
She was a little dirty, wearing thin clothes and was thin.
Looking at the hooded Aiwass, the girl hesitated, not knowing how to address him.
“… Uncle, buy some flowers.”
She said in a low voice.
Apparently she noticed that Aiwass was in a wheelchair - although she could tell from the pattern on the wheelchair that Aiwass was a rich and kind person, because she had just overheard their conversation.
But because Aiwass was suspected to be disabled, her tone was not firm enough when she was selling the product.
Aiwass reached out and touched her head.
When he stretched out his hand, the girl shuddered as if she had been electrocuted, and her body rose back in fear, as if she was afraid of being hit.
But because Aiwas's hand was slow and the hand emerging from the sleeve was young enough, she soon realized that she seemed to have called it wrong.
"—It's my brother."
Aiwass said softly.
His fingertips touched the girl's hair, but he only felt dust and grease. It was obvious that she hadn't bathed for some time.
But the girl obviously knew it.
Because Aiwass touched her hair, she took a step back in fear and apologized to Aiwass: "I'm sorry, my hair is dirty... I'll leave now..."
"Sell me a bouquet of flowers."
Aiwass said with a chuckle.
As he spoke, he turned his outstretched right hand over and opened it.
A red coin with a face value of 1 suddenly appeared in the empty palm.
This was not an extraordinary ability, just a simple magic trick, but it made the girl's eyes widen.
She looked at the banknotes and then at Aiwass. She obviously thought Aiwass was a transcendent, so she hesitated and didn't dare to take his money.
The corners of Aiwas' mouth rose slightly under his hood.
He clenched his fingers deftly and slowly took back the banknote in his hand.
But at this moment, he suddenly exclaimed and reached out to touch the back of the girl's neck: "Hey, what is this?"
As he spoke, he gently took out a brand new red coin from the girl's neck.
The girl opened her eyes wide in surprise and confusion, obviously not understanding how it flew over there.
Without waiting for the girl to refuse, Aiwass deftly folded the red coin in half with three fingers of his right hand, and then put it into the big money pocket hanging on the girl's chest.
Aiwass lifted up a corner of his hood slightly, revealing his young face to the girl and giving a heartfelt smile.
"Shh..."
He put his hand to his mouth, silencing him.
Then, he put his hood back on and stretched out his slender white right hand: "Miss, where are my flowers?"
“…Ah, here you go!”
The girl finally reacted and handed Aiwass a dried wild rose with a slightly blushing cheek.
"Are you buying flowers, Aiwass?"
Just then, Haina came back with a newspaper, looking a little confused.
Seeing this, the girl was so frightened that she almost fell to the ground. Looking at Haina dressed as an inspector, her face turned pale and her whole body trembled with fear.
But even though she was so scared, she still didn't run away immediately. Instead, she forced herself to be brave and whispered tremblingly, "Wait, wait a minute, sir! I still need to give you the change...!"
She stubbornly used her shaking hands to carefully count out nine wrinkled copper coins from the paper bag hidden in her chest and handed them to Aiwass respectfully. Then, she carefully folded the brand new red coin with a face value of 1 that Aiwass gave him and put it in. She put it against her chest and then breathed a sigh of relief.
She was under Haina's gaze the whole time, and when she said goodbye and left, her legs were so weak from fear.
"I'm not that scary."
When people feared her before, Haena didn’t care.
But now, perhaps because of what she had talked about with Aiwass, or perhaps because the girl looked so young and innocent, Haena was a little frustrated by the fact that she was frightened by her.
After watching the girl walk away, she whispered, "Do you need me to help you throw away the flowers?"
This dirty wild flower really doesn't match Aiwass's attire.
"No need."
Aiwass replied: "After all, it is the child's intention."
"You seem to like children very much?"
Haina thought about it and realized something.
Compared to his attitude towards himself, Aiwass's attitude towards the two children was obviously much friendlier.
"Well, I like innocent children."
Aiwass nodded in response, speaking the truth from the bottom of his heart without lying: "It's like liking cats and dogs. Being with them can relax me. There are many things I like, but I just don't like people."
"… Why does this sound like an insult?"
In the end, this sentence sounded like a joke, and Haina also joked: "Don't treat children as cats and dogs."
“It just sounds like it.”
Aiwass raised the corner of his mouth slightly without further explanation.
He was indeed cursing people—just the adults.
In his opinion, those adults who are dirty-minded, profit-seeking, and two-faced are worse than cats and dogs... Of course, this includes himself.
While chatting and laughing, with the guidance of Aiwass, they finally arrived at the Pelican Bar.
It was more like a house or a warehouse than a bar. Its front door was painted white, and a pelican with its mouth wide open was drawn in an exaggerated, almost cartoon-like manner. Various kinds of fish were stuffed into its big mouth, floating in the beer foam, as if it was stewing fish in beer.
Next to it hung a wooden board with a long list of onomatopoeias for drunken burps written in capital letters.
—This is the sign above the bar.
In other words, strictly speaking, the "Pelican Bar" should actually be pronounced as the "(hiccup) Bar."
It was almost noon, but the door was not closed. There were even quite a few guests inside.
Apparently it also operates as a restaurant during lunch hour.
The moment Haina pushed Aiwas in the wheelchair slowly.
Her steps suddenly stopped.
She opened her eyes wide and was in shock.
Because the bartender who was leisurely washing wooden wine glasses at the front desk was not a human being - but a rare wild elf!
The elves, as a race, not only have a lifespan four to five times longer than humans, but are also generally much taller than humans. Even females are generally over 1.8 meters tall, and occasionally grow to 2 meters tall, and there are many male elves who are even 2.45 meters tall.
This means that if an elf is not well-educated, it is easy for him to become hunchbacked due to frequent interactions with short humans during his teenage years. However, if he is well-educated, or in other words, an elf with parents to take care of him, he will generally not be hunchbacked.
Therefore, the hunchbacked elves are called wild elves. The number of wild elves is much smaller than that of elves.
Elves attach great importance to honor, family and bloodline, so they are quite repulsive to wild elves and their parents, thinking that this is a disgrace to the elves. Because if the parents of the elves die for honor, they usually hand their children over to relatives and friends for care.
Unless they died of shame... For example, they were sentenced to death, they would not entrust their children to others; or they were abandoned by their parents, or they were rebellious children who ran away from home. For these reasons, they grew up to be wild elves.
Wild elves lack the elegance and reserve of elves, but have similar lifespans, wisdom, and extraordinary powers to elves, and are therefore often viewed as unstable elements.
They are usually active in rural areas, usually as scammers, killers and mercenaries. In theory, all the wild elves in the capital "Glass Island" are registered. If anyone makes trouble, they can be identified, so the wild elves who advocate freedom usually disdain to stay in the capital.
But for some reason, the wild elf bartender didn't react when he saw Haina, and even just glanced at her with contempt.
On the contrary, when he saw Aiwass, the bartender was obviously stunned and even stopped what he was doing for a moment.
Even though Aiwass was wearing a cloak, the bartender easily recognized his identity.
—It was as if he never thought he would be here today.
… Why, Mr. Bartender
Do you think I... should be dead by now
Aiwass narrowed his eyes, his pupils as deep blue as the sea.