It took almost two hours until finally, the two of them arrived at a fork in the road. One to the other remote areas, the other to the Pearl City Center. The other one, of course, was the road where Alina and Nathan had come from.
Written on a small sign beside the road, there was a notification that in half a kilometer they would arrive at the city they wanted to go to. Nathan was quite curious about the view of this place called Pearl City. In his former world, the city was still a similar housing complex around Ambarkasih Street. Still simple, because there is more focused on natural wealth and war.
Alina's residence in the outskirts of the city can be compared to the cities in the world before, so what about the situation in the city center? Just thinking about it made Nathan couldn't even imagine it.
Half of the distance that had been covered at the previous T-junction, the crowd began to feel. On the side of the road, there began to be traders selling various merchandise. People are also quite active here. Then, from the front came a voice that seemed even more crowded. Whether it's because of the sound of vehicles or the sound of people going back and forth.
When they arrived at the edge of the road which was small compared to the size of the road in front of it, a glittering and unstoppable sight of people was exposed before Alina and Nathan's eyes.
Different types of people can be seen here.
Most of them are people who wear fashionable clothes, not too different from the clothes worn by the hunters on Ambarkasih Street. The difference is, yes, the variations are getting more and more and most of them are not uniform as a group usually does.
Not too many wearing black suits, as if indicating that the investigators here are as visible as they appear or maybe they are monitoring from a hidden place and working professionally. After all, this is the center of the city, surely the human resources who become investigators are not arbitrary and should have been trained and have a lot of experience.
"Miss Alina, where do you want to sell?" asked Nathan after looking around for a suitable place to sell. However, he only compared the suitable place to Alina's former place of sale on Ambarkasih Street yesterday. Meanwhile, here he did not find it at all. Of course, that didn't mean there wasn't a suitable place, it was just that Nathan was unable to determine whether the place he saw was suitable or not.
"We can't sell anything here. There is a place reserved for merchants like me. But, of course a place like that must have taxes and the fees are quite large…” Alina seemed no longer gloomy. She was quite enthusiastic and there were doubts in her eyes, such as being afraid that taxes, what she just mentioned, might not have enough money or even get a strategic place.
“Taxes, huh? I don't think it would be too much of a burden for the lady, would it? Then, is there something troubling Miss Alina's heart?" asked Nathan who could not guess what Alina was worried about, because the results from the sale of snacks on Ambarkasih Street were quite impressive.
“Um… I'm still traumatized by selling in a big city like this…” Alina said in a low voice, then her hand unconsciously, like she was afraid of something, squeezed Nathan's sleeve.
The incident that the two met for the first time as well as the last incident was one of the examples that traumatized her, but it was the incident that impressed Alina the most until it ended with Nathan's presence in her life.
"Is it because of the three men from that time?" asked Nathan to confirm.
"Yeah..."
Alina's hands were shaking. She was serious about this. It made her not realize that her head was being patted by Nathan.
"Don't worry, I will protect you from such a man. Well, I have a suggestion…” Nathan told her that he would also help her sell like on Ambarkasih Street. The difference is that he will serve male customers, while Alina focuses on serving female customers.
“That's a great idea-… UGH!” said Alina who was cut off by someone who seemed to have just nudged her shoulder hard enough that she almost fell. Understandably, in a crowd like this it happens very often.
"Are you all right, miss?" asked Nathan, who was, one hand now wrapped around Alina's slender waist. He was not too used to this kind of crowded atmosphere, of course not during war. Because of that, the events that just happened were truly unexpected.
"I'm fine..." said Alina who was groping her own body after stabilizing her posture, before a panicked expression began to appear.
"Eh? The storage ring!? Is lost!"
"Apparently, the person who bumped into Miss Alina stole it without miss knowing..." Nathan correctly speculated. There is nothing to suspect other than that.
"Why is it like this? The storage ring shouldn't be stolen. You see, it will be in vain if the owner is still alive. The ring can't function unless the owner uses it…” Alina didn't seem to be able to guess what the thief was thinking, because her mind was in a mess right now.
“That is if the owner is still alive. What if after this, the Thief launches his second plan?” said a guessing Nathan.
“Second plan? What's that? How did Nathan find out about the Thief's second plan?” asked Alina who was confused by Nathan's words. She couldn't understand it, it was impossible if Nathan, who had been walking beside her and always protecting her, conspired with the Thief. Because of that thought, she kept her distance from Nathan a little bit.
“There is a possibility, the thief will use all means to be able to take the proceeds of the loot. In that case, think about it, how can the thief have the right to open the contents of the storage ring?” Nathan looked patiently and caringly at Alina mixed with confused feelings about why Alina was acting like she was wary of him.
Alina seemed to be digesting and thinking about the answer to Nathan's question. She had not yet realized the cause and effect, and the most important thing was to divide case by case. She looked at this with just one grasp, so she didn't see any other intent from the Thief. All she knew was that her ring had just been stolen by a fool.
“The thief is going to break the ring? Or dripping his blood on the ring? But, it's still in vain, Nathan..." Alina replied after walking quite a distance to the turn that led to one of the Monster Gates that was still active.
"Not like that. I mean, everything here is that he wouldn't care even if he had to sacrifice Miss Alina's life just to have access to your storage ring…” Nathan explained after seeing the deadlock in Alina's way of thinking. This, of course, made Alina immediately hug Nathan's arm tightly and look around warily.
“Nathan, don't be scaring me. It's not time for that..."
"Sorry. That's just the worst possible case. What we have to deal with right now is a way to get Miss's ring back. Without it, we wouldn't be able to sell, right?” Nathan just smiled seeing Alina who was so scared after hearing that her life was in danger, although it was still a possibility.
Just then, a familiar-looking ring glint flashed in an extremely fast time. Nathan saw it clearly. The ring someone was wearing felt very similar to Alina's, but he couldn't see the person's face because it wasn't pointed at him.
Many people make it difficult for anyone to find an uncertain person. However, for Nathan this was not a difficult matter. He can do anything, actually. It's just that everything needs the right time and place to be done.
His dark red eyes lit up slightly. His gaze seemed to be fixed on Alina who was still tightly hugging his arm. However, the environment around him did not escape one degree in his perception. This applies to things that are hidden and obstructed. His eyes are able to penetrate solit materials. That familiar glint was finally rediscovered in less than five seconds!
Analyzing the characteristics of the body of the person carrying the ring, he was able to identify who the thief was who had taken Alina's belongings. Despite knowing his appearance, Nathan still did not know his name or background.
Alina seems to have just woken up from fear. When she was translating Nathan's words about her missing ring and not being able to sell it. Her looked like she wanted to cry right then and there. However, people would definitely notice her and she wasn't one to get used to it. She was afraid that people would misunderstand that Nathan who was beside her might have done something bad to her. So she decided to look at Nathan. Her intuition told that there would be a solution when she did it.
DEG!
"Na-Nathan?!"