Two young children slipped away from their escorting knights, running through the shabby alleys. One of the children had blond hair, while the other had red hair.
"Where are we going, Big Bro?" asked the red-haired child innocently. The blond-haired child replied as they ran, "We're going on a little adventure! It's okay, I'll look out for you, hehehe!"
Their clothes told the people around them that they were the children of nobles, so the residents stepped aside and made way for the two of them. During their run, they passed by all sorts of small shops and came across various open-air stalls selling their wares.
The blond-haired and red-haired children laughed throughout their little run. The blond-haired child led the way, and the two of them arrived at a narrow alley, stopping their run.
"W-where are we, Big Bro?" said the red-haired boy, panting. The blond-haired boy sat on an abandoned crate, snorting. "Let's rest here for a bit!"
The red-haired boy followed his 'big brother's' words, and then they chatted about everything they'd encountered in these shabby alleys.
"Big Bro, I heard that in Zeris City there are all kinds of shops selling all sorts of weird items!"
"Zeris City? That's far from where we are. Oh yeah, I heard there's a prestigious school in that city...!"
"That's right, Big Bro!" the red-haired boy said with starry eyes, "Zeris Academy! If we can get into that school, we can explore the city as much as we want as students!"
The blond-haired boy agreed with the suggestion, "You're right! Then the two of us will go there once we're old enough!"
"Yeah, it's our promise, then!" replied the red-haired boy cheerfully. The blond-haired boy chuckled, "Of course! Just you wait—I'm going to be number one there!"
The cheerful atmosphere was shattered when a group of grown men in dirty clothes suddenly appeared before them. The men blocked the boys' path.
"Hey, you're right! There's a noble kid here!"
"Catch them!"
Before they could run, the two boys were caught by the men. Of course, the boys struggled and screamed, begging to be let go.
"L-let me go! Do you know who we are!?" said the blond-haired boy. One of the men slapped the boy's cheek hard, knocking him to the ground. "Shut your trap! You snotty little noble brat!"
The little blond-haired boy trembled in fear, he realized his life was truly in danger. Meanwhile, the red-haired boy just whimpered in pain and occasionally sobbed after being slapped as well.
Then one of the men had a terrible idea. "Hey, did the Boss tell us to deliver the 'goods' in perfect & pristine condition?"
"No. But what are you—ah, I see. Whatever, as long as these kids don't die, go ahead." replied one of the men. Some of the ragged men then smiled and began beating the blond-haired child.
"Ahhhhhkkk!?!"
"Damn noble brat! You live a good life while we have to suffer!!"
"You bastard, you noble brat! Your parents are probably enjoying a nice meal right now, huh!?!"
"Aghhh! No, no, please s-stop!"
Some of the thugs beat, kicked, and punched the two boys. Fearing for his life, the blond-haired boy's instincts kicked in, and he bit the hand of a thug who was grabbing his collar.
"Aw, fuck!"
Nimbly escaping, the blond-haired boy managed to flee from the grip of the thugs and was already at the end of the alley. Then the men were about to chase him but were stopped by one of their companions.
"Wait, wait. Don't chase him, we don't want to draw more attention. Our target is only one child per day, and this one is more than enough."
They all looked at the child still crying on the ground, the red-haired child spread his arms, pleading with the blond-haired boy.
"Bi-Big Bro Er-Eric, pl-plea-please hel-help me..."
The blond-haired boy froze, he slowly turned around and saw a child whose face was covered in blood and beginning to swell from the abuse. He was gasping for breath, his heart pounding, sweat beginning to pour down his forehead.
And the blond-haired boy, Eric, ran away and left Connor behind.
***
Eric jolted awake from his dream, his body drenched in sweat. He repeatedly wiped his face. "Great…"
Eric tried to push the memory aside and got up. He distracted himself by doing his usual physical training, then took a quick warm shower. He chose not to eat breakfast and immediately slipped out of the mansion, heading to the Adventurer's Guild in town.
Once there, he kept his hood pulled high while observing the activity around him. Eric always came here, sitting in the corner to clear his mind and set his intentions when he wanted a change of pace.
The hustle and bustle and laughter of the adventurers somehow calmed him. In this small space, he felt like an ordinary man—not a noble, an Academy student, or the fallen firstborn.
For a few moments, he blended into the crowd, fully immersing himself. That is, until two people approached his table.
"Huh, Sir Eric?" He lifted his head slightly and saw a man carrying a shield and a young woman with a bow on her back. Eric recognized them both: Rudy and Emilia.
"Fancy meeting you guys here." Eric replied casually. The siblings noticed Eric's fully covered attire and understood the reason, then they both joined him.
"Yeah, we just happened to be on a merchant escort mission heading this way and about to return to Zeris City." Rudy explained, scratching his cheek. Emilia simply nodded.
Before Eric could speak again, two people approached the three of them. An old man with a sword and a young woman with a magical staff, they both sat down next to Eric without saying a word.
"I thought we were off duty, Sir Eric?" Millie whispered, while Ferguson eyed the two adventurers who had arrived first. Eric cleared his throat and introduced them one by one.
"Ahem. Rudy, Emilia. Meet old man Ferguson and his daughter, Millie. You two, this is Rudy and Emilia—you could say they're the adventurers I used to hire."
Ferguson nodded impassively at the two adventurer siblings, while Millie smiled warmly. Rudy nodded nervously, unlike Emilia, who wore a blank expression, just like Ferguson.
"This old man is the real deal, a Gold-rank Swordsman," Eric said, giving a point with his thumb, which genuinely surprised Rudy and Emilia. "I'm honored to meet you, Mister Ferguson!" Rudy replied in awe.
Emilia nudged her brother, while Millie smiled at her new acquaintances. "It's just a title." Ferguson said nonchalantly. Eric changed the subject, explaining why he was there.
"You might be a little confused as to why I'm here," his words caught their attention. "I just wanted to clear my head—that's all."
The four of them fell silent, not continuing the conversation. Eric leaned back fully in his chair, gazing at the ceiling. "Say, if you suddenly arrived at a new workplace—let's say as a manager—and your coworkers treated you badly because the previous manager was a terrible person. What would you do? Oh right, you're the twin brother of that terrible manager."
Eric's odd question left the other four confused. Rudy scratched his neck, carefully voicing his opinion.
"Maybe I'd try to mend my relationship with my coworkers? Even though we're siblings, I'd convince them that my brother and I are different."
"I don't care. I'll just keep working as usual," Emilia said flatly.
"Um… if it were me… I'd probably try to address the issues caused by the previous manager. That way, I'd earn my coworkers' trust," Millie replied, her hand on her chin.
Ferguson said in his deep voice, "The process and the results—that's what I focus on and what I demonstrate. I will do my job as a manager, and along the way, I'm sure some people will trust me, while others will be displeased or hate me."
"I won't be able to satisfy or please all my coworkers, but despite that I'll do my job as a manager." The old man looked at him intently.
"That is my responsibility… and my burden."
Eric was surprised, and a small smirk formed on his face. All his teammates' answers were enough to clear his mind.
"So what if I'm not the real Eric? I am Eric Avent, and at the same time, I am Eric Ostheno."
"It's annoying when someone I've just met is suddenly rude to me, because they only know the former Eric Ostheno, not Eric Avent or the current Eric Ostheno."
"This is the burden I must bear upon entering Eric Ostheno's body. I remain responsible for all the consequences created by the former Eric."
"May you rest in peace, brat. If you ever watch me, I'll show you how to live a life to the fullest!"
Finishing his internal monologue, Eric silently vowed to himself and to everything about this body: he would live as he should and be free.
The entire guild was suddenly thrown into an uproar by news brought by an adventurer who burst in, panting. Many of the adventurers who heard it were utterly shocked.
"You're kidding, right!? Marquis Videno was attacked!?"
"...an entire family was attacked? Wow, who's the idiot who attacked them?"
"The Red Descendant..."
"No way, those lunatics!?"
"Right, right. Now Marquis Ostheno has declared a state of emergency and is asking for help from the adventurers on standby to assist our empire's Financial Chief and his family..."
Millie, Ferguson, Rudy, and Emilia were startled by the news. It was rare for a fanatical worshipper group like Red Descendant to openly attack a noble—especially a high-ranking noble like Marquis Videno.
Compared to their counterpart, the demonic cultists, those ragtag religious folks most of the time operated quietly behind the scene, rarely showing their involvement.
Meanwhile, Eric remembered something and said to Rudy and Emilia. "You two, come with me. Ferguson, Millie, you two as well. There's an urgent quest you'll need to take on."
Seeing the young man nod toward the murmuring adventurers, the four of them immediately understood the urgent quest Eric was referring to.
"Let me prepare the horses." The old swordsman rose from his chair, and the young priestess also stood up hurriedly. "I'll restock some of my potions!"
Leaving Rudy and Emilia behind, which made them wonder. "We're cool with it because we're free too… but is there a specific reason you're suddenly joining this rescue mission?"
"I made a promise to one of the children in the Videno family." Eric stood up and began walking toward the guild's exit, his fur coat fluttering slightly. "And I'm going to keep it." He glanced back slightly, where Rudy and Emilia were also following him.
"Because I'm a man of my word."