The Misadventures of Rodrick and his Assistant

As per usual, Rodrick wasn't lucky enough to find an inn or a hotel that was either open or had empty rooms. In fact, he did find a particularly fancy hotel, but one night cost 15 silver, which was almost his entire wealth right now.

Rodrick genuinely didn't want to spend another night sleeping in a dirty alley, but he didn't have a choice. While vowing to himself that this would be the last time, he holed himself in a tight corner and used dirty rags to cover himself.

Unbeknownst to him, someone had visited the spot he had slept at last night, but when they found no one, they left with the food they had prepared.

At dawn, Rodrick's body shivered and his eyes slowly opened. Hunger, thirst, and cold temperature interrupted his sleep. While shivering, Rodrick yawned and stood up.

The first thing he did was visit some of the handful of stalls open at the crack of dawn. He spent 85 Bronze coins to buy food and water, which he devoured on the spot.

"Now what?"

While fiddling with a small bottle of water, he looked at the civilians of the Lineage District. As it was very early in the morning, the street was relatively empty.

Despite his refusal to listen to 'lore' about this city, Rodrick was still interested in it.

If he kept spending his entire day thinking and focusing on the mission, he would eventually collapse after having ran out of money.

He had nothing else of value to pawn, so, right now, he had to find a source of income.

As a Con Artist, Rodrick had tricked a lot of people into giving him money or investing into random non-existent products. However, he didn't think such tricks would work here because he was ignorant of this world and didn't know what might interest people.

Feeling disheartened, Rodrick roamed around for two hours until he found a small construction site. With a broad smile on his face, he approached a man that seemed to be the overseer.

…

"You should focus on the mission, User."

"Keep your invisible mouth shut! I need money! MONEY!"

Rodrick grumbled while walking away from the construction site. He wasn't able to convince the overseer to hire him, mostly because he neither had a good physique nor looked capable. His suit was dirty, shredded, and smelled of piss and spoiled food.

"The System didn't mention the Roulette this time. Did it fail?"

"The Roulette failed, User. It only has a 10% probability of succeeding."

"Why are all odds stacked against me?"

Rodrick pushed his long greasy hair back then leaned against the wall. He had nothing to do, nowhere to go, and had absolutely no clue how to meet a so-called 'Tooth fairy'.

"User, I suggest going around and checking if any children have a loose tooth."

"Yeah, that's a very smart suggestion. I'm impressed."

"I try to do my best, User. Thank you-"

"That was sarcasm, you stupid piece of shit! I'm going to look like a creep if I go around searching and talking to kids!"

"Why are you so hostile, User? I am your loyal assistant."

"Argh! Don't talk! Hearing your voice makes me more irritated."

After musing with himself for a while, Rodrick began moving again. He headed to the Slums, which was less dangerous during the day.

Once he passed the 'threshold' between the two sub-districts, which was just a big fence with a broken gate, he was met with the familiar sight of the Slums.

Decrepit buildings, rubble, heaps of trash, and thin malnourished homeless people lying on the ground or roaming the open area with hollow expression.

The scene was straight-out of a dystopian movie. With a sigh, Rodrick wandered around, searching for children, but even that proved to be a difficult task.

After half an hour, he saw a boy, no older than 8, moving in the shadows inconspicuously. He was hugging something wrapped in an old white cloth.

The boy, fearful and anxious, kept looking around before scurrying off into an alley. Rodrick followed after him while maintaining a safe distance.

The tailing process lasted for five minutes, after which Rodrick saw the boy nimbly crawl into a heap of trash.

After a momentary hesitation, he followed him and soon reached the boy's home, so to speak.

"Ah!"

When he saw the shadow of an adult man appear, the boy freaked out, letting out a cry of surprise. He hastily backed away, clumsily hiding what he had been hugging, and then taking out a rusty kitchen knife.

"S-stay away!"

Naturally, Rodrick didn't threaten the kid, he just raised his arms while quickly inspecting his surroundings. Although the boy's home was cramped, it was a livable place. The smell was unsurprisingly awful, but there was a mattress, ripped blankets, and even a handful of broken toys.

"Hello there."

"Stay away! I'll k-kill you!"

The boy, trembling, held the knife with both hands and even waved it around.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Relax."

His reassurance notwithstanding, the boy's face only got paler and he panicked even more.

As if he couldn't hold it anymore, he leapt at Rodrick with the knife in hand.

Alas, due to his small size and weak body, Rodrick was able to easily dodge and snatch the knife from his hands.

"Ah!"

The boy, now defenseless, jumped back, took a fetal position while protecting his head.

Seeing this, Rodrick shook his head, "Don't be afraid. I'm not here to rob you. Look."

He put the knife on the ground and raised his hands again.

It took the boy a whole minute to turn his head and look at the stranger. Although the danger was gone, he was still stricken with fear.

"Ehm… by any chance, do you have a loose tooth?"

"..."

Faced with such an unexpected question, the boy laid there- still in fetal position- gazing back at Rodrick with fear and confusion.

"Look!"

Rodrick took out a silver coin, showing it to the boy.

"If you have a loose tooth, I'll give you this!"

The boy still didn't respond, though his eyes were locked onto the glistening coin.

"Or I can give you food, if you want!"

Even with Rodrick's encouragement and his attempt to sound friendly, there was still only silence as an answer.

"No?" Rodrick's lips twitched ever-so-slightly, "I might not look like it, but I'm very rich. If you know someone who just lost a tooth or is about to lose one, I can compensate you. How about it? Do you want to make a deal? I'm Rodrick, by the way."

Multiple attempts later, Rodrick gave up and crawled out of the trash heap. The boy refused to talk or move, so there was no use to press further.

Just as he appeared outside, however, Rodrick heard light footsteps.

"A-ah!"

When the boy saw Rodrick turn around and look at him, his crawling came to a halt.

"Y-you will give me money if I tell you?"

It seemed that, albeit desperate, the boy couldn't pass up a chance to earn money. Seconds later, his stomach growled in hunger, which made him flinch.

"Absolutely."

Rodrick crouched down to meet the boy's gaze, flashing a wide smile.

"I-I know someone!"

'Fuck Yes! I'm lucky for once!'

"Who?"

"..."

The boy, still on all fours at the entrance at the inconspicuous hole within the trash heap, hesitantly averted his eyes.

"I…I-It's my friend."

"Oh? Where is she? Does she also live here?"

"..." the boy shook his head

"If you tell me her name and where she lives, I'll give you the silver coin." To entice him, Rodrick showed the coin again, which was enough of an incentive, fortunately.

"She lives… um… outside the Slums. She's… rich."

"You don't have to worry. I swear I'm not going to hurt her."

If the mission was to meet a tooth fairy, then the most logical way was to find a child that was about to lose a tooth, or had just lost one. It seemed absurd and even far-fetched, but Rodrick had no other alternatives, at least not ones that wouldn't take more than a day.

Now that the boy was willing to cooperate, the rest of the conversation proceeded smoothly.

…

"So, Bin, you hang out with her everyday?"

The boy, called Bin, walked alongside Rodrick. He became calmer and more talkative now that he ascertained that Rodrick wasn't scary.

"Yes! She even gives me food! She gave me a cake today… but I didn't get to eat it."

"Ah, so that was what you were hiding? My bad. Well, if it's no longer edible, I'll buy another one as an apology."

"R-really?"

"Yes, it's a promise. You're helping me alot, after all."

With a bright expression, Bin quickened his steps, hoping to show his friend to Rodrick and get the promised monetary reward.

After a bit of walking, the two left the Slums and reached a small yet beautiful park somewhere in the Common Sub-District.

From what Rodrick had learned, Bin would meet his friend once a day in a secluded spot within this park. His friend would use the excuse of coming to play here as an excuse to meet with him.

Apparently, they've known each other for half an year but had to keep meeting in secret due to the girl's parents.

"Robin is really nice! She always gives me delicious food! Ah! That's her!"

Once they reached the park, Bin cheerfully pointed at a girl with curled auburn hair and a pair of green eyes. While she wasn't as beautiful as Elizabeth, her attire and appearance definitely matched the stereotypical definition of a 'noble young girl'.

She was currently playing with other kids, who were, naturally, of noble lineage too. In fact, the park itself was restricted to those with 'status'. There were even guards patrolling around it, making it difficult for suspicious individuals or homeless people to get inside.

Bin pointed at a forested area west of the park, which was where he would usually meet with Robin.

"Okay. And you are sure she has a loose tooth?"

"Y-yes! It's this one!" Bin pointed at his front tooth, "She said it hurts a bit and that a doctor will help her remove it today."

"I see."

Rodrick nodded before taking out a silver coin and handing it to the boy.

"As promised."

"..."

With shaky hands, Bin accepted the coin. He seemed afraid to make it dirty as he started cleaning it before hastily hiding it out of sight.

"Thank you, Bin. I'll never forget this."

"N-no! Thank you sir! Thank you!"

Teary-eyed, Bin repeatedly thanked him.

"Hehehe!" Rodrick patted his head, "Off you go now. I'll bring you a cake tonight. Wait for me in your secret hiding spot, okay?"

"Y-yes"

Within seconds, the boy was out of sight.

'Now, how am I going to do this?'

"User, I suggest you kidnap her, remove her tooth, and then wait for the tooth fairy to arrive."

"Sure, I'll run into the park, bypass the guards, grab her, and then fly into the sky. I'll hide her in an underground cellar, carefully remove her tooth, and then cast a spell to make her forget everything."

"Is that sarcasm, User?"

"Good, you're evolving."

"Do you have a plan, User?"

Rodrick shrugged, "No. She's a noble, so she likely lives in a mansion. The chance of finding another kid with a loose tooth is incredibly low, so if she lives beyond the Common Sub-district, I'm screwed."

While forming a plan, Rodrick kept staring at Robin. Since she was allowed to come here and play, she might not be from a prominent family.

For instance, Elizabeth moved in her own luxurious carriage, and were it not for her planned assassination, she would have had guards protecting her.

In contrast, Robin was here alone and only the guards around the park were present. It seemed strange that parents would leave their kids alone here, but Rodrick had no time to guess the intent behind such a mentality.

Maybe the parents genuinely thought this park was safe and there was no way something bad would happen.

Either way, Rodrick could only stand outside the park and watch until enough time passed for the kids to grow tired and disperse.