Editing City Series:Volume2 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 6===

As the city filled the darkness with light, Amon went to get some dinner at a familiar pub called the Guinea. The Guinea was located near Bond Street which was filled with shops old even for London and the Guinea itself had been running since the fifteenth century.

It had no seats and everyone ate and drank while standing at the counter or the tall tables. That was the standard for the good old pubs. The counter and tables were almost entirely full and the customers showed little sign of moving.

However, no one stood on either side of Amon. Everyone else was chatting amongst themselves, but he was alone. He switched between eating his crisps and sandwich in silence.

Despite any thoughts he might have about Amon, the stone demon bartender approached him. He must have reached a break in the number of customers because he stopped in front of Amon and Overrode a mug in one of his six arms.

“This one’s for Jonathan. He helped me out a lot.”

He held out the dark stout beer.

Amon looked at it and pulled a ten pence coin from his jacket.

When the stone demon saw the coin on the counter, he stopped the hand setting down the mug.

“Hey, I said this one’s for Jonathan.”

“And the money’s ''from'' Jonathan,” replied Amon as he grabbed a crisp.

With an exasperated look, the stone demon set the mug on the counter next to Amon as if someone was standing there.

“It’s been two years since you came here, but you haven’t changed at all.”

“The pub hasn’t changed either.”

“I lowered the price of lagers to ten pence since the ladies are drinking too these days. But…what has you here? I know there’s some big case in London, so are you out looking for the murderer?”

Amon did not answer. The girl with the closed eyes appeared in the back of his mind, but he quickly erased that image.

However, the bartender seemed to have noticed.

“Is it a girl?”

“No, it’s not. More like a high-pressure salesman. More importantly, give me some Cheshire cheese. The hard stuff.”

“Sorry, but the hard kind isn’t very popular these days. I’m all out. …So what kind of girl is she?”

“You sure are persistent.”

“Of course I am. You haven’t been interested in a girl since Eilen, right?”

The look in Amon’s eyes changed when he heard that name.

“Don’t speak that name in front of me.”

The bartender fell silent. This must have happened in the past because he comfortably turned his back on Amon and walked over to a different customer.

Amon sighed and grabbed another crisp. He realized he should have ordered some Leicester if they were out of Cheshire, so he prepared to call the bartender over again.

But then he found a man standing to his left where Jonathan’s mug had been set.

The man had a sharp aura about him.

His blond hair was tied back behind his neck, he wore a long dark green coat that seemed to absorb the surrounding light, and his presence gave one goose bumps even when he only stood there.

The aura surrounding him had distanced the nearby customers. They had likely subconsciously moved away while they chatted.

Amon grabbed his sandwich while brushing aside the man’s presence.

“…”

The man silently placed a hand on the counter. At some point, he had Overridden a glass in that hand.

The scent that reached Amon’s nose told him the glass contained Glenmorangie malt whisky. The man seemed to be drinking it without diluting it.

“What do you want?”

Amon spoke only loud enough for the man to hear.

The answer could not have been simpler.

“For you to die.”

A brief silence fell, but after a few seconds…

“Why?”

Amon turned his focus toward the man as he asked.

In that instant, he found Jonathan’s mug in front of him for some reason.

The man who had stood on his left now stood on his right. The sandwich and crisps Amon had ordered were in front of the man.

Amon and the man.

Their positions had swapped to that order.

“…?”

Amon had no clue what had happened and the man asked him a question.

“Do you understand?”

At that moment, the two of them swapped positions again.

Just like before, the sandwich and crisps sat in front of Amon and Jonathan’s mug sat in front of the man to his left.

The man and Amon.

That was their order now.

“I see,” said Amon.

Then the man spoke.

“When identical words are placed side by side, their order can change without altering the meaning or form of the sentence.”

“…”

“And no one needs two of the same word.”

Silence fell.

After reflecting on that silence, Amon spoke without looking at the man.

“Are you the one who killed Jonathan and so many others?”

“If I answered that, you would have to die here.”

Amon said nothing and the man took a drink of his Glenmorangie.

“If it comes to that, I would take care of everyone else here in the first ten seconds.”

“And only then would you focus on me? You’re giving yourself a pretty big handicap there.”

“A handicap? It would only last ten seconds and I would only have to slay the monsters here. I would not be injured or even tired afterwards.”

When the man called the people in the pub “monsters”, Amon realized what he was.

“I see. So that’s why so many people have been dying in this city.”

“What will you do?”

He was asking if Amon would fight here.

Amon hesitated for just a moment, but after comparing his strength to the man next to him, he sighed. He fully Closed his thoughts so his mind could not be read and he shook his head.

“Fighting here isn’t the best plan. How about tomorrow?”

“Fine. And you can bring help if you want.”

“I wouldn’t do that. …Oh, I know. Come to St. James’s Park tomorrow evening.”

Only after saying that did he look at the man’s face for the first time.

The man similarly looked down on Amon.

In that instant, their gazes audibly clashed.

The same light filled the man’s blue eyes and Amon’s golden eyes.

“…!”

Amon frantically applied Verbal Self Control and Overrode his own body for good measure.

He felt he would otherwise trigger a Balance Fall where his writing fell out of balance. He had a feeling he would be sucked into the man’s eyes if he was not careful.

“So we are not exactly alike,” muttered the man as he brought a hand to his chest.

Amon saw a pendant hanging there. It was a beautiful women’s pendant that did not suit the man at all.

He seemed to toy with it in his hand and he asked a single sharp question.

“Can you defeat me?”

Amon did not respond.

He had a past. It was an unimaginable past which had led him to fight as he sought a place to die.

But what about this man before his eyes?

The man asked the same question again.

“Can you defeat me?”

Amon was reminded of a scene from his nightmares. In that nightmare, what did the people peering in through the apartment window want from him?

“…”

Suddenly, a smile so fearless that it looked forced appeared on Amon’s face

He gave his answer immediately afterwards.

“I’ll defeat you.”

The man nodded at that and began to turn his back on Amon.

But he stopped and his blue eyes turned to the mug on the counter.

“…”

He pulled a cigarette box from his coat pocket and pulled a cigarette from it. He held it between his fingers and lit it without placing it in his mouth.

As he watched the smoke rise from the cigarette, Amon pushed the counter’s ashtray over to Jonathan’s spot next to the mug.

As if answering Amon, the man placed the cigarette in the ashtray with the filter end pointed the other way.

He was clearly implying that someone else was there.

The two exchanged a glance and they both gave a small nod.

But then they were interrupted.

“Amon!”

He reflexively turned toward a voice he had heard countless times that day.

He found Klausl standing there, but unlike before, she was frowning and puffing out her cheeks. She seemed upset.

He glanced toward the man standing next to him. The man was staring expressionlessly at Klausl. He did not seem to have any thoughts about her sudden appearance, but that could not be the case. The atmosphere created by the two of them had led everyone else to subconsciously avoid them and yet this girl had completely ignored that and called out to Amon.

“Why did you leave without telling me? I had prepared dinner and everything.”

Klausl walked over and her casual movements left Amon speechless. Even if she was blind, she should have been able to sense the general atmosphere.

“…”

The man took a step toward her and left no opening in his movements.

Seeing that, Amon realized what he was trying to do.

…''You idiot!

Amon Opened a comment that could have been directed at Klausl or the man. At the same time, he tensed his body and prepared for what happened next.

However…

“Good evening. Are you a friend of Amon’s?”

Her words seemed far too out of place as they left her mouth and struck the man.

He did not respond, but the hand reaching for his coat pocket stopped.

“If not, I’m sorry. But you felt a lot like him.” She smiled at the man. “But don’t become exactly like him. That would be a lot of trouble.”

The man let his arms hang at his sides when he heard that. He was showing Amon he had no intention of attacking and then he walked around Klausl.

His footsteps were low and quiet and they grew more distant.

At the same time, sound returned to the pub.

The movements and voices of the other customers had seemed to stop at some point, but they surrounded Amon with noise once more.

He let the atmosphere of a normal pub wash over him and he gave a sigh of relief.

“So it worked out in the end. I can’t take much more of this.”

“Don’t say that.”

Klausl had reached his side at some point and she pinched his arm.

“Ow! What is wrong with you!?”

He glared at her and found her frowning at him.

“Why did you leave without telling me? I’ve been looking for you.”

“Oh, c’mon. Why do I have to eat the food my observer makes? Am I a prisoner or something?”

“This is my job. …Well, making your food isn’t, but observing you is.”

“Hey, Amon. Is this the girl you Opened about?”

Amon ignored the bartender who looked over his shoulder from the other side of the counter. Amon was not the type to get involved with that kind of thing.

However…

“What’s this, Amon? Were you spreading rumors about me?”

“How did you reach that conclusion?”

He clicked his tongue.

“Besides, I wouldn’t be eating here if you weren’t in my room.”

“Oh? Young lady, are you sharing a room with Amon?”

Before Amon could realize he might very well have dug his own grave here, Klausl answered.

“Yes. This morning, he suddenly embra-…”

“Dah! I told you not to say anything that would give people the wrong idea!”

After cutting her off, he realized the bartender was giving him a surprised look.

“Wh-what?’

“Amon… You’ve changed.”

“That’s not what you said earlier.”

He almost seemed to be sulking when he said that and he brought one of the remaining crisps to his mouth. The potato tasted bland to him, so he spoke to Klausl without turning her way.

“Hey, go get the salt from over there.”

“Oh, the salt? Sure.”

She reached out and hesitated between the different bottles of spices. She really was blind, but after feeling around, she found the right one.

After watching her, the bartender spoke to Amon.

“Hey, she’s blind, isn’t she? Try to have some tact.”

Amon did not respond. He casually took the small salt container and spoke to Klausl.

“Does it make you happy when people are extra careful around you?”

She did not answer, but she had a somehow relieved look on her face. It was not her usual smile. It was a relaxed and unguarded expression.

“…”

Unsure where to look, Amon averted his gaze.

She had either noticed his embarrassment or wanted to smooth things over because she asked the bartender a question.

“Bartender, can I order an Irish coffee and some Stilton?”

“Y-yes. If you have 22 pence.”

The bartender moved away and she pulled a wallet from a hidden pocket in her skirt.

Amon spoke as he sprinkled salt on his crisps.

“Alcoholic coffee and blue cheese? You drink a lot, don’t you?”

“Care for an evening drink? It will help you sleep.”

“No, thanks.”

“You two get along well. Here’s your order, young lady.”

The bartender set down the order as if to say “take your time” and Klausl picked up the glass of coffee.

Amon reached for the cheese, but she slapped his hand.

“Ow! You’re pretty damn stingy.”

“You can’t touch that.”

She picked up the plate of Stilton and placed it on the counter next to Amon as if offering it to someone.

It was right next to the mug and ashtray.

“This is what I ordered it for. I don’t know who this is for, but they looked sad without anything to eat.”

Amon stared at her as she gave her cheerful explanation and returned to her part of the counter.

…''What a strange person.

She smiled at his blatantly Opened thought.

“You are strange too, Amon.”

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