Morning had arrived. Kyle walked towards the haunted house, looking for Syne, whom he had left behind earlier.
A few minutes later, he was there, shocked to see Syne's body lying on the ground, in a position too explicit to describe. Kyle approached her, trying to wake her up before anyone else saw her.
'Is anyone even interested in her? But other people would definitely think she's a real girl.' He smiled after that.
It was only natural that Syne hadn't woken up yet, because it was only 5:40 a.m., and he only saw a few people passing by, including vendors carrying carts to prepare their wares early.
Since today was also an active Tuesday, some adults had already started working after the weekend holiday, and children and teenagers were beginning to head to school.
Meanwhile, Kyle hadn't gotten any job after graduating from school. He felt useless in this world and felt more useful being on Earth.
Indeed, two months ago, in mid-August, the original Kyle had been working at one of the railway companies in the Kingdom of Xirxus, in the city of Monity. He chose to work as a steam train attendant without any experience, and on the other hand, he worked hard, trying not to trouble his colleagues.
The city was located west of Shrie. Unlike Monity, the environment, technology, and salary were drastically different from Shrie. This was because the city was located in the eastern corner of the southern continent.
At the end of the month, after receiving his salary, the original Kyle could not stand the pressure of the job and was forced to quit, choosing to work around his place of residence.
From that day on, he was unemployed until October. His daily needs were met by helping others with their work, including his neighbours, and receiving payment in the evenings.
As if he knew he was going to die, ten days earlier, he had stopped taking on extra work. He had been thinking of a plan to revive his mother and sister, thanks to the persuasion of a "Hollow".
Kyle sighed slowly, carefully waking him by touching both shoulders.
Shortly after, his hands began to move, accompanied by his eyelids shifting to the right and left.
His eyes opened. Upon waking up, he looked at Kyle's face in surprise. Syne stood up, stretching his body because he couldn't stand his current form.
Crack! The sound from his back was quite loud, and he felt a little embarrassed because he was afraid that other people would hear it, especially Kyle, who was staring at him with an indifferent expression.
Syne tried to break the sudden tension. He cleared his throat once and said, "Oh... We haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Syne Leonard, and what's your name?"
For some reason, his heart pounded loudly when he heard that voice. Kyle shook his head, focusing his thoughts.
"... My name is Kyle Xirius." He paused for a moment, then continued, "So, are we going to look for those two people?" he asked, curious if Syne's goal had changed.
Syne had been annoyed earlier, feeling that his pride in earning money had been belittled. He nodded at Kyle, his face scowling.
Kyle's lips twitched afterwards, sighing and saying, "So, how are we going to find them?" he asked, too lazy to think of a plan. Trying to figure out what action he would take.
Syne was silent for a moment, then said, "Should we just look for them?"
Kyle's mouth gaped open. His face was puzzled, and finally he agreed to look for the bandit, but first he wanted to have breakfast because his stomach was growling.
The clock showed exactly 6:00 AM. Bakeries, cafes, and bars were still closed at this hour. Kyle had no choice but to take him around the city centre to look for other food shops that were already open.
After searching for so long, he still couldn't find it. The two of them were tired, leaning against the wall of a building in the Cren trading district.
They rested for quite a while, and an hour had passed. Several merchants had opened their stalls, and Syne, seeing this, immediately approached them, wanting to buy something to fill his stomach.
Syne bought two sandwich packs for 20 sen. Meanwhile, Kyle didn't buy anything because he had already eaten bread on his way here.
They looked for a place to sit and eat, and immediately ate the sandwiches. Ten minutes had passed, his stomach was no longer rumbling, and he felt relieved.
"Well, let's go, Mr Xirius..." said Syne calmly. She started walking.
Hearing that name called made him feel a little uncomfortable, as he was not used to hearing it and it sounded a little strange.
"Just call me Kyle! You fake lady," replied Kyle, following her from behind.
Syne suddenly stopped, turning around with an angry expression. She approached Kyle and grabbed his shirt collar.
"Hey, you bastard. Don't call me a fake lady!" Her eyes glared right at his face, making Kyle chuckle afterwards.
She had removed his hand, and Kyle smoothed out his shirt and straightened his hat. After that, he just smiled, looking at Syne's face, which continued to stare at him.
As he saw and thought, it wasn't just her gender that had changed. Her personality was almost different from when Kyle first met her. She was alert, calm, and cunning, which was the first thing he felt.
He didn't know what role she had taken on, and Kyle wasn't sure because he hadn't seen how the power worked and how she had transformed into a woman.
But he was sure that the power was deeply ingrained in Syne, so she could control it without losing control. If he had that ability, Kyle honestly wouldn't be strong enough.
"Why are you looking at me with that smile?" she asked, thinking that Kyle had fallen for her.
Even Syne's thoughts about Kyle had changed by about ninety degrees, seeing herself as a woman and seeing Kyle as a man who liked her.
Just thinking about it made her feel a little disgusted. Now she was indeed a woman, but what was the point if her body was female and her soul was male?
Kyle walked past her without answering the question. Syne, who saw this, tilted her head, then shook it, trying to focus on finding the bandits.
They roamed the city for five hours. It was 11:00 a.m.
They were currently in the west of Shrie, Werty District. For some reason, Syne asked Kyle to keep watch in this area.
Not long after, as if they knew it was coming, they saw the bandit group emerge, looking for weak-minded prey to rob of all their money.
They paused for a moment, looking for the right time to attack. They followed them quietly, blending in with the passers-by as if they were going about their business.
About ten minutes into their pursuit, the bandit group was ready to launch their attack. They had found the perfect target, and this district was very quiet compared to other districts, making it easy for the bandits to carry out their plan.
"What's this? You've damaged one of the shops," said the bandit leader, with his right-hand woman beside him.
This time, the target was a gentle woman, whose expression changed due to the pressure of about ten people and two people standing in front of her glaring at her.
Therefore, she uselessly handed over the 300 sen in her purse. The man ordered his right-hand woman to take the purse and count it.
Feeling satisfied, the bandit left the woman alone. Meanwhile, she could only cry because she had lost a lot of money. Not accepting this, she stood up and looked for a rock on the road.
Thwack!
The rock hit the bandit leader right on the head. He immediately turned around, and several of his men looked scared because they didn't know what would happen next.
The leader immediately ran towards the woman to attack her. Just as he was about to catch her, Kyle jumped from the top of the building, landed below, and was about to catch the man.
The man was startled by the change in his surroundings, surrounded by countless grey stones floating in every corner.
"What is this place? And what is actually happening!" The man was confused.
"Hey, you bastard. You won't be able to get out of here," said Kyle irritably, suddenly standing behind the man.
Hearing the cold, piercing voice from behind, he turned around, startled to see someone he had once targeted. His eyes widened as he took a step back, unsure of what to say.