Project: iaseki

Chapter 4: No money

Lu looked at Esther who seemed so proud of her accomplished task. "Esther...that's...called a statue...that's not a person. But still, thanks".

She knit her eyebrows, and then pouted. "Ehh?? Oh no! I'm sorry to have let you down" she said and sat on the edge of the pool of water under the fountain statue. "I'm...tired too...have to...sleep" She said weakly, before shrinking into a small glowing ball before evaporating into mid-air.

Lu merely sighed. I figured as much, he told his little friend who was no longer there.

Lu was relieved to see that it wasn't at all a person. It was a statue with black accentuates on its hair, and its eyes weren't even colored. From her head water dripped down into the pool below her, and people would sometimes drop a coin or two.

A wishing well. Lu's heart almost slowed to a stop when he calmed down.

"You, boy with the gray hair" he heard a call.

He almost didn't realize it referred to him because he didn't originally have gray hair. Still he remembered it just in time and looked to his left. He saw an old lady dressed in simple pieces of colored fabrics. She sat on a chair across a table, and on top of it was a single mysterious item under red drapes. She combed her light yellowish brown hair and her neon orange eyes stared right at Lu.

"Me?" Lu pointed at himself.

"Yes" the old lady nodded.

Lu reluctantly walked towards her with suspicion.

She pulled the piece of red cloth and revealed a smooth glass ball sitting comfortably on a golden pillow. "I see that you aren't from here".

Lu sighed and explained, "You can say that to just about anybody who comes through the gates. Lady, I'm sorry, but I have no money to spare for your cheap gimmicks. Some unexpecting travellers might have fallen for it, but even out of courtesy, I can't give you anything even if I wanted to".

The old woman smiled. "That is true. However, can you still say the same if I also reveal that you aren't just from another country, but from another world".

Lu's eyes widened. He couldn't hide that he was at the very least, intrigued.

"You have a question in mind. If I knew what it is, I wouldn't ask you." The woman waved her hand over the glass ball. "As you can see, I've used my animus twice already, so you only have one question to have an answer to, but if and only if you'd agree to my terms".

It was only then that Lu recognized that the old woman wasn't a con artist as he thought, but was using her animus. She must have a hex related to life-reading, and have built herself a living out of it.

A wave of inquiries swirled through his mind. How do I live from here on? Is there anything bad that might happen to me so I can prepare for it? Is there anything that I should start improving on for a better quality of life? Should I hide my jetblack eyes? The list went on.

However, there were two questions question that rose to his attention, but as he was told only one of them can get an answer, the first was about Esther's family, and the second was the zero on his wrist. He thought long and hard and contemplated which one had more importance to him, but it was already obvious if that was the question

"What does the zero on my wrist mean?" he asked. It pained him to sacrifice another's interest for his own, but if there was so much to know, Lu knew he has to know more about himself. He has no idea if he actually poses any threat, not that he knows so far, but if the zero would be the cause of harm for Esther then he surely would have regretted it. Lu, even if he was raised with a silver spoon, was raised well, and quite strict enough to learn about life.