Atlus Academy

Old Chapter 3

The city was like a different place at night. There were tons of people trying to market their business on the streets. As I walked the streets I could tell that this city had no normal rules at night. Anything could happen and no one would talk about it. It was as if the things that happened at night didn't exist if it didn't effect the city in a major way. Even though it's not right, this was the kind of atmosphere I liked. I walked around for a bit and found myself on the same street from Lisa's story. I found the tool shop that she first went to, but it was closed. I couldn't spend all my time looking blindly for this guy. I needed a clue as to where he was. It was then that I noticed a man sitting near an alleyway. I walked up to him and as soon as he saw me he was instantly terrified.

"No," he said terrified. "Please don't hurt me sir. I may be poor, but I still have much to live for."

I knew my appearance would scare people, but then I wouldn't be able to do my job right. At least I had this mask. If not, people would instantly know I was a kid. Thanks to this, I can make my voice sound a bit distorted. That way I sound less like a kid and more like an adult. Or at lest that's what the general idea is. 

"Sir I'm not going to hurt you. I'm looking for information. I'll pay you if your information is useful."

The man looked up at me; fear still in his eyes, but he seemed eager to help.

"I can help you. What do you need information about dear sir?"

"I'm looking for the owner of that tool shop. If you can tell me where I might be able to find him and what stands out most about him I'll give you five hundred copper."

"Most certainly! The owner of that shop usually frequents a bar whenever he gets a large sum of money from his customers. You won't be able to miss him. He has a big beard and a big snake tattoo on his left arm. The bar he goes to is called The Drunken Warrior."

"Thank you, this will do. I hope to run into you again some time in the future."

"Of course sir."

I handed him a bag of copper coins and make my way to The Drunken Warrior. The bar was quite lively and it seemed that a lot of people around this area come here often. There were people wasted outside and people coming outside and falling over. I guess this bar had good alcohol if people were getting like this. I walk through the front door and I'm greeted with the site of all kinds of people drinking like the next day doesn't even exist. I start walking to the bar and I'm slowly scanning the room looking for the owner of that tool shop. As I reach the bar I see in the far left side of the bar the man that was vaguely described to me. He seemed to be drinking with a few people and having a blast. I got to the bar and sat down. One of the bartenders came up to me and taken aback by my appearance as well. He seemed a bit reluctant to talk to me, but decided to anyways.

"What can I get for you sir?"

"Can I have a water?" I said as I still stared at the shop owner and his friends.

"You do know this is a bar."

"I'm aware of what kind of place this is. I would like a water."

"Coming right away sir," he said as he ran off.

A few seconds later another bartender brought me my drink. I guess I scared off the other one. It didn't make a difference to me though. I grabbed my water and started making my way to the shop owners table. As I got closer I could hear their conversation throughout all of the noise in the bar.

"So you got a lot of money off of that stupid blacksmith girl?" one of the guys said.

"Yeah. She came in asking for tools like I was going to sell them to her. Then I got an idea. So I raised the price and told her some sob story about how I had to raise the prices."