When I opened my eyes, I saw a gray-white ceiling. The breeze held up the curtains and swayed gracefully, disrupting the morning light that passed through the windows and reflecting fragmented silhouettes on the wall.
The man's eyes widened and he paused for a few seconds, breathing heavily like he was breathing air again after drowning.
"get up!"
He shouted energetically, and a carp rolled up from the bed, but he used too much force and hit his head on the ceiling, causing a headache.
He covered his head and tossed and turned on the bed. After the pain subsided for a while, he slowly turned around and looked at the narrow and messy room.
This isn't really a room, it's just a storage room in the attic. It's full of messy things, with boxes and dust everywhere. I just put a small bed here, so it's more or less a room.
, that is, his bedroom.
"Ah...how long is the internship period left?"
The kestrel let out a long sigh and complained.
There is no salary during the internship period, just food, drink and accommodation. Kestrel has been working here for almost a month. He does all the dirty work. Not to mention the harsh working environment, he doesn’t even know when the internship period will end.
In such a comparison, the staff dormitories of the purification agency all look more attractive.
If he could, he really wanted to resign, but when it came to resigning, someone's words rang in his ears.
"Resign? Your internship period has not ended, that is to say, you have not joined the job. How can you resign if you have not joined the job?"
Thinking of this, Kestrel's expression twisted and he grabbed his work clothes with grief and anger.
"Damn, damn, these damn bosses deserve to be put on the street."
He cursed, lowered his head, changed his clothes in the narrow room, and walked to the door with a numb look on his face.
Kestrel is not too tall, but in this narrow attic, he feels like a giant living in a cave.
Stopping at the door, Kestrel paused, thinking about the damn employee training before, patted his face hard, and showed a stiff smile.
"Hey! Lucas, good morning, what do you think of my smile?"
Kestrel turned his head and asked with a smile on his face.
No one responded to him. Wherever he looked, there was a dusty spider web with a small spider hanging on it.
This is Kestrel's only roommate. Perhaps due to too much pressure, Kestrel has already begun to name this spider and have conversations with it.
"Oh? I think that smile is pretty good too... He's so handsome, isn't he? Bye, Lucas, see you tonight!"
Kestrel said and opened the door. He was very energetic and energetic, but if there were other people around, he would be more or less worried about this guy's mental state.
"Yo! Good morning! Everyone!"
Walking in the corridor, Kestrel waved to the passing caregivers, and everyone nodded and smiled.
Kestrel has not been working for a long time, and the people here really like Kestrel. Not only does Kestrel have a good personality, but the most important thing is that this guy is very capable. Once he comes, many tasks become much easier.
In their words, "If he is a tool, he must be the best one!"
Kestrel was also slow, or maybe he was numb, but in the face of such praise, he surprisingly felt good.
Then...then it's time to get down to business.
Kestrel stood in front of a door, and there were whispers and murmurs coming from behind the door, as if there were thousands of demons being imprisoned behind the door.
His expression was slightly ferocious, and he took deep breaths repeatedly. If possible, he hoped to give himself a shot of Florund's potion before opening the door.
Kestrel once thought that the most terrifying existence in the world was monsters and things related to monsters. But after arriving here, Kestrel realized that the world is very big, and the scary things are not limited to that.
"You can do it, Kestrel, you can do it, just believe in yourself."
Kestrel hypnotized himself and slapped his cheek repeatedly.
Finally, he pressed his hands on the door, mustered up all his courage, and pushed the door open.
In an instant, the silent world collapsed, and was replaced by the murmurs of thousands of evil spirits. Their laughter and joy seemed to be pouring out some kind of vicious curse, and they arrived with gusts of wind and thunder.
"It's the moon!"
A crisp voice sounded, and Kestrel was like an old man. His legs shook, and he raised his head helplessly, showing a stiff smile.
"Kids...good morning!"
He tried hard to look happy, and the children also looked at him and came running with cheers.
The children gathered in groups, while the kestrel inhaled and exhaled, mobilizing all the muscles in its body.
"Believe in yourself, believe in yourself, even the devil can't defeat you, right?"
Kestrel gave himself a psychological suggestion, but halfway through the suggestion, his thoughts were interrupted by pain.
"moon!"
The child's shout was so close to his ears that Kestrel felt a headbutt hit his chest, and then his body began to lean back, and his vision began to rotate...
"Mr. Moon!"
The caregivers screamed in surprise all around.
Accompanied by the exclamations and laughter of the children, Kestrel fell down in relief and fell heavily to the ground. The next moment, the children surrounded Kestrel, pinching his face, rubbing his head, and several others.
Open your mouth and bite the kestrel's arm, as if the kestrel is some kind of humanoid toy.
The kestrel looked up blankly. He felt like he was a particularly tough teething stick being bitten and dragged along the ground by a group of puppies that had not yet grown up.
His heart was empty, and he felt so sad at a certain moment that he could only express it through gritted teeth.
"Lorenzo you fucking..."
Damn Lorenzo, damn the job, and what’s even more damning is that Kestrel seems to have no reason to refuse all this, just because...
Thinking about the kestrel like this, my mind wandered.
"Mr. Moon is really popular with children."
"Yes, yes, and he seems to like children too."
"It's great. Work is much easier."
As he said this, the caregivers watched from a distance and no one dared to come near. They knew how scary these naughty children were.
It's the time when your body is growing, it's also the time when you're full of energy and the most troublesome.
Kestrel rested on the ground for a long time, then slowly got up. He seemed to be used to all this, and he greeted the other caregivers.
During his career in the purge agency, Kestrel has developed good physical fitness. He also had several children hanging on his body, like weights, and walked out the door surrounded by them.
"Let's go, kids, it's time for some fun."
The kestrel has a dry voice and a haggard look. On the opposite side are the excited children, who are impatient, like puppies ready to break out of their cages.
"Lorenzo, what have you funded, or are all children like this?"
Kestrel was talking to himself, and the next moment he tripped over a cheering child and fell heavily to the ground.
…
The kestrel sat on the fence, with an endless green field in front of him. The children were running and rejoicing on the grass, wrestling with each other for entertainment.
The breeze blew by, and the fresh air poured into the nose, making the kestrel's expression startled.
This is the rare time in the day when Kestrel relaxes. It is also at this time that Kestrel realizes the beauty of children... provided that these guys keep a distance from themselves.
He felt like a sheepdog, herding these children to prevent them from running too far or causing other problems.
In a daze, the whole person is like a tree growing randomly, and time and space are alienated.
"Are you still used to working? Mr. Moon."
The old man's voice rang out, calling Kestrel back from his thoughts. He turned his head and saw the "boss" on crutches.
The Kestrel has two owners, one is Lorenzo, whom he hopes to hang from a streetlight one day, and the other is the actual owner of the place, Lorenzo's landlord, Mrs. Van Rude.
The old lady looked at the kestrel with a smile and leaned against the guardrail.
"Yes, a new life that I have never experienced before."
Kestrel thought for a while and said frankly.
"how?"
"Well... probably, it's a little too laid-back. Although these children are really annoying sometimes, for me, it's all very strange, novel, and interesting."
Kestrel chattered.
"I was introduced by Lorenzo, and you probably know what I did before. How should I put it? Every day when I wake up, I sharpen my knife, and then I go to a certain intersection to kill people, and after that I come back to sleep.
Every day passes in a hurry, and I am very scared. I am afraid that after I go out today, I will never have the chance to come back."
Kestrel watched the children rolling in the grass, which reminded him of his own past, but at that time he was rolling in the mud in the lower city. Thinking of this, he shuddered.
"It's like the living dead. It's already dead. It's just the body that moves. After all, the ending is already determined.
But now it's over, I don't need to kill anyone anymore, and there is no death chasing me anymore...
Like a convict released from prison, I am finally free."
The kestrel looked at Mrs. Verde and smiled. Mrs. Verde also smiled and nodded. She stretched out her hand and patted the kestrel and muttered.
"That's great... Where's Lorenzo? How's he doing?"
"Ah? That bastard?" Kestrel looked startled when talking about Lorenzo, and then started complaining endlessly.
"He's doing very well, very well. How virtuous and capable is this guy!"
Kestrel's expression twisted for a moment, and Mrs. Van Roode also laughed.
The two chatted, chatting about the stories since Mrs. Veroude left. Kestrel picked out some things that could be said and told them, sometimes with sadness, sometimes with joy, and with constant laughter.
"Ah...it feels good to spend the rest of my life here."
Finally, the kestrel sighed like this.
"I thought you would like the bigger world and see different scenery." Mrs. Van Rude said.
Kestrel quickly waved his hand and said vetoed, "Enough, enough. I have experienced enough wonderful adventures in this life. I think it is more suitable for me to retire directly."
"Then why did you choose this? I mean...it doesn't seem like you are someone who would take the initiative to come here. Have you been deceived by Lorenzo?"
Hearing this, a familiar figure flashed past Kestrel's eyes. He laughed a few times, not knowing what to say.
At this time, the children ran over and gathered around the kestrel, chattering.
"Moon! Moon!"
"Tell stories, tell stories!"
"The Kestrel's Bizarre Adventure!"
Hearing this, Mrs. Van Roode showed doubts in her eyes, "Who is the Kestrel?"
Moon thought for a moment and said seriously.
"A friend of mine, a mutual friend of mine and Lorenzo."
"It seems like you have been through a lot together?"
"Yes, there are many interesting things... Kestrel is the boss, Lorenzo is just an assistant." Kestrel said without changing his expression.
"Stop bringing the kids up."
"certainly!"
The kestrel was pulled to the grass by the children, and everyone sat on the ground. The lively dogs calmed down and listened quietly to the kestrel's story.
"Where did we come from?"
"The Kestrel rescued Lorenzo from Gallonaro!"
"Yes, this is it!"
"Okay, okay, let me think about how to continue talking..."
The kestrel looked at the blue sky, and all the past came to him. There were no longer ferocious monsters around him, but a group of innocent children. Everything seemed extraordinarily peaceful and peaceful.
The figure in the memory appeared in the distance, overlapping with the memory.
"Moon! After finishing speaking, I brought the children back for lunch."
Gloria shouted from a distance, and Kestrel smiled and nodded.