The King's Mandate: Anomalous System

Das was walking his way to school.

He had headphones on his ears and hands in his pocket as he was chewing chocolates.

His bag was moving up and down as he walked.

'The store didn't have a change, so I bought too many chocolates,' he thought as he unwrapped one more chocolate.

He was storing all the wrappers in the small pocket in his bag.

"I will have to throw all the wrapper once I reach the school, or mom will kill me if she sees this"

It was nearly ten in the morning, so almost all the stores were open.

As he was walking, he noticed everyone was looking at him. Maybe it was just his imagination since he didn't like someone watching him.

He sighed as he put on a hoodie and kept walking.

He was glancing around to make sure no one was following him.

'Maybe I am just being overly cautious?'

'It's not like everyone knows me here.'

'And I use my alias everywhere.'

'Those killers are after Morris, not me.'

The reason he had his hands in his pocket was that he had knives hidden there.

"Nothing wrong with being a little cautious."

As he was walking, he saw a small boy, around four years old was walking on the road.

'What's a kid doing at the road?', he thought as he glanced around the kid.

Cars were passing by at almost fifty kilometers per hour.

'He will die.'

The boy kept looking at his right.

Das looked in the direction the kid was looking and saw a woman doing something on her phone while waiting at the pedestrian crossing.

'Is that his mother?'

Das watched closely as the kid tried to run-up to the woman.

'So she is his mother.'

As the boy was running, he fell down.

At the same time, a truck was passing by at full speed.

It was a large truck with big wheels.

'Even if the truck driver hit the break, the kid will get run over.'

Das then once again looked at the woman, who was still occupied with her phone.

Das turned around and started walking as he said, "Mother doesn't care, so why should other care?"

The truck was about three meters away from the kid when the mother heard loud horn noise and noticed her kid wasn't standing beside her.

She glanced around and saw him fallen down on the road, which the truck about two meters away from him.

Das slowed down his pace as he enjoyed the scene.

"Too late to realize, huh?"

The mother tried to run at the kid, but the surrounding pedestrians grabbed her and didn't let her go.

'Even if she tries to save him, they will both get run over and die.'

Das turned his gaze to the other side as he slowly kept walking.

'As much as I like the color of blood, I would get nightmares if I see a boy getting run over by the truck.'

"Watch out!"

It was then Das' heard a scream from behind him.

By the time Das glanced at the sense to see the road was covered with blood.

There was a girl's body on the road.

Das sighed as he walked past the road and continued walking towards the school.

After walking for about five minutes, he unwrapped one more chocolate wrapper and started chewing the chocolate.

"I have been eating chocolates all my way from the store, but I still have many left."

'I don't think I can eat all of them.'

"Should I throw them?"

Das gulped down as he chuckled and said, "I just got a nice idea."

'I will bribe Elena with this.'

"She likes eating chocolates. I will bribe her, saying if she solves a problem in five minutes, I will give her one chocolate."

Das smirked as he thought of million possibilities and ways of how he can tease Elena.

"Today is going to be an interesting day."

Das checked his phone as he said, "But I wonder when does she go to school."

'I am always on time, but whenever I reach there, she is always in the class.'

"Isn't an idiot and an airhead student like her supposed to be breaking the rules and come late?"

Das raised his eyebrows as he thought, 'If I can somehow know when she… huh?'

"Who was… that girl who the scene earlier?"

Das slapped himself as he questioned, "Remember, Das."

"What was she like?"

'I don't know. I only saw her hair.'

"Hair? What was her hair like?"

'Black!'

He gasped, and he asked, "What was she wearing?"

'It was a… school's uniform.'

Das clenched his chest with his hand and said, "Please, not her."

Da turned around and started running.

He was taking heavy breaths, and due to running, his breaths were getting unstable.

His heartbeats were going crazy.

"Please. Please. Please!"

'I don't know what this feeling is, and I can't describe it. But if I had to describe it in one word, I would describe it as fear.'

'I am afraid.'

'Afraid of what?'

'Afraid that it's not like I am imagining.'

'What does it matter?'

'Nothing matters. But I just want this feeling to go away, or I will die.'

When he arrived at the scene, no one was there.

There was an empty truck and blood all over the road, but no sign of the bodies.

Das grabbed one of the male passersby and said, "Where did the body go?"

"What body?"

"The girl… who was the girl?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

He then grabbed a female passer-by and asked, "Where is the girl?"

The girl was freaked out and ended up running away.

Das kept glancing around in search of a clue.

"Excuse me?" 

A girl approached Das.

Das glanced at the girl as he grabbed her face and said, "Do you know where the girl go?"

She was a little shocked but soon calmed herself down as she grabbed Das' hand and said, "You are talking about the girl who just got run over while saving the little boy, right?"

Das nodded as he hurriedly said, "Do you know where she is?"

"An ambulance came and took her to the hospital."

"Oh! What hospital?"

"I don't know."

Das once again started glancing around.

"Uhh… did you know that girl by any chance?" the girl asked.

"Huh?"

Das was in a state of confusion. He wasn't even aware of what he was doing right now.

"Were you acquainted with the girl?" she asked again.

"I.. I.." Das crouched down as he held his head and said, "I don't know."

The girl stared at Das and went into the cafe right next to her.

She brought a glass filled with water and said, "Here, drink some water."

Das grabbed the glass and started drinking the water. 

Rather than drinking, he spilled out half of the water because of his erratic breathing.

The girl then crouched down and said, "Her bag is in the cafe I work in. Do you want to confirm if she was the girl you are looking for or not?"

Das gulped down and said, "Yes."

The girl smiled and held Das' hand, saying, "Come on, let's go in."

Das stood up and let the girl lead him into the cafe.

She brought a chair for Das and said, "Sit here, I will bring the bag."

The girl went to the kitchen and said, "Where is the bag?"

"I don't know. Ask the manager", said one of the chefs.

The girl then walked to the manager's office and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" said the female voice from inside.

"Manager, it's me, Isabelle," said the girl.

"Come in."

The girl opened the door and went inside.

"What do you need, Isabelle? You want to work overtime again to get some extra pay?"

"No… I mean, yes. I do want to work extra hours for extra pay. BUt I am here to ask for that girl's bag."

The manager raised her eyebrows as she said, "I know you need money but stealing from--"

"I am not trying to steal."

The manager chuckled and said, "I was joking. The bag is under my table."

The girl grabbed the bag and said, "There is a boy outside, and he might know this girl."

"Ouh~! That's sad."

"It's not confirmed, but he looked petrified right now."

"Must be hard on him. I would be crying if that happened with me."

"I will show him the bag and bring it back."

The manager nodded.

The girl left the room, but when she went back to Das, he wasn't there.

The girl asked the other staff about him, and they said he dashed outside while talking with someone on the phone.

"Ah!"

When the girl went to get the bag, Das' phone rang.

It was ringing for a while, but he ignored it.

After getting continuous calls, he took out his phone and saw 'Beware of this idiot' on the screen.

He immediately picked up the call.

[Das, where are you? There are only five minutes left before the school gate closes]

"..."

Das sighed in relief as if a huge load was taken from him.

[Hello? Das? Can you listen to me? Hello?]

"..."

He took some deep breath to calm himself down before opening his mouth.

Das got up and dashed out of the cafe as he said, "I am on my way."

[Are you okay? Your voice sounds a little shaken]

"Yeah, I am running."

[You should use your phone while running]

"Yeah"

[Come fast. Or I will tease you for an entire day for coming late]

'I won't mind that.'

"Yeah"