The Second Chance of Reincarnator

"…I see. So it was the doings of Rav'akari."

Kael breathed deeply and asked.

"Rav'akari. So my brother must've suffered?"

The voice on the other side turned mute for a moment, but after a long sigh, Thomas started speaking again.

"That we do not know as of yet, but Rav'akari is known for being very brutal. They do not enjoy quick deaths.

"They enjoy playing with your feelings and hearts—they're capable of reading your memories and using everything you love as a weapon to hurt you as badly as possible."

Thomas finished.

'Soul was with Arina and his friends at the time of his death—I can't even imagine what Rav'akari did to them…'

Kael gritted his teeth and said.

"I'd like to meet you. Is that possible?"

"That can be arranged. Is tomorrow a good time?"

Thomas asked.

"I want to see you now."

Kael said coldly.

"…I understand. Do you know where Old Street Ramen is? It is a small shop in the alleyway of Old Street, right behind K-Grocery. We can meet there."

Thomas said.

"I know where Old Street is, so I can find my way over there. I'll head over there right away."

Kael said.

"…I'll see you there."

The call ended, and Kael quickly pocketed his phone, then walked to the door and put an overcoat over his shoulders before stepping outside into the chilly night air.

When he turned back to look inside the house, he saw a brown-haired girl standing at the top of the stairs—she stared down at him—and he gave her a small, unsure smile before closing the door behind him.

"…"

Alice wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, walked back to her room, and went back to her bed.

Her eyes stayed open—she couldn't sleep.

…

Old Street, Ramen Shop.

Kael moved the flap of the door aside and stepped inside—the warmth of the shop enveloping him like a comforting blanket.

A black-coated man was sitting on a stool—his back facing Kael—and he was slurping on the ramen with a fervor that seemed almost desperate.

The alcohol bottles lined up behind the counter—it showed a reflection of Thomas' well-styled beard, brown hair, and the light glinting off of his silver earring.

"You're here. Take a seat, and order anything you want. I'll pay."

Thomas said, waved his chopsticks, and pointed to the empty seat next to him with them—then he returned back to slurping on the ramen.

The ramen shop owner smoked a cigarette and cooked in the back, occasionally glancing over at the two men.

"What'cha getting, young one?"

He asked.

"The same he is having."

Kael pointed at Thomas and sat beside him—the ramen shop owner nodded and went on to prepare another bowl of ramen.

"I wanted to ask—"

"Nope, don't talk."

Thomas lifted his chopsticks, put them in front of Kael's face, and shushed with a smile on his face.

"?"

Kael raised an eyebrow, and if his look could be put into words, it would say, "What the hell are you talking about now?" This content was first released on MV_LEMPYR.

"You shouldn't speak with an empty stomach. You didn't eat during dinner, did you? It's one of the side effects of grief, I suppose.

"Let's talk once you've filled your stomach so you can think clearly."

Thomas said.

"…Right."

Kael said, and then a steaming bowl of ramen was placed in front of him—it had a rich, hearty broth made with fermented soybean paste, some pork bones, and noodles with some green onions sprinkled on top.

It looked delicious.

He picked up the chopsticks, twirled them around in his fingers, and took a big slurp of the noodles.

The empty stomach growled in anticipation of the warm meal, and the hunger was quenched quickly.

While the ramen was still steaming hot, he finished it all and ended it with a sip of the savory broth.

"Ahh… It was great, thank you."

Kael said.

The ramen shop owner just nodded his head, tossed the cigarette out of the window of the shop, and just lit another one immediately after.

"This is the best ramen shop you can find. I am a sort of gourmet. I've traveled all around the world to find the best food.

"Old Bob's daughter has her own ramen shop back in Whitesky. She learned it all from her old man and is almost as good as he already."

Old Bob just scoffed with a smirk.

"And now… You wanted to speak to me about something."

Thomas turned to Kael and gave him the speaking turn.

"When will those Corpse Collectors go get my brother? I want the time frame."

Kael said.

"…It can take a month or even two. They're quite swamped with work at the moment, and the Guild will still have to send a party to check out the town where your brother died.

"It is not the priority of the Guild—your brother was level three, so he was Low Ranker, just like the rest of his party.

"Low Rankers are not the priority of the Guild. It can be a risky mission, so they'll have to send a party of High Rankers to go check out that area.

"High Rankers are also quite swamped at the moment—it can take even three months or four months.

"We can put in a request to increase its importance, but it wouldn't change anything."

Thomas said.

"Four months? My brother will be wolf food in a week. There will be nothing left of him in a month's time!"

Kael shouted.

"There is nothing I can do about that. I cannot order the Guild around. I am just a recruiter, and my sole job is to find people willing to jump into the jaws of death."

Thomas said.

"…Fine, I'll do it myself then. How do I enter Whitesky?"

Kael asked.

"…?!"

Thomas looked at him in shock, scoffed, and took a sip of the cup of alcohol.

"I know you're still grieving. It had been barely five hours. However, this is not the way to get rid of that grief.

"You need to think about your parents here. I don't think they'll want you to even think about Whitesky, let alone go there.

"I know you want to honor your brother's memory here, but do you think he wants you to die for his corpse?"

Thomas shook his head, stood up, and paid for the two bowls of ramen.

"Your job is recruiting. I am willing to get recruited. So, go ahead and recruit me, Thomas."

Kael stood up and said coldly.