Vincent

A boy was running in the street while holding a piece of bread. He looked back and saw an angry old man chasing him with a rolling pin.

"Get back here you thief!" the old man was red as a tomato. His mustache got disheveled trying to run after the boy who stole from his bakery.

However, the boy was even faster. He took a quick turn in the alley, using the crowd to block the old man's sight. He covered his mouth when the man passed by until he was sure he was gone.

The little boy sighed in relief, his cheeks flushed as he looked at the bread in his hands. Without wasting time, he ate the bread as quickly as humanly possible.

In a place like this, there's a high chance that some other kid will steal his food so it was better to eat them right now. There wasn't a lack of hungry people here after all.  After finishing his meal, the boy continued making his way to the alley.

The alleys are by no means safe, that goes especially in this country. They are the homes for criminals, thieves, runaways, orphans, kidnappers you name it. This is why it's hard to trust anyone. It's not a matter of who will stab you in the back, it's a matter of when.

When the boy was passing by, several eyes kept following him but no one dared to make a move. In places like this, it's idiotic to attack anyone that looks weak, particularly children, women, the disabled, and the elderly.

It's not about human compassion or anything like that but because they're dangerous. Weak people don't survive here and if they do, you better think twice before doing anything. There's a reason why they're still alive.

As the boy left the most crowded part of the alley, he smiled. He ate a meal today and got quite some loot from the people's wallets. It's quite a huge haul. However, his smile didn't last for long when his body staggered and fell to the ground.

He held his head as flashes of new memories he didn't know before attacked his head.

"Roxana, my queen"

"Daddy, carry me! Kyaahaha~!"

"Boss!"

"Her name will be Reverie, our little heiress"

"Vincent darling!"

"Daddy where's my new toy?! You said you'll buy me a gun next time!"

"Don Vincent!"

"let's have twelve kids!"

"do you think childbirth is easy? I'll kill you!"

Memories after memories flashed that he felt his head breaking. It wasn't until a full minute that the pain subsided with no trace whatsoever. The only thing that remained was his sweating body and his lack of breath and energy, other than that, nothing happened. 

The people close to the boy saw what happened but no one made a move. Some of them are kidnappers and slave traders, in normal cases, these people wouldn't let an opportunity like this pass but most of them are doubtful to do so. Not just with each other but with the child itself. 

It could be a trap prepared by the kid so they would let their guard down. Well, no one can blame them for thinking like that. Children are already dangerous but it became more so when 'that group' appeared. 

They appeared in the alleys and slumps a few years ago and they're expanding like a web,  covering half of the country in just three years. That's quite an achievement considering the size of their country. 

However, the dread they brought didn't come from their fast growth but from how they run that place. They take kids and use children for missions and dirty work in exchange for a better life and environment. 

That's why no one wants to make the first move, if it's a trap then let the others try first. 

The little boy extended his hand, "can someone help me? Please..."

Everyone's expression turned dark after that. No one in their right mind would ask someone from the alley to help them, that's common sense!

The fact that he looks pitiful and unguarded made them doubt him even more.

That's exactly what he wanted, the truth is, he was extremely weak right now. He won't be able to run if someone decided to do anything. The best way to stop that is to make them think that he's one of those kids from the crazy organization that uses children.

He stayed like that for a while until he regained enough energy to walk. He then rolled his eyes at the people who didn't help him. "tch, you're all no fun. Well, what do I expect from a bunch of oldies" 

Everyone's expression turned sour but nobody dare to try something. They could feel that the boy was provoking them to do so. Well, they couldn't be any wrong than that. He was just trying to keep his pretense!

Because of that, he successfully deceived a bunch of people and kept his life intact. But it's not the time to celebrate yet, as long as he's a child in an environment like this, he will never be safe.

As a seven-year-old, there's a limit to what he can do, even after recovering his memories. What he needs right now is a guarantee. A guarantee that could protect his life until he's old enough to do so.

The boy went deeper into the alley until he reached the slumps. As one of the orphans that lived his entire life in this place, there are a lot of things that he knew and learned about the districts and places here.

It just so happens that his big sister who took care of him as a baby when his mother abandoned him knew a lot around here. She was also one of the kids that joined that shady organization.

His big sister was also the one who showed him this place. The little boy was in front of a middle-sized building. It doesn't look anything special and looks just the same as the other buildings around it.

On the building's signboard, characters or words that are different from any language on earth are written. Strangely, the boy was able to read them albeit slowly.

'Innocence organization'

"what a funny name," he blurted, but out of nowhere, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"oh~ you think so too?" a sudden voice came from behind. The boy stood there frozen, he looked from the side of his eyes and saw a person wearing a robe. Judging by his body and voice, it was a man, quite young at that.

'Should I run? No, I can't outrun him but I didn't even feel his presence until the very last second, this is dangerous.'

"no need to be so tense kid" the young man laughed. Hearing that, he turned around and face the young man with a smile plastered on his face.

"what you mean sir? I was just curious that's all" His smile look so innocent that no one would doubt his words.

The young man was taken aback by how fast the kid recovered. A faint smile appeared on his face. "Is that so? Very well, what's your name?"

"My name? I'm called Vincent"