Chapter 119 - Attic

Once Yuki along with Marcell had entered the house they both took off their shoes and Marcell's wife led Yuki up the stairs. Their house looked to be plain just like every other one however for some reason, Yuki could feel a slight coziness emanating from it. While Yuki did wonder if every other house looked like theirs, he kept his mouth shut as it wasn't a priority. After all, the only thing he had to worry about at that moment was if he was rudely intruding on another person's life. For someone who had actually killed people without mercy, Yuki's manners were impeccable. 

"So, I heard Marcell call you Jack. That would be your name right?" Marcell's wife asked. 

"Uh- yes ma'am," Yuki replied. He was snapped back into reality too quickly which made him stutter a bit. 

"What a lovely name. You can just call me Elpis," said Marcell's wife. 

"Sure. Is it really okay for me to stay here though. I feel as if I'm intruding," said Yuki. 

"Of course it is. It's dangerous for a young boy like you to be all alone in this world. Haven't you heard? The crime rate everywhere has increased drastically. Laws and a proper justice system have yet to be implemented in most kingdoms. I can't allow you to be hurt in the outside world. I don't know, I'm probably just rambling. When I see you, I imagine my daughter in the same situation and can't help but feel sympathy," said Elpis. 

"Dangerous? I'm the danger that criminals should fear, but sure I guess. I'll play along with this for now," Yuki thought to himself. 

"Once again, I am ever so grateful for your kindness. I'll repay you one day for all you've done for me," replied Yuki. 

After walking up the stairs, Yuki was greeted by a hallway of sorts. In total he could see 3 white doors. 2 on the right which were most likely the bedrooms and one of the left end of the hallway which Yuki assumed to be the bathroom as it would make the most sense out of any other combination. To the side of the bathroom's wall were the bars which closed off the staircase which Yuki had come from. 

Elpis reached up to the small door on the ceiling of the hallway which Yuki hadn't seen and opened it by pushing down on the square door handle. Once Elpis had done that, the door opened and let out a staircase which led to the attic. 

"Sorry but this is the best we can offer you. I hope you don't mind," Elpis said as looked back at Yuki. 

"No, of course I don't mind. In fact I'm just happy I got a place to stay," Yuki reassured her. 

Elpis held Yuki by the wrist and helped him walk up the stairs to the attic. As Yuki reached his head up into the attic to look inside, he was surprised to find that there was already a bed inside there. Yuki had thought he would be sleeping on the floor or at best a futon but never an actual room. 

"I guess I've become too accustomed to the dungeon life. I forgot that stuff like this was normal in the outside world," Yuki thought to himself as he climbed up the stairs and stood on the floor of the attic. 

"So what do you think?" Elpis asked as he looked up at Yuki from the second floor of the house. 

"It's-it's wonderful. This is better than anything I could've asked for," replied Yuki as his eyes glew in excitement. After all, it had been so long since he had gotten a chance to sleep in a proper bed.

After Yuki entered the first dungeon, he had to sleep on the stage floor every night. Even after he got out of there, he was sent to prison where the beds were rock hard. Once he had escaped prison, Yuki had hoped that he would at least be able to get one good night's rest but instead he went into the 2nd dungeon in his quest for unmatched power. To make it worse, once he had cleared the 2nd dungeon, he fought a war on his own. For Yuki, it was like coming back home after years of servitude in the army. He was finally home. 

"I'll let you get accustomed to your new room for now. Dinner will be ready soon. There should be a couple towels in the closet. Grab one and clean up by then," said Elpis. 

"Oh right, I forgot how much I reeked. Well this is embarrassing," Yuki thought to himself as he blushed. 

He turned on the attic light before quickly walking towards the wooden closet which Elpis had informed him about to grab a towel. It was surprisingly easy to find as it was placed on the long shelf which spanned from one side of the closet to the other. The shelf itself was on top of the hangers for clothes. On top of the shelf was a full set of towels of all different sizes. Yuki just grabbed the one at the bottom as it was the one that would most likely go around his body. 

Once Yuki had grabbed the towel which he wanted, he closed the wooden closet and began to walk down the stairs towards the bathroom so he could take a shower. The attic itself was pretty bland which Yuki liked but it seemed odd. It had a bed, closet and night table. 

"Did they add this as a sort of guest room and I just happened to take it?" Yuki asked himself. 

"Well, there's no point in thinking about something which I might not get an answer for," Yuki said to himself before knocking on the bathroom door to make sure no one was in there. Once he didn't hear a reply from anyone, Yuki deemed it safe to enter. 

Once inside, Yuki turned on the lights to allow himself to see the room clearly. There was nothing special about the place. It had a sink, toilet, and shower just like any ordinary bathroom. 

"I don't even know what I was expecting," Yuki said to himself.