Leonel closed his eyes, the tumultuous flow of his blood slowing down to a crawl. Rage wouldn't get him anything, anger wouldn't get him anything.
After a long while, Leonel slowly stood and walked toward the door. He didn't say anything toward the female-male pair. Nothing he said would have changed anything to begin with.
Seeing Leonel's reaction, the young woman remained expressionless while the male's sneer deepened. Wasn't this sort of reaction obvious? Even if Leonel felt wronged, so what? He may have been worth something on his own world, but in this place, he was nothing but an ant that could be squashed at the whims of others.
Leonel stepped out from the room and left.
Even without stepping foot outside the building, he could feel the glances he received as though each was boring into his very being. The mark that hovered above his forehead was too distinctive. Anyone could see it at a single glance.
Leonel didn't even bother to try and cover it up. He knew that there would be no point. If a simple head band could circumvent such a thing, whatever organization this was truly wouldn't be worth very much to begin with.
Eventually, Leonel pushed open the doors and stood at the top of a tall and wide set of stairs. For this organization to hold such a large property in such a bustling city, their standing was clear. Every square inch in a place like this likely cost an astronomical amount. As someone from Earth who was familiar with overpopulation problems, Leonel knew this more than others.
Leonel looked up to the top of the building, seeing the very same star and cross symbol.
To this point, he still didn't know what the title of this organization was, nor had anyone ever mentioned it to him. It seemed to be one of those things that everyone knew of, but also didn't dare to speak of easily.
Considering his style of dress, where he stood, and what hung above his forehead, Leonel stood out like a sore thumb. There was no limit of individuals who observed him from afar, whispering to one another.
However, Leonel continued to stand there as though burning the image of that star and cross into his mind. Then, he turned and walked away.
**
"Impossible, we don't accept your kind here. Please leave."
…
"All of our rooms are booked, sir. Please accept our greatest apolo – Ah! Yes, right away. The room has already been cleaned and prepped. This way please."
…
"Scram! I don't care if you're willing to pay double!"
…
Leonel expressionlessly strolled out of his final attempt. He felt nothing but numbness by this point.
After a while, he looked up toward the setting sun. It seemed as though the whole day had already gone by.
In truth, he hadn't spent the whole day searching for accommodations. Most of the time had been wasted away in that organization's building. It was only the past half an hour that he had spent moving from location to location, hoping to find a place of residence.
Though Leonel had the Segmented Cube, he knew that he couldn't so easily or casually use it. This was no longer Earth, there were plenty of people he had to fear here.
As of now, he had only used the dictionary as a translator, so no one grew greedy about it. Who would care about such a primitive translation treasure? However, the Segmented Cube was a spatial treasure capable of housing life. If others came to know of it, Leonel would be hunted to the ends of Terrain.
Leonel saw a food stall in the distance and suddenly realized it had been a long time since he ate anything that he didn't roast himself. Though he had a practically infinite supply of meat thanks to the snowglobes, it got bland eating nothing but unseasoned meat all the time.
However, before Leonel could even approach, the middle-aged woman who ran the stand gave him a stare as though daring him to come and suffer the consequences.
Leonel shook his head and sighed.
There was no purpose in staying in this city anymore.
Leonel felt several eyes on him as he walked toward the outside of the city.
'How am I supposed to find Aina like this…'
No one would give Leonel the time of day. Not only could he not find a place to stay, he couldn't find a place to eat. As he was now, it would be impossible to gather any information. How could he if no one would talk to him?
They say that this mark is only supposed to be a sign of suspicion and not criminality, but who would want a suspicious person around them? It was practically guaranteed to stay this way.
"The City Gates will be closing in half an hour and will not open again until dawn tomorrow."
Though the guard could see the mark on Leonel's forehead, he still casually said these words. After all, it was his job to say at least this much. That said, he didn't even look directly at Leonel as he spoke.
Leonel just shook his head and bitterly laughed.
Stay in the city? For what? To sleep on the streets? What was the point of that?
At least if he left the city he could take another rest in comfort so long as he found a deserted region. Also, clothing stores refused entry, so unless he repaired his chain necklace, he would have to make his own clothing. Either way, he would only be able to do this with his Segmented Cube, and he would only be safe to use his Segmented Cube if he left this place.
"Thanks." Leonel said noncommittedly.
The guard and his colleagues shook their heads and soon began to converse amongst themselves, not minding Leonel anymore.
It was just when Leonel was almost out of ear shot that he heard something that caught his interest by relying on the dictionary.