31 ENTRY BADGES (1/2)
At a random spot in a forest, dozens of monkeys ganged up on an already beaten man and stripped all the gold off his body, scratching and biting him in the process. By the time the monkeys finished their work and left the scene, he lay on the ground in torn clothes, and not a single gram of gold could be seen anywhere on his body, other than a few of his hidden golden teeth.
He even lost some of his fingers, for the monkeys simply bit his fingers off when attempting to get the rings. That man was none other than Dalkan, who often get called as the 'man in gold'. Now, the only piece of cloth covering his body that didn't have a hole in it was his underwear. The huffs and puffs alone took away most of his remaining strength. After getting beaten at the bar, he escaped out with not-so-major injuries, but never in his dreams did he think that a bunch of monkeys would change his fate to such an extent.
Am I going to die in a pathetic place like this? He still couldn't believe what had happened to him. He ached to get up and get going, but he lacked the energy to do so. Fighting the monkeys took all of his strength. The monkeys didn't even give him the time to remove all the gold items from his body. They were like a congress of pissed-off baboons — the loudest, the rowdiest, and the least intelligent group one could hope to come across. He had never seen such ferocious and obnoxious monkeys before.
The bar stationed at the top of the cliff was noticeable in the background. He remembered the time when he jumped off the cliff, and luckily, the river happened to be underneath. But now, all that hard work felt like it amounted to nothing at the thought that he would end up in some wild beast's stomach.
While misery engrossed his mind, the ever-increasing sound of footsteps somehow managed to reach his ears. At first, his heart skipped a beat. But when his eyes saw a person, the pounding of his heart lightened.
”Whoa, whoa,” the simple-looking yellowish-haired person came hurriedly running to Dalkan. He smelled like a jungle. ”Look at you, sir. You are all bloody. Did you get mobbed by the monkeys?”
Dalkan nodded and squeezed out some words. ”They took my gold.”
”Gold? Who would wear such shining things and enter the Stand of Apes? ”The bloody you were asking to get offended if you've come wearing anything in excess to a normal clothing.”
”I wouldn't have come here if I knew about the monkeys. Take me out, to my place, please!” Dalkan said desperately, not minding the way the guy spoke to him. ”I will give you money.”
”Oh, But I only help birds,” the guy said, ”even among birds, only those that are birds of peace and aren't birds of prey.”
His words left Dulkan in puzzlement. ”C-Consider me as that bird, bird of peace!”
The guy paused a moment. ”I was thinking about going to the Bush Bar, but…I think I will consider the bloody you an exception, as a green bird.”
Dalkan couldn't help but ask. ”What's a green bird?”
”A prey that often gets preyed. How much can sir give?”
”As much as you want,” he said in an anguished tone. ”Save me and your life will change, I guarantee.”
”Sounds like a passerine's promise,” the guy placed Dalkan on his shoulders. ”I am in.”
Dalkan was elated. ”What's your name?”
”Apa Chong.” He walked away, in the opposite direction to that of the cliff.
On the tenth deck.
Zentzu was sauntering in a street. Many people approached him. Some of them acknowledged his presence. Some tipped their hats to him, while a few handed him sacks of money as well, all of which was collected by the guard behind him. Though he was wearing tall shoes, some of the kids who visited him were taller than him, but not even they showed any disrespect.
The guard leaned forward and said, ”Commander, can I ask you something?”
”Go on,” Hands placed on his back, Zentzu seemed to be in a sociable mood.
”That girl we just met was a pleasant one,” the guard's voice contained respect, ”Did you not ask her out because she didn't believe you were a commander when you first said it?”
A short-stayed smile surfaced on his face. ”Many of my unpleasant experiences taught me that girls prefer bald guys or even unemployed guys before they do short guys.”
”But commander, you can't be so sure,” the guard's voice was charged with assurance. ”Who knows? You might find a girl who might like you even before knowing you're rich.”
”Your joke doesn't sound too funny when not a single woman ever approached me prior to knowing who I am,” Zentzu just smiled and washed out all the negative emotions. ”World isn't a fair place for short guys, you know.” His voice turned intransigent, ”Short guys can be silly, but short guys can never be cute.”
The guard's chest pained a bit. ”I wouldn't dare joke with you, commander. But now I think I understand why my words would have sounded different.” He wanted to say sorry, but he knew that Zentzu didn't like receiving an apology when matters related his physique. So he refrained himself from speaking out. ”Nevertheless, I think you will one day find a girl who will like you the way you are.”
”I hope that's the case…” Zentzu said in a shallow tone and took a breath. He rubbed his chin with the long side of his finger. ”Where did that Lirzod go? Surely, he didn't leave the deck yet. Just where would he be staying at?”
Though the guard wanted to speak, he didn't. It was sort of obvious to him why Zentzu was looking for Lirzod. It was most likely to know whether or not Lirzod was taking Geragorn's place. If not, he could have easily ordered a dozen hollows to go and look for Lirzod. Since that wasn't the case, it meant that Zentzu didn't want many people to know about the incident.
If he was attending official matters, Zentzu often came riding Pupuu. Because most people on the tenth deck knew about it, they came and greeted him.
As they both neared towards a group of four boys that leisurely lay on the side of the road, the guard said in Zentzu's ears. ”Those four fools are causing quite some trouble by stealing jewelry of whoever they come across. They are even calling themselves Jewel Juniors.”
”Jewel Juniors?” Zentzu glanced at those four who were laughing out loud. ”They look like kosher kids. Do they have some senior?”
”No, commander. Not as far as I know.”
”Hmm,” he took a moment to observe them, ”they might just be wannabe Jewel Boys[1].”
As Zentzu got closer and closer to them as he walked in the street, it was clear that he just came out for a stroll and not for them. But they quickly went to him, with arched backs and folded arms.
”Commander, we are so glad to see you,” one of them said, his voice simply carrying excess respect. ”You look great.”
”Thanks,” Zentzu said, slightly stretching his lips. ”But there's no need for you to praise me like this for no reason.”
”We weren't praising you for no reason, sir,” One of the four inflated his voice his splendor, ”you are the commander of this deck. If you don't deserve our honor, then who else does?”
”Even a commander doesn't deserve over-respect,” His reply startled them.
The four looked at each other with semi-sheepish faces. ”We'll take our leave, sir.” Without wasting any more time, they turned back, and their steps shaped a bee-line to their previous spot.
Zentzu minded them no more and resumed his walk.
”Such crooks,” the guard still gave icy stares at them, ”though they were talking to you, their eyes were on your dress and rings.”
”They had the guts to come and talk to me after the things they've done. They are not just any cooks, but capable crooks,” Zentzu glanced at them once more, only for a second. ”As long as they limit it to looks, there's no need to bother about them. If the frequency of their job increases, then inform me. But first, send a word to Karak that I want him to give them a chance.”
”For sure,” though the guard felt like asking the commander to go and deal with them right away as he was asked by so many to report it to the commander. However, knowing that Zentzu might feel offended for asking him to deal with a small group of robbers, the guard chose not to break that news with him.
”Commander Zentzu,” A voice called out, making the guard and the commander turn towards the source. It came from within a room. ”Can you grace our room, please?”
The commander halted at the doorstep for a moment before entering the room. The guard closed the door while staying outside.
Inside the room, two people instantly got down and held Zentzu's legs. That room was the one that Lirzod broke into, during the birthday party.
”I'm averse to overaction,” Zentzu glanced down, his eyes darting daggers at them.
The slender one quickly got back to his feet, but the big guy took his time, not because he wanted to, but he had to. He was easily twice as tall as the commander. ”I'm extremely sorry, sir.”
”Just come to the point,” Zentzu voice was flat, his hands were at leisure on his back.
The big guy pointed his finger towards the bed, on top of which lay bread of tens of kilos.
”What's all that for?” Zentzu knitted his brows.
”For a Copper Entry Badge,” the big guy hesitantly said, his roommate watching silently. Both had their arms lightly folded in front of their bellies.