Chapter 3: New Determination
Once Mai disappears into the crowd, I pull myself out of my reverie and take stock.
<I forgot about citizenship issues. I may need to have some paperwork in order to work in the city. Maybe she is right and I could even find a job there as well.>
I look around for a map or some way to get directions. Without any luck I decide to ask someone nearby. Finding a man who does not seem to be in a particular hurry, I call out to him.
"Excuse me, sir. Could you please direct me to Cider Street?" I say with a modicum of civility.
"You get to talk with such a beauty and then want help from me? Best of luck to you, bastard."
Taken back a little, I look around at others in the crowd and begin to notice that several are glancing at me with jealous eyes. A tacit smile begins to form on my face. I laugh out loud before slapping my hands together and speaking loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. "I see, I see. Because you're incapable of attracting the attention of a wonderful lady, that means no one else should be able to either. Makes perfect sense to me."
The man's fist clenches and he gets visibly angry.
I cut him off before the interaction can spiral downward any further, "I will be off to try and find it myself then." In a mocking tone I finish the conversation as I pass him by. "Thanks for all your assistance. Be sure to save some of that benevolence for the ladies next time."
I chuckle further as I turn the corner, leaving some negative karma in my wake.
After wandering around and finally getting some good directions, I arrive in front of the government office on Cider Street. It seems to be more appropriate to call it a palace. I can only imagine that it is one of the most important administrative buildings in the city. Along the way, I have to come to discover that this is actually the capital city, or the royal city as some refer to it as, of the Karnell Empire. Surprisingly enough, I have not found out the name of the city through casually listening to others. Everyone refers to it is as either "the capital" or "the royal city". <Maybe its name is actually just the Royal City of Karnell or Karnell City. I will have to look into it later on.>
I enter the giant building with a rather undeserved aura of belonging. The best way to move forward here is to act like I belong here to begin with. A long hall, at least a hundred meters long, spans out in front of me. Its width is just as impressive at over a dozen meters. Each side of the hall holds a dozen or so doors, each with a sign above it that designates different offices, departments, or seemingly significant personnel. Halfway down the hall is a large circular intersection that forms a large open space with a beautiful dome above. I can see sunlight beaming down from above into that space. A lot of work has obviously been put into designing and maintaining this building.
Signs in the hallway lead me to a room that should handle citizen registry. Surprisingly, the office seems to be relatively free. I look around to find one of the desks even has no one waiting in line. Walking up to it, I see a well put together man behind it, hard at work.
A few moments go by without being noticed, so I politely knock on the desk. "Hello?"
The man looks up at me with a polite smile, "My apologies. Sorry for the wait, I was just dealing with something troublesome. How can I help you?"
"I am new to the area and am unfamiliar with what is needed in order to work in the city."
"Can I see your identification? I can register you as a resident of the city and then get started with a work visa."
"What if I do not have any form of identification?"
"If you lost it, you will have to go to another department to try and get one remade."
"I actually have never received a form of identification."
He shows a perplexed face that I was not expecting from someone who seemed to be so professional. "What do you mean? No one is born without receiving a form of ID in this country. No one enters the country without receiving one either. Are you an illegal immigrant?"
<Wow, something major must have happened in this world. Illegal immigration didn't really exist until at least a few decades after the industrial revolution ended on Earth.>
"In all honesty, I do not know how I arrived in this country. One day I woke up in an alleyway with no idea how I ended up there. On my way here, a Miss Mai Kaname recommended that I come here." I fib slightly. She may have recommended I come here, but she certainly did not know the particularities of my situation. <I hope the name reference is enough to help things go more smoothly.>
This time astonishment gets plastered on his face. "Please describe the woman you just mentioned."
"Roughly 160 cm tall, beautifully long red hair, and wearing an elegant maid outfit. Does that sound about right?"
"It is amazing that you could make such an impression on her. She is quite the renowned figure among influential people in this city. Very well, I will get someone to dispense you a special visa document which will serve as an identification for now." He pulled a piece of paper out of one of the drawers in his desk and placed it in front of him. He pulled out a pen and dipped it into a strange multi-colored ink. After writing into a few boxes of the premade document, the ink suddenly settled as a wave into a brilliant orange.
Handing the document over to me, he spoke up again, "Here, go down the hall past the open space to the special diplomatic department. Find Julie and hand this to her. She will get you sorted out. Once that is done, you can come back here and get a registration to the city for work. This registration is how your head tax will be recorded every year."
I nod in affirmation, "Thank you very much for the assistance and understanding!" I turn back to head into the giant hall again.
<Neither without respect or subservience. It is nice to feel proud and strong, to be someone who can be trusted. How long has it been since I could even trust myself completely? Have I ever truly been able to?> I sense of confidence swells inside of me. I was always assured in my capabilities, but having bipolar swept almost all of my confidence away. I was never positive that I was not seeing delusions. That a hallucination hadn't taken over and was making me see things in a distorted fashion.
I ruminate on the different facets of my hallucinations while I have a few minutes walking. <The hallucinations were never completely fictional. It was never like I drunk the wrong thing and then saw myself fall in a rabbit hole. No, it was more like a distortion in my vision being autocorrected in my head without me ever knowing about it. For example, let's say a man's face suddenly became a void. I had just been looking at his face, I can see the rest of his body, my body and brain knows what is supposed to be there. If I am in a good mood, my brain would automatically fill in an image of the man smiling at me no matter what the actual situation was. Now imagine watching your boss storm around the office, reasonably upset about a failed deadline that was not meet, with the most genuine smile on his face that you have ever seen. The creepiness factor is completely beyond normal. Thankfully, I will never have to suffer from that again.>
I come upon the wide open space in the middle of the central hallway. After arriving at the edge, I look up to see walkways on the second and third floor overlook the space. Several benches, planted shrubs, and planted trees spot the area in an attempt to portray a calm atmosphere. Sadly, the rush of everyone in the vicinity shatters any chance of feeling peaceful in this building.
Walking through the open court to the other side, I reach the office I am looking for. Inside is much more busy than in the previous office, but I find the only desk that has a female receptionist behind it. With a sigh I get in line as the fourth person, assuming that this person must be Julie. I diverge my thoughts, spending my time thinking about everything that has happened until now.
<It was morning when I woke up in the alleyway. From the way the clocks in the room moves, the length of the day and ways of recording time seem to be extremely similar as that of Earth. In fact, most everything seems to be eerily similar now that I think about it.>
Someone finishes at the desk and walks away. I take a few steps forward with everyone else in line and continue the wait.
<Moving forward, I will need to find a resource material to use a reference for basic knowledge here. Until then, I will have to move forward making certain innocent assumptions.>
<First, let's figure out a deadline for when I need to have earned enough money to find a place to sleep tonight. Considering the warm temperature this morning, I will assume that this location is either extremely close to the equator or is near summertime. Based on this and the amount of distance the sun has travelled in the sky so far, I have another eight hours before I need to earn some money and/or find a place to sleep for the night.>
I get lost in thoughts about the different possibilities towards finding a job as another person finishes and the line moves forward. By this point, several people have gotten in behind me to participate in the fun. Everyone seems to have an ambivalent look on their face. I also notice that this desk seems to be more popular than the other ones. <Women will be cherished no matter where you go, I guess.>
After another dozen minutes it is finally my turn. Stepping up, I find that this receptionist is also really well put together.
<They must have some regulations to keep people looking crisp and clean here. Overall, the management seems to be extremely well handled. I must say I am impressed.>
"How can I help you?" the woman cheerily queries.
"Are you Julie?" I ask. Without waiting for a response and in a bit of a hurry, I pass her the paper and continue on, "I was told to give this to a Julie in this office."
She shows hints of confusion and takes the document before looking at it carefully.
<I must say, the way she moves herself and reads the document so carefully is quite cute.>
Realizing that my inner thoughts already turned this way at the sight of a pretty woman scares me a little.
<What, in me, changed so much to make me this way. I may have to take some caution against this in the future. I remember being more easily aroused at certain points of my highs and lows, but this is new. It is the difference between an impulse for gratification and an urging to possess a charming and beautiful person.>
<The idea of possessing or controlling another person is quite disgusting. With this woman, I am mesmerized by her beauty, but I do not have that feeling I had with Mai. With Mai, I want to know everything about her. I want to declare to the world that she belongs to me and is under my protection. She is not restrained from pursuing her life goals, but she would also be free from danger or ridicule as she would have me beside her always.>
Shaking my head, I come to a realization.
<In order to pursue that path, I need the power enact that kind of control over the world. I am not worthy of having a woman like Mai until I become strong enough to protect that which I declare mine.>
All in a few moments, the direction of my life changed to a degree that everything was now seen in a new light. Every move was a step towards that goal. Every person around me was an opportunity. Every possession was possible collateral towards achieving that objective.
<I will become someone who not only impresses Mai, but someone who is also able to keep her safe.>
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
kurovolfr
kurovolfr Many of the people in this story will be attractive. But there will only ever be a few select women that motivate Mark like Mai has.
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