His return home was going to be tricky. He obviously couldn't enter the neighbourhood, everyone would recognize him. That wasn't bad on its own, but he currently didn't know what his stay-at-home clone was doing. If he was in the streets, then people would get surprised by two Alex's.

He couldn't dismiss him either because of the same reason and also because he wanted to know what had happened in these last few days.

This was tricky, he had made preparations for exiting without being spotted yet he didn't plan on how to go back. Stupid mistake.

Alright, guess he will have to do this the hard way. Might as well wait till night to enter the house. Alex pondered on what to do and decided to get his clothes shopping and socialising done early.

Entering a clothing shop, Alex requested the tailor to get him the finest cloth he had. This was going to be his formal dress for when he met any nobles. Half an hour later he came out looking and feeling amazing.

The clothes were stylish and extremely comfortable compared to his former clothes. He had abandoned his linen sack and managed to bargain for a leather one. This was the only set he was willing to buy, the rest would come from a cheap tailor. He couldn’t and wouldn’t fill out his whole wardrobe with frivolous clothing.

After a quick visit to the baths and a barber shop, Alex felt a million times better than before. All the grime and the dirt from camping in the wilds had been cleansed, and for all intents and purposes he looked like a fine stallion.

With the costume and appearance raised to the highest degree, Alex straightened his back and walked like he owned the place. His stride was taking him towards the inner city, where the cafes and restaurants of the rich were situated. Although he wasn’t familiar with the streets and nooks of this district, Alex still made his way with the confidence of a man well versed with the streets.

Alex had no idea where he was going, but when he saw a duo of guys concentrating over a chess board, he immediately swerved towards them. The cry from a woman whom he had frightened by his abrupt change in direction went unheard as his sole focus was on chess

He marched into the coffee shop that was moderately filled with smartly dressed customers and cute waitresses. Not heeding to anything and not giving a single glance to anybody, he plopped his ass on the cushy seat next to the two players. His two rapiers were wrapped in a fine white cloth and were on his lap.

A quick glance at the board told him that the red head was winning but that was all he could discern, he was a novice at this game at best. He had been getting better by playing against his clones while he was on the hunt, yet it was like playing against oneself, terribly inefficient and uneducative.

“Checkmate.” The red-haired of the duo said with a smile, his eyes full of mirth. His opponent sighed and slumped back into his chair, knitting his brows with his fingers.

“You are too good at this Eliot.” The opponent, a black haired ruby eyed teenager, said. He rummaged through a bag on his belt and passed over some silver coins.

“Hello gentleman, that was a good game by both of you.” Alex entered without preamble. Being shy was probably not going to go well with his plans to socialise his way into the good graces of these noblemen.

“Greetings, friend? Thank you for the compliment, this is a rather normal game between us.” The red haired teen replied with a smile. “Excuse my manners, my name is Eliot Harkaw and this is my friend Jon Goldfield.”

“Good to meet you, I’m Alexander…Null, it’s great to make your acquaintance.” Alex quickly blinked away the awkward pause in the middle of the talk and continued. “I’m a beginner at this game, so I would be immensely grateful if you could give me some pointers if it isn’t too much a bother?”

The duo accepted and displayed an immense passion for the game, something Alex was exploiting like hell. At every opportunity he would learn tricks and openings from the games the two played. And the two kept on playing for hours on end, and Alex was swept along the ride as time swiftly passed him by.

It was after numerous coffees and juices later that they finally separated on good terms, Alex ending up with a considerable knowledge of the game and now two very interesting nobles. Eve was coming down to signal the start of the night, where only Mercy and Skorn occupied the celestial sky.

When Alex finally exited the inner city, he snuck into an alleyway and changed into his old clothes. He didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb. Ruffling his well kept hair into disarray, Alex snuck his way between the alleys and small holes, and found his way to the backdoor of his home. Tapping the door three times fast and two times slow - it was his special knock rhythm -, the door opened to reveal himself. Or better yet, his stay-at-home clone.

Quickly rushing in, Alex closed the door behind him and sighed in relief. Mission, success.

Alex plopped down into a stool and motioned for the clone to sit down too.

“Is mom doing ok?” He first got the critical question out of the way.

“She is doing as good as she always has been. Though the medicine will need to be restocked soon enough, I hope you got some coins from your trip.” The clone said.

“Coin won’t be an issue for a little while. Give me a short report on what happened these last few days.” Alex ordered. He set down his backpack and began to organise the equipment he had taken with him.

“Some interesting things, and one that is what I would call a pretty good opportunity.” The clone paused to think and began again. “Father Orkon went into seclusion for unknown reasons. Jacob joined the guard after his father finally gave him an awakening stone. Gretta down the street got evicted from her residence after not paying her dues.”

Alex blinked in surprise. Jacob had finally gotten himself a real job? Huh, it only took him to awaken to make himself useful. Father Orkon heading into seclusion was odd but unimportant. Gretta being evicted was just funny, the old hag had been in that house for a decade and he didn’t even know she rented it.

“And what’s the opportunity?” Alex curiously asked.

“The city has been setting up militia training grounds in all the neighbourhood, heard that they have trainers and that every able-bodied man can join.” The clone smirked and Alex’s gears slowly turned. He smiled wide when he finally figured it out, and he was ecstatic to try it.