"..." The hell is going on in this hellhole? Why's there a mountain of sparkly ass presents in front of my bed?

"The master wanted to give you this." The family butler, Velan, explained.

"I don't want them."

"What?! Do you realize all of the trouble he went through to pick these out?!" Velan pushed his glasses up, flabbergasted.

"It looks like he had no idea what I like and decided to get some of everything."

"...Er, well, he payed a lot for all of this."

"Seems wasteful to me. Instead of buying me things I'll never use, tell him to give money to the commoners."

"Wha-" I cut him off.

"Speaking of commoners, I'm going to town again!" I kicked the bed sheets off and hopped out of bed. Today I shall try to befriend some of the commoner kids!

"..." Velan sighed in irritation, but left without another word.

"Hmmm," I carefully picked out an outfit, ignoring the fancy new clothes. I ended up with a light beige longsleeve shirt and dark brown denim overall shorts paired with comfortable navy blue shoes. I looked like the kid of a well off commoner family, but not too well off if you know what I mean.

"Yosh! Let's do this!" I walked over to the door, then paused. There was a lot of money in one of many sacks.

"...Just a little bit." I took a handful of copper coins and silver coins, but left the gold coins alone. I don't need people trying to rob me blind or catching onto the fact I'm in a noble family.

I grabbed my messenger bag (the bag that goes across your body with a flap) and stuffed the money inside.

"Time to go make some friends!" I bolted out of the room, slid down the stair banister, and ran out the door.

I continued running until I was outside of the estate's gates.

"Huff... huff... Geez... I need to... build up... my stamina," I panted. With this meager stamina, I won't be able to keep up with the other kids.

"Fried sweet bread! Get your fried sweet bread here!" A man yelled. Fried sweet bread? Sounds unhealthy and fattening.

Just how I like it!

"H-How much for one?"

"Oh?" The man glanced down at me, "it's two copper knuckles!"

"Can I get four then?" I handed the woman behind the stand eight of the copper coins.

"Here you go!" I noticed she slipped an extra one in.

"Thank you very much!" I bowed and walked off. I grabbed one of the breads and bit into it.

This is one of the best things I've ever tasted! The outside is nice and flaky, but the inside is soft and chewy with some sort of sweet custard filling in there too!

"I hope they're gonna be there tomorrow too, I'm gonna buy more!" I grabbed another one and strolled down the side of the street.

I bumped into a few people, some of them yelled, "Watch it!", but other than that it was fine.

"Catch!" A boy- maybe a few years older than me- yelled to a larger boy. He threw the ball with all his might and...

It ended up in a nearby tree.

"How in the heck did you manage to throw it all the way up there? I'm not THAT tall!" The bigger boy hit the other boy.

"Geh! Sorry! I didn't mean to!" He rubbed his head, "you didn't have to hit me that hard!"

...Should I help them? Maybe they'll ask me to join them. But can I climb a tree with this weak body of mine?

"I'll get it for you," some girl came up from nowhere and scurried up the tree. The two boys looked up at her in surprise.

"Here!" She kicked the ball down and jumped out of the tree. So much for helping them.

With a sigh, I turned away and kept going. However, any chance I saw slipped from my grasp and a few hours later I was still walking around by myself with no more fried bread left.

"Making a friend is harder than I thought," I mumbled to myself. My stomach growled with hunger. Might as well go for something to eat before I head back home.

Looking at the food stands, I found one that had barbecue pulled pork sandwiches for five knuckles each.

"Thank you!" The lady called out to me as I walked away with the sandwich. It was pretty good!

If only I had someone to share it with...

"Hey, you. The little kid," a strange, foul-smelling man put a hand on my shoulder.

"Y-Y-Yes?" I trembled in fright. This wasn't a good situation to be in.

"Where are your parents? Why are you out alone at this hour?"

"U-Um, I jus-"

"How about you come with me? I'll help you get back home," he grinned, "I'll take good care of you."

"N-No thanks. I'm not lost or anything. I can get back home by myself." The smile disappeared.

"You will come with me," he yanked my arm, making me drop my sandwich.

Aw man! I only had two bites of it! It's not the time to be thinking about that though.

"Let me go!" I struggled to get my arm away, but failed. He wrapped an arm around my waist and lifted me up.

"Come on now, don't be stubborn." He began walking toward some shabby building. At this point, my sight blurred with tears and sobs racked my body. I cried out for anyone to help me.

"Hey! What are you doing with that little boy?!" A tall woman glared at the man, "don't tell me you're trying to sell more children?! Didn't you learn your lesson last time?" She cracked her knuckles with a deadly glare on her face.

"Eep!"

"Drop him." The man dropped me. I fell flat on my face. I rubbed my stinging forehead. The man ran away from the woman. She kneeled in front of me and examined the damage to my face.

"Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine. Thank you for helping me..." I sniffled. Man, I look so pathetic right now.

"Do you want me to accompany you home?"

"N-No thanks. My house is close by."

"...Alright. Be careful and keep an eye out for any strangers. There are others just like that man waiting for a clueless kid to snatch up."

"I will!" I jogged away from the woman and took extra care to go in the crowded routes and snuck back into the estate.

"What's this?! Why are you injured?!" Father yelled the moment he saw me.

"I fell while running. It's normal so stop making a ruckus," I rubbed my temples. There's no way in hell I'm telling him I almost got kidnapped. He wouldn't let me step outside of the estate ever again and the only friends I'll ever have will be the children of other stuck up brown-nosed nobles!

"...Velan, get him treated."

"Will do," the old man picked me up. Hm, he's stronger than he looks. As expected of a head butler.

After a few minutes of being touched, prodded, and getting treated I was finally allowed to go back to my room... along with some food since I didn't get to eat my sandwich.

Today didn't exactly go as planned. I hoped to have made at least one new friend today, but I guess today wasn't my day. Welp, there's always tomorrow... unless I happen to die in my sleep and don't see the light of tomorrow.

Either way, I'd be happier than I would be sitting in this house twiddling my thumbs.

I wonder I'll be able to find that woman tomorrow. Would she be happy to see me, or annoyed?

That's something to worry about tomorrow.