Fragments of a Broken World: The Lost City [Complete]

Episode 21 - Promise is a Debt

When I saw Nassoumi, I signaled her to go to the same place as last time and she didn't take more than two seconds to get it.

"Overseer, I did what you asked me to do. Karim will settle his debts."

"Great, a promise is a promise. I have already looked into the laboratory matter and found a way to get you in, although I was waiting for you to give me the good news."

"What was the way? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well, I lied and told them you were a man of science."

"I know math."

"Really?" Nassoumi frowned. "Well, then I didn't lie."

"Why did you want Karim to pay his debt?"

"Very simple. It's what should be done. There was someone who kept insisting that I punish him or something even though that's not what should be done. I don't know why they asked me, but I knew this could escalate and at the same time I didn't want to bring trouble to Karim."

"They weren't wrong in making you overseer, although you could easily be a sheriff."

"Haha, don't be silly, Broken Forever. Although I would like to know how you convinced him."

"I hinted that he could go with the guards and he told me the situation. He wanted to pay with gold, but they demanded he give a kilo of aluminum, so I went and bought aluminum for him."

"Really? I didn't imagine you as a diplomat. I expected you to threaten him and nothing more."

"Do I look that bad?"

"I don't know if 'bad' is the word I'm looking for. But I didn't think you'd help him so generously."

"I don't know about generous; I want to go to the laboratories."

"I know, but still, it speaks well of you."

"Okay, on the other hand, I wanted to ask you about Erick."

"Erick? Oh yes, another one like Taleh, but with opposite bodies and personalities."

"Unlike Taleh, whose parents always said he wasn't their son, Erick lost his parents when he was young. He loved them very much and they loved him, but one day they did what they had to do, which was to criticize the government of the merciful for not providing support, all because they had read a book about the health of disabled people or something like that. The thing is, that brought them nothing but misfortune.

"That made him turn into a thief because of his physical deformity that caused no one to hire him and at the same time made him overlooked, in the sense that no one cared, not that he pretended to be someone tall.

"When the guards finally agreed that they should catch him, he had disappeared, as if someone had warned him they were coming for him.

"Are all the stories in this city sad?"

"You asked."

"You're right."

"Well, let's keep working. I'd like to stay here and talk, but my job isn't just giving orders, I also have to help with the heavy lifting."

"Will you let me know when it's time to go to the laboratories?"

"Stay in the underground warehouse, I'll come to see you when everything is ready. Don't tell anyone, the guards shouldn't know."

"Even Taleh won't notice."

"He doesn't notice anything anyway."

"True."