So it is done: The best for the best (Patreon)

One more day and one more action not bound by morality… Although, no, because the day is not over yet, Jonathan should correct his statement - two morally bankrupt actions in a day!

First - robbing a store, possibly causing an innocent woman to lose their job. And secondly he tricked and blackmailed a little girl...

Shit, that‘s enough Jonathan, this is definitely not the time to think morbid thoughts. Actually what is it with showers and suicidal thoughts anyway? Rinsing off the last of the suds on his hair, Jonathan shakes his head and leaves the shower.

As he stands in the bathroom, naked, looking at his other set of clothes, folded in a tub next to the door. It was quite the blessing that the hotel not only had its own laundry service - not free unfortunately - but that he had shown an enviable amount of foresight by another pair of clothes. His other pair, sadly being quite unwearable.

Sighing, Jonathan quickly dried himself off with a towel before tying up his dark hair. He styled it by gathering it in a small ponytail, his hair length descending just below the shoulder blades. He then puts on the clothing that he had bought not so long ago, a plain white T-shirt without a single inscription and a pair of blue jeans, the most common and ordinary kind of clothing that Jonathan could imagine, bought, in fact, for precisely this reason.

As he finished putting on his clothes he looked at the door that leads to his bedroom, and the small child probably still waiting on him. Not that way you perverts!

The child was one of the most suitable sources of information for him at the moment. A child, especially a frightened child , no matter how immoral it sounds was the perfect source of information. First, the child will ask fewer if any questions even if Jonathan were to ask simple things that ‘everyone’ should already know of. In fact if he can make it look like a ‘test’ of sorts, then he’s golden. Secondly, even if the child starts asking questions, it would be much easier for Jonathan to explain his motivation and ignorance by inventing some kind of lie. And third, a child would explain things to Jonathan in a more simple language than an adult, discounting the need for previously learned knowledge.

And of course, one should not forget that if the child was feeling intimidated at the moment, then the likelihood that they would eventually tell the hotel manager about his questions was almost nonexistent.

Although, for a second a question flashed through Jonathan's mind. Why was Cinder so afraid of Jonathan telling this ‘Miss Sunny’, which he assumed was a manager of sorts, about the incident? It didn’t take long for Jonathan to instantly dismiss these thoughts from himself. Judging by the fact that she worked here, she was a daughter or, perhaps, a younger relative of the manager. And for children, a frustrated adult was worse than any monster.

Smirking at this line of thought, Jonathan himself could easily remember how much he was afraid of the old man's anger when he accidentally smeared his favorite book with paints…  Though really, what was the old man thinking? There was no need to leave paints next to a five-year-old child!

In any case, after getting out of the bathroom, Jonathan’s eyes were immediately drawn to the other figure in his bedroom. Cinder was standing next to the bed, looking at the floor and shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. Seeing the very nervous-looking child, he decided to defuse the situation a little.

“No need to be afraid, I’m not gonna bite. I was just very surprised that you were standing next to the bed… ” Realizing just how badly what he just said sounded, Jonathan tried to continue speaking so that the conversation wouldn’t end there.

“So, you help here with the housework? Maybe for the summer?”

After Jonathan finished speaking, Cinder only frowned, truly feet in mouth Jonathan.

“I live here.” Without looking up, she softly mutters.

“Oh, and do you help with the housework?” Jonathan smiled, - “Commendable, commendable…” Well, now Cinder just looked even more uncomfortable.

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Cinder, shifting from foot to foot, finally spoke again. “Can I go?”

Jonathan sighed, apparently, it was not as easy to establish rapport with the girl as he might have thought.

“Sorry, I was just making small talk… Have you been helping Miss Sunny for a long time?”

And although Jonathan himself was not a particularly attentive person, he couldn’t not notice how suddenly Cinder shuddered after he mentioned the name of, apparently, the manager of the hotel.

“Enough… what do you want?” Cinder then began to draw on herself, as she seemed to be holding back tears

"Ha?" With that unseemly reaction, Jonathan realized that perhaps there’s something strange in Cinder working here. That... that’s not a childish reaction to the name of an adult…

“Sorry, I don't want to creep you out.” Jonathan, just in case, raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture. After which, after a short pause to center himself, he smiled the kindest smile that he could portray on his face.

“I'm just surprised that you are helping with the housework at such a young age. It is really commendable! I'm sure your parents are proud of such a diligent daughter.” A smile that died a terrible and swift death with Cinder’s next words.

“My parents are dead.” Cinder murmured.

“Ouch.” Good job Jonathan. Okay time to do something drastic! “Mine too.”

“Ha?” - For the first time in this farce of a dialogue, Cinder looked up at Jonathan.

‘Finally some progress!’ Jonathan tried to control his excitement, not letting the strange expression that he’s feeling show on his face. First of all, because discussing your dead parents while smiling like a mad man has some very unfortunate connotations. Second being that for normal people, like Cinder, the topic was not exactly something that is easy to discuss. So instead of waiting for Cinder to start talking, Jonathan tried to slowly, and kindly continue to develop a common ground between them, first by focusing on himself.

“I hardly remember them… They died a long time ago you see, so I’ve pretty much been raised by the old man. My adoptive father. Well, recently…”

‘I fell into an extra-worldly anomaly of incredible proportions and ended up here, in an alien world…’ Yeah, no, let’s not start there huh.

“I went to travel the world.” Technically speaking, the truth. - “And now, I ended up here, knowing almost nothing about the city.” There, should be good jumping off point to ask about the city.

“Travelling around the world huh, how nice… ” Cinder looked down again, suddenly a bit more sullen. Jonathan swallowed in fear that he might lose her interest.

“Not as good as it might sound.” Jonathan smiled, and then, tried his best to steer the conversation in a different direction, lest he start saying something stupid.

“Maybe you want to eat something? Maybe a snack? I confess I'm a little hungry myself, so do you want me to buy you something?” He smirked in his mind. What an excellent plan! All kids like sweets right? He should get some brownie points here. Jonathan could afford to splurge on some dessert for Cinder. Who knows, she might cheer up some!

Cinder, to Jonathan's delight, raised her head. The blank look in her eyes, not much so.

“Food, for me?” Cinder asked in monotone.

Jonathan blinked. Another weird reaction…  To be honest, he never actually interacted much with children. In the orphanage he’s more of a loner, and in the academy… well they’re not really normal children…  So, Cinder’s reaction would weird him out too much, he marched on ahead.

“Yes, of course. Maybe you want some ice cream?”

Jonathan's unconscious mind couldn’t help but think of how suspect the whole situation looked from the outside. Here he is, a grown man, locked in a room with a little girl, whom he tried to calm and relax, while threatening her to stay, all the while offering her sweets…

Jonathan sincerely hoped that if anyone were to walk in his room, the ambiguity of the current situation would not force the hotel manager to call the police on him. Otherwise he would have to flee and look for a new refuge…  Only now with a reputation as a pedophile maniac. Oh, the old man would be so proud of him!

“No!” Cinder instantly looked down again, rejecting the idea, forcing Jonathan to swear inwardly.

“So you're not hungry?” Jonathan tried again to save the dialogue.

“Not… ice cream.” Cinder said quietly, almost under her breath, forcing Jonathan to listen closely. “Food…“

Jonathan blinked in surprise. A child who refuses sweets in favor of normal food... Well, some children really do not like sweets, right? But, still, this was yet another oddity in the treasure trove of oddities that he found today.

“Okay, then, some normal food.” Jonathan smiled at Cinder, trying to maintain a friendly atmosphere and not ruin all the success he had achieved during this time. “In the meantime, maybe you can tell me about Atlas? I am, after all, a traveler…”

***

Cinder glanced at the food in front of her, then at Jonathan, unknowingly making him freeze in panic inwardly. She looked at him as if she expected him to take the food from her the moment she held out her hands to it. She looked at him as if she were not just afraid of it, but clearly expecting such a behavior from Jonathan.

Jonathan was frozen, staring at Cinder, trying not to breathe too loud unless the child would react negatively.

It wasn’t just weird — it was abnormal. And it wasn’t ‘funny abnormal’, like pointing out the magical nature of what was happening. It was a very bad ‘abnormal’.

‘What the fuck!?’ Jonathan cursed internally. Of course, it may have been all a fluke, but Jonathan didn't like this fluke at all. Cinder looked at him like an abused dog, whimpering as the owner did anything, expecting to be struck. While he couldn’t discount the possibility that she’s reacting this way because of the more than suspicious way Jonathan did things, it did not at all justify Cinder's reactions.

Even if she was afraid of him, her reaction should have been different. She would most likely simply refuse the food offered to her. Her reaction was abnormal.

Jonathan let out a slow breath. Perhaps it was just his imagination. As a Magician, his imagination was a bit more hyperactive than normal people’s. Stupid psyche playing it’s dirty tricks with him. How many children did he interact with in his life? Not many, and definitely none with the children of this Umbral World. He probably just misunderstood the situation…

And in general it was not his business how children react to food here. Maybe the climate made food scarce here? Well his intent was in finding information, and he had received some.

Shaking his head a little more, throwing off his stupid obsession, Jonathan began to catalogue and try to make sense of the information he had just received from Cinder.

So, right now he is on a planet called Remnant, a weird name, but who is he to judge? His own planet was named dirt. Specifically in the country of Atlas… More specifically, in its flying capital city, named exactly the same, Atlas. Definitely some Technocrat influence here.

It’s still not the strangest place though. At least when compared to those the old man - a great connoisseur of Umbra, told him about. It is good that he did not get into the world of Platonic ideas, can’t even imagine how he’ll survive there.

Anyway, in addition to the country of Atla, there were several more in this world; Vacuo, Mistral, Vale and Menagerie. In addition to these countries, each having two cities at most, there were many small villages dotted around the world that are not officially associated with the countries.

The reason why there were so few full-fledged cities was the ‘Grimm’, monsters ‘without a soul’ that prowls and harrasses the people of Remnant. Whether their soullessness was a metaphorical description or a real thing, Jonathan did not know.

According to Cinder, the Grimm were monsters with many forms and variations, from those that were barely more dangerous than a regular dog to those that required a full army to defeat. And worse of all, these monsters were mindlessly aggressive towards people and would seek to kill them without any exceptions.

Jonathan has some doubts about the last part though. These ‘Grimm’ creatures sounded like regular low-ranking Malpheans to him. And although Jonathan hardly believed in the existence of non-aggressive Malpheans, they were at least not mindless. In the end, it was only thought that they are so, because it is beneficial for Malpheans to be considered brainless… There might also be a consciousness behind these ‘Grimm’.

In any case, there were many grimm. Very, very many, so much so that all the lands that people did not live in were literally teeming with them. Not to mention the forbidden places where the people of Remnant avoid like the plague, like the Grimmlands. A place where the Grimm were of such high-class and volume that even trying to visit these places was punished with the death penalty, so as not to accidentally provoke these grimm into venturing out.

These ‘Grimm’ could also sense negative emotions. An ability which was not the most commonplace, but not the most unusual way of perceiving reality that Jonathan knew. For example the temporis spirits, spirits that hunt people by following on the trail of the temporal changes they created, were more exotic creatures.

Although, in his view, vision was still the best way to hunt. Jonathan wondered if their emotional sensing was in addition to normal vision, such that if he were to blind them it would affect them somehow. He decided not to ask though, as he doubted a normal child like Cinder to know the answer.

In any case, the reason why the Grimm have not yet destroyed and overrun humanity was not so much the army as Dust - and the Hunters.

Hunters, at least to Cinder, were local, hmm, for want of a more appropriate word, superheroes with a certain set of abilities that helps them thwart the Grimms. Superhuman physical strength. Aura, some sort of physical amplifier for their bodies and a protective field around them. And lastly Semblances, super-powers unique to each hunter with various unique uses to them.

Jonathan was not really surprised that such a thing existed though. Spirits of the Umbral world having the abilities that the spirits of the Umbral worlds could have, what a miracle!

Also, in addition to normal humans, as normal as Umbral spirits are anyway, something called the ‘Faunus’ also lived in this world. The presence of which Jonathan also noticed by the signs forbidding them to use the services of most Atlas institutions.

As far as Cinder herself knew, the Faunus were wild and primitive, but still intelligent creatures, mostly similar to humans only with animal traits. Although, judging by what Jonathan was able to catch - and judging by how suspiciously familiar some things he saw in his short time in this city with the real world - the part regarding their savagery and primitiveness might not be the most accurate…

In any case - the last thing they discussed, Dust, was the main valuable mineral of Remnant. Although having wildly useful properties and it taking the form of quite fragile crystalline of various colors and types when compared to the boring diamonds in Earth. It was the local Umbral world analogue to oil, natural gas and gunpowder at the same time. The very multifunctional mineral was the main driving force which all local technology, politics, economics, and even religion were centered on. Used everywhere, from heating rooms to stuffing cartridges, these Dust sounds more and more likeTass to him. Whatever it is, finding some Dust to experiment on has probably become even higher on his priority list than finding what these Faunus are or even ‘finding’ an ID for Jonathan. At least that’s what his sense of curiosity is telling him, not the logical part of his brain.

Fortunately, he ended up in Atlas, the hovering city home to the Schnee Dust Company, the mega corporation that controls the vast majority of the extraction, processing and sale of dust in Remnant. At least that explains why the place is so damn cold all the time. A floating city over another city that’s more like a slum, Mantle. Huh, he remembered hearing a game like that.

Anyway, of the other attractions of the Atlas, there were several large military bases in the city, several museums for technology - including robotics. Something which Jonathan reacted very mixedly towards, recalling the technos, may they be damned three by three times. Also several art galleries and, of course, a school for hunters.

After some more prodding, as Cinder had begun to lose interest in talking and was more interested in enjoying her dinner, Jonathan managed to acquire some interesting tidbits about the Hunters. Becoming a Hunter would apparently give him some significant advantages in traversing this Umbral world. Advantages like free permission to visit other countries and permission to publicly carry weapons. At least he managed to find out why the hotel manager was not surprised by the man carrying weapons in plain view. A license to buy alcohol, drive vehicles and other smaller things. Moreover, without the obligatory need to interact with the local authorities and work with them, which sounded almost too good to be true.

However, in Atlas, Hunters don’t stay as free agents like in other countries as the Hunter school here is more of a branch of the Military than anything else. So when prospective Hunters graduate Hunter school they would mainly join the army at the rank of Specialists, as special combat units and commanders. Unfortunately, Atlas’ academy required a complete list of documents that Jonathan did not have to enter, Though at least as far as Cinder knows the other countries’ academies are more lax in that regard.

Though even if he did have the documentation necessary, Jonathan wasn’t planning to spend his next four years training to battle local monsters. He still needed to start looking for the old man after all. Something which at the moment, in terms of priorities, was approximately at the level of obtaining information about Dust and, perhaps, was interconnected. The old man did say that it was much easier to find Tass in the Umbral worlds than on Earth… Oh what he could do with those frozen Quintessence.

In any case, the information he received from Cinder was quite extensive and one dinner, which cost Jonathan only a couple of dozen liens, was a paltry price to pay for a good insight into the situation of this world.

In the end, after finishing her lunch, Cinder picked up a plate and… Began to lick off the remains. Crumbs, leftover sauce, even incomprehensible slurry left over from meat.

“Hey, hey!” - Jonathan instantly rushed to stop Cinder, making her freeze with the plate still in her hands “What are you doing?!”

“I… can't?” Cinder dropped her eyes, speaking in a quiet, hoarse voice.

It was wrong. It was totally wrong. Of course, someone could say that what Cinder was doing were just bad dining manners, but this was not so.

Cinder looked like an animal. A beaten, well-worn, hungry animal, who had been thrown a bone and who was desperate to eat.

The oddity piggy bank cracked and fell out with a loud pop.

Cinder was a victim of domestic violence.

Jonathan was rooted with indecision, struck with the knowledge. Before slowly, as if he did not understand himself, asked a question, "Are they...Are they starving you?"

“Miss Sunny is… Good.” Cinder said slowly through her teeth, eyes downcast. “Without her I am nothing.”

Jonathan froze, staring at Cinder. No magic, no twisted logic and understanding were required of him in order to understand that what Cinder just said was a lie. All that was required of him was a pair of hearing ears. And by coincidence, Jonathan had two ears and did not suffer from hearing impairments.

Although perhaps the funniest thing - if there was anything funny in the current situation - was that Cinder didn't just lie - she answered Jonathan's question, which he didn't even ask.

Miss Sunny, so ha... The hotel manager… That cunt...

“I have to go.” Cinder swiftly got up from her seat, all while grabbing the dirty dishes.

“Wait, I…”- Jonathan tried to stop Cinder, but he was so unsettled by surprise that he couldn’t find the words to say to the abused child. He stood there in silence and watched as Cinder walked through the door of his room, the tray with dirty dishes in one hand the laundry in the other. An action that looked much more practiced than it should have been for a little girl. He watched as she disappeared through the door.

Jonathan remained seated, staring into the emptiness of the room, mind in complete disarray.

***

Cinder Elizabeth Fall moved quickly down the stairs, hoping only that no one would pay attention to her. Not Amanda, not Lee, least of all Miss Sunny herself.

The delicious food she had just eaten warmed her stomach nicely. It was a good meal, not her usual leftovers, yet even having her stomach sated could not calm her down.

Nothing should get to her! Nobody! Enough is enough! She already knows that she has nothing, why does the world want to taunt her this much!

Going down the stairs to the first floor, moving to the kitchen, Cinder choked back tears.

Why did she have to eat like an animal?! Why did she have to humiliate herself in front of everyone?! Why would some damn guy afford to travel the world?! Why was he looking at Atlas as a travel destination, asking her about the damn vacation spots?! Why did he get everything from life, and she got nothing?!

“Cinder.” Miss Sunny’s chillingly calm voice made Cinder freeze a half-step from the kitchen. “Where have you been? I didn't find you in the kitchen and I had to send Amanda along with the order.”

Cinder could barely move a muscle and horror rolled in her throat. The order that Amanda took was the food brought to Cinder herself. Miss Sunny mustn't know.

“Miss Sunny.” Slowly, Cinder looked downwards. She had learned long ago that Miss Sunny didn’t like it when she looked into her eyes. - “A new guest held me back. He demanded to clean up his room and take his things to the wash…”

Cinder barely kept the panic from making her stutter. She didn't want another... Punishment.

She didn't want, didn't want, didn't want...

The silence continued for a few more seconds as Miss Sunny considered something before answering, “Okay.”

Cinder felt the lump in her throat almost make her regurgitate the lunch she had just eaten. The relief instantly made Cinder breathe out slowly inwardly.

“Hurry up, number three hundred twenty four and three hundred twenty five needs to be cleaned within an hour.” Miss Sunny said as she turned away. “Mr. Rhodes is a Hunter, which means he’s an important client…”

Cinder shuddered. She knew what happens when an important client gets upset.

“Of course, Miss Sunny.” Cinder nodded to the woman, and quickly walked into the kitchen.

Hunters… Hunters, hunters, hunters… HUNTERS!

Cinder felt her semblance begin to spiral out of control and the wooden tray she was holding began to smolder. She calmed herself down immediately before the damage to the tray would become visible. Property damage is punishable.

Cinder walked forward and placed the wooden trays along with the others, she will need to quickly wash the dishes before the others notice the unwashed dishes. Unwashed dishes are punishable.

After that, Cinder quickly went to the laundry. After the dishes, she will need to head to the laundry, today was not the day for the others to do the laundry, so they should not have come here, which means Cinder could come back here last. However, she had to be quick - dirty laundry is punishable. Sluggishness is also punishable.

Cinder gritted her teeth, but smiled radiantly as she came back from the kitchen. Cinder had to smile at the guests to create a pleasant atmosphere for the residents.

Gloom is punishable...

***

"Why did I arrive into such a shitty world?!" Jonathan nearly spat before kissing the bottle of some kind of alcohol. A bottle of some local strong alcohol, judging by the smell it was some kind of whiskey... Ha, the old man would appreciate his taste in spirits, he had a good collection of aged whiskey.

Yes, the old man, ha... If only the old man was here now - he could easily explain to Jonathan what he needed to do, which decision would be the right decision.

Fucking old man... Why couldn't he get into this world with Jonathan himself, huh? Domestic violence was something common. It happened in a family of magicians, in a family of non-magicians, among werewolves, among vampires, among mummies, and, as Jonathan just found out, in a family of Umbral spirits.

The internal problems of some family unrelated to him did not concern Jonathan.

They did not concern him because if the old man had taught him anything in his entire life, it was solely that relations with Umbral entities were better conducted from the position of a strict business contract, without interfering in their internal struggles.

Even the bloody bani Quaesitor played with great subtlety when dealing with the political arenas of alien worlds. And he was bani Bonisagus, a scientist, not a politician. Interference in the household affairs of foreign worlds was strictly contraindicated for him.

Jonathan grimaced, then took another generous sip from the bottle of whiskey before coughing.

This shit packs a punch!

Yeah, the old man was much wiser than him. He’ll talk about what needs to be done, who is right and who is wrong. Damn old man, fucking idiot, why would he choose now of all times to get lost...

Jonathan sighed and looked at the bottle.

"The best whiskey for the best people!"  Read the slogan on the label, forcing Jonathan to snort and kiss the bottle again.

Ha! It was none of his business who was who here and how they treated their children! He is from the three thriced Order of Hermes! The first thing taught in the Order is to ignore the non-mages who live nearby.

We are magicians, we are the guardians of the human Ars, not the bureau of good deeds. We are not volunteers, we are the glorified highest caste of humanity, we are its guides and teachers, we are the invisible hand that guides them into a brighter future. We are not saving people, we are saving humanity.

By throwing fireballs, subduing the mind and cheating on the stock markets, ha ha ha. Very funny.

And now Jonathan has already committed the third immoral act for today - he had teleported a bottle of expensive alcohol from a protected case behind the back of the seller. Ha, Jonathan wouldn't even have enough money to  buy the cheaper ones...

Jonathan shook his head in an exaggerated sweeping motion, then slumped against the wall of a random building.

And now, he walked the streets with a bottle of liquor in his hand that he drank from periodically, wondering what to do with the information about domestic violence he had acquired.

Report it to the authorities? Not a bad option - except that Jonathan himself was an undocumented person, an illegal alien in the very literal sense of the word. While Miss Sunny, apparently, had a good public face, and perhaps some connection to the criminal element of Atlas. Something which she did not hesitate to use for her own purposes - judging by how easily she let an unknown person into her hotel without confirming his identity.

And what would the police believe, his word against Miss Sunny? Cinder could say something, but judging by how intimidated she was, no chance of that happening. Well, after that, even if he goes to court - what next?

He will probably be reported to the local migration service or some equivalent, thrown out of the hotel, and taken to the local police when his lack of identification is known. And Cinder… Cinder will remain under Miss Sunny's control, at least until the trial, and maybe for a while after. And what will happen to Miss Sunny, which will be in such an unpleasant situation through the fault of him and Cinder? Nothing good - and Cinder will probably suffer as well.

Yeah, straight to Miss Sunny, asking her to be softer is a great option… Yeah, he’ll take the first flight to the police station. Heh.

Jonathan let out a breath and kissed the bottle one more time before pulling a lollipop from his pocket and popping it into his mouth.

Yeah, another consequence of his ‘magic’ - he teleported the bottle of alcohol to himself by simulating the act of buying alcohol, but buying these sweets instead! Glory to the cleverest minds of the Hermetic theory...

Ha, maybe Peripheral Corrigenda would be a great read for what they write about what he should do. Jonathan was sure that in it he would have found a complete explanation of absolutely all the actions that he had to take at the moment to solve this Cinder issue. Ha, what a shame that he never read it though...

Jonathan exhaled and shook his head.

Maybe… maybe he could teleport Cinder away... To another state perhaps, so that Miss Sunny would not reach her. Or even to the wild lands, ha three times teleporting stuff. Only - what's next? Yes, Cinder was in a terrible condition - but wouldn't the treatment be worse than the disease in that case? What could he offer her at the moment? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"What the fuck, Order of Hermes?" Jonathan snorted, kissing the bottle again. “Why did you all decide there that we -  magicians - should be the rulers of the world's destinies? Maybe I don't want to?! Maybe I don't want to decide anything at all, it's a fucking difficult task! I want to go back home, sit, read books and run to a nearby store for sweets via teleportation!”

Jonathan shouted to the empty air.

He could also kill Miss Sunny. In general, the best option for assassination is no body and no action. Teleport her to the edge of the Atlas, or maybe the Sun. Or just two hundred meters up in the air, and let gravity do the job. The local police would be scratching their heads then, looking for who is to blame and what to investigate...

Haha, so many options - and all the wrong ones!

Jonathan spat, then drained the rest of the bottle to the bottom, and then broke the bottle, throwing it at his feet.

“We ask you to keep the city clean and not to throw out objects in a place not intended for it.”

The sound of the mechanical voice like that of a speech synthesizer made Jonathan flinch and turn around. He then found himself nose to nose with two gray mechanical machines, where their head was supposed to be nothing but sleek metal and featureless.

“Y-yes, of course…” - Jonathan spoke out with no small amount of trepidation, glancing at the two robots that, no longer paying attention to him, continued on their way.

“Obey the laws and respect the culture of Atlas, citizen.” The robot's mechanical voice rang out, making Jonathan breathe out.

Technofascists and their techno-stuff...

Jonathan sighed before tossing another couple of candies into his mouth.

Well, at least there’s one good news. These robots had no intention of stopping him... Not for now at least. Already his day has become a lot better.

Jonathan exhaled before swinging his legs the other way.

After all, he didn't even know if he should interfere in it at all. And even if he wanted to, he didn’t know where to start...

Jonathan, in the nastiest mood he could possibly be, continued to move on through the streets, trying not to look at his reflection in the windows.

Indeed, this whole damn world is like this bottle of whiskey.

The best world for the best people.