For a change, I didn't send the boy to go pickpocketing after breakfast. Instead, we both returned to our room, where I made him look up and memorize all that he can find about working at a restaurant. He needed to prepare for his future job. He was supposed to already have some experience, after all.
Meanwhile, I continued browsing through online job boards. There were multiple offers available, but all of them were… unsatisfactory to say the least. The wages were terribly low. How were people supposed to survive in the city while earning so little? I was so glad that I never needed to get a job myself.
But for the boy, I guess it would suffice. The most important part was to keep him busy and out of my way. I could gather more than enough money to easily cover all of the living expenses for both of us, it was not a big deal.
And so, I just submitted his CV to all the places that offered the most working hours.
I lit a cigarette and waved my hand, opening the window. A cold gust of wind entered the room, giving me chills, but I just grabbed my jacket and ignored it. The place stank of the smoke a bit too much, it would be good to let it ventilate for a while.
Feeling the sudden drop in the temperature, the boy lifted his head and looked at me with his eyes open wide. Why was he so stunned? Because I unlocked and opened the window from my bed without any trouble?
I couldn't help but chuckle. Something so simple amazed him this much? Of course, opening the window like that was harder than lifting things up in the air or destroying them, as it required a bit of precision, but still was just a basic skill, at least in my opinion.
He really was way too easy to impress. I guess his ability to break the reality laws must have been really weak, even without the organization's restrictions.
This, however, reminded me of something else I forgot to ask. "By the way, that teleportation ability. Do your higher-ups also need any devices to travel between different worlds?"
"Hm… I don't think so... But I don't really know." The boy sounded unsure, as usual. "I have seen Commander Wright teleport on his own, but… Everyone has a radio when going on the mission, so he might have been using it? I don't know. But he doesn't need anyone at the base to do it for him, that I'm sure about."
I nodded my head, lost in thought.
"I'm sorry I can't be any more helpful…" The boy bit his lip, carefully observing my reactions.
I just ignored him completely. At this point, I was no longer disappointed by his vague answers. I didn't expect much in the first place, I was simply looking for even the slightest clues that I could use to figure things out.
I took a puff of my cigarette, and slowly exhaling the smoke, started analyzing everything I knew so far.
The first time I've seen Wright teleport, after the convenience store battle, I clearly remember that he was holding one of their walkie-talkies in his hand. That's why I haven't noticed anything unusual. I simply assumed that he disappeared thanks to the device, just like everyone else.
During the fight at the burnt building, however, I didn't see him with one. He only had a gun in his hands. But according to the boy, everyone had a radio with them on the missions. Well, it was obvious that he must have had one hidden somewhere anyway, so that the rest of the team could update him on my location.
Completely consumed in my thoughts, I haven't even noticed that all the tobacco in my cigarette was already gone. When I tried to take another puff, I ended up burning my lips slightly. I clicked my tongue, put down the cigarette butt on the bed frame, turned off the laptop, and got up.
Was that walkie-talkie so special? If it enabled trans-reality communication, then it wasn't too far-fetched to assume that it might have some source of power installed that allowed the user to teleport between different worlds. Then the only difference between the regular organization members and higher-ups would be that those in higher positions knew how to use that power on their own.
However, there was also another possibility, which is that trans-reality travel is an ability they had on their own. In such a case, they might be able to teleport as easily as I break the reality laws, with or without the device.
That would make things so much more annoying for me.
But it also brought up the question, would I be able to learn how to do it too?
Since the boy had no knowledge of the subject, the only way to find out was to test it in practice. The next time I run into Wright or whoever might show up, the first thing I need to do is to snatch that radio from them.
I sighed and ruffled my hair. Although I seemed to have learned quite a lot about the organization, I still had hardly any concrete information. Most of it was just my theories.
The boy was still looking at me, unsure if he should return to his studies or if I'm going to question him further. I went over to the table and grabbed a bottle of ice tea mixed with the sleeping pills I prepared earlier.
"You look really tired," I said, handing over the drink to him. "Take a little break."
The boy smiled at me, feeling grateful. "Thanks, Seth!"
I just waved my hand, dismissively. There was no need to thank me, really. I just wanted to go out, so I needed him unconscious for a while.
After a lot of searching, I decided to settle for booking an apartment for a temporary stay. They were mostly meant for tourists, so they were a bit more expensive, and we would need to move every month, but that was not an issue. It was actually better not to stay in one place for too long.
I've already chosen the first place we would live in, now I just needed a bank account and enough money to complete the transaction.