Yudil's Character Story

Chapter 1

This country is not the only thing covered in sand.
Each day is exactly the same as the last, and I find myself in an ever-deepening rut.
What might add color to such a life, I think, is people.
The traveler I pass wears a platinum ring.
The merchant before me proudly shows off a vase housing a beautiful flower.
Before I know it, both ring and vase are mine.
There are three rules to thievery.
One: Keep distance between yourself and fellow thieves.
Two: Touch your tools with your ring finger first.
Three: Let the shadows guide your escape.
Stick to these, and you will officially be a thief.
I say this to no one; I repeat it only to myself.
How long has this been my life?
I no longer even remember what bread bought with my own money tastes like.

Chapter 2

I feel a gaze on me as I sidle through the back alleys of the city.
A pair of eyes shine in the darkness, and a child steps into the light.
The starving child examines the bread in my hand with a stare powerful enough to kill.
I beckon him over.
I do not do this out of spite.
It's just a way to pass the time. A game.
I show the child some beans I've stolen.
I hide them in one of my fists and ask him to choose which of them holds the prize.
If he is correct, the beans will be his.
Once I see light return to his eyes, the game begins.

Chapter 3

First match. I win.
Second match. I win again.
Third match. Care to guess? ...Ah, right you are. I win.
Hunger dulls the child's thoughts.
I have given him every chance to see through my ruse.
For I'm cheating him, you see. There is no way he can win.
We play until the sun sets, and I never lose.
He does not realize what is happening. Not even at the very end.
The child cries and cries at his loss, but you know what they say:
Temporary charity does nothing for a person in need.
I leave the child with one parting thought:
Live. Even if it isn't right.

Chapter 4

Even the greatest of thieves make mistakes. Even me.
This day, a fruit I stole from a stall slips through my fingers.
How many years has it been since I was so exposed?
Ah, but the fault is not all mine, for the stallkeeper has gone to great lengths to safeguard his merchandise.
No sane person covers their products in oil—yet I curse myself all the same for not seeing it.
Alas, hunger dulls the thoughts.
As I rush through the market, I glance behind me.
Standing beside the bellowing stallkeeper is the child.
The very one who lost to my tricks.
Though his movements are clumsy, he uses the commotion I created to steal a good deal of fruit.
"Good for you."
That is all I say before melting into the shadows.
Time to separate myself from a fellow thief. For this is one of the rules, after all.

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