Before Kazuichi and his group formally addressed him, the man stood up and dusted himself off, causing his thick robe to slowly flutter as it snugly rested on his shoulders. For a brief moment, Arisu and Tris glanced at each other, thinking that one of them probably recognized the man. Incidentally, no one knew who he was.

Even Kazuichi was looking at him weirdly... well, it wasn’t because he had no idea who the guy was— but because the guy had the gall to stay in the middle of the road like a non-playable character even though he was a human.

That’s right, the man was actually uninfected, and he was crazy enough to linger in the open road despite the dangers of being attacked by wandering Hybrids.

"I see you’ve come to this forsaken place in order to accept a quest from me." The man cleared his throat before he paced back and forth. Honestly, he was already shaking in his boots since he could sense the slight bloodthirst emanating from Kazuichi. Even then, he kept his cool and hoped he won’t die during this interaction.

"I’m sorry, but we’re not here to play games," Kazuichi brushed him off as a ’chuuni’, tugging at Arisu’s hand and gesturing that they continue their walk. They won’t gain anything from conversing with this guy. At most, all they’d do is waste their time.

"Wait, please hear me out!" The man pleaded, but Kazuichi was keen on not talking to him. "Let’s go," Albrecht said, once again leading the way and steering clear of the man in the middle of the road.

To be fair, a part of Kazuichi wanted to know why the man was actually lobbying in the middle of nowhere, but he knew that it might just put him in a difficult spot just like what happened with their forest encounter. As such, he made it clear that he’d be ignoring the man as they continued their journey through the city and to Yamanashi Prefecture.

"Wait! Perhaps I can interest you with this?"

For a moment, Kazuichi put his guard up and unintentionally leaked out his Hybrid aura. He had no idea what the man was going to do after saying something like that. Therefore, he just had to be wary of him.

Arisu also understood the assignment, and she positioned herself right behind Kazuichi. She was ready to protect both Amaya and Tris at a moment’s notice. Knowing Kazuichi, things could get a little ugly once he loses himself in the fight. And right now, he still had that inconsistency when it came to controlling his Blood Art.

"Wait wait wait! I didn’t mean any harm, please! Don’t kill me!" The man pleaded as he raised his hand up. "I just need your help and I’d give you something in return."

Arisu instantly knew that the man was speaking the truth, so she immediately grabbed Kazuichi by the arm to calm him down. Although she knew that Kazuichi wasn’t the trigger-happy type, she still stopped him just to make sure.

"We’re in a rush, but we’ll hear you out." Kazuichi heaved a sigh. He was just glad that the guy wasn’t going to attack them out of nowhere. If it came down to it, there was no way Kazuichi could hold himself back. That’s why he was relieved that the exchange was peaceful.

"My name is Shig. Nakashima Shig. It’s an uncommon name, I know, but hear me out." Shig said, still in his panicked state of mind since Kazuichi approached him. "I’m... you know what... here, you can take it and then hear me out."

Before Kazuichi could utter another word, Shig handed him something wrapped in foil. As it turned out, a trace of pure energy could be felt from whatever was inside the foil, that’s why Kazuichi realized that it was probably something precious. He didn’t dare open it though, as a safety measure.

"I need to go to the Yamanashi Prefecture and get ahold of some blood. That’s all I can tell you." Shig briefly explained. A sense of urgency could be felt in the tone of his voice.

"I am desperate, that’s why I was waiting in the middle of the road, waiting for anyone who would approach me. Be it human or Hybrid, I don’t care. I just need to get there and get that blood!"

Even though he was exclaiming a lot, Shig’s voice was weak, as if he’d already tried everything and was now resorting to the last option of something. He was extremely discouraged, unlike the character he painted a moment ago when he was pretending to be a non-playable character.

Honestly, it was a commendable portrayal since Kazuichi felt like he encountered an NPC in real life.

"All right. So you want us to take you there, that’s it? Well, as long as you stay out of trouble, we’ll let you accompany us." Kazuichi simply responded, beckoning for him to join their group while lightly implying that he shouldn’t invade their personal spaces.

"No... I can get there just fine... I just need someone to accompany me into the auction." Shig continued as his face turned pale white. It’s as if he was reliving a past memory that traumatized him.

And he was. He remembered the first time he accidentally stumbled upon an auction. There were more Hybrids than humans in there, and since he only had his younger sister with him back then, their eyes were laser-focused on them— like lions closely inspecting their prey.

It wasn’t the greatest of experiences. After all, those with more Hybrids exuded more power and those who didn’t have any would be bullied. At a certain point during that auction, Shig and his younger sister were kicked out of the auction because the other Hybrids were about to attack him. It was the nice gesture of the auctioneer.

But now, with everything on the line, he couldn’t risk the past repeating itself. That’s why he needed company.

"To the auction? Interesting. Do they take credit cards?" Kazuichi asked out of nowhere. Now that his curiosity was piqued, he didn’t hesitate to help Shig all the way. Besides, he’d be able to attend an auction, which is a win-win for him. That’s why he decided to help him out.