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Chapter 8: After the Curtain Closes
“Don’t talk to me so flippantly. Even if he died, I would forever be his.”
This was the ninth time that opening line of The Girl Who Fell in Love had been uttered by the widow, Natasha.
Though there had been various small mishaps like props breaking or costumes tearing, some mistaken lines or mistimed prop cues and spotlights, the show could largely be called a success.
Whether because of the effect of the magivision ad or because the company utilized my popularity, each day brought progressively more and more people into the audience.
There was no doubt that this would be the performance that broke the nameless actress Sharro out of obscurity, just as Julian and Lucida had hoped.
Wеbn̊ о v̊е l Е n̊ um а̇
What was surprising was that despite the more adult themes of the play, there were quite a few in the audience who were around my age. I knew that my brother and his friends and acquaintances would likely come to watch, but there were way more children than I had imagined there would be.
Personally, the contents of the play were rather tough for children to watch; after all, it depicted a child being ruthlessly abandoned by her mother. Nothing about it was good for these youths to see. Just how did their parents feel bringing them to watch a story like this? Surely it was bad for their education.
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Well, regardless, when we finished the final performance, we all came onstage for the curtain call to uproarious applause, and so the curtain closed without incident.
Given I was the amateur here, I was very relieved that I hadn’t made any mistakes that completely messed up the run. Those audience accolades may be an actor’s greatest reward, but for me, it signaled that I had sufficiently completed my duty as a daughter of the Liston family. Relief had washed over me when the curtain came down.
I could only pray this would lead to further work.
“Nia, someone’s here to see you.”
Е n̂ ů mа̇. і̇d
Hm?
While I was sharing in the joy of a successful closing night backstage with the other actresses, wiping away sweat, cruelly shaking off the sobbing lead actress, cleaning off my makeup, getting changed, and trying to keep the lead actress from getting all up in my face (why was she being so annoying?), Lucida suddenly called out to me.
“Nia!”
When I turned around, I saw Lucida, my parents, Neal, Lynette, and Bendelio standing with an unfamiliar older man. That was likely my grandfather. He’d still come even though I hadn’t sent him a ticket.
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Though the Ice Rose was talented and had renown, they were still a small theater company starting out. The changing rooms were split by gender, but we had a shared room where everyone did their makeup together. Though even if it was bigger, it was still narrow.
Seeing the size of the place still crowded with all the members of the company, my family immediately caught on and excused themselves, letting me know they’d be waiting for me at the restaurant. As for what restaurant, I was sure Lynokis would let me know when I met up with her outside the performance hall.
W е̄b ńо̆v̊е̃ l̃ Ӗ nu m а̀
I didn’t want to keep them waiting, so I tried to change as fast as possible.
“Was that your family?” Sharro asked.
“Yes. I’m going to get changed, so can you please give me some space?”
Sharro still needed to get changed herself.
The children would head home after this, but surely the adults would be going off to have a drink to celebrate. They’d be having all kinds of alcohol, spicy, sweet, and strong. Meanwhile, I was stuck going to a restaurant with my family. It pained me so much. Hurry up and go already. Get yourself wasted and give yourself a hangover.
“Man, I haven’t gone back to see my family since I graduated from elementary school. So that’s, like, two, three years, I think?”
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“Then why not return home? Also can you please back off?”
“Well, it’s just... My family’s all farmers, y’see? If I go home, who knows if they’ll let me come back. They’d force me to help with the fields, and then they’d force me to get with a proper man and I’d be stuck being a farmer’s wife for life. I hated the thought of that so much that I just avoided going home and jumped right into the acting sphere ’cause it’s what I was really interested in. I do want to go home, but I still haven’t made it to the point that I could do this as a living. So I probably can’t go back yet.”
“Wow, I see. Seriously, can you back off?” Everyone had their own circumstances, so I wasn’t going to tell her what she should do, but I did hope that this wouldn’t be something that she greatly regretted later. Also I really wanted her to back off.
“Sharro, about later today...”
Thankful for the chance Lucida gave me by dragging away the honestly annoying lead actress who kept hovering around me, I quickly got myself changed.
“If you’ll excuse me, everyone.”
Е̊ ňûm ã
With that done, I said my farewells to the rest of the actresses. Over time, I’d gotten close with a lot of the members of the company, not just Sharro. We had all spent about a month together, after all, seeing each other every day and getting very involved with each other over the course of our rehearsals. It would have been strange if we didn’t get somewhat close.
These were people I would be saying goodbye to forever unless I received another job offer. It felt sad in ways, but meetings and farewells were a part of life. This wasn’t a parting I could avoid, and I wasn’t good with sappy stuff, so I decided to leave as soon as I could.
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I wanted to at least say something to Julian, but he wasn’t backstage. He always saw off the audience after every performance.
“Ah, Nia— You hold your horses, Sharro,” Lucida said, grabbing the star by the collar when she mysteriously tried to charge into me. “Julian said that he’s gotta break down the set tonight, so he probably can’t see you off. He and I will see you at your hotel tomorrow morning, so you can head straight off.”
Oh, well, okay then. So I could just leave. I wouldn’t know until tomorrow, but right at that moment, Julian was actually meeting with the third princess Hildetaura, who was asking to be introduced to me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” I left the room with the actresses all seeing me off. I met up with Lynokis, who was waiting for me by the stage door, and we headed off to the restaurant to see my family.
W̆ е̃ bn ō v ё l .Е̊nu_m̊а
“Your final performance was absolutely the best,” Lynokis said.
“In a way, every performance before now was just a rehearsal for this.”
Of nine performances, eight were rehearsals. Stand onstage over and over, and you’ll naturally get more accustomed to it. So of course the last performance would be the most polished. On top of that, the final performance was the one being aired on magivision. I was so focused during the performance itself that I never even saw if there were any cameras, but they had no reason not to record it, so I had no doubt they’d been set up somewhere.
“We can finally say farewell to that girl. Oh, I was just so close to giving in to impulse and doing away with her,” Lynokis said a little too candidly.
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“Please do not say or consider doing such a thing.”
“But I can’t help it. That girl would always get all up close and personal with you over the night, and then in the afternoon she’d just abandon you. It was like... Don’t you think I’d be forgiven if my hand just happened to slip?”
W̃ е bňо̄ v ѐ l̃ Ê n ü m̊.а̄
“You would not.”
Sharro’s nightly intrusions were one thing, but when she said that Sharro would just abandon me, did she mean during the play? That was quite literally her role; what else was she meant to do?
Lynokis and I continued talking about such trivial things as we walked down the night streets to the restaurant. The royal capital at night was a lively place indeed. The streetlights were bright, and many were still walking around.
The performance had come to an end. In other words, two weeks had passed since I made my promise to the thugs. I had finished my work successfully, which meant I could now welcome the promised day with no worries, reservations, or regrets.
The true enjoyment of my stay in the capital would now begin.
“No, I still can’t drink either.”
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Given I was a child, I went for a meal with my family, while the adults went off to celebrate with drinks.
At least, that’s what was supposed to happen.
Instead, I got jumped by Sharro, who was waiting for me in the lobby of the hotel after I returned from my meal. Sharro was fourteen, meaning she still couldn’t legally drink, so she had only been allowed to have a meal as well.
“Why are you here?”
That was the biggest mystery now. It wasn’t as if we had a reason to run lines together anymore. Go back home. To your own home.
“Come on, it’s fiiiiine.”
W е́ bnо̃v̇_е̃l̆ Е́.ṅu mа
She was right. It was fine. Her presence or lack of it meant nothing to me. But then there was Lynokis right behind us emitting the most silent deadly aura she could. I had no idea if Sharro was aware or not. The heart of an actress was hard to read.
I personally had no reason to refuse, though. Today would be our last day together, so Lynokis could live with her anger for a bit longer.
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I got myself bathed, dried my hair, applied some toner to my face, and began preparing myself for bed.
“I had something I wanted to ask.” Sharro was already in her underwear underneath my covers. For the record, I had already let Lynokis go for the night.
For the further record, apparently the rest of the Ice Rose all went to a big bathhouse together and then went straight to partying. It didn’t take a genius to guess that they were going to drink until they passed out. I was jealous. How inappropriate. I was jealous.
“You want to know the secret of my strength? Meat. Meat is how you get stronger.”
Еn̆ũ m а̂
“I said nothing about that. And anyway, it’s not like meat is the only factor.”
Hm, maybe she was right. If all it took was eating meat to get stronger, people wouldn’t struggle so much. And let’s be honest, I was strong even without eating meat.
“But you’re not that far off the mark. You remember when I got attacked by those thugs a few weeks ago, right? And you said something about seeing them again two weeks later. What happened with all of that?”
Oh. Honestly, I had completely forgotten that Sharro had been there when I made that agreement. Could you really blame me for forgetting and getting carried away when I finally had someone to fight for the first time in this body, and I felt all that adrenaline running through me? Sharro had never brought it up until now either.
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The only reminder it had happened at all was the anticipation building in my veins as I counted down the days.
“That whole ‘two weeks later’ thing was just a joke.”
Е ňùm̆а
“No way. You’re totally going to take them up on that, aren’t you?”
She guessed correctly. I had been looking forward to it, after all.
“I stayed as close to you as I could since then, but I’ve never seen you go out to their hideout even once. And that means that you’re going soon, right?”
“Wait, have you been keeping watch over me this whole time? Is that why you kept staying over?” What an actress, indeed. Not once had any of her actions suggested that she was watching over me. I hadn’t even considered it.
“Kinda? It was sort of something on the side. My apartment doesn’t actually have a bath, so getting to borrow yours was a lifesaver.”
My supervision or my bath: which was more important to her? Whatever the answer, it was a trivial matter.
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“Sooo, you’re going, right?”
“No.”
“So I can tell Lynokis about the fight then?”
“I’m going. I’ve been looking forward to it this whole time. I’m definitely going. I’ll never forgive you if you stop me.” If she was going to pull out that card, then I wasn’t going to hide it. Lynokis absolutely could not know. I had no doubt she would report it to my parents, and then I’d be in even more hot water.
“Can’t you reconsider the dangerous stuff? I get it. You’re really strong. But it’s not a good idea to just jump into dangerous situations by yourself like that.”
Oh, I completely agreed.
W еb̈ǹо̇v е̃l̄ E̊ṅ ũm̌ а
“Ninety percent of those who live by the martial arts are fools. They spend years upon years—their whole life, even—pushing their body to its absolute limits, and then all it takes is a simple blade or the venom of a tiny insect and they’ll just drop dead. Naturally, accidents or disease can take them out too. There are times where things that you’ve spent copious amounts of your life on will disappear in a single moment. Do you understand? No matter how strong you are, you can never erase every single one of your weaknesses, and yet we seek further strength anyway. That is what it means to live the martial way. It isn’t smart at all, don’t you think? So of course I wouldn’t make such logical decisions.”
Especially in my case. Hell, I had quite literally died and come back to life, and my first thought was that I wanted to continue living a life in pursuit of martial arts—no hesitation. That was likely how I was in my past life as well. I knew no other way of living.
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I had never considered an intelligent life path—only the fool’s path.
“Yeah, you’ve got a point.” Sharro gave a slight nod. “I don’t get all this martial arts stuff, but I totally get you saying you’re not the type to make smart decisions. And if we’re going down that line of thinking, I’m literally an actress with no plans for her future. If I were smart, I’d be returning home and living a stable life on the farm.”
Then surely she could understand where I was coming from.
“I’m going. Because it’s something I have to do.”
Е̇ nu̇mа̊. id
“Then take me with you.”
What did she just say?
“You...want to come with me?”
“Well, you’re unbeatable, aren’t you? You don’t intend to lose, at all. So what’s the harm in me tagging along?”
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Hmm...
Sharro found it hard to leave me alone now that she’d learned the truth. I was technically a five-year-old girl, after all. Any sane person would try to stop me right away. But Sharro wasn’t doing that, not even by force. In fact, she might have simply realized that I wasn’t someone who would listen in the first place.
W̄ ē b̌ n о̀ v́е l Ѐ ñ um̆ ӓ
As two people living the fools’ life, we somewhat understood each other.
“You’ll only get in the way if you get involved in the actual fight, but I don’t mind you watching from afar. That’s as far as I’m willing to compromise.”
I was pretty sure that if worse came to worst, Sharro would want to put a stop to the situation, even if it meant getting physically involved herself, and that was why she wanted to join me. In which case, I would have her wait on standby at an area a little farther away, and if she thought things were getting bad, she could run off to call the guard or the militia. So long as she was at a suitable place to do that, things would be fine.
Not that she would need to do that, anyway.
“All right, works for me,” Sharro agreed.
Early in the morning of the following day, Julian and Lucida came to visit me in my hotel room as they’d said they would.
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“Nia, thank you for all your efforts. The performance was a complete success.”
“It’s thanks to you that Sharro managed to debut successfully.”
When they saw Sharro was randomly in my room, they had both looked at her in confusion—and with identical faces too. They were twins after all.
“And with this, your commission is over. You carried out your work with no complaints from us.” Artistic Director Julian himself declared the end of my work.
My parents were the ones in charge of negotiating the commission fees, so I had no idea how much I would receive for this. In other words, I had no idea how much this would help the family’s funds, but at the very least, it was impossible for this to worsen them. Mrs. Rhyme had paid for the hotel costs, after all. In fact, I was pretty sure that her husband owned this place. He was a senior officer at the castle, if I remembered correctly.
“Thank you for your hospitality. Please contact us again if there is anything I can help with.” Hopefully this could lead to more work.
Е̄ nú m̄а̀
With that finished, our guests left the room, and I was now alone with Lynokis.
“Ahh, I feel truly refreshed knowing that girl won’t ever come again!” Lynokis flashed a bright, blinding smile. It was the first time I’d seen her this relaxed in a while. She’d been so serious recently. I hoped she could stay this way forever. But this wasn’t the time for me to be lounging around.
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“Is it not almost time to meet up with grandfather?” I asked.
“Oh, yes it is.”
I had no work today. Instead, I would be touring the royal capital with my grandfather, whom I’d finally met yesterday. Neal would be joining us in the afternoon. My parents had some work to do in the capital, but they would be returning straight back to the Liston territories once they were done, so they wouldn’t be meeting up with us. No rest for the wicked, I suppose.
I would return home together with my grandfather tomorrow. That meant this was the last night I could have some fun in the capital.
Ẅ е̇b̈ń о́ v̂еl Ěṅ um̀ а
I wonder if they’re making preparations to welcome me right this second? Maybe I should go and declare right now that I’ll be going to visit them tonight so they know for certain! Okay! With that decided, I better get Lynokis off my back and see if I can find them with that symbol I took!
Even if they were all nothing more than small fry, a hundred—or maybe more!—of them would allow me to get some enjoyment, at least.
Man, is this gonna be one of those nights where I won’t be able to rest?! Ugh, I just can’t wait!
“Ah, my apologies, Lynokis. I forgot something. Could you wait here for a moment?”
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We were about to meet up with my grandfather and go on a tour of the royal capital.
“You...forgot something?”
W̄еb̌n ov̌е̂ĺ Е̃ n_u.m̊â
I had come down to the hotel lobby where Lynokis was waiting to take me to my grandfather’s hotel, but if I was going to act, it had to be now.
Yes, there was something I had to do: confirm that my promise with them was still in effect. But if I wanted to do that, I had to shake off Lynokis so I could move around by myself. All of this would occur swiftly out of her sight.
“What did you forget?”
Oh no, she was going to ask the specifics? I had expected her to just say, “Understood, Young Mistress. I will wait for you here,” and leave it at that. Scrambling for an answer, I raised the first thing I could think of. “Um... My purse?”
“But you don’t have a purse to carry. I’m the one who holds it.”
So she was. Lynokis was in charge of handling my money. In fact, the only time I found myself needing to use money myself was when I wanted to buy small souvenirs on-site during Occupation Observation. I did have an allowance, but I couldn’t tell you how much. I was completely out of touch with my personal finances. Even I was aware of how suspicious it sounded that I cared about my purse when I was so hands-off with it usually.
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“Then, um...my handkerchief?”
“I am also in possession of that.”
So she was...
It didn’t help that I wasn’t likely to carry my own things when going out. Lynokis was in charge of that. Even my body had been carted around by her in the wheelchair until recently.
This is bad. I can’t think of anything.
“Young Mistress, just what are you planning?”
W еb̆ n̆ ovеl̀ Еn üm̈ а́
My sudden interest in things I had originally paid no attention to and my unnatural speechlessness was causing doubt to build on Lynokis’s face. It didn’t seem like anything I said here would get her to go away.
Ugh, fine. If you won’t leave me alone, I’ll give you a reason to avoid me.
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“Please realize what I’m trying to say. I’m going to the restroom.”
“In that case, let me accompany you.”
“I was saying this because I didn’t want you to come with me. At least let me do my business by myself.”
“What? Are you suddenly going through your rebellious phase?”
Е̇ñu̇ m̊ ӑ.і̂ď
No, I just had something dangerous to do. But you know what, it would be better to just leave it as that. “Yes! This is my rebellious phase! I am of the age where I want to rebel against adults!” I declared proudly. But she now looked at me with even more suspicion in her eyes.
“That was entirely forced.” Lynokis... This woman had me rolling about on the palm of her hand. She’d completely played me. “People don’t describe themselves as being in a rebellious phase. In fact, being in a rebellious phase means that you rebel against that notion in and of itself. You feel the need to rebel against everything, even if there’s no reason.”
Now that she mentioned it, it did sound like a lie to say you yourself were in a rebellious phase. I hadn’t cleared her suspicions, at all, in all kinds of meaning.
“Well, whatever you think, I’m going. It’s embarrassing, so let me go to the restroom by myself.”
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“Okay. But if you take too long, I’m going to come find you.”
Tch, this girl was relentless. But I doubted I could get her to give in any further. There was no other way around it—I would simply need to hurry.
We.b̂ ǹӧv̀e̊l̂ Е̇n̂ ù m̀ а̂
I entered the bathroom in the lobby and then escaped out through the window. The window was just a small one for ventilation and it was fairly high up the wall, but it was easy enough to slip through as a child. I climbed up the wall, latched onto the window, and maneuvered my body through.
The moment my feet landed on the ground, I dashed away.
I had no time. I had to finish my business and return before Lynokis came to check up on me.
First, I would head to the place where it had all begun, where Sharro had been stopped by the thugs. It was the kind of back alley that people would not look down—dull and inconspicuous, a dark and quiet location where a little scuffle could happen and no one would care. Perhaps because it was still morning, no one was around. It wasn’t early morning, but night was the time that delinquents and those of the underworld started making their moves.
I could feel myself grow frantic. As things were, Lynokis was even more frightening than an A-rank monster. If that was the case, then I would just run down any alleys I saw and search for anyone that looked like a thug. And then just as I was thinking that, I immediately found a trio who fit that exact description.
There was no time. I had to just hurry up and go.
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“May I talk to you for a moment?”
“Huh?”
The trio who had been lazily walking down the alley turned around. These guys seem kinda weak. But they would be suitable as a source of information, at least.
I showed them what I had stolen from the thugs that day. “Could you tell me about this mark? I don’t have much time, by the way, so if you’re going to waste it, I won’t hesitate to get violent. Quickly now.”
“The hell?”
“What’s this kid on about?”
W ё b̀ n̄ ӧ v е.l Е́ n ů m̈ a
“Wait, hang on. I’ve seen this kid— Huh? Wah!”
What did I just say?
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I threw my leg into the stomach of the guy on the left that seemed to recognize me, then used his stomach as leverage to slam my knee into his face. If he wanted to gossip about me with his friends, he could do that after I was gone.
“Wh-What in the hell are y— Gwah?!”
When I landed back on the ground, I deflected the leg of the man in the middle who was slow to react, and shoved him onto the ground.
“Guh!”
Е̊ n ûm ȧ. і.ḋ
The man on the right’s reflexes were even worse. After he was struck with a spearhand that looked as if I were trying to gouge out his innards, he fell to his knees and then collapsed. He likely couldn’t speak or think through the pain.
“What do you think you’re— Whoa?!”
Before the man in the middle could stand himself back up, I thrust the symbol out in front of him. “Do you know or not? Your friends are already taking a nice little nap. Do you want to join them? I don’t intend to let you go peacefully, though.”
“What in the actual hell are you?! Who do you think we are?!”
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“I don’t know and I don’t care. If you don’t hurry up and tell me what I want to know, I’ll break your arms and legs. This isn’t an empty threat.”
Perhaps sensing how serious I was being, the man’s face scrunched up as he gulped.
Е n̄ u ṁ а̂
And with that, I managed to receive the information I wanted and was able to get them to pass on the message that I would, in fact, be going to visit them tonight. I immediately dashed off back to the hotel.
As for if I made it back in time, well, I did. Just. I cut it really close. I bumped into Lynokis right as I exited the bathroom, so I was dangerously close to being caught.
And then, as we had planned, we met up with my grandfather for sightseeing around the capital. We didn’t see anything especially notable, but I did hear something curious from my grandfather.
Apparently, Mrs. Rhyme had told them that Hildetaura, the third princess of Altoire, came to see our final performance and wanted to meet me. I had still yet to meet this Hildetaura, but I’d heard she was a famous magivision star...and only seven years old at that.
I had heard that child actors on magivision were rare, but her appearances weren’t seen as that of a child actor, only the duty of royalty. She wasn’t treated as a child but as a princess.
I had no idea why a princess would have any interest in me, let alone why she would want to meet me. It may be nice to meet her through magivision work, though.
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We met up with Neal and Lynette in the afternoon, toured the shipyard and the royal capital’s own broadcasting station, and finished off with a meal before returning to the hotel.
I was scheduled to leave the royal capital with my grandfather tomorrow morning. Our packing and preparations were finished this morning—and that meant it was time for me to have fun.
Late into the night, I sneaked out of the hotel.
“Wow, you really came.”
Sharro was already waiting for me out front. Honestly, I wished she hadn’t come, but here she was. What did she think was so fun about coming with me to something like this?
Time was limited. We ran as fast as we could to the designated location.
Еn ŭ m_а̂
Even at this time, the streetlights were dazzlingly bright, and the light still coming from the buildings meant the main street was well lit. But the moment you turned down into an alleyway, the atmosphere turned dark and gloomy.
“Did you not know about those thugs, Sharro?”
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“Them? If I recall correctly, I think they were a group called the Zigzag Dogs or something, right? I only knew of their name.”
That was it, the Zigzag Dogs. The Zigzag Dogs, true to their name, were nothing more than dogs with one foot in the underworld. They would likely be no more by the end of the night. There seemed to be other gangs lurking in the capital, but I had a complete lack of interest in them.
Why? Because the only thing in my mind was that today, this evening, finally, I would get to play with these dogs. Given how quickly I was able to get info on them, they were probably pretty famous around these parts. Or should I say infamous.
In other words, I had no reason to feel any guilt for what I was about to do.
Е̇ ñü m а
The farther we got from the main street, the more the polished royal capital began to show its dirty side. Wherever you looked, there were dangerous-looking groups loitering around and drinking.
“Hey— Guh!”
“You— Ow!”
“You brat— Shit, that hurt!”
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Every time they would try to cause an issue with us, I would immediately shut them up. This in itself was pretty fun, but it actually felt bad to do, so it was something I preferred to avoid. I had no doubt there were those who were genuinely worried seeing us here; they were just rough about it.
I was a five-year-old child, after all. And I had a girl with me. Some very clearly had no bad intentions when they approached us. In hindsight, most would look at us and see a girl bringing along a child, not the other way around. We were a combo where I very much did not look the leader.
W̃е.bnӧvеl Еn̈ ū ṁ а̃_
“You’re really strong, Nia. Even up close I have no idea what’s happening.”
“It’s a secret technique passed down through the Liston family. Don’t tell anyone, or it won’t be secret anymore.”
“Gotcha.”
“I want actual combat experience, so that’s why I’m doing this.”
“Hmm, I see.” Sharro didn’t seem to understand nor did she particularly have any interest in my motives, but that was fine. It wasn’t something I could explain in words very well.
After a little while of walking down the path asking the way and taking down about ten more people, we found a shop. The sign in front no doubt used to have an actual business name on it, but it had been painted over with “Zigzag Dogs.”It was a large, run-down bar, likely their gathering place—their turf, even.
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Hm? I barely sense anyone around. Did they not prepare to welcome me after all?
“Sharro, this is as far as I’m willing to bring you.”
“Okay. I’ll be watching from that roof over there,” she said, pointing towards the ruined building opposite the bar. I couldn’t sense anyone inside it, so she would probably be safe there. It wouldn’t take long for me to deal with such small fry either. “Be careful, Nia.”
Yes, I will. Really, you should be saying that to the mutts that are about to face me.
If I had sensed a lot of people inside, I would’ve entered through the window or a back entrance in case of a trap. Or I would just break the wall in. But it seemed pretty empty, so I boldly went in through the front door.
The desolate bar interior was a complete mess, chairs and tables broken to pieces or thrown all over the ground. I’d made the assumption from how it looked outside, but they weren’t doing proper business here.
Ě n_um̂_а̀
“Oh, you really came.”
Right in front of me, as I entered the dim bar, was a man wearing a suit, nonchalantly sitting on one of the only chairs to make it out alive. Around him were three unconscious men.
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So...what was going on here exactly?
“Care to explain the situation?” I asked. “I came here because I had no choice but to play along with these men in their revenge.”
I would be unfairly surrounded by numbers upon numbers of their men holding a grudge against me when I’d only taught them a tiny little lesson. That would then make me someone who just happened to be jumped by a gang wanting revenge. I would simply be a victim, one who was unwittingly involved in a fight, one who chose to step up and face their wish for revenge head-on. I had tried so hard to set it up so that this would be self-defense even if I accidentally killed a few of them...
And I was so excited for it too! I had so been looking forward to finally fighting someone that was at least a little strong! You couldn’t overdo it in a one-on-one fight just because of impulse, or opportunity, or a whim, or enthusiasm, or any other reason!
En̊u m̄ а̄
“Can’t you see?” the suited man lazily asked as he put a cigarette between his lips and lit it. “We don’t need trash under us that would even get beaten up by a kid.”
Well, that wording was certainly telling.
“Are you the actual mafia?”
“Mmm, not too far off the mark.”
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And that meant those dogs had been lackeys of the mafia like I’d thought.
“But this changes things a little. You’re strong, ain’tcha? Maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched for them to get beat up by you, after all.” The suited man stood up and kicked one of the thugs lying on the ground. “Count your lucky stars, lads. If that little girl over there hadn’t arrived in time, you’d be kissin’ your lives goodbye. Off you go.”
Ŵe bń õ v̆ e l̄ Е n û m а̄
The men lying on the ground, likely beat up by that suited man, dragged their no doubt aching bodies out the back entrance.
“So? What’re you gonna do about this mess, huh?” the suited man asked once we were alone.
“What sort of answer are you looking for?”
“I mean, you beat up our men and all. Situation was so dire I had to come all the way out here myself. Truth be told, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about small fry like them, but the second you let people think you’re weak down this neck of the woods, it’s over. And, uhhhh, right about now, you’re thinkin’ we’re weak, no? Thinkin’ we’re all as limp as a wet noodle.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“You want me to take responsibility. Is that what you’re trying to say?”
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“Gold star for you, miss. You got some brains in there. Guessing you didn’t come here by yourself for no reason then.”
Take responsibility. Take responsibility, hm?
“I would say that’s my line.” He pissed me off. Really pissed me off. He wanted me to take responsibility?
I came here ready and waiting to have fun beating up at least a hundred people, and yet when I opened the door, this was all I saw. Did he have any idea just how disappointed I felt? What an asshole.
How was he gonna make it up to me, huh? My fists were thirsting for blood. How was he gonna fill my heart, begging to be satiated with violence? I had been looking forward to this so damn much!
“I am simply resolving a fight that I was involved in, nothing more, nothing less. You want me to take responsibility? That is precisely why I am here. If you hadn’t gotten yourself involved like this, it would have ended there.”
Ё ǹ_ŭ ṁа̇ . і̇d
And yet, for some reason, the boss of these little mongrels had decided to barge in and get in my way. And by sending someone so weak!
“Pay up what they owed me right this second,” I growled. “I’m going to beat you to an absolute pulp. I won’t forgive you until you’re begging for your life in tears.”
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“Huh, that so? I was thinking I’d let you go after giving you a bit of a fright, but if that’s the case...”
Noticing me ready a fighting stance, the suited man flicked away his cigarette and began walking towards me.
He was surprisingly young. Or, no, maybe not surprisingly. He wasn’t tall nor was he blessed with a large physique. He was very slender. His expression looked unmotivated on the surface, but his dark brown eyes alone shimmered with a different story—a thirst for violence, maybe, or a strong hostility.
“I’ll kill you.” The loose, relaxed body of the man suddenly twisted.
Еñ ŭ mа
He was fast.
The movements produced by the exaggerated fluctuation of speed and the shift of his laxness into violence resulted in a level of agility that well exceeded what I had imagined.
His first move, a punch from his right fist, gouged right into my face.
Brilliant.
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Absolutely no hesitation right from the first move. Amazing. This was wonderful. A battle with one hundred small fry would no doubt have been more fun, but I would make do with this for now.
I had been punched about ten times by now. There was no hesitation, no mercy, just swift punches aimed right at my face.
Е̇ n ùm̂ ȧ.. і̂ ď
This is truly wonderful. I can’t get enough.
It hurt, more than I expected, and I would probably be left with some bruises afterwards. But if I thought of this as a weakling’s all-out retaliation, I found it quite endearing.
A smile slipped onto my face as I took ten more blows to the head. The suited man pulled back and frowned.
“Why the hell are you smiling?”
“Hm? Perhaps because your punches tickle?” They really did kind of hurt, honestly, but if you compared it to an actual fight to the death, it was nothing. There was no point in dodging. They hurt even less than mosquito bites.
“You’re crazy. Even I’m feeling it in my fists. I’m not holding back at all. In fact, each time I punch you, I’m trying to make you go flying, but you’re still standing. What is going on here?”
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Well, of course I wouldn’t go flying.
“Isn’t the answer obvious? It’s because you’re weak. And I’m not just referring to your inability to punch a child off their feet.”
“Huh?”
“I believe that it is the duty of the strong to feel the full strength of the weak and then beat them to a pulp. If you show them that there is in fact another level of strength to obtain, it gives reason to their defeat, don’t you think? It lets them see exactly why they lost.”
Once he had that reason, he could use it to get stronger and stronger. Make me your goal. Make me your reason for your hunger for power. Whether he could ever hope to beat me was a different matter.
“You’ve got some nerve, don’t you?” The suited man had worn an expression of laziness only a moment before, but now, it was hard to mistake that smile on his face as anything other than hostility, malice, and a desire to harm. Good, it seemed he’d finally found his spark.
Еn̆ ũḿа. ǐ ḋ
Yes, I want you to come at me with everything you have. Get it all out of your system right here. Every little bit. You’re weak, anyway. And only then would I beat him up. That was the duty of the strong, after all.
“I’ll really kill you, you know,” he said, swinging his right hand out—suddenly holding a metal rod.
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“Huh? What’s this about?” I asked without thinking.
Where’d he pull that from? Was it some magic trick? A hidden weapon like an assassin? No, I was pretty sure he hadn’t been hiding a rod of that length on his person. In fact, it would be pretty much impossible to. It didn’t look like the kind of weapon that could fold up either.
“Eat shit, you brat!”
Ignoring my question however, he suddenly swung the rod down with all his strength, spirit and rage suddenly all the more apparent.
É n ū ṁ ă
Thwack!
It was just a metal rod; I would have been fine taking the blow given the wielder, but since I had no idea what that weapon really was, I took the blow with my right arm. I observed the weapon without a second thought and was able to confirm that it was likely nothing more than your average steel rod.
Hmm... If it had been one of the infamous demon blades, or a manasword, or any kind of weapon enhanced with magic, I could see it being possible to suddenly summon it. But this rod really was just a regular metal rod.
“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
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The man cried out and mercilessly kept swinging the rod down on me. I could sense insanity in that lack of mercy, as he kept putting his whole body weight into his strikes.
I simply kept blocking without a care. I probably could’ve let him hit me directly, but getting hit with something that solid would likely result in me bleeding, so I wanted to avoid it. At the end of the day, I was an aristocrat’s daughter, and I didn’t want to dirty my clothes. It would have been terrible if Lynokis were to find me out too.
Е́ṅ u m̂ а́ . id̂
After about fifty-four strikes, the man came to a stop. As he’d gone all out solely on madness and impulse, his shoulders were heaving with every breath, and he was looking down at me in a daze.
And then finally, he whispered, “Hey, am I...weak?”
Huh? He was gonna ask me?
“I wonder if you might be. If I’m honest, I’m not terribly sure.”
I had a feeling that this man had almost definitely been the kind to get by with bragging about his fights. There was no doubt that going all out as he did here and dealing basically no damage to someone like myself had done a great number to his pride.
This was the feeling of despair that those who believed they were strong would often feel. I didn’t have any memories of it, but I was sure I had (probably) experienced it myself many times. It’s likely that I made others experience it too, if I understood correctly.
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“Am I just exceptionally strong, or am I strong and you’re also weak? I don’t know which it is. Whatever the answer, there is one thing for certain: I am strong. You shouldn’t feel ashamed about losing to me, personally,” I said, rubbing my right arm. It was the arm that had taken the brunt of the rod’s assault. There was a bit of a bruise forming there, but it was so minor it would likely be gone by the following evening.
One other thing was certain: this man was far too weak for me. I wasn’t sure if he was weak generally speaking, though. I would end up winning against him with the same amount of energy you spend when you wonder over whether or not to peel your apple skin in the shape of a rabbit. That was all his strength was worth.
“May I have a turn now?” Now that he had gotten it all out of his system, it was my turn. “Consider this a nice training opportunity. Come at me again.”
I would be leaving the capital tomorrow. This would be my last chance to get into a fight. I had come here expecting to fight a hundred men, and instead, I was left with disappointment.
If I don’t get my fun in here, I’ll be so wound up I won’t be able to sleep.
I dodged his wild swings over and over and slapped his face silly again and again. Of course, I made sure to pull my punches. If I hit him too hard, he’d die on the spot. He’d outright explode, in fact.
Е́ n̄u m̀ ȧ .іd
After about thirty-eight blows, his spirit broke.
“Just kill me already...”
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The man fell to his knees as his heart cracked in two, the steel rod dropping from his limp hand. He had finally detected the difference in our strength and had given up. Good.
“I was honestly starting to wonder what I would do if you didn’t know when to give in.”
Managing thirty-eight blows in total wasn’t bad at all. I’d say he tried his best. I had been doing nothing more than playing with him, but I was sure this would become motivation for him to get stronger—motivation that might bring him beyond even me, in fact. I would be overjoyed if that truly happened.
“I’d like to go home now. Is that all right with you?” I asked.
Еnu m̃.а
“Don’t think this’ll all end here.”
What was he going on about now?
Oh wait, of course.
“You’re a member of the mafia, aren’t you? Then next time, I’ll come out to meet you. I don’t live in the royal capital, and I’ll be returning home tomorrow. I will no doubt be back to visit, so let’s meet again then, all right? Let’s see... I’ll come visit this bar the next time I’m in the area.”
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From the hesitant look on his bruised, puffed-up face as he silently watched me, he had no idea how to take my words.
“That’s a promise. You’ve chased away those dogs by now, so you may as well set up shop here. Run it as the bar it’s meant to be or something. One day I’ll come again; I promise you that. Make sure to prepare a suitable welcome for me by then.” I made the suggestion on a whim, but perhaps it wasn’t such a terrible idea. If this bar became one of the few places for me to find sparring partners, it would be the best. I would love it if he turned this run-down bar into that.
Ë ň ūmă
“You’ve got some screws loose, kid.”
Couldn’t deny that one.
“Oh, right. How did you make that appear?” I asked.
Normally, a martial artist, upon victory, should show respect to the loser’s martial arts, and, if they had nothing else they were there for, proceed to swiftly leave the area. The suited man’s spirit was completely broken, and it was because of me to boot. The winner had already been decided. I did not intend to take this any further. As such, I wanted to leave right away, but I wanted to confirm this first.
“‘That’?” The mobster asked.
I pointed at the steel rod on the ground at his confusion.
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“Oh, the metal rod. It’s just an attuned weapon. That’s not so rare, is it?”
Well, this was a new word to add to my dictionary. “I wouldn’t know. Does it function like magic? Is it common?”
“There’s not a lot of people who can pull it off, but the phenomenon itself is well-known. I guess you are a kid. Would make sense that you’re not familiar.”
I wasn’t sure if you could actually call me a child, but better to not complicate things. “Am I right in understanding that it allows you to draw the weapon from elsewhere instantaneously?”
“Pretty much.”
Hmm.
Е́n̂ û ṁ а̊
“What a fun little tool.” With that said, I turned around to leave. My curiosity was sated, so it was about time for me to go. “I’ll be leaving now. Let’s meet again.”
“Yeah. You make sure you come back here. Don’t think this is the end, cause it ain’t.” Though his face was battered and bruised, his eyes were filled with intent to kill, and that murderous intent was so pure and untainted. It gave me chills in all the best ways.
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I really did feel the makings of someone strong in him. It was impressive how little he had held back against a perceived child—it showed he didn’t judge a book by its cover. All he needed now was to improve his skill so we could have a real fight to the death. Only if he managed to improve, though. It was a shame. He just needed to be a little stronger.
Oh...
“Hey.”
“Huh? Grngh?!”
Е̃ n u̇ ma . і̃d̆
I kicked him right in the gut from where he was kneeled on the ground and made sure to take him down for real.
“What the...? You little...!”
Wow, not bad. I’d kicked him with all intent of knocking him out, and yet he was still conscious. No other choice then.
“You’d be best not leaving this bar for a while.”
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If he got involved as beat up as he was now, he’d never make it out alive. I made sure to warn him from where he was, unable to move from the pain and frustration, and then headed to partake in the main dish that was so politely laying itself out in front of me.
“Good evening.”
W е b̄ no v̇e̊l Ѐ ń ů m̀ а̊
“Holy— You gave me the fright of my life!”
The sudden greeting from behind her made Sharro White nearly jump out of her skin. She had come along with Nia Liston out of worry for this pure white girl who mysteriously loved getting into danger.
As Sharro watched that girl resolutely head off for the abandoned bar, and having seen how much of a good mood the girl had been in on the way here, Sharro realized that perhaps she had nothing to worry about, after all.
Nia was probably as ridiculously strong as she stated. Seriously.
After confirming that Nia had entered the bar, she had turned to head up the stairs of the abandoned building across the street. But then suddenly, someone had spoken up from behind her.
When she turned around, Nia’s maid—or whatever she was—stood there in her work attire. Her name was Lynokis, Sharro believed. They hadn’t interacted very much, though she’d seen her numerous times during rehearsals for the stage play. “Oh, Ms. Maid.”
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“I am her personal attendant, not her maid.”
Naturally, Sharro was aware that Lynokis disliked her. She wouldn’t gain anything by worrying about it, though, so she simply chose not to.
“Um... Were you following Nia?”
“Yes. I am in charge of not just the young mistress’s daily needs but also her safety. I cannot let her out of my sight.” Nia was quite truly the young lady of a rich household, so of course she would have a personal attendant and bodyguard. “You intend to keep an eye on her from up there, yes? Then let us be off.”
“Huh?” Though confused, Sharro chased after Lynokis as she walked past her. “You’re not going to stop her?”
“I have no reason to do such a thing.”
Е̂ṅ u m а́..і̊ d̀
“Are you serious? Isn’t wanting to keep her out of danger reason enough?”
“That person is much stronger than I am. I can’t stop her now that she’s reached this stage.”
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In any other case, that may have been a shocking revelation. But not here. Though she hadn’t been a hundred percent sure, Sharro had already begun suspecting that Nia was unusually powerful, so the statement didn’t particularly linger for her.
That girl really is too strong.
Sharro may have been a complete amateur in the field of battle—so much so it wasn’t even worth considering if she was strong or weak—but even she could tell. If someone told her that Nia was even stronger than she imagined, she wouldn’t doubt it for a second.
“I can’t find it in me to try to stop her when she has such a joyous look on her face either.”
W ebn o v́ е l Е̇ň ú m̄ã
“I guess so.”
Honestly, Sharro wasn’t entirely sure what to take from the thought of someone finding the idea of violence and running into danger fun, but regardless, the actress and the attendant chatted away as they made their way up the building. It was fairly small at only around three floors, but it allowed them to look down on the bar from a higher vantage point.
“The moment the young mistress has finished what she’s here to do, I will return to the hotel. Don’t let her know that I was here, please.”
“Are you sure you can’t even warn her or something?”
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“I very much wish to do so, but it would be troublesome for me if next time she became craftier and was able to completely conceal her presence in a way I would be unable to track. I am content with simply keeping an eye on her for now.”
“Whew, being an attendant is tough, huh.”
Ё num а
“It certainly is.”
“Hm? Is that...?”
In the middle of their conversation, they spotted someone walking down on the road below them. It was so dark they couldn’t see the figure properly, but it was definitely a person.
One or two more people made their way to the front of the bar...and then they stopped. Sharro thought it may have been a coincidence, but then a whole other crew of people arrived, as well.
At first, there were a bit more than ten gathered, but that number only kept growing.
“Hey, uh, is this not getting a bit dangerous?”
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You would think that with so many people gathered, the area would only get louder, but instead, it was eerily quiet. Something was off. What was worse, some were definitely armed. It looked as if they were about to raid the bar.
The tension in the air only grew as the number of people gathered became unbefitting of such a quiet night. By this point, there was no doubt what was occurring here. These men were standing in front of that bar for a reason. There was no way it was a coincidence.
Sharro had no idea what exactly their goal was, but right now, Nia was inside that bar. Which meant it was most likely...
“I cannot help but feel pity for them,” the attendant quietly muttered as she looked down at that ominous group that now numbered over thirty. “Not even one hundred simple thugs could take down the young mistress.”
“What? Is she that strong?”
Perhaps because she was an amateur, Sharro couldn’t believe Lynokis’s words. But regardless, the truth of the matter would soon become apparent.
Е̂n_u m á.і_d_
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Did you have to wait long?”
After leaving the suited man immobilized, I exited the bar. As I had detected, a little over thirty armed thugs were standing outside waiting for me.
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Ahhh, incredible!
The quality left a lot to be desired, but the quantity was decent, and honestly, that bout with the suited man hadn’t been enough, after all. I was overjoyed that the main dish had come along after the appetizer.
“Oi, you little brat. Where’s Anzel?” the man who appeared to be the leader of his little ragtag group asked.
Anzel must have been the name of that man I had left sprawled out on the ground inside the bar.
Ẅ е̇ b̌ n о v ė l É nům̄а
“Why do you care about him? I’m standing right here.”
I didn’t care who these men were nor did I care what their relationship with Anzel was, but given they asked about him, it sounded as if he was their target.
“H-Hey, this girl’s the one! She’s the pale kid who’s stupid strong! No way... You don’t think she killed Anzel, do you?!”
Oh my, perhaps I was a target, after all. Were they related to the dogs? Were they here for revenge?
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Did the reason even matter?
Between their bloodthirsty aura and the weapons they held, even an idiot could tell they definitely weren’t here for a simple chat. If they were here intending to take down the weakened Anzel, then as the victor of that duel with him, it would be fine for me to defend him for now—this was also a form of respect towards martial arts. If you were going to take someone down, only do it when they were at their best. I wouldn’t have bothered stopping these men otherwise.
Ë n̊ũm̊а
“Are you done talking? Let’s hurry up and start.”
Thwomp!
Right after I said that, the boss was hurtling through the air.
Why? Because I had stepped forward as fast as this body could, and punched him just a little harder than usual. I wasn’t terribly satisfied with small fry who didn’t even have the reflexes to react to such a simple move... Or, hm. Maybe it was actually quite fun? Huh? This was more fun than I expected.
“AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! C’mon, c’mon! If you don’t hurry up and finish me, you’re all going down first!” The laughter bubbled up inside me. This air of violence that my spirit had been deprived of for so long left me with an unending happiness. Fists that one can swing without any guilt felt as wonderful as I thought they would.
Nehilga was a small-time thug that was fairly well-known.
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As peaceful as Altoire may have been on the surface, even it held an underbelly. Hiding away deep within the breeding grounds for such types, the eastern area of the warehouse district, he had slowly but surely built up his name.
Nehilga himself was aware that he was but a small-time thug. But that was only because he was biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity. The time and patience he put into making his next move were what made him look like some petty little gangster.
If he saw something that would gain him great profit, he would strike with no hesitation. He would engage with the target and completely ravage them. He would crush the weak, devour the strong, and indulge on the gains.
That was how he had handled himself up to this point. He had believed in his instinct for opportunity and his ability to manage risk. As a result, he had even managed to get as far as running a hideout in the district.
Here, however, there was no other way to put it: he had misjudged from the start.
“Wh-What the hell’s going on here...?”
Е́ n̆u̇m̃a.ï d̃
Nehilga had arrived at the scene, a sweetheart on each arm and four of his familiar trusted lackeys trailing behind. Believing that this would be a simple job that would net him a pile of cash, he’d been in quite the good mood.
However, the scene that greeted him was not what he had been expecting in the slightest.
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In a corner of a back road filled with abandoned buildings, a whole bunch of the “tough” kids that he’d gotten sick of seeing were piled up on the ground. He felt like he recognized some of the faces.
Some irregularity had disrupted Nehilga’s plans.
He had come here to retrieve the daughter of a class-four aristocrat, Nia Liston. She was a kid that was the key to his fortune. The moment Nehilga had heard that one of the younger gangs had gotten into a scuffle with her, he had made the bet that big money was right in front of him.
His plan had been very simple: the daughter of an aristocrat had gotten too big for her britches and decided to cause trouble with his men, ultimately leading to her getting hit with payback for her arrogance, and as such, they would demand compensation from the Liston family. It was an exceedingly simple plan.
We b̈ǹŏv̀е̇ l Е̄ ń ũ m̂ а̊
So that he would have even more victims to point at, Nehilga had asked his bodyguard Anzel to crush the rest of the younger gangs. All so they could frame Nia Liston. All so they could point at a fault of the aristocrats and tell them what a horrible thing their daughter had done.
The higher the class of aristocrat, the more they hated this kind of scandal. Admittedly, in this day and age, where the class divide between aristocrats and commoners was slowly narrowing, Nehilga wasn’t sure just how much one or two scandals could really affect their standing. But aristocrats nowadays did everything they could to not damage their reputation amongst the common people, which meant they had become rather sensitive to this type of thing.
Regardless, the moment he managed to get his mitts on that little girl, it would all be decided. It would cause a scandal if the family didn’t try to get their kidnapped daughter back, but they would also have to be careful that news of what she had done didn’t spread. He’d increased the number of victims to pin on her already, so it was highly likely it would escalate to a much greater incident if word got out.
It was important for him to establish the groundwork to make it look like they were preventing Nia Liston from causing any more harm. In reality, it was kidnapping and imprisonment, but the key difference was how it looked from the outside.
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It was a simple bit of work that would give great rewards, suitable for a small-time thug.
At least, that was what Nehilga believed, and it had been what he was working towards in secret these past few days. From his understanding of the situation, the plan had succeeded.
Е̄ ńů mа̂. іd̄
“Oh my, am I allowed seconds?”
The problem was that Anzel had lost to Nia Liston.
Amongst the sprawled-out bodies was that small girl with white hair. She was only about five or six years old.
It was a surreal sight: a young girl casually standing in an abandoned, moonlit back alley that was littered with bodies, flashing a small smile. Her unusual white hair standing out in the dark only added to the otherworldly figure before them.
The boys lying about were the ones that Nehilga had ordered Anzel to beat up. Clueless about the truth of the situation, their grudge for Anzel had simply reached a point where they had gathered to take him down.
And then they were taken down by Nia Liston instead.
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However, Nehilga wasn’t aware of any of this, having just arrived. He didn’t know that Anzel had already lost, and he had no way to know that everyone beat up here had been defeated by Nia Liston. He had no understanding of the circumstances, but what he did know was that the kid he could trade in for a pile of cash was standing right in front of him.
“Damn, you’re really here. Hey, little lady, you’re Nia Liston, yeah?” That was all that mattered to Nehilga. Even if there was a slight change in the plans, it didn’t change that he just had to secure her and his job was done.
“You know who I am?”
“Of course. I watch magivision sometimes.”
Nia Liston was famous. To someone with access to magivision, she was a face that they might see every day. But that was precisely why she had value. Because she had value, she was worth money.
“Ah, are you a fan? I didn’t expect to bump into one here.”
Е n ù m̀ӓ
“Yeah, yeah, I’m a big fan of yours. So could you come with us for juuuust a little bit? We wanna ask you about some stuff.” Nehilga himself knew how blatant the lie was, but he didn’t particularly like being violent with children. If she behaved, then it would save them all the hassle.
“Unfortunately, I was never advised to go to some stranger’s house in the middle of the night. So no thank you.”
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It was a straightforward answer. Absolutely nothing strange about it. At least, if the circumstances weren’t as they were.
“C’mon, don’t be a spoilsport. By the way, what happened to Anzel? Did you not bump into him?”
“Anzel? Were you the one that ordered him?”
“If you know him, that means you met him, yeah?”
Ënù m а
But that then raised the question again as to why she was here. What happened to Anzel?
“He’s having a little nap in that bar there.”
“He’s what...?”
Anzel was where that little hand was pointing, apparently.
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No, more importantly, what had happened to Anzel? His name was known far and wide in the underworld as a highly capable bodyguard. He was rumored to be so strong that he could never lose in a one-on-one fight. Given Nehilga wanted to one day invite Anzel to join his family completely rather than remaining an outside hire, he had paid a lot of money to keep him by his side.
There had been another woman that he wanted to invite to his family, but she had gone off somewhere a while ago. That didn’t matter for now.
W е̊ b̌ n̄ о̄.v̀ ël Е̌ n̊u m ã
“If you’re going to send an assassin my way, at least make it someone strong.”
Nehilga may have been an idiot, but his mind worked quickly. He was quite cunning, in fact. And judging from those words, Anzel had been beaten by Nia Liston.
Now that they had reached this point, Nehilga had finally realized just what he was being confronted with.
Anzel left unconscious in the bar, the brats all sprawled out on the ground, the reason that the gang had gotten into a scuffle with Nia Liston in the first place, what exactly happened—taking all this into account, Nehilga was starting to see this little girl who was standing unbothered in this place, under these circumstances, as the unnatural being she was.
Just as Nehilga could feel his heart take one step back in retreat, his men, his friends, his bodyguards, his colleagues turned to him and said, “Boss, whaddya want us to do?”
“I don’t get your big brain plan, but you want to catch her, right?”
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In the underworld, any signs of weakness would be called out. And the moment you stumbled, the fall was instant. There was no stopping that descent. Just one mistake could make everything you had built up come tumbling down. Those comrades you believed in would turn their back on you and rip your power out of your hands. That was how Nehilga had taken down every other thug up to this point.
If he chose to run away from a girl who wasn’t even a teenager, that stain would be left on him for life.
Nehilga couldn’t run.
From the moment he had decided to capture Nia Liston, from the moment they had met here like this, from the moment he had devised the plan, he had already made a high-risk high-reward gamble. He couldn’t back out now.
If he did, he would lose everything.
“All right, capture that kid.”
Е nu m̆ а. ĭd
There was suddenly a cold sweat crawling down his back. His instincts were screaming danger at him, but he ignored them and made his order.
Capture Nia Liston.
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“Okay, little lady, come along with us nice and— Ah.”
One of his men approached Nia Liston with a sneer on his face...and then crumpled to the ground.
No one knew what had happened.
Nia Liston didn’t look as if she had moved. Next thing they knew, she was looking down at their fallen comrade, a bored look on her face.
W е̄b̈ n̂ õv еl Ē n ũ m̀á
“Oi, what’re you playing at? You’ve been drinking too much again, haven’t y— Ah.”
When the second person approached, unaware of why the first had suddenly collapsed, he crumpled in just the same way.
What was going on here? It didn’t look as if Nia Liston was doing anything, and it didn’t look as if his men were being taken down by an outside force either.
But everyone present now realized one thing. This was unnatural. Something unnatural was happening right here, right now. And the root of that surreality being Nia Liston, a five-year-old girl, was unthinkable.
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Except to Nehilga, who had vaguely started to catch on...
“Hey.”
Ẁе b̂ṅоv̇ e l Е̃n u m̂а
Before he knew it, Nia Liston was suddenly right in front of him.
He hadn’t even averted his gaze. She was just...there...as if she had teleported.
That was the moment that Nehilga’s eyes adjusted to the dark of the back alley, when he realized that this whole time, he hadn’t been seeing the true extent of the carnage. He could see no end to the bodies.
There were so many.
There weren’t just twenty or thirty of them either. Even more bodies were piled up in heaps on the ground. Surely there couldn’t be over one hundred of them?
No, he couldn’t say for sure. Because he couldn’t see an end to the piles of people.
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Nehilga hadn’t wanted to know this. Wasn’t it likely that they had all been beaten the same way his men had just been, completely unaware of what had happened? Then the one who did it had to be...
“You wanna go? Or not?”
Was she serious?
“It’s a pleasant night tonight. I’m in a good mood, so I don’t mind letting you go. What would you like to do?”
He definitely wanted her to let him go.
He almost said those words, but he definitely couldn’t say that in front of his men.
Е n um̈а̌
“Ah.”
That voice came from behind him.
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When he turned around, for some reason, there was Nia Liston. This child that should have been standing in front of him...was now standing behind him. And two more of his men were now slowly crumbling to the ground.
“Now, now, running away is just rude.”
He didn’t understand.
He didn’t understand anything.
Ẅеb̃n о́v̊ ѐl̇ Еn̄um̀a
But if there was one thing he did understand, it was that right now, he had bumped into some...thing that he shouldn’t have.
A chill ran up his back.
His body was trembling violently.
He was able to see those unconscious kids farther away now, but still there was no end in sight. Just how many people had been taken down? Fifty? Had the number actually crossed a hundred? He didn’t want to know. He definitely did not want to know.
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Were his ladies trembling, or was it Nehilga himself?
“Hey.”
Е̄ ń ũ m̀ ǎ.і̂d́
Nia Liston smiled.
“I’m counting on you to keep their lips shut. As much as you can. Tell them they need to keep it a secret that I was here tonight. You can do that, can’t you? Or can you not?”
Nehilga had already decided his answer.
After that night, several thugs disappeared from the royal capital. It appeared they had experienced something frightful, simply stating “White-haired kid that night was way too scary!” before they vanished.
No one knew of their whereabouts after that.
A few years later, there was a small rumor that a gilded man who had been living in the eastern side of the warehouse district had taken up farmwork out in the countryside.
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But even that rumor dissipated within a few days.
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