original

Once a Butler, Always a Butler

Chapitre 1: Chapter 1: Do you want to follow me?

A figure could be seen skirting around the busy market stalls, his face showing no expressions as the loud conversations and yelling across the street boomed in his ears. His long, green hair fluttered behind him as he moved, yet, despite the distinct color his hair possesses, no one paid him any mind.

It was as though he did not exist.

The young boy's face was covered with dirt and dust, but it did not stop his equally striking green pupils from standing out.

As soon as he reached his target - a fruit stall in the midst of a not-too-busy side of the market - his hand reached out as soon as the young boy noticed the stall owner dealing with a customer. An apple was grabbed, and he immediately skittered far away. The fruit stall's owner had not noticed anything, leaving him successful in his theft.

Without minding the small amount of dust he had gotten on the apple while he escaped, he quickly took a bite on the apple. A second bite was soon delivered, and a third followed mere seconds after.

The apple was not delicious. Spoken nicely, it was almost too ripened; spoken badly, it was almost rotten. But the boy paid no mind as he fed his still-growling stomach.

Despite his hunger for more fruits - one of the more nutritious things he could get easily - he did not fall into his own greed. He quickly made his way to another part of the market, where the carbohydrates were sold.

Unlike the fruit stall owner, he did not even attempt to steal any bread. There were multiple people in one stall, all having hawk-like stares at anybody even willing to try and steal from them. The young boy remained patient as he waited for the sun to continue rising.

After an hour or so, where the peak period had started to dissipate, it was time for the leftover bread to head towards their next destination like any other leftovers - the garbage.

Luckily for the young boy, nobody cared for the garbage, save the crows and some other children like him. After the men had thrown everything and left, the children swarmed towards the garbage, picking whatever they could get before leaving immediately.

They knew the "law" here, and they were not willing to test it with their bodies. If they could not protect their daily food source from the bigger kids, they would be starving for the rest of the day.

The young boy did the same, taking a piece of bread, nothing more, and left towards his hideout.

His rag-like shirt did its bare minimum job to protect the human's decency, but nothing else. Despite the weather being autumn, the cold winter air had already started to make its way into people's lives.

The boy could only sigh as his limbs shivered.

Winter was not his favorite season; it was when food was the most scarce. It did not help that his "home" did not include a heater. Like any other day, the young boy used the same road to get back home. However, unlike any other day, he met with an incident.

Crash!

"What the hell?! What the hell did I hit?" A gruff voice could be heard as he hurriedly regained his balance on his bicycle after crashing into some unknown thing.

The street was not too empty, yet not too busy, but hitting something in front of him on a bike without him noticing should be something impossible. After all, he had been paying attention to his front to not hit anyone.

"Ow..."

Just as the older man was about to wonder further about the pressing issue, he heard a voice belonging to what seemed to be a six-year-old child with green hair.

The man observed the young boy who stood up without issue after getting hit by his bicycle and raised an eyebrow.

'Interesting...Why can't I sense his presence?'

The young boy was very short, his cheeks were sunken in, and his limbs were pathetically thin; there were almost no muscles or fats at all, just pure skin and bones. His attire consisted of nothing but worn-out rags with several holes in them, showing off his very visible rib cage on his chest.

His skin was dirtied with blemishes of dirt, sand, and mud present on them. Though not very strong or very pungent, his smell was bad enough for any other average person to wrinkle their nose in disgust.

Yet, despite all those eye-catching traits in one person, not a single person turned their head around to even notice this young boy. Not a single frown appeared on their face from the unpleasant smell.

He seemed almost...invisible.

He looked like he could topple anytime, but the older man chose to remain silent as he continued watching the young boy with interest as he stood up from the crash.

The small child looked pitifully weak, seen from the fact that he had toppled down twice in a row before managing to stand up, albeit wobbly.

Yet, it was those facts that caused the older man to become even more interested in him. This man was no ordinary man; although not as fast as a car, his cycling speed was still quite fast compared to an average cyclist.

But despite the substantial impact on his frail body, the young child didn't let out cries of pain. A small, somewhat monotonous groan that lasted a second was all the young child let out.

He merely stood up, looked at the older man with a reproachful expression. But as though he was too tired, the young child just shook his head and continued making his way, not saying a single word more.

'Not groaning in pain despite being hit by my bicycle? This young child seems like a good candidate for Claude to train...'

The older man's eyes glinted as he reached out his hands towards the young child.

"Child, do you..."

∞

The young boy didn't seem to know what was going on in his life.

Everything seemed so...colorless. Plain. Boring.

He never liked being in this body. It gave off too little...impression to people. Despite being five years old only, he could clearly remember what had happened during his younger days. It wasn't precisely photographic memory; it was more of having an eidetic memory instead.¹

Having an eidetic memory might seem to be a good thing, being able to remember everything that you have lived. But that is only when the person was born into the right family.

This young child was unique, and it wasn't in a good way.

His mother and father had blond hair and black hair, respectively, so when he was born with green hair, his mother was said to be unfaithful to his father. It was only something he remembered, but he could not figure out what "unfaithful" meant.

Of course, something like a DNA test exists in this day and age, so they went to test it out, only to realize that the boy belonged to neither of them. The hospital where they had borned their child could not be said to be good, so the fact that their child might have been swapped out only made them blame their bad luck. It was not the first case of this sort in the hospital, but they never thought that it would have occurred to them.

Disappointed that the child they were carrying wasn't theirs, they decided to give him away to an orphanage instead. They might seem heartless, but they honestly had no love for a child that didn't belong to either of them, much less take responsibility for him.

This young boy still remembered the day he was sent to an orphanage. He wasn't like the other kids who were sent there anonymously. Everything about his stay at the orphanage was legal down to the last dot on the paperwork.

He wasn't exposed to education at all during his stay in the orphanage. Not that the orphanage couldn't afford the education, but the fact that he was forgotten.

Being an introverted child, he didn't talk often. Perhaps he remembered every detail about why he was abandoned, that the young child thought he was unwanted, thus not wanting to attract much attention from the others.

He was easily forgotten by everyone. Although he was standing right beside a person, the person wouldn't know it unless some strong physical stimuli were exerted by him, letting them know of his presence.

But then again, he didn't really try making himself known...so, having enough of the lifeless life in the orphanage, he decided to leave. Not surprisingly, it was rather easy. All he had to do was walk out through the front door.

Staring at the bright blue sky, he took a deep breath as he dreamed of a bright future ahead of him.

At first, leaving the orphanage sounded like an excellent decision to him. But reality soon bashed him back, and he realized that he wouldn't be a good survivor if he was tossed out to the open.

He had no money, no credentials, and no way to survive except to steal, which, surprisingly, was relatively easy since everyone just ignored him.

Of course, that's assuming that he didn't just take the whole food cart away. No matter how clueless a person could be, if his own food cart just rolls away randomly, the owner would definitely realize it.

And so, for the next six months, he lived his life this way. Although he had suffered a lot from the lack of comfortable sleep, he didn't lack food and water. At least, enough for him to suffer, but definitely not enough to be nourished.

He didn't take clothes either since he had no need to.

Since he didn't learn from a proper education center, his only source of words was from the people surrounding him. With eidetic memory, learning didn't prove to be too difficult.

He struggled at first, but he could now speak English well enough for communication as time passed, not that there was anywhere he could use the English he had learned.

Anything was better than the lifeless orphanage. At least, the young child could see new things outside despite the harsh conditions.

Today was no different from any other day. Walking down in the middle of the street, the young boy kept his head down, nibbling on the bread as he walked, only lifting his head up every now and then to ensure he was on the right path. It was not too crowded, so he had almost no chance of hitting another person.

Crash!

"What the hell?! What the hell did I hit?" A gruff voice could be heard as the young boy fell backward on his butt.

"Ow..."

A somewhat monotonous expression of pain involuntarily came out from his mouth, making it seem that the only reason why the young boy ever groaned in pain was just that it was customary for a person to complain after crashing into something.

It wasn't that the young boy felt no pain. It just wasn't the first time a person could not sense his presence crashing into him. He was simply used to enduring a more significant amount of pain.

His head looked up to see this time's round's culprit, and the person in front of him had features that weren't too uncommon in America.

The person in front of him was a very tall, middle-aged Caucasian with fair skin with one or two wrinkles. His blond hair reaches around his neck and is put away from his face. He had dark blond eyebrows, which are a little thick, and his eyes were greyish-blue, which is actually common for middle-aged Caucasians since their eyes would turn blue as they started aging.

Although he didn't wear anything expensive, the young child could tell that the person who crashed into him was no ordinary person. No one could cycle that fast in the first place.

And who on earth would wear a suit to ride a bicycle?

Sighing, the young child tried standing up under the eyes of the man. Although he somewhat blamed the man for crashing into him, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of it anyway, causing him to just give up and walk away.

Today was supposed to be no different from any other day.

People crash into him, he walks away while the person who crashed into him wondered what he or she had hit. Neither interacts any further, and both move on with their respective lives.

However, just as he was about to walk away, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. The strength put into that hold was strong, and the young child flinched a little at that sudden hold.

He was scared by the strength that the man had displayed. He was afraid that he might want some compensation; some people were unreasonable just like that. Yet, at the same time, he also felt a little happy. When was the last time someone called out to him?

Finally, for the first time, someone noticed him.

Why was today special?

"Child, do you want to follow me?"

The young boy looked at the man with curious eyes. The previous fear had mostly dissipated already, replaced by the endless curiosity towards the man who offered him an opportunity to get rid of this life.

Despite meeting the man for less than five minutes, the young boy knew that only this man could help him with his problem, the fact that people ignored him most of the time.

He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that by following this man, he would be able to find out why.

Still, he wouldn't be able to survive six months by himself on the streets if he randomly follows people back without any caution at all.

"Who are you?"

Hearing the boy speak perfect English, the older man's eyes widened slightly in surprise. To be honest, he didn't expect such a dirty, ragged child would be able to understand what he was saying at all, much less reply to him.

Nonetheless, the man's smile didn't waver in the slightest as he replied to the little boy. It only widened.

"My name is Adelt Wogner Kirisaki, with Adelt being my first name, Wogner being my last name, and Kirisaki being my wife's last name."

The boy didn't care much about his words after the first part of his statement. He tried to think whether any influential person had either of his last names, only to find nothing in his memory, not that he knew a lot of people in the first place.

Of course, this wasn't uncommon as despite having an eidetic memory, he didn't really go to places where the rich and powerful frequent.

"Hahaha...you won't have heard of me unless you're on the dark side of society." As if knowing what the young boy was thinking, Adelt laughed and said.

Immediately after hearing his words, the young boy decided to leave. No matter how good the offer seems to be, being on the same side with the criminals does not seem to be a good idea. Being a petty thief and being part of an entire gang was two completely different things.

"Hey, hey, wait! Don't leave so quickly!" Adelt's eyes never left the young boy's figure. He knew that the moment he removed his vision on the young boy for even a second, he would lose him forever. Even meeting him in the middle of the streets was a freak coincidence that he might not get again.

But that freak coincidence was something that Adelt wasn't willing to give up. He didn't become the leader of one of the biggest gangs by being passive.

Opportunities were meant to be taken!

Opportunities were meant to be grabbed!

Opportunities exist for them to grow!

Missing even one opportunity could set them back a month, a year, or a decade!

But the young boy seemed to have not heard Adelt's words and continued walking away.

"Hey, at least hear me out first, won't you?" Adelt's loud voice was transmitted towards the young boy, and the young boy paused in his steps.

Now that Adelt was actively speaking out loud, they had successfully attracted the bystanders' attention, causing the young boy to feel a little uncomfortable.

It was rare that someone noticed him, and spending most of his life being ignored, the feeling of being noticed by a huge crowd shook him slightly.

He was slightly older than five only, after all.

"Ok."

Hearing the young boy's reply, Adelt's grin immediately became wider, and he pulled the boy towards his bicycle and placed him behind him.

"Hang on tight, and don't let go of me."

The young boy nodded his head silently and followed his instructions.

After feeling the young boy's hands on his waist, Adelt started pedaling his bike.

Needless to say, the young boy quickly got scared after Adelt showed his prowess in his ability to pedal fast.

"Ahhh!" This was one of the rare times where the boy actually screamed out loud with all his emotions, "Slow down!!"

"Ahaha! This is fun, isn't it! Enjoy this while it lasts!" Adelt's voice could be heard, and the boy involuntarily let out a tiny smile, not that anyone could notice it in the first place.

Yes. It was dangerous yet exciting for him. A new feeling had bloomed in his heart.

They didn't take long to reach their destination. Within fifteen minutes of intense pedaling, Adelt and the young boy managed to reach what the young boy would have defined as a "very huge and pretty hideout".

"Hah...hah...I thought...you said you were...a criminal?" Despite having not done a single physically exhausting thing, the young boy was panting while he looked at the mansion with shock.

"I never said I was a criminal. Besides, who said that criminals must live as some poor gangsters?" Adelt smirked at the sight of the young boy, feeling proud of his own home.

"Boss! You are back! We were worried about your sudden disappearance!"

A security guard(?) rushed up to Adelt and spoke anxiously.

As the two adults spoke, the young boy was naturally not very interested in their conversation, and his eyes roamed around the place.

'Pure white walls without a speck of dirt or dust...smooth black pavements without much discomfort for my bare feet...is that five expensive cars parked over there?'

The young boy observed his surroundings and started to become more and more surprised. The 'house' could not even be considered as a 'house'.

Standing at three stories tall, the main building was surrounded by towers of varying heights. While some stood fifty meters tall, others only stood thirty meters.

Still, it didn't make the overall structure look any less prestigious, mesmerizing, or intimidating.

Furthermore, standing at the gate, the young boy couldn't exactly see how far back the mansion runs, so he didn't dare make any assumptions yet.

'This is a gangster's house? Everyone should become criminals; why even bother trying to make money? Should I become a criminal too?'

Such thoughts couldn't help but enter the young boy's head, and with such an obvious wondrous expression plastered on his sunken face, Adelt let out a grin.

It was obvious that his ploy to tempt the young boy worked like a charm.

Too bad the young boy was young and inexperienced and did not notice that he was being tempted as he continued letting the sight of the spacious lawn sink into his head.

"Um...boss?"

"Yes?"

"Who's that dirty boy?"

"Why don't you guess?" Adelt questioned back with a smile.

"Could it be..." The guard looked at him with wide eyes as he exclaimed loudly, "He's your illegitimate child?!!"

"Wrong!" Adelt couldn't help but smack his guard's head. He wanted to continue talking when suddenly another person arrived.

"Boss! I heard you have an illegitimate child?! I promise to take care of him with all my might like I do with Ojou and raise him to be the best heir possible!"

A tall man with short silver hair and glasses with square-shaped frames suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere, causing the young boy to freak out slightly. The man currently wore a white suit and gloves, his hand placed over his chest as he bowed towards his boss.

Facing his subordinates, Adelt rubbed his temple with frustration. Although very loyal, his subordinates can sometimes be a handful.

"No...Claude, good thing that you're here. This kid is now your responsibility."

"Eh?"

"EHHHH?!"

∞

It wasn't just Claude being shocked. Even the young boy snapped out of his daze when he heard Adelt's words.

"What do you mean?! I never said I want to join you!"

"Fluent English at five years old? With that dirty, poor, and haggard appearance?" Claude was amazed at the young boy's ability, and his boss's previous statement had long been forgotten, leaving behind only one question: How?

"Which rich man's son did you kidnap? You should have just left it to us instead of doing it personally, boss!

"Haha...I did not kidnap him. I just find his ability to remove his presence very useful, so I decided to let him be under your care!"

As Adelt mentioned the boy's ability, both Claud and the young boy himself eyes' shone.

'So this stupid thing is called 'removing my presence'?'

'So this young child can remove his presence naturally?'

'How useless!'

'How useful!'

Two different trains of thoughts arrived in two different people's minds, and Claude didn't hesitate any further. Just the young boy's ability would be enough to pique his interest, not to mention he had full trust in whatever the boss told him to do. Even if the boy had the worst talent, as long as the boss said to take him under his care, Claude would definitely do it!

That's what it meant to be the right hand of the boss!

"Yes, boss! I will train him to become the best hitman and butler ever!" Claude declared with full confidence.

"Good. Now, off you go. I'm going to visit my daughter now."

"Yes, boss. Ojou is in the back garden with Seishirō, someone that I have also recently found. I'm also planning to train her to protect Ojou." Claude spoke, and Adelt merely waved his hands to dismiss Claude, signaling his agreement and trust he had in Claude.

Despite being the gang's boss, Adelt doesn't actually care much about internal affairs since he knows that everyone in his gang is loyal to the extreme. As for the reason why they were so loyal?

Even Adelt himself doesn't know why. All he did was treat them well, but as long as no major problems prop up, he would only focus on expanding his gang.

Of course, should they betray…well, being a boss meant having back ups, back ups for the back ups, back ups for the back ups for the…

After watching the boss leave, Claude turned to look at the young boy trying to sneak away.

"Ahem..."

The young boy paused for a moment before continuing like nothing had happened.

"Nope. Since the Boss told me to take care of you, that's what we shall do. Firstly, let's get you cleaned up and well-fed. We can't do anything with you being this malnourished and stinky." Claude decided upon the young boy's fate in seconds.

"Noooo! I never said I was going to join the gang!" Not taking any chances, Claude immediately appeared next to the young boy and carried him like how he would carry a sack containing dead bodies.

"Don't worry. We'll take care of you very well. I'll give you food, money, clean clothes, education, and shelter. All you need to do is to protect Ojou. That will forever be your goal, alright?"

Perhaps aware that he was talking to a young boy, Claude's tone subconsciously turned softer, though strictness could still be heard.

"Really? You won't sell me? You won't do adult things to me? I saw some people on the streets doing wrestling on the grass at night, making a lot of strange noises." The young boy immediately stopped struggling in Claude's arms and began to talk.

'Just like I thought, he's still a kid.'

Hearing the basic vocabulary and grammar of the boy's speech, Claude thought.

'But that's a good thing. Together with Seishirō, I'll be able to train two talented hitmen to protect Ojou.'

∞

Coming out of the bath, the young boy looked at himself in the mirror.

Unsurprisingly, the young boy's presence immediately disappeared the moment Claude removed his eyes off him, allowing him the opportunity to wander around.

Too bad Claude was a very experienced hitman. Even if it was some trouble, he managed to catch the young boy within minutes and forced him to take a bath managed by a couple of maids.

One maid had to constantly hold on to him so that he would not just disappear in the middle of the shower, and it was only half an hour that the young boy was clean as a whistle.

Now that all the grime, dirt, and mud had disappeared, the young boy's face revealed surprise as he observed the image of himself in the mirror.

Having not cut his hair the entirety of five years, his hair had grown to reach his waist. Although it might sound long, it actually wasn't too long since he was very short.

His hair was pure green in color, slowly turning pale green at its tips. Although still sunken, his facial features became average, but it was obvious that he would grow to become a cute young boy once he consumed the necessary nutrients. His eyes had a color similar to his hair, and the pair of eyes gleamed with curiosity as he observed himself.

He never had many chances to look at how he looked when clean, and his own appearance surprised him.

He never thought he would look that...average.

He then looked at the clothes he was given.

A small white shirt with a grey, sleeveless blazer over it and a small bowtie. He also wore brown pants that reached just above his knees, white socks, and brown shoes.

Strangely enough, each piece of clothing or shoes fitted him perfectly. The young boy didn't remember being measured but threw that thought away.

There were more important things to think about, like what he would do from now on.

Honestly, he never imagined that he would join a gang. Still, being surrounded by people who could easily notice him was the most tempting reason why he chose to stay.

Maybe he was craving for some attention, and maybe even some sort of love, but the young boy didn't realize it and decided to stay in the end.

"You're done changing? Good. Let's go meet your partner." Claude entered the room and noticed that the young boy had finished changing, so he immediately told him to follow him.

"Partner?"

"Yes. He'll be your partner for various objectives. One of my partners is also training another hitman, so you three will be in one group for some time after you have completed your training." Claude told the young boy just a bit more information but didn't say anything more.

The young boy also didn't ask any further, believing that Claude would tell him later. More importantly...

"GROWL."

Claude paused in his steps when he heard that growling and looked towards the young boy who had his head hung down in embarrassment.

"I'm hungry..."

Claude didn't say anything else and motioned the young boy to quickly follow him.

The young boy didn't know where they were going until they eventually reached a place filled with flowers.

"Wow..."

Although not very magnificent or glorious, this flower garden had a charm of its own, allowing the young boy to feel at ease at this place. His attention was soon attracted to two children playing together.

The first one was a boy with chin-length navy-blue hair with a few hair strands hanging over his face with radiant red eyes. He also had a mole underneath his right eye.

The second one was a girl with beautiful waist-length blond hair with pink tips at the end of her hair and strikingly aqua-blue eyes.

Both were equally cute and could easily grow up to become handsome and beautiful men and women. This caused the young boy to hide behind Claude in a mixture of anticipation, worry, and fear, as if afraid to make friends with these two cute children.

"Who are they?" The young boy mumbled loud enough for Claude to hear him.

"The young girl is Ojou, the young mistress of this household. You shall address her as 'Ojou' from now on. The young boy is Seishirō, and he will be your new partner from now on, regardless of whether you're training, eating, or learning how to care for Ojou."

Claude briefly introduced the two young children to the young boy when the young boy realized something important.

"Um...what is my name?"

"Hm? Don't you have a name from your orphanage?"

'How do you even know I came from an orphanage?' The boy was startled, but thinking that it is merely part of being a gang, the thought soon disappeared.

"I gave it up. Since you are taking me into this gang, I want a new name!"

Claude was surprised but decided to honor his wish. He had already known that the young boy definitely had his own name from the orphanage records, but he chose not to disclose this fact.

Taking a book out of a pocket that seemed too small to fit a book, he quickly flipped to a page and skimmed through it for a while before closing the book.

"Your name shall now be Sora."

"Did you actually decide on my name from a random book?" The young boy asked incredulously.

Claude paused for a while, but as a professional hitman, such embarrassment wouldn't be revealed on his face easily.

"Seishirō's name was also taken from this dictionary."

"Does he know?"

"I just got him yesterday, so no."

"So you decided on our names without our consent from a random book?"

"Weren't you the ones who asked for it?"

The two people stared into each other's eyes, with the younger one breaking eye contact first. A smug smirk appeared and disappeared just as quickly as it appeared on Claude's face.

The rule to training people is making sure that you are the authority. Otherwise, all sorts of problems would occur. And forcing the young boy to break eye contact was step one in his "How to train a hitman for beginners" book.

"I'm starting to regret joining this gang." The young boy, now known as Sora, muttered, still hiding behind Claude.

Claude ignored his words and faced towards where the two children were.

"Seishirō! Come here." Claude called out, successfully attracting the attention of the two children, but neither of them moved.

"Mr. Claude? Who is Seishirō?" The young girl asked in perplexion.

'So he didn't even tell the boy that his name is Seishirō...wow.'

"Ojou! The child beside you is Seishirō. I decided on his name just now."

'From a random book.' Sora added in his mind as he stared at the boy.

"I see. That sounds good! Can I go with you, Mr. Claude? I promise I won't trouble you at all." The blond-haired girl, Chitoge, spoke while holding Seishirō's hands.

"Urgh..." Claude struggled internally for about ten seconds before he eventually made his decision.

"Sorry, Ojou. I'm afraid that it wouldn't be appropriate for you to accompany us. It is dangerous, after all."

'Dangerous?! Can I continue wandering on the streets instead?' Constantly turning his head between Ojou and Claude, Sora worried about his life.

"Dangerous?! So Seishirō is going to be in danger?" Chitoge exclaimed worriedly.

"Don't worry, Ojou. Seishirō will never die under my care."

Chitoge seemed to want to continue arguing when something new caught her eye.

"Mr. Claude? Who is that person hiding behind you?"

"He's Sora. He will be Seishirō's partner from now on."

Chitoge didn't seem to react to the word 'partner', and Sora assumed that she must have been used to it, being the gang's boss's daughter.

"H-Hello...Ojou?" Sora replied shyly, facing the bright and cheerful face of Chitoge.

Perhaps not being too familiar with each other, Chitoge merely nodded as a reply.

Claude nodded his head approvingly when he heard Sora call Ojou.

"Now then, Seishirō and Sora, let's go now. Ojou, I promise to make it back in time for your fifth birthday in a few days. We have a few things to do before, alright?" Claude rubbed Chitoge's head softly while saying.

"Yes...don't break your promise, alright?" Chitoge seemed a little sad, but hearing Claude's promise, she quickly regained her cheerful demeanor.

"Yes, Ojou."

Claude held both Sora's and Seishirō's hands and pulled them in a different direction.

"Bye-bye, Seishirō! Let's play again in the future! Bye-bye, Sora! Let's get to know each other in the future!"

""Bye-bye, Ojou."" Both Sora and Seishirō waved their hands, Sora replying shyly while Seishirō replied with gusto.

*****************

Sora didn't know where they were going, and he didn't ask either. Though, Sora had to admit that this mansion was massive.

They walked for a full ten minutes only to reach some sort of lift that transported them downwards.

"Um...Sora, was it?"

"...Yes."

"Did Mr. Claude give you that name?"

"...Yes."

"I see..."

Here, the conversation stopped awkwardly. Neither of the two children knew how to keep the conversation going.

"Alright, we're here now." Claude interrupted their silence, letting Sora sigh with relief. He didn't want to deal with this awkward silence anymore.

Seishirō and Sora could see a spacious area filled with various, questionable things when the lift doors opened. There were many orangey-red cylinder-shaped things wrapped up in some tape with a bunch of wire sticking out, a small metal ball that had a wire at its top, and...

"Um...is that a gun there?"

"You know what a gun is?" Claude returned the question with another question, surprised that Sora knew what a gun was.

"What is a gun?" Seishirō's question was now heard, causing Claude to sigh with relief. If both children he took in knowing what a gun was at the age of five, he might have to retire early.

"I'll explain to you later on. For now, let's plan. I'm planning to train one of you to be a bodyguard and the other to be a butler for Ojou. One to protect, one to serve. Of course, if both of you want to do both, I don't mind as well, but your training will be doubled." Claude found a chair and sat down, leaving the two children to stand in front of him.

"Um...can I have food first?"

Without saying a word, Claude just snapped his fingers, and Sora could smell the wafting smell of a fragrant apple pie.

The said pie seemed to have come from nowhere, appearing directly in front of the hungry boy. Sora was slowly getting used to it, and did not react to the pie's strange appearance.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, since both of you are from the orphanage, both of you will be my adopted sons now, so my expectations for the both of you will be high. Is that clear?"

""Yes.""

"A bit soft, but that will be dealt with later on. So, what is your decision?"

Seishirō raised her hand, and Claude gestured to her to speak.

"Um...what are a butler, a hitman, and a bodyguard?"

Claude became speechless for a moment. Having been accompanied by Sora's high intelligence for the past half an hour, he had forgotten that not every five-year-old knew about the dark side of the world.

What Claude did not know was that Sora did not know any of the above terms as well. He merely kept silent, and Claude had already assumed the best of him.

"Ahem! Let's get you guys some minor education first. The reason why I decided to adopt both of you to be my sons is that first, I don't have children of my own, and I needed someone to inherit my position to protect Ojou in the future, and second, both of you have high intelligence, so you would be able to easily absorb all my teachings.

Although I say butler, what I mean is that your position will be to serve Ojou, like me. A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. But that definition only occurs in a noble family. We are neither a noble family nor some great family. We are a gang, but because Boss is the gang's boss, it is no different from being in a family. Therefore, having taken both of you into the family, I expect both of you to be loyal to the gang forever, alright?"

Both obviously did not understand everything that Claude said, and he did not explain anything more. Both would learn everything soon anyway.

""Yes."" While Seishirō replied confidently, Sora didn't seem comfortable placing his loyalty to someone he had never gotten to know.

As though knowing what was going on in Sora's mind, Claude smiled, "You might not see it now, but you will definitely be grateful to Boss for picking you up and letting you be in this family."

Sora decided not to speak and see it for himself in the future.

"Now, while a butler is responsible for the entire household, a bodyguard is a person employed to escort and protect an important person, which, in this case for you, is Ojou.

As for a hitman, both of you will be trained to become a hitman. That, you have no say in it. Even if you don't plan to go down the hitman road and decide to become a full-time butler or bodyguard, you will need to at least know how to defend Ojou in times of need.

Now that I have given you the basic information of all three, tell me your decision after mealtime. You have..." Claude paused and checked his watch before continuing his words, "...an hour to finish eating, clean up, and report back to this area. As a hitman, your first training will not be skills but your attitude. A hitman can never be late. Your meals will be delivered to the underlings' quarter for now. Both of you are dismissed!"

*****************

"Can I call you Seishirō?"

"Sure! Then I'll call you Sora as well! You don't mind, right?"

Sora nodded and said, "So, which one do you plan to go to?"

Seishirō thought for a while before replying unsurely, "Hm...I don't know. I don't seem to fit into the butler category...maybe I'll become Ojou's bodyguard?"

"Well, don't worry too much. We still have an hour to decide. Let's eat first."

After finishing the pie, Sora did not seem full yet. Going to the underlings' quarter, Seishirō and Sora found themselves surrounded by...well, the gang's underlings.

"Oh? What do we have here? Two little brats?"

"Don't be so rude to them! They're just children."

"Oh? You guys are not afraid of us?"

"Did you get lost somehow?"

"Don't be stupid! How can two children get lost in the middle of the Beehive gang's territory?"

Sora and Seishirō didn't seem to be too afraid of them, causing them to be interested in both of them.

"Um...are you guys Mr. Claude's people?" Seishirō, being the curious little boy he was, asked.

"Yes. And we're all Ojou-sama's most elite bodyguards!" One of the underlings proclaimed loudly, causing an eruption of cheers to happen.

"I see. Is being a bodyguard for Ojou good? Mr. Claude asked us whether or not we want to be the bodyguard or butler." Sora replied.

"Very interesting choice. So one of you is going to succeed Mr. Claud's position, huh?" The same underling replied, "That means that one of you would be trained in etiquette as well. Good luck with that."

While they ate, they had gotten more ideas on what life was like in the Beehive Gang.

After hearing all of their thoughts and opinions, Sora and Seishirō seemed pretty excited about their new life. Apart from the constant danger they had to face when fighting against others for various reasons, life in the Beehive Gang was pretty good as long as one survived.

But that was as long as one survived. If not...

One hour soon passed like that, and Sora and Seishirō found themselves back in the basement once again, where they found Claude waiting at the exact same spot.

"Good. Both of you arrived early. Good job. So, what's your decision?"

"I want to protect Ojou. I don't think I can become a butler, so can I just train in being a hitman and bodyguard?" Seishirō exclaimed.

"It's your future path. Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Very well. I won't interfere with your decision, but you have to always remember, protecting Ojou will forever be your top priority."

"Yes!"

"How about you?"

When the conversation steered towards Sora, Sora thought for a while before replying.

"I want to become a...combat butler? Is that what it is called?" Sora replied with uncertainty. Since Seishirō didn't want to become the butler, then he would naturally have to take it up.

Plus, it sounded safer than being a full-time hitman, after all.

"Interesting choice. Good. Although I told you guys to choose now, we'll still have to see your talents before making any changes. After all, the future of the Beehive gang will be in your hands in the future." Claude spoke as he stood up, "Now, without further ado, let's start your training."

The dimly-lit basement suddenly lit up, revealing a vast training room that had what seemed to be around one kilometer square of area.

"How do you fit such a big flat land underneath your house?" Sora's jaw dropped, and Seishirō's expression wasn't any better.

"Well, we do need a place to train, after all. We gangsters wouldn't be able to survive if we don't train ourselves. Don't expect this to be easy. Even if both of you are my sons, you won't escape training."

"Yes!!"

"Start running one lap around this place!"

And, like in the army, Seishirō and Sora started their training.

One lap around the training ground is about 4 kilometers, which wasn't easy for two five-year-olds to complete.

Both Seishirō and Sora knew this but still decided to do this anyway. Sora didn't know why Seishirō decided to follow Claude, but he knew that if he didn't want to suffer on the streets anymore, he might as well grab this chance to become stronger.

At the very least, he had a full meal, shower, and shelter in this gang.

If he was going to leave this gang by any chance, at least he would still be healthy and fit.

The two ran without communicating. Sora and Seishirō knew it wouldn't be an easy day for them, having just eaten lunch. There was still plenty of time before the day was over, and there was no guarantee that Claude would stop after this four-kilometer run.

Saving every drop of energy was essential if they were to survive this 'training' of theirs.

Not unexpectedly, the two five-year-olds took an hour to complete the run, which didn't surprise Claude.

"Now, take a five-minute break. Do not sit down or lie on your back. Continue walking slowly and drink a little water. Don't bloat yourselves. After the break, it will be the next part of your exercise."

"Hah...yes...hah..."

Seishirō and Sora wanted nothing more than to lie down after the run, but they chose not to do so after hearing Claude's words.

Panting heavily and sweating profusely, the two children stumbled together, supporting each other to not fall on the ground.

Seeing their cooperative behavior, Claude let out a small smile that immediately disappeared.

'Both of you will be partners for life, so encourage, motivate, and support each other...'

The five minute break was way too short to their liking. They couldn't rest for long, and as soon as five minutes was up, the two children were immediately ordered to gather at what seemed to be a mat.

"Now, that was just to warm you up. To be a hitman, your first and foremost priority is to obviously train your physique."

"Physique?"

"Yes. How strong you are, how long you can last in a fight, how tall you can jump all depends on how strong your physique is. Without a strong body, don't dream of ever becoming a hitman." Claude said seriously, one of his hands pushing up his glasses, causing some light to reflect on his glasses.

Sora chose not to comment on that and continued listening to Claude's explanation.

"Now, since both of you are still young, strength is not really an issue. As long as both of you work hard every day according to my instructions, you won't have to work extra. But it is also because both of you are still young that we have the opportunity to train your flexibility.

Having just trained your stamina, we shall now train your flexibility. Now, lie down on the mat and follow exactly what I do."

Due to the intense 'warm-up' that he had just done, Sora had only just realized that Claude wasn't dressed in a suit anymore. Instead, he was now in sports attire, suitable for working out.

"Sit down on the floor with your backs and legs straightened. Make sure your ankles don't get twisted sideways. Now..."

And so, following Claude's instructions and visual cues, Seishirō and Sora spent the next three hours training their flexibility.

If you think that training one's flexibility might not sound challenging, then you're very wrong.

Not only did they stretch for almost five minutes to completely loosen their muscles, but they also did various exercises that would help in flexibility like yoga, pilates, and tai chi.

The three different exercises had almost similar functions, though their main focus was on different development areas.

The main difference between yoga and tai chi is execution. Yoga involves holding poses and postures. Tai chi is performed in a dance-like martial arts form. Both can be rigorous or low impact, depending on the person's fitness level.

One of the main differences between yoga and pilates is that yoga can be used for improving the flexibility of the body, and it will also gradually increase the flexibility of your joints. On the other hand, pilates is an exercise method consisting of low-impact flexibility and muscular strength, and endurance movements. Pilates emphasizes proper postural alignment, core strength, and muscle balance.

Thus, with these three different exercises, the two children had successfully started their training.

Of course, training is never a one-time thing. Flexibility is not something one can change quickly. It takes time and a concerted effort with a static stretching program.

And Claude had made that very clear to not let the children get discouraged from not seeing any results from one training session.

"Good job. I'm surprised that you managed to go through the first session without fainting. Now that it's 6pm, it's time for you to have dinner first before taking a warm bath. You will have tonight free to do whatever you want as long as it doesn't harm the Beehive Gang's interest while I make the plan detailed for the next few months of training."

Claude instructed the two before leaving to someplace else.

On the way to the underlings' quarter, the two children didn't speak and just lumbered there. They were far too tired to do anything else.

Even if given free time to do anything they liked, the two children would refuse and immediately go to bed to rest for tomorrow.

If only half a day's worth of training was this tiring, how hard must training for the entire day be?

"Sigh..." Sora let out a tired sigh after thinking about it. But then again, it was tomorrow's business.

For now, it was time to replenish energy, take a bath, and sleep.

"Oh? Those two kids are back!"

"How's training with Mr. Claude?"

"Is it easy?"

"Did you manage to shoot a bullseye with an assault rifle?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Why would Mr. Claude let two children touch guns during their first training? Are you stupid?!"

Once again, the entire place was bustling with feverish noise, though Sora and Seishirō could see that some of them were injured.

"Did you get into a fight? Why are some of you injured?" Seishirō asked while Sora just looked at them curiously.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing major. We tried to explore another gang's territory but realized that we didn't have enough manpower to take over. So, we got injured. But don't worry, we are going to try that again tomorrow."

The underling replied, causing Sora and Seishirō to become speechless.

Maybe they would take part in this sort of thing in the future, but they were just going to focus on trying to survive the training for now.

Needless to say, both Seishirō and Sora enjoyed the meal. Although it wasn't anything special, like expensive and exotic seafood, it was still prepared by a reputable chef.

Yes. The Beehive gang managed to hire a reputable chef to become their personal chef.

Talk about corrupting chefs to become a gangster.

Not talking about Seishirō, Sora devoured every single grain of rice that he was given. Not having eaten a proper meal for the past six months, every other food would naturally taste delicious, not to mention it was made by a reputable chef.

"Ah...my energy is refilled..." Sora sighed lazily as he rubbed his bloated tummy.

After lazing for a bit, Sora decided to take a shower before turning in for the night.

Stripping his sweat-filled clothes off, he immediately entered the bathroom.

Like anything else in this mansion, the bathroom was huge as well. Sora had long adapted to the size of everything in this mansion, so he wasn't too surprised anymore.

When he entered, he was surprised to see Seishirō still inside the tub.

"Seishirō? You're still here?" Sora asked as he started washing.

"W-What?! SORA! Why are you here!?" Seishirō immediately screamed out loud, quickly getting his towel to wrap around himself.

"What's wrong? I'm, of course, here to take a bath. Why are you so flustered?" Sora raised an eyebrow and asked, having just finished washing his entire body. He can't wait to enter the bath to soak in the warm water after a long day of training.

"But-"

"No need to be shy. We're both boys. Would it make a difference?" Sora didn't mind Seishirō's flustered attitude and entered the bath and sat down beside him.

Seeing that Sora didn't mind it, Seishirō also gradually calmed down, though his towel was still present to cover his body.

"Ahh..." Sora let out a small sound of relaxation as he closed his eyes.

The two didn't speak any further and just sat together in silence in the bathtub. Sora simply didn't care, while Seishirō was shy.

After fifteen minutes of soaking, Sora felt that he had enough. Any more, and his skin would start to be soaked to the brim.

"Don't stay too long here, Seishirō. It's not healthy."

"Un," Seishirō muttered as he also prepared to get out of the tub.

However, Seishirō, due to him focusing on holding his towel to cover his privates, didn't see the puddle of water present on the floor and accidentally stepped on it.

And, of course, stepping on a smooth and wet surface would cause him to fall.

Sora couldn't react in time and saw Seishirō fall head first onto the floor, causing his bare butt to be exposed to the sky.

But that wasn't what interested him.

It was the fact that he, no, she had nothing dangling between her legs.

"Seishirō, you're a girl?"

Surprised about the fact that she was, in fact, a girl, Sora could not help but ask.

Seishirō didn't say anything more and just immediately ran out of the bathroom.

"What...?" Sora was left in the bathroom, not knowing what he did wrong for Seishirō to run away like that.

*****************

"So this is my room?" Standing in front of a wooden door, Sora muttered.

He looked towards his left, where five other doors were present, then he looked towards his right, where four other doors were present.

'Is this a hotel? Why are there ten rooms in one corridor?'

Shaking his head, Sora opened the door, only to realize that this room had two beds, two desks, two wardrobes, and a shower room.

"So my roommate is..." Sora turned towards his right and saw Seishirō sleeping, "Seishirō."

"Why did Mr. Claude give her such a masculine name, though?"

But since Seishirō was already asleep, his question was naturally left unanswered.

Compared to what he remembered at the orphanage, this bed was a lot bigger and seemed much comfortable, though both beds were completely empty apart from essentials like a pillow and a blanket.

Without any further ado, Sora jumped onto the bed, only to bounce slightly up.

'Bouncy!'

He laid his head on the pillow, only to realize that it wasn't too hard or too soft, just the right amount of comfortableness present.

Today was the first of November, and it was just transitioning to winter in America. Thus, it wasn't very hot nor freezing, making the blanket quite redundant. But still, the blanket was made of cotton, making it extremely soft, light, and heat-trapping.

Just with these two things on the comfortable bed, it was truly a first-class bed.

Sora even thought that maybe he should stay with this gang forever just because of the bed.

Sora didn't spend too much time exploring the bed. He was exhausted from today's workout and wanted to sleep immediately.

"Um...Sora? Can you not tell Mr. Claude about my gender?" Seishirō's soft voice suddenly sounded, and Sora's closing eyes opened again.

"Why? I'm sure that if Mr. Claude knew that you were a girl, he would give you less training. Why do you want to suffer?"

"That's precisely why. I don't want him to give me special treatment just because I'm a girl. Plus, it would be unfair to you just because our genders are different."

"Actually, you know what?"

"Hm?"

"Mr. Claude would probably say 'a hitman or a hitwoman, the requirements of being one doesn't change. You will have no excuse to reduce your training.' or something like that." Sora spoke, imitating Claude's way of speaking, causing Seishirō to giggle a little.

"I'm sure. But that is not the only reason. Until the day I was adopted by Mr. Claude, my memories were filled with nothing but blurry, grey figures. If Mr. Claude was the signpost in my life, then Ojou would be light in my life. Mr. Claude allowed me to have the opportunity to become someone better, someone with a goal, while Ojou showed that my world could be filled with colors.

That's why I would like to repay both of them by doing my best to fulfill their wishes, which is to become someone who can protect Ojou and, hopefully, become her friend as well."

"Very admirable."

"What does 'admirable' mean?"

"It means deserving respect. That means your goal is very good."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

The room fell into silence, and noticing this, Sora wanted to go to sleep.

"Then why are you here?" Seishirō's sudden question came.

Sora thought for a while before eventually deciding on the main reason why he was here.

"For shelter, food, and clothes. Like you, I came from an unknown background, but I'm a realistic person, unlike you. Until I decide whether or not this gang is actually good for my future development, I won't be laying my life on the line for them."

"Are you really a five-year-old like me? Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to an adult, like Mr. Claude, when I'm talking with you."

"We haven't talked much, but we will get to know each other in the future. So don't judge too early because I didn't as well."

Seishirō just hummed in agreement before continuing, "Today was tiring."

"Yes. And it will be for the next few days if we don't sleep early now."

Looking towards her right, Seishirō saw that Sora was turning over in his bed and was preparing to sleep already.

"Wait! Promise me that you won't tell Mr. Claude."

Sora just sighed after hearing her question.

'I don't think she knows about a female's physique. Mr. Claud would be able to tell in the future...'

"Fine."

"Thank you."

Sora didn't say anything more, so Seishirō also kept her silent.

Today, the two five-year-old children slept at an early 9pm for the last time.

*****************

Sora woke up to the knocking on the door.

"Sora! Seishirō! It's time to wake up! Go wash up, eat your breakfast, and report to the basement by 9am!" Claude instructed before leaving.

"What...?" Both Sora and Seishirō rubbed their eyes groggily as they stared at the door.

Sora looked at the clock on the right of his bed and realized it was 7.45am.

"Well, you heard Mr. Claude. Let's get ready for one more tiring day..." Sora yawned while getting down from his bed and folded the blanket.

Surprisingly, the bathroom was big enough to let two people brush their teeth and shower together. Even Seishirō didn't care much, knowing that they were still kids, so Sora didn't care either.

Sora didn't have the habit of bathing in the morning or bathing in general when wandering on the streets, so he skipped that part and just washed his face and brushed his teeth.

After they were done, Seishirō and Sora headed towards the underlings' quarters and wolfed down their breakfast. They knew that they would need every drop of energy for today, and breakfast was the most important meal to help with that.

Breakfast helps to replenish the blood sugar your body needs to make your muscles and brain work their best in the morning, where the quantity of blood sugar is the lowest during the day.

By the time they finished drinking their cup of milk (it helps them get their calcium), it was already 8.30am.

They soon arrived at the designated place twenty-five minutes before the appointed time, which they thought was fantastic.

But when they saw Claude already there, oiling the guns, Sora and Seishirō just shut their mouths and awaited instructions.

"Oh? Both of you are here early? Good. Now we have extra time to go through your new timetables from now on for the next few months." Claude spoke and placed down the gun.

Since he was already in his sports attire, Claude took two pieces of paper from the table and gave them to Sora and Seishirō, one each.

While Sora and Seishirō observed their new timetables, Claude proceeded to explain.

"Although both of you are planning to go down different routes, both routes still require the same foundation of being a hitman. So we'll spend quite a bit of time on training to be a hitman before actually going in-depth to your respective jobs.

Firstly, from tomorrow onwards, you will report here at 8am every day after breakfast, without fail. From 8am to 12pm will be your physical training. We'll be mainly training your stamina, strength, speed, and flexibility.

For now, we'll spend one and a half hours training your stamina and flexibility each, leaving half an hour to train your strength and speed each. You'll have enough water and nutrients so that you don't die, and I'll always be with you to ensure that you do not overwork yourselves. This is a critical point so that you don't overexert yourself, but do not ever try to train by yourselves without my supervision. Understand?"

""Yes!""

"After your basic training, we'll have an hour of a lunch break to freshen yourself and eat. You can shower, sleep, or simply lie down; I don't care, but you have to eat. After lunch, we'll be having three more hours of training your physique. At 4pm, we'll be switching to skills training, including how to move efficiently, how to use a weapon, how to use the terrain to your advantage, and so on.

At 6pm, you can have your dinner, and the same rules apply here from lunch. At 7pm, will be your education time. Any questions until here?"

"Um...don't you think that's too much 'basic' training?" Sora asked. He could already anticipate Claude's reply and started to dread the days ahead of him.

"Both of you are still young, and it's the best time to train. Of course, to not stunt your growth, I'm here along with a professional trainer to ensure you get the maximum benefits from the training. The seven hours of training will slowly reduce as you grow older, where you are already sufficiently prepared. Any more questions?"

"I don't know how to use a gun!" Seishirō stated.

"Your first few lessons will be a theory lesson to teach you everything you need to know about hot and cold weapons. Tactics, infiltration, and espionage will be taught later on."

"Es...pinegg?"

"I'll teach you when you grow older."

"Alright then..."

"No more questions?"

"I have one more. Why do we need to have education when you're training us to be hitmen?" Sora asked.

"It's precisely because I'm training you to be a hitman that you need education. Only brainless murderers and idiots live without education. Any more questions?"

""No.""

"Good. Let's start today's training, and judging from today's results, I'll finalize the training plan."

And so, formal training finally started.