Chapter 5

"Is that really edible...?"

"Calbi, you trust Aoi, don't you? So then just try it first."

"Well, yea I do... But still, I mean… would you eat this, Hiro?"

"Ummm, well…"

It was a sensible question, Furuya had seen his fair share of strange foods from all over the world but never had he seen something quite like this. The dish resembled simple stewed meat and potatoes and would be considered quite normal if he could just overlook the fact that the sauce had a freakish purple glow.

"Well then what do you think Hiro?"

"It umm... looks great."

Different words came to mind, but he could not vocalize any of it. Anything he said about it would be considered rude, so it was better not to say anything at all.

Furuya was raised in a strict household and was taught to always be appreciative for what he's given. And given the fact that he didn't even assist in the process of making the food, he had no place to complain.

But Calbi wasn't the type to beat around the bush. He wasn't buying any of it, and the look he gave confirmed it.

"Damn it, Hiro! Stop lying, it looks radioactive for crying out loud!"

…

Well, you're not wrong...

"You know what? Make your own breakfast then," Akira retorted.

As if sensing the growing tension, Aoi stepped in: "Don't be like that brother."

She turned to Calbi with her usual charming smile. "We were just messing around with some ingredients we never saw before, and it happened to turn out this way, okay? Just try it, or do you not trust my cooking anymore?"

Everyone's gaze fell on Calbi, as he took a forkful and reluctantly brought it towards his mouth. And after chewing a few times, his uneager face vanished and was replaced with a look of delightful surprise that melted into a full-hearted smile.

"This—this is delicious!!"

"Of course it is, Aoi and I woke up two hours ago to make this for you guys. What did I say? All you had to do was give it a chance."

With those words of assurance, everyone followed after Calbi and dug into their breakfast.

The front door swung open, and a man entered.

Aoi was the first to greet him: "Welcome back, Mr. Zakin. Did you find what you needed at the market?"

"Ah yes, I found almost everything we needed to fix this place up. Hmm, are the other two still sleeping?"

The two he was referring to were Kichirou and Miku. Kichirou or "Shiro" always had the tendency to stay up late at night, which resulted in him not being able to wake up in the early hours of the day. And the same could be said about Miku. Those two really needed to wake up. The day was about to begin, and everyone had a long day of renovations ahead of them.

"Yea, sorry about that. I'll go get…" Furuya was interrupted mid-sentence by a pair of footsteps creaking down the stairs. "Speak of the devil."

Kichirou looked about as lively as ever… with those eternal dark bags beneath his eyes, a lifeless gaze, and the same boring expression he always wore. He wasn't quite the night owl or early bird, but more like the manifestation of a permanently exhausted pigeon. Even in times like this, he was still the same old ne'er-do-well that Furuya had known for all those years.

"Staying up all night with Miku must have been busy huh?"

Almost everyone smiled wryly in response to that.

Even Furuya couldn't help himself but snicker along with everyone else. This was something he just loved about Calbi, his innocent jests always made for a better mood. And the shaken look on Shiro's face only made him widen his smile even more.

"What!? The hell you guys playing at? I just had a hard time sleeping last night, that's all, nothing more!"

Seizing the opportunity, Calbi seemed to have the urge to tease Kichirou a bit more: "Come on Shiro, no need to lie."

"God damn it you guys!" Kichirou yelled angrily. He was frazzled, and it was very much evident, but it only made everyone else enjoy the moment even more. Miku, on the other hand, was ice cold with an expression that was unwavering.

Sensing the awkward silence, Furuya cut in: "Alright that's enough guys, come on. Finish up your breakfast so we can get started on this place."

Everyone simply returned to their breakfast, wolfing it down. All except for the two newcomers, who stared in amazement as they saw what everyone was eating, but eventually they simply shrugged and had their share as well.

After everyone finished up, Aoi volunteered to wash the dishes as everyone else gathered with Zakin for the day's work.

"Well, today we are gonna focus on cleaning up the appearance of the place. I picked up some paint as well as some wood, but for now let's start by cleaning all the grease and stains off the walls. Let's give the inn a new look!"

"Dad, can I go to the market square with Kichirou?"

"Sure Schnee, just be careful okay? And don't take too long, we are gonna need the extra help here."

"Okie, let's go. Come on Eralya you're coming with us," Schnee grabbed Kichirou's hand and rushed out, with Eralya in tow.

Everyone but Zakin had a look of surprise. Kichirou, the one who always went on and on about hating children, could actually be quite good with them.

"Any of you know a thing or two about carpentry?"

"I don't know much, but it shouldn't be too hard right?"

Furuya had seen his father repair their family dojo from time to time, so if Zakin showed him the ropes it shouldn't be too difficult.

"Alright, we'll start with the main dining room first. For that, we can just use hot water. After that, Furuya will help me replace or fix any of the broken spots, and the rest of you can go clean all the rooms upstairs."

Hot water alone could not rid the neglect that this place had seen for so long. The hardened layers of stains took quite the effort to remove, and the spots with broken or rotting wood were extra troubling. Scrub too lightly and the stains remain, but scrub too hard and the wood might break.

Even for the seven of them, it took over two hours of grueling work to clean it all, so who knows how long the rest of the reparations would take.

"Some of these spots look really bad, even the foundation itself looks like it's rotting, how are we gonna replace it all?"

"Well, to be honest, I didn't expect it to be this bad. I had hoped that we could just replace most of the surface layer. Well, it's a good thing I picked up this," Zakin pulled out a scroll. "I got this specially made from a friend, it has a spell which allows the user to restore rotting wood like these here."

In the games Furuya had played with Kichirou in the past, spells were mostly used for combat, very few sandbox games would actually have anything similar to this—goes to show the difference between imagination and reality.

There were probably other utility type spells that could assist in the daily life of this kingdom's citizens. And the fact that such spells were being developed and made into scrolls would mean that magic and spells played a big part in the advancements of this world.

Just how would this world look in a few hundred years time?

"How does it work?"

"It's hard to explain, but at the same time, it's really simple. This was designed for anyone to use, even someone untrained in the slightest bit of magical arts. As long as you have enough mana, you can use the scroll and all its charges in one go. Here, I'll show you guys."

Mana…

Everyone watched intently as the text within the scroll lit up. At first, it was hard to tell, but ever so slightly the color of the wood changed. After a few more seconds the difference was quite evident, the rotting black spots changed to a beautiful dark sienna color. The broken wood vanished as well, leaving behind wood so immaculate that it appeared as if it was freshly installed.

"It's real," someone whispered.

"I can probably activate this just about twice a day, Furuya you wanna give it a try?" Handing the scroll to him.

As soon as he held the scroll in his hand, he had understood what Zakin had meant, there was something about the scroll that he couldn't quite put his finger on. It was just a feeling—a feeling that he knew how to use this scroll.

He focused on the piece of wood before him, and with a mental command the scroll lit up and he felt an energy leaving him. It was different than anything he had experienced before, it was very different than say the way you feel physically depleting after a workout. It just felt like something else that he never knew existed was expended to activate the scroll. Perhaps that is the concept of mana in this world, just another form of existing energy.

Just like before, the piece of wood was restored to its former glory.

"How did you just do that?"

"I'm not too sure, but as soon as I held the scroll, I knew. It was just intuitive after that. Zakin is right, really anyone can use these. Here, give it a try."

Calbi was the next to try, with his eyes lighting up in amazement as the scroll activated within his hands.

"This is amazing! It's so easy to use!"

"Well, these are the latest products from a friend of mine. They are rather expensive, and most people do not possess a large amount of mana, so the usage is limited."

"Really? I feel like I can use it a lot more times."

"My, well, in that case, you might be gifted in that respect."

"Well, maybe I'll be the one to find the spell to get us home then."

"Hah, funny."

Most people were born with certain gifts. However, that does not equate to them being great at applying it. In a job scenario, someone could be highly intelligent, but the application of their intelligence to acquire promotions or the likes would require many other aspects such as the ability to work with others or leadership skills. In the case of being gifted with a larger pool of mana, it doesn't automatically mean that the person would be gifted with the ability to cast or even learn spells that could make use of the larger mana pool.

The question now was, were we always born with mana? Was it something that existed in the previous world but they did not have knowledge of it? Like ki in Dragon Ball Z, or was it some new property added to them after arriving to this new world? In that case, this world would most certainly be considered a parallel world than anything else. Meaning that their old world had ceased to exist and that their current form was an entirely new existence. If that were truly the case, would returning home even be possible?

Oh god. I gotta stop thinking like this, I'm starting to sound like Shiro.

We are all going to get home...

"Here you guys try this scroll too."

"AHHHHH—!!" A scream erupted and was suddenly cut short.

Everyone's head perked up and turned towards the door in unison like a pack of meerkats.

"What was that?"

"That sounded like it was really close, I'll take a look."

"No, wait. Shhh everyone, keep it down." The look on Zakin's face changed, the normally friendly smile vanished out of reflex. The grim expression he wore was probably from the experience of living in this world, he knew what that scream could have meant.

Zakin walked over to the door and took a peek outside, only after not seeing anyone did he venture further out, with Furuya following behind.

The source of the commotion was probably on the further end of the street. There, three people were running down the street towards them, a man and an old woman holding on to the hands of a little girl. As they got closer, they had what seemed like two mounted soldiers chasing them.

"What's going on over there?"

Zakin quickly returned inside and gestured for Furuya to do the same, but Furuya was too busy staring down the street to have noticed it. His eyes were finally able to make out the absolute look of terror as the man ran with his primal instinct to survive. However, the old woman was not able to keep up with her old age and fell to the ground, with the little girl who was holding on to her almost falling alongside her.

She desperately tried to pull her grandmother up, but it was far too late. As her field of vision was tossed into the air, the last thing that her brain registered was what laid before her sight, her lifeless grandmother who was trampled into the ground.

"What the hell are you doing? Get over here!"

Zakin's firm voice snapped Furuya out of his frozen stare. Before he even knew it, Zakin was pulling on his arm so hard that he thought it might have just been dislocated.

He fell into the inn, unable to keep his footing.

"What happened?!?" Confusion spread across the group as they watched Zakin push a table in front of the door.

Before Zakin could even answer that question, someone slammed against the door and screamed: " Let me in! Let me in! Oh god, PLEASE LET ME IN!"

"Why are we blocking the door? He sounds like he needs help."

"It's too late for him, bring me some chairs quickly!"

No one moved, they all stood there watching Zakin panic and Furuya sitting motionless on the floor.

That little girl... how could someone do such a thing?

Furuya couldn't find the answer as he stumbled to grasp what had just occurred. He had seen his fair share of violent acts including the senseless murder at Oma. But for that to happen to a child, nothing in the world could justify that.

"Ahhhhhh!—" Another scream cut short. Then, a man's voice could be heard as a steel sword crashed through the wooden doors: "Come out, come out wherever you are, we know you're in there!"

The blade pulled back and crashed again into the wooden door, sending broken pieces flying throughout the dining room.

"What are you guys doing!? Hurry, help me barricade this door!"

Only then did the others realize the severity of the situation, as they quickly moved more furniture in front of the door.

The man on the other side slashed and hacked at the door several more times, with every slash opening up a new hole to the outside, revealing the silver helmet of the assaulter. It was then that Furuya noticed that Zakin had disappeared.

But just as panic engulfed the room, Zakin bolted out from the back with a silver sword in hand.

"We don't have time for this," a voice interjected. "The others will take care of them. We are to stay mounted at all times. If the signal comes and you get caught, they won't let you off with a clean death."

"Che, fine let's go."

Relief washed over almost everyone as they heard the two men gallop away.

"What the hell is going on!?"

"The town is under attack. And those men, the insignia they bore...they're soldiers from Bereene."

"What!?"

"There is no time to explain. Schnee is still out there, I'm going to find her and bring her back, you guys just hide and wait it out."

"I'll go with you," Ryuta volunteered.

"In that case, I'll go too," Furuya joined in.

Kichirou was out there too, this wasn't the time for them to just sit idly by. Besides, if it was the other way around Kichirou would go out and look for him without any hesitation.

"No, Hiro you stay here, one of us needs to stay just in case anything happens."

He had a point. Earlier, the soldiers mentioned that the others would take care of them, meaning that there were many more of them attacking all over town or there was another wave of attackers meant to kill those hidden in buildings. If any of them found their way in here, there would be no chance that Akira or Calbi would be able to hold their own, not to mention the others.

"No, you aren't coming with me either, it's too dangerous out there. You aren't even armed, if we get spotted it's… just too dangerous."

"Do you have another one of those?" Ryuta pointed at the sword.

"No I don't, so just stay here."

"I'll handle myself just fine, let's go already, we don't have the time for this."

Zakin stood there with a tired face, still contemplating the correct course of action. This certainly wasn't the time to argue, there was no telling when the knights would attack again. And there was another issue, what if they had started the attack from the other side of town and had just reached this point? That would mean Kichirou and Schnee could have already succumbed to a terrible fate.

"Those men are already gone, let's move the barricade quickly." Ryuta continued.

"No, keep them in place. We will go through the hidden side door, the rest of you just go hide in the cellar."

"Where is the cellar? I haven't seen any stairs that lead down."

Zakin quickly ran behind the bar counter and moved a particular shelf. Then with a click, a mechanism triggered, revealing a trap door and set stairs.

"It's over here, come quickly," Zakin waved everyone over.

The entrance was dark, and with the poor natural lighting of the dining room, Furuya could only make out the first few steps. But given the dire situation, everyone followed Zakin without any complaints. Furuya had imagined that this was what people must have felt during World War II, hiding in secret bunkers from the enemy bombers.

As he followed Zakin down, he felt a sudden change. There was something chilling in the air that suffocated the living, combine that with the cold stone of the cellar walls, and it was clear that this area should serve as a storage room or dungeon of some sort. Furuya, who had the imagination of a child, imagined this as something like those castle cellars that would go on almost endlessly leading to countless rooms. But surprisingly, it only took about a minute or so to reach the bottom. As his eyes adjusted to the dark and depressing cellar that surrounded him, he noticed the cellar had nothing in particular, just stacks behind stacks of random clutter.

Why would a businessman need a hidden cellar along with hidden doors in their home? Although it could just be that this type of situation was not uncommon in this world, something didn't feel right. Just what could he be hiding? Would most people have emergency precautions such as this? It did come in pretty handy right now that's for sure.

"What are we supposed to do?!?"

"You lot just stay hidden and keep quiet. The handle to open the door is here, just in case anything happens. We will be right back."

"You two be careful out there."

"We will."

With that, the last ray of light vanished as Zakin shut the trap door behind them, leaving Furuya and the others to dwell in the safety of darkness.

"Just what is going on out there…"

"I don't know, I just hope Kichirou and Schnee are still okay…"

"Don't worry, he might not seem like it, but Shiro is good in a pinch. He would have gotten them away from danger. They're going to be okay." Furuya may have said one thing, but for some reason, his mind couldn't help but trouble over what the other soldier said.

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

"Wait up Schnee, where are we going?"

Schnee ran down the streets chasing Eralya with a full smile. She seemed to have cheered up a bit from last night.

"Hey, do you remember what the merchant was selling yesterday?"

The spirit of Pamola, Kichirou had almost forgotten it after last night. The man who was selling it seemed just like an ordinary merchant. If that chicken really was a mythical creature that had the ability to change its surrounding weather would it really be something that someone would sell on the streets? The way Schnee described it before would certainly make that spirit a very rare find.

"Yea, the spirit, could it be the real thing?"

"Woof Woof," Eralya borked as if he was replying to the question. Anytime the either of them said anything Eralya would bork, it was rather cute, he had to be a part of the conversation which involved its master.

"I'm not too sure, I can't remember how it looked when I saw it with mother."

It certainly wasn't impossible that the merchant had passed off whatever that was as the spirit of Pamola to scam those who know nothing to little of it. Schnee would be a primary target for people like him in that case.

"Is there any way to tell if it's real?"

"I don't know, let's just take another look."

"Well did you bring money with you?"

"Yea, I brought my little pouch." Some coins chinked as Schnee tapped the brown pouch she had near her waist.

"Would your father know that merchant?"

"Huh, I"m not sure. Should I have asked?"

"Mmm yeah probably should have."

Schnee tilted her head slightly to his answer.

"Well if your father knew the man the odds of us getting ripped off would be a lot lower, but I have a feeling that your father is influential enough that it wouldn't be a problem anyways."

The look on her face said she still didn't understand what Kichirou had meant, this would be a lesson to be learned if it did turn out to be a scam.

"Um, is ten gold reins a lot of money?"

"Yea, most of my friend's parents won't even make this much money in a year."

"Ok..."

Kichirou had imagined that Zakin had to be fairly rich to be able to offer money, food, and shelter to a bunch of strangers, but he had no idea that Zakin was rich to this extent. To be able to just give his daughter that much money for no reason in particular... He must be the equivalent of one of those millionaires. Someone who buys their children whatever they want, whenever they want it. Kichirou couldn't help but think, how nice it would have been if his family just had a little bit more money.

However, that would still come with its own bag of mixed results. All those famous actors, singers, politicians, and athletes, how few of their children actually amounted to anything? Most of them end up spoiled, just wasting their parent's money and being nothing more than a detriment to society. Goes to show the old adage, hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.

Schnee was still young, there was still time to instill the proper values to prevent her from becoming just another snob.

"Let's just hurry, it might be sold o.." Kichirou paused, thinking that he saw a familiar face at the corner of the busy street staring right at him, but it vanished back into the crowd before he could get a clear look. Without realizing, he had stopped in his tracks, and his carefree face was swapped out for something much more serious.

Was that…

"Then why are you standing still? Come on let's get going, is something wrong?"

"Oh it's nothing, let's go."

No, probably not, the lack of sleep must be getting to me.

The pair continued down the busy main street to where they saw the merchant just the day before.

A wall of people were gathered in the busy market. It was too crowded to tell at first, but as they got closer they saw that everyone was gathered before that same merchant from yesterday, he must have been demonstrating his goods again.

With the scroll held in hand and the same creature from yesterday standing before him, he spoke: "Now how about ten gold reins for this, the rare and mythical spirit of Pamola?"

"Meee, meee!' Schnee called out as she tried to push her way to the front of the crowd.

"Looks like we have a taker!"

"Fifteen gold reins," a new voice interjected.

"Looks like I have a new buyer!"

"Wait!"

As Schnee and Kichirou finally reached the front they saw a young man, probably no older than Kichirou, handing the merchant what presumably was a bag of gold. It was easy to tell that most people would find him to be rather handsome, with his elegant getup and brown wavy hair that curled ever so slightly at the ends. His light amber eyes shined as he smiled at Kichirou.

Who the hell is this guy?

"Hold on a second. Just yesterday you were only selling it for ten gold reins, and now as soon as you have a buyer, you suddenly have someone else trying to drive up the price for you? What kind of con game are you running here?"

"Watch your tongue! I am a reputable businessman, I will not have you beseech my good name. Now, you can either give me a better offer or leave!"

"Schnee, how much do you wanna pay for it?"

"I only brought just enough."

"Well, looks like you two better leave then, or would you rather have a chat with my employees?" He pointed at several men watching them intently from the side.

"Fine, we'll leave."

"Now hold on, you've already taken my gold, yet here you are trying to make another deal right in front of me. Do you wish to die?" The young man said with a smile.

The nonchalant way he spoke sent shivers down Kichirou's spine. The smile he wore gave Kichirou the feeling that those words were not an empty threat.

"Who the hell do you think you're speaking to?" The merchant gestured for his "employees", and the four men watching from the side approached them.

"What is it, boss?" The men glared at them, clearly trying to put on an air of intimidation in a typical bullying fashion. They might have been average in height, but all of them were at least twice as large as Kichirou and the other young man, with most of them bearing scars across their faces.

"Remove them," The merchant pointed.

Kichirou instinctively pulled Schnee behind him and tried to back off slowly, without attracting any more attention.

The young man stood still with a unwavering smile.

"Wha…" was all the first man could manage to utter as his head turned 45 degrees. He fell to the ground, with his legs beneath him giving way as if all their strength had been sapped.

No one was able to process what had just occurred before them, most of them couldn't even see what happened. Even Kichirou barely saw it, but the young man had clocked the employee square on the jaw. A few gasps could be heard from the crowd, along with some soft whimpers, they couldn't fathom how such an innocent looking young man could have the strength to take out a much larger man in one blow.

There was simply an air about him, Kichirou had felt it as soon they had met. This man is dangerous.

"What are you just standing there for, get him!" The merchant yelled, with his face red from frustration.

The three other men were clearly shaken after witnessing one of their own being dispatched in an instant, but their boss's voice triggered them into action. Whether they were motivated by fear or by anger, they rushed at the young man.

The young man was all smiles: "Marvelous, we get to continue."

What Kichirou saw then, was like a fine work of art. The first and most important principle that Furuya's father had drilled into them back in the day was to maintain your core balance of the body while disturbing that of your opponents.

The first man charged in with a tackle but was met with a low kick to his calf, he howled in pain as he fell. The second man held up his hands similar to a boxer's and threw a cautious punch, but with his much larger and heavy body the punch was far too slow and was met with a swift counter to the jaw. The last remaining man produced a dagger from his pocket. With the metal gleaming in the sunlight, the man's smile blossomed as the young man's vanished.

But his expression soon changed as he saw the serious look on the young man's face. Rather than fear, what he saw was something entirely different. Instead of going on the offensive like his predecessors had, he stood still, wielding his weapon as if it was the only thing left protecting him. But that did not matter to his opponent, for their difference in strength was far too great. The man hunched forward and fell to his knees after a single punch. Then his wrist was almost broken until the dagger fell from his hand.

In what was less than a minute, all the merchant's henchmen were taken down by a single opponent. The young man before him now picked up the dagger and proceeded to walk towards him, wearing that ever so menacing smile.

"Look, here. Jus-just take the scroll."

The young man didn't even seem to acknowledge what the merchant had said, he simply continued towards him tossing the dagger about.

"O-okay I may have overstepped. Here, take the scroll and your money and leave me be."

"Now that sounds like good business to me, thank you very much." He took the scroll and his bag of gold, then turned to Kichirou and Schnee: "I would like to apologize for the trouble that I may have caused—mmm?"

"What's going on over there!? Move aside!"

Those must be the town guards, they must have heard the loud commotion. If Kichirou and Schnee were to be seen talking with this young man now, odds are they would be arrested along with him, and it would be nothing but trouble for Zakin.

"Help! Help! These men robbed me after beating up my workers!"

This lying snake.

"Seems we have some trouble, the name is Swizze by the way." He offered a hand to Schnee, but was met with hesitation.

Kichirou had a good mind to outright reject it for her, for them to be associated with such a dangerous man would bring nothing but trouble. However, in this case, they just needed to leave the scene, before trouble found them anyways.

The four of them ran towards the opposite side of the crowd, away from the guards. As they ran, Kichirou saw him. There was no doubt this time, it was the man from the night before.

Kichirou had a feeling that he was being watched, and now it had been confirmed. The man was in the crowd watching them, but this time he did not try to hide. He must have been stalking them ever since they left the inn, which could only mean one thing, trouble. All the more reason to get away from here.

They took the first bend of the road and hid behind some houses.

"So now, which family are you from, for a little girl to have enough gold to try to buy something like this?" Swizze pulled out the scroll.

Could this be what this man was after? Schnee's father? That would have to mean that he already had known who she was and planned this whole thing. Was something like that even possible? No, the fight between him and those thugs certainly wasn't staged, but that wouldn't mean that he wasn't connected to that man who's been stalking Schnee this whole time.

Kichirou's eyes widened at the endless possibilities of unknown danger, all because of the secrets that Zakin was holding out on. But before he could continue down that train of thought, Schnee replied.

"My name is Schnee."

Crap she just gave it away without a second thought.

"Oh, so you must be Schnee Lepard."

"Um, do you know my father or something?"

"Oh yes, I do know of him."

Kichirou ignored the small talk, those hollow words carried no weight behind them. He furrowed his brow trying to study Swizze.

Could he be trusted?

Although he only acted in violence to retaliate violence, there was just something not right about this man. In the short time they had met, every one of his actions seemed cold and hollow, just like his smile. The mask that one wears to fit in with society, Kichirou knew that face well.

If the last thug had charged in with the knife who knows what could have happened, the simple matter of fact way that he had said "Do you want to die?" was telling enough. There was definitely a possibility that the man could have drawn his last breath.

Although it was possible that he only treated his enemies this way, where would they stand with his man? Clearly, the Lepard family had piqued his interests, but why?

With no evidence of any hostile intentions, it would be better off just to play this thing out and try to avoid him afterwards.

"Here, since you wanted it so badly, take it." Swizze held the scroll towards Schnee.

"I can't accept that. My father always said to not take things from strangers without knowing the whole picture."

"Oh you are most certainly that great merchant's daughter. Don't worry, it's not like I paid for this anyway, I've gotten my gold back. Just take it as a small favor for you, okay?"

"Are you sure mister?"

"Yep, I don't mind at all."

"Thank you so much!" Schnee was all smiles at this point as she held the scroll in her hands. Swizze smiled.

There was no way that this was just a friendly act. The only person he cared about here was Schnee, he didn't even bother trying to talk to Kichirou, much less get his name. He was trying to get something out of it, perhaps have her father owe a favor or something along those lines? It might seem like nothing now, but down the line, it's still troubling to be tangled with characters like that.

But Schnee had already taken the gift, and if he were to reject it for her now, he just had a feeling that Swizze would not take no for an answer. There was no telling what he would do.

"I do believe I've yet to get your name."

"It's Kichirou."

"Well, it was nice meeting you two. I'm late for something rather important, you two stay safe now."

"Thank you, mister."

He patted Eralya gently on the head as it wagged his tail at him. Hmmm Eralya seems to like him though.

Swizze smiled at them one last time before carrying on nonchalantly back towards the main street.

One element of immediate danger had removed itself, but there was still another, lurking in the shadows—watching them. They needed to get back to Zakin immediately and figure out who exactly was stalking them. It was time to ask Zakin exactly what was going on here. This was no longer just their family's problem, Furuya and the others could be in danger too.

"We need to get you back home, right now."

"Why?"

"Your father needs you home, okay?"

The less they know, the better. It's easier to protect them that way, especially from the dark sides of human nature.

As they got back to the main street, Kichirou saw that the man was waiting for them. This time he wasn't alone, many more unfamiliar faces also stared directly at them, but instead of just staring at them, they began to walk towards them.

Was Swizze one of them? Was he sent to lure them here? No, that would be very unlikely, if someone with Swizze's ability wanted to kidnap or kill Schnee he would have done so already. So then that would mean it was the Debouf family who was targeting them.

What are they trying to do in broad daylight? There's still plenty of people all over the streets, they can't do anything out here, right?

No, that would only be a perceived truth for the foolish. If they were bold enough to do something like that it could only mean that they knew they could get away with it.

"We have to go, come on Schnee."

The pair ran in the opposite direction. They couldn't run very fast with all the people in their way, but neither could their pursuers.

Kichirou had to figure out what to do, aimlessly running would only exhaust them, and Schnee wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.

But where would they even go? Even if they went back to the inn they would be followed there, and it would just endanger everyone, but staying outside wasn't safe for them either.

Would Zakin also be one of their targets? In that case, he would need to warn him. But what if the Debouf family had already targeted the inn and were now looking for Schnee because she wasn't there? No... Zakin could still be at the inn all unaware.

Trying to sneak back to the inn was the only option after all.

The market was only a few minutes away from the inn, but the direction that they were running towards was taking them further away.

Could this also be a part of their plan? To get us further away from the inn?

Kichirou stopped for a second and looked at one of the smaller and empty back streets. There was a collection of stores and such, but there was barely anyone on that street.

Normally it would be much easier to vanish into the crowd running away like this, and odds were they could have already lost their pursuers. But that would be running away with the assumption that they knew how many people were chasing them. There was no way to tell who was also after Schnee on these busy streets.

But on the other hand, the side streets were much more reclusive. Schnee and Kichirou could hide between buildings and stay out of sight, but Kichirou did not know where these back streets would lead them. If they got into a pinch, there would be no time to ask Schnee for directions.

But there was no point in even thinking about that, Kichirou had already made his decision before he had even thought about it.

"Schnee, this way." They turned into the side street and took the very next turn into another street, ending up behind a restaurant of some sort. The back door to the restaurant was open, and they could see the kitchen inside. It was a good hiding spot, there were many storage crates they could use for cover.

It also gave them multiple points of escape. If they were to be surrounded on both sides, they could still run into the restaurant.

"What do we do?" Schnee's voice shook just like when that man showed up the night prior.

"Don't worry, we're gonna be okay, just sit tight."

"Woof."

"Shhhh you be quiet too." It almost seemed as if Eralya nodded in agreement, but that wasn't possible, he must be seeing things. Animals can learn to understand human language to a certain level, but to truly understand and respond? That's impossible, of course it is.

Now all that was left for them to do was wait for the coast to be clear. There was even a good chance that they had already lost their pursuers, but if only things could be that easy.

It wasn't long until Kichirou heard footsteps down the street. It was hard to tell exactly how many of them there were, but there were at least three of them making their way towards the back of the restaurant.

Schnee seemed visibly frightened as she squeezed Eralya, even Kichirou's heart sped up a beat.

But this wasn't a cause for alarm, just because they were walking down the street, didn't mean that they were the ones chasing them. Nothing said ordinary people couldn't walk around here.

"Are th..."

"Shhh."

Kichirou peeked out from between the crates, giving himself as much cover as possible.

Oh shit… It's him… How did he even find us?

When they turned the street for the second time, Kichirou was sure that there wasn't anyone who saw them turn that way, yet that man and his goons found them. It had to be a coincidence unless there was magic involved.

There were still too many things unknown to Kichirou, such as the types of spells and the limitations of magic. If he knew what he was up against, then things would be different. However, in most games or anime that he'd ever seen, anyone who specialized in the tracking field would be able to track Kichirou and Schnee with ease, whether it be via a spell or some sort of other skill.

If that was the case then hiding here was just a waste of time, they should have made a mad dash back to the inn. It was still too early to rule anything out, it could just have been a coincidence. They still had two ways out of this place, and if it came down to it, he would even carry Schnee to outrun them.

The clang of metallic boots on the stone pavement interrupted his thoughts. He turned and saw three more men making their way towards them as well, these three were not dressed like the others, they all wore dark cloaks that covered their entire bodies. Given the sound of their footsteps, it was clear that those men were armed.

It was time to go.

"Hey! What are you two doing there?"

A short and unkempt man in a chef's uniform blocked the back entrance to the restaurant.

"Um, we were just in the restaurant. We were looking for the restroom, took a wrong turn I guess, haha."

The man's face remained unmoved, he didn't seem to buy the lies that Kichirou was trying to sell, but the footsteps were getting closer, time was running out.

"We're just gonna head back inside."

"No you're not, you're not going anywhere. You really think I wouldn't know what's going on? You two must be the thieves that have been stealing our produce!"

"You've got it all wrong, we've never even been here before."

"Oh right, and just a moment ago you were dining inside."

The once slow and steady steps were now replaced by steps of rapid succession.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

"Arf!"

"Will someone get rid of this stupid dog?!"

The voice was already right behind them, but the chef did not budge. There was no time for Kichirou to talk their way out of this one anymore. He grabbed Schnee's hands and pushed past the chef, but was stopped by a firm grasp on the shoulder.

"Wha…" His response was cut short.

His vision was blurry, and it took a few seconds before he realized he was staring straight up at the blue sky.

"Kichirou—" The rest of her words were snuffed out.

"We were just chasing these thieves. We will take them back to the Debouf manor, and they shall receive whatever punishment that lady Ashel deems necessary."

"Oh thank the lords, we've been missing produce for days... The little girl will be taken care of right?"

"Don't worry, lady Ashel will take good care of her."

"That's good to know, thanks again."

The next thing he knew Kichirou was looking at his feet, he was being dragged on the road. He tried to resist and grab hold on whatever he could, but there was no strength in his arms.

"Bring the girl back, and she better not have a single scratch on her when she gets there, you hear me?!"

"Arf!"

"Back off!"

Kichirou heard a crash, followed by some whimpering in the distance.

"Yea, I got it, but what about him?"

"We don't want any loose ends, do what you like with him, but I better not have to clean up your mess afterwards."

"I got it, I got it. When did you even have to do that anyway?"

"Oh yeah? You mean like that time when they almost got away?'

"Hey, I had it all under control."

"Sure you did, that's why you asked for my help right? Anyways, get her back and get rid of him quickly."

"Yea yea, it will be done before then."

"Boss, I think he's awake."

Kichirou felt a sharp pain to the face, then everything went dark.

"Hey, wake up."

Huh?

Everything around him was too bright, he blinked over and over till his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. It was a complete change of scenery, from the dull back streets of a town to a small clearing in what appeared to be a densely packed forest.

Swizze was looking right at him with a sly smile.

Oh shit, what the hell is he doing here? Was he with those guys after all? Why is he looking at me like that…? Don't tell me…

"Would you look at that, a present all wrapped up just for me."

Kichirou's jaw dropped.

"Just kidding."

...

"So what happened to you, all tied up in the middle of nowhere?"

"What?" Kichirou tried to stand up, but he couldn't. He looked down and saw that his legs were tied up. He couldn't move his arms either, meaning they must have been bound as well.

"Here I'll give you a hand," Swizze winked, pulling out a dagger and cutting away at the binds. It was the same dagger that one of the merchant's goons had pulled on him earlier. There was a faint smell emanating from it.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea I'm fine." Kichirou rubbed his wrists to get his blood flowing again.

"How did you end up out here?"

"I could ask you the same."

Something about Swizze being out here after their brief meeting didn't sit right with him. If this was the middle of nowhere like he said, why would he be here now of all times?

"Me? I was taking a stroll in the woods."

…

"Well... we were running from these guys, then… Schnee. They must've taken her!"

"They kidnapped Schnee?"

"Shit."

"So what are you gonna do?"

The logical choice would be to go back to the inn and let Zakin know what just happened, but that meant he would pretty much admit that he couldn't even handle watching over a little girl and that Zakin made a mistake in trusting him.

Mistake?

ba-dum, ba-dum

"You were just a mistake."

Mistake? Mistake!? Me?!

No… no.

I can't go back to the inn like this, I have to bring her back on my own.

"I'm gonna find her of course."

"If you can't even handle someone of his level, there's no way you're gonna get her back."

"Who's level?"

"Him."

Only about a few feet away to his right, a man was lying face down on the ground. That was probably the man that had brought Kichirou out here and tied him up.

Maybe Swizze wasn't with them after all.

"We were running and they caught me off guard."

"Really now?"

As much as he hated to admit it, Swizze was right. Maybe Kichirou could take someone on one on one, but they sent out six people just to catch a little girl. And if they had already brought her back to their stronghold there's bound to be much more of their men. Not to mention the fact that most of them would be armed.

There wasn't much choice here.

"Can you help me rescue her?"

"Hmmm." Swizze pondered the idea as he rubbed his chin. "Why not. There's always time for a friend's favor."

"Then let's go now!"

"No, take a minute to rest. Chances are she's still safe, she is the hostage after all. They won't hurt her."

That should be the case, but could they just be after money? It certainly wasn't impossible. Zakin did seem to be an extremely wealthy merchant. But the ones who took her were backed by that noble's house, who were probably very rich in their own right. And it's very unlikely that the underlings could be acting on their own…

"Do you know where they might have taken her?"

"Someone mentioned something about taking her back to the house, it's probably the Debouf manor."

"The Debouf manor…" Swizze paused and brushed his hair before continuing: "In that case, we do have to make this quick after all, let's go."

His light and carefree attitude did not waver, but he sure changed his tune in a heart beat after hearing the Debouf name.

He's hiding something after all.

Could he be a competitor after the same target? No, if someone like him wanted to snatch Schnee away he would have done it already... so what's he really after?

Whatever it may be, it's still better to have Swizze on his side for the time being.

"Yea, let's go."

"The town is this way, we don't have much time, try to keep up."

Swizze led the entire way back to town. Even with the heavy shrubbery and many other natural obstacles he didn't slow down a single beat, it was as if his body was like water flowing down a stream. Even if Kichirou had been sprinting on a clear track he would have a hard time keeping up.

Kichirou attempted to mimic Swizze's movements to be not left behind, but to no avail. In fact, it only slowed him down more. Without the proper training, his movements only strained his own nonexistent muscles.

He tried not to slow down any more than he had to, but after just a few minutes, every step he took caused pain in his legs. He was out of breath. He couldn't even remember the last time he had done anything this exhausting. Swizze would stop ever so often to let Kichirou catch up, but those pauses were getting more and more frequent with each passing minute.

With Kichirou slowing them down, it took them quite a while just to reach the edge of the forest, but soon the road to town was in sight.

"Gi-give me a second..." Kichirou panted loudly.

Fucking hell.

For one of the few times in his life, he felt ashamed of his own fitness, for this was one of the only times it actually mattered. "I could do it if I wanted to," that's what he always told himself. It was never necessary for his life. Between his day job and his gaming habit, all he needed to stay healthy was to eat properly.

He remembered what Hiro always used to tell him: "You should always keep yourself in shape, you never know what life can throw at you. Plus it's healthier anyways."

"God damn it, why can't he be wrong for a change," Kichirou muttered under his breath.

"I'll go on ahead, it'll be too dangerous for you."

If Swizze went alone, things would probably be a lot easier for both of them. He wouldn't have to endanger his own life, and Swizze wouldn't have someone slowing him down. But he was the one responsible for Schnee, there was no way he could just sit back and do nothing.

"No, I'll be fine, let's go."

"If you insist."

They made their way through the busy town, making sure to take a small detour once they reached the street where they met earlier to avoid that merchant—they didn't need any more trouble.

At the town square they saw guards keeping watch at the heart of the bustling area. Just as they were about to continue towards the manor, Kichirou noticed the same guard from the night before—the one that knew Schnee and seemed genuinely concerned for her safety.

Normally when a crime occurs you would just dial for the police, and these guards were their counterparts. How obvious of a solution, why didn't he just do that in the first place?

Kichirou made a turn for the guards but was interrupted by a hand that grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"I was just going to ask those guards for help."

"No, you can't."

"Why not?"

"Every one of those guards were personally employed by the Debouf family. Even if they wanted to help none of them would do anything against them."

So it's one of these places.

Corrupt nobles do whatever they wish, and because they have everyone in their pockets, no one would ever stand against them. What else is new? But the way the townsfolk revered lady Ashel and her family name would mean that most of the family were outstanding nobles who were well received by the people.

Could it be that just one person in the family was abusing their power while keeping it a secret from the others? Or could those at the head of the house be the corrupt ones, using others like lady Ashel as the face of the family?

There were simply too many unknowns.

If by any chance he was wrong about the Debouf family and the real criminals were just borrowing their name, then if he and Swizze get caught breaking into the Debouf families home they might end up being labeled as the criminals themselves, and then the whole town might oust them. But since the same man from the night before was involved in Schnee's kidnapping the likelihood of that was not very high.

"Alright, let's just go then."

The front gate of the estate was in view from the town square, with two men guarding its entrance. There was no way to sneak by them without scaling the walls, but with so many people walking around they would not go unnoticed.

"There is a large garden at the other end of this place, we should be able to sneak in from that side."

It was just as Swizze had said, the other side was a lot quieter. Only a single stone wall sat between the manor and the hill Kichirou had visited last night, and there was not a guard in sight.

Kichirou touched the wall to examine it.

It was smooth with very little grip, meaning that climbing this wall would be almost impossible. Swizze must have come to the same conclusion.

"Come here, I'll give you a boost."

"Wait a second, what if we get spotted going over the walls?"

The wall was taller than the both of them, even if Swizze gave him a boost he would still need to pull himself over the wall, and during that time he would be spotted for sure.

"Well, that's why you are going to take a look."

"But if I get spotted it's going to be too late."

"Alright, then I'll take a look first."

With Swizze's physical abilities he would be able to scale the wall much faster than Kichirou ever could, and there was a good chance that he would get a good look and not get spotted in the process. But before Kichirou even got into position for the boost, Swizze just flew into the air and grabbed the top of the wall, then proceeded to peak over.

"It's clear," he called out, as he pulled himself to the top of the wall. Kichirou stood dumbfounded, in awe of the superhuman feat he had just witnessed. But for Swizze it was nothing, he turned around and leaned over, offering a hand for Kichirou.

"Let's go."

…

"You know I can't jump that high, right…?"

…

"Just how exactly were you planning on saving that girl?

… His physical abilities were limited, while that may be true, he can't just walk away now without even trying, as it always goes, anything could seem impossible until it is done.

Kichirou took a few steps back then ran towards the wall. About a foot away from the wall he leaped, and as his feet made contact with the wall he pushed and gave himself a small boost of elevation, but even then Swizze's hands were too far out of reach.

"One more time."

Again the hand was far out of reach.

"If you can't even overcome this wall, it will be too dangerous for you, wait here for my return."

"Wait! don't go, I can do it, I can do it."

"It's for the best."

Then, just like that he vanished to the other side of the wall.

Kichirou looked up and stared at the wall that stood before him: "Every fucking time…"

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT ALL!"

It really doesn't matter where I go, now does it?

This is it isnt it, the cruel fate of life, to watch everyone move on ahead, mocking me at every bloody turn. I should have just killed myself then, and I didn't even have the courage to do it.

"Haahaaahahhahaha."

Absolutely pathetic, it's no wonder she left you. Yea, I guess so...

…

"Promise me, promise me that you will always try your best and be happy, ok?"

"Um sure."

"Good, now I don't have to remind you what happens if you break a promise right?"

"Yes, yes, I know, I know. When have I broken a promise anyways?"

"It doesn't matter, you have to keep them all, that's the point of a promise."

"Ok well I promise, no matter what I'll always give it my best and try to be happy."

…

But how can I, when you're not by my side.

A promise is a promise nonetheless.

"That's right."

But this wall, it's not possible for him to scale it on his own.

There are bound to be multiple entrances to this place, this is a large manor after all, but all of them will most definitely be guarded.

Would it be possible for him to talk his way in? He could if he played his cards right.

No it's too risky, he doesn't have any information to bluff the guards.

Perhaps a sewer or vent that would lead him inside?

That wouldn't be any good either, Swizze might have already gotten the job done before he gets inside.

That would mean there's no other way, other than scaling this wall and joining up with Swizze.

I'm not running away, not today, not ever again! If Swizze can do it, so can I.

With his newly filled determination he ran at the wall over and over, with each and every time the top of the wall seemed that much closer in comparison to before.

Was it due to his imagination or was he actually getting closer to where Swizze could have pulled him up? No it wasn't, each time he was actually getting closer to the top of the wall.

He could see it now, Swizze's hand reaching down for him, Kichirou closed his eyes.

I got it! See I did it, I really did it haha. I can wait for them now.

But rather than the free fall he was expecting, a hand was pulling him up instead.

He opened his eyes and saw that same nonchalant smile before him.

"Swizze?"

"I was waiting on the other side for you, I knew you had it in you."

"Hah, you're right I did, but still needed your help though."

"You're never truly on your own, you know. There's always a friend there to help you."

"Yea, thank you, thank you..."

"Don't mention it. Now let's get back to business."

Although Kichirou appeared to be rather skinny, contrary to what most people would believe he actually has a healthy weight for his height. But Swizze was able to pull him up with only one hand without any signs of effort or struggle, it seemed as natural as if he was lifting a bag of groceries. How did he have so much strength in those skinny arms?

The pair jumped and rolled into the garden below. Luckily, the section of the garden they had entered was surrounded by various large plants, with a gazebo in its center—clearly separated from the rest of the garden as a more private area.

If all things were to go well, this would even serve as a great exit point, to provide them some cover on the way out.

"How are we going to find her?"

"That won't be difficult, follow me and try to lay low."

They were charging into the potential base of the enemy without any plans whatsoever and their only ace in the hole was Swizze's monster-like strength.

He just needed to have faith in Swizze.

A path paved by stone led out of the area, surrounded by heavy tree lines on both sides, with a bright opening at the end of it. The fresh air, the sound of birds and flowing water—If it weren't for the fact that this was just someone's backyard this would most certainly be a beautiful mountain path.

But this was no time to enjoy the scenery. They walked towards the exit with great care, weaving in and out of the trees for cover, for if anyone looked down this path they would be spotted instantly.

As they reached the exit, before them was a large pond separating this section of the garden from the rest of it, with a single bridge connecting to the other side.

The garden beyond had a rather open design which offered little to no cover at all. It was filled with flat grassy areas interconnected by small bridges and decorated with a few statues of religious nature and bench-like seating areas.

On the other end of the garden—nearest to the manor, there was plenty of vegetation that could be used as cover, as well as wooden frames that allowed the entire area to have plants growing overhead.

"What do we do now?"

Swizze's eyes darted back and forth in rapid succession.

"We're too close to the manor at this point, and there are too many windows overlooking this area. There's no way we can get across like this without getting spotted."

"So what the hell are we gonna do?"

If there was no longer a way to move on without being detected, Swizze alone could cause some major disturbance in the manor, hopefully causing enough of a distraction to allow Kichirou to sneak Schnee out amidst the chaos.

"Stay close to me, I'm going to activate a spell to shroud us from wandering eyes. In other words, I'm going to render us invisible to the world. It only covers those within the radius of the spell so if you leave my close proximity the effect will wear off immediately, and if anyone were to get too close to us the effect will also wear off. Just follow my lead at all times. Also, they might not be able to see us but they can still hear us, so keep it down."

"Wait, why didn't we just do that from the start then?"

Why would he keep such a useful spell hidden? If they had simply used it from the very beginning they would have avoided any chance of detection entirely.

"Its duration is limited. If I had used it earlier there would be no telling if we could have found her before its time ran out. But now there's no other choice."

"Okay, so how long do we have?"

"Instead of asking that let's get going."

[Shroud of Shadows]

A cloud of dust kicked up from seemingly nowhere with Swizze at its center, then in just a moment, it vanished. And as it did, Kichirou suddenly felt magical energy coating him from head to toe. But nothing appeared to have changed, not from his perspective at least.

"Now just follow me. When I walk you walk, and when I stop you stop, got it?"

"Yea let's go."

There didn't appear to be anyone in the garden, but from time to time Kichirou looked up at the windows hoping that someone would be there. But to no avail, they didn't see a single soul as they made their way to the next section of the garden.

Swizze halted to a stop just before crossing the final bridge, presumably to observe the situation for a moment. Kichirou looked up to the windows and froze, someone on the third floor was staring right at him.

He didn't get a good look at her yesterday, but behind that mask was a pair of golden eyes that shone just as brilliantly as her hair under the afternoon sun—it was lady Ashel.

Something wasn't right. According to Swizze, he should have been completely invisible, and yet she didn't appear to be looking blankly out of the window. Instead, her eyes were locked directly on his.

Did the effect of the spell wear off? Can she see us!?!

Perhaps it was out of fear or anxiety, but he just couldn't look away. He took two steps forward, and her eyes were still locked with his. Perhaps it was the angle and distance that made it appear that way, but his gut told him that was not the case.

Swizze signaled with his hands to continue moving, but Kichirou didn't seem to notice.

"What's the holdup? Let's go."

Only with Swizze's voice could he turn his attention elsewhere.

"Has the effects of that spell already worn off?"

"No, let's go before it does." Swizze did not seem to have the slightest bit of worry on his face.

"Yea, okay."

It must have been a coincidence then.

Kichirou looked back to the window for a quick glance, half expecting lady Ashel to have vanished just like they do in those horror films, but instead caught a glimpse of her slowly walking away.

"You said if people got close to us we would be seen, but are there any other ways that they would be able to see us?"

"There are a few. If someone were to say cast a dispel, we could be revealed."

"No, not like that. I mean is there a way for a person to see us despite the effects of the spell."

"Hmmm there are people who might be able to sense our presence, but I've never met anyone who was able to see through my skills directly. Stop worrying, I doubt there's anyone here who I can't handle."

"Yea you're probably right."

His words were reassuring enough. Even with limited knowledge, there was no doubt in Kichirou's mind that Swizze could probably handle everyone here by himself, but there was still something unsettling in the air.

The final section of the garden was the only section that could be associated with a normal garden. There were just a few walkways, all heavily surrounded by different forms of vegetation on both sides.

However, calling them something as simple as plain vegetation would be doing the designer of the garden a disservice as they were clearly well arranged and carefully picked out to create an elegant work of art. It was also evident that it was heavily maintained as there was not a single leaf or flower with any bruises or blemishes whatsoever.

The many statues that were of similar nature to the ones they had seen prior still had their immaculate marble shine despite being in the mix with the plants that were seemingly watered on a regular basis.

Odds were, everything was maintained with magic, and that was right. Lady Ashel hired many people to maintain the integrity and beauty of this manor. For the garden alone, she had hired many gardeners, craftsmen, as well as many spell casters to create and maintain the scene before them.

The vegetation extended all the way to the glass door of the manor, where a single man stood guard.

"Looks like we can't sneak past this area. Things are going to pick up from here on out, you stay here for a moment. I'll take care of this quickly," Swizze whispered.

Kichirou hid behind a statue as Swizze moved on ahead. He felt the magical energy leave him as Swizze made his way towards the guard, and just as it did, Swizze also vanished from view.

This is it. When Swizze takes out that guard, that would be the point of no return, a race against time sort to speak.

It would only be a matter of time before it's discovered that a guard was missing. Going any further beyond this point without the [Shroud of Shadows] meant that they would run into countless people within the manor, and that they needed to rescue Schnee before anyone could realize what was going on. And there was another issue, they still had no clue as to where she might be. But despite it all, as long as Swizze was on Kichirou's side, it was very much possible no matter how things turned out.

Let the show begin.

For Swizze, taking out the guard was something as easy as taking candy from a baby. Along with invisibility—it literally could not be any easier, but where would the fun be in that?

From what seemed to be from thin air, Swizze appeared just a few feet in front of the guard.

"What the hell?"

At first, the man thought he was just tired after an entire day of sentry duty and that he was just seeing things, as a man appeared out of nowhere before his eyes. He rubbed his eyes forcefully with his right hand, but the man before him was still there. He grabbed the sword sitting on the hilt of his belt before calling out: "Who…" But before the guard could even finish his question, a strong grip on his throat had shut him up. As he gagged and gasped for air, his mind couldn't comprehend what had just occurred.

But from Kichirous point of view, it was plain as day. As soon as the guard spoke up again, Swizze had vanished and reappeared right behind him, with his hand well around the man's throat.

"Where's the girl?"

'Le go, I can't beath," the guard struggled, his face turning redder with every passing second.

"Sure, but if you try to yell, I won't let you go the second time. You understand?"

His reply sounded like nothing more than a slight whimper: "Yesh..."

The man dropped to his knees as the tension on his throat vanished, he coughed vigorously, trying to catch a breath.

"I'll ask again, where's the girl?"

"Lady... Ashel took… took her to her main quarters, on the third floor."

"Good man, that's more like it."

After a swift strike to the back of the neck, the guard collapsed. Just like before, the man's vision went dark before he could even register what had just happened to him.

Kichirou stepped out of his little hiding spot and made his way to the glass door after Swizze waved him over.

Taking this guy out was inevitable, however, the fact that Swizze gave the man a chance to call out to his allies didn't make much sense. No matter how things were supposed to go, giving him that chance could have ruined everything, just what was Swizze thinking?

"I found out where they're holding her, she's on the third floor."

The third floor…

"This place is probably huge inside too, it'll likely take us some time just to get to the third floor, which is probably huge in itself. How exactly are we gonna find her?"

"She's in lady Ashel's quarters, shouldn't be too hard to find. Let's go."

There wasn't any reason why he would lie about the little girl, chances were that most of these guys had no idea what was truly going on. It was most likely that Schnee would be at lady Ashel's place anyway, and all they needed was to confirm that fact.

"Wait, hold on a second. As soon as we cause a commotion in the manor, wouldn't they hide or take her somewhere else while we're still searching for her?"

"She'll be there, there's no way they would move her now. Well think about it, if they are being attacked, the safest place with the most guards would be on the third floor. Which means that would be the safest place for her to be, wouldn't you think so?"

He was right, the most protected area was the most obvious place, yet also the most logical. If the enemy's strength and numbers were of unknown quantities, staying put for the time being was the most reasonable choice. Along with the arrogance of the wealthy nobles who think they're untouchable, it's very likely that they would believe that no intruder would even be able to make it to their inner sanctums.

Wait a second, all that was under the assumption that the Debouf household knew exactly why we were here. They might have an inkling to our objectives, but there'd be no way to be certain of it. With that being the case, it's even more reason for them not to move Schnee at all.

"Yea you're right, but what are we going to do about this guy?" Kichirou pointed to the unconscious guard.

"Just leave him here, there's no turning back once we step in there."

"Of course..."

"Alright then, I'm picking up the pace from here. Be careful, there's going to be a lot more of them from here on out."

"You didn't seem like that type, you know that?"

"Well, really?"

"Hah nevermind, let's go."

Beyond the glass door was a single hallway, decorated with various paintings—all lit up by the soft orange glow of the setting sun. Both ends of the hall appeared to lead into some much larger rooms. But from what Kichirou could see, both sides looked almost identical, with no indication of what type of rooms they might contain at all.

"This way," Swizze whispered, pointing to the left hallway.

They made their way into a massive study consisting of two floors. The whole area was filled with rows and rows of bookshelves, again accented with various paintings in the wall's few empty spaces. The room appeared to be empty, but with this many bookshelves, there was no telling if anyone was hiding amongst them. There were only two exits, one from which they came and the other which led to a hall with many more rooms.

Since Swizze did not make his way to the other hall immediately, Kichirou picked up a book out of curiosity.

To his surprise, he could read it, everything was in plain Japanese.

None of this makes any sense. This world… Why is everything in Japanese?

Before he could divulge any further, Swizze reminded him of their purpose: "What are you doing? There's a way to the third floor up there."

"Hmmm, you know this place?"

"Well if you must know, I was once on good terms with someone in this family."

"Once?"

"Yes once," Swizze replied dismissively.

Too many questions surrounded this man, he was clearly befriending Schnee for his own reasons, and now he's even got some sort of connection to the Debouf household. However, whatever his motives might be, at least he's on their side.

Swizze led them up to the second floor of the study, then down the row of bookshelves closest to the right-hand side of the wall. When they reached the dead-end at the very far end of that row, Swizze pressed his hands against the very frame of the bookshelf. And just like that the bookshelf gave off a faint white glow and retracted into the wall, revealing a secret set of spiral stairs leading both up and down.

"How did you do that?"

"Hmmm? This door is locked with magic. However, it's set to change when triggered, sometimes with a password. Simply put, if you knew the password, the passageway would shift from a closed phase to an open phase. But by overriding it with a phase shift, the passage will naturally open."

"Isn't that like cheating...? Can't you open almost every locked entrance then?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that I could open every locked door. This technique only works when a door is set to be in phases. Some doors could even be armed with defensive magic. And if you tried to open them with a different method than the one its master intended, it can trigger defensive spells, which can be anything from offensive spells to harm the intruder or something like a silent alarm warning the person who had placed it."

So the knowledge of what kind of spell you're up against would determine success or failure. As expected, there was still an ocean of knowledge that laid before him. For the first time in a long time, excitement boiled in Kichirou's heart, and it alone made him grin, even if it was for only a second.

"We're headed up to the third floor, but where does the way down lead to?"

"It doesn't matter, it's just an exit to the outside on the first floor. The exit to the third floor should put us right next to Lady Ashel's quarters, be ready."

"Yea, I got it."

As soon as they stepped into the hidden stairwell, the bookshelf along the wall moved back to its original position—closing the exit behind them and leaving the pair in total darkness.

Before Kichirou's eyes could even adjust, he noticed that Swizze had already begun moving ahead. The air was now really cold, humid, and nothing like the warm summer air that surrounded them a moment ago.

He held out his left hand to guide him along the wall as he followed Swizze up the stairs.

In the pitch darkness, Kichirou noticed just how quiet Swizze could be. Aside from the faint sound of his own footsteps, he couldn't hear anything. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew Swizze was only a few steps ahead of him, there would be nothing to prevent the sense of total isolation in the darkness.

In the past, Kichirou had heard of these things called sensory deprivation tanks—a place where people could experience not being able to hear, see or feel anything. Although Kichirou had never experienced it personally, this was exactly how he had imagined it—aside from the feeling of the walls and steps that is. He always wondered, how could anyone enjoy something like that? To a certain extent, it's like not even existing—like death.

Death…

"Alright, it's here, just give me a second."

Kichirou wasn't quite sure how much further Swizze was, but from the sound of his voice, he was close enough. He stopped in his tracks, waiting for Swizze to open the door once more. With a click, a doorway opened up just a few steps away from where Kichirou stood, with a peerless light that poured into the dark stairway around him.

"The coast is clear, let's go."

The pair made their way into another hallway that—in terms of appearance, was almost identical to what they had seen on the first floor.

"This way."

Something felt off about this place. Even though they were already on the third floor, they had not encountered anyone at all. No matter how large this place was, they should have seen or at least heard someone by now, especially considering the circumstances.

It was certainly possible, however, that the enemies did not expect Zakin to react yet. They probably thought that Kichirou had already been taken care of, and that they had a few more hours to do whatever they wanted with Schnee before Zakin even realized something was amiss.

It was far too quiet here. Though it didn't seem to bother Swizze one bit, his nonchalant smile didn't waver in the slightest.

"Who the hell are you!?" A voice called out behind them.

The voice belonged to a skinny blonde man, with a sword hilted on his waist. The clothes he wore and his presence gave a vague similarity to that of lady Ashel.

"So you people even dare to invade our home... you two must be after my sister. I don't know how you two made it this far, but this is as far as you go‍, guards!"

Loud footsteps echoed behind them as five armed men appeared from around the corner, cutting off their escape route.

"Lord Tyjur! What's the matter?"

"These foolish invaders dare to tread their dirty boots in our sacred home, make them regret the day they were born."

Tyjur drew his sword and stepped closer, narrowing the distance between them. And the guards, following their lords lead, advanced from the opposite side.

This was bad. As skilled as Swizze was, even he might not be able to protect Kichirou if the enemy engaged them from both sides. However, on one side, there was just a single opponent. If it came down to it, all Kichirou had to do was stall for a few moments.

Given the limited space in this hallway, Tyjur wouldn't be able to swing his sword freely, but at the same time, Kichirou wouldn't have much room to maneuver either.

"Take care of that one, I'll get the rest."

"Easier said than done."

"Hah just don't die on me, how else am I going to collect that favor?" With a smile, Swizze stepped forward to engage the guards.

Kichirou could hear the clash of blades echo behind him, but he didn't have the time to be concerned with that.

In eras similar to the one in this world, nobles often trained their sons in the art of warfare. Kichirou wasn't just dealing with some street thug looking for trouble, his opponent was someone who had been trained to take the lives of other human beings. And the fact that Tyjur advanced personally said a lot about his confidence in his swordsmanship, where a single slip up could spell an ambivalent end to his tale.

Tyjur however, did not rush in like his guards. He was biding his time, slowly closing the distance between them while sizing up his opponent—Kichirou. Tyjur was probably concerned with Kichirou's strength, unwilling to charge recklessly into the unknown.

This only served to Kichirou's advantage. All he needed to do was buy time, and Tyjur was serving that to him on a silver platter.

However, it was only a matter of time before he would attack.

In a duel of swords, there are several key factors to consider. The swiftness of the blade, the reactions that follow, and the range of the opponent—in other words, the reach of his sword.

But considering Kichirou only had his bare hands, Tyjur held the advantage in all those respects. That did not even factor in the possibility of magic, and if Tyjur was capable, then there would be no chance for Kichirou to win at all.

Kichirou's heart sped up exponentially with each closer step.

Was it always so hot and humid in this place? Kichirou could feel his clothes stick to his skin as sweat poured down his back.

Tyjur stopped at a distance of about two meters, with the right side of his body tilted towards Kichirou with a one-handed sword stance. His eyes locked onto Kichirou's in an eternal stare, like a wild beast on its prey, just waiting to strike.

The tension in the air was so strong that it was almost visible.

Kichirou's body felt heavy as a sour note played in his stomach. He averted the intense gaze and instead looked down at the Tyjur's sword.

At that very moment, Tyjur charged in with a slash as if aiming for the single instant that Kichirou showed a sign of weakness.

In the matter of a second Tyjur already closed the distance.

Kichirou was like a deer stuck in headlights. The only thing that reacted was his eyes, as he saw the blade reach for his flesh.

Shit… I'm fucked

His legs felt like stone pillars, pinned to the ground. But as one of them buckled, his left knee gave way, and with it, his whole body. Kichirou stumbled to the left, back hitting the wall—somehow dodging the blade in the process.

The other pillar didn't take long either. His right knee gave way as soon as he hit the wall, sliding him down to the floor, dodging Tyjur's follow up slash by the skin of his teeth.

Kichirou instinctively rolled to the right, getting away from Tyjur, coincidently dodging Tyjur's blade once more as it pierced the wall where he had been just a second prior.

"Hmph, the coward knows how to run."

It was to be expected that Tyjur was gonna be fast, he wasn't anywhere near Swizze's level thankfully, but the difference between their skill and speed is still nothing short of a nightmare.

So this is what it truly feels like, to have a battle to the death. Just what is supposed to go through their heads in a time like this? How to overcome their opponent? What a fucking joke, all that garbage, real life doesn't work that way.

Every fiber of his being screamed for him to run away from the man before him. But as much as he wanted to turn tail and run, he didn't. Kichirou was going to face this enemy head-on and overcome this trial.

In reality, running away, simply wasn't an option—for these fleeting moments could be his last.

Never turn your back to an enemy, especially one much faster than you. If you want to live that is.

The time it took Tyjur to draw his sword from the wall was enough for Kichirou to back away and regain some composure—getting back on his feet. Besting this man was an impossible task, the difference between them was clear as day, to have even survived those attacks just now was nothing more than sheer luck.

Kichirou clenched his right fist so hard that he lost feeling in it.

So this is it… It doesn't matter where I am… But I'm not alone this time around, I can do this!

"Are you done running now?"

"I don't think so, maybe just a few more minutes."

"Hah, and here I thought you lowlives from Bereene had no sense of humor."

Bereene? Isn't that the other country that Zakin mentioned? Why would he think I'm from there?

"What makes you so sure I'm from Bereene?"

Keeping a conversation going was going to be a lot easier than trying to survive this duel, especially since Tyjur didn't seem to know anything about him. All he had to do was stir up the facts a bit to keep Tyjur pondering over their identity.

To Kichirou's reassurance, the look of confidence vanished from Tyjur's face, whose calm demeanor was visibly shaken as he stared at Kichirou intently. Perhaps it was just Kichirou's imagination, but a droplet of sweat fell from Tyjur's face.

"Hmph," Tyjur snorted before he began to close the distance just like before. But something was different this time, Kichirou could feel it. Tyjur's movement wasn't smooth like before, there was a hint of hesitation.

What happened? Could that statement really have made such a large impact on him? There was no time to think about that right now, this was an excellent opportunity.

Tyjur was clearly off his game, all Kichirou needed was just a single opening. His opponent wasn't armoured like the rest, so with one good hit it was certainly possible to take him down.

But because he was unarmed versus a sword, no matter what his approach, Tyjur would have the first strike. Unless Kichirou wanted to sacrifice an arm to block it, he would have to bait out Tyjur's first strike to hopefully give him enough time to reach Tyjur and hit him with everything he's got.

That's right, I can do it on my own, I don't need to rely on anyone, I can do it on my own, I can do it on my own. I have to do it on my own.

But can you really though? The enemy has every advantage, and this is your life we're talking about here. Are you just gonna throw it away like that? Worthless, a nobody, just hide and cower behind Swizze like the real you would.

Die a fool, or live the life of a dud. Does any of that even matter? I'm nothing, always will be nothing…

But if you don't try, it will never happen.

That's right, none of it matters, nothing ever does.

Kichirou took small steps toward Tyjur while judging the distance. He had to bait out the first attack, but he'd also have to make sure it's a strike with substantial weight and commitment behind it. The bigger the swing, the bigger the opening it creates. Only then would he be able to capitalize on it.

It was a dangerous game of chicken. Go too close, and he won't be able to dodge. But don't go close enough, and Tyjur's strike would be too compact, which will allow him to recover too quickly for Kichirou to get in reach. Much like the delicate balance of life, everything needed to be just right.

"Hah hahahaha, ahahahahahaha," Kichirou's voice echoed down the halls.

Those who witnessed it would certainly feel that this man had gone mad in the face of death. Like those whose sanity had been broken by the reality before them, as if he was turning in to someone who's crossed that line.

In reality, it much was sadder than the perceived truth—he was laughing at his own naivety. Perhaps if he was someone more like Furuya this would probably be possible. But for him, someone who had barely ever practiced Kendo in earnest, judging that exact range would be next to impossible.

The path that laid before him was most certainly a death sentence, and after coming to the realization of that fact, he couldn't help but laugh.

It really doesn't, does it...

Without any warning or indication, Kichirou dashed towards Tyjur, who was still uneased by that strange performance by Kichirou just a moment ago. The sudden charge must have caught Tyjur off guard as he swung out of reflex.

It wasn't the heavy blow that Kichirou had been waiting for, but nor was it the fast and compact strike that he had feared. It was just a simple shallow slash across. Kichirou, who half expected this, instinctively took a small leap, dodging the attack completely. Then, Kichirou stepped in, turning his upper body, pouring every ounce of his strength into a left straight.

He had aimed for Tyjur's chin to knock him out with just one punch. But in the heat of the moment, his punch landed south.

Tyjur fell back as he held his own throat, gagging and coughing, trying to step back. But Kichirou did not offer him even a second's relief, he grabbed Tyjur by the wrist and landed a punch to his gut.

Tyjur's step stuttered after the second blow, his grip released, and his sword fell to the ground.

Letting the momentum slip while Tyjur was still standing would be the utmost foolish action, so while Tyjur still wrenched from pain, Kichirou was going to finish this. He arched his right fist back to go for another big blow, but out of nowhere his vision blanked, and the next thing he knew he was looking up at the ceiling.

Before Kichirou even had the time to readjust his mind a fist came into view, hitting him right on the nose—he could feel the warm bodily fluid flowing from his face. He instinctively threw both hands up in a desperate attempt to protect himself, but the next thing he knew he felt multiple instances of intense pain shooting up from his abdomen.

With each continuous blow, Kichirou's consciousness faded ever so slightly. He threw a wild punch in retaliation, which was easily blocked by Tyjur, who brushed it aside.

Given the sudden opening to Kichirou's face, Tyjur grabbed him and held him down so that he could lay into him the full force of his fist.

This duel no longer had any resemblance of a proper battle, it had turned into a primitive fight for survival.

There was no time to think anymore, Kichirou simply acted on his very instinct and bit down on Tyjur's thumb with primal savagery, so hard that he heard a sharp crunch emanating from Tyjur's finger.

As Tyjur howled in pain, their positions quickly reversed. Kichirou was now the one who pinned Tyjur to the ground, throwing a wild barrage of punches.

DIE! DIE! DIE!

Tyjur tried to resist and threw a punch back. Kichirou reacted, however, the punch was caught not by his hands but rather his face. Kichirou felt dazed from the impact, it was a solid blow that knocked his remaining consciousness out of whack.

The light in Kichirou's eyes dimmed as he fell forwards.

Why the fuck am even alive? Why!? Why?! Why!? This fucking bastard, its all his fault, its all his fucking fault. You can all just die!

But rather than falling unconscious as Tyjur had hoped, he opened his mouth and chomped down on Tyjur's ear.

"GAHHHHH!" Tyjur wailed, clawing desperately at Kichirou's face, but to no avail.

Pain coursed throughout his body and he could feel the warmth of his own blood as it flowed from the side of his head. Tyjur's vision started to blur as his mind went all hazy.

The pain left him soon after as two fists calmed and relaxed him.

Even after all resistance had ceased, those two fists did not. They clobbered the unconscious man over and over, so much that they were coated red with blood. It was hard to tell whose blood it was at this point, as the blood of Kichirou's tearing fist was added to the mix.

DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!

"That's enough." Swizze grabbed Kichirou firmly by the shoulder and hauled him up from that bloody mess.

There was almost no resemblance of the young man known as Kichirou any longer, he stood motionless with bloodstained clothes and a deathly blank expression.

"We don't have much time, more guards are on their way. We need to get Schnee out of here now, can you run?"

…

He stood there unmoving, staring down at the bloodied body.

That's what he deserved, that's what they all fucking deserve...

Right?

"Kichirou get it together, we have to go."

Of course he deserved it, they always do, this fucking world can just end already.

Swizze walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder once more, and caught a fist in his hand.

"Don't forget why you came here in the first place, wake up already."

Why? Why did I come here?

I came to prove a point, but to who?

Kichirou reached in his pocket instinctively.

Who else… but to myself.

It took him a few seconds, but as his senses returned to him, he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Good. Let's move, Lady Ashel's room is just ahead."

About ten or so unconscious guards lay scattered on their path.

Did Swizze take care of all these men in such a short time? There were only five men before, more of them must've shown up.

It was already crystal clear how skilled Swizze was, but in such a tight space against so many men, he was still able to take care of them in such a quick manner—he was not even short of breath whatsoever. Kichirou could only thank his lucky stars that he met up with Swizze earlier today, if not for him he would have probably ended up dead.

The two of them ran down the hall. Then, beyond the corner, what laid before them was an immaculately large double door made of solid wood with various intricate designs carved within.

Kichirou tried to open the door, half expecting it to be locked, but it opened with a single click.

The room was dark with all the curtains pulled shut. Only a single dying candle sat upon a table, providing just enough light for Kichirou to make out a portion of the room. It was very large as expected and decorated with various different objects that were quite difficult to identify in the darkness. But there didn't appear to be any human-like figures hidden here at all.

"Schnee are you in here?" Kichirou called out.

"I'm over here," a small voice whimpered in reply.

Following the direction in which the sound came, he saw Schnee huddled on the floor next to the bed.

He knelt down beside her and whispered softly: "Schnee come on, we have to go."

"No we can't, we need to stay here where it's safe."

"You don't have to worry, we already took care of the bad people who took you here, it's safe."

It was just a small white lie. Of course, there would still be tons of people after them in the manor, but if they got out quickly, they could avoid everything.

"No, not out there, out there." Schnee pointed towards the closed curtains.

"What?" Kichirou couldn't hide the look of confusion on his face as he looked towards Swizze, who simply shrugged in response.

Kichirou got up to take a look outside the curtains but paused as he heard faint screams in the distance. He carefully pulled the curtains to one side to take a small peak at what Schnee was so afraid of, and that's when he saw the madness that awaited them.

"What the hell?"

章 5: Chapter 5

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章 5: Chapter 5

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