Glaint Mansion. Thursday 11:00 a.m
Knock* Knock*
"Enter." Glaint permitted without looking up from his papers.
Opening the door appeared Alfred who as always had an elegant black tuxedo.
"Master Glaint, a letter has arrived."
"Whose is it?" the viscount asked still without looking up.
"From Miss Writer." Alfred responded calmly.
Glaint's hand stilled and he looked up in surprise.
'Why would Miss Fors write to me? I'm sure I sent the blood to the correct address or was there a mistake?"
Seeing that Glaint wasn't speaking, Alfred elegantly raised an eyebrow.
"Would you like to review it now or would you rather I keep it with the rest for you to review later."
"Ah! Yes, please, Alfred."
Recovering himself, the blond nodded and Alfred handed him the letter and left the office, leaving the viscount alone.
Wasting no time, Glaint quickly used his letter opener and taking the letter out of the envelope, he began to read...
Putting down the letter, Glaint had a dumbfounded expression.
He raised a hand to his forehead and rubbed it incredulously.
'Miss Xio is in prison...Miss Fors needs 50 pounds to get her out of there...How did this happen?'
Shaking his head, Glaint sighed.
50 pounds for a viscount was nothing so it was not a problem to pay the bail to get Xio out of jail.
Sighing again, Glaint began to prepare a letter to send the money but just as he finished writing the first line his hand stopped.
An idea came to his head.
He grabbed the letter he had made and crumpled it into a ball, which he tossed into his trash can next to him.
He quickly finished writing another letter which he tucked into an envelope along with an invitation which he sealed with a thin blue seal bearing his family crest.
"Alfred." He called and the butler entered again.
"Yes Master Glaint?" the butler asked.
"Send this to Fors Wall's house, she's invited to the music and literature party this afternoon."
Alfred walked over to Glaint's desk with an elegantly raised eyebrow.
"Master Glaint, it is not very polite to invite a lady to a party without notifying her at least 7 days in advance. The lady needs several days of preparation to choose the dress, perfume, makeup, and decorations along with preparing her schedule. for the day of the party much more for someone as busy as Miss Fors Wall."
"What are you trying to tell me Alfred?" Glaint asked with a quivering eyebrow.
"Master Glaint pardon my words but if you like a young lady you must consider these things if you wish to charm her or even marry her." Alfred said seriously and Glaint felt his brain freeze.
"If I may be honest it would be more appropriate to marry someone with at least a noble title but someone as famous as Fors Wall is acceptable." Alfred added calmly.
"..." Glaint looked at his butler.
"..." Alfred looked at his Master.
"..."
"..."
"...Just do what I asked, please Alfred." Glaint said with a flat expression as he handed the envelope to the man.
"Right away, Master Glaint." Alfred said with a bow, the butler took the envelope and left the office to carry out the viscount's order.
Now alone, Glaint calmly set down his red fountain pen.
He then placed both arms on top of his desk.
He raised both hands to his face and covered his mouth as he screamed.
"MMMM!" his scream was muffled by his hands.
Lowering his hands, he calmly took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped his hands.
With that done, he folded the handkerchief and tucked it back into his breast pocket.
He grabbed his red fountain pen and went back to work as if nothing had happened.
His expression might have been flat but his face and ears were red.
...
Audrey Hall wore a long white dress, with ruffled edges, as well as a lace around her chest.
She wore a veiled hat decorated with blue ribbons and fishnet gloves.
Following the courtesy of the nobility, she extended her hand to the host.
She watched as the host gave her hand a short kiss with a bit of curiosity.
'He looks somewhat anxious and excited...' She couldn't help but analyze her friend upon noticing this.
"Your beauty accentuates my salon." Glaint complimented like he usually did and Audrey again heard that emotion in his voice.
'There is something that has him excited...Maybe because he wants to show me something...or someone...'
Before Audrey could continue her theories about the reason for Glaint's excitement, he whispered to her quietly.
"There is someone I want to introduce you to, she is a very special person."
Any seriousness Audrey had went out the window at this and she couldn't help but look a little stunned at her friend.
'Does Glaint have a girl he likes?! Maybe he's so excited because he wants to ask me for advice to approach her and win her over...Hehe...As a Spectator, it will be very easy for me to detect what this girl likes and tell Glaint to use it to win her over...'
'Wouldn't that be taking advantage of her though? Mmmm, this requires more thought before accepting.'
Glaint seemed to notice what Audrey was thinking and he gave her an exasperated look and whispered again just a little louder.
"She's really special."
Audrey snapped out of her thoughts and quickly noticed that Glaint had accented <special>.
'Isn't that a girl you like? So if that's not the only other reason Glaint would be like this...'
She quickly understood what her friend was trying to say and couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.
Seeing that his friend had finally gotten his message, Glaint sighed with relief.
He calmly straightened up and spoke normally as he nodded.
"She is a very famous author. I think you have read her works in the past. She wrote Stormwind Mountain Villa which has been highly acclaimed in the past two months."
"Yes, I enjoyed that book, especially the calm Miss Sissi." Audrey said with a smile though she inwardly rolled her eyes at her own hypocrisy.
And that was because she had stopped reading the book a long time ago. After all, her hobbies were now different thanks to the Tarot Club.
If she was not mistaken, she had only read one third of the book...
Smiling at this, Glaint led Audrey to a sofa in the hall.
They were both followed by Audrey's servant maid, Annie.
Audrey wasn't worried that she would find something weird since they were both talking about normal things.
Audrey glanced at her maid out of the corner of her eye and it was extremely easy to figure out what she was thinking.
Annie seemed to have misunderstood what Glaint had said earlier and now believed that the Viscount was going to ask Audrey to help him win over a lady.
She inwardly rolled her eyes, the maids and servants had been reading a lot of romance books lately so at every related act of romance, they gossiped among themselves with giggles and tea.
Ignorant of his friend's thoughts, Glaint spoke with a smile.
"I'm sure Miss Fors Wall will leave a good impression on you, for she is similar to Miss Sissi from Stormwind Mountain Villa, calm, intellectual, and lazy." He then pointed with his eyes discreetly and both Audrey and Annie looked at the dessert table.
They both watched as the famous Fors Wall was filling a plate of desserts.
'That much carrot cake will make her gain weight.' Anni thought with a slight frown, not approving of the writer's diet.
Audrey simply studied Fors and was able to notice several things about her.
Like how she likes cigarettes because the tips of her fingers had yellowish traces and how she looked relaxed like she had come to win something.
Her analysis was stopped because suddenly Fors Wall turned around and the blue eyes of the writer collided with the green ones of the noblewoman.
'Did she find out that I was watching her?' Audrey thought in astonishment, she then watched as Fors smiled gently and nodded in her direction as she popped some of the cake into her mouth.
'Are you looking down at us?'
At that moment Glaint got up and asked Audrey to come with him to talk to the writer.
With a simple smile, Audrey and Glaint arrived in front of Fors.
A simple smile that Fors returned.
Before either of them could speak, Glaint introduced Audrey to Fors.
"Madam, this is the Miss Audrey Hall I mentioned in my letter, the most sparkling gem in all of Backlund. Her father is Earl Hall, a trusted aide to His Majesty and respected member of the cabinet."
"Good afternoon, Madam Fors, Stormwind Mountain Villa is still sitting next to my nightstand." Audrey adhered to the rules of the aristocracy and curtsied.
'That's because I didn't even read half of it even after a month...' she added mentally.
They merely exchanged pleasantries because they were in public.
After watching Fors go to another dining table with a cream cake in her sight.
Audrey looked away and went into the living room with Glaint.
She began to recall the details of the lady and tried to decipher the objective of the woman.
At that moment she took a step and stepped on her dress almost slipping but was caught just in time by Annie.
"Miss, the exquisite design of this dress means that you can't walk that fast." Annie leaned close to Audrey's ear and whispered.
"I know." Audrey said embarrassed, her face red.
She had been so focused on looking at the others that she almost made a scene.
...
After smilingly greeting authors, critics, and musicians, Glaint finally gave her a sign that Audrey was very grateful for.
The muscles in her face were already aching.
With the excuse of wanting to go to the bathroom, Audrey left the room and making sure no one was following her, she went up to the first level where the man's office was, she then spoke.
"I have something important to discuss with the Viscount Glaint. Guard the door. Don't let anyone in."
"Alright." Annie found nothing strange with this request.
This wasn't the first time Audrey and Glaint had done this so she was used to it.
Audrey walked into the office and locked the door.
Turning around she saw how Glaint was playing with a pen and standing in front of the bookshelf, Fors Wall was nonchalantly turning the pages of a book.
"I will introduce you both again, Madam Fors, a true Beyonder." Glaint put down his pen and walked over.
"Is that so?" Audrey intentionally exaggerated her feeling of doubt.
Although she was surprised to meet a Beyonder in person, she still had her doubts.
A small smile formed on Fors's face who calmly put the book back in its place.
"Looks like I'll have to prove myself."
She then made the same move that she had previously made with Glaint.
Approaching the office door and grabbing the handle.
As Audrey and Glaint watched, Fors became incorporeal and walked through the door.
Then the door that was locked was opened from the outside as if nothing had happened.
Audrey looked behind Fors and saw how Annie hadn't realized what had happened.
"This is the second time I've seen it but it still amazes me!" Glaint said excitedly.
Audrey sighed softly and nodded.
"I have no more doubts"
She had also confirmed Fors' motives.
Someone with that ability could sneak into anywhere and steal money and materials, she must have needed something else.
Fors chuckled and said.
"Let's interact honestly. We don't have much time left."
She looked at both Audrey and Glaint and spoke.
"I was working at a clinic as a doctor where I got the chance to become a Beyonder. That was two years ago."
She then looked at Audrey.
"I had offered Mr. Glaint a deal to take him to a beyonder party where he could obtain potion formulas and materials together with my partner. But a problem occurred and now I need your help to solve it, I asked Viscount Glaint for help and he said If we took you, he would accept."
"So he invited me today to introduce myself to you and offer you the same deal." Fors finished explaining.
Audrey only took a few seconds to answer.
"What is the problem that requires our help?"
She asked, this was also a way of saying that she accepted.
And that was because she needed a channel to obtain formulas and materials other than the Tarot Club.
She also needed this channel to obtain materials and formulas for the members of the Tarot Club.
Glaint smiled at his friend's response and Fors also smiled and said.
"My partner got into trouble and now she's in prison awaiting trial, I need you to use your contacts to get her out of there. It doesn't matter what method is used."
"Wait, I thought it was just a 50 pound bail, what happened?" Glaint asked confused.
At this question, Fors's expression turned embarrassed.
"My partner Xio Derecha is a very respected and fair person. She took a protection job at a bar that ended in a pitched fight and she was imprisoned for this."
"Originally it was just like you said, a 50 pound bail but..."
"...In her cell, she was accompanied by some former Black Skull gang members and she knew them. To make it short now those men are in the hospital with several broken bones and in a small coma and Xio is seeing atleast 3 years for assault.. ."
"It's possible that she also had a little alcohol...Xio was never good with her drink hehe..." she ended up laughing nervously.
Glaint and Audrey looked at her with surprised expressions.
"But she's only been in the cell since this morning." Glaint said stunned.
"It's a personal matter." Fors responded shortly.
Both nobles noticed the tone with which the woman had spoken so neither asked more.
Trying to change the subject, Audrey asked.
"Why didn't you take her out, Madam Fors? With your abilities it would be very easy."
At the question, Fors shook her head.
"She can't go to the places that I can. I can only go and have a little chat with her."
"Besides, life is very short and I think that risking my life to get her out is not the safest thing to do. There are still many options left before trying that"
Friday morning.
Letting out a shaky breath, Charlotte raised the coffee cup to his lips and took a light sip.
His purple eyes were looking around him, scanning each person for this Y.M.
Truqueda Cup is a Cafe that is located on Sureste Street, its specialty was its bitter coffee and its curious tea. This was a fairly popular cafe in the area so it wasn't unusual for it to be somewhat crowded.
This was one of the main reasons why Charlotte had chosen this place.
It is much less likely and more difficult for this Y.M. to do something to him in a Cafe full of sober and alert people than in a Bar full of drunks whose senses are reversed and mistake the bathroom for their table.
'Where are you?' Charlotte thought uncomfortably as he took another sip of his coffee.
He looked up at the wall above the counter, there was a clock hanging there and it said 8:57 a.m.
'Three minutes... is he that punctual?' he thought a little stunned.
"Hey, did you hear? Holmes has been seen hanging around the Dead Rose area!" a man whispered loudly from behind Charlotte.
'The Fire Mage?'
This caught the attention of Charlotte who, having a little time to spare, decided to pay attention to this.
"Mr. Holmes? Wow that man doesn't know when to stop" replied another younger man.
"Right? A few days ago he destroyed Dead Shot and now he's going after Dead Rose! At this rate, East Borough will be cleared of all its gangs before the end of the year!" the first man said cheerfully.
'...'
At those words, Charlotte couldn't help but nod slightly.
With his eyes, he gave another pass to the Cafe and saw how the people were chatting happily.
'If someone had told me in May that I would see this I would have died laughing at such a ridiculous joke...' Charlotte thought dazedly as he looked down at his cup of coffee.
Seeing people laughing and being happy in East Borough 3 months ago was ridiculous!
They would call you crazy for just saying that.
How can there be happiness in such a place?
Where so much death, disease, and suffering live and nobody does anything to change it?
Happiness in East Borough did not exist...
Until 2 months ago.
The arrival of the Fire Mage changed everything.
He came with a bang.
Attacking the bar where the second leader of the Black Skull was happily drinking and dragging him away never to be seen again, gave much to talk about.
But after a few days without anything happening, this disappeared, it was also thanks to Black Skull who was looking for their second in command but found nothing.
But suddenly, one day, Black Skull began to be hunted like rats by the authorities.
Nobody knows the reason for this but in a week this gang disappeared.
The rest of Backlund may think this was a move by the authorities to show they still had power in the East Borough.
But East Borough thought differently, they knew the reason for this, thanks to the words of one of the members who was in the bar when the second leader was kidnapped.
<Tell everyone that Mr. Holmes is home>
Whatever Holmes did caused the authorities to move in for the first time and wipe the gang off the map.
This is officially Holmes' first appearance, a minor one that no one gave much thought to until what happened next.
After a time of silence, Holmes reappeared in a fiery spectacle.
In the middle of the day, this guy hunted and killed more than half of The Creed gang, in the middle of the streets or in bars, it didn't matter.
Not satisfied with that he went and burned down the gang's main base and burned the boss alive in front of everyone.
There he earned the name Fire Mage.
It didn't stop there.
A few weeks later he destroyed one of the largest illegal brothels in Backlund by freeing the women and burning the boss and all his men along with the brothel which burned to ashes.
And on the same night, he released a large group of people who had been kidnapped from the southern continent.
Finally, a little over a week ago, he assassinated the head of Dead Shot together with his strongest men in his secret base without the guards outside knowing what happened.
Not satisfied with that, he stole all the money from the head of his own house and returned all the stolen property to its owners.
With no money and no one to guide them, the rest of the gang fell apart with no one to save them.
Of course, there were several who were stubborn and tried to save the gang.
These people were found burned black and with the classic Holmes business card on them...
The changes weren't very noticeable at first but now the impact Holmes had had on the East Borough was so obvious it was impossible to ignore.
Security had been greatly increased throughout the East Borough, much more so in areas that had been cleared of its main gangs.
Crime was going down day by day and it was becoming safer to walk the streets.
Of course, it was still dangerous and there was still a lot of death but it was slowly getting better.
Without being extorted by the gangs, people could pay for their food and could even afford to buy medicine for the sick.
The gangs were terrified and their activities had greatly diminished.
The smaller ones had joined together to survive and the larger ones were much more careful due to the great danger that Holmes was.
No one in the East Borough did not know the name James Holmes.
Even the mere mention of his presence caused crime in that area to plummet.
The kids even call him a Hero.
'Hero...' Charlotte thought as he looked at his reflection in the cafe.
'A hero has a lot of power to be able to do what he does...'
"Power..." Charlotte whispered longingly.
'If I had the power that Holmes possesses...Then it would be possible-'
Clink* Clink*
His thoughts were interrupted by the cafe bell signaling the arrival of someone.
Looking towards the entrance, he saw how a man had entered.
A chill went up his back and without being able to control it, his vision changed.
A whirlpool seemed to arise deep within his purple eyes that were focused on the man.
To his eyes, the man's aura was revealed.
It was blue mixed with orange.
'Calm, careful, and a little joy...' He subconsciously did an aura analysis when his eyes noticed something else.
Deep within that man's Ether Body was an orange-red flame, burning with power.
'Strong!' He was surprised by the intensity of the flame and looked up at the man's face.
Scarlet eyes and purple eyes collided.
On the man's face was an amused smile as he raised his finger and moved it side to side.
At that moment a waiter approached that man.
"Welcome to Truqueda Cup sir, would you like to order something to take home or will you stay?"
Thanks to the fact that the bar was not very big and he was sitting near the entrance, he was able to hear the conversation.
The red-eyed man gently shook his head, and still maintaining his smile, he responded.
"No need, I'm here to see someone."
"Oh, so you've located who you're looking for?" the waiter asked politely.
The red-eyed smile sharpened, returning his eyes to Charlotte.
"Oh yeah, I'm looking at them right now, if you'll excuse me." Without waiting for an answer, the red-eyed man began to walk towards him.
'Y.M!' Seeing the man approaching him made Charlotte snap out of the trance he was in and quickly massage the bridge of his nose with a cold sweat running down his back.
'It happened again!' he thought heavily.
His vision returned to normal at the same time that the red-eyed man sat down in front of him.
With a tight smile, Charlotte spoke nervously.
"Are you him?"
"Well, I am me." the man teased and Charlotte tensed a little.
'Are you seriously joking right now?' thought Charlotte a bit stunned.
Composing himself, he asked again, this time more specific.
"What I mean is, are you Mr. Y.M?
The red-eyed man showed a confused expression.
"Y.M? What are you talking about?"
"Huh?" Charlotte looked dumbfounded at the man in front of him.
He didn't have time to process anything since the red-eyed man was smiling at him.
The confused expression was gone, now there was an amused smile and red eyes full of mischief.
"We finally meet Mr. Mystery Pryer~"