《VANPS!》


 Chapter 1: Saved by an Idiot

    The girl walked through town in a calm manner, carrying her basket of goods as she went. As she passed by a shop window she glanced at her fleeting reflection. Her hands subconsciously checked her hair, ensuring it was in place. As she saw her appearance, her eyes cast a downward glance and a bitter smile graced her lips.


    She continued on her solitary trek, her feet pounding the gravel streets and her ears graced by the laughter and life of the city. The two suns were already high in the sky and the clouds were far off in the distance, nary a worry of rain or bad weather.


    As she walked along she noticed things. Glances, murmurs, whispers and glares, all of which were common and at the same time, uncomfortable.


    ¡°Sigh, will there be a day where the words of others are pleasurable to the ears? Or will this be my life until the day I die?¡± As she thought these words, she stared at her hands, the dark undertone a constant reminder of who and what she was.


    Eventually the walk came to an end as she approached the inn. The earthen colored words that adorned the sign read as, ¡°The Lazy Hobbit.¡± Accompanying the words was a crudely painted picture of a hobbit as it slept under the shade of the sign. The words and the midday light really gave the illusion of a hobbit sleeping the day away.


    The bell gave a jingle as she made her way in, acknowledging the glances of her co-workers. The entrance of the inn hosted the tavern as well, and the lack of customers was a usual sight during the day.


    ¡°Seria! Did you get the ingredients?¡±, A plump woman with a friendly face popped her head out from the kitchen.


    ¡°Yes Holly! I was able to get everything on the list accept for Salamandra Spice, looks like the prices went up a bit again.¡± Seria just sighed and shook her head.


    ¡°Pity, and it used to be so cheap too! Well I suppose I can substitute it with some Phoenotian Peppers, but everything that comes from the Spice Islands has been going up in price recently.¡± The stockish woman simply held her face in worry as she thought about the inflation that has appeared recently.


    ¡°There, there, we can work it out! For now let¡¯s finish the preparations for rush hour! This place will be bustling in a matter of hours!¡± Syria refused to let her benefactor wear such a glum expression.


    The older woman just smiled as they set out to do their work.


    Shortly after, the din of the evening made its way through the windows and evening customers began to trickle in.


    ¡°Oi! Barmaid! Another round o¡¯er here!¡±


    Seria rushed too and from as she was called by one customer after another. She did her best to stay professional, but the customers were getting more and more difficult to handle as the night went on.


    ¡°Hyahyahya!¡± One particularly drunken man grabbed her hand as she was leaving the table.


    Seria squealed but quickly quelled her surprise. In a voice slightly higher than normal she tried to reason with the man, ¡°Dear customer, please let me go! I have to- kya!¡± the man pulled her closer, so close that she could see the enlarged pores of his nose and smell the stench of alcohol and meat on his breath.


    ¡°Come on missy! There is more to servin¡¯ a man then wine and meat!¡± The man leaned in to kiss her and she struggled to break free, furiously kicking and scratching but refusing to scream.


    ¡°Ah, sir? The lady doesn¡¯t seem to like it.¡± Out of the corner of her eye, Seria saw a hooded man eating dinner while seated in the furthest corner of the room.


    The brute ignored the man, either because he was to far to hear or because the brutish man did not care.


    ¡°Ah! Sir! That¡¯s not right!¡± Seeing how the drunken man continued to grab Seria, the man stood up with a start and tried to come between the two of them.


    Unexpectedly, when he grabbed the drunk man, the hooded male appeared to be twice as tall and twice as wide, so he was pulled away from Seria with ease.


    This left an out of breath and flushed barmaid panting from exhaustion to one side and a drunken brute far away to the other, both wide-eyed and confused by the turn of events.


    Seria was shocked stiff, unfortunately drunk was not. And in his confusion he lunged at Seria, pulling at her hair.


    ¡°Kya!¡± She screamed as she dropped to the floor kicking the ground with her feet as she went, trying to escape her assailant.


    ¡°Hey! Enough of that!¡± The man in the hood interrupted once again, this time less gently. As the confused girl ran and the drunk man chased, he stepped between them once again and threw a straight right into the man¡¯s abdomen, launching him several feet vertically and several more feet back.


    ¡°Piss off and go home! That¡¯s no way to treat a lady!¡± The man¡¯s face was still hidden but he was obviously displeased.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.Seria was frightened. She huddled up on the ground, covering her head with her arms.


    The man in the hood turned his attention towards her, ¡°Miss? Are you okay?¡±


    Seria was still panicking, ¡°I¡¯m fine! Thank you for your help, but I am fine!¡± She screamed these words at him and continued to clutch her head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them see! Don¡¯t let them see! Don¡¯t let them see!¡± These desperate thoughts rushed through her mind as she continued to hide herself behind her frail little arms.


    ¡°Huh? Did you get hurt? Here, let me help.¡± The stranger reached down to help her, trying to part her hands so he might assess the damage.


    ¡°Hiii! I¡¯m fine! I am not hurt! Let me go!¡± Seria screamed. Despite the strange man¡¯s good will, that was the last thing she needed at the moment.


    At this point just about the entire tavern had focused its attention on the commotion that was caused. The drunk man was already out cold from his brief flying experience and his friends were having a merry time laughing at his expense.


    Holly saw what had happened and was trying to make her way to the fallen Seria.


    ¡°Hold it!¡± She cried out these words as she tried to force her way through the crowd. Her stocky frame was hindering her movements and the concerned stranger ignored Seria¡¯s words.


    ¡°Now, now, I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± His voice and words were gentle, but that did not matter.


    To Seria he was the devil incarnate. With ease he pulled her arms away from her face.


    Without any obstruction he could clearly see that she was alright and that no harm had befallen her. He made a sigh of relief, that was until he noticed something he wasn¡¯t expecting. ¡°Pointed. . . ears?¡±


    Seria froze with shock and started to shiver with fear.


    The sight of her ears caused an uproar as people started to speak.


    ¡°Pointed ears? But she has dark skin!¡±


    ¡°How can she be a dark elf? Look at her eyes!¡±


    ¡°So what if they aren¡¯t red? It¡¯s obvious she¡¯s a mutt!¡±


    The conversations in the tavern were taking a turn for the worst with Seria as the topic.


    All she could do was cry as she huddled her head, trying to hide the obvious shame that she felt.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?! Get away from her!¡± Holly finally made it through the maze of people and found herself beside Seria. The hooded man was the first to be pushed away from Seria in her mad rush.


    Holly glared at all the people that crowded around her employee before pulling her from the floor and guiding her away from the scene.


    Though the customers had a new focus for the evening and were discussing amongst one another with heated fervor.


    ¡°That girl has been here for ages! I refuse to believe that the inn hasn¡¯t known she was one of them!¡±


    ¡°More likely that they are supporters, I bet you they will be receiving a visit from a Moderator soon. This behaviour is clearly against the teachings of the Holy Legend''s Church!¡±


    The gossip created a tension so thick that one could cut it with a knife. Some of the guests just up and left then and there refusing to pay! Saying they would not support an establishment that allowed members of the Nightosphere to work there! One of the customers went so far as to say the Innkeeper was just a taller member of the dwarf species!


    The hooded man with nothing but good intentions tried to say something, anything to stop the growing dislike of the crowd but his words fell on deaf ears. He grew angry at the prospect of the trouble he might have caused and was about to start something until a delicate white hand gripped his cloak.


    H quickly turned ready to fight whoever dared to grab him only to stop short when he saw who it was.


    ¡°Big brother, don¡¯t.¡± The owner of the little voice had a little figure as well as a small presence. Most of the customers at the inn probably didn¡¯t notice that the little lady was sitting at the same table as the hooded man.


    The man tried to refute, ¡°Abi, I-!¡±


    The girl cut him off by shaking her head, ¡°Don¡¯t bother, at this point big brother has done more harm than good.¡±


    Under his hood the man bit his lip while making a complicated expression. Even though she could not really see his face the girl knew what he was thinking. ¡°Sigh~ Alright, we can help, we shouldn¡¯t make a move right now though.¡±


    The man¡¯s mood immediately brightened. He pulled the little girl into a hug and rubbed his cheek against hers. ¡°Aw~ Abi is so sweet~¡±


    ¡°Ah! Big brother stop! You¡¯re going to get makeup on me!¡± The little girl cutely screamed as she tried to free herself from her brother¡¯s monstrous grip. Luckily the other customers were to busy talking about the recent event to bother with the girls odd comment just then.

 Chapter 2: Going Home

    Hello Everyone, thank you so much for reading my story. I really appreciate all the readers that decided to take a look these last few days. I know that most of the readers here are because of my author friends on royal road legends that include Mickr4 and Diamon. I swear, I did not put them up to it and both of them have read ahead in the story because I was asking for their opinions. This chapter was proofread by CaptainRatchet and Kyren. Thank you so much to the both of you! I really appreciate any help I can get!


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    ¡°Run, run, run!¡± Seria ran up the stairs, her only route of escape. Her feet pounded the rugged wood floors and her breath hastened. Fear and panic began to take root in her heart. Her first thoughts were to get to her room, get provisions and get out.


    It was a scene that had played endlessly in her mind. She knew full well that leaving was more of an  eventuality, rather than a possibility. Faced with such an inevitability, Seria made preparations long ago, but plans and reality rarely correspond.


    As a flourishing inn there were bound to be customers up and about, especially at such a busy time like dinner. In her mad rush, with tears blurring her eyes, she failed to notice a door of one of the rooms opening until it was already in her face.


    BANG! She ran into the sturdy wooden door at full speed, caught completely off guard. The door frame shook from the impact and she gracelessly fell on her bum, making a pitiful sight.


    The gentleman  that opened the door quickly made motions to help her, ¡°Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I did not mean to - eh? Ears?¡± His look of concern immediately transitioned to a look of confusion, then a look of horror.


    The sound of heavy footfalls came from behind Seria. Whether Holly, or anyone else, tried to help Seria, it didn¡¯t matter. The time she had wasted with the man had allowed her pursuers to catch up to her.


    ¡°Eh? Dark elf? Nightosphere? Se-seriously?¡± The man that had knocked Seria over was shocked still, stuttering and sweating while stuck there.


    Seria did not have time to waste on him. She immediately jumped up and pushed him out of the way.


    ¡°Gyah!¡± The pitiful man screamed in terror, ¡°Attacked! It attacked me!¡± His pained wails echoed through the halls, reverberating in everyone¡¯s hearts and minds, reaffirming their belief that Seria was a menace to be dealt with.


    In truth, the scrawny man was so fearful that his mind automatically caused him to believe that this was the case. The deep rooted fear of those from the nightosphere overrode any logic he might have had to deal with the situation. If one were to actually take a good look at him, himself included, they would have noted that the man was perfectly fine, albeit a bit scared.


    Seria heard his words and felt pain in her heart. The tears that had started earlier showed no signs of stopping as they trailed behind her.


    ¡°Wake up! Get up! There is a dark elf at the inn!¡±


    ¡°There is a dark one in town! Gather the guard!¡±


    ¡°Someone alert the church! Get a moderator here!¡±


    Her presence was stirring quite the reaction as more and more voices joined together in a cry for her blood.


    Whether these men had intentions of doing anything with her once caught was beside the point. Once in hand, they would immediately give her over to the church; her fate would be sealed.


    The only way out was up. The ground floor was practically sealed by men searching for her, and the floors following from there were getting more difficult to pass as the lodgers joined the chase.


    Eventually, she reached the roof. The suns had descended, and the last rays of hope along with them. Seria was stuck up on the top of the inn, buffeted by the chilled evening air.


    In her haste, and desperation, she quickly ran to the edge of the building, hoping to spot a way down. Unfortunately, all the buildings in every direction were a good distance from the place she currently was.


    A while back, the kingdom had implemented new fire safety hazards that required buildings housing more than fifty occupants to be set further from other establishments. This life-saving measure actually showed itself as a harbinger during the little girl''s troubled times.


    Seria leaned over as far as she could to see the gravel streets below, they were a good four stories down, an unreasonable jump for any person. Her eyes skimmed the walls of the building, searching for anything, for any way out.


    It was while she searched in desperation that she failed to notice that the sounds chasing her had changed, that the loudest sound was no longer the sound of shouts, but the blowing of the wind.


    In her concentration, she failed to notice a shadow approach her in the dark.


    ¡°No don¡¯t do it!¡± A shout came from right beside her as she felt herself being tackled to the ground.


    ¡°Eep!¡± Seria could not help but let out a high-pitched squeal as she was caught by surprise.


    She was dazed for a moment as she rolled onto her back, hair sprawled out and facing the sky. In front of her was a strange man wearing a hood. She could not see his face, but his strangely annoying voice pricked at her conscience.


    Before  she could react or so much as get a word out, the man began to ramble nonsense, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t jump! You are a beautiful young girl with so much life to live! I mean, sure your boobs aren¡¯t the biggest out there, and you don¡¯t necessarily have the most beautiful face, but I am sure they will grow as you mature! Girls your age should not be thinking about jumping, and should instead be thinking about dating accomplished young men such as myself. . .¡±


    The man just kept on talking, and talking. . . and talking. . .


    Seria just laid there with a stiff expression unsure of how to respond. Should she first yell at him for calling her suicidal, or for calling her flat-chested? No! That¡¯s not the point, she was being chased!


    After clearing her head with a shake, she tried to push the man off her but. . . she couldn¡¯t! What was this man made of? It was like he was the stone foundation of a building! No matter how hard she struggled, the man wouldn¡¯t budge!


    She grew flustered as she began to realize her situation. Not only was she being chased, but she was also pinned under a strange man! The situation was dangerous in more ways than one! In addition, the man was still talking! Just now it seemed as if he wasn¡¯t talking about Seria in particular, but rather the different types of beauties there are in the world!


    ¡°Big brother. . .¡± Then came the voice of an angel, and, much to Seria¡¯s surprise, the incessant ramblings of the strange man stopped.


    ¡°Eh? Abi? What¡¯s up?¡± Seria followed the man¡¯s gaze and noticed that he was staring at a beautiful girl with a cherub-like appearance. Her rosy complexion and childish looks combined to give her the ultimate appearance of purity of innocence. The only thing missing from the visual was a sweet smile that was brighter than the suns.


    The little girl opened her mouth, Seria found herself anticipating what the sweet little girl was going to say, imagining all sorts of wonderful words that could accompany such a precious voice. Too bad her expectations were shattered the next moment. With a deadpan expression and a monotone voice, the sweet child said, ¡°Big brother is an idiot.¡±


    . . .


    Seria was shocked, but not as much as the idiot big brother. Despite the awkward position he was in, the man froze like a statue. He looked so shocked that Seria swore she saw him crumbling into pieces.


    The next sight was even more baffling, the little girl that claimed the strange man as her big brother walked over and simply grabbed the man¡¯s sleeve, and, with what seemed to be practiced ease, pulled the man away from Seria.


    Instantly reacting, she clambered back on her feet and stared, wide-eyed, at the strange sight. Not only had this tiny little thing managed to shock the man that she couldn¡¯t move, she also effortlessly pulled the man off of her with strength uncharacteristic to her size.


    ¡°Oi! This man that is heavier than a boulder and stronger than a dragon, despite his pitiful appearance, just got dragged away by a little girl! I¡¯m delusional! That¡¯s must be it! A simple hallucination! None of this is can be real!¡± Seria began to feel faint. Although she was familiar with being on the run, this nonsensical pair drove her to the brink of her sanity. Their actions simply were too strange for the situation at hand! Confused, afraid, and light-headed, she could no longer pay any attention to her surroundings.


    She stumbled backwards while clutching her head, as if in an attempt to keep the madness of the situation out. ¡°Haha! This is just a dream! A really bad dream! I am just sleeping peacefully in my bed with nothing to worry about.¡±


    Her feet had once again met the edge of the roof, she quickly turned around, not to jump or escape, but to search for something, anything that could tell her if these odd things were real or not.


    The idiot did not see this as such though. When he saw Seria leaning over the edge again, he immediately snapped out of his stupor. He once again assumed that she wanted to jump, and grabbed her arm. This did not become a life-saving action though. Seria was so surprised by the suddenness of the action that she abruptly turned while standing on the ledge, losing her balance.


    In addition, as though the gods thought that all this was not enough, an especially strong wind, uncharacteristic of summer, blew at that exact moment, forcing both Seria and the man off the edge of the building.


    The sudden sensation of weightlessness took hold, and Seria found herself screaming as she clung to the only thing near her. It all happened so quickly that she didn¡¯t even have time to scream. The wails of the wind whipped past her, but did little to slow their fall. She quickly closed her eyes, expecting a strong impact.


    Her expectations were never met. There was an impact, yes, but the pain and oblivion of death never came. After waiting a good moment she slowly opened her eyes. What she saw baffled her in multiple ways. The cloaked man, that crazy man, the same one that had tackled her to the ground spouting nonsense based off of misunderstandings, was now sitting beneath her holding her in his arms.


    He smiled awkwardly before speaking, ¡°Ah, not that I mind you on top of me, really, I don¡¯t! You¡¯re not heavy in the least, but don¡¯t you think we could do this in a different time, in a different place?¡±


    Seria was baffled, sure the situation was serious, but that was not what had her speechless. She wanted to say thank you, she truly did! After all that strange man had saved her, but something else was at the forefront of her mind. Throughout all the events that happened in that short amount of time the man¡¯s hood had fallen to reveal his face, and the view shocked her. One could say that the sight of his face was more shocking than anything else she had experienced that day!


    At the sight of his face there was only one thought on her mind, ¡°. . . Tr-transvestite?¡±


    There was too much make-up! Even a women in the ¡®service¡¯ industry did not wear as much makeup as this man! Additionally, he did not have an effeminate face so the awful coloring used, and the over-abundance of powder and rouge, made it seem that someone was trying to make a woman out of this man!


    ¡°Ah. . . no way. . .¡± The man cracked! Seria swore she saw it! It was like he was smiling while trying to be dashing, and her comment literally made him crack!


    She didn¡¯t know how it happened, but the man slithered out from underneath her, only to go huddle up a few feet away covered in gloom. Not that she did not appreciate what he did for her, or the fact that he was respecting her by removing himself from her, but was all that really necessary? Drawing circles in the dirt and clutching his knees like a child?


    ¡°Ah, o-oi. . .¡± Seria tried to get his attention, but the gloom was too strong! She felt as though her words wouldn¡¯t reach him even if she tried to speak.


    Suddenly a little voice called out to him. ¡°Big brother.¡±


    Seria jumped in surprise to see that the little hooded girl from early was by her side, calling out to the man.


    ¡°Eh? W-when did she get there?!¡± Seria cried out in shock, but the little girl ignored her as she walked past Seria and started nudging the man.


    ¡°I told you that you need help with your makeup.¡± The little girl told him this with an emotionless voice.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. . .¡± The man spoke with a sullen voice, then, to the shock of Seria, he jumped up and screamed loudly, ¡°What I can¡¯t believe is how she didn¡¯t notice my manly charms! I was under her! UNDER HER! She should have at least felt something down there!¡±


    Seria was confused for a moment, until she realised that when she was on the ground with him she had been straddling the man.


    Realization dawned on her, ¡°He, he can¡¯t be referring to THAT can he?¡±


    Seria turned her body away from the man while hugging herself. Her face was red and she shot a dirty look at the man. She felt violated by his words.


    ¡°I mean seriously! She was right there! It¡¯s not the least bit small so she should have felt something, right? Right?¡± The man continued ranting, drawing looks from his present company and others as well.


    ¡°Come on sis, back me up on this! You know your brother is a manly man, right? You know that I have a sizeable manhood, right?¡±


    ¡°You damn pervert! Shut up!¡± Seria could not help but retort at the man.


    Just the fact that he was acting like this made her feel dirty.


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    The man scoffed, ¡°I am not a pervert. I am merely a lover of all! If that makes me a pervert then all men are perverts!¡±


    ¡°A-a lover of all? Men too?¡± Seria was petrified.


    ¡°Humph, why not? If they are decent looking then they deserve to be loved too!¡± The man stated this as if it was one of the great truths of the world.


    Seria turned green, imagining this makeup wearing pervert with either a man or a woman made her feel sick.


    ¡°Enough!¡± A shout came from the forming crowd. Seria and company ceased their movements.


    Out from the fully formed mob came a figure in majestic armor. Even in the dim lights of the moon and streetlights, an observer could still witness the full splendor of his uniform.


    ¡°Shh! Look it¡¯s a Moderator!¡±


    ¡°The church is really getting involved with that wench! Could it be she is a wanted heretic?¡±


    ¡°Make way! Let the Moderator through.¡±


    The crowd parted as much as a tall individual cloaked in vibrant red armor passed through. This man had an imposing aura. Despite the obvious seriousness of the situation, he still had the time to smile lightly at the scene in front of him.


    Once he drew closer, the crowd could see his light green hair in the flickering light of the street lamps. This intimidating figure was the local moderator for the church. In normal circumstances, the moderator would have the strength necessary to deal with any nightosphere insurgents that might attack. However, Char Verdant was no ordinary moderator. The son of a noble, and a genius in weaponry, Char Verdant was one of the most powerful moderators in the upper echelons of the church.


    His eyes, colored red from both the glare of the torchlight and its natural pigment, focused on the pitiful sight of a small and powerless Nightosphere girl. His eyes gleamed with amusement, he was well aware of his station compared to hers.


    Seria was frozen, just the aura that radiated from the man in armor was enough to make her feel faint. That was the strength of moderators, their very presence exuded pressure on the weak.


    The moderator ignored the crowds, focusing his eyes solely on Seria. There, in that moment, only the two of them existed.


    From where Seria was standing, everything slowed. Her hands began to shake from fear, but she hadn¡¯t noticed because her body had grown numb. Her eyes widened in terror, the sounds around her slowly faded out until all she could hear was the sound of gravel submitting under the moderator¡¯s boots.


    What seemed like an eternity to the poor girl was mere seconds in reality,


    The moderator moved at a leisurely pace, as though he was assured to reach Seria without any complications. Though he was right, Seria made no efforts to run, or even to move. Her figure was frozen in that same spot, cold sweat pouring out from every inch of her body. In mere moments she was drenched.


    The strange man had quickly pulled up his hood and watched as the space between the moderator and the girl shrank.


    The moderator just stopped short of the girl, a smirk on his face. The crowd was boisterous as they cheered on the moderator, all of which was ignored by the man in question.


    The moderator turned his gaze towards the hooded man, ¡°You there, I must thank you for keeping the suspect at the scene until I arrived.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, as if that was my intention.¡±


    The moderator raised his brow slightly in shock, ¡° Oh? Then what was your intention?¡± A light smirk flitted on his lips.


    Man in the hood smiled an unseen smile, ¡°To save her of course!¡±


    After those words, he dashed forward, lashing out with a whiplike kick that connected at the moderator¡¯s stomach. The sudden impact sent him flying several feet. He remained standing, but an expression of evident surprise was on his face.


    He held his hand to his stomach, and noticed, that despite the fact that he was wearing high-grade armor he still felt pain run through him.


    ¡°Tch, you! Do you know who I am?¡± The moderator¡¯s eyes were ablaze with fury.


    The man in the hood slowly retracted his leg to his side. ¡°Hmph, of course I do! And I also know that you are no match for me.¡±


    The man in armor¡¯s face twisted, he pointed at the hooded man and shouted out furiously, ¡°You! I demand to know your name!¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡± The man snorted, ¡°To exchange names it is required that we are equals,¡± his voice was snide as he said this. Then his voice turned sharp, ¡°Char Verdant.¡± it became quite clear that the mysterious man already knew the name of his opponent.


    Seria watched this short exchange and sucked in a breath of fresh air. Though danger still lingered she was no longer under the same pressure as before.


    The moderator named Char Verdant smirked, ¡°If that¡¯s the case. . .Then I will force you!¡±


    With those words he kicked off the ground, leaving gouges in the earth and throwing dust into the air. In the blink of an eye, Char was before his opponent, his right hand open and nearing the hooded man¡¯s head.


    A resounding boom trembled through the air as the two opponents made contact. Both the moderator and the strange man had assumed combat positions. The crowd could see as the dust settled, the strange position both men were in. The two combatants with frozen arms locked, yet neither budging an inch.


    What appeared to be a still scene to spectators was actually a fierce battle of power! Both opponents were heavily pushing against the other.


    Char Verdant gave a boisterous laugh, ¡°Though a foe, I must admit you have some strength! Let¡¯s see if it¡¯s enough to back your earlier claim!¡±


    In the eyes of all the crowd Char looked as though his flesh gave birth to flames. Fire raged from his body and snaked around his torso and limbs, creating a dazzling and blinding scene on the dark evening.


    He suddenly shifted his weight back before rocking forth and sending the fire with his movement, scorching towards the hooded man that was already in close proximity.


    The target of such a fiery onslaught was not willing to remain in place. Once he felt the moderator¡¯s weight lessen he already predicted the next move and had leapt in the air, shifting his hand so it was on top of the other man¡¯s and forcing himself in the air using his opponent as leverage.


    The flames roared through empty space before reaching the viewers, burning the people. At this point there were screams in the air rippling through the silence of night. The circumference of the makeshift ring grew by several sizes after that, but the combatants did not notice.


    The hooded man had leapt quite a way up into the air, far above the ground. Then, he did the impossible, and kicked off the air while directing himself higher and higher up.


    Char widened his eyes for a moment before shouting at the flitting shadow in indignation, ¡°Are you a man? A wee bit of fire and you flee!?¡±


    Seria watched this ridiculous fight, well aware that this was something that only truly powerful entities were capable of. . .and it was only the beginning!


    Char¡¯s blood was seething, his aura radiated bloodlust that was all directed at one man. In his anger the flames cloaking his body grew in both size and temperature. The ground around him started to glow and crackle under the heat. The air around him blurred and his appearance grew more devilish.


    Suddenly he lashed out with his hands, directing streams of flames that danced about in the air and chased the shadow of his opponent.


    However, no matter how strong the flame, or how many streams of flames joined the fierce dance in the air, they never touched the figure. A moment later the figure seemed to disappear.


    The moderator roared out, fury fueled his thoughts and the streams of flame coalesced into a fire tornado with Char Verdant as the eye of the storm.


    Seria could only watch from a distance, doing her best not to get dragged into the howling maelstrom of fire. No one was paying attention to her anymore. Then, she noticed a small figure standing beside the tornado. Her eyes widened with both shock and fear, her thoughts no longer about her own safety.


    The little figure was that of the sweet girl that she had met just recently, the little angel named Abi.


    Seria cried out, hoping her words could conquer the roar of the fire, ¡°Stop! Come back! It¡¯s too dangerous there!¡± She screamed and screamed until her throat was hoarse, yet the sound never reached the little girl.


    She grit her teeth in determination. Despite her fear of the flames, she ran towards the small figure in an attempt to pull her away from the ever growing fire.


    The torrent of malicious energies were flailing about her, but Abi was not thrown away or burned. It was a miracle that she was so close to the flames without turning to ashes, but Seria did not notice, her only thoughts were of how to rescue the small girl as she took each agonizing step forward.


    Though as if to deny her efforts, the little girl was moving forward too, effortlessly advancing towards the moderator that had yet to notice her presence. It wasn¡¯t until her hand was actually touching his flames that he noticed a change in the flow of energy.


    Seria was now so close to the flames that the heat made it impossible for her to keep her eyes open, she collapsed to her knees. The gravel streets were glowing, burning her wherever it touched her. The air burned her throat and lungs making her already useless vision turn black as she felt her consciousness fade. Although she could barely see, she blinked her eyes a few times in an attempt to stave off the darkness encroaching her senses.


    What she saw should be impossible, the blinding light was dying down and the figure of the small girl stood strong at the focal point of the fire. Though, that was all Seria could make out as her thoughts slipped away.


    Though seemingly impossible, what Seria had seen in her last moments of consciousness was actually reality. A small girl that looked to be no older than ten was standing side by side a moderator, and appeared to be absorbing the man¡¯s flames.


    Cautious of the new opponent, Char Verdant lept back several feet, creating distance between himself and the strange girl.


    ¡°You, how are you able to manipulate my energies?¡± His words were directed towards the small girl, who was clearly not all that she seemed.


    The girl stood there expressionless, then as if in thought she tilted her head slightly, ¡°How was that manipulating?¡±


    Char gnashed his teeth, ¡°You! Don¡¯t play stupid with me, girl! Are you one of them also? A nightosphere? How else could you force my flames to disappear! Only a high ranking elementalist has the comprehension skills to manipulate elements created by another person¡¯s energies, and I doubt such a young thing like you could achieve that!¡±


    The girl tilted her head back again, ¡°Hmmm, I see how you could reach such a conclusion, but I think your thoughts are flawed. I wasn¡¯t manipulating anything, but I also don¡¯t see why I need to explain any of that to you.¡± Her voice was as expressionless as her face, yet Char felt as though there was arrogance laced with those words.


    He prepared to attack, drawing his sword for the first time since the match began.


    ¡°Ah,¡± The girl spoke out, ¡°If you are going to do that, then we can¡¯t play here anymore, put that away.¡±


    ¡°Play? You think this is a game? After I defeat you, I will find that shadow and take the lot of you into custody!¡± The moderator was serious. Earlier he had been fighting for the sake of fighting, but this girl posed a serious threat. He could no longer mess around.


    The little girl sighed while shaking her head, ¡°Big brother was having so much fun too. Oh well, we need to head back anyway.¡±


    The girl turned away, ignoring Char entirely.


    ¡°Hey, you think I won¡¯t strike you just because your back is turned!¡± He was hesitant, no matter the strength of an opponent, this was simply too much!


    ¡°Heh,¡± It was the first time Abi had shown any sign of emotion since she had first appeared, ¡°If you can, go for it.¡± Her small figure had already reached the fallen Seria.


    Char Verdant was about to retort again when the world began to spin. He hadn¡¯t noticed, but his earlier opponent had already appeared behind him, and struck him before he could react. The strike had such speed that the victim did not even feel it.


    The strange man looked down at the crumpled figure on the ground before approaching the girls in calm strides.


    ¡°So, what do you think we should do with her?¡± The strange man looked at the burns that covered Seria.


    ¡°. . .Take her home. . .¡± Abi spoke after a moment''s thought.


    The man raised his brow in surprise. ¡°Oh? She made that much of an impression on you?¡±


    The small figure pointed at the multiple burns covering Seria, ¡°She tried. . . to save me.¡±


    His eyes widened for a moment as if he just had a sudden realization, ¡°Hahaha! That certainly was brave! I see why you would like her! Very well, we¡¯ll take her!¡±


    Abi nodded before reaching out to touch Seria, silently, the burns on her skin rapidly faded. Oddly enough, in the same places on Abi, several severe burns were appearing. Once she was finished, Seria was perfectly fine, not a blemish in sight.


    The man reached out his own hand and offered it to his sister, which she took. Then, a sight that had happened just moments before on Seria, repeated itself again. Expect this time only the healing process occurred, the burns never appeared on the man.


    If Seria was awake to witness this she would have been shocked, but she was not so she could only be carried by the strange man as the three of them disappeared into the night.

 Chapter 3: Monsters Are People Too

    Author''s Note: Hello everyone. I would love to give you a long list of reasons why I have been gone for so long, but I am fairly certain you don''t care. I just hope that you guys will enjoy this next chapter and will post comments and reviews.


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    A frightened little girl was sitting on the ground in a simple wooden hut. Her thoughts were disoriented, the surroundings both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Everything around her seemed vague, as though reality would slip away at any moment. Then came the heat, fire fueled by rage and hatred. Her wooden shelter was quickly eaten up, devoured by the ravenous flames.


    The little girl was screamed, begging and pleading unseen figures. She was surrounded by unknown voices that just barely conquered the fierce crackling of the flames. The voices carried fear and concern, yet there were other, more ugly voices that held a note of ferociousness. The little girl could do nothing. All that was in her power had slipped away, shut away and hidden long ago.


    Unable to help and unable to fight she simply clutched her head between her knees, sobbing her eyes out as the flames consumed her too. The voices stopped. . .


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    Seria lurched forward, flinging the linens away from her body. Her eyes were wide with terror, her chest heaved with each breath as she desperately took in air. It took her a moment to take in her surroundings before she could calm her nerves.


    As she looked around she immediately noticed that she appeared to be in a hospital room, a far cry from the fiery storm last imprinted in her memory. The room was simplistic yet clean, she looked down to check herself and noticed that she was now adorning a clean white dress. Her fingers pressed into the fabric as she kneaded it in her hands feeling the materials as she ascertained her situation.


    ¡°A new place and new clothes. What exactly happened?¡± Her thoughts were confused.


    ¡°I, I should have died. . . right? The fire, and. . . the Moderator. Is this the church!?¡± Once she reached that terrifying conclusion, Seria started to look around the room in panic. ¡°What can I do? There is nothing here!¡±


    Her eyes swept over the room several times, but there was no weapons around. Then, her gaze settled on a table and chair set in the corner of the room. It took only a moment of hesitation before she jumped to her feet and grabbed the chair, dragging it as quietly as possible to beside the door, where she stood and waited.


    Seria did not try the door, she did not dare. If there was a guard on the other side, she feared that the noise would alert him. In her mind, the only option was to wait until they came for her and hope that she could cause enough distraction to escape.


    Time went by, slowly. Her muscles grew stiff as she stood in place, refusing to move.


    *click*


    Seria tensed at the sound, her grip tightened around the chair. Once the shadow of a figure cleared the door she swung, bringing the chair down as fast as she could.


    The impact sound was light, far lighter than she expected. She looked and saw that the figure had caught the leg of the chair in his outstretched hand.


    The man simply shoved the chair away from himself before casually looking at at his assailant. Seria was shocked stiff, his gaze carried a heavy aura that weighed down on her being. The atmosphere was so stifling she almost felt as though she could not breath.


    Seeing who it was, the heavy aura from the man immediately dissipated.


    ¡°Oh? It¡¯s just you~¡± The man lurched closer to Seria, golden eyes staring into hers from beneath the hood.


    ¡°That- that voice!¡± Seria¡¯s blood burned as she recognized the man from the nightmarish events that just recently occurred.


    The man acted idiotic as always though as he rambled on again, ¡°You know, you had us all worried when you passed out like that! And targeting your benefactor is just rude! I mean all I did was fondle you a little~¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Ret. You are the rude one. And you are scaring her!¡± A woman entered the room as well.


    This woman was a stunning beauty. Her figure was fully matured and alluring, her attitude dignified and noble, her overall aura left one feeling insignificant in her presence. From the top of her head to the base of her feet she was the image of perfection. The color of her hair was a deep shade of black reminiscent of onyx and her eyes sharply contrasted with a pale shade of blue. Her face was an adorable and narrow heart shape yet it still retained her mature and womanly appearance.


    Her actions were in direct opposition to her appearance though. The new addition to the room bashed Ret from behind, forcing the his head down in the process. Seria took advantage of this and instantly reacted as well, as soon as the woman¡¯s hand was clear she brought the chair bearing down on Ret¡¯s head, creating a resounding smack.


    ¡°You damned bastard! Who do you think you are!? Benefactor!? More like tormentor! After years of searching. . .I finally found them! People that accepted who and what I was but you destroyed it!¡± Tears began streaming down her face. The stress of the situation and her overwhelming emotions hit Seria at once.


    She continued her assault with the chair until her hands were full of splinters and the chair shattered from the abuse. Ret was perfectly fine, but both he and the woman were at a loss for words.


    The man tried to reach out but she slapped his hand away.  He pulled back his hand, clenching it tight. In a voice barely a whisper he spoke, ¡°I was only trying to help. . .¡±


    Seria ignored his pained words and screamed back at him, ¡°What does it matter if you end up destroying everything!¡±


    Seria collapsed on the floor. The flood of tears ran down her cheeks and her sobs of sorrow echoed in the room.


    Ret looked as if he wanted to say something, he made several attempts to reach for her, but he held back. Those few seconds stretched out into an eternity until he finally came to a decision. He started to exit, before leaving the room he turned to his female companion, ¡°Claire, take care of her.¡±


    The woman nodded in understanding, ¡°It¡¯s not the first time someone came here in such a state. She¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Ret hesitated at the door, ¡°I hope so. . .¡± With that his figure vanished beyond the doorframe and a slight click was heard and the door closed behind him.


    With Ret out of the way, Claire turned her attention to Seria and let out a sigh. With graceful movements she went to the bed and grabbed the blanket before walking back over to Seria and draping the blanket over her shoulders. Then she sat across from her and held her hand, lightly cooing words of comfort.


    Seria and Claire stayed like that for several minutes until Seria calmed down.


    Sniffling, Seria spoke, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to bother you miss. . .¡±


    Claire smiled gently, ¡°Heh, I¡¯m too old to be a miss, just call me Claire, and I am sorry to ask this, but I still don¡¯t know your name.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Seria Stonewell.¡± Seria paused, ¡°I hate to ask, but where am I?¡±


    Claire jerked a bit, her smile stiff and awkwardly frozen on her face, ¡°Well Seria, it is a pleasure to meet you. As for where we are, I am afraid that I can not divulge that information at this time. I would like to ask that you be patient for now, but be rest assured that no harm will come to you while you are here.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Seria looked down again, ¡°I see. . .¡±


    Claire carefully watched her expressions, ¡°I am curious, what is a dark elf doing living in a human town? Especially one that houses a temple for the Legendary Heroes Church.¡±


    Seria looked Claire in the eyes, ¡°Look at me, what do you see?¡±


    Claire observed Seria, taking in her entire appearance. ¡°Mixed blood is not that uncommon, I don¡¯t see why you had to live there of all places.¡±


    Claire was genuinely confused. People with mixed blood often blended in with others unnoticed. It was often difficult to distinguish those of multiple bloodlines from those of pure ones.


    ¡°Look closer, at my eyes, and what do you see.¡± Seria pressed harder, staring intently at Claire.


    Claire looked again, trying to take in every detail of Seria¡¯s appearance. Then it suddenly came to her, a look of understanding appeared on Claire¡¯s face, ¡°Your eyes, are not red.¡±


    Seria scoffed, ¡°Precisely. A dark elf is not born with red eyes, it is a side effect that only appears in our race when the accumulation of energy in our bodies reach a certain point. I can¡¯t wield energy. Whether both of my parents were elven kin doesn¡¯t matter, no dark elf wants a useless child like me. Without the overaccumulation of energy slowing down my aging I age about the same as a normal human, so I might as well live with them. At least then I would age and die at the same rate as those around me¡±


    Seria paused before snapping at Claire, ¡°So you tell me, why would I live in a human town?¡±


    Apologising, Claire spoke, ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know.¡±


    Seria turned away, burying herself further into the blanket, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. That idiot ruined everything anyway. . .¡±


    The two girls awkwardly sat in silence, Claire was uncomfortably fidgeting where she sat. Eventually Seria spoke again, ¡°So what are you?¡±


    ¡°Hm? What do you mean.¡± Claire couldn¡¯t help but ask, her eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.


    ¡°You may look human, but it is pretty rare for a human to hold a normal conversation with a dark elf.¡± Seria spoke resolutely, years of persecution had taught her that humans, like her benefactor Holly, were few and far between.


    ¡°Hoh? Well, though that may be true, not all humans hate the nightosphere. Why would you say I am not human?¡± Claire was intrigued, this little girl was quite keen for someone in such a state of emotional distress.


    ¡°That man, the one you call Ret, is a monster. A verifiable freak of nature that fought toe to toe with a Moderator. You hit him and actually made him stumble. Assuming he wasn¡¯t faking it, you are much stronger than you look.¡± A glint of cunning flashed across Seria¡¯s eyes.


    Claire¡¯s eyes widened, then a beautiful smile stretched across her face as she joyously laughed. Originally she was worried about how she was going to take care of Seria, but her worries appeared to be unfounded. Sure, Seria was hurt and lost, but she did not let that rule her emotions.


    Claire smirked. She looked at Seria with a suspecting gaze. ¡°That is quite the mind you are hiding, I notice you are not crying anymore. You calmed down very fast for a person in your situation.¡±


    ¡°And you haven¡¯t told me what you are, quite good at redirecting conversations, aren¡¯t you?¡± Seria wasn¡¯t going to let up. The uproar of emotions that were prevalent earlier were now nowhere to be seen on her face. To be accurate, the rage, confusion and fear still dominated her, but years of running and fending for herself gave her the ability to hide these emotions.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Claire crossed her arms as she leaned back, staring at Seria all the while. ¡°Hmmm, I am a vampire. Satisfied?¡±


    ¡°Not really, what is that man?¡± Seria needed a clear understanding of her situation, and she would much rather deal with this woman than the idiot from before.


    Claire looked at Seria with a scrutinizing gaze, ¡°Mmmmm, I don¡¯t feel like saying.¡±


    ¡°. . .Is there a reason why not?¡± Seria was not prepared to let go.


    Claire held her chin while making a thoughtful look. Feeling a bit mischievous, she smiled villainously as she gave her answer, ¡°Well, if I tell you, then I would have to kill you~¡± Smiling cheerfully the vampire said tragic words.


    Seria sighed, she felt a headache coming on, all of the people she had been dealing with since she met Ret were completely irrational. That nonsensical little girl from the storm of flames; the crazy, bloodthirsty Moderator, Char Verdant; and now, a vampire named Claire with a flare for the mischevious.


    ¡°At least tell me you are being serious.¡± Seria did not know why she said this, but for some reason she felt the need to ask.


    ¡°Hohoho! Of course not!¡± Claire laughed in an over exaggerated manner.


    ¡°Then the reason why you won¡¯t tell me?¡± Seria was irritated now.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because you will freak out if I do tell you.¡± Claire smiled playfully while saying this.


    ¡°. . . Is he a dragon?¡± Seria probed.


    ¡°Nope~¡±


    ¡°Uggg, a changling?¡± She tried a little lower this time.


    ¡°Bzzzz!¡± Claire made a buzzing sound while holding her arms to form an X.


    ¡°. . . The demon lord? Maybe?¡± Seria was uncertain, there were only so many races or people that would warrant panic.


    ¡°Wrong again!¡± Claire was simply enjoying herself.


    Seria gave claire an apathetic look, ¡°I give up then.¡±


    ¡°Eh? But that would ruin all the fun!¡± Claire pouted a little.


    ¡°Are you sure you are older than me? Or are you so old you went crazy?¡± Seria was a little miffed at this point.


    ¡°Heh!¡± Claire retorted, ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that I am still fairly young for a member of my race!¡±


    ¡°And you are old compared to others. Now just tell me the answer.¡± Seria stopped, an idea dawned on her, ¡°Actually, don¡¯t I don¡¯t see how this information will be of use, you can keep it to yourself.¡±


    ¡°What!? Why would you change your mind!?¡± Claire was surprised by her sudden lack of interest.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see what use knowing his race will do me. I would prefer we just move on.¡± Seria did her best not to act interested.


    ¡°Eh?! You sure?! You will be really surprised! No! I bet you won¡¯t even believe it!¡± Claire was really confused by Seria¡¯s sudden lack of interest. On the inside she was a little disappointed, she wanted to tease Seria a bit more.


    ¡°Well, since you won¡¯t tell me I don''t know. I can only assume you are lying so you can tease me.¡± Seria acted as though she didn¡¯t care, then pushed further by indirectly calling Claire a liar.


    ¡°Wha-?! No! It¡¯s really unbelievable! Amazing actually! I swear!¡± Claire was a bit flustered now, leaning in close to Seria, as if bridging the distance between them would make Seria suddenly believe the sincerity in her words.


    Seria smirked, ¡°Heh, then prove it.¡±


    Although her eyes were still puffy from crying, Seria managed to perfectly pull off a condescending look that pushed Claire over the edge.


    ¡°Ugh! You don¡¯t believe me?! Alright! Tell me, what race has blue skin but has neither scales nor feathers?¡± Claire was pouting now.


    ¡°Oh? Riddles now? I don¡¯t see how this matters.¡± Seria continued to gaze down on Claire.


    ¡°Muh! Just answer the question!¡± Claire¡¯s face was now tinged red from anger. Essentially, she was throwing a tantrum.


    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Seria cast her gaze down as she put on a thoughtful look. Then a look of terror appeared on her face as her memory drifted back to the myths of her childhood. The stories that parents often told their children when they misbehaved, or the words of the Elders when they warned of monsters, ¡°You can¡¯t mean. . .¡±


    ¡°Bingo! The ancient supposedly extinct race!¡± Claire made a sinister face, ¡°The monsters that nearly destroyed the world! The Demionoli!¡±


    Seria began to shiver uncontrollably, whether Claire was speaking truth or not did not matter. Just mention of that race of monsters was enough to strike terror in her heart.


    ¡°Y-you are lying, right? You¡¯re just trying to tease me. That¡¯s not possible, not possible. . .not possible. . .¡± Seria was panicking, far worse than before.


    Claire saw this and started to panic herself, ¡°Wait, are you alright?¡±


    Seria didn¡¯t hear her, she was thoroughly locked in her tumultuous state of mind.


    The door slammed open and the man they were just discussing strode into the room, his gait wide and his footsteps heavy. Anger emanated off of him as he approached Claire.


    ¡°Are you stupid?! Did you forget what a Demionoli represents?¡± He grabbed Claire by the collar and pulled her face to his.


    ¡°The kid already hates me enough without you making it worse!¡± Ret was unconscious of the fact that his actions frightened Seria further.


    The little dark elf girl was huddled up, her eyes glued on Ret, absolute terror evident in her eyes.


    ¡°Ret, calm down.¡± Claire looked into his eyes with intent, her gaze serious. ¡°She was to learn sooner or later, best to work out the kinks now while we still can.¡± Her voice seemed older than it was moments earlier, her attitude changed drastically from the mischievous character.


    Ret glanced at Seria before casting his golden eyes on Claire once more. ¡°You better hope you made the right choice.¡± He let go of Claire while pushing her away.


    Ret turned his attention towards Seria. Facing her, he slowly lifted his hand to his head. Seria watched as the hood dropped, revealing the man underneath. Unlike the first time she saw him, there was no gaudy makeup, no idiotic grin, and definitely no sense of equality.


    Though she sensed his monstrosity before, now he did not seem humane. The aura he released left her feeling weak, insignificant in his eyes.


    Ret¡¯s eyes flashed with pain, ¡°It looks like it will be difficult to talk to her.¡±


    ¡°This, this is nonsense! This can¡¯t be real!¡± Seria suddenly screamed, covering her head as though to shut out reality.


    Ret winced at her words.


    ¡°It¡¯s just like the tales! The Demionoli destroyed everything in their wake! You ruined everything!¡± Seria shouted words of accusation at Ret, fear and anger mixed together. Her thoughts were no longer clear. Every shred of rationality and logic she had shown before was gone.


    Ret looked away. Guilt was prevalent in his expression.


    Suddenly, Seria felt someone grab her arms, pulling them away from her face. It was Claire, looking at her with an angry expression, ¡°Wake up you stupid little girl!¡± She shouted these words in Seria¡¯s face.


    ¡°We are all members of the nightosphere, yet you have a deep rooted fear of him alone? What do you know about him? Saying that he is a monster because he is Demionoli is like saying that you or I are monsters too!¡± Claire was furious. Sure, she lacked tact during the big reveal, but Seria¡¯s reaction was too much for her.


    Ret reached out and tried to calm her, ¡°Claire that¡¯s not-¡±


    ¡°Shut up! How is she anything like Abigail said? She¡¯s just like all the others! She doesn¡¯t deserve your effort!¡± She immediately snapped back at Ret, refusing to listen to his words.


    She turned her attention back to Seria, ¡°Has he tried to kill you yet? Sure he is an idiot, but do you think he was trying to hurt you?¡±


    Seria was sniffling as she tried to stop crying, ¡°S-so? Hic, if he hadn¡¯t come I could still be there! They wouldn¡¯t hate me! Holly and the others wouldn¡¯t be in trouble either. . .They might have been captured or killed for this. . .¡±


    Seria fell silent, but Claire wasn¡¯t done yet, ¡°You naive little thing. Do you honestly believe that things would continue on as they were? You! A dark elf in a town of humans! You had no hope since the start. So my friend here was the trigger this time. Are you saying some other person wasn¡¯t going to come along and find out?¡±


    Seria bit her lip and shook her head. Claire¡¯s words struck true, but she did not want to accept it. ¡°I-if he never showed up I might have been able to live for years like that! They might have accepted me!¡±


    Claire scoffed, ¡°Such childish idealism. Do you truly believe that? Those people that cared for you, how were you helping them by being there? Your choice to stay was actually what endangered them. It was not Ret or I who willingly chose to endanger those people, but you! All those people that you call friends and loved ones will undergo harsh treatment from the church and their former friends and neighbors because you couldn¡¯t make up your mind to leave sooner!¡±


    ¡°. . .Why. . .¡± Seria¡¯s gripped her hands tighter and clenched her teeth, ¡°WHY! Tell me! Why is it so wrong of me to live a normal life! To be accepted by others! Why is that so wrong!?¡±


    Claire was taken aback, she couldn¡¯t answer that question. The room was engulfed in heavy silence.


    ¡°Who ever said it was?¡± Ret suddenly spoke up. ¡°You were just looking in the wrong place.¡±


    He stretched out his hand with confidence this time, his smile radiant and his expression kind.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try here? We could always use pretty girls around here.¡±


    Seria looked up at him, she didn¡¯t even notice that her tears had stopped. Ret¡¯s smile was both gentle and reassuring, he seemed less like a monster and more like a person. For some reason, when she saw his smile, she didn¡¯t feel he was that scary anymore.


    Seria chuckled. Her mind floated back to what Claire had said. She truly was naive. When she looked at Ret, his grin was goofy and lopsided, 100% idiotic. It was so stupid it made one laugh.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Seria made a cocky smile as she roughly wiped the tears from her face, ¡°If you can stop being an idiot.¡±


    Ret just laughed foolishly while rubbing the back of his head, ¡°That¡¯s a pretty tall order! Claire¡¯s been trying to smarten me up for years!¡±


    Watching the interaction with an appraising gaze, Claire let out a sigh. She had to give the young girl credit. Though she didn¡¯t start accepting Ret right away, her adaptability and acceptance was a lot higher than that of others. She wasn¡¯t exactly content, but as she saw the two interact somewhat normally she made a wry smile and accepted the situation.


    The vampire stood up and clapped her hands together, ¡°Alright you two, if you are done hating each other, we need to meet up with the others now.¡±


    Seria was befuddled, ¡°Others?¡±

 Chapter 4: Beyond the Door

    Hello~ Author person here! Hopefully, anyone that has patience and is still reading my ridiculously slow to update story doesn''t hate me too much. I would love, love, love, love you guys soooooo much if you could post some encouragement in the comments below. Thanks for reading! Also, there are no proof readers of editors for my stories and I most likely would not go back and edit the chapter even if you told me about the mistakes so please forgive my errors.


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    ¡°Others? Alright.¡± Seria¡¯s reaction was a bit too normal. It was as though the intense emotions and reactions she had shown earlier were just a lie. Truth was, her ability to accept the situation, or more accurately, her adaptability was just extremely high.


    ¡°Under one condition.¡± The young dark elf made a cunning grin.


    ¡°Hoh?¡± Claire looked at her with a raised brow. ¡°And what would that be?¡±


    Seria smiled brightly, though it didn¡¯t reach her eyes. Ret saw this and felt a chill run up his spine, electrifying him. Though she might have forgiven Ret on the surface, his actions were not forgotten. All she could do was take advantage of the cards given to her and take what she can.


    ¡°You won¡¯t tell me anything right? About who you guys are with or where I am? So I think I have the right to make a simple demand.¡± Seria logically stated the facts and laid out her reasoning, setting the stage for her request.


    The dark elf stated this as if it were a given, but she had no power here. In fact, she had no confidence that the pair would give into her nonsensical demands. She could only hope that the guilt the Demionoli felt was strong enough for her to get her way.


    Claire got an odd feeling when she saw Seria¡¯s smile. She was amused, the vampire was well aware of what Seria was doing, but she wasn¡¯t quite sure what her end goal was. However, she got the feeling that she was going to enjoy what was going to happen next. ¡°Go on then. What is it?¡±


    Seria held up her hand and signaled with one finger, ¡°One hit.¡±


    Claire was wearing an impish grin, ¡°One hit? On me?¡± It was a pointless and redundant question, she knew it wasn¡¯t herself that Seria was implying.


    Seria lightly shook her head, ¡°I believe I have endured quite a lot. And though I can see your point,¡± she shoots a look at Ret, ¡°I am not quite yet ready to forgive you.¡±


    Ret smiled sheepishly, ¡°I can get that, but I am afraid you are more likely to hurt yourself if you hit me.¡± This was not false bravado. With the natural strength of his body, even without reinforcement, he could withstand the full force of a volcano. Of course, Seria did not know that.


    It didn¡¯t even take a second for Seria to think about how she was going to get her way. Seria pouted then immediately dropped to the floor in a cross legged sitting position. ¡°Then I¡¯m not moving!¡± She huffed and sat there, her gaze resolute.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not-¡± Ret tried to convince her but Seria interrupted.


    ¡°No! I get one hit!¡±


    ¡°But if you do that you¡¯ll-¡± Ret tried again.


    ¡°I said no!¡±


    ¡°Seriously if you do that then-¡±


    ¡°NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!¡± It was childish, yes, but it was effective. Ret was completely helpless.


    ¡°Sigh,¡± he lowered down and looked her in the eyes, ¡°you will get hurt.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t care!¡±


    ¡°You know, you change personality too quick.¡± Ret pointed this out to the childish Seria.


    Seria smirked, ¡°So?¡±


    Ret had a feeling that he knew what the girl was doing, ¡°You know, even if you kick and scream the whole way over I could carry you out of here effortlessly.¡± His expression was serious.


    Both sides were stubborn, but Seria was not about to lose. ¡°If you force me I¡¯ll scream rape all the way.¡±


    ¡°No one will be able to hear you and those that do don¡¯t care.¡± Ret did his best to shoot down her argument.


    ¡°Oh? So I am in a secluded location? Good to know!¡± Seria smiled smugly as if she had won something.


    Claire was watching the display and doing her best to stifle her laughter. It was more often that Ret threw others off, not the other way around,


    Ret frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t see how that makes that big of a difference what use is it knowing that. Now you just know that it is harder to escape here!¡±


    Seria made a serious face, ¡°I now know that escape is not an option, so if you force me to do anything I don¡¯t want to, I with bite off my own tongue.¡±


    Ret looked at her for a moment. ¡°You are threatening to suicide if I don¡¯t let you hit me? Seriously? Do you even hear how stupid that sounds?¡±


    ¡°Precisely, for a freak like you it would be better if you just let me hit you already. I would hate to die early for such a reason so just agree already.¡± Seria stated this like it was such an inconvenience for her to die.


    Claire was just laughing so hard now that she didn¡¯t even bother hiding her laughter anymore. Tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes. ¡°Ret just give her the win already. It will save us some time and if she hurts herself we can just get her healed again.¡±


    Ret cast an irritated look at the vampire that was obviously enjoying the situation.He could only sigh and agree, ¡°Fine one hit.¡±


    Seria immediately hopped to her feet while clapping her hands, ¡°Wonderful!¡± she picked up the chair from earlier and handed it to Ret, ¡°Take one of the legs off so I can use it.¡±


    Claire just laughed and said, ¡°No need! No need!¡± With a wave of her hand a club appeared in her hand.


    Seria was shocked for a moment. She had heard of spacial treasures, but this was her first time seeing one. Claire carelessly dropped the wooden club into Seria¡¯s hands. The sudden weight caused her to stumble a bit. The wooden weapon was quite hefty.


    Claire shoots Ret a look and winks, ¡°At least this way we don¡¯t have to worry about her hurting herself.¡±


    Ret could only quietly shake his head.


    Seria was grinning like a maniac. Ret was a bit disconcerted by her zeal for causing him bodily harm, but he wasn¡¯t worried, the dark elf in front of him possessed no energy or strength whatsoever.


    ¡°Alright! Now close your eyes!¡± Seria ordered Ret.


    ¡°Seriously? I won¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°No! If you don¡¯t close your eyes you might subconsciously move and I will have wasted my one hit!¡±


    Ret shook his head and reluctantly closed his eyes, the sooner it was over the quicker they could go.


    Seria grinned maliciously and wound up to bat. With a swing that contained all of the strength she could muster she brought the club up in an arch aimed for a certain place.


    Ret¡¯s eyes shot wide open as if he had been struck by lightning, electrifying every cell in his body in the worst way imaginable. He collapsed to the ground clutching a very precious place. He was at a loss for breath, he was wheezing heavily and tears started to gather in his eyes. His entire body trembled from the pain.


    Seria was smiling triumphantly, that hit just now contained all of her frustration and she felt quite good now. Claire had collapsed on the bed in fits of laughter, her stomach was hurting and she was out of breath..


    ¡°A general rule of thumb,¡± Seria bent her head close to Ret¡¯s whom was trying his best to not curse out to all the gods. ¡°The general male anatomy has one place that is always weak to damage and can¡¯t be trained. It seems you shouldn¡¯t underestimate me just because I have no power.¡±


    It truly was strange, the Demionoli in front of her was an entity that could wipe out her existence at any point. Yet, she didn¡¯t feel afraid. On the contrary, Seria felt a bit liberated, as if a weight was off her shoulders.


    Claire finally managed to stop laughing long enough to talk. She made a thumbs up and said, ¡°Good job there! Definitely an 8 1/2!¡±


    Seria frowned a bit, ¡°Come on, you could have at least rounded it up to a 9.¡±


    Ret who was still on the ground gave his opinion own opinion, though it seemed as if he was having difficulties speaking, ¡°I¡¯d say a 10. . . The setup was what made it.¡±


    Claire shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t think so, I think your balls would need to be unusable for it to be considered a 10.¡±


    Ret paled at that, ¡°Please no, I might never have children, but I don¡¯t want to be a eunuch.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t need them anyways if you were going to end up with Mikra.¡±


    Ret paused, ¡°. . . still. . . I would rather keep my family jewels.¡±


    Seria was off to the side smiling foolishly, a lot of her stress was released just now. Better yet, she was still alive. If she was to be honest she wasn¡¯t 100% certain he wouldn¡¯t kill her after what she pulled. In fact, she knew that these people weren¡¯t obligated to help her at all. It was already a miracle that she was here and not a cell at the church.


    ¡°So,¡± Seria broke up the conversation, ¡°You kept your end, ready to go?¡±


    Ret looked at her for a moment, ¡°Gimme a minute.¡± The girls just stood off to the side snickering as they waited for him to recuperate.


    <><><><><><><>


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    The group had passed through several eery looking hallways, paths, and corridors until finally they reached what seemed to be their stop. The door was the tallest she had seen. The wooden frame looked strong and imposing. It was almost as if the door possessed an aura, or more likely, it was the atmosphere from the other side of the door radiating through.


    Seria felt nervous as she looked at the door. It was the sole entryway in the corridor that they were in. Voices, muffled by the wooden barrier, drifted out from the room. They sounded hushed yet serious.


    A voice louder than all the rest disturbed her thoughts as it came from beyond the door. ¡°Come in!¡± The words were short and precise, yet they carried the strength of authority.


    The two entered the room, Seria hesitating for a moment before following. The room was also dimly lit. There were few people in the room. They all seemed strange, but there was one man that easily became the focus of her attention.


    Though he was not even looking at her, the aura he wore imposed a feeling of severity on those nearby. The man had dark hair that shimmered in the torchlight. He sat on the simple chair, his back away from the group that had just entered.


    Seria was confused and scared. The situation was quite nerve wracking for a young girl that had been bussing tables just a few nights before. Even though she eventually calmed down around Ret, the appearance of a Demionoli was already enough to set her on edge.


    The people in this room were dangerous, even someone without training or abilities like her could sense it.. She couldn''t help but move closer towards Claire. Silence permeated through the air and it was stifling. Seria had no idea what they were waiting for.


    Then, suddenly the man spoke, "So finally you have come. . ." Seria was confused, they had been expecting her? She supposed it made sense, maybe she had been out cold for days.


    The man turned around and Seria could see the fire in his eyes as he continued to speak, his presence overbearing. "The one foretold in the prophecy! The one that shall lead us to victory and establish myself in my rightful place upon the throne!"


    "Eh? You are royalty?! Wait, prophecy?" Seria cried out in shock.


    The man stood from his chair, his posture radiating elegance. He faced Seria and started to walk towards her. A lofty and regal air about him.


    He scoffed, "Hmph, you do not realize this?¡± He was now a mere three feet away from her. Seria felt her body shiver uncontrollably and held Claire¡¯s arm even tighter.


    The man ignored this and instead turned around once more. He threw his arms in the air and spoke volumes louder than before, almost shouting his fervent words, ¡°I am the Ascended Dark Bringer! The Darkness Overlord Descended! The Demon King himself!" He practically screamed this last part.


    He turned his head again, standing tall and holding himself in high esteem as he looked down on Seria whom was filled with fear.


    The aura created by this man was oppressive and made it hard for Seria to breath. The man¡¯s eyes bore into Seria as if he could see through into her soul. Then CRASH!


    His ¡®majestic¡¯ figure was smashed down into the ground by a furious foxkin with an obvious vein popping out on his forehead. The pressure was so strong that cracks appeared on the floor.


    "Demon king my ass! You aren''t even a demon! And what was that ascended descended nonsense? How does it even make sense to put them in the same sentence?!"


    The audience in the room started to laugh, their reaction made it seem as though these sort of antics were commonplace.


    The foxkin took a few breaths to calm himself. After fixing a few stray silver hairs he changed his focus to Seria, "I apologize for this idiot. This buffoon is one of the founding fathers of our organization, Nile Dreason. I am another and I am named Lyka Rae. Welcome to Vanps!"


    His smile was dazzling to the eyes, but Seria could not ignore the twitching man on the floor. Lyka still had him under his heel and was grinding Nile¡¯s head into the floor.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Seria was uncertain how to respond. ¡°N-nice to meet you? I guess?¡±


    Lyka nodded in satisfaction with her answer. ¡°Now that we got that out of the way do you have any questions? I am sure that Ret failed to tell you anything before kidnapping you.¡±


    Before Seria could respond Ret interrupted, ¡°Rescued! We rescued her!¡± He turned to his sister, ¡°Right Abi?¡±


    Seria now noticed that the little girl from the incident was in the room.


    Abi was quiet for a moment, ¡°. . .It¡¯s big brother¡¯s fault.¡±


    The room was silent.


    Ret¡¯s voice cracked a little. ¡°E-eh? Abi that¡¯s not very nice. Big brother helped -¡±


    ¡°Big brother¡¯s fault.¡± Abi was persistent.


    Seria spoke out, ¡°. . .That¡¯s right. . .He is the reason why I was being hunted in the first place. . .¡± Seria was not quite ready to forgive Ret for the mishap just yet.


    Someone in the room burst out into laughter. ¡°Pft~ Hahahaha! You couldn¡¯t get a woman to join our ¡®fun time¡¯ so you kidnapped one?¡± The voice was awfully small, Seria looked towards the voice and was surprised to find that one of the lights in the room wasn¡¯t actually a light, but instead a small humanoid figure with small transparent wings. The little figure was childish in appearance, he had short playful black hair and a mischievous smile.


    Seria was confused, her brows furrowed and she held her chin in thought before speaking, ¡°That makes no sense. Putting aside the fact that you are both men, how would you engage in any sort of ¡®fun time¡¯ when your body is clearly not even a foot long?¡± Seria was not so young that she was naive to what the pixie was saying.


    The little light paused for a moment before bursting into fits of laughter. ¡°That¡¯s great! So great! She completely ignored the fact that I just said she was kidnapped for sex!¡± He had tears in his eyes as he clutched his stomach. ¡°Seriously, Ret! Where did you find such a gem!¡±


    Seria frowned, ¡°I didn¡¯t ignore it, I just don¡¯t think it is possible.¡±


    The figure stopped for a moment, then a blinding flash filled the room, forcing Seria to look away. When she could see again, the small figure was now taller than her and leaning over, holding her chin in his hand.


    He was taking a closer look at her and she was observing him. The wings were gone and the man¡¯s hair was now long and past his shoulders. He was no longer childish in appearance, but instead, androgynous. His piercing blue eyes were gazing into Seria¡¯s brown ones.


    The man glanced at her hair. He took a lock of it in his hand and kissed the tip before speaking, ¡°Black, just like mine.¡± He smiled mischievously, looking dashing with every movement he made.


    Then, he froze as if a current lightning ran through him. His figure crumpled to the ground in a heap. His face became flushed and his breaths heavy.


    It was a shocking change in demeanor, Seria felt that the expression he was making now was very erotic and was a little put off by the sudden change. Her eyes scanned for the one that caused it and was surprised by what she found.


    Seria saw Abigail with her hand stretched out, apparently she had touched the man, ¡°. . . Seria yummy. . but don¡¯t touch. . .¡±


    The words that came from such a young girl were shocking, but Seria didn¡¯t say anything and instead stood confused. Eventually she brushed it off. Too many strange things were happening and if she paid too much mind she would go crazy.


    The man simply sighed, his breathing had calmed down and his skin became a normal color. ¡°Abi, that was not very nice, I was just teasing her.¡± He got up to his feet and straightened his clothes. Then he looked at Seria again, this time he smiled a genuine, friendly smile.


    Seria¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She felt that this face was preferable to the playboy attitude she saw a moment ago. ¡°This man, perhaps he is not that bad?¡± Seria thought, ¡°Maybe he is just trying to help me relax?¡±


    ¡°I am Mikra, of the royal pixie lineage.¡± This time he introduced himself. ¡°I like girls, especially the naughty ones, and Ret.¡±


    The man known as Ret turned his head away bashfully, blushing? Seria could only assume as much because his skin was tinged slightly purple.


    Mikra spoke again, ¡°Also, my full name is Mikra Es Otazfok!¡±


    Seria repeated what he said outloud, ¡°Mikra is hot as fuck?¡±


    Mikra, Ret and Abi started snickering while Lyka simply sighed, shaking his head.


    Seria realized what happened and her face twitched. ¡°. . .Nevermind. . . he really is that bad.¡±


    Lyka interrupted the teasing, ¡°Enough of that, you will have time to harass her later, for now we need to figure out the situation. He walked over to a table with chairs before taking a seat.


    ¡°Miss Seria, please take a seat, we have much to discuss.¡±


    Seria nodded her head, she felt relieved that at least one person was taking the situation seriously.


    ¡°Wait, harass me later?¡±

 Chapter 5: Vanps? Whats that?

    Hello? Anyone there? If there are any readers left that haven''t abandoned a slow to update fiction like mine thank you very much for your patience. I appreciate anyone that take the time to read my work. Please leave a comment or send me a message if you have time. Kind people make my heart feel warm and elated. Thanks for your time!


    <><><><><><><>


    ¡°Wait, harass me later?¡±


    Claire just dragged her over, ignoring her question.


    Seria resisted as she was dragged, ¡°No, wait! Seriously, what did he mean by later?!¡±


    Claire was obviously several times stronger and continued to pull her while cooing, ¡°Now now, we won¡¯t bite~ Well, actually I might, but I promise it won¡¯t hurt~¡±


    Seria shivered, Claire was an undeniable beauty, but that did not mean she was going to submit herself as food. Seeing how the others had impish grins it was clear that they did not take Lyka¡¯s words to heart when he said that they would continue their harassment later. They were clearly still going!


    ¡°Stop that! We have matters to attend to, let her take a seat so we can get started.¡± Lyka spoke up again. He frowned, he clearly did not like having to repeat himself.


    Claire could only pout as she let Seria go. The young dark elf could only silently cry to herself as she took her seat.


    ¡°Alright! Now everyone start by standing up and saying your name to the class! Then tell everyone your age, race, and hobbies!¡± Nile, who had somehow disappeared until this point, suddenly stood up and made a ridiculous comment.


    A random individual that looked to be a youth with partially scaly skin shot up from his seat and spoke in a monotone voice, ¡°Alright. . . Now everyone start by standing up and saying your name to the class. . . Then tell everyone your age, race, and hobbies. . .¡±


    Nile rebuked the youth while flailing his arms in the air like a child, ¡°No! Endorph you aren¡¯t supposed to repeat what I said, you are supposed to come up with your own answer!¡±


    The snakekin looking boy copied Nile in a lackluster manner, ¡°No. . . Endorph you aren¡¯t supposed to repeat what I said you are supposed to come up with your own answer. . .¡±


    Seria¡¯s face scrunched up as she watched, ¡°What are they doing?¡±


    Claire replied, ¡°Endorph has an interesting habit of copying people he can¡¯t understand. As you can see, Nile often does stuff that doesn¡¯t make sense, so this is common.¡±


    ¡°So you are saying that what he did earlier with that demon king stuff. . .¡±


    ¡°Happens often.¡±


    Seria could only sit there silently.


    The exchange between Nile and Endorph continued for quite some time, it wasn¡¯t until Nile gave up on Endorph that they were able to move on.


    ¡°Whatever, we still have things we need to discuss.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, we still have things-¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Nile ended up cutting Endorph off. Seeing that the snakekin finally stopped speaking, Nile continued.


    ¡°By now you are probably wondering who we are and our purpose. . . " Nile stopped his banter for a moment and looked at Seria with a somber expression.


    ¡°It all started 100 years ago, we were a peaceful people, that is until. . . THE FIRE NATION- OW!¡± Lyka mercilessly smacked Nile in the back of the head.


    Endorph jumped up and stated, ¡°The Fire Nation attacked!¡±


    Seria could only assume that this must have been one of those things Nile did often, seeing how Endorph completed the sentence.


    ¡°If you are going to tell the story then tell it seriously! It wasn¡¯t even 10 years ago not even 5! And what the hell is that Fire Nation you keep on talking about?!¡± The foxkin mercilessly looked down on Nile as his mouth twitched.


    Nile got back up rubbing his sore and rising bump, ¡°Che! Fine! It was actually 4 years ago and we, the founding fathers of Vanps noticed the mistreatment of people from the Nightosphere. As a result we founded this organization to be a home and a beacon for the less fortunate.¡± He turned his head towards Lyka.


    ¡°There! Happy?¡±


    Lyka frowned in response,¡°No.¡±


    Nile raised his eyebrows¡°What else is there?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know, maybe the fact that we are an organization of assassins?¡±


    The room fell silent, Seria¡¯s eyes widened with disbelief. Slowly, she started looking at all the people in the room, carefully observing their actions and appearances.


    She couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡°Seriously? This group of flashy people are assassins?¡±


    Claire saw the look on Seria¡¯s face and frowned, ¡°Oi what¡¯s with that look? So what if we are flashy! We still are assassins! In fact, would you ever suspect that such flashy people were assassins in the first place?¡±


    Seria¡¯s face twitched, ¡°This lady, not only a vampire but a mind reader too!?¡±


    Nile coughed to get everyone''s attention, ¡°So yes, we are an assassin organization, but don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t kill you.¡± He threw a wink at Seria.


    Lyka sighed, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you to stop that? At this rate we won¡¯t get anywhere. I don¡¯t know about a fool like you, but I still have an organization to run here!¡±


    ¡°Ah! Ah! So scary~ Fine, Seria, we need to wrap up this little meeting of ours so do you have any questions for us?¡± Nile mocked Lyka before turning his attention to Seria.


    Seria was shocked that the attention was suddenly redirected back to her. The flow was very hectic and she found it difficult to follow what was happening. She pondered for a minute before asking, ¡°What happened to Holly?¡±


    Nile had a quizzical expression, ¡°Holly?¡±


    Seria¡¯s face darkened, ¡°I am not so naive to think that my actions did not endanger my friends, but don¡¯t tell me that you only saved me and ignored the others.¡± Her shoulders began to shake and her hands balled up into tight fists.


    Nile looked clueless and started tilting his head back in forth as he thought about what she said. Eventually his gave up and looked at Lyka, ¡°Did we do anything about the normals?¡±


    Lyka looked down at a notebook that suddenly appeared in his hand and rapidly flipped through the pages before stopping. During this entire process, Seria was stiff as a board her words and feelings choked back in her throat.


    Finally he found what he was looking for, ¡°It looks like there has already been contingencies set in motion. Ret already put in a request for information control and monetary assistance. The arrangements have already been made.¡±


    Seria was shocked, information control? Monetary assistance? His  words seemed foreign to her.


    Lyka saw her confused expression and explained, ¡°To counteract the effects of this incident we spread rumours that a dark elf spy had infiltrated the city and was using a mind-control spell to force the inhabitants of that inn to cooperate. In addition we had to bribe certain key officials to ensure that the family was not further interrogated. It will still affect their business and their relations with the inhabitants of the city, but we have set up certain measures to ensure that they will not be harmed because of this incident.¡±


    Hearing these words of reassurance, Seria couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief. One of the heaviest burdens she faced was taken care of before she could even worry.


    Lyka continued, ¡°Although, to ensure their safety, we were forced to place the blame on you.¡±


    Seria shook her head while smiling, ¡°That¡¯s fine, I would have been forced to leave once I was discovered anyways, at least this way they won¡¯t be harmed because of me.¡±


    Her argument with Ret is still fresh in her mind, she now realized how fortunate she was to be discovered under these circumstances.


    ¡°Great! Now that is out of the way, will you be joining us?¡± Ret seemed to be clueless of the mood and broke the tension with his remark.


    Lyka stood up, ¡°If we are done here I am leaving. I leave recruitment to you.¡± With that said he left the room, several others left as well.


    Seria¡¯s eyes widened for a brief moment before she fumbled with her words to give a reply, ¡°Um, I am afraid I wouldn¡¯t like killing anyone.¡± Seria could only sheepishly reply. She wasn¡¯t to keen on joining a group of assassins.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine! We do need other things to get done too. Like cooking, cleaning, and espionage! I am sure you can do all those things.¡± Ret said this with a goofy grin.


    ¡°Wh-what espionage? Wait, why espionage?!¡± Seria was baffled, she didn¡¯t even notice that she was getting swept away with Ret¡¯s pace again.


    Ret put on a pondering look, ¡°Ummm, because you''re small? Ah, don¡¯t forget cooking and cleaning, those need to get done too!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean too? I can do cooking a cleaning just fine but why be a spy? I don¡¯t have any skills, how could you make me be a spy?!¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, don¡¯t mind it. We will cross that bridge when we get there~¡±


    ¡°No! I will cook and clean but no spying!¡± Seria shouted at Ret.


    ¡°So you will stay and be a maid for us? Perfect! If you insist!¡± Ret gave an impish grin.


    Seria paused for  moment, then she realized that she just willingly chose to work as a maid for this mad group of assassins. Seria had fallen for his trap. . .


    Claire started petting Seria¡¯s head. ¡°There, there. At least it¡¯s not espionage. That will have to wait until later.¡±


    Seria stared at her wide-eyed. ¡°Later?!¡±


    <><><><><><><>


    A few days had passed since her fate was decided, Seria was busying herself sweeping the vast amount of hallways that ran through the headquarters.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it, why is this place so huge? There¡¯s no point for all these rooms!¡± Seria mumbled to herself in a disatisfied manner. It was baffling, how could a secret hideout for a small group of assassins be so huge! Just cleaning the areas she is allowed to be in took her a week!


    ¡°Seria~¡± A sing song voice rang through the hall.


    Seria turned to see a bubbly vampire bouncing down the halls.


    ¡°Hm? Hey Claire, did you need something?¡± Seria smiled, but secretly she was lamenting her luck. Every time this lady appeared she would dish out a new chore that was more troublesome than the last.


    ¡°Yes, here take this storage bag.¡± She tossed a small velvety purple bag at Seria who fumbled with her broom as she tried to catch it, dropping both the bag and her broom in the end.


    Daintily picking up the bag she stares at it inquisitively, ¡°This is?¡±


    ¡°They are light stones! The old ones are losing power and most of them have already gone out. So Lyka told me to have you replace the lights in all the major walkways and rooms.¡± Claire smiled sadistically.


    Seria¡¯s face twitched, ¡°You do realize that I¡¯m too short to replace lights, right?¡±


    ¡°No problem! I already thought of that and placed a ladder in the bag for you to use too!¡±


    ¡°Are you serious? Without help it will take a week or longer! I will need to reposition the ladder every time I change a stone!¡± Seria was a more than a little peeved. These people were terrible at cleaning!


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, once you change them out you won¡¯t need to change them again for another two years!¡± Claire smiled charmingly.


    Seria gritted her teeth and stored the broom in the bag before trudging off to get started on the lights. ¡°This is abuse! Even maid have rights! Stupid Ret, this is all his fault!¡±


    With little control over her situation, Seria climbed up and down the ladder for the rest of the day. There were several incidents where she was nearly injured by the crazy residents as they ran/fought past her ladder.


    It wasn¡¯t until several hours later that she collapsed on a bench in the dining hall.  The rowdy place was filled with colorful figures that came and went at a rapid pace. Fights often broke out and strange yet comical scenes were the norm.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe that such a flashy group can be considered assassins.¡± Seria couldn¡¯t help but mutter under her breath.


    ¡°Yo~¡± An extremely cutesy greeting came from behind Seria before a pair of arms forcefully wrapped around her.


    ¡°Geh!¡± Seria collapsed slightly under the weight of the new arrival.


    Seria quickly shielded her meal. ¡°Cynthia! Stop! This is my food get your own!¡± She was familiar with the wolfkin girl¡¯s habits after a week of interaction.


    ¡°Muuu~ You can share! Look how tiny you are, you don¡¯t need it all!¡± The annoying girl wagged her wolf tail back and forth as she pestered Seria.


    ¡°Stop that Cynthia, she has been working all day the same as you, just let her eat in peace.¡± Another familiar voice came to Seria¡¯s aid.


    ¡°Eh? Vyc, why? I just wanna little.¡± Cynthia didn¡¯t let go of Seria, but started pouting at her younger brother that just arrived.


    He sighed as he grabbed his elder sister under her arms and dragged her away, she didn¡¯t really resist as she was forced into a seat that wasn¡¯t already occupied.


    ¡°Sorry, Seria, thanks for putting up with her.¡± Vyc bowed his head in apology towards Seia.


    Seria waved her hand in a dismissive manner, ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, I am already used to the colorful characters in this place.¡±


    Vyc nodded, ¡°Still, don¡¯t give her anything or she won¡¯t leave you alone.¡±


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m still here you know!¡± Cynthia pouted.


    ¡°Good, then maybe you will actually listen and start behaving.¡± Vyc scolded her in return.


    ¡°Lalalalalala! Not listening.¡± In response she covered her wolf ears and started singing loudly, ignoring her little brother like a child.


    Vyc shook his head at this act and furrowed his brows. Seria threw him a sympathetic look.


    ¡°So, how are the chores going?¡± Vyc instead engaged Seria in conversation, disregarding his childish sister.


    Seria grimaced, ¡°I know for a fact that everything has been neglected. Lyka already told me that the last time this place was clean was when it was constructed. Take into account that this organization has been in operation for four years, this place has four years of maintenance that needs to be accomplished and I am the only one doing it.¡±


    Seria stared bitterly into her food.


    Vyc just patted her on the shoulder, then he stabbed his fork down on a hand that was creeping towards his dish.


    ¡°Ouch! How could you stab your sister!¡± Cynthia quickly withdrew her hand and started massaging the point on her hand that now sported a row of red marks.


    Vyc shot her a glare, ¡°Easy!¡± He redirected his attention to Seria, ignoring the obviously dejected sagging ears and tail of his sister.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t give up, most of the stuff that has piled up only needs to be completed once a year or every few years so your workload will decrease once it¡¯s been done.¡± He tried encouraging Seria.


    Seria just gloomily ate her food, ¡°I doubt it. Lyka said he wanted me to start tending to greenhouse after the big chores are done.¡±


    Vyc stiffened a bit, ¡°I am so sorry.¡± His eyes were filled with a look of pity.


    Normal greenhouses were not a problem, time consuming but harmless. Unfortunately, the plants grown at Vanps were used for the trade. Meaning Seria had to be careful in her treatment of each individual plant and take care not to die.


    ¡°I was already gifted an encyclopedia of medicinal and poisonous plants, but I am not certain of my ability. I intend to spend time with Endorph. He is strange, but his knowledge about plants is huge.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a weird one. His knowledge on any topic is immense, but you have to catch him when he is coherent.¡± Vyc nodded in agreement.


    Seria slumped down in her chair, it was hard for her to tell what was more exhausting, the work or the people.


    ¡°Seria.¡± A little voice came from behind her, belaying her lamentations. She turned to see that Abigail was had approached. Her face was placid and emotionless, a constant that she later realized after prolonged exposure to the girl.


    ¡°Hello, Abigail.¡± Seria smiled pleasantly, she much rather speak with her than one of the more. . . excitable residents in Vanps.


    Abigail took a seat across from Seria, without any food for herself, not their for leisure then. It is possible that she was there to socialize, but Seria doubted it. The little foxkin wasn¡¯t the type to waste time with friends.


    ¡°Lyka wants you to report to Tetsuki, the alchemist.¡± Abigail made the report, short and efficient, her eyes lasered in on the wolfkin siblings that were secretly fighting over food.


    ¡°Is there a particular reason?¡± Seria had many talents when it came to housework and chores, alchemy however wasn¡¯t in her repertoire.


    ¡°Tesuki requested an assistant, didn¡¯t want anyone experienced because she guarantees that they are stubborn folks set in the wrong ways. Someone fresh.¡± Abigail briefly explained. ¡°Plus, she is the one in charge of the greenhouse.¡±


    Seria¡¯s shoulders sagged. More work.


    Abigail stood up from her seat and stood on her tippy toes. She reached forward as far as she could and gave Seria a well-meaning pat on the head trying to be comforting. Though it was more comical because her short stature just barely made it so her fingertips brushed the front of Seria¡¯s head.


    Seria was secretly shedding tears on the inside. Sure her days as a barmaid were hectic, but at least she was able to rest during the off hours. Here, there was no such thing. She could only sigh as she resigned herself to her fate.

 Chapter 6: Cannabaloid

    Oh wow! A chapter! How did that happen? Well, anyone that reads this has my gratitude. If you comment, I will try to get back to you. Though I must admit I am a bit shy so I use the private message feature for RRL. . . I bet some of you didn''t even notice I sent you a message. . . orz.


    . . .It''s cool. . . I don''t mind. . . no really I-I-I''m fine TT^TT.


    So, everyone please comment or send me a message or respond if I send you a pm. Those little things make me happy!


    I am rambling aren''t I? Sorry, I have been awake for 19 hours. Not breaking any world records or anything but I am tired so please forgive this foolish author :boworpushups:


    <><><><><><><>


    Seria finally reported to the greenhouse; which, like the rest of the headquarters, was underground. It was a tad humorous, growing vegetation underground that is. The location was far from one of the most necessary elements of most plant life, the sun.


    The dark elf examined the gardens. Seria, used to the unusual now, wasn¡¯t surprised to see that the plants here were thriving. Green as far as the eye could see, the ceiling was fitted with sunstones, and special covers that could be remotely activated to dim the lights.


    Seria counted herself fortunate that she wasn¡¯t asked to replace these stones, not at that height. She was certain that anything without wings wouldn¡¯t be able to reach that high. Well, she couldn¡¯t be certain with this group, walking on walls might be normal for them.


    She trailed down a barely visible brick path that was already overgrown with vines and creepers, searching for this alchemist that she was supposed to report to.


    As she wandered, her eyes casually glanced at her surroundings. Eventually she reached a break in the foliage. The change wasn¡¯t much just a slightly hollowed out space amongst the green. It was unnoticeable, until she saw that out from the base of the hollowed out space was a pair of bare feet sticking out onto the path.


    First, she was shocked, then she panicked, her eyes looking everywhere for someone to help. Unfortunately, she was by herself so she steeled her will and gathered the courage to run over and check.


    The sight that greeted her was striking, a figure made entirely of light shaded hues. The person¡¯s garments and skin were both white, and the bright shade reflected all light in a way that made their figure glow slightly amongst the leaves.


    Laying within the tall foliage was a person with a petite frame, clothed in an oversized white lab coat that obscured the person¡¯s gender. Thick, messy, sandy locks fell on their forehead, just past their eyes. The person¡¯s skin was an unhealthy pale color.


    Frightened, Seria bit her bottom lip as she faced off against her indecision. She knelt beside the person, shaking their shoulders as hard as she dared. Fear gripped her and her imagination, several terrible scenarios played through her mind.


    ¡°Wake up! Please wake up!¡± Her words were hushed, as if she were afraid that her voice could cause harm as well.


    ¡°What should I do? What can I do?¡± Seria could only ask herself these questions. She didn¡¯t know how to treat this person if they were injured.


    She looked around again this time to see if she can go find help. Her eyes widen in disbelief as she realizes that she had gotten herself lost, everything now looked the same. Sure, she was next to the path, but she had passed by several forks in the path on her way there. There was no way of telling exactly where she came from.


    This time she starts shaking the person harder, disregarding the possibility that shaking them might cause things to get worse, ¡°Please! Wake up! I beg you please!¡±


    ¡°Mmmm.¡± To Seria¡¯s relief, the person made a soft moan, alive then.


    The person blinked their eyes blearily a few times, Seria noticed that the person¡¯s lashes were extremely long, and framed icy blue eyes.


    ¡°Ah, you must be Seria.¡± They strange person wore a passive expression, their eyes still dreamy. The person unsteadily got to their feet wobbling back in forth as they walked.


    ¡°Ummm, are you okay?¡± Seria asks timidly, her panic now receding.


    The person gives Seria a strange look, ¡°Huh? Yeah, besides a slight ringing in my ear.¡± The person lazily picked at their ear with their pinky finger, as if they were trying to drive out a noise.


    Seria turns red from embarrassment, ¡°S-sorry, I wasn¡¯t sure if you were alive or not.¡±


    The person gives a condescending look at Seria, ¡°What a strange mammal you are. I thought creatures with two legs were meant to be more intelligent. You could have easily checked my breathing or heart rate.There was no need to tear me away from my break with my children.¡±


    Seria looks around, ¡°Children?¡±


    The person spreads their arms in an all encompassing motion, ¡°These,¡± she gestures to the plants, ¡°are my children, all of them were raised by me and only me.¡±


    The person unceremoniously yawned while waving Seria to follow. Seria was still worried and held her hands up to catch the person in the case that they fell.


    Seria starts to piece together what the strange person said, ¡°Um. . . Are you Tetsuki?¡± Seria nervously asked, not quite sure if the person was alright.


    ¡°Hai~¡± The person lazily answered and continued to meander the grounds, leading Seria through several paths that soon blurred in her memories.


    ¡°Um, Tetsuki, I am afraid I don¡¯t know much about plants.¡± Seria nervously voiced her concern.


    ¡°No worries~ most people wouldn¡¯t know the first thing about the children living here. You¡¯ll learn.¡± Tetsuki just waved away her objection nonchalantly.


    Eventually, they reached a pavilion covered in foliage and flowers. Beneath it were several tables arranged in a haphazard manner. There was paper, books, and scrolls everywhere. The writings covered the tables chairs, ground, and some larger pieces were even pinned up to the supports for the structure.


    It was overwhelming to say the least. Tetsuki pointed towards a corner of the pavilion that was no different from any other. ¡°Start reading here, once you have gone through all the materials let me know and I will test your knowledge. After that I will take you to the area corresponding with those children.¡±


    Seria walked over, a little sorrowful from the prospect of going through the mountains of information. ¡°Will I be doing any care for the plants-¡±


    Tetsuki cut her off, ¡°Children.¡±


    A little perturbed Seria corrected herself, ¡°For the children today?¡±


    Tetsuki held her chin thoughtfully, ¡°Hmm, most of these kids need special care.¡± She paused for a moment, ¡°Well, I suppose you can water the children towards the entrance, they need little maintenance and are used to supply a floral shop, there should be no issue. If they don¡¯t have flowers don¡¯t water them, I will take care of their needs personally.¡±


    Seria nodded her head and set herself at the task of combing through several disorganized piles of text and information.


    She opened the first book and was about to start studying when she realized that the book had several pages torn out of it. ¡°I feel a headache coming on.¡± Seria confirmed after going through several books at random that Tetsuki has a habit of taking pages from one place and putting them somewhere, somewhere she didn¡¯t know.


    It wasn¡¯t a problem at first, until she started reaching portions of the text where it was emphasizing very specific and detailed methods of insuring the plants survival. . . or the caretakers survival. . .


    To make matters worse, Seria was not exactly gifted when it came to reading. Her life thus far did not require much reading or studying. As a result, the skill that she developed as a child was rarely used and began to decay due to lack of use.


    Eventually, she got fed up with the growing migraine and decided to take a break to water the flowers. It only took a little while for her to fall into a steady rhythm, meticulously watering flowers.


    It was an enjoyable endeavor,  no maniac assassins running around, nearly bowling her over. No crazy beastkins or demi-humans treating her like a doll or a toy, and no overbearing slave-driving Lyka piling on extra, unreasonable work.


    For the first time since she arrived at Vanps she was relaxing and enjoying herself. She could see why people would take the time to start a garden.


    As she walked leisurely through the greenhouse she noticed a lone tree standing in solidarity away from any other plants. It was a strange sight. There was no greenery or vegetation anywhere near it. The ground around it was barren all around it in a rough radius of five meters.


    The strange tree had brown, shriveled pods attached all over the branches, always near the end of the branches. A stoned tablet was engraved and propped against the tree, it read ¡°Cannabaloid¡±. Seria felt a brief hint of sadness, for someone to be buried down here. . .it was a sad sight.


    Out of respect for the deceased she grabbed a handful of poppies and approached the stone tablet.


    Tetsuki appeared from the foliage at that moment, probably to check up on her new charge. When she saw the flowers in the girl¡¯s hands she panicked.


    ¡°Hey Seria, don¡¯t!¡± Seria quickly turned to see Tetsuki rushing towards her, in her surprise she dropped the flowers. Suddenly, she felt the air near her whistle as several objects flew past her at high speeds.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Falling from her feet, Seria whipped her head back to try and find what had flew past her. Much to her shock, she saw that the flowers that she had dropped were nowhere to be seen. Creaking sounds eerily radiated from the branches of the previously stationary tree that was now slowly moving back into position.


    ¡°Wh-what?!¡± Seria cried in shock. She couldn¡¯t comprehend what just happened. Her entire body was shaking.


    When Tetsuki reached her and placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. ¡°This tree is a cannabaloid, a species known for devouring others for their nutrients, you are lucky you dropped those flowers. Those feeding pods have been known to tear away flesh if it is in the way of it¡¯s food.¡± The crazy woman just casually mentioned this as if it was no big deal.


    The color drained further from Seria¡¯s face with each word spoke. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± she thought, ¡°I think I will stay in the pavilion. . .¡±


    It was sufficient to say that Seria was downright terrified of the greenhouse now. In her heart she felt she would rather be abused with upkeep of the headquarters than to work in the greenhouse.


    Though, she didn¡¯t get a say in the matter. . .


    <><><><><><><>


    Hours later Tetsuki leaves her children for the night. Leaving the door to the greenhouse secured, she maneuvers the halls of the facility with practiced ease, albeit, in an airy manner that would leave observers wondering if she was really all there in her head.


    She comes to a place that Seria would have recognized as the meeting room she first visited when she first arrived at Vanps.


    Unlike Seria, Tetsuki casually enters and joins the group at the table.


    Lyka had his nose buried in papers, a quill in his hand rapidly scribbling plans, drawing maps, completing orders, or signing off on missions. Without looking up he addresses the new addition to the table, ¡°How was she?¡±


    Tetsuki addresses him in a harsh manner, her words icy and indifferent, ¡°Fine, the children like her, even though she does not release any energy, they can feel her natural affinity for nature.¡±


    Lyka pauses his writing, ¡°Will she work?¡±


    Tetsuki leaned back in her chair her gaze casually looking at the other faces at the table. ¡°For now, I will have to see how she learns, Diam will have to tutor her though, I don¡¯t want to waste time on bipeds.¡±


    A snakekin that Seria would have recognized as Endorph nodded his head, ¡°I can make time for her, but you need to give me free reign to pull her away from her work. I would need to teach her when I am around. Endorph doesn¡¯t necessarily arrive on a schedule. That fellow is good at learning, but terrible at teaching.¡±


    Ret, who was also at the table rolled his eyes and said, ¡°No, really? We never noticed!¡±


    Lyka nodded his head in understanding, he didn¡¯t really need the reminder. As the man that ran the group he was well versed with everyone¡¯s. . .unique circumstances.


    ¡°Claire, you will be responsible for notifying her.¡±


    Claire merely nodded her head with a simple smile as she continued to attend to her nails, neglecting to comment.


    Lyka spoke to Tetsuki again, ¡°Did anything of note happen?¡±


    ¡°Umm, well, that person nearly got a hand taken off by a cannabaloid earlier.¡± Tetsuki casually mentioned the event, obviously presenting her lack of concern about Seria¡¯s traumatizing incident.


    ¡°Oh? Please elaborate.¡± Lyka raised an eyebrow at this. Incidents with plants like Tetsuki¡¯s didn¡¯t normally stop at ¡®nearly¡¯.


    ¡°Well, she brought a bouquet of poppies near the child.¡± Tetsuki paused for a moment as if remembering something, ¡°Strangely, that child didn¡¯t notice the flowers until after the girl dropped them. I might need to check up on the child and see if it¡¯s feeling alright.¡± Of course, Tetsuki meant the tree when she said this last sentence of concern. Animals and people of any kind were beyond her sympathy.


    Lyka looked at another person at the table, ¡°Abigail, do you have any thoughts about this matter?¡±


    The little foxkin was currently sitting on Ret¡¯s lap, having her head pet with half closed eyes.


    She responded though, ¡°Her energy. . . is different. . .¡±


    ¡°In what way?¡± Lyka was curious now.


    Abigail tilted her head cutely as she tried to think of how she should explain it. ¡°Most people. . . energy flows in outward direction. . .¡± She held her hands at her chest then expanded them outwards to match her words. ¡°Seria¡¯s flows in.¡± In the same manner as before she held her hands away from herself then dragged them in.


    Lyka posed a question, ¡°She absorbs energy?¡±


    If this was the case then Seria¡¯s case was more interesting than he originally thought.


    Abigail shook her head, ¡°No. . .More like. . . the her lack of energy pulls in the aura of items with energy near her. . . hides it. Won¡¯t work with living things. . .items though. . .will be hidden.¡±


    Lyka had a look of revelation at the idea, ¡°That would certainly explain why the plant-¡±


    ¡°Child.¡± Tetsuki interrupted.


    Lyka waved her off, ¡°Like I said, the plant did not notice the poppies until they were released from her sphere of influence.¡± Lyka finished thought, ignoring the obvious glare Tetsuki was aiming in his direction.


    Lyka now sported a cunning grin, ¡°This is perfect, her practical uses just expanded into operations.¡±


    Then he had a tiny revelation. If it was Abigail, it is impossible she did not notice. ¡°Abigail, why didn¡¯t you mention this unique constitution of hers sooner?¡±


    Abigail gave Lyka a passive glance and shrugged, ¡°You. . . never asked.¡±


    Lyka¡¯s shoulders slumped slightly. He felt a sense of defeat at that statement, but he resigned himself to the situation. After all, what did he expect from a member of Vanps? He muttered something under his breath, ¡°Stupid legal loli.¡±


    With her heightened sense of hearing, Abigail heard the insult and glared at Lyka, ¡°Bad. . .to mention a woman¡¯s age. . .¡±


    Lyka just waved it off and changed the topic. He got his jab in and quickly retreated. There were several issues that needed to be handled and getting drains wasn¡¯t going to help any of them. ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine for now, but if you notice anything else unique about her then you must tell me right away!¡± He couldn¡¯t change the past but he could set conditions for the future.


    Abigail tilted her head slightly, ¡°Okay. . .Seria also doesn¡¯t like red meat. . . but she is okay with fish and birds. . .and she only changes her work clothes once every two days. . .and her boobs are bigger than Ret says they are.¡±


    Lyka stops her, ¡°Okay, how about this, tell Ret first and he can decide what is important enough to tell me.¡±


    Ret raises his hand and blurts, ¡°I think Abi¡¯s wrong about her boobs! I am certain that they are only B cups!¡±


    ¡°And! The information that is important needs to be relevant to missions!¡± Lyka added more terms, a bit frustrated with the brother sister duo.


    ¡°Boobs are important! How can she work undercover if she doesn¡¯t have the right sex appeal!¡± Ret vehemently defended his position.


    ¡°MOVING ON!¡± Lyka forcefully changed the topic, ¡°Diam, you will be teaching Seria about the greenhouse first and basic etiquette lessons when you have additional time.¡±


    He turned to Tetsuki, ¡°We need another batch of the usual potions, poisons, and sleeping draft.¡±


    Tetsuki simply nodded, arms crossed and still pouting that Lyka refused to acknowledge her plants as ¡®children¡¯.


    ¡°Claire, manage the upstairs project. The company needs a face that is good for ¡®social¡¯ occasions to act as the head. Our group was fine for a while, but several nobles and merchant groups have been requesting to meet the president of the company. You are the most suited to act as a figurehead and a negotiator.¡±


    Lyka might run all the businesses, legitimate or not, but he did not have a face he could reveal in public. Claire, although a vampire, could easily pass as human and even use her special ¡®charm¡¯ to enhance their group¡¯s business.


    ¡°Understood, just have my paperwork and credentials prepared for when I go topside.¡± Claire simply agreed, she was used to roles like these.


    ¡°And you two!¡± Lyka turned his attention to the trouble making duo, ¡°Don¡¯t make anymore trouble! You are on probation for two months!¡±


    Ret shrugged and Abigail pouted. The sibling pair caused quite a bit of issues during the incident involving Seria. Issues that Lyka was still trying to manage. Unless he was in desperate need for their specific talents, the two of them were not going up for anything.


    Lyka rubbed the bridge of his nose, doing his best to fight his perpetual migraine. He thought to himself, ¡°At least Seria will prove to be quite useful.¡± The cunning grin appeared again and somewhere in the base Seria felt a chill run up her spine.


    Nile gently tugged on Lyka¡¯s shirt, ¡°What about me?¡± His eyes were wide and hopeful.


    ¡°Hm? Oh, I forgot you were here, just stay out of everyone¡¯s way.¡± Nile¡¯s smile cracked, he retreated to the corner where he huddled his knees in a pitiful and depressed manner. Lyka proceeded to ignore him, again.