January was almost over.
The day was very beautiful; a student was in his room drinking tea.
"It's a great day as always."
The student was Squall; he was relaxed until the door was opened.
"Hi there~ Squall-kun. How are you doing?"
A boy with blue hair and closed eyes entered as if he were your typical childhood friend entering your house as if it were his own.
His name was Flynt Algrin.
"What's up, Flynt, coming so early?"
Squall acted normally; something like this was normal for him.
Flynt walked to a nearby seat.
After sitting down, he took a cookie and put it in his mouth.
Squall poured him some tea to go with it.
After drinking the tea, he spoke.
"Thanks, I came to inform you that there was a problem."
"A problem?"
"That's right; yesterday I was informed that another base of the lower-ranking executives was attacked. There are no survivors."
Squall touched his chin, curious about who was responsible.
"Attacking bases of lower-ranking executives or subordinates is unimportant; is there something more?"
Flynt was very serious when he said the following.
"Yes. Today I was informed that three mansions of high-ranking executives were attacked."
Squall stood up in surprise.
"What do you mean?!"
"I was informed that the houses of Morris, Alfred, and Kevin were destroyed."
Squall began to sweat coldly.
"I don't know who is responsible, but somehow they have been attacking the bases and hiding places of many members, including the houses of bishops and important nobles."
Squall looked out the window of his room.
"The boss himself has requested that the knights be on alert and look for any suspects."
"We can't let that son of a bitch or bitches get away with it!"
"Huh? Squall-kun, are you listening to me? Hey."
Flynt got up to see what his friend was looking at.
"Don't you find it curious, Flynt?"
"...?"
"On exam day, I swapped my answer sheet with hers."
"Oh! You're talking about that commoner, right?"
"Yes. I had to get a 100, otherwise my father would cut off my financial support. Fortunately, no one noticed that I changed the names; the entrance exams for all students are the same type. I just had to erase that she was going to be a new student for the second year at her school, hehe, it's funny."
"I understand, but what does that have to do with looking at her?"
Squall laughed.
"My father told me he needs more merchandise to sell in the lawless city. I was wondering if there were girls from poor or indebted families to look for, and there are several, but I'm mainly interested in this one."
Squall and Flynt watched Lily walking happily with her clothes in a basket to take them to the laundry.
"It's strange for a commoner to go to a place for nobles. I'm sure she'll sell for a good price."
"Oh, I get it now! And when will we do it?"
"Tonight, I'll contact my father to lend us a place to take her, have some fun first, and then give her to him to sell."
"I understand. I'll think of a way so no one sees us."
Flynt left the room while Squall licked his lips in a very lewd manner.
◇
It was a Saturday like any other.
Everything normal and boring.
Yesterday and early this morning, I went with Leila to hunt members of the Black Crows.
I'm very tired.
I told Leila to rest until further notice; as for Amy, it seems she's writing a new book.
She looks excited since there are several rivals to defeat.
I also left her alone.
My friends wanted to go somewhere today; I told them no.
Cid went with them.
So I'm alone; that's how it was supposed to be, but the guest in my room doesn't give me a moment's peace.
"Are you really not doing anything today, Razel-kun?"
Lily came to my room.
She had a magical board game.
I call it magical because the pieces floated and moved by themselves.
Being on my bed, I moved the piece after rolling the dice.
She was excited about this simple game.
(Wouldn't you enjoy going out with the handsome men more?)
(Today, you're supposed to have a date with Lambert.)
I asked curiously why she wasn't doing any of the romantic events.
"Are you sure you have nothing to do today?"
She looked a bit thoughtful, then said.
"No. I have nothing."
"I see..."
(Certainly, what she does with her life is none of my business. But, if you want to help defeat the demon king, you need a partner. That's what the game says, but I don't care about the romantic events.)
(Come to think of it, the romantic events in this game were so simplistic that they were very easy to complete; the only problem was Lambert, who was very hard to win over.)
(I once read on a forum that the developers of this game put more effort into the romantic events for the other game they were helping with.)
(I can't imagine an RPG game with a romance theme. No, seriously. How bad must that game actually be?)
"Hey, Razel-kun, will you be free tonight?"
Lily asked me something curious.
"Yes, why do you ask?"
She looked nervous for some reason.
"W-Well, tonight a festival starts in the city. I don't have anyone to go with, so I'd like to know... if you'd like to accompany me?"
"Huh?"
"A-And you know, as friends!"
(Wait, why do I feel like something like this sounds familiar? I'm not talking about the festival, which I knew about; I'm talking about the line she said.)
(It seems very familiar to me...)
"Well, I have nothing to do; of course I'll go with you if you like."
Lily was happy with what I told her.
"I'll be waiting at the academy gate at 7 pm sharp!"
(Even if it's a weekend, the academy has a curfew.)
She said goodbye, and I went to sleep.
◇◇◇
Night fell; Lily changed into a beautiful short-skirted dress.
The students had left for various places a while ago.
No one was guarding the gate where she waited.
The guards said they were going to the bathroom, so Lily stayed waiting for Razel.
It was almost 7 pm.
"I came very early, so it doesn't matter if he's a little late."
"Hello."
Lily heard a voice, turning to see who she was waiting for with a smile.
"Huh? Sorry, who are you?"
She was puzzled because an unknown boy was in front of her.
"I was wondering how to make things easy, but you made it very easy, hehe."
Suddenly, some guys appeared behind her.
Lily got scared.
Tears ran down her cheeks.
"Relax, it'll be over soon."
The boy, Flynt, took out an aerosol and sprayed it in her face.
Moments later, Lily's consciousness faded.
"This was too easy."
At that moment, the guards arrived.
"Oh, guys, good job. Remember, you didn't see anything."
Flynt tossed a white gold coin to each of them.
The guards smiled as if it were the easiest job in the world.
"Now, guys, let's take her to the designated place."
Flynt and his henchmen got into a limousine with Lily.
The guards watched the luxury car drive away.
◇
I changed into semi-formal clothes, arrived at the gate; 10 minutes passed after the appointed time.
"I can't believe a girl would keep a guy waiting. The cliché of being late doesn't seem to work this time."
I smiled about how I had inadvertently eliminated another cliché.
But it was strange.
Lily wasn't around here.
◇
I'm getting scared; it's past 8 pm and there's no sign of Lily.
I went to her room, but no one was there.
I looked for her in every corner of the academy, but I couldn't find her.
The teachers who were here said they haven't seen her.
(This is bad; I'm getting scared.)
"Hey, kid, what's wrong with you?"
One of the guards approached me.
(I'll ask him, just in case.)
"Excuse me, have you by any chance seen a beautiful blonde girl passing by here?"
"Umm, there are many beautiful blonde women in this academy passing through this gate, kid."
(That's true; my fault.)
"Sorry, let me be more precise."
"Have you seen a young girl waiting around the gate or outside it?"
The guard looked confused; (wasn't I as clear as I could be?)
"Hey, I have news."
Another guard arrived.
I inadvertently overheard their conversation while biting my nails.
"What's up?"
"I was talking to Squall-sama; he said he arrived a while ago. He thanks us for the work."
"Oh, how nice; I hope he keeps asking us for help, hehe."
(Huh?)
(Wait a moment.)
(What did he say?)
"Excuse me, did you by any chance say 'Squall-sama'?"
The guard who had asked me what I was doing here replied calmly.
"Yeah, why?"
(I'm a fucking idiot! Why didn't I realize before?)
(It's incredible; I can't believe this is true.)
(Apparently, the event where Squall kidnapped Lily was happening, but... this event only happened in the middle of the year! Why is it happening early?)
(It doesn't make sense, but more importantly than that...)
"Hey."
"Hah?"
The guards were lighting cigarettes.
In less than a second, I punched one very hard in the stomach.
His cigarette fell to the ground; then I went straight for the other one, who was about to draw his sword.
(There was no one around or outside; I need to extract information fast.)
My fingers embedded themselves in his thick neck.
They were slowly piercing the skin and flesh to reach the inside.
"Answer, damn it."
My tone was hostile because I was angry.
"There was a blonde girl here, wasn't there?"
The guard couldn't speak, so I loosened my grip on his neck a little.
"Hah, hah... You won't get away with this, idiot!"
"I see. No use asking you then."
My fingers pierced his skin and grabbed his bone.
In a fraction of a second, a loud sound of something breaking was heard.
My fingers were covered in blood, and this idiot's body lay on the floor.
I turned to look at the remaining guard.
"Well, do you also want to be a stubborn boy?"
Unlike this fool, this guy talked.
"I don't want to die; I'll tell you everything! They're in a big black building; the son of the Iscariote Household went there; it's in the center!"
"I see..."
(It seems this time's problem isn't something that can be solved so easily.)
(I must go change into my other self, Licht, and go rescue Lily.)
"Thanks. You can rest in peace."
"Huh? Bu— I told you everything I knew!"
"For that reason, I thank you. It'll be over quickly and without pain."
"That's not fair!"
"Not fair? Don't make me laugh. It's not fair what you did to a poor, defenseless girl. You should be grateful that your sins will be cleansed by my hand."
"That doesn't—!"
I ended the guard's life in a fraction of a second; no one was watching. Let's go rescue Lily.
◇◇◇
In the center of the imperial capital, there was a long, large black building with covered windows so the outside couldn't see or hear what was happening inside.
Security was private and internal.
Strong knights and adventurers guarded it.
The place was a first-class hotel.
In the most expensive suite, three people were present.
One of them was Lily, who was unconscious.
Another was Flynt, who was at an arcade playing.
Squall was sitting on a long black sofa with his feet resting on a glass table.
In his hand, he had a bottle of whiskey and a glass.
From the age of 15, young people could drink; they were legally adults.
"Hey, Squall-kun, how long are we going to wait?"
Asked Flynt disinterestedly.
"Soon; my father hasn't called yet; he must be doing something important."
"But, I want to try her already."
"You'll have to wait until I find out if the client wants a virgin girl or not."
"Speaking of which, is she a virgin?"
Squall was curious, so he lifted Lily's skirt to see her panties.
"They're white with decorated bears."
"Oh, that's very good; we have a very pure girl!"
"I hope the client doesn't want her virgin."
"Let's hope so."
The conversation between these two was very sinister.
They talked as if Lily were a piece of meat and not a person.
For nobles, this treatment was normal.
"Oh, my soda is finished; I'll go get another."
"Bring me one too."
"Got it~"
◇◇◇
Flynt went down in the elevator whistling.
He arrived at the lobby to get some drinks from the vending machine.
After inserting some coins, several came out.
For some reason, the lights were almost off.
He thought they were slacking off.
There were no guests, so it really didn't matter if they did.
After placing the sodas in a bag, he approached the receptionist.
"Hey, Lawrence-san, the others shouldn't be wasting time. The boss could come at any moment, and you'll have a hard time, hehehe. Here, so you can wake up."
Flynt gave him an energy drink.
When his hand touched the counter, a strange viscous sensation stuck to him.
"Huh? What is this thing?"
Flynt turned on the desk lamp.
He was terrified by what he saw.
A large amount of blood covered the desk.
To scare him more, Lawrence's head was stuck on a broom near his chair.
"What the fuck is this?!"
Flynt was scared; the turned-off lights turned on, and then he looked around him.
It was a scene straight out of a horror movie.
A great bloodbath covered the floor.
Bodies of knights, employees, and adventurers were piled up in one place.
Flynt wanted to cry.
The soda cans rolled; then, one was stopped by a foot.
"I can't get to the upper part without a key; you happen to have it, right?"
Flynt turned around trembling.
Behind him was a mysterious man dressed in black with a strange mask.
The instant he saw him.
"Earth magic: mud wall!"
Flynt activated his magical power and created a mud barrier that hardened after a few seconds.
Flynt shouted.
"Good, that—"
His words were cut short as he watched the wall be cut and destroyed in seconds.
"Give me the key if you have it; don't make this worse for yourself."
"Uwaahhhhh!"
Shouted Flynt as he quickly fled to the elevator.
The figure didn't stop him; he just watched him.
After entering, he closed the door and pressed the button until he reached the top where Squall was.
"Hah, hah, what the fuck!"
His breathing was heavy.
After reaching the highest part, he ran to what seemed to be a steel door, entered the security code, and a magic circle appeared to open it.
After doing so, he ran to the room where Squall was.
"Squa—"
He only took two steps; before taking the third, a small electrified knife pierced his neck.
Squall was surprised, but then calmed down and put his drink down on the table.
While Flynt bled out, he heard what they said.
"Who are you?"
"Licht. I'm your worst nightmare."
Flynt's consciousness faded little by little.
"How did you get in here? It's protected, and the guards?"
"They're all dead. One by one, I hunted them for almost 20 minutes."
"What do you want?"
The man's hand pointed at Lily.
"Her."
Squall quickly looked at Lily and then said.
"... If I do it, will you let me go free?"
The mysterious man smiled.
"Of course not."
Squall also smiled.
"I see. I guess only one of us will leave here alive."
At that moment, Flynt's consciousness faded forever.