Inside a humongous luxurious room filled with glamorous furniture, curtains, and one sparkly chandelier, a middle-aged man with a gentlemanly look was busy writing on his paper on the desk near an open window. Under the spell of solitude, the man was able to peacefully write whatever he was required to write that night, as his pen swooshed carefully to create remarkably well-written letters. Not even the wind dared disturb the focus of this man as his eyes stared with solemnity at paper. But of course, who cares...

"Yo, old man," I said as the door which slowly opened revealed my smug face.

In response, the middle-aged man stared back at me.

"Fancy of you to live this luxuriously... While your son is having a hard time," I said. "How are you supposed to atone that?"

"...Who are you?" he responded.

"Me you don't know, but this person," I made way for Nicole to enter the room. "Pretty sure you know very well..."

Nicole emerged behind me with a nervous face, gripping her hands in a prayer. As soon as she saw the middle-aged man, "Friesha... That's not him..."

"Again?"

"Yes... Sorry, I should really check on the room first before you," that was what I wanted from the start but she was very afraid to do so.

"Intruders! How did you get in?" before could do anything, I leaped towards him and faced my open palm at his forehead. 'W-what are you-"

"Sorry," I release my spell. "Mind freeze."

It was a spell to temporarily stop the function of the brain, a new skill I had just discovered while traveling with the airhead. It freezes the realea of the brain for a short amount of time, probably about ten minutes or so. I tried it on Felgard, since it was really intended for him and his stupid airy head, but it only lasted for about two minutes.

With the middle-aged man on the ground, face first, I sighed. Nicole came behind me and poked the man.

"It truly is bizarre, this magic thing," she still looked surprised even after I used magic on all the servants and guards we have encountered.

For the sake of this mission, Nicole has to know that she could trust me to get out of this place in case of emergency. Hiding my identity will only rise for suspicion, so I told her in advance before coming here that I am a mage. Surprisingly, she already knew the moment she saw me, which meant why she did not question why I wore the skirt as a head scarf.

By emergency, I meant if the mayor had too many guards, if I get injured enough that I cannot fight, if Nicole got too scared, or worse, if her father had anticipated her to come. It would mean, all of the above might happen. Our escape is through a magic circle I drew back at the church made out of mixed salt, chalk, and marmagoose pollen, a type of magical flower which the church had some growing behind it. It was a teleportation checkpoint where I could immediately take us back there even without chanting a spell. So long as Felgard won't let the children ruin it, specifically Destroyer, the teleportation will occur.

"Curses, why must this mayor make a mansion this big?" I frustratingly asked while sneaking at a fork in the hallway, looking at both sides to see if the coast was clear.

"It's pretty confusing unlike the one I once lived before," Nicole tip toed behind me. "More luxurious too..."

"Could this be like celebration for ridding you off his life?" I asked while quickly passing through an open door which led to another hallway. "What happened to your mother anyway?"

"I don't know," she followed close by. "Ever since I ran away, I haven't heard from any of my parents. Perhaps I got too much into freedom..."

"And that is fine. They weren't even parents in the first place," I stared as I suspected another huge door. I was about to push it open when it did so on its own.

"H-huh? Who are you?" a young man in decent clothing was surprised. 'What are you-"

"Mind freeze," I placed my palm in front of his face and activated my spell. He immediately fell to the floor.

I found this spell to be useful. I only cast the spell on the palm of my hands, and it lasted for quite a while now.

"What are you?" another man, middle-aged this time, was behind him.

"Again," I did the same and he too fell to the ground.

"Hey!" a guard came next behind the middle-aged man. He took out a sword and was about to shoot.

Before he could do so, I quickly leaped in front of him, dodged the sword slash, and did the same spell. Thankfully, there wasn't anybody else in the room.

"Aah! Friesha!" Nicole nearly shrieked behind me.

"What?! Don't just raise your voice!" I was startled.

She slowly pointed her shivering fingers at the middle-aged man on the ground, "T-that's him..."

"Huh?" I looked at the middle-aged man passed out on the ground. "Ah, I see. Now what should I do with the lines I prepared to say to him?"

"Friesha, can we not just take these paper things and run?" Nicole asked while hiding behind me.

"We can't," I shook my head. "If it's still here, it will be Mr. Noore's name on it as owner. We have to make him nullify his contract with Mr. Noore and make it yours."

"I see," Nicole emerged behind me. "Then, what now?"

"Now? Uhh," I could only stare at the marvelous ceiling.

My plan was supposed to corner him, make him give us or write the papers or something, and talk our way out (or use threats if possible...).

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"Nicole, do you think this is his main office or something?" I looked around, checking the desks.

"I don't know," she closed the door and locked it. "I wasn't really familiar with his office before."

"This might be a problem," I thought out loud.

"Huh? Why?" Nicole came behind me.

"We have to wake him up," I turned to her. "He has to give us the papers before the other people in this mansion notices something's amiss."

"Can you undo the spell?"

"Yes, so we should tie him up before I undo it..."

"Mr. Vallanous! Something's going on!" someone suddenly opened the door. "We found a guard passed out hidden behind a bush! Ah-?!"

Nicole and I stared at each other.

"Who are you people?" the guard asked.

Nicole and I looked at the guard...

* * * * *

"Friesha, they won't fit..."

"Don't worry. Th-they wiiilll!" and with every inch of my strength, I managed to close the closet door with three people in it. "Seal!" I applied space magic and compressed it at the closet door, making it very hard to open. It would've been near impossible to open had I a staff.

"I'm done," Nicole stood away from her own father, whom she just tied to a chair. "He is still scary..."

"We've got to try," I came next to her.

"Will he really comply to us, I wonder?"

"Hopefully," I stared at the tied-up middle-aged man.

In truth, I haven't thought about the possibility of him denying our demands. I only judged based on what Nicole told me about him. It would spell trouble if he won't...

"Keep an eye on him. I'll cast a spell on the doors and windows," I said as I turned my back.

"Okay..." Nicole kept watching her father. Or should I call him that?

Just as soon as I finished the space compression spell, guards began to shout from the other side of the door. They began knocking on the door while shouting Valllanous' name. So that's Nicole's last name huh?

"Eeeekh!" Nicole squeaked and immediately hid behind me.

"What's wrong?" I asked before following where her finger pointed at. "Oh."

Her father had just woken up. Blinking his eyes assessing the situation, he then looked at us with complete shock.

"What's going on! What are you freaks trying to do to me?' he struggled to escape, obviously. But of course it wasn't enough. "I am the mayor of this town! You are doing a heinous crime for kidnapping me."

"Haha! Funny because you're not a kid and you're not napping," I smirked. "And you're in your own mansion, so technically its hostage taking."

"Oh..." he looked around. "Still, this is another heinous crime! You will be gravely punished!"

"You're up," I stood aside, revealing Nicole with her back bent.

"A-ah!" she flinched as the stationary middle-aged man staring daggers at her. "AaaAAaaaAaaaAAhHh..."

"You..." the middle-aged man spoke in low voice. "I see... So you've finally decided to stand against me?"

Nicole couldn't move voluntarily as she only shivered out of fear.

"Using dirty tricks like these... It runs in the blood I see," the middle-aged man grinned.

"Hey, you-" I was abrupted.

"Shut up!" he shouted at me before looking back at Nicole with an insulting grin. "You look exactly as dirty as your mother."

I was urging to ignite his face in flames, yet resisted as I waited for Nicole to respond. She should at least fight back now...

"Let me guess what your after. You want me to give you right to own that place with that damned church, right? What for? Those filthy children? Did you really think I'll just give you want you want? Never! Not even over my dead body!"

"Why would you hate your son this much?! Did you really think he chose this life-"

"Shut up!" again? "Stay out of this."

This old fart...

"Heh! The moment I heard from that nun about my son being in that church, I immediately searched for anyone to buy that place and found Mr. Noore, who cared for nothing else than money, fame, and murder. I was expecting it would make you run away and finally be away from my life. Yet here you are, pretending to be brave when deep inside I know, you are the same coward bundle of mistakes you were before!"

"A nun told you? Not the priest?" I asked.

"Yeah... That nun was so devastated for bringing sin inside a holy place. She told me everything, even taking good care of that sin herself..."

"Could you mean?" I gasped.

Nicole's eyes widened.

Vallanous grinned before answering, "I knew it. She is special to you, right? That mother Ashia?"

Nicole's eyes widened further, staring at the ground.

"Can you not see? Where you are, you destroy others," Vallanous continued. "Look at yourself! Your very existence is a sin itself!"

I remembered how people cursed me back at the mushroom-cursed village, as well as how that bandit who kidnapped Millia treated me. I sympathized with Nicole... Our existence, is a sin itself...

Nicole only lowered her head, hiding her face. Without her nun veil, I could tell she looked devastated. Perhaps I should butt in-

"Yeah, it surely runs in the blood..." Nicole suddenly spoke. "Because, just as how you denied me all these years... I too, shall deny whatever you say to me now!"

I felt a smirk on my face after her reaction.

She then held the tied-up man by the collar and shouted at him, "I was never yours nor that woman's child from the beginning! So I was never obliged to listen to you!"

"W-why you filthy-" and he was abrupted, not by words but by Nicole's punch to the face (Heh! how does it feel to be abrupted? But yours might be painful.)

Nicole tightened her grip on the collar of his tuxedo and faced his now unbelieving eyes, "Where are documents for that land! Give it to me! It's my very right to receive something from you this time!!!"

"SIr Vallanous! We have called for soldiers! They will be here immediately!" a guard shouted from past the door.

"Hahaha! Hear that?! Soldiers are coming. Y-you will never succeed!" the tied-up middle-aged man laughed despite his condition (I mean that punch was strong judging from the loss of tooth.)

"Then what do you plan to tell them?" I asked, walking closer to the two. "That your son came and assaulted you? I wonder what the public might think upon hearing that the mayor's adored lost son came back for revenge?"

"They'll believe me... I'm their mayor!" he provoked. "I have money and power to have the soldiers tell a lie! I'll have them kill you two without ever telling the public. Then I'll tell them that whatever happened here was done by a filthy vile burglar after my riches..! I mean, I'm not lying, so Jhurai will forgive me."

Nicole gave him another punch to the face before continuing more to his belly, "Don't omit the word 'great god' from the great god Jhurai!"

After a few, no, plenty of blows, Nicole felt tired and backed away from him.

"I'm kinda enjoying this," Nicole smirked as she panted (i guess this is her manly side.)

"What now? Looks like he won't tell us anything," I sighed at the sight of a heavy-breathing bloody-mouthed tied-up middle-aged man.

"Oh no. W-what should we do?" Nicole's voice went back to the cowardly type.

"...hehe, hehehe... Hehahahahahaha!" the old fart suddenly let out an eerie laughter. "I'll be telling you something alright... Something I'm sure will make you go running out of here..."

"What do you mean?" I asked and came close to him. "Tell us."

"hehehe... It's not what you want to hear, but what you need to hear," the old fart just grinned.

This time, I held the collar of his tuxedo, "Speak up..." i had a bad feeling.

"hehehe... Mr. Noore you see, he doesn't enjoy waiting," he began talking. "I believe I mentioned the word murder when I was describing him..."

"F-friesha..!" Nicole looked at me the moment I looked at her too. "The children!"

I got chills the moment a dark possibility flashed in my mind, "D-don't worry! Felgard is with them. He won't let the children be. He's strong!"

"But Friesha, I'm scared..." Nicole trembled in fear.

"Tch! Dang this!" I grabbed the tied-up fool by the collar and raised my hand in front of him. Rage made it spark with realea. "Hurry and give us what we need to own that property!"

"Y-you are..." he watched me with a curious face. "I see... So he was right."

"What do you mean?" I tightened my grip at him. "Hey! What do you mean? Who is?"

"Papa?..." a small voice sounded past the door. "Papa! Are you there?!"

Nicole and I shifted our attention towards the source.

"Come here Fillia," and a woman's voice came next. "It's dangerous here..."

"But Papa! He needs help!"

"No worries, Papa is fine..."

"Hey, Friesha..." Nicole's voice sounded frailer.

"Nicole..."

"Let's go... The children are waiting for us..."

"...Are you sure?.."

She nodded. I couldn't see her face but, i was sure she was...