The boy wakes up with a start and finds himself lying in bed. He stares at the ceiling for a brief moment before lifting his left hand to his face and pinching his cheek, hard. The pain informs him that he is not in a dream, that last night really did happened, that he won the lottery and struck gold and hit the jackpot and whatever other euphemism he could think of to signify how extremely lucky he got last night.

Rolfe showed him her workshop, and not only that, she promised him its entire contents are at his disposal. The boy feel like a fat kid who has been given the keys to the candy shop and was told to go wild. He resist the urge to grab a nearby pillow and scream into it the joy that desperately want to escape his lung at any given moment.

Calm yourself, you fool… the boy mentally admonish himself. You’re gonna get a heart attack… or diabetes… or whatever diseases inflict obese children these days. The boy gets up from the bed and begins changing. Just play it cool, you’ve already got yourself inside the club. Don’t do anything foolish to get you thrown out, like doing the Giraffe Dance or something… Gods, I missed doing the Giraffe Dance.

The boy finishes changing and begins putting his broken right arm in a sling. It hasn’t healed properly yet, which is odd because the boy was sure it would have mended by today. My healing powers must have been too busy focusing on minimizing the damage caused by the venom from Master Haithur’s blade, the boy summarizes. Extremely potent poison… just one of the things I have to look out for in the future…

The boy leaves the room and heads downstairs. Hundreds of things are currently running havoc across his mind, like how a horde of hungry children would stampede inside the house after a busy afternoon of playing outside, complete with dirty hands and muddy boots, screaming and demanding their mother’s attention. One of those things is the prophetic dream which foretells his imminent death, the reason why he woke up from his sleep with a start.

The boy for the life of him still couldn’t figure out the cause of that particular dream, or how to evade it. The explosion that wipes out everything. He can feel it approaching closer every second of the day, and worse of all its targeting him. No matter where he runs to in the Grandiel Continent, it would still follow him. Which irks the boy tremendously, because he’s not sure why he deserves to receive such judgement. I mean, it’s not like I did anything horrible to incur the Gods’ wrath… yet.

As the boy’s feet reach the bottom of the stairs, he decides to push that particularly troubling issue to the back of his mind. There’s no point agonizing about matters that are so far beyond the horizon. And besides, I have a full day of work ahead of me and some very big fish to fry. Should be enough to keep me busy and keep my mind of worrisome things.

“Morning Rolfe.” the boy greets the entity who as usual is coming out of the kitchen with a tray of hot freshly made food.

“Morning darling.” Rolfe greets back as she busily puts the various food she made on the table in the dining room.

“Another busy day today?”

“Yup. You know how it is. Hands to shake, deals to make, lives to take, hearts to break. Busy busy busy.”

“I do know how it is. Which is why I don’t bother with it anymore. Let it be someone else’s problem. Do you have enough time to join me for breakfast?”

“I’ve got time. And you do realize the small problem you casually brushed aside just now is the ending of the world?”

“What has two thumbs and doesn’t care about dying?”

“…”

“Rolfe Primero. Nice to meet ya.”

“…”

“Anyway, do you need anything from my workshop for your work today?”

“…”

The boy nearly drops the fork he’s using to shovel the small pieces of pancakes into his mouth when he hears the entity asks the question. He stares at Rolfe for a brief moment.

“Oh please…. You think I haven’t noticed you sneaking a peek at the direction of my underground workshop every now and then?”

“…Are you angry?”

“Why would I be angry? I’ve told you already, everything inside that room is yours to use.”

“Gods help me. You are angry…”

“And besides, it’s not like I made this delicious breakfast hoping you’ll compliment my cooking, or wear this revealing top because I want you to ogle me.”

“Rolfe, this is the best pancake I have ever tasted in my life, that’s the gods’ honest truth. And there’s something very different about you today. Did you get a haircut? No wait…. It’s that smashing top you’re currently rocking. You look good in it by the way.”

“That’s right. Backpedal faster, bitch. Ahahaha.”

“…”

Anyway, I was being serious there. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Well since you’re being extremely being generous at the moment, which on any other day would have been a cause for alarm...”

*grins “Shut the fuck up.”

“Seriously, I’m sorely tempted to put my head out the window and check to see if the sun has raised from the west. I mean, this is Rolfe Primero we’re talking about here. For him to offer us help? Next thing you know, pigs will develop the ability for flight.”

“Hey. Did you know this honey we’re using for pancake syrup can also double as a lubricant? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just go ahead and grab my stra-“

“DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING IN YOUR WORKSHOP THAT CAN CHANGE A PERSON’S FACIAL APPEARANCE!?”

“See? That wasn’t so hard now, was it? And I swear, I could hear the sound of you butthole puckering up tighter than a snare drum.”

*pants “So do you have like a mask or something that can be used to disguise yourself?”

“Well it depends on the user really.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you want to modify your facial appearance just for one short mission, or do you want to make the change last forever? If it’s just for a day, I have a mask lying around in my workshop that will absolutely alter how you look. Even your own mother won’t recognize you once you put it on. Provided I can find the damn thing first. I seemed to have misplaced it.”

*cocks head to the side “The mask is currently behind the boxes in the southwest corner of your workshop. It fell down there last autumn while you were doing some spring cleaning… in the autumn.”

“My very own search engine. I’ll never lose my car keys ever again. Now, if only someone would invent a car in order to make that reference relevant.”

“And what if you want the changes to be more of a permanent in nature?”

“Then I could probably whip up something in my chemical lab. But I have to warn you, the result can be unpredictable. Your face will change, sure, but I can’t guarantee how it will turn out.”

“Just tell me one thing.”

“What?”

“Will the process be painful?”

“Extremely.”

“Good.” the boy unconsciously gives out a small smile that makes the entity put down her eating cutleries, get up for her chair immediately, and approaches the boy’s side in order to enjoy a different kind of breakfast.

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

As the boy finishes washing the dishes and various cooking utensils in the sink, Rolfe emerges from the behind false wall that hides the entrance to her workshop. It looks like the entity has finished making the concoction that the boy had previously requested.

“Here you go.” says the entity as she tosses a test tube full of simmering green gunk.

The boy catches the thing thrown at him with his left hand. He studies its content briefly before putting it in his trouser pocket.

“Anything I must know on how to use this thing?”

“Anyone who drinks it should avoid going in the water for half an hour, on account of violent muscle spasm that would almost make them break their bones and the burning sensation they will feel all over their body.”

“Good times indeed.” the boy scratches his cheek, unsure on how to proceed with the delicate subject he’s about to bring up. “And I know I kinda mentioning this at the last minute but I just want to let you know that there’s a chance I won’t make it home tonight. I might be spending the night elsewhere.”

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“Yeah sure, whatever. Go have fun. Make sure you use protection.” answers the entity disinterestedly as she enters the living room, sits on a sofa chair, grabs a nearby book and continues reading where she had left off yesterday.

“Wait, you’re not upset?” asks the puzzled boy.

“Why would I be upset? It’s not like you’re running away and won’t be returning here.”

“Wow, I just thought you would have preferred chaining me to your lawn to keep me from wandering too far off.”

“Dude, do I look like some crazed corrupted being who can’t share you with anyone else? Wait, don’t answer that.”

“…”

“And besides…” the entity licks her finger so she can turn the pages of the book she’s reading easily. “I’ve already promised you the contents of my workshop, haven’t I? Even if you wanted to run away from me, you won’t run away from that.”

“…”

“And that, my darling, is more effective than keeping you bound and gagged in my sex dungeon.”

“…”

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

The boy exits the mansion after kissing the entity on the cheeks and saying goodbye. As he approaches the bottom of the hill, he notices his devoted pigtails maid sitting on a log (the same tree she had felled yesterday morning with her punch), waiting patiently for her beloved master to arrive.

“Good morning Synnove.” says the boy without stopping as he continues walking towards the buildings that make up the Whiteford Academy.  

“Good morning Master.” answers the pigtails maid as she follows behind him, at least half a step back.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“I’ve just got here, as a matter of fact.”

“Did you eat your breakfast?”

“Of course I did, Master, in anticipation of today.”

“And what will we be doing today, Synnove?”

“The same thing we do every day, Master.”

“And what’s that exactly?”

“It’s either one of two things really. Either we carve our bodies to fit the world. Or carve the world to fit us.”

“Synnove, what did I say yesterday about you sprouting out cool lines?"

"If I recalled correctly, Master didn't mentioned anything about it.”

"Oh yeah, right. You were out of earshot at that time."

“Anyway, Master, can I ask you a personal question?”

“It depends on the question really, but sure, go ahead.”

“Now, I don’t want Master to take this the wrong way, feeling that I’ve overstepped my boundary as a maid…”

“After what you did to me in the inn room yesterday afternoon, why stop now?”

“…but can Master shower first before leaving the mansion? I mean, I can still smell Rolfe on you.”

“Doesn’t matter. She will still pounce on me even after I’ve got myself cleaned up. I think it’s one of her way of getting back at you.”

“Was she upset that I didn’t show up last night?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Anyway, I don’t think it’s healthy for you guys to be-“

Before the boy could finish his line, someone approaches him from the side and blocks his path.

“Good morning, young Ser.” the handsome smartly dressed young man standing in front of the boy gives a slight bow.

“Good morning.” the boy replies back. No reason to be discourteous if there isn't a need for it.

“My master, Ser Derek Acanthus, wishes for your presence at his residence this afternoon. It would bring him great joy if you will join him for tea.”

“Then I’m afraid your master must content to being disappointed. After all, I am a student. I just can’t skip classes as I wish. There will be utter chaos. I need to be in class along with the other students doing studious things like...”

“…”

“I’m drawing a blank here.”

“Reading, writing and counting, Master.”

“Yes, that’s right. What she said. Thank you Synnove.”

“Ah, but that didn’t stop you from visiting town yesterday, now did it?”

“But that was a special case. I was accompanying Headmaster Joss.”

“Well, you’ll be happy to know that when I visited your headmaster in his office this very morning, he was very insistent on you following me. In fact, he gave and wrote a special permission for you to leave the school grounds. I have the slip here with me.”

“…”

“Master, I think Headmaster Joss is a bit peeved you knocked him out yesterday.”

“Yes, I got that bit. Thank you Synnove.”

“So, what do you say? Shall we get going.”

“And what if I still say no?”

“Then I’ll persuade you.”

“I like to see you try.”

“Believe me, it will be the last thing you see.”

“…”

“After which you will wake up from your slumber with a splitting headache, of course. Please, don’t let my words just now alarm you.”

*sighs “Since I’ve crippled the man’s son, I guess I have to go meet him, see what he has to say. Please lead the way.”

Ser Derek’s personal assistant lets out a bewitching smile and gives another small bow. “Thank you for consenting to our request. Follow me please. Your chariot awaits.”

The young aide moves towards the Whiteford Academy stables where the carriage belonging to the Darkthus mercenary company was left on standby, the boy and his devoted pigtails maid walking closely in tow.

To the crowd of onlookers watching, the elite male students mostly, they are absolutely sure the boy is marching towards certain death, a fool heading for the gallows . This because they know who the young aide works for and what the boy had done to the heir apparent.

As for the female elite students, a different reaction can be seen. Most are biting down on their perfumed handkerchief, jealous that the boy would be spending close proximity in the company of the handsome smartly dressed young man. The female elite students became acquainted with Ser Derek’s personal assistant after the young aide spent the whole yesterday afternoon talking to them, trying to find information on the boy.

“By the way, my name is Devlin.” says Ser Derek’s personal assistant, extending his right hand to the boy while standing besides the carriage with the door open.

“Nice to meet you, Devlin. Please excuse me for using my left hand.” the boy shakes young aide’s right hand, feeling the touch of white leather glove against his own bare skin. To the boy’s secret surprise, he is unable to feel the special thread he knows is hidden underneath that glove.

Must be some trick or special technique to conceal those razor sharp wires, the boy muses.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t quite catch your name.” says the young aide, again with a bewitching smile.

“That’s because I haven’t given it yet.” says the boy teasingly as he enters the carriage through the open door. The pigtails maid follows and proceeds to sit next to her master.

Ser Derek’s personal assistant could only smile wryly upon hearing the boy’s answer.

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

Sorry for the late chapter. I know I promised to release this chapter last weekend but my youngest sister got engaged and I got roped in as a slave to help manage the party.

This chapter is dedicated to… no one because there's no new reviews (at least there are no reviews that I can see a name attached to it). Seriously? Any new blood or silent long time readers who want to help this ff get to top #30 spot? You guys are breaking my heart here.

So what does Ser Acanthus want to talk about with the boy? Will the boy fianlly gets his blueberry muffin during tea time? Is Devlin really a guy or a girl masquerading as a guy? Find out next week on Demon Hero Reaper Saviour Snail Tortoise Nematodes Sloth...

Leave a review if you wanna help me me reach the 30th place in the Best Rated category or a comment if you see any plot-holes, glaring grammar mistakes or just wanted to show your appreciation.