Lyon POV:

‘Ness knows her, but what relationship do they have?’

I observed the young, attractive woman standing in front of me. She wore black shorts that exposed her toned, but slender legs. I watched her twirl around a lollipop in her mouth when my eyes abruptly widened.

‘!’

Her hand flickered and I grabbed her wrist as the tips of her fingers lightly pressed against my neck. Her lips curved into a smirk while she crouched down.

“I like strong guys.”

She broke free from my grip with ease and took the lollipop out of her mouth. I felt the tension in the air increase as I stared into her hazel eyes.

“Jas, stop being a pain.”

She clicked her tongue and turned her head to the side to look at Ness.

“Eh? Sis? Why are you even here? Tch. Now that I think about it, there’s so many damn females in this room.”

Her eyebrows crumpled together in disgust before her gaze rested back on me.

‘They’re sisters? Who would have guessed?’

I watched her adjust the cap on her head that failed to hide the two bunches of dark blond hair sticking out on either side.

“This is Jasmine. She’s my older sister.”

“Hey, I didn’t ask you to give me an introduction.”

She spun around and poked Ness’s forehead lightly, but Ness seemed used to this kind of interaction.

Len rested the palm of her hand against her cheek as she sat cross-legged. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking exactly, but she became more relaxed knowing that Jasmine most likely wasn’t an enemy.

Marina sat right by her side with a bright smile on her face. She seemed happy to be able to spend time with so many nice people since her smile never waned.

“N-nice... T-to... M-meet... Y-you...”

“Eh...”

Jasmine shifted her gaze to Marina and observed her carefully. She had mustered up her courage to stretch out her hand while staring down at the floor in front.

I saw it tremble slightly as beads of sweat formed on her brow. I glanced at Len whose eyes widened in surprise much like myself.

“Hmm...Yeah, you too.”

Jasmine shook her hand lightly and took out a bunch of lollipops from her pocket. She was about to hand them over when Len stopped her.

“That’s too much sugar.”

“Huh? What are you? Her mother?”

I expected Len to flip out, but instead, she looked away sadly. Jasmine clicked her tongue and put all of the lollipops back apart from one.

“Is one okay then?”

“...Yeah.”

Len took the lollipop and handed it to Marina who thanked Jasmine. She smiled happily to herself while Len showed her how to open the packaging.

The atmosphere had become somewhat awkward, but Jasmine didn’t seem to care. She turned back to face me and pointed at my clothes.

“You should change, newcomer.”

I looked down at the large, cross-shaped tear on my top. She had a point. I took off my open hoodie and then removed the torn top when I heard Marina gasp.

“Hm?”

Their eyes stared at me intensely, each having different reactions. Marina went bright red; her hands over her face as she peeked through the gaps between her fingers. Len looked slightly embarrassed, opting to shift her gaze elsewhere while Ness raised her eyebrows a little.

“Yeah, I knew it.”

Jasmine ran her hand along my defined abs when I stepped back. I didn’t think it’d be a big deal since everyone here was older than me.

“How old are you?”

“14.”

Jasmine slapped her knee and held her head with her hand as if the whole world was ending.

“Dammit! A three-year difference! That’s not much right, Ness?!”

She looked at Ness eagerly, who had a rare expression of slight disgust at Jasmine’s behaviour.

“Who cares anyway? It’s not like those laws even apply here.”

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly before getting to her feet.

“Hey newcomer, we should go out.”

“Go out?”

If there was one area that I severely lacked experience in, it was relationships. I was familiar with business relationships and family relationships and thanks to Master and Nia, I experienced friendships. But romantic relationships? That was something I had never encountered before personally.

‘Wait, what am I even thinking about?’

I let out a sigh as I realized I had let the atmosphere get to me. I put the hoodie back on and looked at Jasmine.

“Jas, why are you here?”

Ness had asked the question I was just about to ask, and Jasmine's eyes narrowed instantly. She sat back down while looking at everyone briefly.

“I’m here to find out what the newcomer plans on doing next. You hit one of their supply chains and dismantled Copycat's favourite disciple. I hope you don’t plan on laying low for awhile. Now’s the time to strike while the iron’s hot.”

Jasmine gazed at me intently as she waited for my response. She made a valid point and if the situation was different, I would be following the next step in my plan right now.

“That’s exactly what I plan to do.”

“What? Why?!”

She crunched down on the lollipop in her mouth as her eyebrows furrowed. My gaze shifted from her to Len and Marina before returning back to Jasmine.

“There are people here that I care about. The rumours will continue to spread, but so will people wanting to prove whether those rumours are true or not.”

She narrowed her eyes while popping a new lollipop in her mouth, but didn’t say anything else.

“So, I need a favour. I want Len and Marina to stay at Comfort.”

“Pahahaha!~”

“!”

I frowned slightly as Jasmine curled over while holding her stomach. She smacked her knees a few times as her shoulders continued to heave up and down.

I didn’t think I said anything funny?

Her laughter came to an abrupt stop and her eyebrows fell to the top of her eyes. She clenched her teeth tightly while I felt a powerful shift in the air as she glared at me.

“You think you have leverage?”

The tension continued to increase while I met her gaze head-on.

“Jas, stop. His request isn’t unreasonable.”

Jasmine dismissed her words and leaned toward me. I didn’t back down, choosing to keep eye contact with her.

“I can do that for you, but we’ll be partners during your stay here.”

“As long as you don’t slow me down, that’s fine with me.”

Her body arched back as her face flushed deeply. It went from bright red to a much darker shade in a matter of milliseconds.

“Oh gosh, you’re really my type~”

“...”

This was more awkward than I expected. I glanced at Ness, but she held her head in her hands, avoiding any kind of further interaction.

“One week. I’ll bring Marina and Len over there in one week.”

“Deal.”

Ness abruptly stood up and grabbed Jasmine's arm.

“We are leaving. I’ll send some people to clean up outside.”

“H-hey! I’m not done yet!”

I watched Ness drag Jasmine away as she called out to me. The door slammed shut and silence descended upon the room.

“You sure know a lot of women.”

I could feel a murderous aura surround Len all of a sudden as she tapped her knee while her amber eyes glared at me.

“...That aside, I won’t ask for you to decide now. I’ll give you two some time to talk.”

I stood up and got ready to leave when I felt Len tug at my arm. I turned around and she pulled me into a hug.

“Thank you for caring.”

She whispered into my ear before quickly letting go. I didn’t answer her, because I felt there was no need to. I waved goodbye to Marina who looked at me shyly as I closed the door on my way out.

The night breeze hit my exposed chest while I headed up to the roof. I thought about everything that had happened here and concluded that this was probably the most eventful week I’ve had in my life in a long time.

I leaned over the railing and looked down on this bleak district. I wondered what Master was doing now. Was he watching me from afar? Or was he dealing with other things? I didn’t know, but there was one thing I was certain of.

‘I won’t let you down.’

***

I didn’t contact Len or Marina at all. Instead, I spent my time wandering around District 4, noting how large this place truly was.

The brutal defeat of Brunaulf had a bigger impact on the streets than I expected. Before, you couldn’t walk down a street without seeing someone getting mugged or some other crime being committed, but now it was different — the streets were quiet.

People didn’t loiter around too long and they constantly looked over their shoulders. They wore expressions of fear and uncertainty as they hurried back into their homes. I observed these scenes from above and a certain phrase came to mind.

‘The calm before the storm.’

The locals were sensitive to matters concerning the district as a whole. This wasn’t exactly a bad outcome, rather I was surprised by just how much influence Brunaulf had. Still, the days passed by and the streets only grew quieter.

*Knock, knock*

The door opened and I stepped inside. It had been a week since I was last here. I took a seat on the floor and watched the two of them.

“L-Lyon...!”

Marina waved at me while speaking with a mouthful of food. I smiled as I greeted her; my gaze shifting to Len who let out a soft sigh before grabbing a fresh tissue from a box beside her.

“Marina, I told you not to talk with your mouthful.”

“F-forgot...”

She wiped the sides of Marina's mouth before throwing the tissue into the bin. Marina hummed cheerfully while she enjoyed her food as Len watched over her with motherly eyes. Whatever Len decided to tell Marina, it didn’t damage the strong bond the two had.

Len took a seat in front of me and folded her arms. No matter what choice she made, I’d respect her decision.

“Lyon, we’ll go with you, but I have one condition.”

“What is it?”

She scratched the back of her head and looked away slightly. Her cheeks turned a very faint shade of red as she deliberated on whether or not she should say it.

“Just... Don’t die on me.”

I looked at her silently. She opened up to me, put her trust in me and was now taking a leap of faith in my abilities.

I didn’t feel any added pressure—I was grateful; grateful that I had the opportunity to help those who wanted help. I wasn’t conceited. I just knew what I was capable of.

“I’ll be fine.”

I smiled at her and got up from my seat. She pulled out a suitcase while double-checking she had everything necessary. I sat down at the end of the bed and faced Marina.

“We’ll be able to see each other a lot more now.”

“R-really...?!”

“Yep, really.”

Marina swayed side to side as she clasped both her hands beneath her chin. Her face shone like the sun while she jumped on top of the bed.

“Lyon, we’re all set.”

Len took Marina's hand and held the suitcase in the other. I nodded my head as we departed for Comfort.