16:34 - Black Cat Cafe

Ender Light walked down the stairs of the black cat cafe. She waved and smiled kindly at the sight of Emilia standing behind the bar table. The little girl nodded a little before looking back towards the door.

“You’re too tense,” Ender said.

Emilia looked down a little after hearing that. “I’m sorry…”

“You’re not forcing yourself are you?”

“N-no, no, really, I like working here,” she said.

Ender nodded understandingly. “Don’t push yourself, I’m going out for a while, see you later Emilia,” she said before walking out of the cafe.

“Later Miss Light.”

The second she opened the door, a cool breeze swept over Ender’s form. She took a deep breath of the fresh air before stepping out of the cafe. She looked at the small fountain near the cafe and the pedestrians walking around.

The chirping of the birds and soft purring sound of the feral cats made her walk through the city even more worthwhile. She stopped by a bridge and looked down the fresh clean water below her before walking down the quiet and calming alleyway.

‘Where am I going again?’ Ender thought to herself. ‘Yes, I’m going to the jeep to get Marshall, but… why? The mission is over, I told Alan he passed with flying colors, I should just leave him alone and let him return tonight.’

Another thought crossed through the agent’s head.

‘Don’t tell me I’m starting to like him… Damn it, I am aren’t I? I’m starting to like this demon boy?’

Ender pondered about this for almost half an hour before she made it just outside the village. She turned towards the public parking lot and head straight towards her jeep. “Oi, Marshall,” she opened the door and saw a demon just waking up from a good day sleep.

“Mmm, good afternoon ma’am…” he stretched his arms and yawned a little. “What time is it?”

“Around five,”

Marshall stepped out of the jeep and stretched out his wings. “Aah… What now ma’am?”

“I just got a new mission and…” Ender paused a moment after realizing she literally have no idea what she has to do with Marshall. “You… you follow me for a bit, at least until we figure out what to do with you,” she said.

Marshall sighed a little. “Do you have to make it sound like I’m a burden?”

Ender felt a pang guilt after hearing that but said nothing.

With that, the two of them walked through the streets. Unlike earlier today, there is almost no cats roaming around. Ender thought it’s because it’s almost nighttime, but then she noticed a cat scurrying away from them in a hurry.

Ah, they’re scared of demon.

Ender looked Marshall and found that he’s already hid his wings and horns. So the cats in this town is somehow more sensitive to the presence of a demon. She then remembered about the long cat wrapped around Emilia’s neck and realized that this is the perfect chance to learn more about it.

“Say, ma’am, don’t you think this town is weird?”

“How come?”

Marshall looked around a little bit. “I dunno, like…” he clicked his tongue. “It’s too clean, I literally don’t see any negative energy, not even from the alleyways,” he looked at the alleyways. “I mean, it’s like I’m in that heaven, it’s sickening.”

“Interesting…” now that Ender think about, she didn’t see any violence or suffering of some sort happening in this town at all. A perfect utopia like this shouldn’t exist. “Don’t pry too much, it’s above your pay grade,” she said.

“You know about this town ma’am?”

“No,” Ender replied. “For some reason, the secret of this town is a Rank-S secret,”

“Whoa… Must be some crazy secret history,” Marshall said in awe. Then he realized that Ender is leading him somewhere into the town. “Where are we going anyway ma’am?”

To the Black Cat Cafe, Ender wanted to answer. But then, a thought entered her head, a silly thought that’s been eating away her mind the whole day. “To our next mission,” Ender said finally.

Marshall’s eyes widened after hearing that. “There’s more?”

“You don’t want it? If you don’t I can call the HQ for…”

“NO!” his voice echoes through the whole street, turning some heads. He looked around nervously and his face reddens. “I-I mean… It’s okay ma’am,” he said.

They walked a bit more in silence. It’s borderline awkward for Ender, but she didn’t feel like saying anything.

“Ma’am,” Marshall broke the silence. “I-I failed didn’t I?”

“What makes you think so?”

“I mean… Shouldn’t I…” Marshall looked at Ender and saw her not even bothering to look at him. “Shouldn’t I be going back now if I pass?”

“Then what will you do after you return?”

Marshall blinked a little after hearing that. “Uhh… I will get my B-Rank promotion and begin my first mission?” he half asked.

“That’s… right,” Ender said.

‘Yes, he’s going back and get his first partner, what’s so weird about that?’ Ender clenched her fist. ‘Okay, screw it, I want him to be my partner. Yes, I like him. Yes, I don’t want to say goodbye to him,’ she stopped in her tracks and turned towards Marshall.

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The demon stopped and looked at Ender in confusion. He found her staring at him flatly and slowly shrunk beneath her gaze. “Uhh… Ma’am…” he whispered. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, you didn’t,” Ender replied with a sigh before walking towards a bench nearby. “Sit down,” she pat the spot beside her and Marshall sat down beside her. “This might be the last time we meet.”

Marshall looked down and sighed. “Yes… Unfortunately…”

“Do you accept it?”

“What?”

“Are you willing to accept that this is the last time we’re going to meet?” Ender looked at him, her gaze boring straight into his eyes. “Do you Valmir Apocalypse, the sole heir of the Throne of Thirteenth Hell, accept this reality?”

The boy lowered his gaze once again. “I don’t want to but… there’s nothing I can do about it… I can’t go against the Foundation.”

Goddamn you pushover demon, you’re putting all the work to myself…

“What if I say that I won’t accept it,”

Marshall’s eyes widened after hearing that. “Ma’am? Are you…”

Ender nodded a little.

“Th-then… What should I, you, I mean, we? Should do?”

The girl looked up at the now dark sky and took a deep breath. “You’re gonna have to work twice as hard and get your A-rank promotion,” she told him. “As for me,” she took out her phone and dialed a number.

“Alan,”

“Mmm? What is it Ender?”

“Prepare mine and Marshall’s partnership document.

“Haha! I knew it! No tsundere can resist-”

Ender made a hand sign and Marshall quickly covered his ears.

“A shape of the col-”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! I’ll get right into it.”

Ender ended the call and pocketed her phone.

Marshall uncovered his ears and looked at Ender in amazement. “Wow, that was very cruel of you ma’am,” his tone is that of genuine praise and admiration. “I love how you abuse your powers like that.”

“That can still get me into trouble you know?”

“Still, it was impressive of you ma’am.”

After a moment, Ender stood up from her seat and led Marshall through the city once again. She thought about what she just did and felt like there’s something in this town manipulating her. ‘No, that’s impossible, nothing can manipulate me,’ she thought to herself.

Nighttime in Mercat City is no less beautiful than daytime. The river and canals sparkles from the light of the stars and the buildings of the city. The balconies of the buildings were filled with feral cats sleeping together.

“It’s so quiet,” Marshall said. “Isn’t there any red light district or something in this town?”

“I don’t think so, no,” Ender replied. “This place is anomalously peaceful.”

Marshall sighed a little. “This is my equivalent of hell, you know that right?”

“I know, bear with it, maybe if we’re lucky we’ll accidentally stumble upon the deep dark horrifying secret of this city,” Ender said optimistically. “Maybe this city is built on top of a suffering of other people or something like that?”

“Yeah, that would make this mission worthwhile…” then he narrowed his eyes. “Wait, what’s our mission again?”

“Remember Elliot? Well, apparently he has a daughter and my mission is to confirm if she inherited his power and to what extent,”

“I see… How are we doing this?”

“She’s Elliot daughter so I prefer using the friendly approach,”

Marshall looked a bit disappointed after hearing that but nodded anyway. “Then, what do you need me for?”

“For backup, of course,”

“I won’t let you down ma’am.”

“Ender,”

“What?”

“You’re my partner now, call me Ender,”

A small smile formed on the demon’s face. He put a hand over his chest and looked at his mentor’s towering figure. “Yes, Ender,” he said.

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18:48 - Black Cat Bar

The door bell rang as Ender opened the door to the Black Cat Bar.

“Welcome,” an old man standing behind the bar said while wiping some mugs. He looked at the agent and smiled warmly. “You must be Ender, Emilia told me about you,” he said.

Ender walked up towards him with Marshall following her from behind. “You must be Emilia’s grandfather aren’t you?” she sat down on the bar table and took a closer look at him.

So far, Emilia didn’t see any semblance between the old man and Elliot. The old man has light gray hair and short beard. He’s also impossibly fit for his age, he stood tall and looked at both his customers with his warm yet sharp gaze.

“I am,” then he turned towards Marshall who just stared at him nervously. “And who might you be, young man?”

“Eh? I’m uhh… My name is Marshall, I’m Ender’s… friend,” Marshall replied nervously.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Ender, Marshall,” the barista said. “You can call me Mr. Charles, is there anything I can get you?”

Ender shook her head and took out her purse. “No, I just want to pay the bills for earlier today and the room for tonight,” she said. “How much?”

Charles crouched down and took out a log book. He opened it and browsed through it, frowning a little as he did so. “Ender Light, the food and drink will be 27 Vrells, the room will be 80 vrells a night,” he said.

‘Cheap,’ Ender thought to herself.

“Also, is it alright if Marshall also stay in my room?” Ender asked.

“I suppose there will be no funny business?”

Ender shook her head. “N-no! Nothing like that sir,” she patted Marshall’s head a little and the demon blushed in embarrassment. “Marshall here is nocturnal, he sleeps at eight in the morning. He’ll be spending his time down here while I sleep upstairs.”

“I see,” Charles said. “If that’s the case I’ll allow it.”

“Thanks,” Ender took out her wallet and fished some bills out of it. “Here you go sir, give the change to Marshall, I’m going upstairs.”

Ender was about to stand up when the entrance slammed open. A young man stepped into the bar, closed the door behind him, and took deep short breath. “Old man… I’m back…” he said before holding out a plastic bag.

“Welcome back Christopher,” Charles replied. “Thank you for your help, please take it to the kitchen,” he said.

“So that’s Christopher,” Ender commented. "Where was he from?”

“Outside the town,” Charles replied. “Some of the supplies I use aren’t available in this town.”

Ender took a closer look at Christopher. Physically he’s around Marshall’s age. He has black unruly hair and onyx eyes. He wore a brown jacket under a black shirt. He looked at Ender in interest for a bit before heading straight into the kitchen.

“So Christopher works at the Black Cat Bar?”

Charles nodded a little. “Sometimes I ask him to help me prepare the bar for the night. Sometimes he helps Rena in the kitchen. But usually he’s outside doing some errands,” he explained.

Ender turned to Marshall. The demon shook his head.

“Well, I really should be going now, it’s getting late,” she stood up from the chair and turned around. “Get yourself used to the city Marshall, maybe you’ll find something interesting in this city,” she added.

Ender walked upstairs and found herself staring at a brightly lit hallway. She stopped right in front of her room and heard voices coming from the room behind her. She checked the time, it’s still around seven so it’s not that late yet.

Should she go eavesdropping? Should she knock and try to join them? Should she just let this be for now and return back into her room?

With a click, Ender unlocked her door and entered the room. She headed straight to her study table and took out her mind map.

‘Charles and Christopher,’ she wrote their name beside Emilia and Rena. ‘Cats are afraid of Marshall and Emilia has a cat,’ she wrote Emilia’s cat on the paper with some question mark. Then she looked at the room 3.5. ‘I should ask Marshall to get something in my room at that hour.’

A tune appeared from Ender’s pocket and she took out her phone.

“Okay Ender, it’s done, I’ve blacklisted yours and Marshall’s name from available partner. Now you just need to get him all the way up to A Rank.”

“Good, I’ll get right into it, thank you Alan,”

“No problem Ender,”

Ender disconnected the call and started writing some questions on her sketch book. The question also serves as a to-do list for the agent tomorrow. If she can answer all those questions, this case is as good as closed.

It was almost two hours and five pages that Ender managed to compile enough questions, process everything she learned for today, and wrote her weekly report to the HQ. She pocketed them and yawned a little. “I hate detective mission,” she muttered before walking towards her bed. She plopped herself on the nearest pillow and closed her eyes.

Then, Ender snapped her eyes awake. She took out her flip phone and started writing a short text:

“Marshall, see if Charles is Elliot’s in law or actual father. If he’s an in law, see if you can find something about Emilia’s mother. Listen closely to all customers there, nothing sings louder than a grieving drunken idiot. Also, go up the hallway at 3:30 and see if there’s a mysterious door beside my room, if there is, pretend you don’t see it and go back down immediately. If you don’t have any question, don’t bother answering.”

Ender sent the message and let herself float into the realm of dreams.