A few hours later, the bag was lifted off K's head. He opened his eyes slowly, pretending to be disoriented, and groaned as if he had just woken up from a nap.

Looking around, he found himself tied to a chair. Before him stood two of the three men he had seen in the restaurant, and in front of them was a woman with a particular charm.

She had silky black hair and a sinister smirk, her clothing slightly revealed her bare skin, she leaned down and stared directly at K’s face. The other men around her called her "boss."

With his usual nonchalant attitude, K quickly made light of his situation. "Well, isn’t this an exciting development?" He looked around the room with a happy smile on his face.

"Lovely weather we’re having lately. You can never predict what might happen," K said casually to his captors as if they were old friends. "Speaking of predictions, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to enlighten me about my kidnapping."

"Oh wait, don’t tell me—let me guess!" K stopped one of the bandit leader's goons and continued to goof around. "Is it revenge?" He thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, that can’t be it since this is the first time I’ve been here."

"Either it’s a ransom, or perhaps a misguided attempt to start a friendship?" K raised an eyebrow, probing them for their intentions despite already having an idea.

The female boss laughed at his words, then stepped closer and gently caressed his face with her hand. "You brought me a smart mouth. A handsome one at that." She withdrew her hand. "Don’t you worry, sweetie? As long as your friend complies with our demands, I’ll make sure you aren’t hurt."

Her eyes roamed over K's appearance before she added, "One way or another."

K smirked at her remark. "How exciting this is. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine being threatened by someone as charming as you," he said in a low, seductive voice.

"You don’t seem to be a strong person nor a powerful magician, yet you’re not scared one bit by your situation." The boss asked, her curiosity peek by K strange behavior.

K chuckled at her. "Trust me, darling, if you’ve been to where I’ve come from, nothing scares you anymore." He laughed. "I’ve seen it all, both bad and worse, but never once have I been kidnapped by a human. Very exciting indeed!"

He continued with a compliment on her appearance. "But you sure have the face of an angel and the heart of a sage."

The boss laughed along with her goons. "Me, a heart of a sage? Your words are as sweet as your face. But I’m nothing like that."

"Am I? You have such a charming presence and a very captivating way of speaking. Tell me, darling, what is it that your heart truly desires?" K asked, a gentle smile on his face.

Without realizing it, the bandit boss leaned in close to K, enthralled by his voice, until one of her goons shouted, "Shut up! Don’t talk to our boss like that, you noble bastard!"

The boss jolted backward, a reddish blush spreading across her face, her heartbeat quickening. K rolled his eyes and sighed loudly at the goon. "I'm sorry, did your mother ever taught you not to interrupt someone when they’re talking?"

"Me and this gorgeous darling are having a very interesting conversation, so piss off, you bollox" K scoffed, a sarcastic smirk playing on his lips.

"You—you!" The goon was about to lunge at K, but he was stopped by another goon.

"As much as I'd love to hear your comeback, I’d prefer to know this lovely sweetheart's name. So, come back once you've found the proper words to use," K said sarcastically to the goon before turning to the blushing boss.

"Speaking of which, would you care to tell me your name, love?" K asked her. When she didn’t respond, K was about to continue probing but the goon he had shooed off earlier cut him off.

"You rich noble charlatan!" the goon shouted at the top of his lungs.

K stared at him for a second before replying with the same sarcastic tone. "You had two minutes to think of a comeback, and that’s the best you can do?" he mocked.

"I would love to call you an idiot, but that would be offensive to the other idiots in the Idiotville in which you crawl out of." K said before turning away.

The boss and the goon beside him struggled to contain their laughter. "You son of a bitch, I will—" the goon started to lunge at K but was stopped by his boss.

"Enough! Both of you, go away," the boss commanded, waving them off with her hand while her back was turned to them. They stood still until she shouted, "Now!" They scurried off.

Her face was still red, she turned to K then unexpectedly, she leaned in and kissed him, before whispering in his ear. "You sure have a way with words, but we’re going to have a problem if your friend doesn’t appear by tomorrow."

"Don’t you worry, love, he’ll be here," K reassured her with an unbothered smile. Seeing his charming expression, the boss blushed harder and turned to leave. "Lyla..." she said. "That's my name," she added before leaving.

Alone in the room, K leisurely murmured to himself, "Lyla, huh? Not a bad name." He sat back and started humming, then began pondering. "I wonder how long it will take for that ungrateful student of mine to come and get me?"

When morning came, Davis stood in front of K’s room with Skye, knocking on the door and calling his name. "K… K? Wake up, it's time to go!" He got no answer.

With no other choice, Davis went down to the inn’s counter and requested K’s room key. He then went back up, unlocked the door, and found the room empty. On the table, a piece of paper was pinned down by a knife.

Curious, Davis read it and discovered that K had been captured the previous night. He sighed in frustration and annoyance. "Seriously?" He blurted out loud, his mind was doubtful about the paper.

Skye tapped his feet and barked at him. "Where is Uncle?"

Davis crumpled the paper and explained to Skye, "Your uncle is being held by some bandits."

Hearing this, Skye asked concernedly, "Let’s go and help Uncle."

Davis shook his head. "No need, K isn’t someone you can kidnap easily. The fact that he’s captured either means his captors are far stronger than him or he went with them willingly."

"The paper asked for a huge amount of money, which means they knew the money was with me after capturing K. The fact that they didn’t come for me immediately rules out the first option, leaving only the second," Davis explained his analysis of the situation to Skye.

"K is a smart and cunning demon. If he’s willing to go with them, it indicates that he doesn’t see himself in any danger," Davis said, tossing the paper into a nearby trash can. "He’ll be back soon after he gets bored waiting. Come on, Skye, let’s go get breakfast."

Hearing this, Skye remembered last night’s conversation she had with K before he was kidnapped. She sat on her hind legs and relayed K’s message to Davis. "Dad, Uncle K told me to tell you this if you decided not to help him."

"Uncle said, firstly, he can’t use his power at all, and if you don’t help him, he might be in danger. Secondly, this will be good real-world training for you. Lastly, if you don’t go and get him, he’ll promise to consistently bother you for the rest of the trip," Skye recounted everything K had told her.

"Of course, he would do something like that," Davis muttered to himself, waving his hand around angrily. "For god’s sake, why wouldn’t he?"

Davis walked toward the door, with Skye following closely behind. "Are we going to go save Uncle K?"

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Davis smiled at her childish innocence. "We’re going to get some breakfast first. If he’s still alive, then he can wait a little longer." He smirked as he left the inn with Skye.

Unbeknownst to them, a member of the bandit gang was following, closely monitoring Davis’s actions. Despite his companion being kidnapped just last night, Davis went to the restaurant without a care in the world.

"After coming out of the restaurant, he went to the adventurer's guild," the observer reported to Lyla back at their hideout after a whole day of tailing Davis around.

Lyla questioned him further. "Did he go in to request the adventurers' help?"

The others in the room listened closely, eager to know the answer. The observer replied, "No, he went there to register as an adventurer." His answer surprised everyone, including Lyla.

They started whispering among themselves until Lyla told them to be quiet. "Did he go anywhere else?" she asked, her gaze piercing.

"H-he went to the bank afterward, madam," the observer answered.

Everyone in the room burst into cheerful conversation with each other. Lyla smiled, delighted to hear this. "So, he went to the bank? That’s good. Did he take out the two hundred gold ransom amount?" she questioned further.

The observer hesitantly replied, "About that... he didn’t go to the bank to take out money. He went there to deposit the remaining money he had on him."

The group fell silent, trying to understand Davis’s actions. Confusion arose as they tried to comprehend his behavior, not knowing that Skye had already notified Davis about his stalker.

Davis was aware of the observer's presence and had led him on a wild goose chase around the city for the sake of it.

As they’re talking a burly man shouted. "He’s mocking us with his actions, boss with all due respect we’ve been too easygoing on our victim lately." He came to the center of the room. "Boss, we need to be more aggressive in our approach."

"Yeah, he's right," the people in the room whispered, nodding unanimously to his suggestion.

"We’re not having this discussion again, Arzus," Lyla shouted, her voice authoritative, but some of the people present continued to speak.

Arzus persisted, rallying the group. "Boss, you’ve been too lenient with them. If your godfather were here, he would have—"

Lyla angrily cut him off. "If my godfather were here, he would agree with my decision." She paused to catch her breath. "My decision still stands: we’ll only take money from merchants and collect protection fees." She stared at them with murderous intent. "And if anyone dares to commit any crime that harms the ordinary folks of this town, you will answer to me."

The room fell silent; no one dared to oppose her decision, though not everyone agreed with her either. "We will not use the old ways. Do I make myself clear?" The room remained silent. "Good, now leave," she ordered.

Arzus stared at her with an unsatisfied gaze but soon left the meeting room closing the door behind him. Lyla took a deep breath and slumped back into her seat, using her hand to cover her face as she sighed frustratedly.

"You know, for a group of mountain bandits, you don’t seem to represent a unified front," K appeared out of nowhere, leaning against the wall with crossed arms, casually starting a conversation with Lyla.

Lyla reacted by throwing a knife at the source of his voice. K tilted his head slightly, avoiding the knife as it jammed into the wall.

"How the hell did you get out?" Lyla cautiously asked, her body on guard, ready to attack if K made any move.

K moved closer to her, his movements calm and smooth. Despite her warning, he continued to approach. "I got bored waiting, so I decided to take a stroll around the bandit camp," K answered her question in his usual demeanor.

"Then get back to your room, while I’m still asking nicely," she said, highly on guard. The fact that he managed to sneak into the meeting room without anyone noticing meant he wasn’t as weak as he appeared to be.

"Who are you, my mother? You can’t ground me! Right?" K made a snarky reply. He looked around the meeting room and noticed a pile of papers. "Since when did bandit leaders start doing paperwork?"

He took one of the papers, revealing it wasn’t a normal document but a drawing of something he never thought he would see in this world. "Is this yours?" K turned to Lyla with a surprised smile. "This is truly a remarkable drawing."

Lyla shouted at him, "Put that down!" She then rushed at him with a flurry of punches. K easily avoided her attacks; compared to Davis, Lyla lacked in almost every aspect.

K grabbed one of her arms and, using her momentum, spun her around and locked her arm behind her back. "Easy there, sweetheart. Didn’t your godfather ever teach you the proper manner for treating guests?" K whispered to her.

Lyla replied while trying to break free, "Then did your mother ever teach you not to touch other people's stuff?" She finally broke free by using her aura to release a powerful force from her hand, pushing K backward.

K took a few steps back, and as he turned to her, he saw her leg coming toward the right side of his head. He blocked it with his arm and used his leg to sweep at her remaining leg, causing her to drop. But he caught her before she hit the ground.

"Trust me, darling, she would’ve taught me that if she hadn’t abandoned me back then," K answered her earlier question while holding her inches away from hitting the ground.

"I'm sorry for asking." Caught in the moment, Lyla unexpectedly apologized, which went against the cold-hearted persona she tried to portray.

K, inches away from her face, perked a smile and pointed out to her with his trademark attitude, "See? I told you that you have a heart of a sage!"

Lyla's heart throbbed as she stared at this strange person. "No, I’m not. And let go of me."

Gently laying her on the ground, K towered over her, pinning her in place. He examined her face, now redder than a tomato, before complimenting her. "You know, from this angle, you’re ten times more beautiful than before."

"So, tell me, darling, what is it that you truly desire?" K asked softly, his voice laced with seduction and anticipation. "Saying that out loud makes me sound like Lucifer," K mumbled to himself.

For a moment, Lyla was bewitched by him and let her guard down. "I want to change the old bandit ways. I want to show them that we aren't just bandits but a gr—" She finally composed herself. "Get away from me!" She infused her fist with her aura and tried to strike K in the chest, but K quickly reacted by jumping backward. Lyla quickly got back up.

K giggled, his attitude never seeming to change. "I applaud your dream, sweetheart. Here’s my advice to you: if you want them to change their viewpoint of your group, try to cut down on the killing and disposing of bodies in rivers and such."

Lyla lowered her hand and exclaimed in frustration, "Why does everyone keep blaming that on us?" Her anger was palpable as she mentioned the mysterious deaths.

"The deaths started happening out of nowhere. We have nothing to do with it," Lyla explained, her eyes pleading for K to believe her. "We even tried to investigate, but our people ended up dead as well. It only happens at night, around the river near the mountain foot."

K raised his brow and tilted his head. "You’re saying that it wasn’t your handiwork?" He continued dismissively. "I’m no Scientologist, but between you and me, I think a group of bandits killing innocent passersby is more believable than them deciding to go for a midnight swim in the fast-flowing river."

Lyla didn’t bother to argue and dismissed him. "Think what you will, but we’re not the ones who did it. We set up camp two months ago after a gruesome encounter with that thing."

K questioned her further, "Oh, but why here specifically? Most bandits set up camp far from the city rather than on its outskirts, where they run the risk of being wiped out by the royal army or the forces of the pillars."

Lyla answered, feeling less threatened by him as he was the first outsider willing to ask about the misunderstanding. "We have nowhere else to go. Our old place was three towns from here, but that creature came and decimated us overnight. When we first came, we were worried, but then the city became very chaotic due to the incident and—"

K cut her off with his thought. "They’re too focused on struggling for control to be bothered by some country bandits." K hit the nail on the head, pacing leisurely around the room as he continued to break down her actions.

"And after this creature took your home, you came here. Since it’s close to the city, which suffered a huge catastrophe, many merchants and opportunistic travelers came seeking to make it big during the crisis."

K turned to her with a knowing smile. "As long as you don’t harm them and only ask for protection and access fees, they wouldn’t bother reporting you, nor will the city care to subjugate your group since they’re currently underhanded."

"But it doesn’t excuse you kidnapping me for ransom, does it?" K snickered, leaning against the wall and waiting for her answer.

"We don’t have enough money to support everyone and were forced to do it," Lyla answered shamefully. Immediately afterward, she tried to make an excuse. "But we agreed this would be a one-time thing and never again."

K leaned closer to her and whispered, "To you, it’s a forced decision." He then gestured as if presenting her with the view outside. "To them, it’s a new way to survive."

"I applaud your willingness to change the old ways, but if you don’t have a clear goal, they’ll spiral out of your control. And when that happens..." K’s left hand was around her shoulder as he gently lifted her chin.

K let go and slowly walked away. "A mountain cannot have two tigers. But if a tiger hesitates to hunt for its young, then the young will hunt it." K walked back casually, laughing after leaving his cryptic message.

"Once you figure that out, I’ll be in my cell," he said, stopping and jokingly turning back to Lyla, who was still in a daze. "I mean room, I’ll be in my room, Mom." K chuckled wholeheartedly before walking through the back door, which was supposed to be locked.

Lyla solemnly stood in the silent room as she ponder. She understood his meaning, but she wasn’t ready to choose a path. In her mind, both paths led to a dead end.