Extra Case Files: Marvel - Sanguis13 (2024)

Chapter 1: MC Overview

Chapter Text

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…

[… MC Overview …]

Name: Hadrianus Rey von Aelrheit (present)

Full name: Hadrianus Nox Lucis Caelum (past)

Gender: Male

Birthdate: May 13th

Height: 176 cm (5’9”)

Weight: 65kg

Hair Color: Black (Platinum Gray)

Eye Color: Violet (default)

Blood Type: AB -

Place of origin: Insomnia (Lucis, Eos)

Circuit Quality: A (EX)

Circuit Composition: Unique, Rare, simple but complicated

Circuit Quantity: A+ (EX)

Bloodline: Lucis Caelum, Schweinorg, Peverell, (???)

Race: (???)

Character Type: Human, Magician, (Foreigner)

Affiliation(s):

• Lucis
• Aelrheit family
• AEONS (present)
• High Council (present)
• Clock Tower (past)
• Mage’s Association (past)

(Note: The height and weight are obviously for his adult form.)

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…

Also known as:

• The 7^th
• God of War
• Nabob Prince
• Prince of Magic
• The Azul Prince
• Sovereign of the Moon
• Magician of the White Void
• Two-Faced Prince (nickname)
• Prince of Obliteration (nickname)
• Junior Wizard Marshall (nickname)

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…

Alias(es):

• Henry Farron (in public)
• Sieg Wahrheit (in AEONS)
• Rey de Silva (in crime circles)

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Talent(s):

Culinary arts (cooking), research (magecraft, magic), creating (inventing, crafting, etc), planning (tactics, schemes, etc.), fighting (training, killing), collecting (treasures, valuables, etc.), business (management), hacking, fishing, drawing, secretly good at gambling, memorization, and multitasking.

Likes:

Crafting, fishing, research (magic), cooking (and eating), sleeping (secretly), training (physically and magically), collecting (treasures), and exploring (dungeons, unknown locations, etc.)

Dislikes:

Ambitious people with malignant intentions, low-quality goods being sold at high prices (scammers), and clutters (uncleanliness).

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…

Magecraft(s):

• Jewel Magecraft
• General Architectural Magecraft (Formalcraft, Customization)
• Material Transmutation (Alteration, Reinforcement, Gradation Air)
• Eidos & Psion Magecraft (Counter Magic, Restoration, Decomposition, etc)
• Alchemy (Memory Partition, Thought Acceleration, Transmutation, Flash Air)
• Others (Unified Language, Memory Manipulation, Healing Magecraft, Runes, etc...)

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Skills:

• Telekinesis (A+) – The ability to move objects via thought. (Lucis Caelum inheritance)
• Telepathy (C++) – The ability to speak to another via thought. (Lucis Caelum inheritance)
• Empathy (EX) – The ability to sense the emotions of living beings in the near vicinity. (Lucis Caelum inheritance)
• Teleport (EX) – The ability to transport from one place to another instantaneously. Can teleport himself anywhere as long as he knows the coordinates. (Lucis Caelum inheritance)
• Elemental Sight (EX) – A sensory ability that allows Hadrian to connect to the realm known as the ’Information Dimension’ and identify the landscape down to every detail.
• Clairvoyance (B~?) – The visual ability that is also called “Eagle-Eye”. Because of a good balance with ‘Instinct’, limited future sight is possible too.
• Charisma (A++) – Charisma is a rare talent, and a (B) rank is sufficient enough to lead a nation. At this level, it is not a matter of popularity or skill, but closer to something like sorcery or a curse.
• Golden Rule (A++) – Fated to live a life filled with riches, he can live his life as a billionaire. Although this ability seems unrelated to battle, it plays a great role in arming him, much like his predecessor (Gil).
• Instinct (A++) – Enables the user to instantly identify “the best personal course of action” during combat. At rank (A++), it is essentially in the realm of predicting the future. (Lucis Caelum inheritance)
• Natural Body (C) – Enables a perfect body as a living creature since birth, regardless of his reincarnation. His body shape will not change, no matter the amount of calorie intake. (Lucis Caelum inheritance)
• Natural Born Genius (A) – One who has unparalleled natural knowledge. Allows the use of most skills, excluding those inherent to the body (Divinity) or ones unique to particular heroes, at proficiency of (A - B) rank.
• Knowledge of the Sowa (A) – Prevents the reduction of accuracy, regardless of how many times the same technique has been used on the same foe. The ability to “render one’s attacks unreadable to the enemy”.
• Single-Mindedness (B+) – The ability to immerse oneself in something, exhibiting a superhuman degree of focus. If he has a goal in mind, Hadrian can sleep for an average of 3 hours.
• Vitrification (A+) – A serene state of mind. A mental protection that nullifies mental interference. (Lucis Caelum inheritance)
• Void Magecraft (EX) – A special branch of sorcery that is only exclusive to Hadrian to support the First and Second True Magic. Comes with a set of abilities on a league of its own.
• Regnum Lunae (EX) – Grants him the exclusive authority to command the Moon Cell Automaton (an alien artifact made by a lost ancient civilization), and its many various capabilities.

(Note: Letters besides the skills are ‘Parameter Rules’ for Servants. E is the lowest, while EX is the highest.)

(Note: I would include Territory Creation in the list, but Hadrian doesn’t really need it…)

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Abilities:

• Armiger Arsenal (soul inheritance: Lucis Caelum)
• Gate of Babylon (soul inheritance: Gilgamesh)
• Death Hallows (soul inheritance: Peverell)
• Chronostasis (soul inheritance: Lucis Caelum)
• First Magic: Genesis (Alpha)
• Second Magic: Kaleidoscope
• Third Magic: Heaven’s Feel
• Seventh Magic: (Unknown, Omega)
• Serial Phantasm: SERAPH
• Mystic Eyes of Death Perception

(Note: Powers on a different scale and quality are listed here.)

(Note: ‘Soul inheritance’ means powers that the MC gained in his previous life, imported into the present.)

(Note: This chapter would be too long if I added details on what these abilities can really do. This page will also be updated in the future as the story progresses.)

Chapter 2: Prologue

Chapter Text

Prologue

…

Hadrian thought that it was over.

His second life was satisfying.

It was not certainly perfect, considering the numerous ups and downs he had experienced throughout the journey.

But, at the very least, it was close to being one.

Despite his unique upbringing, he was able to live his life in peace (relatively, anyway) and had done what he wanted to do.

More importantly, he had people that he came to care about with him through it all.

He had friends, comrades who remained loyal and faithful at his side, and he managed to do his duty as the heir of the Schweinorg household, continuing the line with someone he truly cares about. It may have been somewhat out of character of him to settle down, but he had a duty to fulfill and so he went and did it. It was not a strange thing for him to do, considering it was something he would have done in his first life if not for the war.

To be a husband, and then a father, was a new and intimidating experience, but he endured and managed to persevere somehow.

He may not be the perfect husband, nor the ideal father to his children, but he did his best to make sure that his loved ones were safe and their needs in the present and future were well taken care of.

And when he took his last breath, Hadrian faced it calmly without fear as a descendant of a goddess of death should.

While death was a somber and sullen affair for most people, to the descendants of Etro, the Goddess of Death, it was simply a natural course in life that must happen.

In Hadrian’s case, he did not fear death since he already knew where his soul would end up.

…

…

At least, that was what he had thought at first.

Just when he closed his eyes and imagined the beautiful snow-white field of Valhalla (the resting place of those related to Etro, and other mortals deemed fit to enter his ancestral mother’s realm), his peace of mind was quickly disrupted by a shocking sensation that disoriented him for a few moments. It felt as if he was picked up and dropped down at a very high speed, almost akin to being inside a small elevator that was free-falling with no security.

Hadrian grimaced.

There was a buzzing noise in his head that was painful to bear, but slowly, it was ceasing into a muted noise in the background.

Then, the noises flowed in as his hearing returned.

“– Look, milady, a healthy boy!”

“The heir to the household!”

“Congratulations, milady.”

“Congratulations, my dear.”

“Ha… haa…. haaa… thank you, everyone, mama.” Said a woman in between labored breathing.

BANG

His eyes may be closed, but Hadrian was sure that was the sound of a door being slammed open.

Before he could delve deep into his musing though, a male voice shouted from somewhere far away from him.

For some reason, the voice was quite familiar, as if he had heard of it before.

And for some reason, he has mixed feelings at the idea of it, as if discovering who it was would bring him both nostalgia and frustration at the same time.

Like he said, mixed feelings.

“A boy?! Give him here! I wanna hold him!” The man said, uttering words with a hint of childishness that was a stark contrast to his deep and elegant voice.

“Papa, please don’t be so loud.”

“Husband, our precious child has just finished giving birth, our first grandchild might I add, and you barge in here in such a barbaric manner?” The words were delivered coldly yet eloquently by the woman before, who seemed to have shed her motherly nature for a moment to admonish her husband’s behavior.

“Eh? Ah… Ahahaha, sorry, sorry. I was just really excited, my love.” The man was quick to apologize, immediately sensing his precarious position.

‘Smart man…’ Hadrian gave a mental nod to the man’s quick thinking.

The man may seem like a fool, but he was certainly quick to acknowledge the situation he put himself in.

On a different note, it seems that Hadrian was (once again) reincarnated.

Whether it had something to do with the gift the astral gods had bestowed upon him from his first life or due to the meddling of a higher being, Hadrian was not sure.

It was not exactly a subject that he had authentic information to muse on, at least not yet anyways.

Nonetheless, the truth will reveal itself in its own time. He just needed to be patient and endure his situation for now.

… even if it means going through the horrible stages of puberty once more.

The mere thought of being a teenager (again) made him cursed.

But, due to his current body, Hadrian let out a short, frustrated cry instead.

“Oh, he kicked just now. That little one is going to be quite the fighter once he grows up. I can just feel it.”

“How adorable.”

… He almost forgot that he was not alone.

‘Tsk… Let’s assess the situation first.’ Hadrian thought, setting aside his annoyance for now.

When he opened his eyes, a pristine white beige ceiling greeted his sight.

Then, the faces of people he had never met before came into view.

The first was a young woman with light curly blonde hair that went past her shoulders and a pair of clear yet vivid amethyst-colored eyes.

She has a fair skin tone and was currently dressed in a black nightgown. Her face, while exceptionally beautiful, was lightly damped with sweat and with a few strands sticking against the side of her temple. She looked tired, but her violet eyes shone with love and relief, all of which were directed upon him as she held him gently in her hands while leaning against the headboard for support.

The emotions he sensed from her alone were enough to indicate her as the one who gave birth to him.

His mother in this life.

Next to her was another woman, albeit more mature but just as elegant as the other.

She shares similar features to the younger woman, from her facial features and down to her violet eyes, but her hair was black and tied up into bun with a lock of her bangs free to the right side of her left countenance. With her black dress and elegant looks, she appears to be a businesswoman with a great sense of awareness in fashion. And like the former, the mature-looking woman looked upon him with a motherly expression as well.

Recalling the conversation earlier, he would guess that this woman was his grandmother.

He was brought out of his musing when the male voice from before spoke again.

“It’s been minutes, can I hold him now?” The only male voice he heard in the room pitched in, almost whining.

Upon hearing his voice, the older woman’s face contorted into a slightly annoyed expression while the younger one sighed in exasperation.

“Dear, I love you, truly, but you can be quite troublesome at times…” The older woman commented, sending a mild glare over her shoulder.

Her words elicited a burst of bold laughter from the man, one that Hadrian found familiar but could not quite pinpoint yet.

For someone who has a photographic memory, he sure was having a difficult time recalling his memories.

‘Perhaps it’s because this body needs more time to mature…’ Hadrian assumed. ‘Only time will tell if I’m correct though…’

“Haha, it’s one of my charming points, my love.” The man said smoothly. “Who knows, maybe enkel might inherit that side of myself too?”

“Goodness, I hope not.” The older woman denied quickly in a monotone voice, looking mildly disturbed by the idea.

“Yes, one of you is enough, sir.”

“The Lord is kind and benevolent, but he has shown himself to be quite the trouble magnet.”

“Indeed…”

– were the side comments from other occupants in the room.

Hadrian heard a sigh from above him, causing him to look and see the younger woman (who still happened to be carrying him in her arms) send a fond yet exasperated smile to someone in front of her, probably the man who had been complaining from before. Then, she adjusted her hold on him, gently extending her arms forward as she spoke again.

“Come on then, papa. You can hold him now.” The young mother ushered, smiling, and still looking beautiful despite her recent labor.

While not one to be swayed by appearances, Hadrian supposed he was more conscious of her beauty due to how happy she looked.

It might be his assumption, but he has this feeling that the young woman seemed to be the type to keep her composure.

The kind that rarely smiles around strangers, lest there was a certain cause for her to display such an emotion freely.

‘Then again, it might simply be because she’s happy right now…’

His internal musing suddenly stopped when a new pair of hands held his newborn body.

Then, utter shock filled his entire body as the face of a man came into view and a pair of bright cyan eyes look down at him.

Mischievous eyes that were extremely familiar to him.

The sense of dread deepened, and when the man spoke, his worst fears came true.

“Enkel!” The man, whom Hadrian has great suspicion of being a reincarnation (or some sort) of his late grandfather in another lifetime, grinned down at him.

One of the founding fathers of the Mage Association and (later) the Clock Tower, and the Magician of the Second True Magic, the Kaleidoscope.

It was none other than his grandfather, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.

‘Tsk… even his grin is the same as his…’

“Bwahaha! Look, mein Schatzi (my treasure)! He’s naught but a babe, yet he already has quite the glare. Bwahahaha!” The old man laughed.

‘This is him, all right…’ The former king deadpanned, his suspicion all but confirmed by the way the man behaved and spoke.

Hadrian merely stared as he was held by his grandfather from his past and present lifetime.

And so, his life in a new reality begins… albeit (unluckily) graced with the presence of a troublesome grandfather.

Chapter 3: Just another day in Paradise (1)

Chapter Text

[… Afternoon …]

FWOOSH

FWOOOSH

Within a vast meadow was a small forest of white trees with silver, pink, and gold leaves.

A small hill with a giant white tree was in the center, and under its tall stature was a seven-year-old boy, lying on his back.

Such nice weather was a bit rare in England, especially in a remote location, and while most would be pleased and savor the peaceful view of white fluffy clouds drifting lazily with the air, the young child was not at peace as he was found himself glaring at the skies as if the heavens had offended him in some way.

The source of his ire?

Well, he was musing over issues that a child of his age doesn’t usually have, much less even think about.

The boy in question was none other than Hadrian Rey von Schweinorg, a former king of light, a magician of four True Magics, and the sole inheritor of the Moon Cell. (1)

He had numerous titles under his belt, most of which were bestowed upon him by weird people, but that was unimportant.

It had been seven years since he was reborn in this world, and he still found himself wondering whether to be grateful or curse his dubious luck.

And in this world, he was bestowed with a new name, which was Hadrian Rey von Aelrheit.

…. at least his first name remained the same, a small mercy he supposed.

But the rest that came after remains a mixed bag of both good and bad.

The first of which was that he was, once again, closely related to the founder of the Second True Magic, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.

Or as he was now known in this reality, Zelretch von Aelrheit.

The man was his grandfather once again, although he seemed to be fond of his previous name since Hadrian learned that the old magician uses it as an alias from time to time.

How did Zelretch end up here? Well, the old man gave him a short but interesting story.

As a practitioner of the Second Magic, one of his grandfather’s abilities was to connect his soul through jewels, and when he passed on the Lord seat of the Schweinorg household and the Kaleidoscope to Hadrian, he decided to move on and visit other worlds that piqued his interest.

Passing on his true magic to his heir does not technically mean he was bereft of his abilities, just as the old man had proven to him once more.

Zelretch took an interest in this world due to its varying differences from other realities that he had visited before, extending his stay for a while out of curiosity.

Then, one thing led to another, Zelretch met the Gaia of this world and became friends with her, particularly with the latter requesting his assistance after she discerned his eccentric yet lawful nature.

Years went on, and the old man met the alternate counterpart of his late wife in this world.

Long story short, his grandfather pursued her, and the two have been happily married for more than 20 years.

They had one child, and that was Hadrian’s mother (in this life), Ava von Aelrheit.

Hadrian wondered why his grandparents did not pursue having more children, then he remembered that his grandfather was a magus.

Not just any average mage, but one of the Wizard Marshalls of one of the ancient magical organizations in his previous life.

The saying ‘old habits die hard’ stands true for most people, more so for those with a magical lineage – particularly his grandfather.

The old man most likely deduced that it would be difficult to choose an heir if he had more than one child, therefore settling down with raising one child.

His grandmother seemed content with his decision well, seeing as she accepted his grandfather’s reasoning without much issue.

His mother, on the other hand, was different and had two children, one of which was Hadrian himself, and the other was his little sister, Elsa Faye von Aelrheit.

Feeling a heavy weight creeping into his chest at the thought of his mother, Hadrian closed his eyes and moved his thoughts back to his grandfather.

Of course, given his eccentricities and character, being related to him was both a good and a bad thing, if not the only matter that was truly a point of contention among everything else.

Hadrian respects the old man and cares for his well-being, but he cannot deny that his grandfather has quite the track record of being a trouble magnet and being the source of trouble itself, sometimes.

A trait that he inherited from the old prankster, according to some of his retainers.

Nothing more needs to be said on troublesome matters related to his grandfather.

On the other hand, having the old man in his corner again would be a great advantage for him in this life, just as it had been in his previous life.

Even if he was bound to be dragged into Zelretch’s usual antics… again.

CRUNCH

CRUNCH

The sound of grass being stepped on cut through his thoughts, prompting Hadrian to open his eyes and look at the source of the footsteps.

Tilting his head to the upper left, Hadrian saw two men walking calmly toward his location.

Said two men were opposites of each other, yet remarkably the same in others.

The first in front was a tall and slender man with pale skin, red eyes behind black-framed glasses, and bright crimson hair, worn in a low ponytail that extended to his mid-back.

He wears a black dress shirt with long sleeves, a white vest, and a black ascot with a red gem.

Over this, he dons a white coat with a crimson interior and gold details decorating the neck, shoulders, lapels, and around the cuffs.

Lined at the lapels of the blazer starting from the waist down and around was a thin black fur.

He wears white pants, which are embellished with chains, while a bright crimson-orange gem with gold ornament was tied to his belt, a gift Hadrian had given to him a long time ago.

He also wears cuffed, dark brown boots, and a pair of black and red gloves.

Following behind him was a man who shared a similar physique as the former, tall, and slim, but had a darker complexion, dark brown eyes covered by clear spectacles with thin metal frames, and short shaggy black hair.

He wears a black dress shirt with long sleeves, a white vest, and a white blazer with silver cuffs over the former. He wears white dress pants with a black belt, and a pair of dark brown shoes.

He also wears a few notable accessories: a watch around his left wrist, two varying bracelets on his right wrist, and a silver brooch with a blue jewel pinned at the lapel near his heart.

What made them seem similar (at least, in his point of view) were the expressions they wore, the way they moved, and behaved.

The two moved elegantly and calmly. They both have a relaxed yet dignified aura.

They even wore similar stern and uninterested expressions, but upon the sight of Hadrian, their eyes gained a soft and light tint to them: clear indications they were pleased to see him, given how their faces brightened somewhat, and the pace of their walk seemed faster than before.

Like the former, he wore a pair of gloves, but his were white instead of black.

The man with long red hair was the first to reach Hadrian, followed by the black-haired man a close second.

“Young master, I greet you.” The red-haired man said with a smile, kneeling and bowing his head as he did so.

The second mirror his actions, silent but unhesitant to show his respect to Hadrian with his movements alone.

While Hadrian looked calm and relaxed, their actions did not please him at all.

He had told them, along with the others, not to debase themselves in a subservient manner nor to be too formal with him, yet it seemed that he was only wasting his breath each time.

Biting the inside of his cheek at the unnecessary display of their mutual respect for him, Hadrian decided to ignore them kneeling in front of him and sat up from his position with a sigh.

“Diluc, Arjuna.” Hadrian said by way of greeting, nodding to the two men. “What brings you two to interrupt my break?”

The red-haired man, Diluc, raised his head but did not move from his kneeling position.

“I beg your pardon, my lord.” Diluc said, expressing a bit of regret. “For interrupting your short rest.”

“… sorry.” The dark-skinned man, Arjuna, muttered a quiet apology.

Hadrian shook his head, breathing another sigh before turning to the two men again.

“It’s alright. Just tell me the reason.” Hadrian said calmly.

“Lord Zelretch wishes to see you.” Arjuna spoke, soft in tone but audible enough to be heard, earning Hadrian’s questioning gaze.

One of Hadrian’s brows lifted at the announcement, then his face smoothed into its usual calm and regal façade that hinted nothing of his inner thoughts.

“And just when I was wondering what he was up to…” Hadrian muttered, waving off the confused glances that Diluc and Arjuna shot at him.

With a huff, he placed his hands on his knees and stood up.

“All right then, lead the way.” Hadrian said, making the two nod and proceeding to do as he asked.

For a moment, Hadrian watched in silence as they slowly descended the hill.

Then, he turned and gazed over his shoulder, zooming in on a white marbled gravestone located under a white tree of the same kind he was standing under, albeit smaller in size and height.

The grave was located just a few kilometers away from his position, reachable via stairs that lead down to the ground level of the hill.

Feeling a heavy weight in his chest creep up again, Hadrian’s bright blue eyes softened at the sight of the tombstone, looking melancholic as his eyes read the name.

FWOOSH

An unexpected breeze hit him from behind, ruffling his hair and clothes slightly.

The breeze was gentle and a bit cold, but Hadrian did not mind the cool sensation.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Hadrian took a deep breath, exhaling through his nose.

Opening his eyes again, his hands formed into fists before he placed them inside his coat’s pockets as he turned on his heel and followed the two men, who waited for him at the bottom of the hill.

…

…

…

Back at the tombstone, a name was carved on the smooth marble, written in an elegant cursive and of molten gold.

…

In loving memory of…

Ava von Aelrheit

Dearly missed by family and friends…

Never forgotten…

…

A strong wind flew by, showering the grave with silver, pink, and golden blossom leaves.

The boy paid his respects, just like he did almost every other day, and the forest was silent once more.

…

…

The trek downhill was peaceful.

Hadrian savored the soft breeze brushing against his skin as he followed Diluc and Arjuna.

And by the slight smiles that the two are wearing, they too enjoyed the companionable silence.

“MASTER!”

…

…

…

Well, until someone called him from a distance.

‘It was good while it lasted…’

Hadrian sighed, spotting a familiar figure rushing towards him.

Due to the latter’s exceptional condition, the distance was covered in less than a minute.

The figure in question was a young man with black and white hair and blue eyes.

He was tall, around 5’9, and had a light complexion, bearing European features, hinting at his heritage that was somewhere between French and German.

He was a carefree-looking young man, wearing a light beige shirt with long sleeves and blue suspenders over it, a pair of loose brown pants, and black and white dress shoes.

The expression on his face though, was not what a carefree-looking person would wear.

“MASTEEEEEEEEEEEEER!” The retainer, Charlemagne, cried out.

Hadrian slowed to a stop, looking on as his retainer hurried to him.

The two retainers, Arjuna and Diluc, standing on either of his sides had different reactions.

Arjuna squinted his eyes, looking stern.

Diluc pinched the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh, before also looking at his fellow retainer with a stern expression.

Charles paid them no heed, however.

The retainer’s utmost attention was on his Master, who took note of the former’s distressed appearance with a quick glance.

Hadrian didn’t know whether to feel amused or concerned about what he was about to hear.

“Master! There you are!” Charles exclaimed, looking a bit frantic.

“…yes, Charles?” Hadrian answered after a slow blink, idly wondering what troubled the usually trouble-making retainer.

“Trouble! There’s trouble!” Charles announced, waving his arms wide for emphasis.

“Trouble?” Arjuna muttered.

Hadrian merely raised his brow.

The magician doubted it was serious.

The entirety of the property was protected by a Bounded Field (magic barrier) made by Zelretch himself.

Diluc though, seemed to have an idea of what Charles was talking about.

“It’s those two again, I take it?” The redhead male guessed in a monotone.

Charles blinked, slightly taken aback.

“Eh, yeah. How’d you know?” The dual-haired colored retainer asked.

Diluc sighed, scratching the side of his head out of irritation.

“Since when did they ever NOT cause trouble?” The redhead retorted.

“Eh…” Charles paused, then nodded with a sheepish chuckle. “True, true.”

Hadrian opened his mouth to speak –

BOOM!

– but was interrupted by a loud explosion that occurred in the distance.

In unison, four heads snapped in the direction of where the noise came from.

… only for the four to stare in shock at what they all saw.

“Oh my go–“ Charles cut himself off as he stared at the damage in surprise.

“Agh…” Diluc groaned, face-palming.

Hadrian briefly closed his eyes with a loud sigh, shaking his head.

The portion of the estate’s roof, the same estate given to him by his grandmother as a gift and for all of them to live in, was now missing.

Blown off to pieces to who knows where.

The cause of the explosion could only be inside the building, right where the damage was.

And sure enough –

SWAAAK!

BOOM! BOOM!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The sound of water gathering in one area, followed by loud impacts and gunshots cutting through the air, was heard in the distance.

“Those idiots…” Diluc muttered under his breath, reddish brown eyes glaring in the direction of the commotion.

“Ah, they’ve really done it now.” Charles complained, scratching the side of his cheek.

Arjuna didn’t speak.

The dark-skinned retainer only took out a pair of white gloves from his left pocket and proceeded to wear them with a stern expression.

Hadrian sighed.

“Let’s go before they destroy the estate even more.”

With that said, Hadrian led the three men to the estate.

It did not take long for them to arrive.

Under a minute, the quartet arrived at the scene of the incident.

“Ugh… man.” Charles complained, one hand on his forehead as he and they others looked at the damage.

A large portion of the roof by the kitchen area was gone, and in its place was a hole, big enough to fit five to seven people.

Puddles of water were everywhere, staining the carpet covered floor with mixed dirt and grime from the dust and crushed debris.

Twelve or thirteen feet away from them were two people fighting, ignoring everything else around them.

The idiots are too occupied in battling each other to even notice their presences, and the glares directed at them.

PAT PAT PAT

PAT PAT PAT

PAT PAT PAT

Their attention was diverted to the left, however, as the unmistakable noise of rushing footsteps entered their hearing range.

Hadrian, Charles, Arjuna and Diluc turned their gazes just in time to meet a crowd of little bodies come into the room.

They were small, around the age of 10–11 years old.

Some were dressed in a loose-fitting school uniform and glasses, some wore chef attires, some wore medical uniforms, others wore mechanic overalls, but most wore white sailor uniforms with blue linings.

What was even peculiar was that they all share similar features: light pale blonde hair and turquoise-colored eyes.

And in their midst, one stood out from the rest.

It was a young man, somewhere around 13 – 15 years old, bearing a pale blonde hair with twin thin locks that fell behind either of his shoulders and colored in deep blue highlights almost halfway up from the tips.

He was taller than the others, but like most of them, he also has a light complexion, a pair of calm turquoise eyes, and delicate features.

Dressed in a white marine style uniform with long loose sleeves, he wears a white turbine hat decorated with a thin white feather with a deep blue tip and a gold ornament to hold it in place at the top center, a pair of black shorts with dark blue leggings underneath, and black shoes with high heels.

His top navy uniform came with gold buttons, and black epaulets on both shoulders. Also, he wears a black belt with silver highlights at the edges and pouches.

The only tall newcomer in a navy uniform surveyed the area with a quick glance, only stopping once he took notice of them before moving in their direction.

“Master, you’re here.” The retainer, Captain Nemo, said in relief.

“Captain! Brought Master as you requested!” Charles cut in with a grin, looking a bit proud of himself.

At his announcement, more than half of the “children” in navy uniforms, mechanic overalls, and medical uniforms rushed over and formed into a line beside the cheeky retainer.

“““Greetings, Master!””” They all greeted him with a salute.

Hadrian chuckled at the sight.

“… Hello.” The magician returned with a slight smile, delighting his small audience.

“Haaah…”

A collective sigh was heard as the little group beheld the beautiful sight before them.

“Aya~ the Master looks heavenly as always.” A little mechanic began.

“All is right in the world ~” one sailor sang happily.

“When we see the Master’s handsome face ~” another joined in.

Although slightly embarrassed inside, Hadrian chuckled at their amusing exchange.

“Hehe~” the little workers giggled at the magician, noticing the light blush tinting his cheeks.

The mage in question can only endure their amusem*nt and admiring stares with a polite smile.

While his smaller counterparts are charmed by his liege, Captain Nemo looked at his fellow retainer with a slightly strained expression, unsure of how to react to the cheeky retainer’s words and carefree attitude, given the mild chaos occurring nearby.

“Er, yes, thank you, Charles.” Captain Nemo said with as much grace as he could at that moment.

“Hehe!” Charles merely grinned back, sending the former a thumbs-up.

The navy retainer then turned to his liege, who looked up from his small gathering of audience just in time.

“Captain.” Hadrian greeted with a slight nod.

“I’m glad you’re here now, Master.” Captain Nemo began, taking a deep sigh before meeting his Master’s gaze. “But, as you’ve seen by now, we have a problem.”

“Hm, yes, I can see that.” Hadrian answered dryly, glancing around briefly before turning back to the navy retainer. “What happened with those two this time?”

“Err, those two –“ Captain Nemo looked over his shoulder to where the two instigators of the estate’s minor destruction are still duking it out. “Well, I’m not exactly sure why they’re fighting since I wasn’t here earlier. But –“

“Buy me a hundred boxes of can sodas, asshole! That’s the least you can do after messing with MINE!”

“In yer dreams, ya stupid ginger!”

“COMPENSATE!”

“Fuuuuaaaack you!”

“ARGH!”

SCHWAAACK

BANG BANG

The two started fighting again after a brief exchange.

The sound of water gathering in the air in contrast to the sharp gunshots echoed in the room.

The onlookers on the side watched the scene with dry expressions.

Captain Nemo slowly turned his gaze back to his Master.

“… that’s why.” The retainer ended with a light shrug.

“Those idiots…” Diluc groaned, letting out an insufferable sigh.

“All this for soda?” Charles sighed, shaking his head.

Arjuna clicked his tongue in disapproval, sternly looking at the two battling from afar.

Hadrian merely let out a sigh.

“Diluc.”

The long red-haired retainer stood in attention, turning his body and putting a hand over his heart as he bowed his head in deference to his liege, watching intently as the others beside him.

“Yes, Master?”

Hadrian looked at the mess, the two retainers fighting, then slowly turning his gaze to Diluc.

No words needed to be said.

It was clear what was the order, and the retainers nearby knew it.

Diluc, who was the sole recipient of the magician’s gaze, was more than happy to follow the unspoken command.

“It shall be done.” The redhead said resolutely.

Diluc rolled his sleeves up to the elbow as he slowly moved in the direction of where the two troublemakers were fighting.

Midway through –

FRUUM

– flames appeared around his right hand, forming into a shape, before a great sword materialized from it.

Diluc grabbed the handle, pulled his shoulder back, and threw the great sword forward –

WHOOSH

– whistling past and directly in the middle of the two idiots who were about to clash again.

BOOM

The sound of the giant weapon landing in between them and its sudden appearance startled the two retainers out of their focus on each other.

They blinked at the great sword, then turned their bewildered gazes to Diluc’s approaching figure.

“Ah…”

“Guh!”

The stern expression on the retainer’s face made them queasy.

SWISH

That was the sound of Charles moving in a flash, like a hawk gliding through the wind.

“Haaah, you guys are in trouble now.” Charles commented with a slight shake of his head as he stood beside Diluc, who dismissed the sword with a wave of his hand and was now glaring at the two culprits of the situation.

“Um…”

“Ey yo –“

“Save it.” Diluc cut through in a sharp tone. “You idiots went too far now.”

The two instigators opened their mouths, but fell silent as Charles and Diluc merely pointed their thumbs over their shoulders, leaning to the either of their sides to show who was behind them.

In unison, the two retainers looked, stared, and sweated as their eyes zoned to that one familiar figure standing a mere distance away from where they were.

Hadrian, who met their shocked gazes, gave them a smile that only made the troublemakers gulp down their saliva.

The smile itself radiated warmth and utter charm; small dimples can be seen on either sides of his cheeks.

To those who can sense magical energy, they can feel the slow and steady rise of their liege’s irritation along with his magic.

A punishment was in bound, and a beating from their fellow comrades was inevitable.

‘… we’re dead.’

…

…

[… 5 minutes later …]

Hadrian huffed as he stared down at the two troublemakers kneeling before him.

After a thorough scolding and a few slaps on the back of their heads from Diluc, the redhead made the two kneel on the dirty ground in front of their liege.

On the left was young man, around the age of 17-18 years old, with short chestnut-colored hair, lively deep blue eyes, and a lean, muscular build.

He wears a white shirt with long sleeves that are rolled up to his elbows and a red tie that was tucked into a gray vest, dark gray pants with a black belt, and a pair of black shoes. He was also wearing two notable accessories: a pair of black gloves, and a blue gem attached to his belt.

He might appear innocent, but this young man was actually one of the most mischievous people Hadrian had ever met.

On the right was another young man, but a stark contrast to the one before.

He has a dark complexion (lighter than Arjuna’s, but still dark in tone), short black hair, bright amber eyes, and much like the others, a lean, muscular physique.

He was dressed in a white shirt with sleeves and a few top buttons undone, black pants, and black shoes. He has an average appearance, but his facial expression implies his rough nature.

Simply put, he looks more like a thug from the streets than someone living in a castle and under the service of an aristocrat.

In Hadrian’s personal opinion, that simply made his retainer unique.

‘And given his origins, I could hardly blame him for his rough nature…’ Hadrian mused.

Still though, this particular retainer also has a mischievous side to him, considering what happened earlier.

Root knows how many times his moments of mischief caused them to be in dangerous situations in the past.

Snapping out of his thoughts, the magician focused on the present.

“So… would either of you like to inform me of what just happened here?” Hadrian began.

The two kneeling retainers blinked.

Then, turned to each other in a split second.

Both of their eyes narrowed, and their gazes snapped back to Hadrian, who only watched their interaction with bemusem*nt.

“This bastard started it! I was just minding my own damn business –“

“NO, this ass started it! He did something to my drink!”

“– and he just attacked me out of –“

“Jesus! One at a time before I smack the sh*t outta you two again!” Diluc interrupted hotly, knocking his open hand back.

The two retainers stopped immediately, leaning away with grimaces as they warily looked at the irate redhead standing a few feet away from them.

Charles and the others also took a (subtle) step back, as they can feel a strange rise of heat literally permeating from their fellow retainer.

The only one who didn’t move an inch was Hadrian, who glanced at Diluc after he spoke up.

The magician turned his calm gaze back to the kneeling retainers.

“So, you –“ violet eyes rested on the ginger head. “– attacked him – “

Then, to the thug-looking retainer.

“– because he did something to your drink? Was that it?”

“Yeah!” was the ginger head’s response.

“Nope.” Was the dry response of the thug.

But unfortunately for the latter, Hadrian already knew who was lying.

Hadrian stared at the dark-haired retainer for almost a minute, making the latter look away whistling.

“AM, why did you do that?”

“Did what? I’m only defending myself!” The dark-haired retainer, Angra Mainyu, said in defense.

“You know what I’m talking about.” Hadrian said dryly.

“No, I don’t know what that is.” The dark-haired retainer was stubborn, digging his heels into the ground as he kept looking away.

“You do realize who you’re talking to, right?” Charles added his two cents in, a cheeky grin on his face.

“… you shut the hell up and stay out of this, skunk head.” The thug-like retainer cursed/whispered to the other.

The cheeky retainer only giggled in response.

Hadrian’s stare didn’t let up, boring down on AM even more.

“Lying is useless to me.” Hadrian’s violet eyes narrowed, causing the retainer to sweat at the subtle pressure. “You, of all people, should know that.”

“Yeah, I know –“

“Why do it then?” Hadrian cut in.

The dark-haired retainer let out an insufferable sigh.

“… he ate my dessert.” AM revealed through gritted teeth.

Hadrian raised a brow, prompting the retainer to speak more on the subject.

“This motherf*cka –“ AM pointed at the retainer kneeling beside him.

“OI!” The ginger head looked mighty offended, of course.

“– ate my dessert, which I specifically hid somewhere in the fridge so ONLY I can eat it.” AM finished with a righteous huff.

With a hum, Hadrian nodded and turned to the ginger head.

“What’s your defense on that, Childe?”

“He put hot sauce on my co*ke!” The ginger head, Childe, countered.

“You ate my cheesecake before, bitch!” AM responded right away, glaring.

“And you ate MY shortcake before, ya ass!” Childe retorted quickly, also glaring.

“BITCH WANNA GO!”

“GLADLY ASSHOLE!”

THWACK

THWACK

The two punched each other at the same time.

Both felt the impact of the other’s punch and nearly got knocked out.

"Whoa! Cool! They did it at the same time!" Charles cheered, clapping enthusiastically.

“… seriously?” Diluc groaned, face-palming.

“Haah…”

Standing on the right side of his master, Arjuna merely glanced at the two troublemakers, shook his head in disapproval and sighed.

Hadrian stared blankly at the two idiots fighting again, wondering if he should just leave the matter to Diluc and go to his grandfather’s office.

Then…

‘Umm…’ Captain Nemo’s voice appeared in his head via telepathy (an ability that a Master and Servant share via familiar bond/contract).

Looking at the Servant in the corner of his eyes, Hadrian noticed the captain looking flushed for some reason.

‘What is it, Captain?’ Hadrian asked via mental link.

The captain didn’t spoke for a moment before…

‘… I did it.’

‘…’

Faced with a quiet confession, Hadrian merely sighed and looked up at the blue sky.

‘Hmm, nice weather…’

THWACK

THWACK

…

…

• 1 – Four true magics, actually, if the Kaleidoscope was included. But since his proficiency with the magic is not yet to his liking, it was excluded. For now.

Chapter 4: Just another day in Paradise (2)

Chapter Text

[… Minutes later …]

After instructing Diluc to relay his punishment to the two, Hadrian left the estate.

Charles opted to stay behind, who was more than happy to follow his command to help Diluc in cleaning up the two’s messes.

Childe and AM would still be the ones who would do the majority of the labor and cleaning, but the damages to replace the materials they destroyed with their antics will be paid out of their paychecks, much to the two retainers’ dismay.

The only one to accompany Hadrian to the castle lord’s office was Arjuna, who shadowed after his Master a mere two steps behind.

Upon arrival at the entrance, Arjuna opened the doors for Hadrian, who nodded in thanks before stepping foot inside.

The office was grand, as expected of a Wizard Marshall.

The room was spacious, with a high ceiling and a second loft located on the other side, which was filled with bookshelves dedicated to his grandfather’s books and research tomes. Hanging from the ceiling was a medium-size chandelier decorated with jewels and valuable metals. On the ground floor was a pair of cushioned black chairs with a small coffee table in the middle, and in front was a polished wooden desk and a black leather armchair.

Seating behind the desk was an ageing gentleman with aristocratic European features.

Said old man was dressed in a dark gray custom-fit suit, with gold details and a few ornaments here and there, and a pair of white gloves that covered his hands. He has short blonde hair that was graying at the sides, currently pushed back with a few strands falling over his eyes. He has a pair of bright crimson eyes with slit irises, and broad shoulders.

Despite his somewhat ageing appearance, the man has broad shoulders and a fit body that belied his true age.

This man was none other than the (in)famous Wizard Marshall of the moonlit world, Zelretch von Aelrheit.

And although Hadrian calls him ‘old’, Zelretch actually has the appearance of a man coming in his late 20’s.

He was still old though, and his grandfather prefers to refer to him as such.

The old man smiled in amusem*nt as he looked up from the document he was in the middle of signing.

“There you are! I was about to come get you.” Zelretch said by way of greeting.

“I tried to come here as fast as I could.” Hadrian said with a sigh, then gestured silently to the chair with a questioning look.

“Seat yourself, enkel.” Zelretch permitted with a smile, then gave Arjuna a nod of acknowledgement, who nodded back as he stood beside his Master’s chair.

The Wizard Marshall paused, blinking as he looked around.

“Wait, where’s your usual entourage?” Zelretch asked with a raised brow.

Arjuna closed his eyes briefly, huffing.

Hadrian chuckled nervously, looking away as he leaned back on his seat.

“… They’re on cleaning duty right now.” The younger magician answered without much elaboration.

“Cleaning duty? Did something happen?” Zelretch probed, blonde brows meeting in the middle. “Now that I think about it, I think I heard an explosion outside.”

“It’s just Childe and AM up to their usual antics again.” Hadrian waved his curiosity away.

Zelretch simply raised an eyebrow at that.

“Now, I’m curious…” The old magician muttered.

Upon hearing that, Hadrian was quick to redirect his grandfather’s attention onto important matters.

Root, even Arjuna, who was usually stoic in most situations, twitched at his grandfather’s words from where he stood.

“Opa?” Hadrian called gently.

“… Hm?” Zelretch languidly turned his gaze to him, clearly distracted.

“Why did you call for me?” Hadrian asked, inwardly relieved when the crimson eyes looked focused as they met his gaze.

“Ah, that.” Zelretch blinked, then leaned back into his seat. “I called for you due to a client’s request, and to debrief you on your next mission.”

“What kind?” Hadrian inquired, curious about the details.

“An overseas kind of assignment. Without your retainers.” Zelretch announced with a sparkling smile that showed off his fangs.

“… What?” Hadrian asked in surprise.

And it wasn’t just him either.

“…”

Arjuna looked like he wanted to step forward and grab Zelretch by the neck of his shirt for answers as well.

They better be reasonable ones too, considering the stern look in his dark brown eyes.

It was an intimidating flat stare he would reserve for those foolish enough to earn his irritation.

Hadrian had gone along his grandfather’s shenanigans in the past before, survived and lived through many of them, so this was hardly the first unexpected case.

Still, this would be his first overseas assignment (in this life), and solo at that.

Having listened to numerous accounts of Zelretch’s past ridiculous encounters in this reality, Hadrian does not exactly know what to think.

On one hand, a part of him was a bit excited at the prospect of undertaking a solo mission in a world that was familiar yet relatively new to him.

On the other hand, the other part (the mage, Master, and magician) was wary of venturing outside without his retainers nearby.

Sure, he has a method of teleporting them to him in an instant, but they come at a cost that Hadrian was not yet ready to meet without certain precautions.

Mainly, such methods require a hefty amount of his magical energy.

And due to his current condition, he can only summon one (or two, at worst) of his retainers to his side, not all of them at once.

A weakness that can only be remedied by time.

Or… he could find a different method later on.

It was food for thought.

“I said you have a solo ov–“

“I heard you the first time. What I want to know is why? Why now? And why me, specifically?” Hadrian elaborated, feeling slightly bewildered.

The timing was strange.

It was too sudden.

Hadrian knew the older magician had grand plans in store for this world.

Zelretch told him about them in the past before, after all. And the old man spared no expense informing him of what he found during his travels in this reality.

Humans. Mutants.

Gods. Aliens.

Celestials.

There was a lot of information to digest, but the main point of his discovery was that the supernatural was very much active in this reality, unlike where they originated.

And if the supernatural still exists, so does magic.

With magic’s strong vigor comes Gaia’s existence. And with her existence, the planet continues its manufacture of mana.

Mana (the raw magical energy produced by the planet via oxygen) was the earth’s breath, and as long as it is in abundance, then the planet’s lifespan was assured to last for many centuries ahead.

Hadrian had been happy when he was told of that.

Granted, there are other elements that were a tad concerning (humans, mutants, gods, aliens, etc.), but at least the situation was not dire as it was before.

The planet was healthy, and his family were here.

Those two alone make this current life of his worth living.

Which brings him to a question…

Why was he chosen for this mission when there are others in his grandfather’s employment who can do it instead?

AEONS, a hidden security organization comprising of talented and loyal individuals under his grandfather’s command, was founded by Zelretch for this very reason.

Seeing the inhuman crimson eyes glinting with mischief, Hadrian’s amethyst eyes narrowed.

“… what are you up to?” Hadrian gave the old magician a mild glare as he spoke.

Far from being intimidated, Zelretch simply chuckled and lifted his hand in a surrendering gesture.

“Nothing unscrupulous, enkel. I assure you.” The old magician smiled, which does not instill confidence in Hadrian. “It is because of my sche- ahem! Plans for the future. I’ve told you before, but this world is headed to a future crisis if we don’t prevent or fix certain elements that are highly possible to occur in this dimension.”

“You cut yourself off just now…” Hadrian deadpanned.

“No, no, that was just your imagination.” Zelretch tutted, smoothly denying his way out. “You should lay off the books and go outside more. This request just came at a perfect time too! Go and be free, touch some grass, as the younglings like to say these days. Satisfy every carnal desire you have, if you know what I mean.”

“…”

Hadrian didn’t say anything.

But the silence and accusing stare are loud enough to inform Zelretch of his thoughts.

Damn old man just playfully waggled his brows and chuckled openly at his face.

Still, as Hadrian mused deeper, assigning him to an overseas mission does have merit.

Ever since the old man discovered that he was his grandson from their past lives, Zelretch had always kept him up to date on recent events of what occurs in this reality.

But hearing and seeing are two different things.

In addition, Hadrian prefers to form his own opinion on matters of importance than to rely on the words of others.

Perhaps… that was why his grandfather is passing this mission unto him instead of relaying it to others.

Hadrian sighed, breaking away from their impromptu staring match.

“… who’s the client?” the younger magician asked.

Zelretch grinned, feeling victorious.

“Oh, just an acquaintance of mine. No need to worry your pretty little head over it.” The old magician assured him.

Hadrian raised a brow.

“Local?” He asked next, subtly inquiring if the client originated from this reality.

“Ja (yes).” Zelretch confirmed with a nod.

“Mundane?” A specific term that magi use to describe a ‘human’.

“Ja.”

Now both brows went up.

“So… you’re assigning me on a mission that was requested by a mundane?” Hadrian asked slowly.

“An assignment, enkel.” Zelretch said with a firm nod, which only looked amusing on him since the man was rarely ever serious in any situation.

“In the form of a request, yes. That aside, I do not see how this mundane task would assist your plans. I mean, I understand if your interest happens to coincide with what the client wants, but isn’t it better for this to be handled by one of the Enforcers under your employment?” Hadrian pointed out, raising one brow.

Enforcers are one-third portion of AEONS’s military forces.

Members of that division are responsible for searching and gathering information on supernatural anomalies around the world.

They are also usually the ones to tackle missions from local clients, whose requests are personally screened and approved for legitimization by the High Council.

Which left him to wonder if he was specifically approached for it.

Under normal circ*mstances, he would accept, but he cannot help but feel there was a reason behind his grandfather’s motive.

True enough, when the old man spoke again, his suspicions were confirmed, and Hadrian found himself surprised by the answer.

“Yes, true, a few of my Enforcers can easily take care of this, but I want you to handle it.” Zelretch explained, continuing when he noticed the younger man’s questioning expression. “And the reason for this is because I plan for you to build a specific reputation using a different identity.”

“What kind of reputation?” Hadrian asked with furrowed brows.

“The intimidating kind.” Zelretch answered with a dark grin. “The kind that these mundane pests (criminals) would be afraid of just by hearing your title or name, and they would piss themselves right after.”

“Okay…?” Hadrian drawled, sensing that there was more to it.

“Well, that’s part of the reason why.” Zelretch added in afterthought. “The other is because AEONS needs an adorable masco– I mean, a fearsome representative! The one that will make our shoddy enemies’ quake in their boots and froth in their mouths in fear from hearing the name of our company’s best! The one that will make women swoon and surrender their panti–“

“I got it. No need to elaborate more on that.” Hadrian grunted in an interjection, massaging his forehead to relieve himself from an annoying headache.

Better to interrupt his grandfather as soon as possible before he goes completely off the rails with his eccentric-filled speeches.

“Ahem. Apologies, but what I mean to say is that it’s better to have an alternate identity on hand since you plan on revealing yourself to the public in the mundane world once you begin constructing your own company in the future. If you take on this request as yourself, then your reputation might besmirch the image of your company before it could even begin. Most humans are not exactly as understanding as your mother and your grandmother, and they (humans) often regard someone with a blood-tainted background with suspicion and ridicule. You should know this from experience.” Zelretch pointed out.

“That’s true…” Hadrian conceded to the reasoning with a small thoughtful frown.

While he and his family were fond of humans due to their relatable connection to them, they were not blind to their faults.

The time of the witch hunts was still a horrendous and unforgettable event that forced their family to move away from areas populated by mundanes (normal humans), along with the fact several of the Schweinorgs’ loyal and benevolent allies had gotten killed during the witch hunts had simply cemented their resolve to maintain minimal contact with locals as little as possible.

The ones in AEONS understood the family’s reasoning and could not exactly begrudge them for it, despite their mundane origins.

Glancing to the side, Hadrian briefly met Arjuna’s gaze, who only gave him a nod.

With his retainer’s approval (not that he needed it, but it was nice regardless), Hadrian turned back to his grandfather.

“Then, I’ll go abroad under a disguise and gather infamy by hunting down vermin? Got it.” Hadrian nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Ah, no, some future requests might be different from this. Some might be retrieval, capture, and so on.” Zelretch corrected.

“How should I approach this? Mundane methods or can I use some of my abilities?” Hadrian asked with a raised brow, looking at his grandfather whose expression became thoughtful.

“Well, the client didn’t say anything about restraint, so there should be no issues if you went with both. Of course, it goes without saying, but do try to be subtle when it comes to using your abilities while in public. We don’t want the mundanes to get too curious should they catch you in the act, enkel. You can never be too careful with mundanes and their little toys.” Zelretch advised with a shake of his head.

Nodding in acceptance, Hadrian asked next.

“And how long will this operation take?”

“Give or take, three to four years?” Zelretch stated, unsure.

Hadrian blinked.

“Why would it take that long?” the young mage asked, incredulously.

“As I mentioned before, this assignment won’t be the last. After this assignment, there will be another client who will forward another task for you.” Zelretch said.

“Why so soon? I only joined AEONS a year ago, and those weren’t even field missions.” Hadrian added, frowning in thought.

“Ahahaha, that might be my fault?” Zelretch admitted with a grin, looking rather shameless.

“Explain.” Hadrian said, tone soft yet commanding, nonetheless.

Sensing his dear grandson’s irritation was mounting high, Zelretch was quick to follow.

“Do you recall that time I was away a few days ago?” The old magician started.

“You were at a social gathering, yes.” Hadrian said with a small pensive frown.

“Hm, yes.” Zelretch nodded with a smile, unbothered by the piercing gaze his heir directed at him. “I was with some friends, talking and making friends –“

“Politicking, you mean.” Hadrian interjected in a deadpan tone.

“That too!” Zelretch chuckled, amused that he was easily seen through. “As I was saying, during one of those talks, I may or may not have mentioned you and your recent accomplishments for AEONS. Then, one of my friends aired some of their grievances to me and asked me for help, particularly if YOU agree to take on their request. Many of them have heard of your punctuality and professionalism in completing your assignments, even though you have only begun taking missions recently. One client in particular, the one who will send your next task, seems to have high expectations for you. They look forward to seeing your work and they are more than willing to provide anything you will need to accomplish their request.”

“And now here we are.” Hadrian grumbled, massaging his forehead to ease the headache.

“And here we are!” Zelretch cheered with a large grin, as if he was not at fault for his grandson’s predicament.

Hadrian glared at the old magician, who remained unbothered and only laughed at the expression on his face.

“Come now, enkel, it won’t be that bad. Think of this as a sort of vacation. You get to be away from home and have plenty of free time to be on your own. Travel the world, if you like. Indulge in all kinds of carnal pleasures! Just have fun. Root knows you need it. Oh, and as for the pay, it is five million euros for this target. Two million will be sent to you in a package as a down payment in your designated living quarters in the hotel. The rest will be sent to an untraceable bank account that the logistics department has prepared for you beforehand, so you can just withdraw the cash whenever you like after the mission is dealt with.” Zelretch informed him with a small grin.

“I see. Can I call for assistance during this long-term operation?” Hadrian asked, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Cleanup and equipment delivery, yes. Though I doubt you will need both given your stellar abilities. Direct assistance with either an Enforcer or Hunter would depend on the situation you will encounter.” Zelretch clarified, then added. “Oh, and the client also said that whatever materials or money you find in the target’s hideouts, it’s yours to keep. This is a perfect task for your other identity to gain infamy in the mundanes’ underworld circles, so have fun and take your time, ok? But not too much time since this is still a mission, and we do have a reputation to upkeep when it comes to clearing out assignments before the deadline is near.”

“Right, then I only have one question left. How am I going to take this mission when I have the body of a six-year-old?” Hadrian asked with a pointed look.

As if expecting the question, Zelretch gave him a bright grin that showed off his fangs again. (2)

“My, enkel, you should know that when there’s a will, the Kaleidoscope will always find a way.”

Hadrian should have known that his grandfather was always prepared for every mission.

…

…

[… A week later …]

To say that his sudden departure was well received was an understatement.

His grandmother and little sister were not pleased, which was expected.

His grandmother gave Zelretch, her dear husband, a scolding of his life, and a cold shoulder for 3 days straight.

His little sister also threw a fit and gave their grandfather less of her usual attention, obviously mad at him for sending him away.

Attacked on both sides, the old man never looked more miserable than those few days.

But they were pacified when he reassured them that he would maintain contact with them four or five times a week, and it helped ease their discomfort when Hadrian spent half of the remaining week with them.

His uncle/godfather had yet to be informed of his departure, due to the former’s busy schedule these days, but he was personally notified by Zelretch via videocall.

The old man did not go over the specifics of the mission, but his godfather was at least made aware of its importance to the old magician’s grand schemes in the future.

Of course, his uncle was not pleased, but he understood and could only sigh in defeat.

The retainers, on the other hand, were of a different matter.

“… Solo mission?”

“We can’t come with you?”

“What! WHY?!”

… were their reactions to his announcement.

After a lengthy explanation of the mission’s importance, in an unusual display of camaraderie, Charles, Childe and AM marched up to his grandfather’s office to make their displeasure and protests known.

With weapons in their hands.

… only to return with bruises, red marks, wet, and suffering a humiliating defeat by the Wizard Marshall, whose villainous laughter can be heard all the way from the latter’s office.

The trio looked like they’d been molested by something.

Their clothes were ruffled, and they had translucent slime on some parts of their bodies.

When questioned, the trio would not budge, preferring to maintain their silence and glare venomously at a certain magician from a far.

Zelretch was of no help either, only grinning that grin of his (the cheshire kind) and mentions of ‘no comment’ here and there.

Hadrian figured the old magician did something humiliating to them that caused the usually headstrong trio to admit defeat and fume in silence.

A typical outcome when it comes to the old man, he supposed.

One doesn't win against the infamous King of Pranks. And even if you do win somehow, you’ll still feel like you're the one who lost.

Hadrian knew this from personal experience.

Even so, the retainers still wanted to accompany him, regardless of Zelretch’s permission or not, but Hadrian managed to convince them to stay.

Honestly, they would be more of help here than with him out there.

It would also ease his mind that they are at home, maintaining the safety of everyone inside.

With Arjuna and Diluc reigning over their fellows, they would be fine and occupied every day.

And finally, he visited his mother, seeing as it might take a while for him to visit her resting place again before he left that day.

Four years was quite long, after all, and he figured that he would not be home during those years once the assignment began.

All in all, his departure was not all bad.

His little sister teared up, but Hadrian managed to console her by telling two of his familiars, Ryu and Fou, can stay at her side in the meantime.

One of his familiars, Maya, did not want to be left behind. Even followed him everywhere he went within the castle, quietly aware that he would not be living with the family for quite some time.

Left with no choice, Hadrian surrendered and took her with him.

It was fine to take her with him since Maya was the most normal looking among his familiars, which his grandfather approved.

With his affairs settled and in order, Hadrian left home for the first time in this reality.

And so here he was, after several hours of flying, the private jet has finally landed at the soil airport of Moscow, Russia.

The Wizard Marshall deemed the idea of having him fly over to Russia via economic class was unsuitable for someone of his stature and an unnecessary hassle, so his grandfather ordered some of his men to prepare one of the private jets in their private hangar (which was near AEONS’s headquarters in England) for him to use during the assignment.

Hadrian found the entire thing wholly unnecessary since he has various modes of transportation to teleport to any location, regardless of the distance.

Perk of his past origins, he supposed.

No matter, the young magician went with his grandfather’s plan, troublesome as it all had been, and was now being escorted via car to his designated temporary living quarters.

Looking to the window, Hadrian saw his appearance reflected on the tinted glass and he quietly sighed.

Instead of a child-like appearance, staring back at him in the reflection of the tinted window glass was a young man of 17 years old. Despite being seated, he was tall, with a good above-average height of 5’9, and a snow-white complexion. He has a slim but perfectly proportional athletic physique, an oval-shaped countenance, a well-defined nose, and a sharp jawline.

Previously, he had slightly wavy black hair and amethyst-colored eyes.

Now, with the help of an enchanted ring (that he made before his departure), Hadrian has short ash gray hair that was (still) a bit wavy and a pair of almond-shaped bright cyan eyes.

He left most of his facial features untouched by the effects of the glamour, considering that he only needed to change the color of his eyes and hair. Everything else was how his body would mature as he grew older over the years. His current appearance was far away from his original description, yet close to the one he had in a previous lifetime.

He does not know why, but this kind of color scheme made him feel nostalgic yet strange at the same time.

Then, an amusing thought came to mind, one that caused his lips to turn upwards into a faint smile.

For some reason, he found it rather ironic that his current disguise would soon be known through future infamous deeds in this dimension, whereas it was the appearance eerily similar to a king of light that many locals of Eos had once respected and acknowledged. On one hand, his current appearance was close to his original form. At least, whenever he uses the power of Lucis.

On the other, it was still disgustingly perfect, unbearably so.

Hadrian was aware that it was the fault of Lucis Caelum’ magic, but he still would have liked to have a different appearance. That all went down the drain when his grandfather insisted that he leave his face as it is, something about how his appearance will augment the effect of his presence upon others.

Whatever that means…

Thinking back, Hadrian recalled the stares and whispers that followed his wake whenever he was in public, making him wonder if it was a good idea to follow through with his grandfather’s advice.

Still, it also happens to be the face that he shares with his late mother in this life, with the obvious exception of bearing hints of masculinity here and there.

So, while he was a bit disgruntled, it was not all that bad.

His attention, however, was on the floating blue window screen that was only visible to his eyes.

…

[… Notice ...]

Due to the effects of the aging potion, your body has grown into that of a young adult.

However, going against the natural order of nature in one’s growth, such action is not without consequences.

At your current state, the activation of magic circuits at full capacity is not safe, nor recommended.

Doing so will incur a few negative side-effects.

Proceed with caution.

Magic circuits currently available:

(45/150%)

Side-effects:

Dizziness

Internal bleeding

Torn muscle tissues

Ruptured blood vessels

…

With a wry smile, Hadrian absorbed the contents of the notice.

Earlier, he had ordered the Moon Cell to do a thorough scan of his body now that it had grown to a young adult, thanks to the custom aging potion that his grandfather made for him.

Before, there was not much he could do magically, especially since his body was still technically too young to meet some of the conditions of most mid to high tier spells. Magic was often strict like that, seeing as the body was literally a vessel to contain the soul. And as the body grows, so does the number of magic circuits available that a mage can use at their behest.

The most he could cast in that state were the low and a quarter of the mid-tier spells he had in reserve.

That was one of the downsides Hadrian had discovered early on after experiencing a few reincarnations.

Granted, he can still cast all of his spells, even the special ones in his repertoire, but he had to be careful and efficient as the rate of spells he could cast in succession affects his stamina more than the cost of magical energy.

Since his body was still that of a young child’s, the amount of high tier spells he can cast was only 3-4 times per 5 minutes. While it might sound sufficient for most, it was not ideal in a fight, considering most battles occur at a fast pace, seconds even. Fortunately, his retainers were always there to accompany him and preferred to do the fighting in his stead (except for one in particular), so Hadrian does not have much trouble on that front.

Now, after consuming the aging potion, Hadrian had been curious as to what the situation was now.

And after a minute of thorough scanning, the result was right in his face.

The potion was a success (as it was expected, given his grandfather’s skills), and there were no side-effects upon consumption.

The issue lies with the availability of his magic circuits.

‘Hmm… even with an ageing potion, the amount is only this much?’ Hadrian mused, closing his eyes as he leaned back against his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.

Before taking the potion, the amount of circuits he could use was only at (21%).

Now, it had jumped to (45%), and while it was a good thing, the change was not that significant.

Hadrian had expected it to at least reach around (50%), but he supposed that was wishful thinking.

The side-effects were also a concern, but it was not outside of his expectations.

He had taken an aging potion several times in the past, and it was no different now. Hence, why he was not that surprised by the result of the scan.

The side-effects would only be a problem if Hadrian was in a dire situation where he had to go over the limit of magic circuits of what the MC had recommended for him to use. And if there comes a moment where he needs to cross that bridge, he would do so without hesitation. But he would need to be careful and efficient in what follows after that.

Ten percent of his magic circuits were at a passive-active state. This was due to his contract with his Servants. They may not be many in quantity, but their quality as Heroic Spirits was something that even the most talented or powerful mages could not handle or meet the demands. The cost was usually a lot more than that before, but after the war and the Moon Cell’s decision to reside in his soul, the drain had lessened greatly ever since. (3)

The Moon Cell helps tremendously in lessening the burden of the Servants’ existences on his magic reserves and the continuation of the contract, along with accumulating some prana (magical energy) on the side in the case there was an emergency for the Servants borrow more from him during battle. His Servants were given physical bodies (the kind almost similar to elite Homunculi, thanks to his grandfather’s assist) to avoid draining his magic circuits, but the (10%) was still required to maintain the continuation of contracts between him and the Heroic Spirits he summoned.

Thus, only (15%) of his magic circuits were available for use at the moment.

He was in a bit of a handicap, true. But it was nothing new to him, as he had already gone through worst conditions in the past.

‘Time would fix that issue for me, I suppose.’ The magician in disguise thought as he stared out the window. ‘My body just needs to adjust.’

His musing came to a halt as he felt the car slow to a stop.

Hadrian turned his head to the front, just in time to see his escort, a Caucasian man of 20 years old with dark brown hair and brown eyes, open the door for him to exit.

“Young master, we’ve arrived at the hotel.” Luka Azarro, a young and talented Enforcer from AEONS and his temporarily assigned chauffeur/aide, announced with a small smile.

“Thank you, Luka.” Hadrian said in response, stepping out of the car.

Walking a few steps forward, Hadrian adjusted the shoulder strap of the dark brown duffel bag as he looked up at the tall structure before him.

In bright yellow signs, the name ‘Crown Plaza’ stood out in the heart of Moscow, Russia.

The hotel was large and tall, and seemed to be a mix of old and modern architecture. Even with the other hotels nearby, this one stood out from the rest due to its large size and its lively, bustling crowd of customers that went in and out. The people visiting also looked well-dressed and wealthy, a telltale sign of what kind of elite clients this establishment caters to.

This was also within expectations, given that his grandfather was the one that had this hotel to be built.

One cannot hope to land a room in Crown Plaza if they do not have a couple of million stashed in their bank accounts.

Since the hotel belonged to his grandfather, it was not difficult for the old magician to convince the staff to keep the penthouse suite in reserve for him to use during his stay in Moscow.

‘Not that any of them would be able to refuse…’

Hadrian snapped out of his thoughts when Luka began to lead him up the small staircase, his other luggage in hand, along with the black and white crate Maya was in.

Being no stranger to cold weather, he ignored the small white puffs of mist that would appear whenever he exhales.

The warmth that enveloped him as he followed Luka inside was a welcoming experience, but he did not expect to be greeted by a sight of a group of people standing in two rows and facing toward him. And judging gold tag names and sharp uniforms, the group in question was the head staff of the hotel.

He had told Luka to guide him inside the hotel through the back entrance to avoid attention, but it seems the head of staff in the hotel had heard of his incoming arrival and had prepared to greet him.

Standing ahead of the group was a man in a black formal uniform, who stepped forward with a smile and gave a small bow towards him.

“Welcome to Moscow’s Crown Plaza, young master. My name is Lionel, the head manager of this wonderful establishment.” He said in a calm and smooth tone, fluently in English at that.

“Thank you. I’m Hadrian, as I’m sure you’re aware by now. This is Luka Azarro, my escort and chauffeur. That’s my cat, Maya, who is currently inside her crate.” Hadrian returned with a polite smile, gesturing to the others with his hand as he introduced them respectively.

With a nod of acknowledgment, Lionel turned to his staff and began setting out orders.

“Andrei, please help Luka carry the luggage up to the penthouse.” Then, smoothly, he turned to Hadrian with an amiable smile just as the bellboy took some of the luggage that Luka was carrying, lessening the burden on his escort. “Young master, please let us escort you to the designated floor.”

“Sure.”

With that said, the four of them (plus Maya) headed to an area where a large elevator was waiting for them.

There was a lobby where other six elevators were located nearby, but Hadrian suspects that this one was exclusive to the penthouse, which makes sense since it was isolated from the rest to prevent others from using it. His suspicion was further cemented when he noticed Lionel take out a platinum card, and punch in some numbers on a keypad, before offering the card to him.

“We have heard of your purpose of visit from Lord Aelrheit. Thus, we have prepared this suite for you to make your stay here in Moscow as comfortable as possible. You also do not need to worry about the staff. None shall be allowed to enter the suite without your permission. This elevator is the only way to enter the penthouse and it is being monitored daily by a group of guards, who are AEONS’s Enforcers in disguise as our security staff, to further ensure your safety and privacy are undisturbed. Here is your key, young master.” Lionel informed him as he handed the card to Hadrian, who took it and placed it in his pocket.

“Then, Luka?” Hadrian turned to his chauffeur, who looked at him in turn. “I’ll leave it to you to monitor the staff if there’s a need to clean the penthouse during my stay here. Make sure to be present while they are performing their tasks and that they sign the contracts before they enter the penthouse. Choose three or five maids that can be trusted in the hotel’s staff, they should be enough to clean the suite.”

“It shall be done, young master.” Luka said with a slight bow of his head.

“Oh, and Lionel? Call me Rey during my stay here.” Hadrian instructed.

“As you wish, young master Rey.” Lionel followed his wish without issue, also bowing his head in deference.

Hadrian gave the man an exasperated glance, which (to his credit) Lionel received with a calm and unbothered demeanor.

Truly, his grandfather had an eye for people, and he also happened to pick the ones who seemed just as stubborn as the staff back home.

‘I wish they’d stop with the formalities…’ Hadrian grumbled in his mind.

Even in his past lifetime, he had never been comfortable with people being too polite around him and abasing themselves merely due to his status as the crown prince of Lucis. It had become even more unbearable when he ascended the throne and people started to address him as the King, but Hadrian held his displeasure in a tight lid as his subjects would be depressed when he displayed his annoyance openly.

And he did it only once, too.

After that, he never did so again as he felt bad almost right after he saw their stricken and tearful expressions.

The homunculi may not be his subjects, but they are quite sensitive to the moods of his family, him included.

Hadrian recalled the time when his little sister cried due to a tear in the seams of her rabbit plushie.

The female homunculi attending to her were taken aback by her sudden change in mood, they were all flustered and did not know how to appease her. Even the head maids were in a tizzy, and the two were forced to call for him for help in the end, seeing as he (in their perspective) was the only one who can pacify her due to his close bond with her. His grandparents were also not at home at that time, so he was the only option.

Which he did eventually, and peace returned to the household.

The lesson of the event had taught him how sensitive the homunculi were around him and his family.

Root knows how the homunculi would react if he showed his displeasure openly while around them.

Huffing in resignation, Hadrian stared forward, idly gazing at the slightly blurred image of the person behind him reflected on the glossy surface of the doors.

The bellboy at the further back was quiet, but Hadrian was assured by Lionel that he would keep silent of anything he sees or hears while in his presence.

Everything that was under his grandfather’s purview was always handled with a strict eye and an iron fist, after all.

Several minutes later, Hadrian now stood at the grand foyer of the penthouse, with the three others having just departed after bidding him a good night.

After letting Maya out of her crate (let her stretch her legs and all), Hadrian set out to explore his temporary headquarters.

But not before leaving his formal shoes by the foyer and using a pair of white slippers that were (obviously) prepared for him. He was just outside earlier, and it would be bad manners of him to not change his footwear while walking upon the marble floors and carpet-covered ground that the maids had meticulously vacuumed and cleaned before his arrival.

The penthouse has two floors. The first consisted of a dining room, a large kitchen, a spacious lounge, a medium-sized pantry space, a private gym, and a two-floor library with a black grand piano. The second has the master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom, three guest rooms with their own bathrooms, one empty room located across the master bedroom, and a lush spacious study with a few bookshelves and a secret room compartment (to hide the weapons or other material objects worth valuable, he assumed).

Connected to the first floor, there was a pair of dark tinted glass doors that leads to an outdoor area with great ample space that has a glasshouse-inspired pavilion with a large indoor pool.

Interestingly, the pool was equipped with reinforced glass that can be controlled to cover the topside of the pool via remote control, allowing people to stand atop the pool without fear of dropping into the water. It has some other interesting features as well, but he would explore them later. He was notified that other branches of the hotel from around the globe were also equipped with the same glass pavilion, so he was in no hurry to see it.

Nearly every room in the penthouse is well-furnished, thoroughly cleaned, and ready for use by its occupant.

The pantry was not stocked yet, but at least the twin-door fridge has refreshments and there was food in microwaveable containers (covered in tin foils) ready to be eaten.

‘I suppose I’ll just stop by the market and buy some ingredients later on.’

Having been nurtured as a mage, a small amount of paranoia led him to have the alien artifact freeloading within his soul to scan the entire floor for any hidden cameras or bugs, which turned out to be unnecessary as the only ones that he found were on the elevator. The entire two-floor penthouse was devoid of any suspicious tools, meaning that it was secure as it can be for a non-magical living space.

Picking up his duffel bag (sans his other luggage, which Luka had already placed in the master bedroom for him), Hadrian went upstairs and inside the master bedroom, Maya following him in silence.

He placed the duffel bag on the bed, smiling when Maya meowed softly at him. He picked her up in one arm, and then the silver briefcase with his other free hand. Exiting the bedroom, he made his way to the empty room from before. Looking around, the room was decent enough in size to become a temporary workshop. It would be a bit of an issue if he was a simple mage, but fortunately, in this case, he wasn’t.

With a snap of his fingers, six shelves, five trunks, two large black suitcases, and two large moveable counters appeared in a beautiful display of silver and blue ethereal lights and wisps of dust.

The objects were placed in an organized manner as soon as they materialized into reality, as if they had already been moved to their current position.

The three shelves were filled with books, tomes, and journals clad in black leather, two shelves were filled with jar-filled ingredients for potions and alchemy, and one shelf was filled with much equipment (such as glass vials, beakers, and small cauldrons, etc). The shelves were made with a built-in sliding glass panel, which was enchanted to keep the objects secured and situated in their place.

It would take a few Gandr shots (powered by a small amount of true magic essence) to break through the protections that he left on the shelves and their glass panels.

The trunks were also filled to the brim with objects of his liking, such as gemstones charged with elemental spells (in two trunks), large ingots of valuable metals (gold, platinum, orichalcum, adamantite, etc) in another two, and the last was filled to the brim with potion vials of different sizes and contents. While these items and equipment were not all the ones he owned and used regularly, they were enough to suit what he might need in the future. (4)

The two large black suitcases are where his equipment (armor, weapons, other essentials, etc) were stored, including the one he brought with him.

Walking up to one of the counters, Hadrian placed the briefcase on top of it.

“I’ll set these up later on.”

Maya purred, making Hadrian smile as he felt her nuzzle the side of his chin.

“Let’s go see the outdoor space, huh, Maya?” he asked, smiling.

“Mroooow…”

Seeing that as a sign of her agreement, Hadrian turned on his heel and walked out of the room but stopped just as he was about to close the door via telekinesis.

“Hmm, I should put this room under Fidelius. Most of my stuff is important, even though I can just duplicate all of them with magic and the MC’s (Moon Cell) help…” Hadrian hummed. (5)

With a thoughtful expression, Hadrian resolved to do just that as he closed the door behind him and made his way down the stairs and to the outdoor space.

Not wanting his familiar to get cold (regardless of her semi-short thick fur), Hadrian gently held Maya close to his chest as he closed the sliding door after him, something that Maya certainly did not seem to mind as she simply went quiet and almost limp, leaning against him in bliss.

Slowly, he walked closer to the edge of the area where it was barricaded by a metal railing and reinforced glass at the bottom.

Bright cyan eyes widened slightly as he took in the sight of the city.

When he arrived at the hotel, it was still afternoon, nearing close to evening. He did not even notice that one hour had passed by the time he was done exploring the penthouse, and so he was greeted by the wonderful sight of Moscow at nighttime. Since it was nearing December, snow can be found almost everywhere, but Hadrian didn’t mind as the purity of the snow merely added to the city’s beautiful image.

Exhaling deeply, Hadrian felt mixed emotions as he took in the sight longer.

“It’s quite a sight, isn’t it, Maya?”

“Meow…”

“Yeah, pity it’s also the home for some of the trash that were fortunate enough to still breathe in this world…”

In comfortable silence, the master and familiar watched the rare beauty of snow falling upon the city of Moscow, with most of its occupants unaware of what was soon to come.

…

…

• 2 – In Fate verse, the soul is described as the ‘record’ of the body. Here, Zelretch retains some of his Dead Apostle Ancestor characteristics in this story. Just to be clear, seeing as he was reincarnated in this reality, his body is not like a DAA’s. Meaning, he doesn’t have their weaknesses (like their thirst for blood), but he does have their abilities. I read that in other Fate worlds, he found other means of immortality, but in this story, he’s one of the most powerful beings with vampiric powers and his true magic. I purposely made it that way as there is something I want to put into play. As for his weakness, apart from his family, Zelretch will have one, and it’ll be revealed later in the story.
• 3 – Heroic Spirits are spirits born from famous figures in legends and myths. They are summoned by people, who they can feel they are most connected with, usually by mages. Think of them as like, spiritual familiars, but with superpowers and the like. Please click here if you want to know more about them. Or just search ‘Type Moon Heroic Spirit’ in google, if the link is not working.
• 4 – Most of Hadrian’s stuff for research is inside a workshop hidden in one of his spatial inventories. The ones he pulled out here are minor in quantity, but useful and of high quality.
• 5 – The Moon Cell Automaton (short for MC) is a supercomputer that can only be found in the world of Fate/Extra. It’s considered to be powerful enough on the level of a Holy Grail, and more.

Chapter 5: Once is a chance...

Chapter Text

Hadrian slept well last night, despite the jetlag.

No eerie dreams, no nightmares of the past to wake him up in the middle of the night.

Just a peaceful rest without interruptions.

When morning came, Maya was pawing at his hand to wake him up, an act she does successfully every time she did it.

Since there were no ingredients in the pantry and the food in the fridge were just ready-to-eat meals covered in plastics and foils, snacks, and canned beverages, Hadrian had decided to call for room service, to which the staff seemed to be eager to oblige him with as they sent a butler pushing a silver trolley with delicious food prepared for him.

They were even thoughtful enough to add special dishes for his familiar, Maya, who was more than happy to devour her food.

With his belly full and Maya done with her meal, Hadrian went to his study and logged into his holo-pc (a state-of-the-art advanced portable device similar to a modern laptop that he had specifically created and programmed to work using mundane and magical means. It functions like a highly customized terminal from his time, but with extra features built inside its system that no mere devices can hold a candle to) to view his mission of the day.

Clicking on one of his emails, the sight of a stylish trillion-shaped gem logo (AEONS’s emblem, his grandfather’s personal touch) greeted him before disappearing as a window pop-up on the screen.

Several minutes passed as he read the information that was sent to him regarding the target.

He clicked on several images of the target, silently memorizing their appearance in mind before absorbing more intel that the AEONS’s Department of Inquisition (‘DOI’ in short) has especially prepared for him to use to his advantage. Usually, he would prefer to see the target with his own eyes, but with DOI’s remarkable skills in gathering information, there was no need to doubt. (1)

His target’s name: ‘Igor Kamenev’

Igor was a small-time criminal drug lord and human trafficker, whose dishonest earnings were growing significantly as the months go by as both of his businesses began to steadily attract wealthy yet sickening clientele from underground circles. The reason he became a target was due to his pitiful attempt in kidnapping some of the client’s employees.

Of course, the attempt was thwarted by one of the Enforcers (who happened to be visiting the client’s exclusive establishment) just in time.

After that, no signs of another attempt from the pitiful target.

It seemed that the first time was enough to make Igor think twice about trying to kidnap employees that were not his own.

There had been numerous arrest warrants filed against him, but he made some friends in the local government, allowing him to avoid prison every time, much to the complainants’ dismay.

Most of the lawsuit cases against him dwindled slowly as the people, who were coincidentally the ones that issued the complaints or related to the complainants, began disappearing from their homes or wherever they usually hang outside.

The client, however, was angry enough to make the bastard pay and presented him as the first stepping stone for Hadrian to make his debut.

And, according to the DOI’s intel, Igor likes to hang out inside an underground pub where different kinds of equally ‘upstanding’ citizens like to gather in the city.

Hadrian smiled thinly.

A plan was quickly coming into form, and he knew just how to execute it.

But first, he needs to change clothes and acquire sustenance for himself and Maya first.

Can’t be an irresponsible owner, now, can he?

…

…

[… Evening …]

As much as he would like to be done with the mission, Hadrian waited till nighttime.

Not that he encountered any issue. Hadrian merely preferred to operate at night as he found it a lot easier to move around compared to in daytime.

Granted, the old man instructed Hadrian to make his (Rey de Silva’s) debut in the criminal underworld as grand as possible, but killing the target at a public setting in broad daylight would garner unneeded attention to him.

The last thing that Hadrian wanted to happen was for civilians to be within the vicinity in case things were to escalate.

Or worse, to be captured via video and go on viral in the news headline while in the act.

Hence, why Hadrian opted to wait till nighttime.

There was also the matter with the paperwork (which was sent over to him, courtesy of his grandfather) he had to deal with first.

Hadrian does not know why, but there was something about seeing the stack of papers on his neat and clean desk that irks him somewhat.

It was something he was familiar with, seeing as paperwork was a common sight even in his first lifetime.

Earlier, his handler had already given him the locations in which the target usually frequents. And to ensure the accuracy of the target’s whereabouts, a tracking device was slipped into the target’s body (via drink, courtesy of a disguised lower-ranked AEONS member’s doing) a few days ago before his arrival to Moscow.

Therefore, Hadrian was not in a rush to deal with the mission.

Since his target does not have any intention of straying from his usual habits, Hadrian had decided that finishing the paperwork assigned to him was more important than getting to the target and completing the request. And so, his time during the day was spent mostly on reading, reviewing, and signing papers in his temporary office.

Before he knew it, the day soon turned to night, and it was time for Hadrian to start the mission.

After a quick cold shower and changing into his work attire (which was a special black suit, custom fitted for his usage only), Hadrian bid Maya to behave before moving to the elevator. With a swipe of a keycard and taps on the touchscreen device (the control panel for the lift), the doors closed, and the spacious metal compartment began its descent.

Classical music played in the background as Hadrian quietly ran through simulations of how to execute the mission as efficiently as possible in his mind.

From the ample amount of information provided by the intelligence department of AEONS, Hadrian had drafted a few plans earlier on how to get to the target faster.

He even had a method in how to completely corner the target and isolate them from others in case he happens to be in a public area, but he figured it was not needed for this mission as the main objective was to kill the target in a grand fashion.

It was a direct request from the client, and his grandfather also asked him to do so to gain infamy for his alternate identity.

Sighing at the strange situation he found himself in, Hadrian looked up from the black marbled floor he was staring at in thought, just in time to see the doors opened as the lift finally arrived at the ground floor.

Upon exiting the lift, Hadrian was not surprised to see people already waiting for him there.

He might have been distracted earlier, but his senses were too sharp to miss the presence of people he had encountered in person.

Sure enough, there are two men standing a few steps away from the entrance of the lift.

It was Luka Azarro, his chauffeur and attendant, and Lionel, the Head Manager of Moscow’s Crown Plaza.

“Good evening, young master Rey.” The two greeted in unison, bowing their heads slightly as they did so.

“Evening.” Hadrian returned as he stopped in front of them.

With a subtle glance at his current attire, Lionel turned to Hadrian.

“Off to work, milord?” The head manager asked politely.

“I am, yes.” Hadrian confirmed with a slight nod.

“But you just arrived yesterday, sir.” Luka said, looking a tad concerned, which (Hadrian can sense via empathy) was truly genuine.

Despite the man’s calm composure, Luka was quite kind, especially for someone who had chosen an odd lifestyle and career path (knowing the supernatural side of the world and being a member of AEONS, that is). And while they only knew each other for a few hours, his concern for Hadrian’s well-being was a testament to the man’s genuine personality and duty to his job.

Truly, his grandfather has a good eye for picking people.

“Surely you’ve yet to adjust to the time zone.” Luka continued, unaware of being appraised briefly by his charge.

“It’s fine. I’ve rested enough.” Hadrian said with a mild shrug. “The time difference between England and Moscow is not that far off anyways.”

“Then would you like a lift to your intended destination, young master Rey?” Lionel offered.

Hadrian paused at his words, appearing thoughtful.

After several moments, the magician in disguise shook his head.

“Thank you, but no.” Hadrian refused politely. “I wish to explore a bit of the city, and I cannot exactly do that if I’m escorted around with a group of armed men dressed in black suits. That would merely earn me unnecessary attention, especially to where I’m going. I would probably take a remise on the way there for now.”

Noticing the puzzled faces, he was quick to pick up on their thoughts and continued.

“Remise is a term for ‘taxi’ in the UK.”

Hadrian smiled faintly in amusem*nt as they nodded simultaneously, coincidentally matching each other’s timing.

“How will you return to the hotel, sir?” Luka asked, whilst the man beside him subtly walked away to the reception desk and used one of the telephones.

“I might call you after the work is done, is that fine?” Hadrian said after some thought.

Luka smiled, nodding in acceptance.

“Yes, of course. I will keep my holophone on standby, sir.”

Lionel arrived just as they were finished talking, turning to Hadrian with a smile.

“I’ve prepared a cab for you to use, young master.” Lionel announced. “It is waiting outside the back entrance of the hotel. Please allow me to escort you once you are ready to go.”

“Then, lead the way.” Hadrian said with a slight nod of thanks.

“Please follow me.” Lionel said, bowing once before turning after he finished.

With Lionel in front, Hadrian followed the man with Luka in tow. The latter spoke as they made their way to the back entrance of the hotel.

“Will you be going there in that state, my lord?” Luka asked, keenly noticing the lack of weapons upon his person.

Granted, he might have some hidden in the blazer, but Luka heard that his charge often went on a hunt with a sheathed sword and (or) twin guns.

And right now, none of the weapons in question were in sight.

“Yes.” Hadrian answered simply, calmly looking straight ahead.

Due to the angle of his gaze, he missed the confused glance that Luka gave him as the latter walked beside him.

“Without a weapon, my lord?” Luka asked, albeit hesitant to point out.

Amused, Hadrian sent the young attendant a mysterious smile.

“it’s all right, Luka. I have everything I need with me, despite what you think.” Hadrian assured calmly.

His words only made the attendant looked even more confused as Luka tried to discern what he meant.

Hadrian paid him no heed as he returned his gaze to the front, just in time to see Lionel walking through the twin doors that were opened by two men in black suits.

Following the latter, Hadrian nodded to the two men, who greeted him first with their own respectful gestures, bowing their heads as he passed them.

Exiting through the back entrance of the hotel, the magician in disguise was led to a yellow vehicle that was on stand-by, guarded by two more men in black suits standing on one side. Upon seeing their approach, one of them reached and opened the door just as Lionel stopped a few steps away from the car, prompting Hadrian and Luca to halt and look at the man as Lionel turned to face them.

“You need not worry about the bill, sir. The fee is already paid in advance.” Lionel informed as he stood to the side.

“Thank you.” Hadrian looked at Luka and Lionel. “I will see you all later then.”

““Happy hunting, young master.”” Luka and the others said, bowing their heads slightly in unison.

Luka closed the door of the taxi once Hadrian was seated comfortably in the back.

In silence, Lionel, Luka and the others watched as the taxi drove away from the path and into the road.

…

…

Having memorized the routes to the target’s location, Hadrian arrived at his destination.

The target was currently inside an underground pub where most criminals in the city often congregate, either for entertainment or business-related purposes.

The location of the pub was situated in an area with many abandoned buildings. From what Hadrian had found, the area was in the poorest parts of the city. Therefore, it was not all surprising to know that there were plenty of illegal establishments hidden in plain sight. Basically, certain buildings of the slums are being used as a sort of communication hub to accommodate the cruel and lowlife criminals of public society.

Many authoritative figures of the law tried to purge the lot of them in the past, but none had been successful enough to truly get rid of the instigators of criminal activities so far.

Because of this, Hadrian had to instruct the cab driver to drop him off nearby, if not to avoid suspicion of where he wanted to go.

Fortunately, the driver looked none too assuming of his intention and merely acquiesced to his instruction.

After thanking the man, Hadrian exited the cab and moved into an alleyway that would lead him to the slums.

Walking at a calm pace, he lifted his right hand from his pocket, activating one circuit, and snapped his fingers.

Though his point of view remained unchanged, he vanished from sight as he used the ‘Invisibility Cloak’s’ ability, which now happened to be merge with his soul after obtaining it in sometime during his previous lifetime. With his presence covered and secured, Hadrian walked to the target’s location at a leisured pace, as if on a casual stroll and not in mission.

Few minutes later, after some turns and corners, he finally arrived at where the pub was located.

He stopped at the edge of the alleyway, surveying the area.

He heard that there was a spacious street walk in front of the pub’s entrance, and that it was usually absent of people (except for the bouncers). But seeing it now, the information was a bit off as he could see group of people milling about, who were all arriving from all sorts of directions, except for the alleyway where Hadrian had come from. The buildings nearby were semi-desolated, almost dingy but there were people walking about.

Hadrian did not need to be a genius to know that most of the people who lingered in this district would probably have criminal records of some kind.

A notice from the MC, his ever-observant assistant, confirmed his suspicion, but that was not what he really needed right now.

“With that many people around, I might need to fight my way out after killing him…” Hadrian muttered under his breath as he observed the group hanging by the entrance.

At those words, he paused, a pensive look on his face.

“Wait, wouldn’t that just benefit me? The point is to make my debut as dramatic as possible.” Hadrian hummed, a finger tapping his chin with his arms crossed over his chest. “Also, opa did say that I can use a bit of magic, as long as I’m subtle about it. Killing the target won’t be an issue, but some of his like-minded ilk might join in the party just because I killed him in front of them. Oh well…”

With a helpless shrug of his shoulders, Hadrian pulled out his left hand from his pocket, revealing a half-mask.

Tapping his finger on the edge, the mask glowed blue and transformed into a full mask that covers his entire face.

Like most of his equipment, the mask was magical in nature. It has a built-in communications system (enables the wearer to accept audio calls as long as it was registered in the mask’s system), unparalleled enhanced durability (nothing short of spells fueled by true magic can destroy it), and special dark tinted eye lenses (one that provides a greater depth of view and help filter out extra stimuli, and different visual spectrums such as an x-ray vision, night vision, and a built-in HUD function automatically analyzes his surroundings for potential enemies).

The mask also has a link to the Moon Cell (alien-made supercomputer), enabling the sentient artifact to provide him additional support by imparting tactical advice on certain situations and do diagnostic reports.

And true to its function, the Moon Cell records and stores data while the mask was in use, a feature that only activates on its own whenever Hadrian wears the item in question.

The mask was born out of necessity, merely to cover his face, but curiosity overcame his sense of reason, and Hadrian added more functions to it than necessary.

As a result, another Mystic Code was produced, one that can only be destroyed through one particular method and with a link to a certain alien artifact in his possession.

Sighing at the memory, Hadrian turned his gaze downwards by chance and saw his reflection in the broken glass mirror that was leaning against a dumpster.

Looking back at him was an ominous-looking individual dressed in black.

Currently, Hadrian was wearing a black asymmetrical, long-sleeved, stylized high-collared blazer with slit sleeves along with the gold sigil of the Lucis Caelum (which was a crown with curved points and twelve feathers aligned on each side) lined up on his left shoulder. The blazer had a gold lining and was half-buttoned, exposing his white shirt with gold decals.

Strapped around the sleeve of his right arm was a dark gray armband with a roman numeral of thirteen on the side and an emblem that resemble the face of a demon stitched in molten gold – the logo of one of the elite military forces under the direct command of the AEONS head, Chronos, and its members were called as ‘Numbers’.

Such status was given only to members that were categorized as unique from Hunters and Enforcers.

The armband signifies the organization’s acknowledgement to his skills and other capabilities, while the number hinted of his position in the group. The number is not a way to display his current ranking in the group, but as a symbol of his status as the newest addition to Chronos. The roman numerals are also simply the high council’s method of keeping track of their numbers (no pun intended).

He wore black dress pants, black leather shoes with dark gold soles, and a pair of black fingerless gloves. He wears a black leather belt, and strapped near the gold buckle was a golden chain with a spear-shaped pendant.

The mask that covered his face was, perhaps, the most distinguishing item on his person.

It was stark white, seemingly thin, and delicate in its appearance, with a pair of black tinted glass covering the eyeholes and a slit that curved into an eerie mocking smile at the bottom.

And combined with his outfit, his appearance makes for an ominous sight, especially to people that had never seen his actual appearance.

He had always been told that his appearance (without the mask) often drew out different emotions from others, anything but negative (most of the time), though Hadrian wondered if it would be the same now.

As if the universe read his mind, the mirror he was looking at –

CRACK

– suddenly broke into small shards, falling to the ground into uneven pieces by some unknown force.

Hadrian blinked.

“Scheisse…” He cursed under his breath, shaking his head in bewilderment.

Then he stopped, staring at his attire before sighing out loud.

His current attire was certainly attention-grabbing, alright, but that was what his grandfather was looking for.

With another sigh, Hadrian snapped his fingers and, in a bright display of gold, blue and silver crystal particles, two objects appeared near his hands.

The item to his right hand was a beautiful silver blue-colored aikuchi katana with a long and slightly curved blade. The tsuka (handle) has the traditional gold wrapping, with black ornaments, and the tsuka-ito (handle braid) was braided with a pure white and black material. The kashira (buttcap) has a detailed image of a skull wearing a crown with twelve feathers surrounding it. Unlike an ordinary katana, the tsuba (guard) was nowhere to be found. The blade itself features several intricate ornaments, most notable was the relief of a dragon at the endpoint of the hilt, displayed in deep gold to make it noticeable.

To his left was an object almost like a scabbard in shape, but upon close inspection, more akin to the body of a slim rifle.

While the stock was a dark blue in color, the rest of its components were gold. The stock was rather long, when compared to the rest of the firearm, while the barrel was quite short. The side of the forestock was decorated with the logo similar to the detailed image that was on the buttcap of the blue blade.

The silver blue blade in his right hand was ‘Lapis’, while the unique-looking sheath in his left hand was ‘Tempest’.

Lapis was a magically enchanted blade that was capable of handling most of Hadrian’s elemental spells, mostly fire since that was the one that he was most familiar with.

Tempest, on the other hand, function as the sheath for Lapis, but is made to be capable of shifting into an actual rifle. Although small and lightweight, Tempest’s components made it capable of automatic fire and widespread shots like a shotgun.

Bullets were enhanced by magic, and the sheath was customized to restore its own ammo. If emptied, a ten second countdown will start before the cartridge inside the sheath was refilled with ammo.

Hadrian owns a lot of weapons, but he felt that these two (Lapis and Tempest) were more compatible to his current alias.

After all, if he wants to be remembered as a representative of AEONS, his weapon choice must be one of his (Rey’s) memorable signatures.

Grabbing both items, Hadrian twirled the sword a few times, reacquainting himself to the familiar sensation of having a weapon in his hand again, before resting it inside its sheath, Tempest. With his left hand already occupied, he then used his right hand and snapped his fingers again, activating one of his abilities.

There was no flourish display of light particles, but from where he stood, he was not there anymore.

…

…

[… Five minutes later …]

‘Hmm… that was fast.’

It was all so laughably simple and easy.

There were two spells he had cast earlier on himself: 「Silencio」and 「Haste」

The「Silencio」was a silencing spell, originating from an alternate world that he’d visited in his previous life during a mission. On the other hand,「Haste」was a spell he learned during his first lifetime, the world he originated from. The latter, as its name implied, was a time-based support magic that hastens one’s movements and attack speed for a short duration. The limit of the spell’s duration depends on the caster’s proficiency and experience.

With「Haste」amplifying his movement speed beyond the limit, Hadrian dashed through a crowd of people, and passed the guards standing beside the pub’s entrance, in a span of seconds. Of course, he had to cast the two spells earlier beforehand, what with the silencing spell (to mute the sounds he would make, such as his footsteps, breathing, etc.) and the ‘haste’ spell to enable his body to move five times faster than normal.

Combining his invisibility and the two spells, infiltration had never been an issue for him ever since.

Even one of his retainers, who was an assassin-type Servant, had difficulty in discerning his location whenever he uses invisibility in their spars.

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Hadrian walked down a couple of steps and turned left (which was really the only way to go) where he was met with twin doors that were (fortunately enough) opened wide for him and anyone to enter. Going through them, he turned right and was greeted to the sight of the pub.

With a quick scan from the MC, the pub seemed to be just like any other liquor bars Hadrian had seen… except, it was a lot more dingy, shady and dank.

And there were all kinds of filth hanging about, and no, he was not talking about dirty materials, but the criminals themselves.

But, that was not important as Hadrian frowned when the result of the scan did not find him the target.

According to the MC, the target was here, but left the pub an hour ago.

Usually, this news would bring someone discontent or disappointment, but Hadrian was no ordinary mundane. He has magic and the greatest assistant on his side, after all.

Without wasting a second, Hadrian issued a new order for the automaton – to find him the trail of the target’s whereabouts. (2)

With the target’s marks now highlighted in bright blue in his vision, Hadrian began his hunt and followed the trail, making his way out of the pub and returning to the surface once more. To avoid barreling into people, he had to use his phasing ability every now and then as it was a bit difficult weaving his way in and out of the crowds.

The surrounding area were abandoned buildings and heavily scavenged cars, but there are people walking about. It was lively, but in a gloomy and tense sort of way.

There were plenty of women wearing make-up and revealing outfits that showed a lot more skin than necessary, calling out to those that would want their ‘comforting services’. There were people, men and women alike, who were dressed either casually or professionally, some extreme, some were average, walking to each of their destination, but were actually armed and ready for combat at any time.

Altogether, Hadrian took everything in with a calm and observant demeanor as he walked among them.

It was not the first time he had been among such people, nor would it be the last.

Hell, the first time he visited the Clock Tower was far more impactful than walking among a bunch of crooked mundanes.

Eventually, the trail led him to a quiet alley that was two kilometers away from the pub.

There were two thugs, armed and heavy in built, guarding an entrance with twin steel doors. Glancing up, the building was quite large, about three stories high, with a few windows on each level at the front. Behind the mask, bright cyan eyes flickered to the alley he was on, idly noting that it was clean, which was a stark contrast to the areas that he had just walked from.

There were trucks and a few cars parked nearby as well, some of which looked luxurious, looking a bit out of place.

Humming under his breath, Hadrian walked towards the entrance and phased through the doors.

Upon entering the building, he noticed that he was inside some kind of illegal market, most likely where items and deals born from ill-begotten means were taking place. There were booths scattered about, and alcoves placed almost everywhere. Most occupants were speaking in low volumes, so it was somewhat quiet. Also, every person in the room were carrying a weapon of some kind on their person.

There were some that carry bladed weapons, which caught Hadrian’s mild interest, but it did not last more than a few seconds later as he discovered that they were made of common materials and the dubious things that their owners had done with them so far (which were mostly killing, torture, etc.), courtesy of the automaton’s quick appraisals on the weapons.

The marketplace was clean, but the smell…

Hadrian couldn’t help but grimace a little as he used the sleeve of his blazer to cover his nose from the various scents that attacked him.

To most people, they probably would not have smelled anything peculiar as the AC and ventilation system were doing their work just fine. But, to those whose five senses had been heightened to their peak (people like Hadrian for example), they have the misfortune of experiencing things that would make obsessed hygienic individuals scream their heads out.

The putrid smell of oil, sweat, blood, perfume, and others that he could no longer identify had already mixed and scattered throughout the entire floor.

He managed to ignore it the first time he stepped into the building, but the second he breathed in the air, Hadrian almost coughed in reflex.

This was one of the times where he hated being more than human.

Frowning, Hadrian lifted one hand and pressed gently on the side of the mask using his thumb.

Nothing happened, but there was a definite change to the mask. Not externally, but internally.

When Hadrian heard a soft click, he breathed out a sigh of relief as the air that he was now inhaling was clean and untainted once more, thanks to the rebreather (made via rune magic and enchantment) that he had the foresight to program into the mask in the past. Usually, he would activate it if the air around him was poisonous. But, in this case, he made an exception.

‘I would rather not stay here anymore while I’m still tracking down that pest…’ Hadrian grumbled internally.

With a quiet ‘hmph’, he composed himself as he returned to his previous task.

Judging by the target’s tracks, Hadrian knew he was in the right building.

As he was about to get back into tracking, however, he spotted a speck of color from the corner of his eyes just as he was about to turn and walk into the direction of where his target was hiding.

Turning his head to get a better look, Hadrian was a bit surprised that what caught his attention was a young girl.

Certainly, there were women in the building and in the underworld business, but not one as young as her.

Judging by her height and build, she was probably around fourteen or fifteen years old. Her clothes were a bit loose on her slim frame, mostly chosen on purpose to hide small weapons. She wore a hat, but her hair met her shoulders and a bit curly, enough for him to see its beautiful deep shade of red.

She had her back turned to him, so Hadrian was unable to see her face. But, seeing her in this kind of shady location, he can only wonder how difficult her life must be to end up here.

Her hair was partly the reason why she caught his eye, but now that he was looking at her directly, he found himself a bit reluctant to turn away.

He doesn’t know why, but there was something about her that drew him in.

He doesn’t know how to describe it. It was on the tip of his tongue, and it was bothering him quite a bit.

Shaking his head, Hadrian willed himself to focus on the mission.

Whatever it may be, he would have enough time to ponder the matter later.

For now, the assignment comes first.

With one last glance at the girl, who was now yelling at the helper (much to his bemusem*nt), Hadrian turned on his heel and continued tracking down the target.

…

…

1) – The Department of Inquisition is one of the main divisions of AEONS. They’re the group that search and collect various information for Zelretch and Hadrian around the world.

2) – Hadrian’s point of view in this part is kind of like how turning on detective mode whenever Batman chases after forensic trail of his targets in Batman Arkham games.

Chapter 6: Twice is Fate...

Chapter Text

Hadrian smiled.

‘… found you.’

Under a minute, the trail eventually led him to the target’s current location, which was in a room a few doors away from where he was before, and now he saw the target in person.

The target, Igor Kamenev, was a tall and broad-shouldered Russian male.

He had a dirty mop of dark brown hair that looked a bit oily, making him appear as if he hadn’t taken a bath for days, and a pair of dark blue eyes that radiated arrogance and cruelty in everything and everyone he laid his sight upon.

He wore a large heavy brown coat, a black shirt beneath, black pants and muddy brown boots.

There were gold rings on some of his fingers and layers of gold and silver necklaces around his neck, which were clear signs of his vanity, despite his unhygienic appearance.

And his face, it was just as unsightly.

He was neither handsome nor ugly, just average in truth.

A common face among mundanes.

But the scruffs, the bell pepper nose, the oily hair, and the wide blue eyes rendered him to look like a typical lowlife scoundrel trying hard to make it in the big leagues, making Hadrian’s bright cyan eyes roll in exasperation at the situation he found himself in.

Not to sound vain, but he felt a bit cheated by being given such a boring target whose common traits were akin to a typical third-rate villain.

The pest was sitting in a booth, lounging with one arm on the head of the seat and the other was on the table.

Upon close inspection, the irritating cur was not alone.

There was someone with him, most likely a potential client, by the appearance of the man’s suit seated across from him.

One quick look into the other man’s history caused Hadrian’s resolve to end him as well.

Better to end both trash than let them soil the earth with their rotting existences any longer than necessary.

SHING

The familiar hiss of the blade as he withdrew the sword from its sheath entered his ears, almost comforting to him as he walked slowly to the target.

VROM

Behind the mask, the glamoured cyan eyes glowed with a faint blue and violet hue, as if in the process of shifting yet restrained at the same time.

With a calm and collected façade, Hadrian quickly went to work.

…

…

The upcoming events went by so fast that nearly everyone in the room didn’t have time to react.

SQUELCH

“URK!?”

Despite the music blasting from a number of speakers situated all over the room and other audible sounds, the shuddering sound of someone’s flesh being pierced with great force was loud enough to interrupt the busy yet somewhat relaxing mood in the room.

“…!”

All eyes turned to the source, and everyone looked on in shock and fear at the same time as they behold the horrifying scene that they laid their sights upon.

In the right side of the room, there was a booth where two men were seated facing one another while two other men, armed and heavily built, were standing guard.

One man seated in the booth was familiar, a regular face seen often in the marketplace and in the underground business.

The other was new and seems to be a potential client of the former.

But there was one standing near the former, who was never seen before by any that were present in the room.

The figure was tall, a bit slim yet proud and hale in terms of physique.

Body structure alone, it was obvious that he was a male.

He was dressed in an all-black attire, one that was quite stylish and too detailed to be made from common materials and minimal effort.

To those that can only see his back, they can see the dark depth of his clothes, as if drawing them in.

Even from afar, the beautiful shade of the figure’s ash gray hair caught the onlookers in an admiring state for a few seconds before the gravity of the situation sunk in.

The ones near the booth, however, are shocked and terrified by the ominous white smiling mask that the figure wore on his face, and even more so by the long bluish silver blade that was in his right hand, which was currently lodge through the side of a man’s neck.

“…”

DRIP

DRIP

The soft noise of blood dripping on the surface of the table and the ground was loud, pounding in their ears of all onlookers like drumbeats as an ominous feeling crept in.

…

One second passed, a mere second of silence, before everything turned into a chaotic mess.

“AAHH!”

“WHOA!”

“HE–“

Some panicked, screaming as they tried to get away from where the foreboding figure in black was standing, while there were some that moved into action, flustered as they were by the sudden severity of the situation.

Some of the armed individuals tried to ready their weapons to bring down the unknown figure in the case he turns on them.

The two men with guns, standing near the booth, were the first to direct their weapons at him.

WOOSH

But unfortunately, they did not expect the man to move so fast.

One moment, their guns were trained on him, and they were just about ready to fire –

WOOSH

– only to find that they couldn’t as they watched on helplessly what happened next.

Their boss and employer (who had tried to move out of the booth after it dawned on him that the person he had just spoken to was killed right in front of him) became the man’s next victim.

Like a black mirage, the man was on him –

SLASH

SQUELCH

THUD

– their employer’s head was chopped off, flying away, and landing on top of a table nearby.

“AAH!”

“THE FU–“

Loud screams began to fill the air as they all witnessed the casual and sudden murder of two men by a sword-wielding figure in black.

THUD THUD THUD

THUD THUD THUD

Panic and fear immediately settled in as half of the occupants rushed over to the entrance, only to discover that it was locked and surprisingly sturdy.

“The f*ck!? Why isn’t this opening!”

“The windows won’t open too!”

Some even tried to open the windows by force, to no avail.

“Try breaking it!”

“It’s useless! Nothing works!”

But no matter what methods they tried and used, the doors and the windows within the room would not budge, much to their massive confusion and dread.

The ones who stood their ground quickly found themselves in a fearful predicament.

CLACK

CLACK

“What the fu–“

“What’s the matter with this f*cking gun?!”

The guns in their hands would not shoot, what with the triggers locked in a jammed state, despite some having made recent adjustments and maintenance on their weapons.

Unknown to them, Hadrian had the foresight of jamming their firearms (via spell) earlier before he made his move. Locking them inside the room had also been his doing.

Some gritted their teeth frustration (a reflex mechanism to suppress their fears of the unknown variable they were facing) and went to fight the white masked man with either a melee weapon or unarmed.

Most wavered at the thought of engaging him in close combat though, not after they saw how he made quick work of the two heavy built men that were the closest to the booth.

“AACK!”

“DAMN IT!”

SLASH

SPURT

Soon after, pained screams echoed in the room as wild sprays of blood, severed body parts, and beaten bodies flew across the room in different directions as the white masked man teared down every opposition in his way.

The ones that didn’t join in the fight could only watch with absolute fear in their bloodshot eyes, cowering in their respective hiding spots as they all witness the black clothed figure swing his weapon at his enemies in smooth arcs and motions.

All the while maintaining a calm posture without displaying any signs of exertion on his part as he moved at a speed that almost made him a black blur in their eyes.

The man was a well-seasoned fighter.

His movements were calm and calculative, no energy wasted and perfectly timed, as if he had already predicted how they would react before they could apply it.

The way he fought was unlike the people in the room had seen before.

Regardless of the limit of his space, he can weave his way out of their attacks, even dodging some of their coordinated assaults seemingly without effort was near entertaining to watch.

He was also unpredictable in the timing and manner of his attacks and counters, including the way he used the environment to his advantage from time to time.

These were telltale signs of how much combat experience he had accumulated and the power he had at his disposal, despite being a complete unknown.

It was as if he was born to fight, a ridiculous notion that only exists in weird fantasy tales and alike.

And yet, here he was, fighting them all by his lonesome.

And winning single-handedly at that.

The fact that he appeared seemingly out of the blue and just began cutting down people was something he will be remembered by.

By the time Hadrian heard of this, he would defend himself by pointing out that he was simply after one person, but there were idiots who decided to join the fray and attack him.

That, and he would conclude that even lowlife criminals were humans in the end, seeing as almost none of them noticed he left the people who didn’t fight him unharmed (albeit traumatized) and the ones that were the lesser of evil (thanks to the automaton quickly looking in through their pasts) merely experienced the discomforting sensation of having some of their limbs detached or crushed beyond repair.

Both groups survived simply because he let it happen on purpose.

Hadrian may be intending to cause actual harm to gain infamy, but he was not that heartless.

…

…

BAM

“Ugh –“

After kicking a stool (that conveniently landed in a mercenary’s face, knocking him out cold), Hadrian finally left the room once there was no one left for him to fight, much to the quiet relief of the ones that hid and abstained from fighting him.

The fight took no more than a minute and a half.

He fought a lot, probably most of the occupants in the room, but he did not feel the slightest bit of exhaustion.

“Hmm…”

Looking at his gloved hand, fist closing and opening a few times, Hadrian was a bit amazed at how potent the aging potion his grandfather had made for him.

Before departure, he was given an aging potion that would grow his body into its natural state without comprising anything.

After drinking the potion, his body aged ten years and was now similar to that of seventeen years old, which made it convenient for Hadrian to tackle missions easily.

Aside from age, the potion gave him the side benefits of a powerful and able body, augmenting everything inside him.

Hadrian paused, expression turning blank from behind the mask.

Well, almost everything.

Imagine his surprise that he was unable to activate the Armiger, the power of the Lucis bloodline, to its full potential.

Hadrian had discovered it earlier (before departing from the hotel) when he tested it out in the glass pavilion.

Oh, summoning phantom weapons, elemancy and some others were still available for him.

But the true power of the Armiger – the supreme ability to summon the royal arms of his predecessors at once, only exclusive to those worthy of being the next ruler of Lucis – was, unfortunately, locked out for him.

Not that the ability itself was lost to him. He can still summon astral weapons, just not the royal arms that were once wielded by his predecessors.

The ancient magic of the Lucis Caelum still dwell in his soul, regardless of him being reborn in a different body.

This, he could confirm even without the Moon Cell’s assistance.

Which led him to consider that the reason why he could not use the Armiger at its true potential was due to the ring worn on his right middle finger, only hidden via magic.

The Ring of Lucii.

He had no idea how the astrals sent the ring to him, but no matter how many times he was reborn, the ring was always with him.

He only needed to summon it from the Armiger.

It was identical to the one he had worn in his first life, appearance-wise at least, but Hadrian can tell that it was not the same ring that was passed down to his family.

The true Ring of Lucii held enormous power, almost to the point that it nearly drowned and crushed Hadrian in its brilliant radiance the first time he tried to wear it.

The one bestowed upon him, however, felt different.

It was as if the ring on his finger was made solely for him to use and no one else.

Further analysis via a magic spell gave him a deeper insight into what the ring was truly capable of. Much like the former, it can amplify his powers and reduce the cost of magic energy when casting spells.

The three spells in the ring were also present, but Hadrian dared not to cast any of them.

There were a few reasons why.

One, his body (despite quickening his body’s physical growth to that of a young adult with the aging potion) was not yet ready to endure the strain and exertion of his divine heritage.

And the ring can sense it, even acting as a limiter of a sort to prevent him from casting the spells imbued in the ring.

However, the Moon Cell assured him that the seal was only temporary, and that it will disappear once his body (without the aging potion) matures.

The reasoning was sound enough as it coincides with what he knew and experienced in the past.

Even though Hadrian had great control over his powers, he had only managed to awaken the true power of Armiger after he passed the trials given to him by his predecessors, and when he reached the age of fifteen in his first life.

It was also the same in his second and third lifetimes, which gives credit to the Moon Cell’s analysis of the ring’s strict requirements.

The age of his body was still young, seven-years-old at that, but Hadrian only needed to wait for it to grow (naturally), and the Armiger would be fully accessible to him then.

Second, Hadrian was quite aware of how destructive the ring’s spells can be, and thus, he had no desire to test it out of idle curiosity.

At least, not without extensive measures and careful preparation.

Hadrian was cognizant that he would have to test the ring’s spells at some point.

And he did not particularly look forward to the scarring effect that it would leave on him once the time to do so arrived.

Fortunately, most of the spells and abilities that he learned and acquired in his previous lives were still available for him to use freely.

Thus, despite the limitations he discovered, Hadrian was not that helpless.

His grandfather mentioned another minor disadvantage though, but the old magician was interrupted before he could explain.

Once he was back in the lobby, Hadrian snapped his fingers, activating a spell, as he made his way through the front doors.

There were several curious gazes that followed him.

"Hey! We need help here!"

"Ugh... my... my arm...!"

"Fire! There's fire inside!"

"Ring the alarm!"

"Someone, call the ambulance and the firemen!"

But their attention was redirected to the panicked shouting and pained screams of the people as the glaring scent of fire burning everything it can reach, along with the black smoke permeating through the vents and appearing in the hallway he had just came from.

During the scuffle, Hadrian had placed incendiary spells on the ones that he killed, which can be activated via remote thought.

The snap of his fingers and his intent were the trigger.

Soon, mass confusion and panic ensued throughout the whole building as alarms blared out.

Because of the chaos occurring inside, no one even bothered him as he casually strolled out of the door.

Everyone else were too busy getting to the source of the fire, making it convenient for him to leave without hindrance.

The culprit of the incident left the building with no one being the wiser.

…

…

STEP

STEP

Depositing his weapons and mask in one of his subspace inventories, Hadrian went on a walk.

The assignment was finished late in the afternoon, and now it was evening.

The sky was still tinged with an orange hue due to the setting sun, but the night was closing in, almost occupying most of the space in the sky from where he was located.

The city also became active as the lights from various buildings and billboards came alive.

And while most of his heightened senses were sealed to a quarter of their level, thanks to certain artifacts on his person, Hadrian can still hear various sounds typically heard in cities.

Cars moved forward and the honks of their alarms were loud.

Indiscernible chatter of people from various buildings.

The scuttering of vermin and insects in shadowy corners and sewer entrances.

The sizzling noises of a piece of meat on the flat surface of a commercial grill, most likely a burger patty, considering the tempting smell wafting from a nearby vent.

Hadrian can hear them, and if he focused enough, he could even understand what the people were saying.

But he had no desire to do such a thing, seeing as he did not want to and there was no need for him to pry.

And so, he ignored the things that his senses had gathered to his attention, putting all trivial information till they were nothing more than white noise in the back of his mind.

Sighing through the half mask that covered the lower part of his face, Hadrian opened his eyes and continued his idle stroll.

While he did say to Luka and Lionel that he might call a service from the hotel, Hadrian wanted to spend some time roaming the city and clear his head before he did so.

No, there was no remorse nor guilt inside about what he had done to those people earlier.

They attacked him due to their own reasons, and he merely responded in kind.

Even in his first life, Hadrian was never the kind to let a violent response pass, especially when it was directed at him unprovoked.

Furthermore, it was not as if those people’s hands were clean either.

So no, Hadrian’s conscience was not at all disturbed by what he had done earlier.

Rather, the reason he was taking a stroll right after the mission was simply out of habit.

After displaying (and partaking in) such brutal violence, Hadrian felt the urge to walk and relax his mind.

It became even more important for him to do so when a mild, yet familiar headache disturbed his peace of mind. (4)

‘I guess this detriment will always be present, no matter where I go…’ Hadrian grumbled, irritated by the throbbing at the forefront of his head.

In a magus’s point of view, the soul acts as the blueprint for the body. It contains the ‘record’ of everything one has attained in their life, particularly their ego, memories, and even their abilities.

In Hadrian’s case, the myriad of knowledge (of events, blueprints, spells, etc.) and various abilities he attained in his previous lives were carried over into the present, including some of his weaknesses.

And his headache was caused by one of his ‘special’ abilities as part of its cons.

Even though he would rather be without it, Hadrian could not deny that it was an especially useful ability that he was willing to endure its side-effects.

‘Not that it would go away anytime soon. It’s rather depressing to think that I’ll have to endure this bloody thing for the rest of my life, regardless of how many times I reincarnate…’ Hadrian sighed, displeased at the thought.

“…”

Lamenting at his (mis)fortune, the young magician snapped out of his musings as a sound entered his hearing, interrupting his thought process.

Belatedly, Hadrian blinked and looked around.

Earlier, when he began his walk, he was somewhere near the slums, walking along the side of the somewhat empty streets.

Hadrian was not aware of how long he had been walking, but now he found himself standing in some alleyway. Given that he had yet to familiarize himself with the city, it was safe to say that Hadrian has no bloody idea in where he was exactly.

Which was fine, considering as he was not exactly hopeless when it comes to navigating his way through unknown locations.

‘It’s not as if this is the first time I’ve gotten lost before…’

Using his enhanced hearing, he can hear the vehicles moving and random chatters of people, which meant that he was still near where it was bustling with activity.

It was all normal, and there were no signs of anything out of the ordinary.

‘Then what was that sound earlier? Did I just imagine it?’ Hadrian wondered, brows knitting.

“… uuaACK!”

“Stop her!”

“GET THAT BITCH!”

Not a moment later, he was proven wrong as his hearing picked up the sound again.

‘Is that…’

While there was no prominent change in his calm and regal expression, his cyan eyes glowed a bit brighter as he walked through an alleyway with dim lighting.

His moved on their own, while he was focused on the scene that was occurring meters away from where he was.

Casting a few muted spells upon himself, Hadrian crossed the distance in a few seconds.

He quickly found himself standing at the end of the alley with a large space.

There were two more alleys linked to the area, but Hadrian paid it no mind as his attention was set on the scene that he stumbled upon by chance.

It was also fortunate that the shadows hid him perfectly, otherwise the people in the area might have taken notice of his presence.

Said scene he encountered was a fight.

“…”

Hadrian tilted his head, taking in the sight before him.

… well, it was the aftermath of one.

Judging from the tone of the one who came out on top, the fight started from a disagreement between the ones involved.

It was a fight between five to one.

The former was a group of men, most have broad-shouldered and able in body.

And even though most were already unconscious or writhing on the dirty cement in pain, there were knives, shivs, and crowbars clattered around the floor.

From head to toe, they have the typical appearance of grungy-looking goons, all shady and not the slightest bit trustworthy.

Some even have tattoos peeking out of sleeves of their clothes, and piercings on their faces.

Ignoring the third-rate ruffians, Hadrian turned to his attention to the only one still standing.

In the middle of four injured and groaning burly men, there was a young woman with a deep crimson curly hair.

Recalling a certain memory, it was the girl from earlier.

The same one he had seen inside the black market.

She has a slim and nimble appearance, has a pale skin tone, and she seemed smaller than most women. When she moved, her hair gave way in effect, and his eyes widened a tad as he caught sight of her face.

‘Young…’ was his first immediate thought.

The girl was just that, a young teenager, somewhere around fourteen or fifteen years old.

While Hadrian had seen bizarre situations where young people proved themselves more capable of enacting violence and maturity than most grown people twice their age (himself not included), it was still a bit surprising to see it in someone with no magical background.

True, Hadrian had seen such cases even in his first life, but the era he had lived in before was a time when Niflheim waged an all-out war with the rest of the world, and orphans with rough childhoods were not rare occurrences back then.

In fact, it was something that happens almost daily, tragic as it was.

Clearly, similar cases also occur in this reality as well.

Hadrian was dragged out of his melancholic musing as the young girl moved.

The redhead lightly crouched over the last man conscious, holding a wickedly sharp knife over his right eye.

Said man breathed heavily, almost hyperventilating.

The fear from his expression and body language alone were clear to see.

Due to his experience before, Hadrian knows a bit of Russian.

His understanding of the language was average at best, but not polished enough to instill confidence in him to talk to a native speaker for long hours.

Granted, the Moon Cell can help him remedy that issue easily, but Hadrian prefers not to rely on it too much when it comes to things that he can attain via effort, learning new languages included.

Of course, that was a difficult mindset to maintain as the alien artifact residing shamelessly in his soul was more than happy enough to translate the rest that he does not understand for him.

“– touch me again and I will gauge out your eyes, cut off your extremities, and feed them to you.” She spat at the man beneath her.

“Please! I won’t do it again, just don’t –“

FWOSH

The thug stopped talking.

Wide eyes riddled with fear, the poor tosser watched the knife quickly and steadily travel down his body to rest above his privates.

“What did I say about talking?” The girl’s eyes were bright with malice as she applied a bit of pressure.

The man yelped, eyes glistening with incoming tears.

PAT PAT PAT

PAT PAT PAT

The sound of hurried footsteps distracted Hadrian from the poor fool’s slobbering as a group of men came either side of the alleyways.

Noticing the similar emblems on their clothing and the ones that were on the ground, it was not that difficult to tell that the two were connected. The girl was good at fighting, she can obviously defend herself, but as a mundane and one that young, she was bound to limitations. It would not be an issue if there were just four or five guys, but a group of them would be problematic even for her.

Hadrian suspect that she might survive the encounter, but not without sustaining an injury and some bruises.

As the men stepped took a step forward, pulling out knives and cracking their knuckles in an intimidating manner, he became conflicted.

Admittedly, he had been curious as to what he heard earlier. He went to the source, much like how felines would do to sate their curiosity.

And now that he did, a curious dilemma dawned upon him.

‘Intervene… or no?’

Hadrian did not have to help her.

There was no need for him to as she was skilled enough to defend herself, and not to mention that he had just completed his own task.

There was no need for him to stay around when he had committed his first kill as ‘Rey’ from just around the corner.

The part that tried to reason with him to not get involved was silenced, however, when he saw the men’s gazes on the girl.

There was an undeniable filthy glint in their eyes as their gazes roved over her form that caused Hadrian’s eyes to narrow in contempt.

It was not difficult to guess what their intentions were at that moment.

Because of that, he didn’t doubt what his next actions were going to be.

Glancing upwards, Hadrian sighed and squared his shoulders in preparation.

His left hand opened before motes of blue, silver and gold lights flashed briefly as he summoned Tempest and Lapis again in his hold. His right hand held a black half-mask.

With his lower face covered and the trickster weapon in hand, he looked forward and stepped into the scene.

SHIIK

STEP

He only took one step forward, yet everyone in the vicinity took notice of his entrance.

No matter, their attention only made things easier for him to deal with the situation faster.

“Now, this is unsightly. All you fools gathered like this for one little girl. Even I think that’s unfair.” Hadrian mused aloud in Russian.

“What the…?”

“Where’d he come from?”

Whispers were exchanged between the group of thugs as they noticed his presence.

Most were confused and amused by his appearance.

Apart from the mask and the weapon in his left hand (which appeared like a cane in their eyes), Hadrian looked like he was on his way to attend a formal event, what with his posh suit and all.

But some of the more sensible ones noticed a peculiar air about him that caused the hairs on their bodies to rise.

Their inherent instinct as old as men telling them to be exert caution to this strange person – that he is someone dangerous.

Their wariness turned up a notch as a few took note of the small red stain on the man’s left collar of his shirt, and the visible droplets on the front of his dark brown shoes that looked suspiciously a lot like blood.

They were details that were easy to overlook, but due to their mounting fear, some of the thugs could not help but feel intimidated all the same.

It was subtle, but there was a pressure that weighed down upon them, unconsciously permeating from Hadrian due to his displeasure at discovering their ill intentions towards the girl.

The way the pair of bright cyan eyes seemed to glow in the shadows, despite the dim lighting of a post lamp above him, only amplified the creeping sensation they were feeling by instinct.

Unaware of their distressing thoughts, the girl took advantage of their moment of weakness to look at her surroundings and ascertain her position.

Her eyes darting from one man to another, counting the newcomers, before deciding on the best course of action.

With a frown, she turned to the man on the ground and used the end of her knife to knock him out then sprung up beside Hadrian.

“What do you want?” The girl asked as she kept her eyes trained on the enemies.

“To help.” Hadrian answered quietly, somewhat muffled due to the half mask.

Even though his eyes were on the enemies, he can feel the young girl’s confused gaze from beside him.

He took a glance at her and was momentarily taken aback.

Her hair was a deep shade of red, slightly curly and cut just above the shoulders.

She was young, but her face already held hints of the kind of beauty that she would become once puberty hits her.

However, it was the color of her eyes that caught him a bit off guard.

They were green, like emeralds, a bit darker in shade, but clear and beautiful on their own, nonetheless. They also held the same unique essence as someone close to him.

‘Like hers…’ Hadrian thought with a familiar pang in his heart.

Oddly enough, he could not remember that person’s name nor their full appearance.

Only that they have green eyes and that they were female.

So lost was he in memories, he almost missed her next response.

“Why?” She asked, suspicious.

Not that Hadrian could blame her.

People working through illegal means rarely help each other out without a motive.

Giving her a shrug, Hadrian smiled before he turned back to face the men that were now approaching them.

“I’ll tell you later.”

With that said, he immediately went on the offense.

Eager to return to the penthouse for some well-deserved rest, Hadrian wasted no time in dealing with his enemies.

Striking the fools’ vital points with punches and kicks, occasionally taking advantage of their critical points, he made a quick work out of them.

Sometimes, he would use more strength than usual in his assaults, causing some of the poor fools to fly across the area due to the amount of force he used behind them.

THWACK

SLAP

BAM

One punch under the chin, a reinforced slap to the side of the temple, a kick to the solar plexus, and so on.

The thugs all crumbled just from taking one attack directly from him.

Compared to his previous battles, it was disappointing.

The one he had earlier inside the marketplace had been disappointing, but this one was even more so.

Still, he could not exactly complain. He was up against mundanes (non-magical humans), after all. They have no body enhancements, magical or chemically speaking. They also do not have magical heritages to fall back upon and open a path in gaining power on their own.

Therefore, he could not blame them for their lack of effort in resisting his attacks. (5)

‘They could at least find new ways to avoid my hits. I mean, I’m not even going that fast nor are my movements that complex to read…’ He mused as he backhanded a man into unconsciousness in one motion.

Concluding that his opponents were just simple-minded cretins, Hadrian sighed and endured the (one-sided) fight in irritated silence.

It had been a boring distraction, him beating down one filth after another in a cold methodical and almost robotic fashion, until he heard a sharp cry come from behind.

Smacking the side of another goon’s head with the rear handle of his sword, making him lose balance and fall to the ground unconscious, Hadrian snapped his gaze to the source.

“AHH!”

The cry came from the young girl, who was on the ground and seemed to have been tripped by one of the men fighting her.

And it appears that she had twisted her ankle, judging by the limping she had as she stood up.

Even with her injury, the young girl looked ready to fight, no matter what.

That fierce spirit of hers… it was something Hadrian can respect.

Glancing back to the ones he was fighting, he saw a few of them were the only ones left standing.

They all looked afraid though, glancing worriedly at their fallen brethren who were too injured to move, unconscious or taking permanent dirt naps from then on (dead).

To be fair, Hadrian did not really care whether they live or die by his hands.

They lost any shred of mercy from him the moment he saw through their intentions earlier, and he was not exactly the forgiving type to them filthy sort.

Sensing their unwillingness to fight, Hadrian turned away from them and moved to where the girl was located.

Uncaring of the bodies he stepped on, he stepped close to the young girl till he was next to her, making sure that she noticed his presence so as not to surprise her.

The girl opened her mouth, a questioning look in her emerald eyes, most likely to ask what he was doing, but was interrupted when Hadrian lifted his left hand.

The hand that held Tempest, pointing right at her, and his finger was on the trigger (which appeared from the side of the sheath).

BANG

The sharp sound of a rifle going off startled almost everyone in the vicinity, including the young girl in front of Hadrian.

The recipient of the sudden fire was a man who was a few feet near the girl.

Judging by his movements, the fool seemed to have planned on taking the girl from behind, probably with the intent to take her as hostage, but Hadrian rendered his initial plans to rest by giving the idiot a point-blank rifle shot to the chest, to which the fool had received head-on.

The mixed expression of shock and pain on his face was clear for all to see as he slowly fell to the ground limply, chest bleeding heavily from the bullet wound.

With everyone wide-eyed and frozen momentarily, Hadrian took this as a chance to put this back-alley skirmish to rest.

By killing the rest of them.

The second to fall was a shady-looking man with typical thuggish features.

While it was uncharacteristic of Hadrian to label people as such, he was not feeling particularly forgiving as he recalled that the man in question was one of the vermin that looked at the girl with disgusting intentions earlier.

And as an empath, sensing lust from people, even if it was not directed at Hadrian, was always an unpleasant experience, especially if the emotion was born from ill-intentions.

For his malevolence, Hadrian gifted the man a slow and painful death.

By delivering a swift blow of his foot in the most important part of the man’s body, which crushed his reproductive organ due to the great force behind the kick.

Then, slit his throat with a quick swipe from Lapis, not giving him a second to grieve of losing his most private part.

“Kuack… kack…” The man gurgled, shock and pain clear on his face.

The man fell backwards, hands letting go of the crowbar in favor of his throat that was bleeding profusely.

Before the man’s body hit the ground, Hadrian had already moved on and found his next target.

From there, Hadrian moved as if on autopilot.

His body moved by instinct and muscle memory; a powerful combination that was only earned through countless life-and-death situations.

Behind the half-mask, he wore a calm and collected expression, but his cyan eyes were replaced by crimson ones, glaring, and glowing slightly.

A side-effect caused by the activation of some of his magic circuits and the calm yet simmering anger raging inside him.

His mind was blank, but he was aware of his surroundings, even more so as he cut down the lecherous cretins in a methodical fashion.

At this point, the girl was already forgotten, pushed into the back of his mind as Hadrian’s attention was focused only on eliminating his targets in painful ways.

Some tried to stop him, throwing threats and insults in stutters and unconvincing tones.

When they noticed that it did not even faze their assailant in the slightest, the remaining ones tried to run away.

Some of them had tried to stop him by attacking him, but that action only earned them either the blade, a few bullets, or broken bones.

All were attacks that would eventually lead one to a slow and painful death, which left the others with one choice.

To run away from the vicious monster that landed upon them unexpectedly.

Of course, with mercy out of his system for these fools, Hadrian gave them no reprieve and merely did as he wished.

He had wanted to end his stroll by returning to the hotel in peace, but as usual, the world thought the opposite.

Hadrian was painfully aware of this.

He should have walked away earlier, but having seen through these cretins’ ill intentions towards the girl, he did not want to turn away from the situation, not while knowing that they would simply find another to prey upon in the future.

Hadrian was no hero. He never will nor did he want to be.

But he was a king once, and even then, he had lines that he would not cross.

Ignoring what these uncivilized fools were about to do to the girl once they had beaten her to submission was something he cannot stand by and allow to happen.

He was angry, not just at the situation and at these vilesome men, but more so at himself.

Normally, he was calmer and more composed, always in control of his emotions.

It was not the first time he had encountered such a situation before.

He had killed plenty of evil people in the past, shoddy rapists and murderers included.

The kind of monsters with human skin, and the ones who just wanted to see the world burn, unrepentant and uncaring of the consequences of their actions.

But for some reason, he was a bit out of sorts today, and it was bothering him the more he thought about it.

‘I wonder why…’ Hadrian mused, frowning.

When nothing came to mind, Hadrian sighed as he extracted the sword from the beaten body of the last thug.

Looking around, Hadrian blinked languidly, taking in the current state of his surroundings.

The once semi-clean and average-looking alleyway has now turned into a bloody murder scene, while decorating the stone floor was blood and various appendages belonging to the men that had the unfortunate experience of being eviscerated by him earlier.

Some parts of the walls and the ground had web cracks, courtesy of his own doing when he tossed the men around earlier in the fight.

It was an image typically seen in most horror movies.

Scratching the back of his head, Hadrian felt a bit embarrassed at the aftermath of his anger.

“Hmm… overkill.” The magician in disguise muttered, his eyes returning to their cyan coloration now that he was calm.

Still, he felt no guilt in what he had done. He might have in the past, but after experiencing the life of a magus, plus those few wars, especially that one last war, he had gone past the point of no return.

Now, he only felt bad that he killed them all too early.

He did a once over at the area.

“…”

That, and vandalizing an area that was once in good condition.

Contemplating on casting a few spells to fix the damages (it was far better than to send money to the local government anonymously), Hadrian idly flicked the sword to the side to rid the blood off the blade.

Then, he sheathed Lapis a moment later.

Out of habit, he was about to deposit Tempest and Lapis into one of his spatial vaults before he stopped when he noticed a presence nearby.

Languidly, he turned his head, directing his gaze to the left where he sensed it.

Cold, bright cyan eyes met a pair of clear emerald ones, the latter belonging to the girl he had saved then forgotten.

The red-haired girl looked out of place, like a lone rose standing out in the middle of mutilated corpses.

She was standing at the edge of a large puddle of blood, just several meters from where Hadrian stood.

And though she wore an impassive expression, it was a façade, a mask to hide her true feelings.

Her control over her faculties was impressive, but she was young, and there was a limit to what she could conceal, especially from Hadrian.

The light sheen of sweat on her forehead, the droplets cascading on the side of her cheek and down her neck – they were so very easy to see.

Her body was tense, coiled like a spring, ready to move in case there was a need for her to. Her eyes, while there was fear in them, were accompanied by others.

Hadrian can sense several emotions from her, pouring out in waves.

There was fear, almost conquering the half state of her mind and body, but it was balanced by wonder and curiosity.

Oddly enough, there was also fascination and anger mixed in.

The last not directed at him or anyone else, but at herself.

Hadrian had inkling of why she felt that way, angry that is, but he was not interested in knowing the reason as it was none of his business.

No, he was more interested in something else.

It was clear in her eyes. She was afraid, and yet, she chose to stay even after witnessing him single-handedly killing the men harassing her earlier.

Hadrian expected her to be gone while he had the cretins’ attention before.

Yet, here she was, standing before him, albeit anxious to be near him.

Whether she was brave or foolish, her actions piqued his curiosity.

But, after his bout of rage, Hadrian was not feeling particularly willing to speak to anyone, especially not to a stranger.

Just as the girl opened her mouth to speak, looking a tad nervous as she did so, Hadrian turned on his heel and walked away.

“Ah, wait…!” The girl called, but Hadrian did not look back.

Like a black spectre, he disappeared into the shadows, leaving only after his wrath was emptied.

Silence ensued as the redhead stood in midst of bloody, mutilated corpses, bewildered at her situation.

…

…

Hadrian lost track of time as he walked with no specific destination in mind.

With the anger flushed out of his system, his mind returned to its usual calm and calculative state.

All he could think about was his actions earlier.

It was certainly uncharacteristic of him to suddenly commit murder out of pure displeasure, and not just one, but multiple times at that.

True, there was the fact that he felt no remorse in ending the lives of those men, nor did he felt pleasure in committing such actions.

No, he was more concerned with how at ease he was with enacting murder.

He had been angry, this much he can admit.

Hadrian wanted to make those depraved men bleed painfully for bearing such sickening intentions to that girl, especially one that young.

Recalling their disgusting gazes and the equally abhorrent lust from earlier, Hadrian was regretting killing those depraved imbeciles.

‘Hmm… death is mercy for the likes of those vermin.’ Hadrian frowned.

Perhaps he should have let them live and use them as test subjects for the practical testing of his research.

Hadrian blinked, idly realizing that he had walked into a small, empty park.

The park was small in size, surrounded by trees with a few stone benches to sit in, tall lamp posts and a small-size fountain in the center.

Having been distracted by his thoughts earlier, Hadrian had no recollection of how he got there.

He did a quick look around, and found that the park was located near to a two-way road with cars passing by every few minutes, which was a good sign as it meant that he could call for Luka to pick him up later without giving the aide much difficulty locating his whereabouts.

GPS was not exactly advanced in this world’s time yet, though he can probably program one for his holo-tech and include it as an update in the future.

Effort was not a problem, but it would require him some time to do it.

Striding to one of the benches, Hadrian sat down with a sigh and leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment.

The respite was brief as he was interrupted when he sensed a presence making their way in his direction.

“…”

Regardless, Hadrian did not open his eyes as the newcomer was not a danger to him.

STEP

STEP

STEP

Soon, footsteps came to his hearing range, along with the sound of someone panting softly.

The footsteps stopped for a moment as he felt a tentative gaze land on him, before moving in with caution, as if intending to sneak closer to him.

Unfortunately for them, Hadrian has a few methods in searching for people, one of which was augmenting his sense of hearing only limited to the range of his vicinity.

The young newcomer had already failed in their endeavor, despite their efforts.

It was only when the presence he felt was several steps behind did Hadrian spoke up.

“Why are you here…” The magician asked, opening his eyes.

Languidly, he turned his calm and collected gaze over his left shoulder.

“… little girl?”

“…!”

Standing behind him partially to his left side was the red-haired girl from earlier.

The girl looked at him with wide green eyes, looking like a deer in headlights.

The expression on her face would have amused him a little if he had been in a lighter mood.

But, after reflecting on his actions and mulling over the possibility that his recent behavior might be influenced by something of an insidious nature, Hadrian was not in the mood to entertain unexpected guests.

Still, he had to give a bit of credit to the girl.

Hadrian had been staring at her calmly for almost a minute now, yet the redhead held her own as she met his gaze head-on.

The girl was nervous, he could sense it despite her efforts to hide her wariness behind her stoic façade.

Most people, even those who served him before, would often take on an obedient and docile demeanor when they were in his presence, including most of his current retainers in this life.

Partly because they had all seen what he was capable of, and partly due to his background.

But the girl before him, she stood firm under his calm and somewhat cold scrutiny.

Again, either she was truly brave or merely showing bravado, Hadrian can’t help the faint smile from appearing as he looked at her.

And for providing him amusem*nt, he was willing to speak to her, despite his mood.

It was certainly not because he felt bad as he saw the slight fatigue in her body, nor the sweat that fell on the sides of her cheeks.

Nope. Not at all.

Hadrian scoffed deprecatingly at his own thoughts, turning his gaze to the front before speaking.

“Well, if you chased after me like this, then you must have something to say. You might as well sit down and state your reason, while I don’t have the urge to get up from this bench just yet.” Hadrian announced nonchalantly, staring at the water pouring from the top of the fountain.

Hearing the girl swallow her nervousness behind him, Hadrian kept his eyes ahead even as the redhead slowly took a seat at the opposite end of the bench.

Silence set upon them as neither spoke for several moments.

Hadrian was not bothered by the silence, finding himself somewhat entranced by watching the water flow from the top of the fountain and down below its artificial cavity of the structure.

The nonsensical action had successfully distracted him from his previous thoughts, relaxing him even.

Although, while he appeared absentminded to others, this was merely a deception.

His mind remained alert and his body, while relaxed, was on guard, still high on adrenaline and ready for any surprises.

Only fools would try to take advantage of his current state at this point. The few that did and, miraculously, survived after attempting such can testify to that.

The girl beside him was the opposite as she stared at him from the corner of her eyes, obviously trying to gather whatever courage she could muster to speak to him.

Hadrian did not mind her looks as he was used to being the target of attention, usually the unfriendly kind.

Stares and words can only bother you if you let it, and he had already endured far worst in the past.

It took a while, but the girl finally mustered enough courage in her to break the silence, and it just so happens when Hadrian had the urge to stand up and leave.

Before he could do so, however, the girl had already spoken.

“You… what do you want?” The girl asked, her voice low and he almost missed it.

But thanks to his unnatural sense of hearing, Hadrian heard her, and he turned to look at her.

The Moon Cell’s automatic translation was still working as he saw her lips moved in a way that was not comparable to when one speaks English.

Hadrian had to take a moment to marvel quietly at the automaton’s ability, but he did not delve into it too much as the little girl was in front of him.

“Food and some rest. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must get going. Farewell, little one.” Hadrian said with a small wave as he stood up from his seat.

He was about to walk away after grabbing Tempest when the girl also stood up from the bench.

“You can’t just leave!” The young redhead said loudly, stopping him in his tracks.

Turning his gaze over his shoulder, Hadrian lifted an eyebrow, even though no one can see it.

“I beg to differ, little one. I can do whatever I want.”

Hadrian sighed loudly when she tried to place herself in front of him, limping slightly as she did so.

“Look, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I do not need or want anything from you. I helped because I wanted to. Now, I understand if that is a foreign concept for you digest, but just accept the minor act of goodwill for what it is and move on.”

After his admission, it was quiet for a few moments before Hadrian began to move once more.

He passed her and was only a few feet away when she suddenly spoke again.

“I can’t be in debt to you.”

The words were whispered, and the emotions in her voice were mixed and quite genuine that caused Hadrian to move into a slow halt, but he heard her all the same.

“I refuse to be in debt to anyone, anymore. So, what do you want?!” The girl was almost yelling at him now, and it caused Hadrian to recall a memory of –

BZZT

Behind the mask, Hadrian grimaced as his head throbbed in pain, interrupting his train of thought.

Noticing his posture and the way he has a hand on his masked face, the girl spoke again.

“… Hey, are you okay? You’ve been quiet for a while now…” The girl said, sounding nervous and a bit concerned.

“I’m fine, just a bit of a headache…” Hadrian answered with a slight nod, waving a hand to her worries.

Inside though, he could not help but wonder if the ‘condition’ from his previous life was returning.

‘Hm… another one to look into later…’

Exasperated by the thought of his ‘weakness’ coming back, Hadrian scratched the side of his head with his free hand and sighed.

“I suppose… you wouldn’t just accept me telling you that I don’t require payment, huh?” Once more, he sighed when she shook her head. “Hm… stubborn. Fine, fine. I can probably think of something later. But for now, I really need to return. Are you amenable in coming with me to where I’m staying?”

“No, I’m fine with it.” She said with a shake of her head after a moment of deliberation.

Hadrian was about to walk again before he noticed her condition.

Now, he can be heartless at times, but he was not a bastard to leave a child limping after him.

With another sigh (having lost count of it for today), Hadrian crouched on one knee and pointed at his back with his thumb, uncaring of the confused look she shot him.

“Come on, best for you to get on my back since it’s still quite a walking distance to where we are going. Or do you fancy limping all the way there?” He asked with a knowing side-way look.

With a slight nod, the girl moved and got on his back, leaning on him as she placed her hands on his shoulders for additional security.

Once he was sure that she was settled and tuckered in, he stood upright and made his way out of the park.

“What do I call you?” She suddenly asked from behind.

“Rey… you can call me Rey.” Hadrian said nonchalantly.

It was quiet for a few moments as he walked before…

“Black Widow.”

‘Huh?’

Hadrian paused, then turned his head to look at her over his shoulder.

“Black Widow?” He asked with a curious tint in his voice.

“Black Widow.” She repeated, her green eyes staring back at him with his own.

“Really?”

“Really.” She said in monotone, face expressionless.

Bewildered, Hadrian let out a soft ‘huh’ before he moved again.

Idly, as he exited the park, he could not help but think of how familiar the girl’s name before.

‘Black Widow’ was most certainly not the girl’s actual name, but an alias she refers herself to for people in the underground business.

The alias and her appearance seemed familiar, and it was nagging at him endlessly.

He just could not point out what it was… yet.

Still, one thing was for sure.

Hadrian has no idea what will happen in the future now.

…

…

• 3) – The headache is a side-effect to his Mystic Eyes. It’s one of his weaknesses, and the severity of the pain gets worse if he does not use his mystic eyes in a balanced manner.
• 4) – For those who have not read the MC overview, Hadrian has the Mystic Eyes of Death. And just with Shiki Tohno and Shiki Ryougi (MEoD users in canon), his mystic eyes are different. It’s a bit of a combination of the two, but unique on its own. The headache (migraine) is just one of the cons of having the mystic eyes for him, and it’ll happen at random times. And since it’s a powerful ability on its own, there’ll be another weakness, but that’s in the future.
• 5) - This is the 'Knowledge of the Sowa' in play. It prevents his enemies from being able to read his any of his attacks, making him a tricky opponent to fight. If it ain't obvious yet, the MC does not know this little effect yet. He's aware of the ability, but he does not know what it really does.

Chapter 7: Promise born from a misunderstanding

Chapter Text

Returning to the penthouse with the girl in tow was… strange, to say the least.

Her reaction to the hotel, and the penthouse, was mostly muted and subtle, but the surprise and curiosity were there.

She did not talk much during that time, seemingly content in following him wherever he went, and that was a point in her favor, considering as Hadrian preferred the silence since he was not in the mood for chatter.

She was an observant little thing, taking in everything she saw, be it a new item, people, rooms… and exits.

The last one made Hadrian shake his head ruefully, as it gave him another hint of the girl’s troubled past.

No teenager that young would take the time to note the distance and locations of exits upon entering a building.

While he may not be one to talk, given his own unique upbringing, even he knew that some of the girl’s actions were somewhat uncommon in the standards of mundane society.

On the other hand, Hadrian managed to surprise her when he attended to her sprained ankle and gave her one of the guest rooms.

Given the wide-eyed look she sent him, she was obviously caught off guard when he left her on the guest room bed, only to come back with a first aid kit (a custom kind, one that was specifically made and passed onto high-ranking members of AEONS) for her sprain a minute later.

She was mostly quiet (but compliant) throughout the entire process when he patched her up, which made it easier on him.

The stare she gave him through it all was a bit unnerving though.

But Hadrian ignored it and simply went to work on attending to her sprained ankle as gently as he could.

Perhaps it was the unusual items that garnered a stare from her, considering as he did merely spread a small amount of special healing gel around her ankle and then covered the affected area up with some white bandages.

The gel was probably the most unusual as there had never been an item produced like it in any pharmaceutical store where anyone can simply purchase it.

If that were the case, then Hadrian could understand her behavior.

But, as an empath and someone experienced in judging one’s character, he felt that that was not merely the case with her stare.

Not long after, evening came by, and he was just setting up the food on the table that the kitchen staff had recently delivered.

With his guest behaving in her room (thanks to the automaton checking for him), Hadrian thought to bring her some food, so she doesn’t need to come down and put stress on her ankle.

Leaving his blazer, mask and weapons in the lounge, the covert mage made his way to the guest room, Maya following him in tow.

The door was easy to push since he had left it ajar. And when he entered, Hadrian was not surprised to see the young redhead was still awake.

But at least, she looked a bit relaxed now.

The girl was sitting up against the headboard and seemingly staring at something before her eyes landed on him due to the audible ‘chink’ of the doorknob turning.

Hadrian sighed in his head as he noticed her shoulders tensing once again, though it was a bit of an improvement as she only looked surprised this time.

Whether that was by his entrance or the food he brought, he doesn’t know nor does he care.

“Here, I’ve brought you dinner, so you don’t have to strain yourself in climbing the stairs back and forth.” Hadrian explained in Russian.

He moved across the room and left the tray of food on the small dining table that was (luckily enough) near the bed she was currently occupying.

“Eat and rest for today. Just leave the dishes there once you’re done. I’ll pick them up later. We can talk tomorrow, so save any questions you have for now. Goodnight.”

After saying his piece, Hadrian closed the door behind him and walked downstairs where his own food was waiting for him.

Maya was already ahead of him by the time he reached the table, climbing up on it and sitting on her hindquarters as she watched him sit.

Dinner had been a quiet affair. It was just him and Maya eating on the table, occasionally checking up on his guest who was also eating her food (via automaton’s scan).

After washing the dishes and drying them, he placed the cleaned plates, glasses, and utensils on the service trolley. It was simply his way of easing on the kitchen staff’s burden for his own mess.

Even though it was his first time staying at Crown Plaza, he had heard from his grandfather that the hotel was especially busy during the holidays due to its mass popularity all over the globe.

Hadrian debated on retrieving the dishes in the guest room, then shook his head and dismissed the idea.

The girl was already fast asleep, most likely tired from recent events and lulled to rest with having her belly filled with good food.

He could try and sneak his way inside to retrieve the dirty dishes, but he was sure that she would not appreciate his intrusion (even if he owns the entire penthouse).

The girl seemed to like her privacy and personal space, and he would rather not breach that line if he can help it

Granted, he owns the penthouse and was basically letting her stay here, but he gave her the room to have privacy and peace of mind, not to make her on guard around his presence.

Quietly making his way to the terrace with Maya held against his chest, Hadrian slid the glass panel closed after him and walked to the edge as he fished out his air pods and holo-phone.

After putting the earbuds on, he pressed on a name and made the call, waiting until it was finally picked up.

“Good evening, Sir Rey.” The smooth and melodic voice of a British woman greeted from the other line.

“It’s done.” he said calmly, as if discussing the weather.

“I see. Then, the funds shall be transferred into your account within six hours. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Does the target have any hideouts with valuables?” he asked, smiling when Maya purred against his cheek as she leaned closer for his body heat.

“He does have a few. Would you like me to forward a request for a ‘raid’?” The woman, an AEONS operator, asked.

“Yes, please.”

“A fee will be made for this action. Five percent of your reward will go to the agents selected for the raid, and another five will go to the organization. Do you still wish to proceed?” She asked for confirmation.

Hadrian didn’t know there was a fee, but he went with it anyways.

Although, he did mention Luka Azarro to lead the raids.

The man had been quite dependable during the time he escorted him to the hotel, and he knew that the man would get the raids done and smoothly without any issues.

It was the least he could do for the guy for being chosen as his personal aide during his time as Rey.

Luka was probably itching for some action after being assigned to babysit him.

After saying goodbye to the female operator, Hadrian received another call after a minute of silence.

Surprisingly, it was a video call from his baby sister, little Elsa.

Despite her age, Elysia Faye von Aelrheit already held signs of taking after their mother, Ava von Aelrheit.

Like her brother, she has long glossy black hair that is tinged with blue under direct light. Her hair was currently tied into a loose bun, bangs hanging just above her eyebrows. Unlike Hadrian though, her eyes were not a clear and piercing violet color, but a vibrant sky-blue color, almost closer to the disguise he was using now. She has the color of their father’s eyes, while he with their mother’s.

It was close to midnight in the UK, which is why his sister was currently wearing her white PJs.

Seeing her adorable smiling face, it was enough to make Hadrian smiling as well.

“Brother! Maya!” Elsa greeted happily.

“Well, good evening, little one.” He returned with a short wave.

Maya meowed in greeting.

Elsa’s cute face paused, then her excitement dialed down as she closed her eyes briefly and breathed in and out.

Noticing her actions, Hadrian simply waited and smiled, knowing that she was remembering her etiquette lessons.

Lessons on etiquette had been a difficult experience for Hadrian to endure, at least the first time it had happened to him in his previous lifetime.

But from what he had seen in the past, Hadrian was aware that the lessons were more difficult for the opposite gender as it was different in their case.

He even heard that there was a plethora of lessons to cover for females of nobility, which perplexed him still in the present.

Hadrian can only sigh in his head and offer his little sister his sympathy for what she will be about to endure in the coming years.

Gentle and thoughtful as their oma (grandmother) was, the matriarch of the Aelrheit household was quite strict when it comes to etiquette.

Their goofy opa (grandfather), on the other hand, was the opposite.

The old man has his moments of elegance and poise, but he was eccentric and silly most of the time. How the pair managed to stay together and still remain romantically in love for more than 80 years, Hadrian will never know.

He can only shake his head with a wry smile and tip a hat to his grandparents for their unbelievably strong union.

Hopefully, it will continue to stay strong for as long as they live.

Once she gained her composure, her eyes opened and she looked elegant, a demure smile on her lips.

Still, the excitement in her bright blue eyes remained present, as it often does whenever she converses with him.

“Oh, good evening.” She gave a demure curtsey (the best she could do while in a sitting position), then jumped back into her exuberant self. “Brother, how are you?”

“I was fine earlier. Better now that I’ve seen you.” Hadrian’s smile widened when she giggled at his smooth and playful response.

Then, he adopted a sobering demeanor, smile fading slightly as he asked her in a gentle tone.

“On a serious note, is everything alright there? No issues, I hope?”

“No, no issues.” She shook her head adorably. “Opa was just about to tell me some of the magical creatures you encountered in the past.”

His little sister was four, yet she could already speak elegantly and articulately.

As expected of his sibling…

“Oh, what kind?” Hadrian asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Acramantula.” She answered with a smile.

Already, his sister was proving to be different from most children.

She was four, yet she does not appear the least bit disturbed by spiders and such. Minor things (insects, animals, etc) that would disturb most people, do not seem to bother her at all.

Hadrian sighed, feeling like scratching his head but restrained himself since both of his hands were already preoccupied.

“Hn, is opa there then?”

“He is.” The screen shifted as she moved the camera to where their grandfather was.

And there was the old magician, sitting up against the headboard of his sister’s bed with a book regarding magical creatures in his hands.

The old man said nothing, but his thick gray brows wiggled up and down in suggestion.

What that means, Hadrian doesn’t want to know.

The elder magician’s actions elicited a giggle from his younger sibling.

“Keep it filtered, opa. No need to go into detail.” Hadrian warned.

“But those were the good parts.” Zelretch pouted.

“I don’t care. Elsa is still young. There’s no need to scare her with those details. Now, give the holo back to her.” Hadrian said in a firm tone.

Ignoring the old man’s sigh and childish mumblings of him being a ‘killjoy’ and a ‘stick in the mud’, the camera shifted, and soon, his baby sister’s giggling face was back in view.

“Opa’s making funny faces.” She pointed out with a grin from behind her small hand.

“Ignore him. He’s just being his silly self. Speaking of spiders, I picked one up on the way home.” Hadrian stated, smile returning as he changed the subject.

His sister perked up.

“Oh? What is it?” she asked excitedly.

“A little black widow.” Hadrian said offhandedly, not elaborating that it was a young girl than an actual arachnid.

“A black widow…” Elsa’s adorable face became thoughtful as she muttered. “Isn’t that the type of arachnid from the mundane’s findings, bruder (brother)?”

“Why yes, indeed.” Hadrian nodded, pleased that his little sister was taking her lessons well.

He had been the same age as her when he was being taught lessons about what was known to normal humans, the non-magical animals, their different cultures and whatnot.

Although, the two of them were thinking of two different things in this case.

“She has a bit of a temper, and she’s young. What do you think I should do with her?” Hadrian asked, feeling somewhat amused inside.

“Hmm… take care of her.” She said after giving it some thought.

Surprised, Hadrian was a bit taken aback.

“Eh? Take care of her, not let her go?”

“Yes, take care of it.” She affirmed with a resolute nod.

“Okay, little one, why is that your answer?” Hadrian was honestly curious.

“Umm… it’s a young, stray little spider, right? So, she must have been alone and hungry for a long time. But now you found her, you can take care of her, brother!” She answered with the logic of a five-year-old, as if it was that simple and easy.

And though she looked adorable, the determined glint in her baby blue jewel-like eyes and her tone (as genuine as she could get) means that she stood by what she said.

Even though his sister was in view, their grandfather’s amused expression can be seen at the edge of the screen.

Hadrian ignored him in favor of his younger sibling.

“But she’s a black widow, little one.” Hadrian protested, chuckling.

“So? Brother is strong. I’m sure you can handle it if she tries to bite you.” She countered, stopping him from rebutting.

Against that logic, Hadrian can’t help but sigh as he found himself surrendering to his little sister’s response.

“Fine… I’ll take care of her.” The mage in disguise accepted reluctantly.

“Great!” Elsa’s face brightened, making Hadrian huff and smile wryly.

They were interrupted, however, by their grandfather, who chose that moment to speak up.

Hadrian can’t see the man fully, but his deep gruff voice can hear clearly in the background.

“Ok, that’s enough chatter, kiddos. We still got a book to burn through, little one. Elsa, say goodbye to your brother for now. I’m sure you’ll speak more on this subject next time.”

“Yes, opa.” Elsa sounded a bit disappointed, but she smiled once she turned back to the camera. “Umm, sorry, brother, but opa…”

“It’s alright. I don’t mind, little one. He’s right, after all. It’s getting late there, and you need to rest soon.” Hadrian assured with an understanding smile.

“Then, goodbye for now. I hope we can speak more soon.”

“Sure. Where are my familiars, by the way?” Hadrian asked, noticing the lack of furry and feathery familiars in the background.

“Already asleep in their beds. We played lots of games earlier. The exertion must have tired them out. They’re going to be disappointed they missed you.” She said with a smile.

“Ah, maybe next time then.” Hadrian smiled.

“Love you, brother. Maya. Take care, both of you.”

“Love you too, little one. Give the little ones some head pats for me, ok? Good night.”

With a wave of goodbye, the video link was cut off and the screen went into a black background.

Staring at the screen for a few moments, Hadrian sighed as he looked up at the night sky.

Seeing smoke in the distance, Hadrian felt that something was amiss… and then, he remembered.

“Ah, that’s right. I forgot…”

Using his right hand, Hadrian activated a few of his magic circuits –

VROM

SNAP

– and snapped his fingers in the direction of the smoke and fire that he saw in the far distance.

The orange and blue flames that stood tall from a certain building had vanished as soon as he willed the fire to extinguish.

At least the firemen won't have a difficult time putting out the flames anymore.

Watching the black fumes of smoke go up from a certain building, Hadrian thought back on his sister's words.

"Take care of her, huh…" He mused aloud. "How do you take care of a teenage mercenary with a temper and going through a rebellious phase?"

"..."

No one answered.

Even Maya, who was more interested in staring at the falling snowflakes above their heads, but that was to be expected.

Still, he was not the kind to go back on his word, even if he doesn't really want to take care of the redhead.

One thing was for sure.

The little redhead's life just changed from the mere suggestion of his little sister.

Funny thing was… the redhead didn't even know it.

…

…

[… Next Morning …]

Hadrian woke up just as the digital clock next to his bed started ringing.

Seeing that it was four in the morning, he reached for a small remote next to the clock and pressed on a button.

The dark gray curtains covering the windows on the left side of his bed slowly but steadily opened, revealing the dark and cloudy sky of Moscow.

Since it was still dusk outside, the sun has yet to appear in the far distance and the moon remains present.

Various sounds in the city were also prevalent, cars and some people could be seen in the road and streets respectively if he glanced down by the window.

Taking a minute to stretch his arms and relieving the knots in his neck, Hadrian moved out of the bed after he heard some satisfying pops from his little warm-up.

Greeting Maya with a smile and a soft spoken ‘good morning’, which was returned with a warm ‘meow’ from his little familiar, Hadrian went to the bathroom to wash his face.

After his short morning ritual, he went to the walk-in closet that was located next to the master bathroom.

Choosing a black t-shirt, black jogging pants and training shoes with a black and white color scheme, he left the master bedroom ready for his morning exercise.

After urging Maya to come to him, Hadrian closed the door of the master bedroom gently behind him and went downstairs.

The master and familiar duo made their way to the glasshouse pavilion by the patio, where Hadrian intends to do his morning exercise.

While there was a pool inside, there was a reinforced glass panel that could cover the pool to create more space, which Hadrian thought fit to use as a training room due to its space and capacity.

It was not the same as the one he had back home, but he figured that it was enough for him to get some proper training done.

As long as he doesn’t go too far, he was sure the pavilion can survive his morning exercises.

Once inside the pavilion, he went to the main controls and pressed a few buttons.

The glass surrounding the pavilion immediately turned black and a couple of lights on the ceiling activated, brightening the area, while several reinforced glass panels began to slide in and cover the top of the pool, creating the much-needed space that Hadrian was looking for to start his morning exercise.

There were lights deep in the pool that pierced through the water, rendering the light blue tiles of the pool floor to pop out.

With his privacy secured and his familiar settled (Maya was relaxing on a white sunbed by the pool), Hadrian began his exercise routine.

Since he has no one to spar with, he settled for the holo-enemies the alien artifact conjured for him in his mind.

To an observer’s viewpoint, it must look like he was a lunatic striking at nothing.

But, in his eyes, there were digitalized numerous enemies rushing at him, one after another, sometimes even two or three at once.

Almost life-like.

The manner in how the artifact made him feel the impact of the pain from their assaults when a goon or two managed to sneak in a hit past his guard, along with the resistance to his attacks when the weapons in his hands made contact, made the combat simulation on a different level.

‘Hmm… perhaps I should mention something like this to opa.’ Hadrian mused, thinking of how it can benefit the organization’s people in combat.

For an hour and a half, he didn’t stop swinging the nameless steel swords that he often used for practice.

He hardly noticed the sweat that already soaked his upper clothing until his holo-phone (which he left previously next to his familiar) began to make a soft chiming noise.

TING

TING

TING

It was an alarm that he had set earlier to remind him of his next schedule.

Walking over to the sunbed, Hadrian rubbed Maya’s head with a smile before reaching for his holo-phone to stop the alarm.

Seeing the time on the screen, it was now ‘5:45 AM’, which meant that it was time for him to start the day.

As he and Maya made their way out of the pavilion and returned to his room (after he set it back to its default glasshouse state), Hadrian thought of what should be done for the day.

Before he went to bed last night, he received some new news and got a few things done.

First, the rest of the money for the mission had just been deposited into his account recently (after the six-hour mark was done), what with the company marking the mission as complete and over with.

And he was also told that Luka and a few men from AEONS will be doing the raid to the target’s safe houses tonight. So, more fun for them.

Second, he spent a bit of time in the (temporary) workshop and made a few blueprints of new items. He does not know where the items will apply yet, but Hadrian figured he would have some use for them in the future.

For the moment, they were set aside as minor projects that he can entertain himself with whenever he was bored, or simply uninspired to work on the main ones.

Third, he knew what to do with the little redhead.

During the few hours in the workshop, he made something for her and set some conditions in a way that would also allow him to take care of her, which would fulfill his promise to Elsa in a way.

But, in the end, the decision will be for her to make since it does affect her future.

Hadrian simply hoped that the redhead would read the document carefully before signing it.

Most people were prone to skimming over the details and be surprised by something that they should already be aware of.

Shaking his head, he went to his bedroom so he could clean himself, Maya following in tow.

Chapter 8: Contract

Chapter Text

After cleaning himself and a change of fresh clothes, Hadrian took a seat at the dining table.

Plates of freshly cooked food were already assembled by the time he came down.

There was a small note on where he normally sat.

The small paper was waiting next to a plate, and it says ‘please enjoy’ in elegant, cursive writing with Lionel’s name at the bottom.

The man was not only good at his job, but can think ahead of his clients, a rare quality to witness in most people.

Lionel knew of Hadrian’s schedule and would order food again (since he had yet to do a bit of shopping), and so, he went ahead and did it for him anyways.

Noting to give the man a small raise as per his gratitude, Hadrian just took a bite out of a toast with scrambled eggs on top when he saw a certain redhead made her way down the stairs.

Quickly and subtly, he took in her movements and noted that her ankle had already healed.

He also noticed something else.

Her movements were smooth and efficient. No energy was wasted as she made her way to him, her worn-out black boots padding softly against the carpeted floor.

Even though she was not sneaking and seemed to be in no hurry, he was certain that she had been trained extensively for espionage since she literally made no noise, even as she walked down the stairs.

Hadrian would muse on the matter more if not for the expression on her face.

It was still bright in the day, yet the girl looked displeased already.

Idly wondering what disturbed her morning, Hadrian adopted a calm and polite demeanor the closer she walked to the table.

Swallowing a piece of toast and bits of scrambled eggs (both of which were perfectly cooked), he gave a small wave of greeting.

“Well, good morning. It’s nice to you walking properly now.” Hadrian said in Russian with a small smile.

The girl seemed to have other plans as she stopped in front of him with a scowl on her lips.

“Where were you?” She demanded, staring him down with her dark green eyes.

Hadrian blinked, ignoring Maya blissfully digging into her meals beside his plate.

“Pardon?” He asked, tilting his head in confusion.

The girl looked taken aback, eyes widening for a second before she shook her head, as if to shake off a trance, and glaring back at him again.

Hadrian wondered if she was bipolar or something, given how quick her emotions changed.

“I went looking for you all over this place, but I didn’t find you. So, where were you?” She gestured to the penthouse, frowning as she did so.

“By the pavilion, exercising.” Hadrian said, pointing in the direction of the glasshouse pavilion.

“Pavilion?” She glanced to where he pointed at, and she stared at it with a curious expression.

“Yes, I was there since morning.” Hadrian paused as he leaned against his seat with a thoughtful expression, utensils still in both hands. “Since late dusk, actually. Then, I went upstairs, got cleaned and change into some new clothes. Now I’m here, eating breakfast with Maya.” He turned to her with a smile. “You’re welcome to join us, by the way.”

Looking a bit off guard by the additional details he gave her, the redhead blinked a few times before her face morphed into an expressionless façade once more, which seemed to be her default mask as he watched her take a seat to his right from the corner of his eyes. Her movements were almost robotic, as he took note of her somewhat tense frame.

Curiously enough, she didn’t immediately reach for any of the food on the table.

Instead, he was rewarded with the sight of her looking at every single dish with narrowed green eyes, guarded and suspicious.

Hadrian sighed in his head as he noticed what she was doing.

Just from this sight alone, he can already tell, caring for the young girl was going to be a wild rollercoaster experience for him.

“None of these are tampered with, I assure you.” Hadrian commented, smiling wryly when the redhead turned to him in surprise.

Slowly, she seemed to accept his response with a nod to herself and, carefully, reached for one of the plates and helped herself with the food.

Breakfast was a silent but comfortable affair.

Their utensils and the soft sounds of Maya eating her food were the only noises that occupied the table.

At least, it was comfortable for Hadrian as he simply ate another helping of breakfast (soufflé pancakes with strips of bacon on the side, and fresh orange juice to drink).

His little red-haired companion looked relaxed as she ate and drank, but she also seemed a bit tense.

‘Like a cautious kitten ready to bolt…’ Hadrian observed, wryly amused by the mental image.

It was only when Hadrian stood up (having finished eating) and gathered the empty dishes did he spoke to her again.

“We’ll speak about business later. Let me clean the dishes first. You can go wait by the lounge.” Hadrian paused, staring at her for a few moments before he tilted his head and mutter under his breath, much to the redhead’s confusion. “Ah, yes, that reminds me…”

Laying the empty dishes gently by the counter, Hadrian walked around the dining table, passed a confused-looking redhead (who had stood up from her seat, for some reason), and up the stairs.

Since his guest was not inside, he entered the guest room and grabbed the tray with empty plates and a glass.

Other than crumbs, there were no leftovers on the plate, which pleased him inwardly that his guest ate all the food he prepared for her last night.

He was also glad to note that the little redhead was most respectful in the room that he gave to her.

Most things in the room were untouched, apart from the pillows, the duvet on the bed and the curtains by the window.

He was about to leave when he noticed that the redhead in question suddenly appeared by the door, Maya following her.

Hadrian knew that Maya was just being her usual clingy self, but, unexpectedly, the redhead seemed to have followed him out of curiosity as well.

“I told you to wait for me by the lounge. I just came here to get these, after all, since I couldn’t last night.” He gestured to the tray with empty dishes in his hands.

Exhaling through his nose, Hadrian walked past the girl, mindful not to step on Maya as she began to follow him.

“If you’re so inclined on following me around, you might as well help me wash the dishes while you’re at it.” Hadrian called over his shoulder, regardless of her decision.

There was no need for him to since the staff would take them downstairs in an hour or two, but having travelled on his own from time to time in the past (despite his privilege status), Hadrian’s personal ethics adamantly refused to be coddled more than he already was.

The free breakfast spread might be Lionel’s doing, and he was grateful for that, but washing the dishes and easing the burden on the staff was the least he could do.

Few minutes later, he was standing in front of the sink while she was beside him.

There was a two feet distance between them, one that the girl made on purpose, but Hadrian didn’t mind as he simply went to work on cleaning the dishes while she waits for him to dry them (which he instructed her to do as he got started) with a white towel that he gave her.

Maya herself was sitting by the dining table, watching them work patiently with her tail lazily swishing back and forth in idle curiosity.

During the chore, Hadrian mused aloud.

“You know, I can consider this little help you’re doing for me as a favor returned.” Hadrian smiled faintly as he saw her blinked in surprise from the corner of his eyes before turning to look at him with an incredulous expression. “What? You’re already doing something anyway, so you can run along after this, if you like?”

“You can’t be serious.” She said in monotone. Her face remained expressionless, but the skepticism was obvious in her voice.

“Quite the contrary, I’m not jesting.” Hadrian said, smile widening at her annoyed glare.

“Drying dishes is not a proper repayment. This is just a chore.” She pointed out in a deadpan tone.

“Maybe for you, who says it can’t be one for me?” Hadrian calmly retorted, bright cyan eyes alight with amusem*nt.

“Well, for me, it’s not a suitable way to return a favor.” The redhead said again with a firm tone.

Getting nowhere in arguing with her, Hadrian sighed and merely turned back to washing the dishes.

“Why are you so insistent about this anyways? It’s not as if I’m in a desperate need of that favor of yours.” Hadrian asked as he lifted a glass up and inspected it for any leftover stains or dishwashing soap.

“I told you before. I refuse to be in debt to anyone, anymore. That’s why I’m doing this…” The admission was delivered quietly.

But there was a mixture of emotions in them that made them powerful, resolute in their form, despite the low volume of her voice and the somber expression she wore as she said it while looking at her reflection in the window’s glass in front of the sink.

Looking at the redhead for a few moments, who looked deep in thought, Hadrian turned his gaze away and sighed.

Troublesome girl…

…

…

With the dishes clean and dry, Hadrian left them on the trolley to be sent back.

Walking up the stairs, he went to his study and retrieved a black briefcase before exiting the room and returning to the lounge where the redhead was waiting for him.

He had to be quick in going to his office since the young girl seemed not quite content with waiting for him downstairs.

In fact, when he returned, she seemed ready to follow him given the impatient look in her green eyes.

Sitting down on a single chair, Hadrian placed the briefcase on the coffee table and opened it. He then pulled out a few pages of paper with a black paperclip at the top corner.

“I suppose this is a good time as any.” The former King of Lucis mused aloud, prompting a curious brow from the redhead seated on the couch. “Tell me, little spider, have you seen the news recently?”

“No, why?” The red-haired girl shook her head slightly in negative, a thoughtful frown on her face.

Blinking in surprise, Hadrian turned to look at her.

“There’s a TV in the guest room, you didn’t use it?” He asked, raising a brow.

The girl simply looked confused as she stared at him in return.

“TV? I didn’t see any TV there.” She said, skeptical.

Hadrian blinked a few times, then closed his eyes as he sighed in exasperation.

Since this world’s era was still in the early 2000’s, modern devices such as flat screen TVs were not yet widely common.

Unfortunately, Crown Plaza and other establishments like it under his family’s purview were ahead when it comes to advance technology.

The hospitals and research labs owned by his family were far more advanced with their equipment and medical research.

“Did you notice a black rectangular glass hanging on the wall in front of the bed?” Hadrian asked, chuckling when he saw her paused for a moment before nodding. “That’s a television.”

Surprised, the girl blinked a few times.

“Really?” She asked, monotone but curious.

“Yes, really.” Hadrian nodded with a wry smile. “Look over there by the fireplace.”

He watched as she turned her head to where he pointed.

“That’s a television also. You’ll see devices of that shape around Crown Plaza. This hotel and other branches of it from all over the world are somewhat ahead when it comes to certain technological devices. Perhaps it might advance even more in the future. Anyways…”

Trailing off, he grabbed the remote (which happened to be on the table, behind the briefcase) and turned on the TV.

The screen immediately came to life and showed a news channel.

A female news reporter began to speak in detail about a certain building he had visited yesterday.

“– breaking news, a large fire has begun in an urban district of Moscow yesterday around late afternoon. Under half an hour, four buildings had already been burnt down and another three had been heavily damaged. The fire department sent a group of five to contain the spread, but according to the reports, they all had trouble extinguishing the flames. People on site had interviewed some of the firemen and they think that it was no ordinary fire.”

“– the police have been called and arrived at the scene, as it was discovered that some of the buildings involved in the incident were found to have relations with suspicious illegal activities. Over fifty people were apprehended by the authorities, and more were being chased after due to having been seen escaping from the area after the police’s arrival last night. The chief of police has stated that they will be monitoring –“

After that particular news, he muted the TV and placed the remote back on the table.

Turning his head to the left, Hadrian was not surprised to see the little redhead watching the news with an observant expression.

“Hmm, let’s discuss what we just heard. The building that that female reporter mentioned in the news, that was the marketplace. I’m sure you’ve noticed it just by the location of the building alone.” Hadrian continued when she turned to him and nodded in confirmation. “Well, there’s no roundabout in saying this, but I did that.”

For a few moments, it was quiet before she blinked once, twice, then her green eyes widened as she finally processed what he said so casually.

“Huh?” was her response.

“The reason… well, there’s no actual reason other than the fact that most of the people pissed me off there.” Hadrian shrugged, aware but ignoring the incredulous stare that he received from the redhead.

“What were you doing there?” She asked, brows furrowed in thought as she tried to make sense of his reason.

“My target was deep inside the building, so I went in there and killed him.” Hadrian glanced upwards in thought as he continued in a musing tone. “Some group of mercenaries tried to get in my way though. I had no quarrel with them, but they decided that avenging some filth was worth throwing their lives away. As a result, I was forced to cut them down as well. Then, I lit a fire in one of the rooms in that building before I left, and the rest is history.”

Hadrian ended his brief story with a satisfied smile that seemed to stun the redhead into silence for a few moments before she snapped herself out of trance.

“You had a target there? And you just burned down…”

She looked at the TV for a second before continuing her summary.

“… almost burned down the entire marketplace because you didn’t like the people there. That’s it?”

“Yes, pretty much.” Hadrian smiled, dimples showing, and nodded.

“Okay…” The girl muttered as she leaned against the couch, a mixed expression of dumbfounded and disbelief on her usually stoic face.

It was quiet for a few moments as Hadrian let her have some thoughts to herself, then he broke the silence once more.

“Now, you’re wondering… what does that have to do with you? Why would I tell you about my recent activity when we only just met? Why indeed.”

Hadrian smiled as he watched the redhead slowly tense, and her face became impassive again as she turned to him.

“Real answer? It doesn’t relate to you at all, but it will be if you continue to push this favor of yours to me.”

“What do you mean?” She asked after several moments of silence.

“I’m saying that you should walk away after I withdraw this favor of yours later on.” Seeing the realization dawning in her eyes, Hadrian nodded and continued. “Yes, I have work for you. But unfortunately, that’s for later. I have yet to receive my next mission, you see. For the meantime, you can stay in the guest room until it’s time for the next assignment. Oh, and here.”

Hadrian dropped the few pages of papers with a clip-on on the couch, next to the spot where the red-haired girl was sitting.

“What’s this?” She asked, wasting no time to grab the papers, and reading it with a keen expression.

“It’s a contract. To make this deal of ours official, even if it is just temporary.” Hadrian explained briefly with a small smile.

It was good foresight on his part to have the contract printed in Russian instead of English. Otherwise, he would have to translate the details of the documents for her.

“It’s just a favor. Why go this far?” She raised a curious brow as she looked at him above the papers she was still reading in her hands.

Hadrian shrugged, right hand supporting his head as he leaned back in the chair and crossed his leg over the other.

“In my workplace, we prefer assurances and official documents to the deals we make.” He said vaguely, not elaborating any further than necessary.

By the skeptic expression on her face, the redhead seemed to think that he was simply being dramatic.

But as she read the contents, Hadrian was treated to an amusing sight of her brows rising as she seemed to have come across something surprising.

“… does this say that my memories will be erased if I tell someone about one of your secrets?” She asked incredulously.

“It’s proprietary tech, so don’t go and tell people, understand? And just so you know, it works both ways. The penalty also applies to me if I tell someone about one of your secrets. The contract exists to protect both of us, and create a measure of trust between the opposite parties. Temporary as it is, I figure that this is the best way to start our first and final deal.” Hadrian explained, smiling faintly as he watched her blinked a few times.

And he did not lie.

The contract may be magical in nature, but it was also not a lie to consider it as a piece of advance technology.

In his eyes, magic was an area of study that has its own systematic structure and rules, much like natural science in that regard, albeit more advance and mysterious in its origin.

The clause regarding vanishing memories was true. If either of them was to inform other people about the other’s secret, the contract will (literally) turn red.

That’s how Hadrian will know whether she is worth trusting.

While he has no intention of telling other people about redhead’s secret (if he does find something about her), can the same be said with the young girl?

He only met her, after all, so he does not have a full grasp on other facets of her personality yet.

And while she does not seem to be the kind of person to tell people, the contract was more of an insurance to keep his own secrets safe.

Knowing the workings of AEONS, it might take a few days before another mission gets sent to him, which would mean a few days of living with the girl. Thus, who knows what she would see while living with him until the next assignment. Hadrian would rather not leave it to chance, and so, the contract was made. He designed it in a way that it would only involve him and her.

It was more of a personal contract from him, rather than the ones prepared by AEONS.

Expecting that she might need some time to think it over, Hadrian got up from the chair and walked towards the stairs, Maya immediately following him.

“Looks like you’re having second thoughts. If you need time to think, sure. You can even stall it for a day or two. I already signed the contract, so I’m waiting on you now.” He said over his shoulder, ignoring the padding of feet from behind him as he climbed up the stairs.

“Where are you going?” The girl asked, following him into the master bedroom.

“Outside, to buy groceries.” Hadrian said as he grabbed his coat and wears it. “As good as the food here in the hotel is, I prefer to cook my own food. You could even say I just miss cooking for myself.”

“I’m coming with you.” She announced, a firm expression on her face as she placed herself in front of him.

Hadrian paused, then looked at her up and down.

“In that? With the clothes that you wore yesterday?” He blinked as a thought came to mind. “Wait, have you even showered yet?”

"..."

Despite her great control over her emotions, the redhead could not prevent the rising heat on her cheeks and the sheepish expression that crossed her face.

The sight was adorable enough for Hadrian to give her a few pats on the head -

SMACK

- which was promptly smacked away by the girl.

The annoyed glare she sent him did not even bothered Hadrian in the slightest.