Meanwhile, a pair of golden eyes burned with murderous intent.
Deep underground, the storage room trembled.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Arfy adjusted his glasses and looked toward the door.
"Come in."
Brak!
Bell burst into the room, pale as a ghost and clutching a mop.
"What happened to—"
"There's a ghost!!!"
"...."
Completely ignoring Arfy's expressionless stare, Bell launched into frantic gestures.
"I was mopping the stairs to the basement when suddenly something fell! Then—then—OAAAA—like someone groaning—and something crashed again! It has to be a ghost!"
Bell pointed toward the floor with a shaking hand.
"And then I felt killing intent! And then—BAM! The whole storage room shook! It's definitely a ghost!"
Bell collapsed into a crouch, clutching his head.
"This is my fault… my senior told me to mop wearing only my underwear for forty days straight without missing a day, but I missed the last count during the war…"
Bell started rocking back and forth.
"I'm going to be cursed… I'm definitely going to be cursed!! AAAAAAA!"
Arfy pressed two fingers against his temple.
"Bell."
"AAAAA—"
"Bell."
Bell froze.
"First. Tell me which storage room is shaking."
"The dormitory basement storage!"
"And why are you cleaning it? Aren't there staff for that?"
"My senior said I had to do it as the new recruit…"
"Which senior?"
Bell's face turned deathly pale.
"…That senior doesn't actually exist, does he? Was I talking to a ghost earlier?"
"…Name."
"Senior Aidan!"
"…Ah."
Arfy sighed.
"He's from the archery division. He's alive."
Bell stared.
"He simply enjoys bad jokes."
Arfy stood up.
"It seems he changed the location of your punishment to the least visited part of the basement."
Bell began trembling again.
"I'll deal with him later."
Arfy walked toward the door.
"Now get up. I want to see what he placed in that storage room to cause this mess."
"E-eh?"
"Bell."
"Yes!"
"I'm busy."
Bell instantly straightened.
"Hurry."
"Yes!"
The two headed for the basement.
Bum. Bum. Bum.
"Mmmpp!"
Crack.
Every sound made Bell tremble harder.
His back was soaked with sweat as he watched Arfy unlocking the door.
One lock.
Two.
Three.
"…Since when were there this many locks?" Arfy muttered.
Nearly twenty.
The final lock clicked open.
Click.
Arfy slowly pulled the door open.
And what they saw inside was—
"..."
"Ah?"
"Mmmpppp!"
Rue.
Tied up like a sack.
Mouth stuffed with socks.
Hair a complete mess.
Shirt half undone.
And his eyes—
His eyes were no longer filled with killing intent.
Instead, they held something far worse.
Pure madness.
"Aaaaaaa—"
"No, why are we—hm."
Yuma suddenly fell silent when Lavis shoved a piece of cake into his mouth.
"Good, right?"
Yuma blinked, then nodded absentmindedly.
"Here, try this too. Aaah—"
"..."
"Now drink this."
"..."
"Next stop! Over there!"
"Ohoho… look how adorable Yuyu is."
"And this is how you play it."
Before he even realized what was happening, Yuma had been dragged from shop to shop.
One shopping bag became two.
Two became three.
Then more.
"...What about the school supplies?"
"Oh right… after this?"
"…You've said that four times."
"…Oh."
Lavis thought for a moment.
"After this! For real!"
"..."
Five minutes later, Lavis was dragging him into another restaurant.
"Tastes good, right?"
Yuma's eyes widened slightly before he nodded again.
Lavis lifted his chin proudly.
"See? I told you."
Then he grabbed Yuma again.
"Come on! Let's make this the most exciting trip ever!"
"…Lavis…"
"Eeh."
"Hm?"
Yuma looked at Lavis, who was still chewing a skewer.
"What is it?"
"Nothing… my neck suddenly feels cold. Is it going to rain?"
Lavis glanced up at the sky.
But Yuma shook his head.
"There's a shadow."
"Oh? Leave it to—"
Before he finished speaking, Yuma had already vanished.
"Wait for me!"
Lavis ran after him.
But all he saw was Yuma dragging a shadow into a narrow alley.
Five seconds later, Yuma stepped out.
As if nothing had happened.
"Weak."
"Contact the guards. Tell them to tighten patrol and issue a warning."
"Hehehe, alright~"
Yuma watched Lavis's mischievous grin with quiet resignation.
Whatever Lavis told the guards later probably wouldn't sound like a simple warning.
But Lavis knew his limits.
So Yuma said nothing more.
"Oh, we've got a witness."
Lavis pointed toward a small boy standing frozen nearby.
The child wore ragged clothes and held a piece of bread.
"Hello."
Yuma crouched down to the boy's level and smiled gently.
The boy's eyes widened.
"A soldier!"
"Hm?"
"My big sister said she'll become a soldier! She'll catch shadows! Like the black thing you were carrying!"
Lavis raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds like the sister might be applying to the academy."
Yuma chuckled softly.
"You're a good kid. But next time you see a shadow, call an adult."
"Why?"
Yuma made a slightly sad face.
"What if your little sister gets attacked?"
"Eh?"
"Or someone passing by gets hurt?"
"That…"
"So if you see a shadow again, walk away slowly and tell an adult. Alright?"
The boy nodded obediently.
At that moment, a little girl ran up and patted Yuma's head.
"Don't cry! My brother won't do it again!"
"Yeah… I'm sorry… I won't do it again. Don't be sad."
Seeing the children trying to comfort him instead, Yuma suddenly laughed.
This time—
a truly genuine laugh.
—
Lavis, who had been staring in surprise, was about to tease him.
Then suddenly his back turned cold.
The two children stepped back in fear.
"Hik!"
"Uh…"
"Hm?"
"?"
Yuma and Lavis turned.
Someone stood behind them.
A ragged man.
…No.
Rue.
Face covered in dirt.
Hair messy.
Clothes wrinkled.
And his expression—
"…a demon."
Lavis swallowed.
Then slowly stepped backward.
"Ah—haha… Yuyu… I suddenly remembered something important… I should go…"
Another step back.
"Yeah. Right. Bye—"
But on that bright afternoon,
in the middle of a crowded city street—
a massacre happened.
—
"…If you want to fight, do it at the training grounds. Not in public."
Yuma calmly covered the children's eyes.
Behind him, Lavis was already on the ground.
Rue stood on top of him, strangling him.
Rue nodded briefly.
He forced Lavis's mouth open and poured a blue liquid inside.
"Keh—cough—cough!"
A moment later, Lavis passed out.
Rue grabbed Lavis by the leg and started dragging him away.
Before leaving, he looked at Yuma with a stiff smile.
"I'll send someone to replace me soon. Buy everything you need and go back to rest."
"..."
Yuma simply nodded.
Rue walked away.
Dragging Lavis behind him.
—
"What just happened?"
"I have no idea."
The children looked around in confusion.
Yuma sighed and gently patted their heads.
"…Looks like I'll have to finish shopping alone."
Shopping bags were scattered everywhere.
Just like his thoughts.
Yuma closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.
Today was truly chaotic.