Chapter 366: The Bad Man

"Kid, what are you doing sitting next to such a dangerous spot all on your own? Where are your parents?"

The little girl with brown hair and brown eyes looked up, her eyelids swollen and puffy from crying. Her face quickly twisted into panic.

"A-ah... I... I, um..."

She struggled to get any proper words out, tongue tripping over every sound. One of the stall owners who had approached her clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed.

"Listen, you’re making a lot of people anxious. It’s bad for business tonight. Did you get separated from your parents and lose your way? If you did, you’ll probably have better luck finding them if you head toward the square."

"Ugh, just chase her off, boss. She’s probably some pickpocket. Don’t get too close."

"Do you think I’m stupid? I know how close I should get."

The worker—presumably from the same stall—glared at the girl, making her flinch.

"Tch. Boss, just tell the kid to get lost or we chop her hand off for trying to steal."

The boss turned on him sharply.

"She hasn’t even attempted to steal anything."

The worker smiled, cruel and unbothered, his eyes never leaving the girl.

"So? It’s not like anyone would believe

her

over

us

. It’ll draw attention, and we’ll be branded as heroes. That means more people coming to our stall. An excellent marketing strategy, am I right, boss?"

Again she flinched, her face turning so pale it looked like all the blood had been drained from it. Her small body trembled uncontrollably.

Before the boss could turn back to her, the child scrambled to her feet and bolted into the dark alley.

The boss watched her vanish into the shadows and scratched his head.

"...Ain’t that place leading—"

"—where all the beggars are hiding tonight, yeah."

*****

Terrified, clutching her eyes shut, she kept running. It was too dark in those narrow paths to bother opening them anyway.

It was cold.

The ground beneath her feet felt damp and uneven, the path dirty and muddy.

The air reeked of filth and rotting trash as she ran, desperate to get away from the voices.

"Ahk!"

She let out a small cry as she slammed into something solid and fell hard onto her backside.

For a moment she just sat there, dazed, and then slowly opened her eyes.

There was light again.

She had stumbled into a small open area—some sort of makeshift camp. Tents were scattered around, patched and sagging, and people in ragged, torn clothing stood or sat nearby, their bodies stained with mud and grime. Torches burned in iron brackets, throwing flickering light over everything.

"Hah?"

A man turned around and glared at her.

"You brat. Watch where you’re going, won’t ya?"

"I... I-I’m sorry!" she squeaked.

"Hm? What’s with those clothes?"

His irritation shifted into interest as he looked her up and down more carefully. A disgusting smile spread slowly across his face.

"Heh. Look at that. Guys! Some well-off kid got lost and wandered in here!"

"Huh? Seriously? Man, it’s our lucky day!"

"Hahaha, that’ll be easy money at the slave market!"

"Oh, she’s got a cute face. She’ll definitely sell for a pretty price. Especially that little body."

One by one, more men and women emerged from the tents, voices piling on as they stared at her.

Each word made her heart pound harder.

She tried to get to her feet, to push herself back, palms scraping over rough stone until her skin split and stung. But her legs wouldn’t listen. Fear turned them to jelly. Her body trembled so badly she could barely keep herself upright.

"U-uah..."

She tried to tell them to let her go.

She tried to say anything—to beg, even, if she had to.

But her throat refused to open. No real words came out, only weak, pathetic sounds.

The sight seemed to amuse them. They sneered and chuckled.

The man she’d bumped into stepped closer and finally reached his hand out toward her.

She squeezed her eyes shut again, terrified, as the hand approached. If the darkness was going to take her, she wished it would do it now—let it swallow her whole, let her disappear instead of being here.

She waited.

And waited.

But the hand never touched her.

Slowly, shaking, she opened her eyes a sliver.

"Huh...?"

A confused breath escaped her lips.

The outstretched hand, frozen just inches from her face, glimmered with a strange, translucent sheen. The air around it was so cold it made her eyes sting, yet she couldn’t bring herself to blink.

Because it wasn’t just the hand.

The man.

The others.

The tents.

Even the torches.

Everything in front of her had turned to ice—clear, solid, and unmoving. The entire camp was frozen mid-motion, like a collection of glass statues captured in one last, ugly moment.

She could only stare, caught between fear and awe.

Then a voice, matching the cold in the air, drifted from behind her—soft but sharp enough to freeze her blood.

"Do you plan to sit there forever, admiring the dead? It’s uncommon for children where I’m from... though perhaps not so much for yours."

"...!"

Turning her head, she saw a man leaning calmly against the wall with his arms crossed.

He wore red silk robes that covered his entire body. His upper face was hidden behind a half-fox mask made of what looked like carved red gems. Through the gap of the mask, however, a pair of red eyes stared back at her—cold, terrifyingly so.

Then he spoke, removing the mask as he did.

"Though I call them dead, it’s not that they’re actually dead. They’re just asleep. They’ll melt and wake up in about thirty minutes, give or take."

Half listening to his clear voice, she was hit with another shock when she finally saw his face properly.

Without meaning to, she breathed out a word that she regretted a second too late.

"P-pretty..."

The man, who looked almost divine, didn’t show much reaction. Maybe he was used to it. Maybe he was just very good at hiding whatever he felt.

But she regretted it because she recognized him.

"...B-bad man..!"

She blurted it out in a strangled half-whisper, half-shout.

He was the bad man Miss Ranni had warned her about! The one she had told her never to approach, no matter what!

The one who had threatened to kill her the very first time they met in the forest!

The bad man who had looked like a monster when they left it!

If those frozen thugs had terrified her, then this single man made her want to go back and deal with them instead!

She dropped her gaze as fresh fear swallowed her, her body trembling again. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing this was just a dream.

"Bad man?" he repeated, and even the way he echoed the words made her flinch. His voice sounded somewhere between confused and faintly amused.

"I suppose the instructor told you what I am so you wouldn’t be reckless, huh..."

She heard him murmur something after that, but her own heartbeat was so loud she couldn’t make out the words.

Footsteps crunched over the frozen ground, the sharp sound of ice cracking with each step. Every time she heard it, her chest tightened. When the steps finally stopped in front of her, her trembling only got worse.

Suddenly, her hands were grabbed.

She screamed and winced at the sharp sting that followed.

He really was a bad man!

A bad man who hurt little children!

It hurt! It hurt a lot!

He was—

...What was he doing?

Her mind was a mess, but slowly something felt... off.

Something soft, cold, and creamy was being rubbed over her palms.

She opened her eyes, cautiously, and stared in confusion.

The bad man was kneeling on the filthy ground without a hint of concern for his robes, his head bowed as he focused seriously on her scraped hands. He was rubbing some kind of ointment into the cuts she’d gotten when she fell.

Perhaps feeling her stare, he spoke again, his voice softer this time.

"This will help soothe the pain and make it heal a bit faster," he said. "No point wasting a health potion on wounds like this, but Celestina might be willing to heal them if you ask her."

She blinked at him, over and over, eyes drifting from his hands to his face.

"...Bad man?" she whispered again.

"Hm?"

He glanced up as she flinched from another sting, then looked away quickly, as if he’d just realized what she’d called him—again.

’C-crap, I did it again..!’

she thought, panicking. ’

I keep saying rude things..!’

He let out a small sigh.

"All right. That should be enough for now."

He stood up without bothering to dust off his robes.

"Well, don’t stay here too long."

Like none of this mattered, like it hadn’t meant anything to him, he turned his back and started to walk away.

She watched him go, feeling something strange twist in her chest.

Was Miss Ranni... wrong?

Before the thought even fully formed, her small hands shot out and grabbed his robes.

He stopped and turned, frowning slightly in confusion, and her heart started pounding even faster.

"What is it?" he asked, sounding a little annoyed, a little impatient.

It only scared her more.

"I... I-I..."

The words tangled on her tongue. She couldn’t push them out.

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed again. She glanced at him, then at the dark alley behind them, then back toward the frozen vagrants, and bit her lip.

"I... I am... scared..." she finally managed, eyes dropping to the ground.

For a moment, he didn’t say anything.

Then he scoffed.

"Well, what did you expect to feel," he said, "after you somehow escaped Instructor Ranni and then decided, on your own, to run

here

?"

His words made her flinch again.

He was right.

She

was

at fault. But still...

"Big brother..." she whispered.

"Ha?"

A ridiculous sound escaped his mouth, like he’d just heard the most absurd thing in the world. She tightened her grip and pushed through, speaking in a trembling voice that made him look away, as if he’d misunderstood something completely.

"Big brother... used to take me to the festival every year," she said quietly. "We would secretly go through the underground tunnels... and if we got lost, he would always find me at the entrance of that alley. I... if I wait there, I’m sure... I’m sure big brother will come and find me...!"

She looked up at him desperately, face pale, tears spilling down her cheeks.

He turned his head away, jaw clenching as he grit his teeth.

"Dammit...!" he muttered, sounding genuinely annoyed—though not, she realized, at her.

When he looked back at her, his eyes were still sharp, still impatient, and she quickly looked down again.

"Fine. Fine! Let’s go!"

"Huh?"

He turned fully and suddenly took her small hand in his.

"What ’huh’?" he snapped lightly. "You’re scared to go back alone, right? I have to get back before my sister gets mad at me. There’s someone who’ll heal your hands too. Just follow me and don’t slow us down."

Her eyes widened slightly as he tugged her along, his longer stride noticeably shortened.

Even though he’d told her not to slow him down, she quickly realized he was matching his pace to hers.

And even when they stepped back into the darkness of the alley, his grip stayed firm around her hand, steady and unyielding, as if to say she wasn’t alone.

Maybe... he wasn’t a bad man at all.

Maybe Miss Ranni was wrong.

Maybe he was a good guy.

...A good, pretty guy.

*****

"You’re late. And why aren’t you wearing your mask anymore?"

"Master, are you adopting another kid?"

"Azriel, isn’t that the kid Instructor Ranni was taking care of?"

All three questions were fired at him at the exact same time.

Jasmine looked annoyed. Nol was happily chewing on skewered meat, stuffing his mouth with every bite. Celestina was holding a strange white crystal she’d bought, alternating between gazing at it and at the child.

Again.

Of course again.

Azriel had to sigh.

"Celestina, can you heal her hands?"

"Her hands?"

Looking concerned, Celestina glanced at the girl’s palms and finally noticed the scraped skin. The crystal disappeared into her storage ring as she crouched down and gently took Lia’s hands in hers. A soft white glow spread from Celestina’s palm, mending the wounds on the spot.

"Warm..." Lia murmured.

"What happened?" Jasmine asked, stepping closer. Her face was serious, with a thin layer of concern beneath it.

Of course she knew about Lia as well.

"She slipped away from Instructor Ranni," Azriel said. "I saw her run into that dark alley over there. Some trash tried to kidnap her."

"I see..." Jasmine muttered.

"Master, did you kill them? If not, should I?" Nol asked, eyes brightening at the idea.

Azriel shook his head.

"No need to waste mana on them."

Nol shrugged and went back to gnawing on the last of his skewer.

Jasmine moved a little closer and leaned in to whisper in Azriel’s ear.

"You used mana, didn’t you? Are you feeling all right?"

A wry smile tugged at his lips as he whispered back,

"You worry more than Mom would... I’ve told you a dozen times already, even if I use mana, I’ll be fine."

"You say that, but..."

Their quiet exchange was cut off by a sudden growl from someone’s stomach.

"Nol, didn’t you just eat?" Azriel asked.

But Nol looked honestly offended as he raised his hands, still clutching the empty sticks.

"Master, it wasn’t me, I swear! I

am

still hungry, but that wasn’t me!"

Before Azriel could say anything, a soft voice spoke up.

"Um... it was me..." Lia said, staring at the ground, her face burning. "I-I’m sorry... it won’t happen again...!"

Jasmine stared at Azriel with a flat, dry expression and muttered under her breath,

"Why is she this scared? Did you traumatize her?"

Azriel frowned at the accusation.

"How rude. It was Instructor Ranni whispering unfair things into her ear about me."

"Is it really that unfair, though?" Celestina said lightly as she rose, Lia’s hands now fully healed.

Azriel’s expression sharpened as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"I don’t hurt children," he said quietly.

"No matter what."

"Even though she’s connected to

you-know-who

?" Celestina asked.

"Even so."

"Yet you said you would—"

"Only so Instructor Ranni would finally make a decision."

Celestina sighed, a helpless smile touching her lips.

"I see. I never would’ve guessed."

Azriel turned to Nol and suddenly tossed something at him. Nol yelped and dropped his skewers as he scrambled to catch it.

"Woah!"

He looked down at what he was holding—and froze.

A gold bar.

"I promised I’d treat you," Azriel said. "That should be enough to get you anything you want. Buy yourself more food, and something for the kid as well while you’re at it."

Nol’s eyes sparkled through the bunny mask as he stared at the bar like it was a sacred relic. Jasmine, on the other hand, stared at it in utter disbelief. Her lips twitched before she turned a dangerous gaze toward Azriel.

"Now why," she asked sweetly, "did you have a bar of gold in your storage ring, little brother?"

Unable to look directly at her while she smiled that calmly, Azriel scratched his cheek and glanced away.

"Well... just ’cause."

"’Cause’?" she repeated, voice even quieter.

"It’s, you know... sparkly. Shiny. And... well, gold."

Her lips twitched harder. Celestina turned away, pressing a hand over her mouth as a small sound escaped her—very obviously holding back laughter.

"Sparkly. Shiny," Jasmine repeated.

"Little brother..."

She stepped closer, and Azriel instinctively leaned back.

"How much gold do you

exactly

have in your storage ring?"

"Ah, well..."

Cold sweat slid down his back as her eyes grew even colder.

He had finally reached the point in his life where he would rather be face-to-face with that despicable Pollux than with his own sister.

"Little brother," she said, her voice also finally ice-cold.

"Yes, sister," Azriel replied instantly.

"Answer my question."

He sighed internally, resigning himself to whatever scolding was coming.

"I... don’t know."

"Huh?"

Azriel rubbed the back of his neck while all four of them stared at him.

"I don’t know how much I have in there. A lot. Probably... a lot. You know, when I took it from the Crimson vault..."

"You... you did what!?"

Azriel flinched at the sudden rise in her voice.

"W-well, what did you expect me to do!? It was practically an ocean of gold in there! How could I resist that beautiful, shiny, sparkling,

valuable

temptation and not take a few droplets for myself!? It’s not like Dad or anyone else will ever notice!"

Her body trembled as she gritted her teeth, and for a second Azriel genuinely thought she might explode. He, Celestina, Lia, and Nol all took a few cautious steps back.

Her wearing a tiger mask right now really didn’t help.

But then her shoulders sagged, and she let out a long sigh.

"...Fine."

"...?"

They all looked at her, confused.

"Just this once," she said quietly, "because it’s you... I’ll turn a blind eye."

"Sister..." Azriel murmured, genuinely touched.

Jasmine turned away with a small huff, and he noticed the tips of her ears had turned red under the mask. Embarrassment, quickly hidden as she pulled out local currency and handed it to Celestina instead.

"They won’t accept a bar of gold," she said. "Use this and buy food for all of us. Let’s meet over there at the square, where the benches are. I have some things to discuss with my little brother alone."

Ordering another princess of a great clan around like that would’ve been unthinkable, rude, even offensive—but Celestina only laughed softly, eyes warm with amusement. She looked at them like an innocent child herself, just having watched a funny show.

"As you wish, Your Majesty," she joked.

Jasmine huffed again and shot Azriel a look that said he still wasn’t off the hook about something.

As Nol, Lia, and Celestina walked off together toward the stalls, Jasmine headed for the square. Azriel followed at her side.

They wove their way through the crowd, past stalls, music, and drifting lantern light. There were games he wouldn’t have minded trying, food he wouldn’t have minded ordering, but the moment washed by as they walked in silence.

Soon, they reached the square.

A noisy ring of people had formed ahead, cheering at a group of performers. Men and women flipped through arcs of flame, juggling burning rings with hands and feet that seemed to ignore gravity. Just behind the crowd was a neat row of benches.

Azriel and Jasmine sat down on one of them.

Around them, the world was loud—laughter, music, shouts, crackling fire, clattering dishes—but between the two of them, there was a quiet that felt almost peaceful.

Until Jasmine broke it.

"Her name is Lia... right?" she asked softly, eyes fixed on the performers.

A small smile touched Azriel’s lips.

"Seems like it."

"...Are you all right?" she asked.

A quiet chuckle slipped out of him, and he kept his gaze ahead.

"What? You think just because there’s someone else with my dead little sister’s name from another world, I’d fall apart?"

"Yes," Jasmine said without hesitation.

"Yes, I do."

Azriel pressed his lips together.

Then, in a suddenly anxious voice, she asked something that made him turn to her in surprise.

"You said I can ask you anything about your life there... right?"

Azriel blinked, then nodded slowly.

"Yeah."

Her lips trembled. Her eyes, behind the black tiger mask, were turned to him—scared, uncertain, but... determined.

"Then..." she whispered, even softer now, "can you tell me? Can you tell me everything about your life as... Leo Karumi?"