{Charlie von Carthage III}

A day after the “kidnapping” incident

“Young Master, it seems that our plan has failed.”

The one who voiced out the news was an aged man with white hair and pale, wrinkly skin. He wore a butler’s uniform and had a dignified air around him. This man’s name was Andrei Timmons. He hailed from a family that had served the House Carthage for several decades, each generation succeeding the previous one in serving their masters. And this Andrei Timmons was one of Charlie von Carthage III’s personal attendants.

“How incompetent can mercenaries get? I asked them for one job. Just one tiny job, to kidnap my future wife, and they managed to mess it up.”

Charlie said a bit angrily.

In all honesty, Charlie never wanted to rely on this brutish method.

Initially, he wanted to woo Katya Vaanderwal with his words and his looks, or maybe impress her with his skills or wealth. But he didn’t expect her to completely ignore his existence. He tried talking to her, but was just given the cold shoulder. He tried getting her attention through various means, but was still ignored. It was like, in her eyes, the person named Charlie von Carthage III did not exist. This slowly made him angrier as the days passed by.

This man named Charlie von Carthage was, by nature, an egotistical brat. He strived to achieve power and authority and immense wealth. He had this inborn desire to dominate and conquer everyone and everything. Part of this nature was inherited from his ancestors, but it became more serious as Charlie was spoon-fed everything he wanted. But the thing is, Charlie is not aware of this nature of his. This was something he was born with, not something he wished for. He didn’t want to be like this, he was just molded to become so.

{Katya Vaanderwal}

Back to the day of the “kidnapping” incident

After I finished taking down the hoodlums who tried to kidnap me and assault my maid, I injected the truth serum into their boss’ nostrils.

After a few seconds, the boss stopped struggling and went limp. He fell down and then shot back up as soon as his head touched the ground. He opened his dead looking eyes and stared at the distance.

I asked the man a quick question to find out if the serum was truly working or his acting skills were way beyond a human’s.

“What’s two plus two?” (Katya)

“I do not know.” (Boss)

Perfect.

It’s working.

“Alright. Answer my questions.” (Katya)

“Yes.” (Boss)

“Who hired you to do this?” (Katya)

“In our line of dubious work, there are no names during deals. There is only money and the job.” (Boss)

He answered unhesitatingly, just as he should be. I should be more precise with my questions, since this serum only lasts for thirty minutes.

“What did your client look like, then?” (Katya)

“The client was an elderly looking man, in his 50s or 60s. He had pale skin and black eyes, white hair and was wearing a dark colored cloak. His movements were refined and his words were elegant and hard to understand sometimes, so I guess he could be a noble or a noble’s servant.” (Boss)

Hm. For a bandit, he’s not so stupid. Other than basic arithmetic, he’s pretty smart. For a bandit.

“How much did this man pay?” (Katya)

This question doesn’t really help me find out who his client is, but I’m curious about how much a person like me would cost.

“100 gold coins initially, 400 more if we get the job done.” (Boss)

Seriously? I’m worth just 20 days of my allowance? I thought that the numbers would reach the thousands. This is just disappointing, though an average commoner would earn that much money in about 5-10 years of work, so I guess in the bandit’s point of view, this was already a lot of money.

…but seriously, just 500 gold coins?

Sigh.

Nothing I can do about it now.

Moving on.

Ah, let me take this time to explain the currency in this country, Draconia. The Kingdom of Draconia uses gold, silver and copper coins. These coins are also used in every country of the continent of the humans, Avon. Copper coins are small bronze colored coins and are generally used by commoners or people in the slums. 100 of these copper coins is equivalent to 1 silver coin. Silver coins are bigger than copper coins and weigh a bit more and have the distinct color of silver. 10 silver coins equates to 1 gold coin. Gold coins are, obviously, gold colored. These gold coins are slightly bigger than the silver coins and weight more than the other two.

Let me also explain this, humans are not the only sentient beings in this world. There are other races living simultaneously here. The Humans are short lived but have the highest population. The Beast Race, half-human half-beast beings, generally live in another continent south of Avon, the continent of Holinshed. The Beast race basically has the same lifespan as humans, but age slower. Comparing a sixty year old human to a sixty year old beast-kin, is like comparing an adult and a child. Their youth periods are from the age of 1 to twenty; their adulthood period is from 25 to 49 years of age. 50-60+ is their elderly phase. Although they are in their elderly phase, they mostly stay in the same physique as their adulthood until a month before their death, during which they rapidly age and die from old age. There are kinds of beast-kin. For example, the Elves. They are human-looking but have long ears, though there is a tribe where elves have short ears as well. The elves live far longer than the other Beast races, living from 200 to 500 years, though they have a low fertility rate, so their population is quite small. There is also the Demon race. They live in another continent thanks to the humans who drove them there through many wars. This continent is called Chios [kai-os]. Its land is barren and malnourished. Crops and vegetation barely grows there. There is also an abundance of malicious mana from a Heavenly Being that died there, so many monsters, strong and weak, live there. This is basically the land that nobody wanted. And since the Demon race was defeated and pushed back to this land during the first war between the Humans and the Demons, this was the loser’s punishment. The Demon race has various tribes and kinds. For example, the Ogres. These Ogres generally have red skin and large builds. They also have horns coming out of their foreheads. Ogres are generally known for their strong physical prowess and for their tenacity and stubbornness. The largest continent is the Human’s, since the Human race won the war against the Beast race and the Demon race during time immemorial, and moved to more fertile land. The smallest one would obviously be the Demon race’s, since they were the ones that lost.

Anyways, I asked the man my last set of questions.

“Where did you meet?” (Katya)

“We met at a pub called “The Daughter’s Night Out” at the west side of the city.” (Boss)

“Where were you going to drop me off, if you had succeeded in the job?” (Katya)

“In the forest from the west gate, there is a small clearing a few miles out. He said there would be a carriage waiting for us along with the final amount of pay.” (Boss)

“When would the exchange happen?” (Katya)

“Tonight, at midnight.”

{         }

After I have finished inquiring the leader of the hoodlums about any information that would be of use, he suddenly fell down to the ground once again. But this time, he did not shoot back up like he did the first time, and instead just stayed there, lying down on the floor. I looked at his chest and checked if he was still breathing. It seems that he only passed out after the serum wore off. Since it was the first time I used this in this world, I did not know whether this would happen regularly, or if it was just a side effect special to idiots.

I then heard a small yelp.

I turned around and saw the maid staring at me, her gaze moving from me, to the dead men on the floor and then back to me. Her face is difficult to understand. It’s a mixture of terror, relief, horror, joy, disbelief, and desperation.

“Y-Young Miss…” (Maid servant)

Before she could speak any more, I cast a spell directed at her.

It was a spell using electricity, since the brain uses electric currents through neurons to send signals throughout the body to control it. A pale blue light shot out of my hand and went into the center of her forehead. As soon as that light reached the brain, it would take control of the body’s cerebral cortex and delete certain memories from the brain. And thusly, the maid servant had forgotten everything that had happened here in this warehouse.

{         }

A few minutes later, we arrived at the mansion, like nothing happened, though this time it was the maid servant the one driving the carriage. I also changed her memories a bit; making her think that the carriage driver had the day off and it was up to her to take his place.

What? Did you think that I revived the carriage driver? That guy sold me out, so of course not. If someone treats me badly, then I will take revenge a hundred times worse, such is my way of thinking. Betrayal should always be punished severely. There’s nothing more infuriating than a trusted one’s betrayal.

And after the incident, time passed on as if nothing happened.

11:30am, 17^th Day in the Month of July; Mansion of the Vaanderwal’s

I woke up from my sleep.

Though I didn’t really sleep.

It was near the time of the deal, so I naturally had to go there, after all I am the guest of honor.

I got up from my bed and changed into dark colored clothes with a hood and a mask. After that, I invoked the Invisibility spell I had created some time ago.

~~

Note to Editor(s): The last few sentences of the paragraph below may need some work. Please do help. The mechanics of the spell really needs some touching up >.<

~~

The theory behind this spell is rather simple. Since the eyes reflect light and create images in our brains so we can comprehend them, I made myself into a translucent object, so that light passes through my body, kind of like glass. But this spell also has its downsides. Since I only made myself unperceivable by the naked eye, any sound I make can be heard as though I was still there. To counter this, I made a soundproof barrier around myself. It only covers a centimeter above my clothes. So if I clap my hands, or loudly tap a wooden door, there would be no sound that can be heard. The barrier is made of the same theory as the ‘Gate’ spell, bending space at high speeds in-order for it to surround my body. Space would converge like a black hole and close off any openings, not letting anything escape. This spell also doubles as a practically invincible armor. Physical and some magical attacks would be useless against this. If any magical attack that uses the same principle of space hits it, then both my armor and the attack would converge to a single point and implode, although that would only happen if there was someone in this world that can comprehend the concept of space and control it as well as I can. I call this spell “Hephaestus’ Blessing”.

Ah, I forgot. Since the ‘Blessing’ tightly knits space together around my body, not letting anything escape, you may be wondering about how do I hear outside noises? Simple. It is merely the mastery and control over the concept of space resulting from the knowledge I’ve amassed over the past million or so reincarnations.

After casting the spell, I opened the large window near my bed and jumped out. Before landing, I used another spell, a rather simple, yet romantic one. A flight spell.

This time, I manipulated the law of gravity to keep myself from falling, and used wind to propel myself forward. When coupled with the ‘Blessing’, I could barely feel any wind resistance.

Flying in the sky at night is such a wonderful experience. It was a cloudless night so I could see the beautiful, beautiful, starry sky up above me. It’s sights like these that make me want to live. Ah, I’ve done well in living up to this point.

When I noticed my destination was near, my melancholic mood was already ending and I started to slowly descend and land on a relatively large tree branch.

“Where are they? Shouldn’t they be here by now?”

I heard a voice and turned my head to look at the meeting place.

At the clearing, there was a small wagon, most likely used as short distance cargo transport and twelve men fanned out throughout the clearing.

The ten men wore dark colored clothes similar to mine and had a slightly better physique than the average man; they were also carrying weapons, small throwing knives and some daggers, concealed in their clothes.

Were these men the guards, in case the bandits went against their word? Most likely. If it were me, I would never trust anyone’s word.

“There’s still time. If they are not here by then, then we shall leave.”

The two men were casually conversing just like that in the center of the formation. One of the men was a twenty-something man that held a hint of nervousness in his voice, while the other was older than him by at least ten years and was calmly surveying the area. They wore different clothes than the other ten. They had black hooded robes and wore masks, making it difficult to see their faces.

Hm. Should I just fight them head on, or do it sneakily…

I flipped a coin in my head.

The assassin’s way it shall be…

I made my way near the nearest guard.

I dropped down from the tree I was on and started walking towards him, with the invisibility spell and ‘Blessing’ still on, of course.

I sent a small wind blade towards his neck, slashing his arteries. Before he could fall, I gathered the winds and softly placed him in the cover of some nearby bushes. I repeated this process for the other guards that were out of the two men’s sight. There were six guards left.

“Falk, let’s just go now… I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Sigh… Patience is key, Dean. Don’t be such a coward.” (Falk)

He’s right, you know. Patience is needed, always. Also, take your time. You have all the time in the world, before I torture and kill you, that is.

Well, it’s time to make my appearance, I teleported to the edge of the forest, right before the clearing, in front of the two men, so they could see me coming. Naturally, I dispelled the invisibility spell.

“Is that them…?” (Dean)

Everyone’s eyes turned to me. The guards raised their guard and watched me and the forest behind me vigilantly.

“Who’s there?!” (Dean)

The one called Dean shouted towards me, looking nervous, his voice rather higher-pitched than normal.

“Hello, hello, hello, how low?” (Falk)

This must be a code. Sigh, if only that bandit boss told me there was such a thing. My dramatic appearance would be much more spectacular.

Well, no use worrying about it now.

I charge straight at the nearest man. This time, I’m doing close range combat; after all, it’s better to know two crafts than one.

I launch a fist embedded with wind magic. Here, I gathered wind into a ball right around my tiny fist. As a six year old girl, my strength is rather weak, you know.

My small fist rammed into the man’s face. His body actually flew back a few meters. As he flew, he was rotating in mid air; if he went any faster he would look like a spinning top. I’m shocked, really. I didn’t know it would be that effective. I should recalibrate it later, but for now let’s just end this quickly and go home.

I teleported in front of the other five guards and slammed my fist into their faces. They didn’t even have a chance to defend themselves, since I just appeared out of nowhere.

While doing this, I was also eyeing the pair near the wagon.

The smaller one named Dean was shaking in his clothes noticeably, while the other was just staring at me intensely, his brow furrowed and his eyes lighting up.

When I finished off all the guards, Falk spoke.

“I’m guessing this would be the retaliation of House Vaanderwal?”

“…you could say that.”

“I didn’t expect for the assassin to be a child, though.”

“Oh, I’m no ordinary child.”

I took off my hood and mask, and stepped into the moonlight, revealing my face.

“I-Impossible! How could this be!” (Dean)

The short one sure is noisy.

“Sigh, I see. We sure fucked up here, Dean. We should never have agreed to do this job.” (Falk)

“Fucked up? ‘FUCKED UP’!? WE’RE GONNA FREAKIN DIE AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS WE FUCKED UP!?” (Dean)

“Gahh, would you shut—“(Falk)

Before Falk could finish, I sent a gale of wind to Dean, knocking him unconscious.

“He’s so noisy. Is he normally like that?” (Katya)

“Nah, he’s just freaked out, is all.” (Falk)

A few moments of silence passed by.

“So, what now?” (Falk)

“I would like to ask you who is your boss, but that would be asking too much…?” (Katya)

“And how would betraying a noble benefit me?” (Falk)

“…clearly I hold your life in my hands right now, right?” (Katya)

He’s not pretending to be smart, is he? Or does he have something planned?

“Oh yes, of course. But, if you choose to spare me and I betray my benefactor, I will be the same as a dead man, so I’d rather just be killed right now.” (Falk)

“So be it, then.” (Katya)

I formed ice spikes around me. A look of fear flashed through Falk’s face, but his eyes were still resolute. Well, it was your choice, no time for regrets now.

“Peace be with you.” (Katya)

{Chapter End}

Author’s Stupid Notes:

A week late, but a little longer. :D

Anyways, I was writing a research paper last week and got busy and totally forgot about this. Also, there’s a new guy in the editing team, the new guy, Artres (it’s his name in Discord).

Editor’s Stupid Answers:

I’ll challenge him to a Death Match then!

~ ~ ~ ~

Damn! Foiled again! He beat me to it! Guess I’ll have to acknowledge him…

UPDATED: 1/7/2017