---o---
Vill-V was one of the most mysterious figures in The MOTHs. As a super-genius in multiple fields, her abilities were matched only by her enigmatic and troublesome personality.
You could never know if the information she gave you was truth or lies. Thus, her origins had always been one of The MOTHs' greatest unsolved mysteries.
"The W Magic Troupe, huh... To think that by coming into this simulation, I'd solve one of The MOTHs' long-standing mysteries."
Tucking the poster away, Fu Li felt his mood improve slightly, and he couldn't help but let out a soft whistle.
Since he had found his target right at the start of the simulation, Fu Li had no intention of idling. He immediately prepared to set out and check on this so-called W Magic Troupe.
However, before leaving, he had a small matter to attend to.
That group of thugs had locked up this body's original self for a full four days without a drop of water or a crumb of food.
That was tantamount to cold-blooded murder. And toward those who wanted to kill him, Fu Li had never shown a shred of mercy.
"It's time for a reckoning."
With a loud 'thud', the sound of Fu Li kicking the door open instantly echoed through the villa.
At this late hour of the night, such a loud noise naturally startled the still-sleeping thugs awake.
"Who is it? Making such a racket in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
"Yeah, fuck! If I find out who it is, I'll fucking kill 'em!"
Amidst a chorus of rough shouts, a group of about a dozen thugs climbed out of their makeshift beds. Some were bare-chested, others had exaggerated eye makeup and lip liner—in short, they did not look like good people.
However, what they failed to notice was that as they rose, in the dark corners of the room, a number of dark green liquid tendrils, like vipers, were silently watching them.
Then, accompanied by a sound like blades being unsheathed, dozens of dark green liquid spikes shot out, piercing through their bodies in an instant.
The screams stopped abruptly. Blood splattered on the ground, only to be devoured by the dark green liquid.
Within the entire house, aside from Fu Li, there was only one person left alive: a girl whose limbs were tightly bound.
The girl was wearing a black formal dress. Although it was dirty, it was clear she hadn't been abused or violated. Not a single piece of her clothing was missing.
She was a stranger, not Vill-V.
Seeing the disheveled girl on the floor, Fu Li's face broke into a gentle, gentlemanly smile.
Though his own clothes were tattered and filthy, he still exuded the oppressive aura of an absolute superior.
"Hello. Don't be afraid. I'm not a good person."
Fu Li slowly approached the girl. Under her terrified gaze, he hummed a graceful tune and, while untying her restraints, added a supplement.
"But I'm not a bad person either. I don't kill the innocent wantonly."
He doesn't kill the innocent wantonly?
"R-Right... I believe you. So you won't kill me, right?"
The terrified girl nodded stiffly, her body trembling uncontrollably, like a quail with its head tucked in.
Like a puppet, she was pushed out of the dilapidated room by Fu Li and led into the relatively tidy, though mostly empty, living room.
There was no hot water in the house, and the thugs' supplies consisted mostly of cheap liquor and soft drinks.
Therefore, the only thing available to offer the girl, and to rehydrate himself, was cold water.
Fu Li found two cups and filled them with mineral water. "Drink. After you're done, tell me who you are, so I can decide what to do with you."
Decide what to do with me?!
Those words made the girl's body tremble visibly. It was clear she wanted to run, but the bizarre scene from moments ago left her too terrified to move. She could only accept the cup with stiff hands.
After a while, the girl's emotions finally calmed down a little, and she hastily introduced herself.
"Um... H-Hello, esteemed sir. As you can see, my name is Anna. I'm the daughter of the W Magic Troupe's leader. I was unfamiliar with the security here and got kidnapped... Please don't kill me! My... my father can give you a lot of money!"
Towards the end, the girl named Anna's voice grew anxious. Finally, her legs went weak, and she looked as if she was about to kneel.
After all, the boy before her, who looked to be around her age, had just killed a dozen people with some strange method. If he got upset and decided to silence her, there would be nowhere for her to cry.
However, Fu Li paid no mind to her assessment. What he cared about was what the girl had just said.
"You said you're the daughter of the W Magic Troupe's leader?"
"Y-Yes... is there a problem with that?"
Hearing Fu Li's question, Anna's heart skipped a beat.
Why is he focused on whether I was born in the W Magic Troupe? Is he a rival or an enemy of my mother's? Or something else?
It wasn't strange for the little girl to think this way. In the mind of an ordinary person, the scene from before could only be explained by two possibilities, besides the option of "monsters": magic.
Is he my mother's competitor? Does he want to use me to threaten my mother into giving him the title of 'King of Magicians'?
However, just as Anna's imagination ran wild, nearly compelling her to risk her life to protect her mother's status, Fu Li asked a question she never expected.
"Excuse me, do you know Vill-V?"
"Vill-V?" Anna was visibly stunned. After a moment's thought, she replied, "Yes, I know her. She's the child of one of my mother's old friends. Due to family reasons, she was entrusted to my mother's care."
Then, as if remembering something, she added.
"There are actually a lot of people like her in the magic troupe, but her temper is just too strange, so aside from my mother, a lot of people don't like her."
"Oh, is that so."
Fu Li was not surprised to hear that Vill-V wasn't well-liked as a child.
After all, as many believed, none of the Flame-Chasers, himself included, were truly normal. Every one of them had some degree of psychological flaw.
But, as the saying goes, "a genius on the left, a madman on the right." The line between genius and madness is thin, let alone for someone like Vill-V who had split her personality into eight.
Regarding this, Fu Li simply smiled again and said gently, "It's alright, don't be nervous. Since your mother treats Vill-V well, I won't do anything to you."
However...
Beneath Fu Li's gentle exterior, an imperceptible trace of coldness flickered.
Vill-V had once told him, [It was probably... when I was four or five. I suddenly hated myself, hated myself so much.]
If I weren't just "myself," perhaps things wouldn't be so bad—Vill-V had told herself this more than once.
And according to her, not long after that thought took root, she ran away from home and began to make a living by changing her identity and running scams.
Until one day, she had the wild idea of confronting The MOTHs, and that became the most important turning point in her life.
Why Vill-V hated herself, why she left the magic troupe, Fu Li didn't know, but he knew that one's childhood has a profound impact on a person.
And as Vill-V's comrade, even if their relationship in previous simulations wasn't particularly close, Fu Li still had a fiercely protective heart.
Whoever dares to bully Vill-V, he will bully them right back!
That was Fu Li's thought, but Anna was unaware. She only knew that, for now, she seemed to be saved.
This was good.
A smile touched the corners of Anna's lips. Her body relaxed, looking as cute as a little white rabbit, completely oblivious that the one sitting opposite her was a venomous snake.
Fu Li glanced at Anna's tattered clothes. "In any case, it's very late. You should get some rest. When the sun rises, we'll go buy a new set of clothes, and then I'll take you to the magic troupe."
"This..."
Anna's expression was hesitant, but seeing Fu Li stand up from his chair without room for argument, she could only nod her head resentfully.
When you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.
"Right, one more thing. Don't tell anyone about this."
"Mm... I know."
Watching Fu Li turn his back again, the fleeting tension in Anna's heart dissipated, and she let out a soft breath.
As a well-mannered lady, Anna naturally understood the principle of repaying kindness. Therefore, even if Fu Li hadn't said anything, she wouldn't have spoken of what she saw tonight.
With that thought, the young girl looked around. Though the surroundings were dirty and chaotic, her physical exhaustion was overwhelming, and she slumped onto the table and slowly fell asleep.
That night, she dreamed she was a princess, and Fu Li was the knight who had saved her.
Then, just as she was hesitating whether to have her father, the king, fulfill his promise and marry her to the knight who saved her, a girl with black and white hair suddenly jumped out and snatched her knight away in a princess carry.
---o---
"Mmph! Damn it!!!"
In the early morning, Anna drooled slightly, mumbling with a frown before slowly opening her drowsy eyes. The first thing she saw was the bright sunlight, and the boy whose clothes were dirty but whose face was clean and tidy.
At this moment, his slender, fair hands were holding several worn-out wallets that seemed out of place with his demeanor, and he was looking at her sideways.
"You're awake."
"...Mm."
Thinking of last night's dream, Anna's dirty face flushed red. She abruptly turned away, mentally slapping herself several times.
Spit, spit, spit! Anna, what are you thinking?
What's there to like about a boy who only has a clean, handsome face but has no sense of style and doesn't know how to keep his clothes clean!
To think I was upset that the Vill-V in my dream stole that boy away from me. It's just... a mess.
Anna mentally berated herself a few times. When she looked up again, she saw a relatively new-looking towel being offered to her.
"Alright, since we're going out, you should at least wipe your face and body clean. Upstairs, turn right, there's a washroom."
"Oh, okay."
Anna took the towel and nodded.
In her heart, she added a few points for Fu Li's thoughtfulness, never once considering that the reason he wanted to buy clean clothes might not have been for her sake, but simply...
He didn't want to appear before a former friend in a disheveled state.
In any case, Anna didn't think that far. After cheerfully washing up, she followed behind Fu Li, her steps unknowingly becoming a little lighter.
---o---
Two hours later.
"Holy crap?!"
Inside the clothing store, Anna watched the boy emerge from the fitting room. Her little mouth hung open as she let out an exclamation that broke through all cultural barriers.
The boy who came out of the fitting room was wearing a fitting black trench coat, with a vest, shirt, and tie underneath. Below, he wore black trousers and long boots.
Even though the outfit wasn't expensive and looked rather simple, the boy, having changed his clothes, combined with his clean and proper aura, looked almost unfairly handsome.
He was like a star who had once stood on a stage. Should one say that clothes make the man?
Just as this thought surfaced in Anna's mind, she looked up to see Fu Li had already come over to her side and casually tossed a very plain, flax-colored dress at her.
Evidently, Fu Li had been very serious when picking out his own clothes, but when it came to Anna, he was extremely casual.
"Alright, hurry up and put it on."
A calm, deep voice sounded by her ear, but Anna's face instantly turned red with anger.
She took back her previous thoughts. This boy wasn't handsome at all! He was... he had absolutely no gentlemanly qualities!
"I'm not wearing something so dowdy! I'll pick my own!! I'll pay you back double for the money later!!"
Anna puffed out her cheeks, storming off to the nearby clothing section in a huff. Fu Li was happy for the peace and quiet, crossing his legs as he sat in a nearby chair and shared a smile with the shop assistant who had been peeking at him.
He smiled on the surface, but his thoughts were of Vill-V.
---o---
Half an hour later.
I worked on it all night, and now it can finally fly...
A five or six-year-old Vill-V released the strange airplane in her hands. Watching it soar freely in the sky, a shy smile touched the corners of her lips.
However, a thrown stone shattered her fleeting, beautiful dream.
"Making this boring stuff again, ahem? This useless, talented little trash, heh!"
A disdainful, youthful female voice came from behind her. Vill-V's smile vanished.
Her expression turned cold. She stood up but offered no rebuttal, because she had no way to deal with a girl who was several years older than her.
Even for a genius, the body is still frail.
Enduring the mockery from behind, Vill-V pressed her lips together and began to climb the wall, bit by bit.
She had to retrieve the model airplane she had made.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch it, a slender hand reached out and picked it up before she could.
Vill-V looked up, intending to glare at the person who had taken her creation. But when she raised her head, she was met with an inexplicable smile.
"Did you make this?" the boy asked, his face full of a gentle smile. "It's just like you. You're so amazing now; you'll definitely become a great inventor in the future."
A great inventor? But she wanted to be a magician...
No, that's not right. Vill-V was very confident. If she wanted to, she could become anyone. But... that's not it.
She didn't want to become someone else. She just didn't want to be the current, unpleasant version of herself.
But, for her, who had been abandoned by everyone, this was the first time she had heard such encouragement.
So I can be looked forward to. So I can be needed.
A great inventor? Does that mean... a scholar or an engineer?
Vill-V pursed her lips, her fingers unconsciously shrinking back. Although her heart fluttered for a moment, she quickly suppressed it.
She looked at Fu Li, at a loss for words. She just watched as he sat casually on the wall and murmured.
"It's a pity it's broken..." Fu Li said, placing it in Vill-V's hands.
"First time we've met. My name is Fu Li. If it's alright with you, I have a small request."
"Would you let me help you... fix it?"
Author's Note: In case anyone didn't understand, I'll just remind you that the protagonist's body is still the protagonist's own body. As for why this simulation is a bit different, there will be an explanation later.
Also, does anyone feel that this meeting scene between Fu Li and Vill-V is very familiar? ;)