"89…! 90…!"
As the sun timidly rose above the horizon, Lev, drenched in sweat, swung his sword through the air.
"97…! 98…! 99… and… 100!"
The young man collapsed to the ground, panting as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
(Since I left early to go to Louis and Laute before they left yesterday, I barely had time for this~)
He stood up, stretching his arms upward, then picked up his sword from the floor and headed inside the house.
"Hmm… everyone must still be asleep. Well, it's 5:30 in the morning, so let's see…"
Lev headed to the kitchen, grabbing a kettle and starting to heat some water in it.
After that, he began looking for coffee in the cabinets.
"Hunting for something there, brat?"
But coming from behind him, a still-sleepy voice called out to him.
"Uh? Good morning, did I wake you guys up?"
Without even turning around, the boy casually replied to his aunt, grabbing the coffee and a strainer.
"Not at all, I have a meeting this morning; I had to wake up early anyway."
"Got it. Want some?"
After setting up the coffee maker, Lev grabbed a cup for himself and another for Apollonia.
"Sure, thanks."
"So, what's the latest hassle?"
Lev took the kettle off the stove, began brewing the coffee, and, once it was ready, poured two cups.
"Negotiations with the Ministry of Tourism of Rosso, diplomatic matters, and all that."
"Got it."
"You didn't get a single word of that, did you?"
"Not a clue."
Apollonia sighed, taking a sip of her coffee.
She was in charge of the Ministry of Tourism in Sonnenkind, a position she filled impeccably.
"Lan will be coming down soon. Can you make a cup for him and the girls?"
"Leave it to me."
The young man prepared three more cups, sitting down right after and taking a sip of his own coffee.
"Were you swinging that thing around again?"
"I didn't do it yesterday, so I wanted to make up for it."
The woman whistled in admiration, looking at the object at Lev's waist.
"Did my brother give you money to replace that old thing? Or do you plan to become a knight with it?"
"He gave me some cash to buy something cool, but I'd rather refurbish it. It has sentimental value."
"Sometimes it's hard to believe that you and Igor aren't actually father and son—he was also incredibly attached to the axe that belonged to our father."
Lev gave a low chuckle, finishing his coffee shortly after.
"Well, maybe he passed his quirks on to me by osmosis."
"Who knows—just be careful you don't get back pain as a bonus."
As the conversation unfolded, Lan, Nicola, and Caroline came downstairs for breakfast.
"Good morning~"
"GOOD MORNING, DARLING! LEV, GIRLS!"
"Hmm… that's too loud, Dad…"
Lev greeted them with a simple wave, while Apollonia sat up after letting out one last yawn.
"Enjoy your breakfast, Mom's going to get ready for work."
Saying that, she kissed Lan on the cheek, ruffled the twins' hair, and pinched Lev's face, heading toward the bathroom.
"I'M GOING TO GRAB A SLICE OF TOAST AND GET READY TOO, I HAVE A BOOK CLUB MEETING TODAY!"
Lan grabbed a slice of untoasted bread and started walking toward the staircase, but halfway there, she turned around.
"OH YEAH, HERE. THE MONEY I TOLD YOU ABOUT YESTERDAY. HAVE FUN!"
"Eh, the day starts early for them, doesn't it? But you two, on the other hand…"
Lev looked at his cousins fighting hard against sleep, coffee cups in hand.
"Don't underestimate the exhaustion that builds up after weeks of studying for an entrance exam…"
"Exactly, exactly…"
"Well, you can always take the rest of the day to sleep."
Lev took his cup to the sink next to Apollonia's and began washing both of them.
"But then we won't be going out together today, you know~"
Nicola and Caroline exchanged glances, nodded, and downed their coffee in one gulp.
"Good morning, Lev!"
"Morning, morning!"
"Whoa, what a sudden change."
The boy dried his hands on the towel beside him, leaving the kitchen and heading toward the guest room.
"I'm going to get ready, so take your time."
Behind him, he could hear a frenzy coming from the kitchen, but he decided to ignore it.
(They're so easy to please that it's actually a little worrying.)
A short while later, around 8:00 a.m., the three of them found themselves in the middle of a sea of people, weaving their way through the crowd.
"This way, this way! Hahaha"
"Nicola, take it easy."
Nicola was pulling Lev toward a stall selling simple street sweets.
"No, let's go this way, Lev! Look, there's a magic show going on!"
Meanwhile, Caroline tried to pull him in the opposite direction.
The young man let out a sigh, simply letting himself be guided by the two girls' wishes.
They hopped from place to place, sampling sweets and other foods along the way.
Nicola took the opportunity to snap photos of the three of them together whenever possible.
At the same time, Caroline hung onto Lev's arm, pressing her breasts against him.
"Can we take a break? We've been walking back and forth nonstop for almost an hour…"
Lev said this with a pleading look at the two of them, who, after exchanging glances, agreed.
The three of them went to the ice cream shop Nicola had mentioned last night.
"Phew… this place is cool, I like it."
"Right? And we got lucky—it's not too crowded at this hour."
The three of them sat at a table in the corner; Lev sat in the middle, while Nicola and Caroline sat on either side of him.
"Let's see… Lev will want the strawberry milkshake, right?"
"Obviously."
"I'll have one too! We can order the large size and share it~"
"Caroline, you're jumping the gun!"
While the two of them decided what to order, Lev looked out the window, watching people walk down the street with a calm expression on his face.
Until—
"HELP, THEY TOOK MY CAR!"
Through the ice cream shop window, Lev saw a woman screaming in despair; her car had apparently been stolen.
"Wow, she's really unlucky, huh."
"Well, the police should be there to help her soon. Anyway, as for the special milkshake—"
However, just as they were about to ignore the incident and return to the trivialities of their meeting.
"MY BABY, MY BABY IS STILL INSIDE!"
Immediately, upon hearing the woman's subsequent screams, Lev felt a huge weight in his chest.
"... Sigh."
Lev stood up after letting out a sigh. Nicola and Caroline looked at him, confused.
"Where are you going, Lev?"
"H-hey, you aren't thinking of…"
With a friendly smile, the young man dashed out of the ice cream shop, leaving behind only this message: Order the ice cream for us, I'll be right back!
"Aaaah! I knew this was going to happen!"
"Well, that's part of his charm, isn't it? Let's wait for him to come back. As for the special milkshake—"
Lev walked past the woman who was screaming in despair, giving her a light pat on the shoulder.
"I'll bring your car and the baby back. Wait here for the authorities, okay?"
And with that, he dashed off in the direction the car had gone.
(I should have acted at the first scream; they've already put a lot of distance between us… but I can still catch up.)
Lev entered an alley, guessing the direction the vehicle had taken.
He leaped between the walls of the buildings until he landed on the roof of one of them.
From the high vantage point, the young man scanned for the vehicle.
"... Terrible time to realize I didn't get any information about the model or the license plate. Luck, be with me— forget it."
Immediately he spotted a vehicle being driven frantically through the streets with little regard for the safety of other drivers.
"... Well, surprisingly easy."
Lev followed the vehicle across the rooftops, nimbly leaping from one to the next.
At one point, the vehicle turned toward a spot where he wouldn't be able to keep up, but on the bright side, it was slowing down briefly.
"Something, anything… over there!"
Spotting a construction site ahead, Lev quickly made his way through it until he reached ground level again and headed toward the open field where the vehicle was heading.
After the vehicle stopped suddenly, a hooded man got out, went to the back seat, and pulled something out of the seat—
"...Why didn't I see this twist coming?"
A dog, a chubby one at that.
(Well, some people treat pets like children; I'm not going to judge the lady…)
Sighing, the young man headed toward the spot.
"Damn it, stop barking, you flea-bitten thing! You even bit my damn arm."
The hooded man threw the dog roughly to the ground, clearly hurting it.
"You know, for some people, animal abuse is worse than car theft."
Calmly, Lev slowed his pace, approaching the man who was already reacting hostilely.
"Huh? The hell you want? Oh, wait… did you come here to play hero?"
"Yeah, something like that. I'm a bit of a Meddlesome by nature, unfortunately."
Lev raised his arms, pretending to surrender, but then shot the man a sharp look.
"How about we settle this peacefully, or else…"
However, just as he was about to threaten him with his sword… he noticed a small detail.
"... Oh right, I left it at home."
"Well, I don't know what's gotten into you. But have you heard that one? Curiosity killed the cat."
The hooded man drew a gun, aiming it at Lev, who began to freeze with a nervous smile.
"Welcome to the real world, kid. Playing the hero shortens lives."
And then he fired—
— Bling!
However, the shot didn't hit him; instead… a playing card, floating with a faint trail of smoke, appeared in front of Lev.
"That was close… you have to be careful— huh? the flashy guy from yesterday?"
And appearing right after, a young man with fox-like eyes and silver hair, wearing an expression of surprise.
— Chapter 12: Part III, End.