****(POV)

Amelia couldn't but smile thinking about how obvious they all were.

Then again, her perception was a tad above that of others and that was considering that she was still level one. She 'naively' followed that cheerful classmate.

"Amelia! I know a place next to here! They sell fast and delicious food! Shall we head there?" The girl announced her objective quickly with a total lack of subtlety.

"I'm really not sure if…" Of course, Amelia had to show some token resistance haha.

"Come on! I'll treat you. Please!"

"Alright, but I'll pay the next time."

Thus they headed to a nearby place. Of course, Amelia knew that her bodyguards would be moving along in a wider defense perimeter. She couldn't help but wonder who the fools that had designs toward her were. This wasn't the first time it had happened and wouldn't be the last either.

"Right here, we'll just pass right through this alley, it's a shortcut." Then she guided Amelia toward a building with a very visibly fake restaurant sign.

Seriously, how were they expecting anyone to believe such a shoddy lie? As they entered, two men came out of 'nowhere' to grab Amelia and restrain her, tying her up to a chair. They were both wearing peculiar masks hiding their features.

"Now, be quiet, do as we say, and no one will get hurt! Do you understand?" A bunny shouted.

"We know who you are, we have weapons, we will use them if you don't behave!" A goldfish added.

"W-what?! You guys said you simply wanted autographs and…" The dumb girl began but she was soon gagged and tied up right next to Amelia.

Amelia almost choked laughing seeing how serious they were acting yet how sad it all seemed. The building itself seemed to be one available for rent. They had even left the sign saying so in a random corner.

It was dark, slightly dusty, and now filled with the lowly sobs of the girl that kept profusely apologizing, not that one could understand her. Said girl was now having an existential crisis.

Because of her, an innocent had been taken hostage. She had done something unpardonable. She had only wanted to make a little bit of money on the side to ease the burden of her family. She had nothing but good intentions but her foolishness would cause harm to a kind soul.

She was spiraling into a vicious circle of self-blame and regret. At that moment if she could sacrifice herself to atone for her sins she would have willingly done so.

In fact, she was low-key trying to untie her bindings, but they were proving to be way more than she could handle. In her mind, she couldn't help but imagine the kidnappers as masters of their craft. Little did she know that the Goldfish had simply learned to tie knots in the scouts…

As for the whole part about the fake restaurant that they had 'reserved' just for the opportunity to meet their idol…Well, she had been completely fooled. Was it the greed messing up her mind or was she simply that dumb? Who knew…

Still, that girl was currently despairing, crying about all the harm she had caused. She couldn't help but vividly feel how panic-stricken her victim surely was., thus starting the blame circle once more.

Meanwhile, the nearby Amelia's heart was as calm as still water, a calmness the wannabe kidnappers wrongly attributed to shock. She would have laughed had she known how much the girl was worried about her.

No, she was currently busy pondering. Would Josh come to the rescue as a valiant Prince Charming? He had been following here after all. At least, that was what her instinct told her. Would her bodyguards be the first on the scene?

Such excitement was definitely something that never happened at the Antique Gallery haha.

"Alright, now we call her her father on her UW, and then we ask for the ransom and…"

"Dude, we have a problem! She doesn't even have a UW! How is that possible?! Isn't her family loaded?!"

"I don't know man…ah wait! She has that white handbag! Quick, check that!"

The goldfish searched for a few seconds before finally managing to extract an old school cellphone from it. He couldn't help but feel puzzled for a few seconds because of it.

Amelia answered his doubt jokingly "You think someone in the antique business would simply use the latest UW model? Have you never learned about the importance of branding? If you guys commit larger crimes you should make sure to always wear the same masks so people can recognize you. You could even become the BunnyFish, or perhaps the GoldBunny duo?"

The Goldfish stood in place without knowing how to reply to such a tirade. His colleague had to slap his head to bring him back to his senses. "Stop daydreaming, dumbass! Quick, call her father!"

*Ring ring ring*

*You have joined Eons, please leave a message after the Beep. If you're lucky we'll call you back…or not. Beep!*

"…"

"…"

"Now what do I do?!"

"Call back again!"

*Ring ring ring*

*You have joined Eons, please leave a message after the Beep. If you're lucky we'll call you back…or not. Beep!*

"…"

"…"

"So…do we call back again?"

"I guess….? Maybe wait a few minutes or something…."

Then followed an awkward silence, well if one ignored the gagged girl that was still going… It is only after calling a few times that it finally connected! Amelia could only hear this side of the conversation but it still made her chuckle.

"Hello, Sir! Yes, yes. I am contacting you about a very important matter, yes. We currently have your daughter hostage and…"

"No, Sir! It's not a prank at all! I can send you some pictures as proof or something!"

"Ah, alright. Yes, our demands….200 000 credits delivered to this account….Yes, that's all!"

His partner was gesturing him something. "Ah, wait! This is an account on the darknet by the way! Do you know how to access it?"

"It's really simple, Sir. You simply…*long explanation*"

"We'll release your daughter as soon as we have the money! Ah, have a good day too!"

*Click*

"You! Why were you so polite?!"

"B-but he was very understanding and…."

"We are kidnappers! We do not work at a daycare! What the Hell do you think he will think of us now?!"

"T-that we are nice kidnappers and that we won't screw him over once he wires the money?"

"*Sigh* Ah, fine. I just hope for both of our sakes that this will work. I do not want to go back to working at a grocery store! Remember that customer that literally shat on the floor? Do you?!"

"Yes, I do."

"Who needed to clean that up? Me!"

"It's fine. Don't worry, everything will be fine. We have our hostage, we have guns, we have cool masks, we have….actually that's pretty much it…"

Amelia couldn't help but wonder if this was all a prank show. It looked like one but she was pretty sure it wasn't.

*Creak*

That is when he entered the shop, that mysterious man she had been waiting for. Somehow he didn't have his usual confident expression. No, he had a silly smile. One that gave her a weird feeling.

The smile was obviously fake, but it seemed to her like it had probably had been a genuine one at some point in his life. What happened to him to make him lose his shine? She couldn't help but wonder.

As he entered, the two kidnappers almost jumped out of their skins.

"Who are you?!"

"Eh, are you guys closed or something? I saw the sign outside. I'm really hungry, I feel like I could eat enough for 50 or something. Ah, also what's with the fake guns, ropes, and chairs? Is this a set for a movie or something?"

She found his acting on point, but his overuse of 'something' irksome. Did he really need to plug it in every goddamn sentence!

"Right, don't worry about it kid just leave and…"

"Wait, kid! Actually, do you want to participate? We could use an extra, we'll even pay you, then we can all go eat or something."

"Oh? That sounds fun! Count me in! What do I need to do exactly?"