“How did you get in here?” Elizabeth asked, briefly forgetting about her lack of clothing. However, Sigmarus’ nonchalant wandering eyes reminded her of her nakedness. Her cheeks slightly reddened, and she quickly finished putting her bra on.

While she did so, Sigmarus nonchalantly answered, “I walked in.”

“Bullshit. You didn’t even open the door,” Elizabeth retorted, pointing an accusatory finger at him as though trying to put on a confident front. It didn’t do much to mask her slightly shaking body that made Sigmarus wonder whether she was embarrassed, angry, or a mix of the two.

In response, he shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. Then, he traipsed over to the desk and sat down on one of the chairs without hesitation like the place was his own house.

“Dammit, Sig,” Elizabeth muttered under her breath, immediately stomping up behind him. She pulled on his arm without much success in moving it and said, “Although I want to know how you got in here, you really need to leave.”

“Because it’s not safe?”

“...Yes. Some of the gang said they hurt you for coming here before.”

Sigmarus clicked his tongue and grumbled, “Is that what they told you?”

“Really. Just go. You said you’d do me three favors, right? One of them can be you leaving and keeping yourself safe.”

“Request denied.”

“You stubborn asshole… I swear you’re one of the dumbest people I’ve ever met.”

Sigmarus chuckled, nodded once, and said, “That I am. Anyway, you don’t need to worry about me. Worry about yourself instead. Sounds to me like they’re trying to keep you shackled down here.”

A frown appeared on Elizabeth’s face, not that Sigmarus could see it since she was standing behind him. Silence filled the room for several moments before she finally let go of his arm and mumbled, “Fine. I won’t waste my time worrying about your sorry butt.”

Sigmarus heard her steps walking away from him, followed by a drawer sliding out and the ruffling of clothes. He figured she was finally putting clothes on. Meanwhile, he leaned his head back, stared at the ceiling, and asked, “Do you know if Grace is alright?”

Instantly, the shuffling behind him stopped. A single floorboard creaked a moment later, followed by Elizabeth answering with uncertainty in her tone, “I think she’ll be okay for now…”

“You don’t sound confident.”

“...I don’t know much about it all, but from the gossip among the devils that I’ve heard, it seems like they don’t know what to do with her. So, for now, I think she’ll be safe, but after a few days… I don’t know.”

“That so?”

“In the past, a few similar things have happened here, like girls trying to run away, but they never told me what they did with them. There was only one that I later found out had been sold to someone upstairs.”

“I see,” Sigmarus muttered, his brows narrowing.

Silence fell, and a solemn air weighed down on them amidst it. Sigmarus closed his eyes and thought about the situation a bit more. Nearly a minute passed like that before he heard the rustling of clothes again. Another few minutes later, he heard Elizabeth walking toward the desk, followed by the creak of her sitting in the office chair behind it.

When Sigmarus opened his eyes, he saw Elizabeth’s bright blue eyes staring back at him. Her brows were deeply furrowed, and she was chewing absentmindedly on her lower lip.

“Keep staring like that, and you’ll get wrinkles early.”

“Mmm…” Elizabeth hummed for a moment as her lips lowered into a frown. “You’re a real bastard sometimes, you know?”

“And?”

Turning her eyes away, Elizabeth sighed out of resignation. The two then sat at the desk in silence, allowing Sigmarus to ponder on how to best handle things.

Eventually, Elizabeth distracted him again by asking, “Are you a mutant?”

“No?”

“Then how did you get in here?”

“Secret.”

“Teleportation should be impossible, yet you just did something like it. You expect me not to be curious about it?”

“I didn’t teleport. I walked in, just like I said.”

“If that’s not a lie, I don’t know what is.”

“Maybe I’ll explain it one day if I feel like it.”

“Tch.”

“Anyway,” Sigmarus said, locking eyes with her again, “do you know where Grace is right now?”

Elizabeth’s brow twitched. Her eyes slowly turned away again as she mumbled, “...No.”

“If that’s not a lie, I don’t know what is.”

Almost immediately, Elizabeth glared at him, and then rolled her eyes.

“Is she at their base here or something?” He followed up.

Elizabeth twitched ever so briefly, but held her silence.

“How long do you think they’ll keep her there?”

“I never said she was there.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a terrible liar?”

“...Yes,” Elizabeth mumbled before pursing her lips. Then, she hesitantly answered, “They’ll probably keep her there until they find a buyer or something, so a few days, or maybe a few weeks.”

Getting the answer he wanted, Sigmarus stood up and said, “Thanks for the info.”

“Please don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t. Believe it or not, I’m a pretty talented guy these days.”

Sighing, Elizabeth replied, “A few weeks ago, I would have laughed at that.” A short giggle slipped from her lips as she added, “If only the AI that decided your future could see you now.”

“Hmm, well, I don’t bother thinking about the past. What’s done is done, right?”

Rather than answering, Elizabeth closed her eyes and ‘hmm’d’ to herself.

Sigmarus started walking away, but then thought of something and turned back around. Before he could say anything, he blinked a few times out of surprise since he saw Elizabeth’s eyes quickly avert themselves from his backside.

“Were you just staring at my ass?”

“...You were staring at me earlier, so it’s only fair.”

“Pervert,” Sigmarus joked.

“Like you’re one to say anything after barging into my room,” Elizabeth retorted, her lips rising into a small smile of amusement.

“Anyway, I wanted to suggest something.”

“What?”

“Although I’m helping Grace out since I don’t like seeing kids suffer, how about using one of your favors to have me get you out of here as well?”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened for a second or two. Then, she closed them as though contemplating something for another few seconds before opening her eyes and saying through a fake smile, “No thanks. You shouldn’t trouble yourself so much. Besides, I can’t leave the girls here alone.”

“Well ain’t you a righteous little girl.”

Pursing her lips, Elizabeth grumbled, “I don’t want to hear that from you, what with you helping out random people all the time.”

“I’m a bad person, I promise.”

“That makes two of us.”

Sigmarus stared into her eyes for a few moments and saw a surprising amount of guilt, regret, and sadness he didn’t normally see there. They were eyes he knew all too well.

The eyes really are the window to the soul. It kinda seems like she doesn’t feel like she deserves help? I guess I can relate, Sigmarus thought.

With that, he said a final goodbye and used freedom step to head back out the same way he had come in, leaving Elizabeth to stare at an empty room once again. She stared at the spot he had magically vanished from near the door for a few moments before getting up from her seat with a sigh, walking over to her bed, and plopping down on it.

“Why is he always in such a hurry to leave?” She thought aloud.

Meanwhile, Sigmarus hurried back to the Fallen Leaf base. He walked across the main lawn toward the building where his new room was located. Along the way, he nodded at the few members who were up and about. Some knew him. Some didn’t. One overly friendly guy even stopped and talked to him for a bit to figure out who he was, though Sigmarus was too lazy to reply with sentences longer than a few words.

Once inside the main building, he traipsed upstairs and stopped at Duke’s bedroom door. He knocked a few times and waited for a response. Footsteps on the other side of the door approached, and moments later, the door swung open.

“You’re back,” Duke said.

“Yeah. Mind if I ask a favor?”

Raising a brow, Duke asked, “What kind?”

“Do we have anyone keeping an eye on the Green Devil’s base in this district?”

“Unfortunately not. We did at one point, but somehow they always sniffed our guys out and offed ‘em.”

“Damn.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Seems like that girl I was helping is over there right now, though I don’t know how long she’ll be there. Was hoping someone could keep an eye on the place while we’re at the coliseum who could let me know if they end up doing something with her.”

“Ah, gotcha. Even then, it might be a little difficult. I’ll see what I can do, though.”

Sigmarus rubbed his chin for a moment before his eyes lit up. Lips curling up into an almost villainous smirk, he said, “I might have an idea or two.”

“Oh? I like the look on your face. Tell me.”

* * *

Later that morning, Sigmarus returned to the apartment complex he originally thought he might not visit again in the future and headed straight for the apartment of an acquaintance. He knocked on the door and waited. Before long, a young man opened the door while rubbing his eyes.

“Oh? What are you doing here so early, Sigmarus?”

“Hey, Tahm. Ever thought about joining a gang?”

“Eh?”