I bury my emotions as I glare at the waitress. "Explain this, now."

"I do-don't know wh-what you're ta-talking about…"

Her eyelids twitch as she looks down to her left. Staring into her eyes, I know she's lying. I grab her right hand and hold her pinky with the fingers on my other hand. As she turns her head toward me, I snap her pinky in half. Before her body reacts to the pain, I promptly cover her mouth with my hand while pushing her down at the same time. She makes a muffled noise, "Nghhhh!"

As she squirms on the bed, both parts of her bra falls off. It doesn't affect me. Her left hand grabs her other hand as fresh tears flows out of her closed eyelids. I locate the dagger I tossed away earlier at the end of the bed, and I pick it up.

"Do you feel like talking now? Next, I'll cut your nipple off…" I say as I grab and squeeze one of her breasts, subsequently moving my knife toward the nipple.

"St-stop, stop! I'll ta-talk, so please, just stop!" I let go of her, and she takes a few seconds motionlessly staring at her broken pinky while still crying. She sniffles as she looks down all while attempting to cover herself with her left arm. "My jo-job was to distract the man who was with the female Elf and young girl wea-wearing a pink dress… Apparently if it went well, our town wou-would be rewarded with a lot of gold."

I put the dagger to her throat. She shrieks as she lifts up her head and freezes in place while speaking no words. While peering into her eyes, I ask, "What else aren't you telling me? When were you given the orders? Why didn't you think this request was suspicious at all?"

I push the dagger just far enough into her neck that causes a small drop of blood to trickle down her neck.

"Wa-wa-wait! I think…um…we…our town has been having an economic crisis ever since the king tremendously raised taxes a few months ago… Last month someone su-suddenly gave our village 100 gold coins and told us that there would be more in exchange for a fu-future request… Then we were told yesterday to take a young girl with long, brown hair wearing a pink dress co-coming from the south trail to Byzia… Th-that's all I know, I swear!" she exclaims while waving her arms around and gasping.

So everything was an act…? It did seem strange when Horith mentioned that Leila was the first Elf he had ever seen, but he looked like a regular from the village, and it would be ridiculous if he had never known Tariel, who worked there as a bodyguard… I see now, so the Elf was supposed to distract Leila, and the waitress wore a revealing outfit to seduce me… What she says about the taxes bothers me.

I back off, drop the dagger, and then get dressed. I take out a pouch of coins from my pocket containing at least 50 gold coins and toss it to the waitress. "Here, this will help."

"Eh?" she asks and catches the pouch. After opening it, she widens her eyes. "Th-this is?!"

Leila sighs and walks over to the waitress. "Let me see that hand."

The waitress is still staring at the pouch of gold with sparkling eyes when Leila grabs her right hand, snaps the pinky back into the normal position while immediately casting Healing magic on it. The waitress drops the pouch as she forcibly squirms away.

"What're you doing?! That hurts! Huh…it doesn't hurt?"

"I fixed it for you."

"Let's hurry, Leila. By the way what happened to Tariel?"

"Oh, he's taking a peaceful nap on the first floor." I skeptically smile, feeling sorry for him. I equip my scabbards on my waist, and head out the door.

"Wait!" the waitress calls out to me. After turning around, a small, red piece of cloth flutters in the air. The waitress smiles while sitting on the edge of the bed making a sexy pose; her eyes are stretched back emphasizing her bust while her legs are spread apart. "Thank you, come again!"

Blood rushes to my head, and I blush. I grin while giving her thumbs up. However, Leila drags me away by my left ear before I can fully ogle her entire body. "Let's go, you pig."

We head towards the staircase where the guards are already waiting at the bottom. "There they are! Get them!"

I run in the room Irene was in, going toward the window on the right. "Let's escape through the window and head to the north gate."

"I'm right behind you."

After drawing both of my swords, I make two cuts the shape of an X in the center of the window. I jump through, keeping my arms in front of my head to protect myself from the glass shards. While still in the air, I sheathe my swords. As my legs touch the ground, I perform a safety roll. I get up and sprint on the road towards the north gate.

Damn… It would be more convenient to have horses right now, but we wasted too much time getting information from… A salacious grin appears on my face, but I shake my head to focus on the task at hand. "We're not gonna make it at this speed, let's enhance our legs until we catch up to them."

Leila nods, and I shout my keyword, "Haste!"

"Swiftness!"

I feel the power surging through my legs as we double our previous speed. I narrow my eyes. More importantly, who paid these villagers to do this? If their goal is Irene, then it must be to get to Velyn…but how did they… The culprit must be an advisor of Velyn or a high ranked officer because only they would possibly know that Irene would be in that convoy at that time. Still, they even knew her attire… How is that even possible?

There are four guards at the inner entrance of the northern gates ahead of me. The convoy is passing through it. Briefly turning my head around, I find that guards riding horses are closing in behind us.

There's no other choice now… There's no way we can blast our way through that door, so I'll have to reveal my magic if we wanna catch up to the convoy. I look toward Leila before asking, "Leila, can you handle our landing? I'm gonna get us over the wall."

"Leave it to me." I reach out my left hand, and she grabs it firmly with her right. Her hand is moist and warm, probably anxious about Irene as well. Up ahead, the gates are closing as I prepare the commands for my magic. I estimate the height of the wall is about 30 feet. I continue to run forward, carefully making other calculations at the same time.

I put my left palm in front of me and release the inactive form of my Mana. The gate is less than 40 feet away, and we would run into it in just a few seconds. Before long, my Mana reaches the designated destinations and immediately activates. The usual purple portal appears in front of me, slightly above ground in front of the metal gate while the other one appears just over the peak of the gate.

"What the hell is that?!" a guard yells near the northern gate as he backs away from the portal I created.

"Who cares! Just stop them!" The guards move around the portal and approach us, but it's too late; we already have reached the portal. I jump through while still holding onto Leila's hand.

I instantaneously appear at the location of the other portal falling down past the village walls. The wind blowing against my face causes me to squint my eyes. I exclaim, "Close!"

After dispersing my portals, I turn around. Leila is already preparing for the landing. Half a second passes before she releases a gust of wind below us from her left hand. The force behind the gust is just enough for us to land without a problem and continue running forward.

We spot the convoy ahead of us about 200 feet away. I say, "Somehow we're closing the gap, but not fast enough at the rate we expend our Mana for the enhancements."

"True, I can easily stop the carriage at this distance, but I don't want to hurt Irene in the process…"

"It can't be helped. I'll stop the carriage. Save your Mana and catch up later." I let go of Leila's hand and gather four times as much Mana than before. I release it all angled above the carriage. I glance behind me, finding that Leila has deactivated her speed enhancement and is gradually getting farther away. I draw my swords in a reverse grip and narrow my eyes focusing on space above the convoy. This should be about the right time…

"Warp!" I shout and instantaneously appear at the location of the Mana I just released several feet above and in front of the convoy. On my way down, I notice two unarmed men in front of the carriage. A split second later, I manage to pierce the top of the transport with both of my blades. I slip, but I hold onto my swords, using them as a crutch to get my balance back.

"What was that sound?!" one of the two guards shouts. With minimal noise, I pull my swords out, sheathe them, and go into prone. I slowly move toward the front of the wagon. "It sounded like something fell on top of the convoy… Do you think they caught up?"

"Don't be crazy, we were several hundred feet away when they closed the gate. I bet they're still stuck in Neso."

"You're right… I'm just paranoid because we're getting paid so much for this."

They laugh. As I stare at the back of their heads, I think about how I should take them out. Hmm… I don't wanna kill them…so I guess I only have one option… I should hurry so Leila can meet up with us… I hope the guards from Neso didn't catch up yet.

I jump down and immediately hit the back of their necks with a swift chop, one with each hand. I catch them before they fall off and rest them against the convoy. I pull the reins back signaling the horses to stop. When the carriage has reached a full stop, both convoy doors open. Damn, there were more inside… Will I be able to avoid killing them…

"Hey! What's wrong?! Why did you stop?!" one of the two guards shouts. Footsteps appear on both sides.

There're only two…but there could be more inside. The tip of a spear comes into my view on my right side. A split second later, I leap out and tackle that person.

"Argh!" We both fall and his armor makes clanking noises when he hits the ground. I grab his weapon while I still have the element of surprise and take it with force. After getting up, I throw the spear into a tree high enough so he can't recover it. "You fiend, my weapon!"

"What happened?!" the other guard yells. Irene is in the center of the convoy, tied and gagged.

Well, this is convenient. I'll just wait for Leila, and we can simply leave and head towards the capital with this convoy. The other guard comes around the left side.

"You…you're that guy who was with the girl! How did you get past the gate?!"

"Well you know…I teleported through a portal that I made."

"That's obviously a lie, don't mock me!" He approaches me with his spear in hand. I turn my head towards the unarmed guard.

Huh? Where'd he go? I check Irene again and find that she's safe. I turn back left, and a spearhead approaches my face. I dodge by only bending my head towards my left shoulder. I look at him and smirk. He frowns and furrows his eyebrows as he begins to shake his entire body. He draws back his spear and thrusts it forward again. I toy with him for a while by dodging using the most awkward body maneuvers. Hmm? He's not tired yet…? Impressive.

He continues to launch his assault of thrusts on me, but I dodge all of them while I barely have moved from my current position. I yawn as I move closer to him while continuing to evade all his attacks. I avoid them all, and soon enough, his thrusts stop coming when I'm directly in front of him. I grin and say, "It's my turn now."

His entire body quivers before I finally knock him unconscious with a blow to the temple. I use this chance to grab his weapon and throw it into a nearby tree, meeting the same fate as his partner's weapon. Suddenly, horses neigh and stomp. Shit is the other guard moving the convoy?!

The convoy doesn't move at all. I run towards the front of it, finding the horses not connected to the wagon anymore. The guard hides behind the left side of the convoy and smiles. "Our reinforcements will arrive soon, and you won't be able to evade us for long!"

I close my eyes as I look down and frown all while pressing my index finger against my glabella. How could I have made such a blunder…?

Feeling the sudden urge to kill the person responsible I draw my sword with my right arm, and walk towards him. "Your reinforcements will have to pick up your dead body first."

"Uhh… Wa-wait a se-second…" he says with a voice growing gradually quieter as he slowly backs away, trembling. I kick him down and reverse my grip on the sword. I begin to slam down my blade with all my strength aiming for the middle of his face. "Ahhhh!"

An image of Irene suddenly pops into my head. My sword sways, landing a hair away from his face. I gasp as I rest my weight against the hilt of the sword. My heart beats rapidly. That's right, I promised Irene… I need to control myself better.

I narrow my eyes on the guard. He passed out. Apparently my sword gave him a small cut on his left cheek. A drop of blood trickles down his wound and tears flow out of his eyes. I sheathe my sword before going into the convoy. Irene is lying down on the seat while completely tied up; her mouth is taped, her hands tied with rope behind her back, and ankles are tied with rope as well. She looks at me while making small muffled noises.

I should probably untie her… Wait… I should have some time before Leila gets here, right? I smile lewdly as I leer at her and sit across from her. "Today, you will learn that I'm not a good person…"

She cocks an eyebrow as she looks at me. I lean forward, grab the hem of her dress, and then slowly lift it up. My heart beats faster with every passing moment. She narrows her eyebrows and squirms around while making loud muffling noises. I pant as I move closer to her realizing that I'm a split second away from the jackpot.

I drop my jaws as I widen my eyes. She sports a light green lace thong. I stare at it for a while, generating large amounts of saliva in my mouth as it also excites my lower half. With my nostrils completely flared, I slowly slide my other hand up her leg. Her futile resistance is only adding to the raging fire within me. Suddenly, Leila shouts, "Kai!"

There're only so many times you can interrupt a man… Not this time! I finally reach her lady passage, lightly brushing over it with my fingers. She makes a muffled squealing noise while jerking around more intensely. With rumbling noises in the distance, Leila shouts, "Kai! Are you there?! We need to leave, now!"

I let go of Irene's dress as I grunt. Damn, what's so important?!

I peek my head out while looking in the direction I came from. Oh, shit!

My lips form an "o" as half a dozen of people on horseback follows Leila not too far behind. Damn! There's no time!

I pick up Irene, who is still glowering at me. I hold her up horizontally, carefully leaving the convoy making sure that I don't bump her head anywhere. "Leila, follow me into the forest! They won't be able to chase us in there! Sorry Irene, you might not be too comfortable."

I gently move her head first, over my head and towards my back. I squeeze my head between her legs so that her flower presses against the back of my head while firmly grabbing onto her ankles in front of me. I run into the forest, being vigilant not to bump Irene's legs into anything. Leila catches up in a few seconds. "Ka-Kai, are you al-alright? Wh-why is I-Irene still tied up…?"

I cock an eyebrow. Leila's face is flushed red, and she avoids eye contact. She has frequently been doing this to me lately… I guess it's a normal thing now.

I sigh before responding, "There were some…complications… It's not important right now."

We continue running deeper into the forest, eventually reaching a stream. Leila rests on the ground while panting for air. Irene makes more small muffling noises. Oh, I should let her down… How do I do that from this position?

I sigh as I reverse my grip and switch my hand, grabbing her left ankle with my left hand and vice versa for my other hand. When I move her in front of me, I drop my jaws, forming a "0" with my lips. I widen my eyes as I hold my breath. I freeze and become stiff when Leila asks, "Kai, you still haven't untied Irene?"

I gulp and take a split second glance towards Leila, realizing that she isn't looking this way right now. I feel deprived of oxygen more so now than when I ran from our pursuers. I gently put her down on her back. She gives me a furious glare. It's no good if I just untie her… What should I do?

I think for a moment before saying, "Shh… Listen, don't tell Leila about… I'll make it up to you… I swear."

I smirk and chuckle. "In addition, I won't tell her about your little…accident…"

Her face completely flushes red. Seeing how negotiations are over, I untie her, but she wears a resentful pout as she crosses her arms. A cold air approaches behind me. I breathe as normal as possible and slouch over a little. "Irene, are you okay? Kai, I think it's time you explain the complications you mentioned…actually…Irene, can you tell me what happened?"

I widen my eyes and glower at Irene. A broad smile appears on her face. With a blush and a frown she answers, "Well…you see…Kai…he…"

My heart beats like a drum progressively louder with each consecutive word. Sweat forms on my hands and face. Leila stands beside me. I look away and close my eyes, feeling murderous intent materializing from her.

"…saved me from a hostage situation! Thank you, Kai! I won't ever be able to repay you!" Irene exclaims as she grabs my hand and grins.

I relax my facial muscles. Huh…?

"Oh, so that's what it was… I thought Kai did something stupid again…"

Sh-she got me… Leila and I both sigh. Leila makes a small confused noise as she turns her head towards me. I smile. Without warning, crackling noises resound across the stream behind some bushes. We turn our heads toward the sound.

Many large, gray wolves leap out in a stream in front of us on the other side of the water. They glare at us while making grunting noises. There are at least 20 of them.

This is bad… I'm low on Mana…and Irene's dead weight. None of us moves a muscle while we stare at the wolves. Nearly ten seconds pass when one of the wolves begins to charge towards us. I immediately get up and draw both of my weapons.