Axel's Heart:

"Is Micayle okay? How is she?" Mikah asked me as soon as we were several hundred meters away from the neighborhood where we got cornered. His emerald hair messily blew across his face as he ran as fast as a gust of wind. I couldn't help but feel stunned. Mikah was always fast, but wasn't this a bit too fast?

"She…" I hesitated briefly, not knowing how to answer my friend's question. Mikah instantly grew nervous at my hesitation, "Axel, what is it? What happened to my sister?!" "She’s…okay. Sort of…I mean we secured her but..." as if it isn't obvious, I am not good at delivering bad news. However, Mikah’s pleading eyes made it so I couldn’t avoid this topic. I sighed heavily before replying, "She’s cursed, Mikah. From what I understand...it’s a sinister type of curse that won’t dissipate until she gives her body up ten times." "WHAT?!" When he heard this, Mikah’s speed suddenly ceased before improving dramatically. His enraged voice called back, "Why would you know something like that? Why the hell would you say something so terrible? Mikah was now running a lot faster than I could. In my vision, it even seemed like Mikah was being pushed forward by the wind somehow.

I imagined Mikah himself hadn’t noticed this. He just wanted to return to his sister’s side as soon as possible! My words had shaken him to the core.

(News flash: Thanks to that emotion, Mikah unconsciously took half a step out of the Humble Realm. This is different from my timeline...but it's not a bad change. From another perspective, these changes could be proof that my plan is already effective. Another half-step and Mikah would become a true hero! A hero before the age of ten? This was unheard of in humble society.) "Hey, Mikey, hold on a second!" I called out suddenly, stopping my own advance. I pulled a vibrating violet crystal mirror out of my pocket. Once I opened it, a light panel appeared. "Wonder Corp's Wonder-Mirror V1? What is it?" Mikah reluctantly came to a stop and looked back at my halted self. The urgency in his voice made his unwillingness to stop obvious. I checked my communication device and was immediately relieved when I read the message.

"Haan just sent me a message from Lucky," my tense face finally showed signs of relaxing. "They solved Micky’s problem for now, and Lucky’s taking her to his mom’s place. They want us to head home, and Lucky says his mom will bring Micky back home." "Ah…" Mikah suddenly fell straight on his butt, all of his fear and anxiety slightly fading into the air.

He didn't trust many people, but whether it was Mikey or myself, we trusted Lucky completely. Mikah's sister had a communicator, but he didn’t have one for himself. Micayle's was for the both of them, which is the reason I rushed back once I realized Mikah hadn't been running with me. Luckily, I had a communicator as well.

-------

Mikah's Heart:

Hearing that my sister had been saved, it felt like a weight got lifted from my back. I released a deep breath as I said, "As long as she’s fine, as long as she’s fine." Micky is my twin sister. We have a mental link. I could feel this mental link grow incredibly unstable when that curse weapon hit Micayle. It grew increasingly unstable as if my sister was a stranger. As I struggled against Luciano, I even felt the connection start to fade. That sensation left me completely panicked! Even now, I wouldn’t be wholly relieved until I lay my eyes on Micayle. I completely trusted Lucky, but I needed to see for myself that she was okay. Axel and I started to head home together, but this time we walked. Half an hour later, we reached a crossroads. Axel lived closer to the slums, but my family's merchant group was in the other direction. It was time for us to separate. However, just as we prepared to say our goodbyes, a lone silhouette approached us from the road I intended to take.

"Haan!" Axel and I called out in unison as we ran over to Haan. "Haan, are you okay now? How's your ankle? Why are you walking alone here? Where's Lucky and Micky?" Axel asked nervously, scrutinizing Haan's ankle at the same time. It was only at this I noticed Axel's concern for Haan was above-average. Actually, I had secretly liked Haan from the day my sister met her. But was it even a cool thing to like girls? I didn't want to be shunned by my friends, so I had never said a thing.

"Haha, were you worried? That's so nice. I'm okay, Axe, thank you. Lucky had his mother heal me," Haan smiled sweetly when she saw how concerned her friends were. "Micky is back at home, her..." Haan's mouth nearly formed the word father, but she paused here before shifting her gaze to me, "your master didn't want her disturbed, so he sent us away. Ryatt got in a car with his mother and stepfather. I think his stepfather was pretty upset for some reason." From the twinkle in Haan's eyes when she said this, I had a feeling she knew the reason.

"Stepfather?!" I was excited when he heard my sister had made it home, but I was frightened and confused when I heard the talk of Marc Raizen. "I thought it was weird you would be alone. No wonder, no wonder..." Axel furrowed his brows but said nothing. "What? What is it?" Haan asked, noticing that the atmosphere was off. Since she didn't know Ryatt Drakel very well yet, she had no idea what bothered us about this situation. I wanted to explain. However, her next words shocked and stopped me, "I knew it! Lucky started acting strange as soon as he noticed his stepfather's luxury hovercraft outside of the Giovonci Merchant Guildhouse. His stepfather had arrived there before we even made it! How could that be a coincidence? Lucky was more brooding and quiet the closer we got. Even his mother started acting differently. When I met her, she seemed like a noble warrior goddess. After we saw that hovercraft, she started behaving in a more bubbly and scatty way. Also, wasn't Ryatt poor just like us? How come he lives in a mansion estate? What's going on with this? If House Raizen can be compared to a noble's private estate, how come his stepson has to survive on pennies and whatever he earns himself through inventions? How is that fair?"

"This..." I was at a loss for how to respond. I had never seen Haan so upset or passionate. I couldn't help but be enthralled by her red little cheeks, flushed due to her anger. In fact, I was more distracted by the fact that Ryatt's stepfather was conveniently in front of our guildhouse. 'Wait, didn't she call foster father my master? Did she mean to say he treated Micky like a slave rather than a daughter or something? Why would Marc Raizen be at the guild?' Ever since the tussle with Lucci, my mind had been incredibly active. I could almost feel my intelligence increasing. My thoughts were racing as I calculated the possibilities in Haan's words. I noticed long ago that Haan was incredibly observant and insightful for our age. I didn't take her words at face value. She usually had a deeper meaning.

"Actually, remember how we always say Lucky hates his stepdad?" Axel stepped forward to answer, saving me from Haan's death glare. When the latter looked at Axel expectantly, he sighed and explained, "I don't know what happened. But the dude Marc Raizen always harps on my dude Lucky, heavy. When we were little, Luck's stepdad made him run laps through the outer sector to punish petty mistakes, like forgetting to close the door before going outside. I mean, they live in an entire estate! They have servants! Why would Luck have to close the door himself? Laps, push-ups, grueling sword training, double spear training sessions, footwork training, all super high-intensity workouts. Whenever Luck got on Marc's nerves, we had to accomplish many tasks, or the guards could secretly beat us. It was like the man wanted Bro Luck to collapse and die from overexertion."

"Us?" as astounded as Haan was by this information, she was equally surprised to hear Axel include himself in the trials. Even I was secretly surprised. Although I knew about Lucky's punishments, I had never participated or dared to try.

"Yeah, when I first became bros with Luck, I couldn't just let him suffer alone, right?" Axel shrugged once before continuing. "But all it took was for me to threaten those guards one time. The next thing I know, my dad loses his job, my mom moves to Kairo Mountain with some guy, and my little sister gets sick." I nodded my head as I was privy to this information.

"Are you saying Lucky's stepdad did all of those things?" Haan asked in befuddlement. "No, I don't know. I don't know at all. But Luck sure thinks so," Axel shrugged again. "Actually, before listening to Lucky, I didn't think it was anything but my family's bad luck. But now...I don't know. Luck makes a lot of sense, you know? Plus, my father hates everything about Wonder Corp now. I figured it out one night when pop was drunk, the guy that mom ran off with was a Wonder Corp employee. He's one even now. A direct subordinate of the Vice President. Guess who that is? That guy Marc Raizen is bad news." Axel was frowning, and I was too. Haan's face was inquisitive, but she fell silent as well. Looking at her two friends, she frowned and said, "So, are you two really thinking that Lucky's old man had something to do with what happened today?" "It's not his old man!" I shouted before my face flushed due to my emotional outburst.

Haan was stunned when I raised my voice at her, as this was likely the first time I had ever raised it in her presence. It was an automatic reaction on behalf of Ryatt. Since my friend wasn't here to defend himself, I seemed to have done so subconsciously. "Ahahaha, that's right, Mikey, ahaha," Axel burst out into laughter before turning serious. "Yeah, that's exactly what Luck would say. Why would Marc Raizen with the Giovonci Merchant Group guildsmen while we fight for our lives against some Black Tyrant Legion gangsters? Wonder Corporation has had no previous dealings with them. Furthermore, why would Black Tyrant allow their young master to attack the foster daughter of the chairman of an influential guild in the city? Lucci clearly knew exactly who Micky was, and he didn't seem to mind too much that the curse hit her instead of Haan. What if Haan was never the only target, huh? What if both of them were the targets? What if he intended to capture all of us for one reason or another? Where would Black Tyrant get the balls for all that midday heat? They must have a strong backer!" I felt stunned by Axel's words. Could he be right? Was there something funny going on in the guild? I found this hard to believe, as the guild members all loved Micayle, far more so than myself. Could there really be some kind of foul play afoot? For the first time, I felt I was too young to deal with all these things.

"They wouldn't unless..." Haan's eyes were shining with the light of understanding. I felt like I could almost see cogs in her head, turning rapidly. "Unless they found a big tree. A tree so large whose shade they can stand in no matter how hot it got outside." "Bingo!" Axel said darkly. "Is there a bigger tree in Acadia than Wonder Corporation?" Listening to Axel, even I was starting to grow suspicious of Wonder Corporation and my guild. There was definitely something strange going on with this entire situation. -------

Haan's Heart:

"But this is just baseless speculation..." I mumbled under my breath, fumbling absent-mindedly with the hair resting on my shoulder. This information was vital to my mission, so I wasn't so easily willing to believe the musings of children. Still, the conversation moved my heart. After all, none of these brats were normal. 'Could it be the true villains behind the Black Tyrant Legion could really be Wonder Corporation? That's such a bold assumption. In any case, I must join this company. I have to graduate from a humble school and then let a member of the company discover me. Of course, I have to survive instances such as this first. The humble are treated like grass, stepped on when one pleases. I have to be careful. Wait, if this was really the plot of the Vice-President Wonder Corporation, does that mean Micky and I were targeted simply because of knowing Lucky? I know it's a stretch, but...weren't all the gangsters saying when they attacked to eliminate all the boys? I hope I'm overthinking it...'

Mikah, Axel, and I were all lost in our thoughts for an unknown amount of time.

"Say…" Axel spoke for the first time in the last half hour, breaking the silence. "Do you think…Luciano was serious before?" "About what?" I asked before noticing Axel was looking at Mikah.

I realized this must have happened after Axel turned around to find Mikah.

"Oh, you mean that thing he said about Lucky? The education bureau?" Mikah gnashed his teeth. Simply hearing the name Luciano made him feel deep-seated rage. He had actually developed killing intent due to this incident. However, a worried look soon replaced his irritation. Thinking of Ryatt, he said, "Well…it’s probably true, right? After all, Luciano’s father is one of the main sponsors of our Major Acadia Primary school." "He already caused us to get written up a few times in the past," Axel looked up at the sky in frustration. "Even though we were never really in the wrong…this would be the third strike officially. Doesn’t that mean Lucky might get expelled because of this?" Hearing this, I frowned. I couldn't help but grow more suspicious about how deeply rooted this issue could be. "If he does, I’ll quit the school as well!" Mikah suddenly said without hesitation in his voice.

I remained silent. I knew I wouldn’t be able to echo this sentiment. Graduating from Major Acadia Primary School was a necessity. If I left, where would I go? The Minor Acadia Secondary school in the slums? I'd rather die again. However, I was impressed with Mikah nonetheless. Previously, Mikah may not have had this conviction. However, now he had already peaked through the doorway to a new path. If he could become a profounder one day, wouldn’t he be stronger than his father? With such possibilities, was it horrifying to drop out of a humble school? It definitely wasn’t! Besides, Ryatt Drakel was suffering misfortune for rescuing Mikah’s sister! How could Mikah let him suffer alone? Axel was also stunned. But soon, he burst out in happy laughter. "That’s right, ahahaha, that’s right," Axel now felt carefree and enlightened. "Fine. If Lucky gets expelled, we’ll also drop out of school. We’re all in this together, and we’ll become profound one day and take up important positions in the city!" The city? Mikah smiled at Axel’s words, feeling that his friend wasn’t ambitious enough for the first time. Why should they settle for taking up positions in a humble city? They finally had a chance to enter the world of nobles! The world of the ageless pharaoh formulators!