The following morning, Vincent woke up late. It was the first time in a long time that he woke up so late. It was nearly noon by the time he had awoken. However, there was another person who had woken up even later. Beside him was a young woman with lustrous black hair and a beauty mark under her left eye. Her skin glistened like white jade under the beams of sunlight raining through the window.

It would cause a misunderstanding if it weren’t for the fact that Vincent had slept on the hard floor and the girl had taken up the whole bed. Last night Aya still wasn’t feeling well enough and kept pestering him to let her stay with him for the night. If it weren’t for his conscience, he really might’ve made a mistake with such a mesmerizing beauty so close to him.

Vincent moved over to the sleeping beauty and flicked her forehead.

“Ack!”

“Wake up, we still have a job to do.” Considering that the women were traumatized by the events of the previous day and the shape they were in, he didn’t bother asking them any questions. They still need to find out just who was going on, so after Aya managed to wake up, they returned to the Valentine Group.

“We know what you have all been up to. There’s no point in hiding it. What we want to know is what happened after you’ve arrived in town.” Vincent questioned the mother of Henriette. She had calmed down somewhat by this point.

“It’s like this…” She began to retell the events of the past few days. “After we entered the town, we rested in the usual inn, the one Old Yannan runs. Then in the middle of the night, a bunch of men barged into our rooms and beat up my… my husband. We were blindfolded, gagged, and dragged away. We were taken to that… that hell hole! My daughter she… she…”

“That’s enough, Vincent. Don’t make them recall things like this.” Aya soothed the woman. Vincent also felt a pang of guilt and relented.

“Then tell me, what is your relation to the goblin raiders?”

The woman looked aggrieved and answered, “It’s my husband, he and his friends thought of a grand plan. A plan to make them rich. They would take the spoils from the goblins and trade it for tools and food. It was a good idea, I have to admit, even I went along with it, but…”

“But it only resulted in other’s coveting the riches that you have.” Vincent finished her words with a bitter look. The woman weakly nodded in grief. If she knew this would happen, she would’ve never listened to her husband. Now her life along with the lives of all the women and children were ruined.

“Aya, I never had a look inside. Were the items inside the warehouse?”

“No, they had many things, but nothing as expensive and luxurious as blood silk.”

“Then the stuff they took might’ve already exchanged hands.” Vincent frowned. “Before anything else, I have to send an update to the Mission Hall.” Vincent excused himself and left.

Outside, he called over Emet and wrote down the events of the past few days. Making sure to point out his suspicions before sending Emet out. The mission was now officially out of his jurisdiction. What had started out as a minor goblin reconnaissance mission had unfolded into a full-blown organized criminal network. Only the kingdom’s intelligence department can handle something of this scale.

Vincent returned inside, shaking his head in defeat. He was surprised to see that everyone was waiting for him. When he got closer everyone bowed.

“””Thank you very much!”””

“Thank you Big Brother! Big Sister!” Henriette hugged Aya and ran over and hugged Vincent too.

“I didn’t do much. It was all Aya’s doing.”

“But if you didn’t suppress their reinforcements we never would’ve been able to make it out of there,” Aya said as she watched his embarrassed face.

“Then thank me later. Right now, they should be looking for us. We should get out of town as soon as possible.” They also needed to report their mission failure and debrief with the Mission Hall. “Lay low for now, in a few days, when the commotion dies down, the Valentine Group will bring you out of the town. From there you can choose to go wherever or come look for my Redwall House in Gawain.”

“Thank you once again, Young Master.” The woman said as tears formed in her eyes. “I’ll see Young Master again shortly.”

“Thank you, Young Master.” The women and children bowed once more after Vincent and Aya left.

On the street, “I didn’t think the trash of the Redwall House could be so compassionate.” Aya teased.

“Don’t get used to it.” Vincent snapped back and retrieved his horse from the stable; Aya did the same.

“So I guess we go back?” Aya smiled affectionately at Vincent. Vincent frowned, he knew she had returned to her playful self once more.

“What else did you have planned?”

“We could still rent a room.” She lasciviously grinned.

“No, I’m quite alright. Let’s return. Yah!”

“Aw~! You’re no fun!”

---

It took them half a week to return. When Vincent and Aya entered the Mission Hall, the receptionist immediately recognized the signature silver hair and the devastatingly beautiful girl and called for the branch manager.

“Vincent! Aya! Come back with me. We’ll talk in my office.” It was a rare sight to see the branch manager invite a student personally.

In his office, the branch manager finally revealed his thoughts. It was a disturbing revelation. The information that Vincent and Aya uncovered was sensitive, so no one but the highest echelons in school knew about it.

The branch manager of the Mission Hall, along with Vice Head Bardus and Vice Head Julia were present. Aya looked uncomfortable while Vincent kept calm and sat up straight.

“Thanks to your timely message, we were able to apprehend the culprits who had conspired with goblins. We were able to trace the serial numbers of the blood silk to the original owner’s reported losses and seized the products when they arrived here in the capital. All the men from the Laughing Ox guild have been detained, but we didn’t have enough evidence to detain the merchant from the southern lands.” The branch manager sweated bullets and handed the report to everyone at the meeting.

“Furthermore, Vincent and Aya were able to uncover a criminal organization within the folds of the town of Rohan under the rule of Count Montefort. Such a large and obvious criminal organization had gone unnoticed up until this point in time. Further investigations have been proposed, but the royal family has put out an order to cease all activities relating to the criminal organization of Rohan. They will be undertaking this investigation.”

Everyone at the meeting frowned. It wasn’t a secret that Count Montefort was an ardent supporter of the royalty faction.

“Finally, to conclude, Vincent and Aya will be receiving a private commendation and reward for the efforts they have put forth.” The branch manager finished his short announcement before loud resounding clapping echoed throughout the office.

“I’m amazed by you, Vincent. It has not even been a month, and you’ve already caused a lot of headache for the higher-ups.” Bardus was the first to speak.

“Wanna fight again, Kid?” Julia cracked her knuckles.

“N-no thanks. Maybe Aya wants to test herself.”

“Are you crazy?” Aya quickly shook her head like a top.

“Pity.” Julia frowned and left, possibly to look for a sparring partner.

“What happens now, Vice Headmaster?” Vincent asked Bardus.

“Now for your rewards.” Bardus retrieved two badges from his pocket, “Vincent Silverlight, from this point on, I appoint you Prefect of the first-year class. May you assume the duties and responsibilities appointed to such a title.” He handed over the badge which resembled a sword and shield, the crest of Lancelot. Then he turned over to Aya and looked her over with a complicated gaze.

“Bleh~.” She stuck out her tongue playfully.

“I hope you’ll take better care of it this time, Aya Hana. It wouldn’t look good to lose your Prefect title twice.” He didn’t say much more and handed her the badge.

“I’ll try my best.” She giggled and received it.

“Along with the reward, you both will also receive 500 contribution points. This is equivalent to the rewards of a rank A mission.” They quickly went through the procedures and left.

Outside the hall, Vincent turned around and asked Aya, “Do you have some free time tomorrow?”

Aya paused and processed his words for half a beat and then grinned, “Perhaps… I can make some room in my veeery~ busy schedule tomorrow for you.” She sidled on over to his side and jabbed his ribs. “You know all you have to do is ask, you don’t need to go on such a roundabout way of asking me out.”

“But I’m not asking you out?” He only wanted to ask her for her help, but Aya took it the wrong way and smiled as she skipped away.

“Tomorrow at noon. I’ll see you in front of the transit station.” She giggled as she ran off. Vincent stared at her, his head shaking at the misunderstanding as he returned back to his residence.

“Hahhh~…” Vincent let out a relieved sigh after he entered the warm bath. He felt all the stress and fatigue melt away as he sat there. With some time to himself, he began reflecting on the past few days.

He could’ve done things better. He didn’t have to let Aya do what she had done. If only he were a bit stronger, a bit faster, maybe thing would’ve turned out differently. An image of a frail girl’s bruised collar-bone reappeared in his mind. He subconsciously clenched his fist as a frigid air brought down the temperature of the water.

“If it were William… What would he have done?” Vincent asked himself before leaving the bath and going to sleep. It was a restless sleep that night. The events of the warehouse kept presenting itself.

The next day came around; it was a rest day. Vincent chose a casual outfit that didn’t stand out too much and left for the transit station. It was a little early, about thirty minutes before noon, but when he arrived a beautiful girl was already there waiting for him.

“You’re late!” complained Aya. Her cheeks were puffed up cutely, detracting from her usual mature look. She was dressed in a short pastel yellow skirt and a sleeveless white blouse. They all worked to accentuate her womanly charms.

“If anything, I would have to say you’re too early. Come on, let’s go.” Vincent didn’t like the stares that he was getting so he flagged down a carriage.

“You’re not going to compliment my clothes?” hummed Aya from beside him. She twirled around, eliciting a few more gazes from the male population surrounding them.

“You shouldn’t spin around like that, your skirt is too short.” Vincent objectively answered and got on the carriage.

“Is it that hard to give me a compliment?” mumbled Aya as she followed behind.

They traveled to the commercial area of Lancelot. It was a city-esque setting where students could enjoy their time off and relax. Vincent’s first stop was a small apothecary, where he bought a few salves for wounds. Then they stopped by an arm smith; he purchased a few arrowheads and also a set of arrows.

“Hmph!” fumed Aya. She had her arms crossed and kept tapping her foot. Vincent finally came out after ordering his arrows. “So you finally remembered about me.”

“Did you want to buy something? Since we’re here, we can stop by the places you want to go.” Vincent answered. Truthfully, he felt a bit guilty for going where he wanted.

“No, it’s not that!” She ran over and hugged his arm, “Is this how you treat a lady when you take her out on a date?” She made sure to rock back and forth as she spoke. Vincent’s eyes narrowed before he shook her off.

“You must be misunderstanding something here.” He wanted to take her mind off of what happened back then and also ask her for a favor. “Why don’t we find some shade first before I tell why I invited you out today?”

“You need me for something?” She picked up her head. “Well~ I don’t mind if we do it here…” She began motioning to undress before Vincent abruptly stopped her.

“Why does it always lead to that with you?” He muttered, he was now holding her hand. She then turned her hand around and clasped onto his. Vincent smiled coldly. This sneaky girl will play him to death at this rate.

William and company happened to walk by at the moment. William saw the girl he had been crushing on and Vincent holding hands while smiling at each other. He felt his heart ache from a strange pain as he ran up to them. Before he could think about what to say, he had already separated the two.

“What are you doing?” William asked in a confrontational manner. He pulled Aya to the side.

Vincent’s eyes grew cold when he saw how roughly William pulled her away. The air began to chill as the mood dropped harshly. Behind them, Sophia and another girl had walked up. Sophia also saw the strange scene and felt a stuffy feeling in her chest.

“You’re hurting her.” Vincent coldly stated. William finally realized his mistake and released her wrist.

“I-I’m sorry, Senior. I… I only did it in the spur of the moment.” William apologetically bowed.

“You…” Aya picked her brain for a smidgen of a second before continuing, “You’re the new student William, right? I remember seeing you sign up for our Dungeon Exploration Society.”

William’s face lit up as he quickly answered, “Yes! So you still remember me!” He was about to say more but then remember his situation. He got closer to Aya and whispered in a not-too-soft voice into her ear, “Miss Aya, you must stay away from this man. He’s a huge gigolo and has toyed with the hearts of many young women. He’s the absolute worst. Whatever sincerity he’s shown you are most likely to get at your body.”

Vincent’s warning fell on deaf ears as Aya gently pushed away William and glided over to Vincent. She familiarly hugged his arm and said, “If what you said were true. It would be so much easier for me.” She showed a lascivious smile as she looked up at Vincent. Vincent harrumphed before shaking her off. “Do you see what I mean?”

William just stood there stunned. Sophia and the other girl was also stunned. Sophia felt a bit of anger when William slandered Vincent but remained in place. Part of her wanted that girl to believe William’s words and stay away from Vincent.

“Can I speak now?” Vincent asked rhetorically. “First off, what I do is my business. Don’t insert yourself into matters you know nothing about. Second of all…” Vincent glanced over at Sophia and the girl. Sophia felt a shiver pass down her spine as she guiltily looked down. “I’ll just leave it at that.” He then walked off and past Sophia and the other girl, refusing to look at them.

Aya giggled seductively and walked up to William. In a low whisper, she said, “Remember to use protection.” Then she blew into his ear teasingly before running after Vincent. William mindlessly stared at the odd pair’s backs while feeling his heart racing. Once he registered her words, his face flushed red and also walked off. Sophia looked in Vincent’s direction and followed after William.

Vincent found a small restaurant and rested inside. After ordering their meals, Vincent still remained grim and silent.

“What’s the matter? Upset that William poked at your sensitive spot?”

“No, it’s not that.” He was upset that Aya had come into conflict with the MC’s party. Aya would play a pivotal role during the rebellion later on; she would support the MC’s party with her information networks. If she were to have conflicts with the MC now, it might prove detrimental to their future cooperation.

“Cheer up.” She patted his head dotingly and said, “Rather than a person who thinks with his heart, I prefer a man who calculative, cold, distant, and a real softie at heart.”

Vincent felt the corner of his lips twitch in irritation, but ignored her words. About half of everything Aya said was pure bullshit and flattery.

“…”

Aya saw that Vincent seemed to zone out once again. In a moment of brilliance, Aya smirked and sneakily crawled over to his side. Her face drew closer to his and…

*Smooch!*

Vincent flinched and abruptly turning his head around, coming face to face with a sparkling pair of dark-brown eyes.

“Feeling better now?” She asked, smiling from her eyes. He could smell her refreshing scent.

“Why did you do that?” He began to feel his heart waver.

“Hehe~ You looked like you needed it.” She giggled and returned to her seat.

“…”

“Ah~! You’re just too innocent!” Aya was starting to suspect the rumors about him being a playboy was all a lie.

Vincent coughed loudly and then took the initiative to steer the conversation away. “Senior, the reason why I called—“

“Just Aya is fine.” Aya interrupted.

“…” Vincent paused before resuming. “Then, Aya, the reason why I asked you out here today is to ask you for a favor.” He took out a document, it was the registration form for the Dungeon Exploration Society.

“Just this?” Aya took the paper and gave it a quick look over and agreed. “Although, why would you have such interests in this? Could it be you want to become a dungeon explorer?” Vincent didn’t answer her question and only smiled in response.

“How much do you know about the Church of Light?” His lighthearted tone was a stark contrast to his intentions. Aya sensed the hidden meanings behind his words and looked around before leaning in.

“Why do you want to know about the Church of Light?” The Church of Light was the most aggressive religion on the continent. Its followers detest anything corrupt, immoral, and injustice. Unlike other churches and temples, the Church of Light had a strong zealous army. They have subdued and quelled many evil uprisings throughout history.

“It’s nothing serious.” Vincent laughed robotically. His fake laugh was not convincing at all. “I heard that the Church of Light is providing sanctuary to the last elven royal of Emerald Forest. I also heard that she was a beauty beyond compare. That’s why I was interested.”

“That’s not fair,” complained Aya. “You have such a beautiful person right beside you, and you dare to look at another woman?” She pouted and crossed her arms.

Vincent genuinely smiled and played along and said, “Sometimes a man wants what they can’t have.”

“…” Aya revealed a stunned expression, then blushed. It was the first time she felt her heart skip a beat for another man. To stabilize herself and give her some time to recover, she replied, “Fine, I might have some way to look into her for you, but you owe me!”

“Thanks.” Vincent dropped a rare thank you and got up to leave.

“Is that the only reason why you dragged me all around town?” She fumed as she spoke out loud.

“No, I also wanted to see if you’re alright.” She understood the meaning behind his words and felt a slight warmth creep into her enclosed heart.

“Don’t lie to me!” She looked unconvinced and then said, “If I found out you lied to me, I’ll use this favor and make you sleep with me!” If it were any other men, they would’ve jumped at that chance. Vincent just lifted the corner of lips.

“I know you. You wouldn’t do that.” He soon left after settling the bill.

“That smooth-talking bastard.” She kicked the seat and resumed eating her cake. After a while, a mysterious glint appeared in her eyes.