Near midday, the weather murky, looks like tonight’s the perfect time to commit a massively outrageous crime like burglary! Even still, we couldn’t just jump in there all gung-ho. We had to plan things out accordingly, and for that reason…

“Alright, I’m cutting it.”

“H-Hold on, Issei, there’s gotta be another way, right?!”

“Hold still, Lune! It was your idea to cut your hair shorter so you wouldn’t be noticed by the Prince. God, what ever happened to the confident and scrappy Augmenter of Fates who made this plan to begin with?”

“I know I said all that stuff, but I still think we shouldn’t be doing anything too rash! I was swept up by the moment, so just calm down and let the scissors go-!”

*Snip Snip*

“Yeah, too late now. Come on, your hair isn’t that long, it’ll regrow in a couple months. Now hold still while I have fun with this.”

“Ugh…”

And so, my hair was all but gone, reduced to mere atoms. Well, not really, Issei said atoms are like really really small, but my hair is still a few centimeters long. Even still, I’m not sure if he did this on purpose or not, but it seems he was shaping it to be quite similar to his own. Makes me wonder…

“Hey Issei, you got any way for me to change the color of my hair as well?”

“Hm? Where’d this come from?”

“Just curious, I guess.”

Issei wondered how he’d phrase this to me, but after a short pause, he continued cutting my hair as he gave me an interesting answer.

“Well, depends on your desired hair color. If it’s something simple like blond or black, then I’m sure we can find some flowers and extract the dyes from it. Even still, it isn’t really a long lasting thing, so you’ll have to reapply it regularly. Then again, I wasn’t a hair expert in my world, and I doubt I’m one in this world, so don’t take my words to heart.”

“I see.”

So the options are blond and black, eh? I was hoping for something more unique, like white or something, but I guess that hair color is too good to be true. But man, that’d sure look cool. If I ever meet someone with white hair, natural or not, I’m gonna admire them! Then blond seems like the next best thing, but I don’t think it’d suit me, plus Ed also has blond hair and I don’t want us to look too similar. It’d get confusing!

“Could you do black? Something like yours, for example.”

“Ah, am I that handsome? You’re making me blush, but I think brown still suits you the best.”

“Just shut up and do it, I’m still kinda pissed off at you for cutting my beautiful hair.”

“Hey, it was your idea! I’m only doing as I’m told!”

A couple hours later, Marina came back from her shift. She took her coat and shoes off, was just about ready to jump in bed (as she usually does) when she noticed my new look.

“Am I that tired? I’m seeing two Isseis in the room.”

“Hehe, no. Your eyesight is perfect. It’s me, Lune!”

I was expecting her to start laughing hysterically at how uncannily similar we resembled each other, but what I got instead was a look of absolute terror and fear in her eyes as she let out a loud outcry.

“What the hell did you do!?”

Aww, looks like Marina doesn’t like my new style. And Issei even did a pretty good job at it, too. You really should be a lot more tactful about voicing your opinions, y’know Marina?

“I had Issei change up my hair a bit to lessen the chances of Adam noticing me if we were to get caught. Pretty sneaky, right?”

“Uhh, no?! You dumbass! Your hair was cute as it was before, and what’s with that black-as-the-night hair color?! And now its gone, goooone foreverrrr…! Wahhh!”

Did she just call me cute? No wait, I can’t focus on that right now, Issei’s confidence took a heavy hit from her criticisms, I need to somehow perk him back up to his usual snarky demeanor!

“You sure? I was a bit hesitant at first, but when all was said and done, it actually came out really clean! Issei did a really good job, I’d say.”

Issei, who was slumped forward on his bed from hearing Marina’s harsh opinion, immediately raised his head with a fulfilled glint in his eyes. Heh, to think all it takes is a bit of flattery, but Marina wasn’t really reading the mood at all.

“You’re just saying that because he’s in the room right now! I know for a fact that you prefer having longer hair, and no matter how much you propagate change, deep down I know you’re just happy that the black dye is easy to wash off!”

Aww, she knows me so well…! I really want to defend Issei, who is now even more slumped forward than before, but she’s really making me love-smitten! Remember, I’m planning on marrying this girl along with Cecily one day, I can’t just go against what she says! So sorry, Issei, but I’m gonna have to back down on this one!

Issei, now realizing I was only really being kind and holding back my truest of thoughts, fell from the bed after depressingly slouching forward too much.

***

“Good evening, Mariabelle!”

“Good evening, Prince Adam.”

“Oh, please! You’ve been working here for almost half a year now. There’s no need to address me so formally. Please, treat me as if we’re of equal standing. That’s all I want, truly.”

“Eh heh, no thanks, My Prince…”

This guy’s really starting to get on my nerves, Marina thought, When’s he gonna get the memo? I’m just a worker here, I’m doing this for the money so we can hopefully get as far away from this idiot as humanly possible!

Even still, no matter how dangerous and sharp her thoughts were, she somehow still managed to continue her conversation with the Prince with a warm smile on her face. How she managed this, she too did not know, but as for why, well, the answer was obvious to anyone.

“How is Sol doing?” Adam recalled the name of the famed inventor who sold him the blueprints for the AFP.

He had only intended on making small talk, but it seems Marina was all too happy to start talking about the man she was living with.

“He’s doing really good! He told me to thank you for the sale the other day, and he met a new friend, so they’ve been going outside a lot more recently now! He’s starting to eat healthier, go to sleep earlier, and, and…!”

“O-Okay, okay, Mariabelle! I was just making small talk, there’s no need to get so excited (about him).”

Marina didn’t hear that last part, of course. If she did, though, all hell would probably break loose. Adam truly doesn’t realize just how lucky he was that she didn’t hear him at that very moment.

“Aww, alright then, I’ll stop.”

“Thank you very much, and thanks again for offering to stay here while the other maids are out on their vacations. I really admire your willingness to continue working here (and staying with me).”

“Ah, no problem, My Prince! If I want Sol and I to go back home, then things like vacations are certainly a no-go.”

What was actually happening, was that she needed to follow Adam around for the evening while Issei and Lune snuck into the castle unnoticed. The timing was also something to be taken into account, as this week is meant to be a sort of free week dedicated to giving its workers some vacation time. Adam was none the wiser, thankfully, and so the castle is left all but completely unguarded.

“You ready, Issei?” Lune’s whisper could be heard on the other side of the window.

“As ready as can be!”

“Alright then, just like we practiced. One, two…!”

Right as Lune was getting ready to jump through the opened window leading to the kitchen with Issei following shortly after, Issei decided he was going to rush things a bit, leading to both of them crashing down to the ground the moment they entered. It’s actually quite a miracle they even made it inside the room to begin with, given their trajectory.

“Ugh, didn’t I say we both jump on the count of three?!”

“I’m sorry! I got nervous and jumped a bit early!”

If this was any other operation, they’d be laughing their asses off at how hard they hit the ground, but this was serious. The fate of the world potentially rests on whether or not they find the blueprints and successfully take them from the Gryses. Just mere moments later, a voice echoed throughout the hallways and loud, erratic footsteps could be heard making their way towards the kitchen where these two were located.

“Who’s there?” The voice shouted, “A-Adam? Is that you?”

“Wait, didn’t you say the house was empty!?” Issei turned to Lune seeking an explanation.

“That’s what Marina told me! Quick, just hide for now!”

Jumping under the kitchen table and hiding themselves beneath its cloth, they just barely made it in time before the dainty footsteps could be heard entering the vicinity. A weak and frail voice once again called out for the Prince.

“A-Adam? Y-You aren’t playing a prank on me again, are you? I went to grab a glass of water, but then I heard a loud thud coming from here!”

Who’s this? Lune thought, It’s a child’s voice, so maybe a family member, like a little cousin or brother or something. I really want to take a peek, but he might see me and start screaming. We need to handle this stealthily, so best to wait it out for now.

While Lune was thinking this, he eventually realized that the child’s voice was no longer present in the room. He thought the child probably either got bored or scared and ran off back to his room, so he slowly got out from under the table, calling out to Issei in a careful whisper. What he didn’t expect, though, was to see Issei carrying the child, who was now knocked out.

“What the hell did you do?!”

“Oh this? The kid didn’t look like he had any plans of leaving this place any time soon, so I used some chloroform to put this little guy to sleep. Pretty crafty, right?”

“Issei, you didn’t… kill him, did you?”

Issei’s expression went from feeling proud to suddenly realizing just what he’d done. He used some really dangerous chemicals to knock an innocent kid out, all while recalling just how suspicious Lune was of him and his Black eye color.

“Nuh-uh! The kid’s fiiine! Just asleep, trust me! I’ll teach you about the properties of chloroform later, but for now let’s just advance to the next room.”

Lune felt extremely bad for the kid, but after checking his breathing and making sure that he actually is just asleep, they ventured further into the pitch black hallways.

“According to Marina’s map of the place, we’re currently in the right wing of the castle. It’s quite spacious, but the entire place is connected to the main foyer. If we just make it to there and go up the stairs, we should be right where we want to be – Adam’s working quarters.”

“So that’s the case, alright! Let’s get this bread!”

“We’re not looking for bread, Issei, we need the blueprints for the AFP. You sure you didn’t take a whiff of that chloroform thing yourself?”

“Agh, it’s an expression! Just get moving, I don’t want us to get-!”

Caught, is what he wanted to say, but it was already too late. Two guards appeared in front of them, one with a spear and the other with a sword. They truly resembled the warriors you’d find in these types of castles, except for the fact that their armor wasn’t all gold. It was actually silver, but even that was enough to show just how formidable they are in a fight.

“Halt! Who are you and what are you doing here? State your names and business, trespassers!”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down.” Issei let down his guard and tried approaching them, “What a rude thing to say to members of the Royal Family.”

At this, both the guards and Lune were left utterly confused.

“What? Members of the Royal Family? Then why are you wearing ski masks?”

“We’re uhh, playing cops and robbers!”

“…” The spear guard stopped to question the logic behind that statement, “Then why are you both playing as robbers?”

“…We uhh, we didn’t have guard uniforms.”

The room was quickly filled with an air of awkwardness. On one hand, Lune was freaking out, trying as hard as he possibly can to not show fear, and the guards were just left dumbstruck from Issei’s incredibly unbelievable lies.

“Alright then,” the sword guard asked, “What branch of the Grys Royal Family are you two from?”

“Uhh, o-oh! I’m such an idiot, I seem to have completely forgotten our royal family’s surname! Oh, Lu…ther, yeah, Luther, could you please tell the kind guards what our last names are?”

It appears since Issei wasn’t from this world and Lune was, he thought that Lune knew of a random yet real branch name of the Gryses. The reason for calling Lune ‘Luther’, though, was because he was told to call him that to avoid Lune’s name being recognized.

“Erm, uh, Bryce?”

But sadly, Lune too did not know anything about the politics of his own world, so he just came up with a stupid name that seemed to rhyme with ‘Grys’.

“…” The guards slowly squeezed the handles of their respective weapons, “Alright guys, you know full-well what’s coming. Either leave the premises peacefully or we resort to extensive force!”

“That’s just how I like it-!” Issei readied himself for battle, but was pinned to the ground by the spear guard in no more than a split second.

“Ow! Owowowowowowow! Hey, alright you win! Now get that spear away from my neck, you might stab me accidentally!”

The guard, no matter how fast he was in using his spear, was equally as slow to react to Issei’s pleas. “Am I misunderstanding something? Did you not agree to a duel with us? That means I have free reign to kill you here and now.”

Lune on the other hand was standing on equal footing with the sword guard, “Kill us?! Whoa there, that’s a bit much isn’t it? We just want a piece of paper from the Prince’s office. I doubt it’s something he’d fuss over. So can’t you just-!”

“No can do.” The sword guard added with the clink of their swords touching, “You’re scummy burglars. We’re royal guards, there’s no mistaking who’s in the right here. I will commend you on your interesting way of using the sword, I don’t know where you learned it, but I guess it’s enough to go toe to toe with me!”

“Hah, it’s just something I picked up from my old man!” Lune remarked as he threw his sword in a flashy display, “He’s a butcher, so I guess it’s no wonder why I’m he taught me such wild and sporadic movements. If you’re ever in the vicinity, stop by his place! His meat is to die for!”

Throwing his weapon to the sky had two purposes behind it. First was that it confused the guard, and second was that it freed up both of his hands so that he could quickly go prone and sweep the guard’s feet from under him. Right as the guard fell on his butt, gravity did its thing and allowed for Lune’s sword to gracefully fall back into his hands.

“I was lucky I had you as my opponent. I doubt I could do anything against that spear guy due to the difference in reach. Isn’t that right, Isse-?”

Just as he turned around to flaunt his victory to Issei, he saw his new foreign friend getting his hand brutally stabbed by the spear guard. The guards face was obstructed by his helmet, but his murderous intent could still be felt oozing out of the cracks. This sight drew out the worst in Lune, as his vision swapped from Grey to Red.

“Spark.”

The words left his mouth as he ignited the fuse of his Firestarter, and a loud boom echoed the halls in a bone-chilling fashion. Issei’s screams were now completely drowned out by the sword guard’s very own, as he saw his companion’s head burst open in a violent manner.

“NOOOO?! What the hell was that?!” The sword guard covered his eyes with his arms, but this did not deter Lune in the slightest.

“Reload, and… Spark.”

Taking two innocent lives that night, Lune had managed to save his friend. But soon after the deed was done, he quickly got back to his senses and fell to the ground, the nausea suffocating his throat until he could no longer take and threw up on the crimson-stained carpet.

“Lune, you… You killed them.”

“I didn’t…! I didn’t mean to…! Oh, oh God…”

Issei had just witnessed a cold-blooded murder unfold before his very eyes, and the shock from that literally made him forget about the stab wound on his hand. He was scared, certainly, but he knew better than to not realize why Lune had done what he did. Without so much as a word, Issei got up from the ground and stumbled over to Lune to give him a hug.

It was cold, devoid of barely any heat, and the hallways smelled quite badly from all the brain matter and vomit thrown about. Even still, Lune didn’t care. All he cared about was the fact that he took two innocent lives. He, who propagated the idea that everyone is free to live their own lives, took someone else’s for no other reason than to save his friend. He killed before back when he was leading ARA, but those were delinquents who most certainly deserved it. They were always the ones to initiate the battle, but this time was different. This time, the guards were merely doing their jobs in what was technically their territory. The ones who came in unannounced and killed them were Issei and Lune – nay, just Lune. These two guards probably practiced the sword their entire lives just so they could work here, they too probably just worked here to scrounge up enough money for their families. All that training, all those experiences, gone within the click of a pistol.

“I… I didn’t kill them! I-I’m not a murderer!”

“Shh, calm down. You saved me today, at least. If you hadn’t done that, then you’d be crying over my dead body right about now.”

Issei tried his best to properly explain to Lune just how this world worked. No matter how he looked at it, it was always either the guards or them, and Issei knew full-well that in these times, choosing yourself is always the better option.

“Issei-”

“Who goes there?!” A sudden shout from behind the corner came running through the halls.

“Lune! Hide, quickly! There’s a vent over there, get in!”

Just like that, they made their way into the ventilation ducts, barely escaping being seen. Well, it’s not like the person who came running in won’t see the dead bodies on the ground, but at least they won’t know who did it. Now they just need to find out where it is that Adam is keeping the blueprints.

“So hey, Prince.” Marina’s voice could be heard from under them, “What ever happened to those blueprints Sol sold you?”

“Oho, interested are we?” Adam’s smugness could be felt through the ducts, “Do not fear, it’s kept safely in my quarters, safe from harm’s way.”

As you could expect, Marina could hear Issei and Lune in the ducts, so her timing for asking about the blueprints wasn’t mere luck. That’s also why she knew better than to not elaborate.

“So you don’t mean your office, but rather your room? The one on the top most floor?”

“Indeed, my room.”

With this, the thieving duo knew exactly where to go to end this mission as soon as possible. It’s unmistakable, fate has already parted ways from the original timeline, now all that’s left is to see how it all plays out.