Chapter 83

Cashion caught his swaying body just in time. He drew a shaken breath and moved to bow at the waist.

But Mikhail stopped him before he could.

"Save the formalities for later. We've got plenty of work ahead."

Cashion seemed to falter for a moment, but answered without objection.

"Yes. As you wish, young lord."

Cashion dipped his head in a brief nod and moved immediately.

Before long, the bustle of hurried footsteps and clinking equipment spilled out from inside the warehouse.

Mikhail stole a glance through the crack in the door, then turned to the warehouse manager standing beside him.

"Y-young… lord? Young lord?"

The manager's face had gone white as chalk.

His ponytail stood practically on end as he gaped at Mikhail, stammering under his breath.

Mikhail let the corner of his mouth creep upward.

"That's nothing you need to worry about. More importantly—I won, so I'll be collecting my end of the bet. Here's what I want…."

---

CRACK!

"—Ugh, goddammit! I'm losing my mind! Where the hell did Julien run off to, dumping all his work like that?!"

Edwin snatched up the no-entry sign that lay toppled at the lake's entrance and scanned his surroundings.

"!"

That was when he spotted them—two small figures in the distance, glancing around nervously as they crept toward the inner shore.

Their movements screamed petty thief. Edwin's eyes flew wide and he bellowed.

"Hey! Hey, hey! Stop right there! Freeze!"

The two kids who'd been sneaking onto the path flinched at Edwin's booming voice.

They took one look at the figure closing in on them and balked, panic written all over their faces—

But after a quick exchange of glances, they bolted straight toward the lake.

"Oh, really? What the—"

Edwin scoffed at the sight of the kids' heads bobbing away from him, but his eyes sharpened and a growl rumbled from his throat.

"Fine. You wanna play? Let's play."

Edwin set the sign down on the ground, rolled his shoulders, and loosened his ankles.

He sucked in a deep breath—then shot forward like a loosed arrow.

"WAAAAAH!"

The kids shrieked, faces drained of all color, as Edwin's figure closed the gap in a heartbeat.

They looked like they'd just seen a ghost, and they ran with every last scrap of strength their little bodies had.

But the desperate flight didn't last long.

GRAB!

Edwin's hands caught them one after the other by the scruffs of their necks.

In the end, they were dragged back outside the path, whimpering the whole way.

"Ow! Owww! What are you doing?! Let go!"

"Shut it. Little punks who can't even run properly, trying to act tough."

Edwin marched back to where he'd left the sign and flung both kids from his grip.

"Gah!"

"Go home. And quit lurking around here."

The kids tumbled onto the muddy ground like startled squirrels, instantly caked head to toe in filth.

But they scrambled to their feet without sparing their sorry state a second thought.

"No way! You have to let us through! We need to brag to everyone that we went to the forbidden lakeshore!"

"What's it matter what we do?! Just let us go already!"

Edwin stared at the shrieking children with a look of utter disbelief, then let out a hollow laugh.

"Forbidden, my ass. Hey—quit spouting nonsense and go home already."

"No! Let us through! Let us go to the lake!"

"We're NOT going home! Chase us away and we'll just come back!"

The kids' shrill defiance jabbed at his eardrums like needles, and a vein bulged at Edwin's temple.

The sound of teeth grinding leaked through his clenched jaw.

"You little brats, I swear…!"

The instant Edwin's gaze flashed with something genuinely menacing, the wailing children froze in spite of themselves.

Edwin snatched the sign off the ground and hoisted it high overhead.

WHOOSH!

The sign carved through the air—

THUNK!

—and drove itself deep into the ground right in front of them.

"?"

The kids, who'd turned to ice at the savage rush of air, blinked in bewilderment at the sign now planted inches from their noses.

Edwin dusted off his hands and swept his gaze over them both.

"Hmm."

Their outer clothes were slathered in mud, sure—but beneath, their shirts were crisp and neatly pressed.

They wore little vests that looked hand-embroidered with care.

Not exactly the type to be running wild unsupervised. More like kids who've been fussed over and loved. In that case….

Edwin wore a thoughtful expression for a moment, then cleared his throat and planted his hands on his hips.

"This place is where I—no, where we work. We protect this city's safety. You can't just show up out of nowhere and get in the way of people doing their jobs! Right? Isn't that right?"

"U-uh…. Yeah."

The kids mumbled their reply, eyes darting nervously under the force of Edwin's voice.

Edwin paused to catch his breath, then shifted his gaze behind him toward the distant lakeshore.

Storm clouds, darker than anywhere else, were massing directly over the water.

"……"

His olive-green eyes narrowed as they took in the sight.

But Edwin pulled his gaze back and faced the small figures standing before him.

"You two."

"?"

"You said you wanted to go to the lake for a good story to tell, right?"

The kids nodded in unison. Edwin looked between them, scratched the back of his head, and went on.

"But think about it. How many of your friends would actually think it was cool that you went somewhere dangerous? What about your families and neighbors? If you told them you'd been messing around by a restricted lake, wouldn't they just worry?"

…KRRR-RUMBLE!

A massive clap of thunder rolled across the sky as if punctuating his words.

The kids flinched and glanced upward, then quickly bowed their heads and fixed their eyes on the ground.

"……"

Edwin watched the two silent children for a moment, then rubbed the back of his head and sighed.

There had to be some way to budge a couple of stubborn kids. He was mulling it over, scanning their outfits one more time, when his eyes locked onto something and a sound of surprise escaped him.

"Oh! You guys got one of those too?"

His gaze had landed on a familiar ribbon knot poking out of one kid's vest pocket.

The very first task they'd carried out after arriving in the city.

He'd rushed to the shopping district to beat Mikhail to the best option, and just as that guy had predicted, he'd scored all sorts of things from the shops.

The kids startled at the unexpected recognition. Edwin jumped in with mounting excitement.

"That candy shop, right? The owner's pretty cool! Said he's developing new sweets and just kept handing me stuff—even though it was my first time there!"

"Oh—new sweets?"

The kids' eyes lit up with interest. Edwin raised his voice another notch and swung his arms for emphasis.

"Yeah! He's working on firecracker candy and voice-changing caramels…. If you need a good story to tell, why not check out that candy shop instead? Huh?"

The kids were trading wide-eyed looks, murmuring with fascination, when faint voices drifted in from the distance.

"Rey! Yuren! Where are you?!"

"Come back right now! Mom and your sister are worried sick!"

The kids jolted, guilt flashing across their faces in an instant.

They shuffled their feet anxiously, then ducked into quick bows toward Edwin.

"We gotta go. See you later, mister!"

The kids tore off down the path toward the voices of their family.

Edwin waved at their retreating heads, then set his hands on his hips and grinned.

"Hmph. It's dangerous out there, you know."

There was a small swell of pride in his chest—mixed with something unfamiliar.

Maybe because he'd handled things in a way his old self never would have dreamed of.

Honestly, back in the day I would've just waved my fists around and scared them off. For some reason, the way that guy does things popped into my head… so I just winged it.

[Edwin, there's one more option we haven't considered.]

Edwin recalled that voice from not so long ago and headed toward the sign he'd planted earlier.

With each step, his thoughts drifted to Mikhail's condition.

Two days ago, was it? According to Julien, a vicious flu had knocked him flat, and he'd barely been conscious since….

He said nothing was really working either. If that's the case, maybe the guy's more fragile than he looks. But then again, he runs around like nobody's business when he wants to….

Yank.

"Hwuh?"

A rough grip clamped around his wrist without warning, and Edwin let out a dazed noise as he looked down at his own arm.

A massive hand had seized him. Before he could process it, his body lurched forward—

"WHOOAAA!"

A shout tore from Edwin's mouth as he was hauled along.

He staggered, nearly toppling over, but caught his balance and whipped his head toward whoever had grabbed him.

The profile beside him—thinning white hair, a rugged frame built like an old fortress—felt strangely familiar despite the sudden appearance.

Edwin blinked vacantly for a moment before recognition kicked in.

"W-wait! You! You're one of the two people I helped carry stuff for that time…!"

Cashion turned his head at Edwin's voice, crinkled the corners of his eyes, and let out a hearty laugh.

"That's right! It's me, kid! I owe you from last time! But I'm afraid I need another favor!"

"Huh? Huhhh? What are you even talking about…!"

Edwin was gaping at Cashion in utter bewilderment when a flutter of dark blue hair whipped past Cashion's other side and a familiar face peeked into view.

Mikhail.

"Hey, Edwin."

Mikhail was slung piggyback on some ponytailed man Edwin had never seen before, watching him with perfect composure.

"…?"

What in the world was happening? And hadn't Mikhail been sick just this morning?

Edwin stared at him, trapped in a fog of questions, and was about to open his mouth—

But Mikhail beat him to it.

"Remember what we practiced at the training grounds last time? Same thing. That's what we're doing."

"…What?"

The added information only deepened the confusion.

And somehow, it didn't feel like he'd be getting a calm explanation anytime soon.

Edwin glanced at the sign clutched in his hand, swallowed hard, and racked his brain for the one question that would cut through all of this.

He blurted it out.

"But where are we going?!"

Mikhail answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"To get the highest score."