As Airi successfully led the intruder away from the room, Higita and Sio could finally let out a big sigh.

Higita peeks his head out to confirm no one is around, so he can get up and close the door. After that, he gets back and sits next to his stepmother.

"That's so scaryyyy..."

"..."

Higita looks quite annoyed since Sio sits close to his stepmother.

"Are you not worried about him at all?"

Sio tilts her head at this unexpected question of Higita.

"Who?"

Higita glares at Sio angrily.

"Are you an idiot? I mean, the punk who just led the scary man away."

Sio knits her brow since she doesn't know why Higita heats up for no reason.

"It's your fault because you used the wrong pronoun."

"What?"

But Sio changes the topic and resumes staring at Higita's stepmother.

"If you mean boss...Boss will be probably fine."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"It's just a hunch."

"Hunch? You gotta be kidding me."

Sio coldly replies as she pats the stepmother's head gently.

"Even if the boss is killed, it's not my business."

"You..."

"You are so heartless...That punk has played with you for quite a long time, hasn't he?"

"So, what?"

"He treats you like his brother...How could you say something like that?"

Sio shrugs as she comments about Higita.

" A pampered boy like you? What do you know?"

Higita becomes agitated and grabs Sio's collar.

'If you dare to hit me, then do it! Do you even know how to land a punch properly?"

"You!!!"

"What? I was just trying to tell you the truth!"

Higita glances at his stepmother and releases Sio.

"Forget it! I'm not in the mood for quarrelling."

But Sio doesn't let Higita off easily.

"Or you don't even dare to hit me."

Higita grits his teeth and glares at Sio.

"You!"

"Do it! Show the mother your real and ugly face."

Higita still doesn't move his fist until the end.

"At least I am not an ungrateful bastard like you. That punk cared so much about you, and you treated him like that."

"Hah, is your brain rotten or something? It has only been one month since I met the boss! What if the boss changes the attitude in the next month?"

"What? What are you talking about...?"

"A sheltered boy like must never know about it. People can easily change in a short time. The boss is also like that! The boss must have some motive when he tried to approach me."

"What the hell? What makes you think like that?"

"It just comes from my experience."

"Then why do you come to like the au...stepmother? Should you just treat her like that punk?"

"Is it so obvious...? Because I know that your mother and I are one kind. Since we know each other pain, we can easily get close to each other."

Sio doesn't forget to mock Higita at the end.

"And should the title of an ungrateful bastard fit you better than me? I know everything! I know how badly you treat your stepmother!"

"I..."

Higita swallows his salvia and looks down.

"I..."

An adult voice suddenly interrupts the conversation between the two.

"That's enough..."

"Aunt!"

"Mother."

Higita's stepmother has a wry smile on her face. She reaches out and pats the kids' heads.

"It's not good to fight each other over this in the current situation..."

Higita hesitates a little before he looks at his stepmother in her eyes. He has something that he wants to say to her, but he chooses to be silent in the end.

So suddenly, Higita and Sio hear a loud "Chip" sound. The "Chip" sounds become noisier as the time passes.

Higita looks around, but he can't find anything suspicious nearby.

"Where does that sound come from?"

At this moment, Sio asks Higita's mother a weird question.

"Mother...Why can I hear that "Chip" sound coming from inside your body?"

In the meantime, the stepmother's face darkens as she starts shaking. Sio and Higita can't help but feel panic at the unexpected situation.

The stepmother constantly babbles nonsense sentences that the two kids can't understand.

"No...no. How can they be here? I don't want to return to that hell..."

"Mother!"

Sio and Higita have to shake the stepmother a lot to snap her out of the fear.

The stepmother shakes her head and tells the two of them in a weak voice.

"They are coming for...Please leave me here and run away."

"I won't, mother..."

"Me too!"

But the stepmother shouts at the two in an angry voice.

"Go away! This is not a joking matter! Otherwise, they will arrive here!"

However, Sio still has a firm look on her face and replies calmly.

"I won't, mother...I don't want to lose you..."

"You silly...Others can also give you the same warmth."

"It's impossible!"

"You..."

Higita also shows a determination that he won't leave. He turns away from his stepmother and shyly says.

"I don't want to go. It's safer in this place."

Thus, the temporary peace is interrupted by a female voice.

"Oho~ You must hide in here, right?"

The door is kicked open and reveals a woman on the other side of the door. She covers her entire body with a black robe and her face with a weird shape mask.

"Jack pot~."

Higita's stepmother immediately startles and tries to hide the two kids behind her. She summons her grimoire and readies to cast the magic.

"Oh, my~ Look what I have found here."

The strange woman licks her lips loudly and looks at Higita's mother as if she has found the prey. She also doesn't forget to peek at the Higita hiding behind her stepmother.

"No.31...the traitor."

Higita's mother bites her lips and replies to the strange woman. There is a hint of fear inside her voice.

"I am no longer no.31...My name is Mina now."

The strange woman shrugged as if she didn't understand what nonsense the stepmother Mina just spurted out.

"Mina...or no.31? Whatever?"

The strange woman points at the stepmother Mina and mocks her.

"It doesn't change the fact that you are a failure. A failure cannot complete the single task that 'father' gave you."

Stepmother Mina looks bitter and doesn't know what to say to the strange woman.

At this moment, Sio steps up and tries to defend Mina.

"Mother is not a loser, but you are!"

Even Higita also steps up to protect Mina's dignity after a few hesitations.

"The aunt is not a loser like you said. Even..."

The word suddenly stucks in his throat and doesn't come out as he wishes. However, Higita immediately resumes as he glances at Sio as he remembers what Sio said to him.

"Stepmother always smiles at me and takes care of me gently...Despite the fact that I usually look down on her...or curse her."

Higita looks up again and says the statement pridefully.

"I believe she is one of the best mothers ever."

Higita quickly hides his shy face behind his hands after that.

But the woman only laughs out loud when she hears those lines.

"So funny, you even change your job to a part-time mother of your target."

"No.6...Don't...!"

The woman has the no.6 as a nickname, and gives Mina a look as if she had just found an amusing toy.

"That's great! That's great!"

No.6 laughs hysterically, while walking toward the three. The two kids stand firmly, ignoring No.6 walking toward them. Since they stay close to stepmother Mina, they can feel her shaking under No.6's presence.

They understand they need to be the ones to protect Mina.

"What a naïve boy? You even try to protect the person who tried to kidnap you."

Higita is dumbfounded when he hears that sentence. Sio immediately reaches out to Higita and tries to assure him.

"Don't let that evil woman trick you..."

However, Higita can feel his stepmother shaking even more after No.6 said that.

He turns around and finds the stepmother has already shrunken back and covered her head with her hands. She even took back the grimoire as if she had already surrendered herself to fate.

"Aunt...?"

"..."

"Is that true...?"

"..."

"Answer me!"

After a long pause, Mina finally gives Higita his answer.

"What she told you is the truth..."

Higita falls on his knee when he hears that unbelievable news. The uncontrollable anger starts to explode inside him. His eyes become teary, and he shouts out loud.

"Liar! Liar! You are a big liar! You trick us..."

"..."

"When I thought that I could finally accept you...After all, everything is a farce."

Stepmother Mina tries to reach out to Higita. But he instantly hits her hands and pushes her away.

This time, the one who starts to cry is Mina.

"Get away from me, liar! I won't believe you anymore. You should just d..."

Before Higita can finish the sentence, Sio punches him in the face.

"You shitty bastard!"

"Argh..."

Higita, who gets hit and falls to the ground, doesn't forget to scream back at Sio.

"Why do you still want to protect that woman? She's a liar.

"Use your damn brain."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"She is a traitor! A traitor to that woman's organization! That means she gave up her original mission to kidnap you. How can you don't understand a simple fact with your small brain?"

"Ah..."

No.6 laughs hard as she witnesses the entire fiasco.

"You are smart for your age~ So you should know it's not wise to protect her, right?"

As No.6 reaches closer to them, Sio still steps in between her and the stepmother Mina.

"You must be one who usually bullies mother!"

"Hoh? How can you be so sure about that?"

No.6 arrives right in front of Sio and touches her face. Sio can't help but take a few steps back because of No.6's sudden action.

"You also must be the same 'type' like her, right?"

A creepy smile appears on the no.6's face.

"That's good! That's good~ I will take you back with me."

Mina weakly stands up and hides Sio behind her shaking body.

"Trash? Why do you dare to stand in front of me?"

No.6 annoys and grabs Mina's collar. She holds it tightly and keeps punching Mina in her face.

"Argh, Garghhh!"

"I don't understand why father keeps forgiving you even when you always fail your mission. Why does the "father" care about you like that?"

No.6 keeps hitting Mina in her face. There is a sign of joy on her face, as if she's familiar with doing this.

"Why haven't you died yet? You are a pain in the ass while you keep staying alive like this. Even the 'father' only told me to take you back alive, even when you betrayed us."

After a while, No.6 stops her beating and looks at Mina joyfully.

"Right...I have an idea!"

No.6 throws Mina to the ground and takes a gun from under her robe.

"How about turning you into a vegetive state?"

A cruel smile blooms on her face as she says to herself.

"That's a good idea! An accident happens and turns you into a vegetative state. Since you are still alive technically, the "father" won't punish me for that."

No.6 points her gun at Mina's head.

"It will hurt a lot! So deal with it~."

But right before she can pull the trigger, Sio jumps at no.6 and bites the hand holding the gun.

"This little! Arghhh!"

No.6 keeps punching Sio to separate Sio from her. But Sio doesn't show any sign of bulging. Instead, Sio bites even harder to make No.6's hand bleeding.

"Get away from me!"

No.6 screams like a wounded beast and hits Sio hardly on the head.

"B*tch."

No.6 curses and summons a blue grimoire next to her.

"Get away!"

A thin fire wraps around No.6 skin and burns Sio. After all, Sio is still an ordinary child who hasn't awakened her grimoire, so she has no way of defending against that magic. Sio eventually chooses to give up and backs off as she feels the terrible pain inside her throat.

"I waste so much mana to create a rank 2 barrier to deal with you. Those idiots will laugh at my face if they find out about this!!"

No.6 looks so angry while glaring at Sio.

"I change my mind...I think of making you one of us at first."

While no.6 is covering herself with a fire barrier, no.6 kicks Sio, which leaves a giant burn mark on Sio's body.

Sio can't stand the pain and starts tearing up. However, she doesn't utter a single word or groans out loud. Sio suddenly shouts out loud at Higita.

"What are you waiting for? Take mother and run away!"

Higita moves rigidly like a robot and reaches out to his stepmother. However, Mina shakes her head and tells Higita in a gentle voice. This time, her voice sounds calmer, as if her fear has already disappeared.

"Just go, Higita."

Higita doesn't bother to answer his stepmother and turns away from the two of them. He heads toward the door and runs as fast as possible.

"Ahahahaha!"

No.6 laughs out loud as she looks at the despaired Sio.

"What a naive girl! Do you think that child will help you after he realizes the truth? God damn! You are too naïve!"

At the moment when No.6 tries to resume her beating, Mina steps up and stands in front of Sio.

"..."

"Stop getting in my way, failure."

No.6 kicks stepmother Mina and makes her get out of the way. Stepmother Mina has no choice but chooses to provoke No.6. She doesn't want to see Sio be in pain anymore.

She jumps at no.6 and hugs one of her legs.

"I'm over here! Shoot me!"

No.6 ignores all the provocation while locking on Sio.

"You thought I would fall for those cheap provocations?"

"Damn, turtle!"

The moment that word comes out of stepmother Mina's mouth, no.6 immediately stops her action.

"Ahahaha..."

"Come and hit me, turtle!!!"

No.6 turns around and kicks the stepmother Mina in the face. Since the fire barrier is still active, it leaves a burnt mark. She also follows up with another kick and rapidly hits Mina's face.

Mina doesn't have time to chant a spell to block no.6's attack and has no way but to continue receiving the attacks.

"Cry out loud, like always!"

No.6 points the gun at Mina's leg and fires.

"Let me hear your usual scream! You dare to ridicule me, trash! You can't even get in the top 10 when you have an offensive grimoire."

"Gurghh!"

"Screammmm! Screammmm for me!"

Wounded Sio helplessly cries as she watches no.6 hitting Mina.

"No...Anyone...Please help us..."

A familiar figure appears in front of her and answers her. For some reason, that back gives her a reassuring feeling.

"Boss..."

That person laughs in a cute voice and replies to Sio with confidence.

"Leave it to me."

---

 

I arrived at the scene in the time since I found Higita on the way back. He informed me about a strange person who attacked them. He cried a lot and asked me to save them.

The self-proclaimed master said she wanted to see me solve this issue by myself. She wants to use this scenario as another test for me.

At least the self-proclaimed master didn't let me go with an empty hand. Because she knows I don't have a way of attacking the opponent, she gives me a spell card and lends me one rabbit.

The rabbit who sits on my shoulder so far jumps off and runs toward Sio and stepmother.

"Eh?"

The rabbit makes two magic circles appear under Sio and stepmother. In the blink of an eye, it disappears along with them.

"..."

I hold my head as I don't know what to say in this situation.

"Why don't you teleport me along with them?"

At the same time, the strange woman glares at me with bloodshot eyes.

"Where did you take them!!!!"

She raises the hand holding gun and starts shooting me.

I manage to react in time and jump at nearby boxes to take the cover.

"Give that failure backkkkk!!!!"

The woman keeps shooting in my direction aimlessly. I can feel some stray bullet almost hit my body. I keep crawling on four so that woman can't hit me with her gun.

"Hah..."

As I get far enough from the woman, I take out the spell card and stare at it.

"The self-proclaimed master tells me this spell card needs sometimes to work. And it doesn't fit in the fast combat."

So there is no way I can use this spell card immediately to fight back against that strange woman.

"I never thought I would come in contact with the spell card this soon."

I look closely at the card and find a giant gun drawing on the spell card.

Spell card is something incredibly precious in the game. It only drops after you kill a boss, or you must spend a lot of money to get it through the secret shop.

Of course, its performance is top-notch since this spell card has an incredibly unique usage. The spell card allows the user to use a spell belonging to another person at no cost.

The strange woman loses her temper and shouts out loud.

"Where are you hiding, rat???"

I summon my grimoire and call Miao again.

"Nyaaa~"

Miao rubs against my body while meowing sweetly. I push Miao away and reply with a stern voice.

"I don't have food with me now."

Miao annoys me and looks away from me. Yup, that damn naughty cat is only sweet to me when it needs food.

"I need you to fight with me again."

With my current mana, I can barely cast one illusion with Miao's help.

"Nyaaaa! Nyaaa!"

"I know you don't like it...But we have no choice though!!! Otherwise, that woman would find me and kill me."

Eventually, Miao jumps up on my right shoulder at the end.

"We will defeat that bad woman."

"Nyaaa~"

I can feel the encouragement of Miao and start moving.

"Come out!!!!"

Only an idiot comes out like that... Should I just use the spell card and fire at her now? That strange woman still didn't find me, though.

I slowly raise up and try to peek at the woman.

"Nyaaa!!!"

Miao hits my head before I can fully raise my head up.

"Here you are!"

I hear a sound of a bullet passing through the top of my head. How can that girl find my location? It's so scary. I almost die there!

"Not here! That rat runs too fast!"

I crawl to another place so I can avoid her attack again. I can only let out my breath when I hear her frustrated voice again.

"Hah...What should I do?"

I can only use the same trick as before then.

"Miao!"

"Nyaaa!"

"Do that again!"

Miao nods and jumps off my shoulder. I let Miao scout nearby so we could use the trick last time. After we find the appropriate position, I let Miao creates an illusion of me.

"I am over hereee!"

As expected, that woman rushes toward the illusion since I could hear her hurried steps.

"You dare to challenge me..."

"This moment!"

I hit the box under and let them fall on that strange woman's body.

"Got her!"

I take out the spell card and try to use it.

"I will..."

"Ahahahah! Do you think a trick like this would work on me?"

For some reason, I can smell something burning. At the same time, the box in front of me turns into a sea of fire.

The woman points the gun at me and lets out an evil laugh.

"Where did you take them...?"

I take a few steps back since I fear the woman in front of me. There is no box near me, so it's impossible for me to hide from her gun. If I make a careless move, I will die in this place.

"You still don't want to talk? Fine, you should die then!"

The woman pulls the trigger...

I...don't want to die!

I try to move my body, but I know the bullet is a thousand times faster than me.

"Nyaaaaaaa!!!!"

Unexpectedly, Miao jumps up and blocks the bullet for me. After that, its body turns into dust and disappears.

Miao has created the chance for me! I must use this chance to run away. As long as I am alive, I can re-summon Miao.

"Not so fast!"

The strange woman instantly follows up with another shot. But this time, I successfully avoided it.

"Gurghhh!"

The bullet hits the pipe behind me.

"What?"

The pipe pumps out a lot of smoke and hits the strange woman.

"This or never!"

I take out the spell card and activate it. As soon as the card shines and lets a gigantic gun appear in front of me. And the back of the gun connects with a glass cage.

"There are so many bunnies inside..."

I don't waste the chance and point the gun at the woman.

"Goooo!"

The gun lets out a loud rattling noise, but nothing comes out.

"Work! Work!"

The strange woman quickly regains her balance after getting hit by the smoke. Luckily, the smoke becomes denser, so she can't hit me accurately. At the same time, I also don't know where to shoot...

The stray bullet is also able to hit my body. The bullet just now pierced through my stomach.

"Arghhh..."

I groan out loud since I'm not familiar with pain.

"Workkkkk"

As I shout out loud, the gun stops making the loud noise and starts firing the rabbit rapidly. The rabbits don't explode on the spot...

"Did I miss...?"

"Release me!!! Stop holding my knee."

As the strange woman speaks out, a loud explosion comes with it.

"A...A...A...It hurts."

When I hear her painful scream, I become hesitant. Should I continue firing this gun? At this rate, she will die...

I can feel the sweat rolling down my forehead as I am afraid to move another step.

Have I already hurt the last villain...? He may have died because of my trick already?

"Afraid...Hah?"

Many complicated thoughts come through my mind.

"Screw it!"

I keep pressing the trigger and shoot those rabbits.

"Arghhhh!!!"

Explosion following by explosion...

"If I don't do it, all of us would die under her hand."

With that thought in mind, I feel I am not afraid of anything in this world.

"A..."

It's not until I feel dizzy and fall to the ground. I can be sure that the strange woman has been subdued since I can no longer hear anything from her direction.

While I am closing my eyes, I can hear the annoyed voice of that self-proclaimed master.

"Woah! You have done an excellent job, my disciple."

And I can hear another familiar voice after that.

"Kaguya...!!!!!!!"

"Haine...I can explain."

"Explain what!? I just transferred my bodyguard role to you, and you let my girl turning into that state!"

"Well, that's...AHHHHHH! My head! Stop! It's going to come off!"

"You even force her to do something like hurt other people. This damn idiot!"

"Aaaaaaa! Save me, Selene!

An eerie voice replies back to Kaguya.

"It's fine to break her neck, Haine."

"That's a good idea!!!"

"Stop! Stop! Stop!!!!"

Suddenly, I feel someone hugging me and patting me on the head.

"You have done well, Airi."

A warm light wraps around my body and makes my pain disappear.

"Don't worry, I have already healed everyone, including those criminals. You haven't killed anyone. So please, take a rest with peace of mind."

I mutter weakly to the voice.

"Thanks, mama..."