Faint sounds awoke him from his sleep. Sensations returned to his numb body starting from his limbs and he could tell that he was in a bed, covered by a soft blanket. His surroundings that felt like endless darkness became more lucid as he realized that the noise which woke him up was the sounds of sheets rustling and a body shuffling about.

It was someone stirring right next to him in bed.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling of his house. Then, when he turned his head to the side, the face of his sister was staring at him.

“Morning, Edwin.” [Mireille]

Mireille greeted him, looking both worried and happy that he finally woke up.

“… Mireille?” [Edwin]

Edwin absentmindedly said his little sister’s name as his brain slowly processed the information. Then, once he finally understood that he was in his house, lying in his sister’s bed, he sprung up with his eyes wide open.

“MIREILLE?!!” [Edwin]

“W-what? What is it?” [Mireille]

“You’re…! But I…! And he…!” [Edwin]

The blonde-haired man was wholly confused as he incoherently spoke nonsense while pointing at his sister. He remembered attacking Ryner. Then, he remembered failing his assassination and getting stabbed in return. Finally, he remembered blacking out as he was being dragged while bleeding out. Mireille gazed at her older sibling worriedly, but sighed from relief after a few seconds. If he was energetic enough to move around and shout like that, then he was fine.

“Um, for now, you should lie back down and rest. The doctor said that you collapsed from overwork.” [Mireille]

“The … Doctor?” [Edwin]

“Yes, a man with grey hair and glasses. I was really shocked when he carried you into the house. Especially since you were half-naked and wrapped in a blanket.” [Mireille]

“Huh?” [Edwin]

When Edwin looked down at his own body, he realized that his slender torso was exposed. He lifted the blanket to check and saw that he was only wearing his underwear.

“… What happened to my clothes?” [Edwin]

“The doctor said that they were all ruined from overwork and that it was better to strip them off you. Here. He left a letter for you.” [Mireille]

“Mi, Mireille, you should have been a bit suspicious when he told you that.” [Edwin]

Edwin said tiredly as he received a letter from his little sister. Then, just as she passed it, she lightly hugged him and buried her face in his bare chest.

“Mireille?” [Edwin]

“… I was really scared.” [Mireille]

Mireille muttered weakly and her shoulders were trembling.

“What will I do if you collapse too?” [Mireille]

When an unknown man barged into her room and introduced himself as a doctor, she turned stiff from fright. When she saw Edwin’s unconscious form on his shoulder like a bag of wheat, she thought her heart stopped beating and feared for the worst. Mireille didn’t want to lose her older brother, the only family she had left and the only one who was willing to take care of her. She who could do nothing but spend her days in bed and swallow medical pills to stave off her attacks had to rely on him to stay alive.

No matter how much trouble she caused him, he always smiled kindly. That was why, after confirming that he was alright, she asked the doctor to put him in her bed so that she could watch over him.

For once since she became ill, she watched over him.

“… I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.” [Edwin]

Her older brother gently embraced her back as he reassured her. Then, once he finally convinced her that he was fine, he had her rest instead while he sat on the edge of the bed to read the letter. Mireille kept her teary gaze on his back the whole time.

Edwin began to read through the single piece of paper that was folded in two. It was from the mysterious doctor that brought him here.

To the stupid pretty boy with the blonde hair,

If you’re reading this, it’s because you’re dead. No, I’m joking. I made sure to avoid your vitals when I stabbed you. More or less. That’s what you get for trying to kill me, idiot.

Edwin’s eyes widened from surprise and gulped. Apparently, the one that saved him from the brink of death was the man that sent him there.

First, I used some healing potions to heal up your wounds. Don’t worry about the fee. I took them from those triplets that came with you. By the way, they’re dead and buried in that little forest, so don’t dig around. Yeah, that’s right. That hole I was working on was originally a grave meant for you, but I decided to give it to them. Scared? You should be, idiot.

Also, your clothes were covered in your blood. I couldn’t carry you looking like that. So, I stripped you to your underwear and washed the blood off your skin. It was disgusting, but don’t worry. It’s not because you’re a guy. It’s because you’re a guy and I personally don’t like you, idiot.

Edwin’s face grew stiff and his lips were twitching as he read through the letter that kept insulting him at every opportunity.

Anyway, here’s the main reason why I spared you.

However, his expression turned serious when the letter was finally getting to the heart of the matter: the reason why he was still alive. No. The reason why he was allowed to live.

Truth is, I went and killed Earl Tenneb, his governor and some other nobles whose names I don’t know.

The blonde-haired man accidentally crumpled up the paper and his mind became blank. Something completely outrageous was told in such a casual manner. Anyone living in Stornith would freeze up. After all, there was one important rule that everyone knew of, and it was to never cross paths with the aristocrats if one wanted to live a long life. Yet, the man that he was supposed to kill just said that he murdered Governor Isecke and several nobles, including the Earl who owned the territory that Jadistro belonged to and who Edwin worked for.

Also, I slaughtered the men pretending to be soldiers.

Again, Edwin froze up at the casual mention of a mass murder. It was one surprise after another.

I don’t want trouble to follow me, so here’s where you come in.

The letter finally told him why he was left alive. Edwin was to act as a witness and spread the name of the fictitious killer, Mindo Buzzness, to mislead the authorities. His job was to make sure that everyone knew about the red-haired man and forgot about the black-haired man. In short, he would be a source of fake information.

Furthermore, the letter promised him a reward that he couldn’t ignore.

If you do this, I’ll keep supplying your sister with medicine, and I mean real medicine.

“(What?!)” [Edwin]

He nearly shouted out loud.

Apparently, the medical pills that Mireille had been taking weren’t helping her condition, but making it worse. Medicine that would truly help her recover was promised. Moreover, an advanced payment had already been given. Of course, Edwin was suspicious, so he asked Mireille about it and she told him that she indeed had been given some sort of herbal powder and was instructed to mix a spoonful of it in a cup of hot water and drink it twice a day.

“He gave it to me and took with him the pills that I usually take.” [Mireille]

“He took your medicine?” [Edwin]

“Yes. I know I shouldn’t have since he was really suspicious, even if he was the one that carried you back. But, well…” [Mireille]

Mireille trailed off and grabbed a brown pouch from under her pillow. She pulled on the string and showed her brother that it was full of gold coins.

“That man ‘bought’ the medicine for a large sum of money and I thought we needed it since, you know, you could maybe take a break from work and rest.” [Mireille]

Edwin was speechless. If what was written in the letter was true, then he was given medicine for his little sister and a pouch filled with gold coins as an advance payment. Moreover, even though he was an enemy, he was spared and treated with expensive healing potions.

While holding his doubts, skepticism and slight hope in his heart, Edwin resumed his lecture.

Do a good job and I’ll keep giving your sister proper medicine. Double-cross me and I’ll bury you in the forest for good.

P.S Remember, I know where you live.

P.P.S Don’t ask how I know, or you’ll be freaked out.

P.P.P.S Your sister’s a bit too skinny. Don’t be a cheapskate and feed her some meat, idiot.

P.P.P.P.S Why the hell does she look so much like you? Are you a guy or a girl, idiot?

P.P.P.P.P.S Idiot.

The rest of the letter was a warning and a bunch of insults.

Edwin was at first dumbfounded, but then smiled wryly.

“And that’s how it is.” [Ryner]

Ryner was currently riding on a wagon that was following a beaten road. There were eight other passengers, who were all elves, as well as one red and white puppy. The group had escaped Jadistro and was on their way to elven territory. The elves were all wearing simple white dresses that showed their bodylines and a metal collar around their necks.

“So that’s what you meant when you said you’d caused a distraction.” [Elf]

The only human in the group was steering the wagon pulled by two horses while talking to the elven woman sitting next to him on the driver’s seat.

“Yeah. Since I got into some trouble and you’re all escaped slaves that killed a few nobles, we’ll definitely be wanted and pursued.” [Ryner]

“And that’s where the character ‘Mindo Buzzness’ comes in.” [Elf]

“That’s right. We’re legally criminals. If we want to divert the attention of an empire, then we got to give them trouble way worse than us. Sooo~, I went on a killing spree, blew up a man and claimed responsibility for the dead nobles while making sure that one random guy I spared knew my name and face. He’ll spread it around and people will soon forget us because of the big impact Mindo Buzzness left on them. Probably.” [Ryner]

“Wouldn’t it have been better to wear a mask?” [Elf]

“That would just make me faceless. This empire will be looking for a man that wears a mask, which means that they’ll be suspicious of anyone. But, if I give them a face with defining traits like red hair, an eyepatch and a big scar on the cheek, then they’ll narrow their search to one guy that doesn’t exist and we can past under their noses. Mindo Buzzness will be our cover until we get you all back home.” [Ryner]

“… You actually knew how to put makeup on.” [Elf]

“Stop bringing that up.” [Ryner]

“But, I was surprised at how skilled you were. I thought only women knew how.” [Elf]

“Hey, makeup is damn useful. It’s not to make women look prettier, but to make people look different. Many times, a simple makeup kit was all I needed to escape death.” [Ryner]

“Right…” [Elf]

The elven woman grew silent for a moment and stared at the blue sky. It had been years since she had last seen it. If she was alone, it would have probably moved her to tears since she had been locked up in that secret room for so long. The only ones who entered were the caretakers in charge of keeping her alive, or Tenneb and a few other nobles.

She remembered how the fat earl gloated about owning her and her brethren, about how he was keeping her a secret from the emperor of his country and wouldn’t let him touch her unless he gave him his favor. That was why the elves were hidden in Jadistro and away from the capital.

She wasn’t sure if it was a blessing, but thanks to that, Tenneb and the friends he invited couldn’t visit her and her brethren often. They spent most of their time as slaves locked up and lifeless with nothing to do. Still, those were hellish days nonetheless.

“You’re certain that this Mindo Buzzness cover will work?” [Elf]

The elven woman asked after shaking away her dark memories.

“Depends. I enlisted the help of one more guy just in case. He’ll be acting as a witness and telling everyone that he saw Mindo Buzzness. Having two witnesses saying the same things will make it look more credible than having one.” [Ryner]

“Can you trust him?” [Elf]

“Nope.” [Ryner]

Ryner readily replied and the blonde-haired, pointy eared woman stared at him blankly. The human shrugged his shoulders and resumed talking.

“But, I know he cares about his little sister more than his own life. Luckily for us, the girl’s sick and would eventually die if she was left alone. So, I gave him an herbal medicine that’ll treat her illness. Once he sees her getting better thanks to me, he’ll wholeheartedly cooperate for his sister’s sake.” [Ryner]

“… It sounds like you took a poor girl hostage.” [Elf]

“No, I took advantage of a guy’s weakness… Ok, yeah, but he freaking tried to kill me. He deserved it. Right, Mi?” [Ryner]

“Woof.” [Mi]

When Ryner tried to ask the red and white puppy that was lying down in the wagon to casually change the topic, Mi barked dispiritedly and turned her head away.

“The puppy seems mad at you.” [Elf]

“Huh… Maybe it’s because I stuffed her inside a capsule and buried her alive without asking.” [Ryner]

Ryner said as he tilted his head and recalled how he put Mi in a capsule much like he did with Bern and buried her in the forest. The capsule kept her alive and she was hidden from others. Ryner couldn’t take her with him since he needed to act by himself as Mindo Buzzness and he honestly didn’t trust the puppy to behave and hide from people. That was why he put her in a capsule below the earth.

Needless to say, when Mi woke up from her drug-induced coma, she wasn’t very happy and angrily barked at him.

“Is that how it happened?” [Elven maiden]

Sitting at the back of the carriage, the elven maiden was talking to the six other elves as they informed her of how they met Ryner.

“Yes. One day, the person who entered the room wasn’t those damnable human nobles, but him.” [Elf]

The elven woman jerked her chin at Ryner who was attempting to talk to a sulking Mi.

“Right away, we understood that he wasn’t one of them and struck a deal with him. He would free us from that life of slavery and in exchange, we would allow him to set foot in our home.” [Elf]

They came up with a plan to escape from Jadistro unnoticed. To do that, they had to eliminate Earl Tenneb who was their master and had them bound to his words with the slave curse. That was why they chose to patiently wait until the fat noble showed up in the secret room in the basement that was isolated from the rest of the mansion. His death would go unnoticed for some time if they killed him there, along with his friends.

After getting their revenge, the elves would then escape through the secret passageway that Ryner dug and wait for him as he caused a distraction.

“Of course, we’ll properly ask your father for his permission to let a human enter.” [Elf]

“I see. I’m sorry that we never came to rescue you all. It must have been horrible…” [Elven maiden]

“… Yes, but unlike humans, us elves can cut off our consciousness at will. Thanks to it, although our bodies were left powerless, our minds escaped from those times when we were being treated as mere toys. So…” [Elf]

The blonde-haired elf wanted to say that she was better off than she would have been, but couldn’t. Her mind certainly didn’t break, but it wasn’t unscathed either, just like her body. The other elves that went through the same experience all had dark expressions on their faces and tightly clenched their fists.

As the mood became heavy, the elven maiden spoke up to somehow dispel it.

“… Do you trust him? That human named Ryner.” [Elven maiden]

“That is something that you probably know better than me.” [Elf]

The girl who luckily escaped the cruel fate of being a toy of pleasure didn’t answer. Instead, she looked at the human that saved them all.

After a few more hours of travelling, the sun was going down and with it, dusk settled in. The group decided to stop by the road and camp for the night. Just as they were about to start a fire, a group of travelers was approaching from the opposite direction that they came from. More accurately, it was a caravan. There were also armed men riding on horses and acting as escorts. At the head of the ten carts and wagons, a man riding a horse and clad in armor approached the carriage that he was guarding.

“Sir.” [???]

He respectfully called out to his superior that was reading in the carriage.

“What is it?” [???]

“Up ahead. I see elves. Seven, no, eight of them. All women. There’s one human male. The elves appear to be his slaves from the collars around their necks.” [???]

“…Oh?” [???]

The man closed the book and smiled thinly.

“Seems like we’ve stumbled on a delicious business opportunity.” [???]