As the door opened, a crystal at the top activated, triggering a little jingle.
The barista of the cafe eagerly placed his hands on top of the counter, staring at the new customer with a smile.
“Welcome!
What can I give you?”
However, his friendly gaze faltered just a little bit at the sight of the customer.
It was a young blond man with blue eyes, definitely a noble by the looks of it.
He even carried an exotic pet butterfly on his shoulder.
But worse still was his face, which seemed to hold a perpetual coldness.
The barista took a subtle breath, as if preparing for a tough mental battle.
Then, after the noble, entered a young woman with auburn hair.
She had an average face, the kind that belonged on a next-door neighbor you never really talk to.
They seemed to know each other, walking in tandem.
Relief went through the barista’s eyes.
Perhaps he was hoping this obvious commoner wouldn’t let her noble friend act too unscrupulous.
At least, that’s how it appeared in Cyril’s eyes.
“Tsk.
What kind of discrimination is that?
You didn’t even do anything!
Maybe you should…”
Stop it.
Cyril quickly scanned the cafe as he approached the counter.
This is the second cafe I’ve ever been to…
This place was humble, with simple wooden tables and not much in the way of decorations.
The bar was small, and the selection on its shelves was not much to speak of.
Personally, he didn’t feel like the place looked too comfortable to be in, but there were a few customers present.
It was a group of three friends sitting in one corner, talking to each other about nothing important.
“Not too many witnesses.
Perfect.” Rhamn whispered with her red eyes narrowed, like a villain concocting an evil plan.
Feeling somewhat more tired for no reason, Cyril stood before a counter, glancing at the cafe worker.
“What can I get you?” the man said with a strained smile.
His apron was tied loosely, his shirt untucked and wrinkled.
It was like the man did not care at all to create a good impression for the customers.
“What a dump.” Rhamn couldn’t help but show utter contempt on her face.
Quiet.
Cyril quickly reined in his own complaints.
…Maybe people like such casual style?
His only comparison was the cafe he’d been to near the fountain, but it was much bigger than this place and obviously more popular.
As Cyril was momentarily distracted, Myra took a seat in front of the counter.
“Some soda?” she said with a friendly smile.
The barista nodded.
Moving somewhat stiffly, he looked around the bar until he found a bottle with black liquid on one of the shelves.
He unceremoniously grabbed it and put it in front of Myra.
“…Thanks,” she uttered, opening the bottle on her own.
Cyril, meanwhile, contemplated his next course of action.
Ask Morpho, is the kidnapped girl close?
“She says yes.
Right behind this wall actually.” Rhamn pointed behind the barista, at the staff room.
Cyril subtly nodded, confusing the barista for a moment.
Do you remember the name of Cedric’s friend?
“Anna.”
“Do you have a girl named Anna here?” Cyril flatly said.
The barista froze, staring at him in stunned silence.
“I-I don’t know anyone here with that name, sir.”
Be it from the man’s stutter or the nervous movements of his hands, even Cyril could tell the man wasn’t telling the whole truth.
“…Are you sure?” Cyril said, his eyes narrowing.
“Kidnapping can get you up to twenty years in jail.
And as a student of Ailanthus, I have the authority to handle criminals as I see fit before handing them over.”
“You should save yourself the trouble.”
The barista gulped, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.
“P-please, sir!
Kidnapping?
We- I never held anyone here against their will!
That’s just crazy!” The man’s face paled further.
His eyes wandered around as if to find an escape.
The few customers of this place have caught on to the commotion.
They stared at Cyril with a peculiar expression, like they were disgusted with his actions yet were afraid to do anything about it.
At least, that’s how he saw it.
Cyril frowned, finding the stares bothersome.
I am trying to save a person here.
I am not some tyrannical noble persecuting an innocent man.
…Tyrannical noble?
Cyril glanced back at the barista.
He scanned his shaking hands, his pale face, and his hunched back.
The man was clearly scared of him.
How did it look from his perspective?
Cyril suddenly had a strange thought.
What if it all really was a misunderstanding?
It was only Cedric who said it was a kidnapping.
Who keeps their kidnapped target inside a cafe?
Perhaps Cedric’s friend was just asked to wash some dishes, and she took off her bracelet because it was in the way.
Perhaps Leo was here too and decided to play an immature prank by stealing it.
And maybe the barista thought he was protecting an innocent person against the wrath of a noble.
He of all people should know better than to judge a book by its cover.
Cyril’s face lost its frown.
With a flat expression he looked at the worker and shook his head.
“I don’t mean her harm.
Her friend is worried about her.”
The barista slowly calmed down, the panic in his eyes replaced by a certain calmness.
“Please, sir.
I am only a simple barista.
I don’t know anything.”
“…”
Cyril sighed with a flat face.
Internally he felt quite tired.
He did get the urge to check the staff room by force, but that would only feed into his already bad reputation.
Perhaps a tactical retreat is in order.
With these thoughts, Cyril glanced at Myra.
The auburn-haired girl gulped down her drink until there was nothing left and let out a gasp of satisfaction.
“Ah!”
While lazily holding the bottle in her hand, she glanced at the now calm barista.
“It’s pretty good!
But…” she casually said.
“You didn’t open my drink, didn’t offer me a glass, and you struggled to find this popular drink in the bar.
How do you expect to get any tips like that?”
The man’s eye twitched for a moment as he looked away from her gaze, staring somewhere in the corner.
“Forgive me.
I am- I am new here.”
“Hmm,” Myra hummed with a leisurely smile.
With that same smile, she flipped the bottle in her hand and held it by the neck.
She swung the bottle, smashing it against the barista’s head.
Amidst the sound of glass breaking, the barista fell to the ground before he could react, unconscious.
Huh?
“Is that how regular people respond to bad customer service?!
I’ll remember that!”
Hearing movement behind him, Cyril turned around.
The red butterfly flew off his shoulder, staying safely in the air.
The customers from the corner were standing up, drawing weapons they had hidden on their bodies.
In the Empire, weapons were illegal to carry for the civilians.
So that’s how it is.
He ended up being the one who misunderstood.
Cyril nodded, feeling profound relief that this was actually a real kidnapping.
“Pay them back for their insolent stares!”
Cyril lowered his body and dashed forward at the men.
One of them swung their hand axe at him in a panic, not expecting the speed of his charge.
Cyril only stepped aside, dodging the slow-moving attack.
With the enemy in front of him open, Cyril punched him in the stomach, holding back only somewhat.
“Ugh!” The thug bent over, recoiling in pain.
His eyes rolled into his skull as the man immediately lost consciousness.
The other thugs froze, their eyes widening.
In the midst of their stun, Myra reached them as well, swift as the wind.
She approached one of them, grabbed onto his sleeve, and threw him over her shoulder with a spin.
It all took a second.
From the thug’s perspective, one moment he was staring at his friend on the ground, and the next he was facing the ceiling with a sharp pain in his back.
The remaining thug only blinked once, then quickly raised his hands in the air, dropping the weapon.
“I give up!”
Cyril halted his movements, staring at him with narrowed eyes.
Myra stared at the man she threw, stopping her fist that was about to land on his throat.
“You too?” she asked.
The thug eagerly bobbed his head up and down, fighting the pain in his back.
Myra nodded with a satisfied smile.
She stood up, turned towards Cyril, and gave him a thumbs-up.
Cyril returned a nod.
“Good work.”
“…How did you know they were actually criminals?” he asked after a moment.
Myra tilted her head at him, confused.
“Didn’t you say the kidnapped girl is here?
And with how suspicious everyone here was acting, I just assumed they were all guilty.”
“I mean, they all hid weapons on them, rather poorly, but still.”
“Right.” Cyril looked away, no longer harping on the topic.
She is experienced in these matters.
“It’s nothing impressive.
You just shouldn’t have overthought things, as usual.”
…I am just being cautious.
At this moment, one of the thugs opened his mouth.
“Please, young heroes, it’s not as bad as it looks.
We didn’t do anything to the girl!”
Cyril silently stood over him, his blue eyes forcing the thug back into silence.
Truthfully, he felt a certain sense of disappointment over the whole affair.
These were regular thugs from the street.
None of them even attempted to cast a spell.
But perhaps it was for the better.
You have to start small.
Cyril took out the bracelet from his jacket, playing with it in his hand.
The red butterfly landed on his shoulder as he sent Myra another look.
“I’ll go free the victim.
Do whatever you want with them.”
Myra stood with her back straight and playfully saluted, like a soldier accepting an order.
Cyril turned around and entered the staff room through the door.
As he disappeared, Myra sharply glared at the thugs while theatrically cracking her knuckles.
The two conscious men loudly gulped, their faces paling.
…
Leaving the thugs’ fate as a later surprise, Cyril entered the staff room.
He was standing in what looked like a resting area with a small couch and a pile of random papers on the table.
No kidnapped people were in sight.
Morpho on his shoulder pointed with her wing deeper into the room.
There was a locked wooden door leading into the pantry.
The door had a glass window.
Through it he saw a single human.
It was a young woman with long brown hair in a braid.
She had green eyes that didn’t hold much strength within them.
She stood with her hands on the door, like a prisoner clamoring to be let out.
Noticing him, the woman took a single step back.
She stared at him like a scared puppy, her gaze wary.
Seems like Anna is here.
The young woman clasped her hands together, as if about to pray at any moment.
Her stance seemed weak, as if a random gust of wind would topple her to the ground.
It was a figure that would elicit protective instincts in anyone who glanced at her.
“What a damsel in distress.” Rhamn glared at the young woman with disgust.
“Waiting for her Knight in shining armor?”
As Cyril scanned the woman locked behind the door, her pitiful green eyes gave him a strange, rather mixed feeling.
She is dangerous.
“She is Cedric’s friend after all.
I wouldn’t be surprised.”
The young woman’s eyes gradually seemed more and more like those of a venomous snake.
The kind that would sink her fangs into her unsuspecting victim without a shred of remorse.
Still, it was a venomous snake he couldn’t hate.
What?
Cyril shook his head, snapping out of the irrational feeling.
I should focus.
He walked in front of the door and yanked on the handle.
Naturally, it was closed.
Cyril briefly looked around the staff room but found no key lying in an obvious spot.
“Just use the universal key.”
Under the woman’s confused gaze, he put his hand on the handle and pulled.
Gradually the door buckled under Cyril’s strength.
After a few moments, the door was pulled off its hinges with a bang.
There.
Cyril dropped the door to the side, dusted himself off the dust, and looked at the stunned woman inside of the pantry.
The brown-haired woman had her mouth wide open, any fear on her face replaced by simple surprise.
“…The door wasn’t that sturdy,” Cyril said, compelled by some force.
The woman slowly nodded, not intent on arguing at all.
If he said it wasn’t sturdy, then it wasn’t.
She peeked at the red butterfly on his shoulder, the slight alarm in her eyes replaced by curiosity.
Morpho hesitantly waved her wing in greeting, to which the brown-haired girl waved back.
After looking at the butterfly for a moment more, the girl took a light breath, as if gathering all the courage in her body, and looked Cyril in the eyes.
“My- my name is Anna.
I am from class IV.
You are from Ailanthus, right?”
“Class IV?!
Even worse than Edmund?!
That’s incredible.”
Anna then went quiet, shyly looking at him with expectation.
Perhaps she waited for him to introduce himself as well.
Weirdly enough, she no longer looked scared of him.
Rather, there was even a blush to her cheeks.
However, her green eyes still gave Cyril a bad feeling.
Trying to ignore the discomfort her entire being seemed to give him, Cyril showed her the bracelet.
“Is this yours?”
“My bracelet!
Yes!” Anna yelled out with joy.
She eagerly grabbed the bracelet from his hands and wore it on her arm.
“My mother was a devout believer of the Earth Mother.
This is all I have left from her.”
“…We didn’t ask.”
Cyril only nodded.
Without offering any words, he turned around to leave the staff room.
With a flash of disappointment in her eyes, Anna followed after Cyril, occasionally peeking at the red butterfly on his shoulder.
…
The auburn-haired girl stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed and a satisfied expression on her face.
On the ground in front of her lay four bodies, all tightly bound by a single rope.
All four of them were unconscious.
There was someone else in the room with her.
Cedric was standing a short distance away, awkwardly clutching the bags in his hands.
He observed the bodies with an unsure expression.
“I think this cafe belongs to the Arken family.
Leo must’ve repurposed it.”
Myra shrugged with an uncaring expression.
“I guess.”
Hearing movement from the staff room, Cedric looked at the door with expectation.
Soon, he saw Cyril come out and, after a short delay, a certain brown-haired woman.
“Anna!” Cedric exclaimed, his face lit up with joy.
He was about to rush to her in pure happiness when Cyril stepped in his path.
He stretched his hand towards him, as if asking for something.
“Right!” Cedric eagerly gave away the bags.
“I thought you told him to wait outside.”
With that, Cedric moved past Cyril and hugged Anna with relief.
“Thank goodness you are safe, Anna…”
“Cedric…?
You are here too?” Anna mumbled, awkwardly returning the hug.
“Sorry.” Cedric quickly stepped away, on his face a strained smile.
“…And sorry for this whole mess.
You ended up being kidnapped because of me.”
Anna tilted her head with a polite smile.
“Kidnapped…?”
“It wasn’t that dangerous.
Don’t worry.”
“Still…” Anna caressed the bracelet on her arm, peeking at Cedric as if to gauge his reaction.
“Leo seems to be doing worse each day.”
Cedric only showed a helpless smile and went silent.
Anna shook her head and looked towards Cyril, her expression slowly turning more subdued.
Noticing her gaze, Cedric stepped aside and gestured towards the two students.
“Anna!
These are the students from my class:”
First, Cedric showed Myra, who straightened her back and raised her head a little.
“This is Myra, the best when it comes to combat in our grade!”
Myra stoically nodded, obviously trying to keep a certain image.
Next, Cedric pointed towards Cyril, his face retaining its optimistic expression.
“You probably know Cyril already, the best student in our grade.
He and his red butterfly are hard to miss in our academy.”
“Come on, assume a proper stance!
We can’t lose to Myra in momentum!”
I will not.
Cyril resisted the urge to frown, only giving Rhamn a brief side eye.
He nodded towards Anna once but otherwise remained quiet.
Surprisingly, Anna’s face didn’t change too much upon hearing his name.
She still looked at him without wariness.
Finally, Cedric gestured towards her with a beaming smile on his face.
“And she is Anna Welley, from class IV.
Don’t let that placement fool you.
I think she has great talent.
She just needs some time to fully bloom!”
In the midst of his energetic speech, Anna began nudging him with an elbow, and as he still continued speaking, straight-up elbowed him.
But that too didn’t work, so all Anna did was sigh and keep quiet while looking at the ground with a red face.
Welley…
I don’t know that family.
Must be a minor one.
For whatever reason, Cyril had a slight curiosity about it.
He was about to ask a question when Myra stepped forward with an awkward face.
“So…
Are we done here?
Or is there anything else for us to do?”
Her words carried a slight hope, as if challenging for any danger to suddenly come their way.
How adventurous.
Cedric chuckled at her words and gave her a thumbs up.
“We can go some place to celebrate!
Both the rescue and our new friendship!”
Immediately afterwards, he bowed at ninety degrees, his voice turning a level more solemn.
“Thank you for helping me.
I won’t forget it.
Let me treat you two to a meal for starters.”
Without replying for now, Myra turned to look at Cyril, clearly gauging his reaction.
Anna at the side kept looking at the ground, though her ears obviously perked up.
In this celebratory and friendly atmosphere, Cyril couldn’t help but reply in kind.
“No need.
I haven’t done that out of the goodness of my heart, nor are we friends now.
This incident ends here.”
There was no way he was going to waste his time on something like this.
The thought was distasteful enough.
Anna’s head was lowered further, her expression hidden from view.
She only caressed the bracelet on her arm as if trying to clean it.
Cedric’s smile lost its momentum, becoming a bit awkward.
“Oh…
I understand.
I didn’t mean to intrude.”
Cyril turned around and walked towards the exit.
Only Morpho on his shoulder waved a wing as a goodbye.
“It is what it is.
Don’t worry about it too much,” Myra replied with a helpless shrug, not much surprise on her face.
She waved them goodbye and followed after Cyril.
“I will still be grateful for this!
Thank you all.
I think you are a good person, Cyril!” Cedric yelled at their backs.
Shortly they were the only two humans left in the cafe.
Cedric could only scratch his hair.
In a moment he turned towards Anna with an apologetic expression.
“Again, sorry for this…”
“Things went well, all things considered, right?”
Anna stiffly nodded, her green eyes still locked on the door.
Following her gaze, Cedric continued with a smile.
“You really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
When I first met him on the manarail, I almost started believing in all the rumors.”
“I don’t agree with everything he does, but Cyril is an alright guy after all.
Maybe in the future, we’ll become good friends!”
Suddenly, Cedric’s face turned awkward as he glanced to the side.
There lay four unconscious bodies.
“I almost forgot.” He scratched his hair with a helpless expression.
“We should get the guards…”
Then he looked towards Anna and chuckled, his face a perfect picture of someone who earnestly believed in his fellow man.
Surely, the bright future he sees is not too far off.