“Halt! Who let you in?!”

  Okay.

  I have several questions, so let’s work through them one-by-one. First question: why was there an unattended little girl hiding in Chie’s workshop? Second question: who was this child and whose child was this? Well, that was two questions. Fourth, then: where were Chie and Aiden? Fifth and final question: what the fuck should I do?

  “I demand answers, Angel!” cried the girl in her squeaky, squeaky voice. She couldn’t be no older than six or seven, but despite her age, her natural presence overwhelmed mine. There was a certain shine to her emerald eyes existing in the same realm as Morgan’s: this girl was beyond her years. That might be ten or eleven but pretty significant nonetheless.

  The girl huffed steam and brushed her shining brown hair back. “I’m gonna repeat myself, Angel, who let you in?!”

  “Uhm…” I pointed at Chie’s prototype [Yokais] on the tables and shelves. “I saw the door was open and thought the engineer was inside—”

  “How do you know Big Sis Chie? She’s not interested in anyone! She loves Big Bro Aiden very much!”

  I could literally ask the same question, but I had a feeling she’d execute me for being too audacious.

  Instead, my shoulders slouched and I forced my voice to have less of an edge: “We’re on the same team?”

  “I see.” The girl rubbed her chin as though my answer was as complex as astrophysics. “You must be the Samurai in the Rain!” (“Nope.”) “The Cultivator in Green?” (“Not her.”) “Oh, I know who you are! You’re the Ugliest Person Alive!”

  I… I have a distinct feeling the title actually belonged to me knowing the boyfriend of Big Sis Chie.

  “Did uh, did Aiden say that?”

  The girl happily nodded.

  “Yup, that’s me, Alexander Shen. Personally, I’m not the ugliest person alive—” (“Big Bro Aiden is never wrong.”) “—alright sure, call me a donkey’s butt.” (“Heh, you said ‘butt.’”) “I sure did, but just to amuse my curiosity—”

  “Ari?!” a familiar voice shouted outside the workshop.

  “C’mere, Ari! C’mere, girl!” another familiar voice joined her, and he started clapping.

  “She’s not a dog, Aiden!”

  “We need a leash on her—!”

  Who I presumed to be Ari gulped. She clamped her mouth like the two dorks outside possessed superhearing even while they were arguing. “Ugly Man, don’t let them see me! I’m, uh, I’m gonna hide!”

  Of all places to play hide-n-seek, she chose the island countertop and hid behind it. You could see her sandals poking out from the corner; plus, with the position of the light fixtures, her shadow exposed her location. Oh, she was also incapable of sitting still. Better than most people, though; the average tracker would need days to find her.

  A few moments later, Chie and Aiden barged into the workshop, ready to flip everything inside-out. The engineer had worked a serious sweat that got through her anime-themed t-shirt while the other one could run for another few miles. However distressed, their anxiety lasted for a couple seconds before they spotted their "little sister" hiding behind the island.

  Sighs of relief went around.

  Aiden wordlessly patted his girlfriend’s shoulder and looped around the island to flank Ari. Despite his loud personality and louder fighting style, the fucker was a ninja. She didn’t see him coming. Thus, ruthlessly, her captor lifted her bodily in the air using a single hand, stretching out her collar.

  She shrieked and kicked her legs, helpless. “Let me go, Aiden—! Lemme go—!”

  “How many times do we gotta tell you? Stop running away! Sheesh, we actually need to buy a leash.” (“I’m not a dog!”) “Do you want a dog?”

  Ari adorably gasped and stopped her kicking. “Really?!”

  “No.”

  “YOU’RE MEAN!” And she started kicking again.

  While I watched the spectacle from a safe distance, Chie claimed the nearest seat to catch her breath. Physical activity and introverted engineers didn’t make for a good match, especially if they were tiny women that weighed as much as a sack of potatoes.

  As Chie rested her head on top of her arms, I casually broached the topic, “So…”

  “Ariella,” Chie answered through pants.

  “And…”

  “Nathan and Sera’s.”

  “Why…”

  “Babysitting.”

  “How…”

  “We babysit her?”

  I shook my head. “I meant, ‘How are you holding up?’ And, ‘How did she break into your workshop?’ And also, ‘How many times has she done this?’”

  Chie lifted her head, red from exhaustion. “You don’t wanna know.”

  Considering her parents, you’d imagine Ariella would be surrounded by constant security in Starry Heights. Likely, she was. If she had Angels Guild HQ as her playground, then Seraph was somewhere conducting business and as soon as she was done, she’d take this little SSS-Ranker off our hands. For a little while, she was our responsibility. Their responsibility, actually. Not mine. Spending the day babysitting Kosmos and Seraph’s daughter was not my cup of tea politely-speaking.

  “Hey!” Speaking of the diminutive devil, she tugged on my sleeve. “You’re ugly and weak!”

  I found the culprit smirking at me. “Seriously?”

  Aiden happily shrugged. “Kids don’t know how to mince words—” (“You’re putting ideas in her head.”) “—she said ‘em, not me. If you have a problem, she’s open to apologies, but fair warning: make her cry and I’m charring you black.”

  “Don’t say that, c’mon…” Chie sluggishly hopped off her chair, too tired from playing cat-and-mouse to scold two of the most problematic men on her team. “I want us to experience seven days of threat-free conversations, isn’t that so much to ask?”

  “You threatened Morgan when he trashed gacha games,” Aiden said.

  “Chunhua and Leo’s entire friendship is built on threats,” I added.

  “Vic’s healer-friend constantly wants to murder someone.”

  “Rei mentions his life-dream of slaughtering Yomiya Yasuyuki in a duel every minute.”

  “...Can we start with you guys first? You have the most presence in the team, so you’re the role-models. Role-models should set a good example for everyone! That means no more fighting, no more bickering, no more threats, just friendship! I mean, your names both start with ‘A’ so you have that in common already.”

  We looked at each other.

  “He uses fire,” I mentioned.

  “I’m not a suspicious prick,” Aiden snarled.

  “I don’t trip fire alarms.”

  “My name isn’t on a government watchlist.”

  Chie face-palmed.

  Aiden and I were friendly but I wouldn’t say we were close. The opposite, really. We were distant. Although we had fought over his well-intentioned concerns about my family, his paranoia naturally cooled throughout the past couple months. Dropping most of his suspicions didn’t mean he wanted to be best buddies, though. I imagine a few things were still bugging him, and any attempt to genuinely connect would be met with snarky comments about [Memento Recollection].

  In due time, hopefully, we’d go beyond friends-who-are-assholes-to-each-other—

  Wait.

  I searched the workshop. “Where’s Ari?”

  Steel beams were shoved into Chie’s and Aiden’s spines and made them stand perfectly straight. They didn’t need to look around to realize the criminal had escaped prison.

  Aiden loudly groaned. “Goddammit.”

  Chie got on her phone. “I’m opening the location tracker again—”

  “Is that the tracking device?” I pointed at the island. An ordinary hairclip was dangerously balanced on the corner.

  Chie chuckled. “Yup, but don’t worry, we have a second tracker—”

  “Hey uh, babe, we got a third?” Aiden held up a suspiciously large button from the ground. “Because we have a problem—”

  Chie screamed.

  ***

  Okay, Ariella Creed was now my responsibility. We split up to cover more ground. I had suggested we text the others, but Chie and Aiden feared the consequences for losing the most important child in the world. And now, I was at risk of getting publicly executed. Not a single boring day in Ordo, huh? I asked around HQ, but somehow, the girl had evaded detection from both swords and corpos. Figured. This was probably the worst security lapse since my uncle snuck into the Office of the Guild Masters and pressed iron against Rector’s skull. Putting fond memories aside, I was afraid my life was about to become one if we didn’t find this girl.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  In the past thirty minutes, Ari escaped Aiden and Chie multiple times. They didn’t give me much of a description of how, but Chie did give me an ominous message: Chaos is her servant. Cool.

  When I was starting to believe finding her was hopeless, someone popped in my [PMs].

  [Problem]

  Care to visit me in the library?

  First floor, in one of the conference rooms. You’ll see me.

  In the group-chat, Morgan had mentioned he was meeting with a team from 1st Wing Magics today, presumably to discuss topics beyond my realm of expertise. Normally, I would turn his offer down but something told me I should take a detour. So I did, greeted the nice librarian at the front-desk again, and found the conference room he’d booked for today.

  Well, I heard the conference room before I saw it.

  Through the glass-wall, a team of six amused and mildly concerned magicians, including the ritualist, gathered around the table, chairs turned toward the seventh and most powerful wizard of them all: a little girl standing on a rolly-chair as she made big and bold proclamations.

  “—magic can’t be called ‘magic’ if we can’t turn medicine into chocolate! And magicians that can’t create fireworks shouldn’t be called ‘magicians’ at all! When I inherit Angels Guild, I’m gonna change that!” Ariella preached from the pulpit, her arm dropping and lifting and dropping and lifting.

  One magicians nervously raised his hand. “Erm, little girl—” (“You will address me as ‘Future Guild Master Ari!’”) “—where are your parents?”

  Ari smugly huffed. “That question is above your paycheck!”

  His friend snorted beside him.

  Another magician butted in for the heck of it, “Future Guild Master Ari, what should we do about Martials Guild’s recent investments in additional netter facilities across the city?”

  “Thank you for using my full title! I’m promoting you when I come into office!” (“Thank you.”) “For that meanie Martials Guild, hmm… Execution! All of them!”

  “She's been making more sense than our government,” someone else said. “She has my support.”

  “Yeah, well, wait for another thirty years.” I barged into the conference room and blocked the door to prevent Ari from escaping. Again. Everyone turned and looked. Underneath Morgan’s hood, I could sense him stifling a roaring laugh. “Sorry, everyone, but this is official Special Task Force duties. Forget what you saw and heard—”

  Ari scowled and thrusted a finger at me. “Don’t let Ugly Adult kidnap me! Tiny Adult in a Cloak, help me!”

  I gritted, “No, Tiny Adult, help me!”

  Morgan calmly shook his head. “I apologize, but protecting the future Guild Master of Angels Guild is not in my job description. Good luck, though.”

  “Motherf—okay. Ari, let’s go back to Aiden and Chie—what are you doing?”

  Ari held her left fist toward me, and around her ring finger was, well, a steel ring. An oddly bulky ring for a little girl to wear. “I’m casting a spell! Smokebomb!”

  “You don’t have a [Skill]—”

  A small trapdoor embedded in the ring opened.

  “I stand corrected.”

  A few seconds later and the entire conference room was filled with foul-smelling smoke.

  Yeah, she’s gone.

  ***

  “Senpai, Senpai! Chie-chan informed me of the crisis and I’ve located Ariella-sama!” Rei greeted me outside Paradise Ascending’s clubhouse, twenty minutes after she took over Morgan’s meeting.

  They were probably the best Wing Team to encounter; however, we didn’t know if any of its team members—or Alexandra herself—was present.

  Rei wasn’t brave enough to answer that question alone due to, well, previous encounters with its Team Leader. That’s why I was here: as reinforcement. Knowing our odds, however, we would need at least ten high-rankers to handle Alexandra and a hundred more to capture Ari. And we were two of the weirdest low-rankers.

  I’d faced worse odds.

  “Let’s not waste any time here,” I told Rei and entered through the front-door, which was surprisingly unlocked.

  Then, ignoring the holy decorations throughout the clubhouse, our worst fears came true. In the main room, the commons, housed two of the most powerful women in the guild: Alexandra, who was pouring warm tea into a small cup, and Ariella Creed, happily taking a sip like a British monarch. They looked like they were enjoying themselves. Not anymore, mind you. As soon as we entered, Ari seized in place and growled like a tiger about to maul me to death, half-prepared to use her teacup as a four-seamer.

  Alexandra tilted her head upwards at our unannounced intrusion, noting our general direction. “There you are. I was wondering when you would arrive. Miss Ariella was entertaining me about the future of Angels Guild.”

  Ari chilled but remained on-guard. “Mhm. I think it’s a stupid idea to have a second Vice Guild Master! There’s only one and that’s Uncle Idris! No one will replace him!”

  Last thing we needed was another VGM.

  “It seems Colossus's half-joke was met with expected scorn,” said Alexandra. "I respect her dedication, however. A little girl should love her family.”

  I stepped forward and Rei moved the same distance, using my body as concealment. “Either way, we have to cut the conversation short—”

  “Why don’t I watch the heiress until Seraph finishes her obligations? Since the Special Task Force is having trouble containing Miss Ariella’s wild spirit. I’ll allow you to join us for tea, even.”

  As enticing as her offer was, that wouldn’t be a good political move. Colossus would eventually catch wind and this issue would blow up into more of a PR disaster than it already was. Although Alexandra seemed friendly, I didn't have a finger on the political pulse of Angels Guild. Who's loyal, who's not, who's subject to change. Worst case scenario, this might become an opportunity for bad actors to challenge our Guild Masters again. I couldn’t deny her either. On paper, we were on equal footing yet in reality, she was the veteran. My senior. People like her—despite the kindness in her heart or otherwise—wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  I gulped and executed the best negotiation tactic I had: “I’ll trade you Rei if you give me Ari.”

  “Granted.”

  “SENPAI, NO!”

  “WHY?!”

  Rei was hanging onto my arm begging me to reconsider, and Ari was hanging onto Alexandra’s arm begging her to reconsider.

  Should I have offered that deal? No, but Alexandra had a strange weakness for Rei or cute boys in general. Would I let her pamper him to death? Not unless the world depended on it—and considering the nature of the situation, that might be likely—but I got my foot in the door. There was a way to preserve Rei’s innocence and capture Ari, but this would require verbal dexterity beyond my current level.

  Shutting out Rei’s pleads, I announced, “Alexandra, I—! Uh, Alexandra? Are you doing okay…?”

  She was pink in the cheeks and muttering to herself. It was so out-of-the-ordinary that even Ari stopped complaining and stared at her. “We’ll enjoy the rest of our day together. Alone, where the outside world wouldn’t hurt a sweet boy like you anymore. What snacks do you prefer? Something sweet, something warm? If you need to sleep, please use my lap and I’ll rub your head so you can be lost in my comfort—”

  Ari backed away and inched toward us. “I don’t wanna be here anymore. The Pretty Nun is scaring me.”

  I slowly nodded. “She’s scaring all of us.”

  Rei glanced toward the open entrance. “S-Senpai, should we…?”

  “Let’s… Let’s leave. I don’t think she’s awake right now.”

  Slowly, to not disturb the sleeping giant, we escaped Paradise Ascending’s clubhouse.

  Ariella Creed captured!

  We wouldn’t let her escape this time.

  ***

  “May I ask why you’ve barricaded your door and locked the windows and ventilation?”

  “Safety precautions,” Aiden said.

  Chie hummed and nodded. “I don’t want anyone to steal guild secrets.”

  “Okay, can I ask why you tied my daughter to a chair?”

  “...We’re roleplaying.”

  “She asked for it.”

  “Alexander, Rei, will you tell me the truth?” Seraph inquired as we flanked the captured heiress, who was in fact tied to a chair.

  In normal circumstances, tying a naughty child to a chair was a little overkill; however, for the mistress of chaos that had turned Angels Guild upside down for a whole hour or so… Well, we’d need more than simple rope. We needed imprisonment spells, barriers, anti-magic fields, the whole nine. To Seraph, though, no mother wanted to see their daughter like this.

  “Mommy, they kidnapped me,” said Ari, surprisingly calm despite her legs and arms being tied.

  I gestured toward her. “What she said. I’m just a lackey.”

  Rei anxiously shifted where he stood. “Y-Your daughter is a very dangerous girl, Seraph-sama.”

  “Well.” Seraph walked to the front of the workshop and faced the entire group. “I’ve heard rumors that a little girl ran around HQ and caused multiple scenes, getting the better of nearly every Slayer in her path.”

  Ari commented, “I thought you recruited better Angels, Mommy! They all suck!”

  “I can name an example,” Aiden muttered. Fucking asshole.

  But the jig was up. I wasn’t expecting us to leave scot-free anyway. While my heart sank a little, Chie and Rei were hit harder by the music. Rei was actively biting his lip and staring at the floor unable to speak up, and Chie was rubbing her hands way too much to be healthy. They were both ashamed, disappointed, and guilty.

  Seraph saw them and sighed. “Alexander, untie my daughter.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  With a few tugs, the ropes came undone.

  Ari leapt from the chair and practically teleported into her mother’s arms, and they had a lasting hug so sweet that it almost purged the dread building in our stomachs. In ten seconds, they caught up on weeks’ worth of comfort and love. We had serious business to take care of, though, and Seraph pulled away from her daughter and kneeled before her.

  “Why did you cause trouble for your guardians?” Seraph asked bluntly. “You’re better than that.”

  “I was bored, Mommy—”

  “No, you weren’t. Don’t lie to me, Ari,” said Seraph, her voice strongly maternal.

  Ari gulped and sniffled. She rubbed her nose, but she couldn’t get the words out.

  “I’m not mad at you. I just want to know—”

  “I want Daddy.”

  The ventilation cut off in the workshop, and we only heard two things: our own troubled breaths and the electricity whirring in the lights.

  Ari stomped her foot, longing tearing across her face. “I want Daddy! I don’t want Chie or Aiden anymore! I want Daddy, I wanna hug him again! Korea’s filled with nasty grown-ups, but why’s Daddy spending more time with them?! Why are they taking Daddy away—?!”

  Seraph embraced her daughter, and Ari sobbed into her mother’s chest. They hugged and they wept, but without a third set of arms, their bodies would stay cold and their hearts would still bleed tomorrow. But they pushed on despite everything, because they knew that, someday after many tomorrows, they’d get what they want: all the hugs and kisses in the world, a dinner table with three seats filled, and bedtime stories.

  I looked at Rei.

  I looked at Chie.

  I looked at Aiden.

  I don’t think any of our parents are still alive.

  Hilarious, right? The Special Task Force really was an orphanage.

  Rei was wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, sniffling.

  Without thinking, I whispered, “You alright, Rei? You, uh, you remember your parents?”

  “...Okaasan made candied Aomori apples,” he whispered, his cosmic eyes far away. “So powerful that we could last for a thousand duels.”

  “Yeah.” I didn’t know how else to reply.

  Memories rained on Rei. Chie joined the group-hug and cried with Seraph and Ariella. Yet the last one in the group, Aiden, refused tears. His jaw was locked tighter than a vault, and veins protruded from his thick arms and hands. Sorrow wasn’t in his heart. He’d burned that away a long time ago.

  I carefully approached him. “Aiden—?”

  “Don’t fuckin’ ask,” he muttered and only I heard him. “Remember what Rector said? You stay in your lane and we’ll stay in ours, unless you want me to rip the answers outta your damn mouth.”

  I maintained my distance just like how we always had.

  “Alright,” I said with a sigh. “Alright.”