The woman fell into Slady's arms, who held her carefully.
"What happened to you, woman?"
"I... I was lost... please..."
She couldn't finish the sentence with the tears of pain welling in her eyes. She looked at Slady.
"Please... don't hurt me..."
Her mind unable to bear the pain any longer, she fainted in his arms, which held her easily.
"I can't wake Shaphira."
Slady thought.
Carefully, he laid her in his arms and began carrying her to a secondary bedroom, a simple but well-organized space.
As he laid her on the bed, Slady watched the woman, seemingly hesitant... but he took action.
Carefully, he partially removed the woman's clothing, regarding her semi-nudity and injuries with neutrality.
'She's gotten herself into some pretty dangerous fight...'
With a sigh, Slady grabbed some tissues and a syringe filled with colorless liquid.
"Another problem to deal with..."
She murmured
hours later...
Waking up in her chair, her gray gaze fell on the woman in front of her, her body already uninjured.
Getting up, she stared at her, feeling a certain familiarity she couldn't remember.
'Now that I think about it, where have I seen this woman before?'
***
Sleeping soundly in her bed, Rin Yuang was salivating. But unfortunately, her cell phone vibrated with a call.
"Ahhh..."
She wiped the liquid from her lips, frowning at the phone screen.
"...What does this idiot snack thief want?"
She answered, putting the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
Then Slady's voice came through the phone.
"I need your help."
***
Already dressed and standing next to Slady, Rin looked tense. Maybe it was because of her presence?... But her surprise was clear when she saw the bed.
"My god..."
"What?"
"That woman is Victoria Noughter!"
Confused by Rin Yuang's exaggeratedly shocked expression, he questioned her again:
"Who is that?"
"It's Victoria Noughter! She's a Destruction Hunter!"
She sat in a chair nearby, looking like a crazed fan seeing her favorite celebrity.
"She's amazing, and she has a very strong HUSBAND!"
"So young and she's already married..."
Slady muttered... before Rin Yuang interrupted.
"Wait... you did something to her?!"
He answered truthfully:
"No, I just took off some of her clothes and..."
"WHAT?!?!"
Rin Yuang placed his hands on Slady's shoulders, shaking him.
"You hurt her!?"
"...No, I just tended to her wounds."
Suspiciously, Rin brought her face closer to Slady's, trying to find any trace of a lie: her lips? Her gaze? Her breathing?...
But she found nothing.
"So..."
He sighed.
"Better let her wake up, Slady. Don't pressure her or anything, just... be someone who won't make Faller raise his hand to hit you!"
"And who is this Faller?"
"Her husband."
"Right..."
He swallowed.
Adjusting his clothes, Rin Yuang stood up and waved with a mischievous smile.
"Good luck with her... and her husband."
She left with hurried steps.
But something seemed strange:
From the moment she arrived until she left, Rin Yuang seemed tense, as if she feared something, or someone.
Knowing Slady's secrets must be a heavy burden.
'You seem to fear me, Rin Yuang. I'll lift that weight off your shoulders.'
She thought.
***
A few minutes later, Victoria Noughter, who had been unconscious in bed, woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw her semi-nude self beneath the covers.
"What...?"
Her gaze went from confused to intimidating in an instant, turning her face to face the one beside her.
"Explain yourself, now!"
Her hair fluttered in the air, the humidity of the library emerging from the material in tiny droplets of water, all sharpening and pointing at Slady.
"I tended to your wounds, I just forgot to sew your clothes."
Wanting to prove this theory, Victoria peered under the covers... nodded:
"Oh, thank you... sorry for my recklessness."
With her apology, Victoria extended her free hand.
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Victoria Noughter... can you give me some clothes?"
"Pleased to meet you, call me Slady... and I'll get your clothes."
He handed her some casual clothes, which he had. The woman took them, feeling the fabric against her fingers...
"Please turn around."
So Slady did.
Internally grateful, she turned around and put on the shirt and pants she'd been given, a little displeased with the tank top, but still grateful.
"Thank you... for everything."
"It was nothing much, I just did the minimum..."
As she turned around, silence fell between them; it wasn't uncomfortable, just... peaceful.
"Oh, I wanted to let my husband know I'm okay. He'd be very worried if I didn't come home!"
"I understand."
He handed over his cell phone, leaving the room for privacy.
***
In a room, Slady watched Shaphira rest in silence, until he heard a knock on the library door...
Upon opening it, even his one eye, normally listless, widened at the figure before him:
The man was a little, no, a lot bigger than Slady. His hand rested on his white hair, his blue eyes gazed at him calmly, and his body... too muscular.
"Sorry to bother you this morning, knight, but my dear wife just informed me that a 'sweet man' took care of her while she was vulnerable. Could you be that man?"
His hand extended, with a smile so beautiful it would charm even the most disinterested woman.
Slady felt like a child greeting a grown man, swallowing hard and responding.
"Uh-huh..."
He greeted him...
***
Sitting on the library sofa, Slady could only hear the murmurs from the room Faller had gone to. As he opened the door, the man's determined steps descended the stairs until they reached him.
He knelt and pulled both of Slady's hands, squeezing tightly, but without destroying the prosthetic or the flesh-and-blood hand...
"Thank you!!!"
He thanked him with tears in his eyes. Slady bowed his head, as if he had considered the possibility of dying that very day.
"...You're welcome? What did your wife tell you?"
Faller's expression grew more serious, sitting next to Slady and placing his hand on her shoulder.
"She told me about the clothes... I'll be honest with you, I really appreciate you taking care of her, but be careful with the privacy of people who don't know you. They might think you hurt them."
Slady wasn't expecting a lesson, but he absorbed the knowledge.
"Understood."
After hearing Slady's apathetic understanding, Faller patted his thigh, giving him a puppy-dog look.
"My wife is still tired, can we stay here for now?"
"Oh, yes, just... don't make a mess."
"Of course! We're good visitors!"
He gave Slady a friendly pat on the back, hurriedly climbing the stairs...
***
In her Renkai Creature form, Shaphira walked the halls after waking up. But as she passed the room where Faller and Victoria were...
"A demon!"
Like lightning, Faller drew his sword to eliminate her...
But with a burst of smoke, Faller felt his sword being grabbed, and the air dissipated, revealing himself to be Slady, without the eyepatch and holding the weapon with his mechanical hand.
"I appreciate your good intentions in eliminating a demon, but not when that demon is my daughter."
"Daughter?!"
Faller and Victoria said in unison, surprised by the robotic eye, by the strength demonstrated... and the daughter?
"But that's a demon!"
"It doesn't matter."
He released him, placing the cloth over the mechanical eye again.
"I forgive you for the mistake, but don't ever think of attacking her again."
With that, he retreated from the hallway.
Faller and Victoria felt chills run through their bodies, knowing they mustn't make the same mistake in the future.
***
Trembling in his lap, Shaphira nuzzled Slady's face, who soothed her with caresses.
"Shhhh, it's over, it's over. No one's going to hurt you. They're not bad people, don't worry."
Minutes later...
After everything stabilized, Slady found them sleeping in the bedroom.
"...I'll charge you for this."
Leaning against the wall, Slady brushed her long, dark hair over her shoulder, stroking it to ease her mind.
"What a stressful day... I'm going to have to do double duty."
She murmured.
In her workshop, Slady grabbed some syringes and filled them with liquid.
In each of their bedrooms, Slady injected the liquid. Shaphira, who was still calming down in her room, suddenly passed out. Faller and Victoria, who were sleeping, didn't even feel the sting due to Slady's gentle application.
***
After taking customer orders and doing his "night job," Slady returned to his library...
***
Upon entering, Slady came across an unexpected scene: Faller and Victoria had woken up, the woman was making dinner, and the man was tidying up the library.
"I guess I don't need to charge them anymore."
He thought.
They both looked at Slady, giving a brief nod.
"Good evening, Slady. We decided to do a few things to apologize for earlier..."
Victoria commented, returning to her work.
"Yes, we were cruel to your... girl. We want to make amends. We even fed her."
Slady's gaze fell on Shaphira on the couch, who was eating her prepared lunch, looking much happier and calmer.
"I appreciate that, Faller and Victoria. I was a bit harsh too, but I'm glad they took good care of Shaphira."
He replied apathetically, but deep down, he felt content.
With their relationship more amicable, Slady stepped away and walked over to Shaphira, kneeling down and asking,
"Did they treat you well, Shaphira? Tell me the truth."
With a calm smile, she replied.
"Yes, they were very good to me. Humans are good!"
"I hope they are."
He stroked her ears.
***
In the kitchen, the couple spoke in whispers:
"Faller, dear, did you notice that when we woke up and Shaphira saw us, she seemed tense, but not out of fear, but because she was holding back?"
"Do you think she wanted to attack us?"
"A Renkai Creature's instinct is to attack any human. But apparently, Slady taught her how to control herself very well."
"Well, it's best to just treat her well so she can trust us and... not lose control."
"Yes. I definitely don't want to get into trouble with Slady if we're responsible for hurting her, Faller."
***
After night fell from the skies, Shaphira fell asleep in her room, and Victoria and Faller said goodbye, Slady found herself in silent solitude, her mind troubled.
'I won't sleep if I don't do this...'
She thought
***
In the Libertanhya Criminal Investigation Department, Rin Yuang was sleeping peacefully. But suddenly, a weight could be felt on the bed, then a voice whispered.
"You and Roger didn't know me better... I'll fix this."
Then a syringe was injected into Rin Yuang's neck, and his forehead received a clean, careful cut.
In a dark room, Rin Yuang and Roger's BRAINS lay in a jar.
"Sometimes knowing too much becomes a disadvantage. You know things about me that you shouldn't."