Machua looked back and forth nervously. It was a little past noon, but for some reason, she felt as if there were people staring at her wherever she went. Realistically, she knew that wasn’t the case, but the fact she was going to a ‘secret underworld, uh, eating place’ made her nervous. She wasn’t sure if it was gonna be a stall or a restaurant, it could be underground or at the top of a skyscraper. Whatever it was, she really wasn’t sure about this.

  ‘Ughhh! How can he just dump that on me all of a sudden!’ She angrily thought.

  Machua hurriedly tilted her head around the upcoming corner.

  ‘No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have pressed him. I was too curious,’ she realised.

  “What are you doing?” Machia suddenly asked.

  “N-nothing,” Machua stammered.

  Machia poked his head around the same corner. “Well, it sure seems like you were looking at nothing."

  “Yes! We’re good.”

  “Good about wha-“ Machia paused. “Never mind. Listen. Whatever you’re thinking of, you’ve got it wrong.”

  “But…“

  Machia cut her off there. “And anyway, we’re almost there.”

  Machia strode towards what seemed to be an ordinary diner. It had a large sign at the front that said: ‘Rho’s’. From the outside, it certainly seemed like an ordinary diner. At least to Machua it did. It had to be an ordinary diner. What else could it be? It was an ordinary diner, she was sure of it.

  Walking inside, Machua found that it seemed like an ordinary diner from the inside as well. It was cosy, homey, and not very many people were in it. It probably turned into a den of underworld dealings at night though. Maybe the counter would suddenly open up and reveal an armoury of guns and bombs.

  At its front was a well-shaved foxkin manning the counter. He didn’t have fox ears though, only the tail, which was a sign that he was only half-foxkin. The other half, Machua couldn’t tell what it was. He was busily cleaning his glasses, not even looking up when the two had walked in. On his shirt was a nametag that said ‘Rhody.’

  “Sup, boss. Table for 2,” Machia said to him.

  Rhody put on his glasses and squinted his eyes, looking at Machia. “Only regulars call me that.”

  “I’ll be a regular soon enough, I think,” responded Machia.

  Rhody frowned slight before shrugging. “Sure. That works for me, I guess. Sit over by the window there. The menus will be there soon enough.”

  “Come on.”

  Machua followed her brother over to their table. It was just as they sat down that the menus appeared. There was no sign of movement, Rhody didn’t come by and slide them over or tossed them, they just appeared. It was sudden, almost like they were already there.

  “He teleported the menus,” Machia answered before Machua could even ask.

  “Teleporting means it’s the Space Aspect right?”

  “Yep. Though it’s only a Minor Aspect,” he said matter-of-factedly, while flipping through the menu.

  “Huh? You can tell it’s a Minor Aspect?”

  “Yep. It’s easy to tell if someone has an Aspect, because their mana flows more naturally with the spell. The difference in how natural a Major and a Minor Aspect is pretty small, so it’s difficult to sense it at first. But once you’re around it enough, you’ll get the hang of it,” explained Machia.

  Machua nodded and left it at that, then perused the menu. Steak, fries, burgers, pizza, the usuals were all here. There were eggs, stir-fry, and even instant noodles if she wanted it. As for the drinks, there was a bunch of different types of coffee. Enough to fill half a page.

  “I think I know what I want,” Machua said once she finished closing the menu.

  “We’re ready to order!” Machia called out.

  “Call it out!”

  “I’ll have the pork cutlet curry-“

  “Wait!” Rhody interrupted. “We don’t have that.”

  Machia paused and looked at the menu again. “…You don’t huh? Well, maybe you should get into curry.”

  Rhody snorted. “Whatever. Little lady, you order first while your bro figures his order out.”

  “Okay. I’ll get the Erebus Burger set then. For the drink, let’s go with a banana milkshake.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Machia gazed deeply at the menu, trying to figure out what he wanted. After a little while, it seemed like he gave up.

  “Spiral Pizza then. I’ll get a black coffee and at least 4, no, 5 sugar cubes too.”

  “… What’s the point of getting black coffee if you’re gonna get so much sugar?” Machua commented.

  “That’s…” Rhody began. He wanted to say so many things about that, but he decided against it. “… I don’t recommend that.”

  “I like the taste but it’s too bitter for me.”

  Rhody scratched the back of his head with some irritation. “… Well, alright then if that’s what you really want.”

  He swiftly moved into the kitchen at the back, leaving the two relatively alone. The menus disappeared with him.

  Machua really wanted to ask about the odd interaction, but it was clear Machia wasn’t gonna explain further. He seemed like he knew Rhody, presumably the owner of Rho’s, but Rhody didn’t know him. Must have been one of his info broker thingies. He probably came here before in a disguise or something.

  “Oh, yeah. Machi, how is this place, uh, ‘underground?’” Machua questioned.

  “Rho back there, the boss of this place, is actually a retired Hunter. He’s pretty capable, as you can tell from him casually warping those menus to us. Most people wouldn’t do that unless they had a ton of mana to spend or are super familiar with the technique.”

  “Hmmm. I get it, I think. He’s like a deterrent then?”

  “Yep.” Machia confirmed. “People can freely have conversations here without worrying if any fights are gonna break out cause Rho will throw them all out. He isn’t even afraid to throw out Erebus Squad if he needed to.”

  The phrase ‘Erebus Squad’ really got Machua’s attention.

  “Erebus Squad too? Really? He’s that good?” Machua asked, sending looks to the kitchen from time to time. She could sometimes hear cursing alongside the sounds of tumbling pans from there.

  “Rumour has it he worked with them when he was still active.”

  “Really? The Erebus Squad? The strongest Hunters Erelier has? There’s no way he did.”

  “Who knows the truth, really?” Machia shrugged.

  “…” Machua decided getting annoyed about it wouldn’t do any good. “Anyway, man, we were lucky to meet one of them so soon, huh? Plue’s cute to boot!”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Machia nodded. “Lemuel’s always patrolling around Erelier though. He’s the easiest one to meet. Now if you wanna meet Galas, that’s an issue. That guy’s always out of town on missions.”

  Seeing as Machia was so knowledgeable on Erebus Squad, Machua asked further. “What about Reina? Sienna?”

  “Reina’s like Galas. Always out hunting monsters. I’ve heard she tries to come back as soon as her job’s done because she has a kid to take care of here though. As for Sienna, her movements are very secretive. From what I’ve gathered she stays in Erelier most of the time, but not always.”

  “Hoh… Your information network’s pretty solid,” Machua exclaimed approvingly.

  Suddenly, the food they ordered warped onto the table. The food actually looked pretty good despite all the noise from the kitchen. Machua bit into her burger and found it to be very delicious. She’d have to come back here.

  Machia dropped his sugar cubes into his coffee. “It’s my job. I usually charge a lot for this, but since this is your first time, I’ll let you have this for free. No family discount though.”

  “How generous,” Machua said, while silently stealing a slice of Machi’s Spiral Pizza.

  Just as she was about to bite into it though, her phone rang. Actually, both her and Machi’s phone rang. They shared a look, before fishing out their phones.

  An automated voice rung out, “Hello, Machua Purin. Congratulations on being chosen for a Hunter Squad. Your new squad has decided to keep their identities a secret, so look forward to meeting them! The details will be sent to your email, so be sure to peruse them.”

  “Hohoh! In the same day?” Machua exclaimed. “How lucky are we?”

  “Haha. You never know, we might be assigned to a pretty crappy squad.”

  “Or… Or! It could be one of the Erebus Squad members!” Machua took a big bite of her burger as she pointed it out.

  “Hah! What’re the chances though? None of them are in any position to take on a squad,” Machia said in much of the same tone as Machua.

  “You never know~ Their positions might be about to change.”

  “We’ll see. The first meet’s this weekend. I’ll be getting you trained up before then so you don’t embarrass me.”

  “Embarrass you? Please. I’ll be so good at hunting, I’ll get a penthouse in no time."

  “Pfft.”

  “Grr. I’ll show you. Just you wait.”

  ———————————————————————

  “I-I’ll pay you back, I swear!” Grovelled a man on the ground. His face was bruised and blackened, and he was holding his chest in pain.

  His debt collectors loomed over him, their faces without a single hint of sympathy.

  “If ya wanted mercy…” One of the debt collectors cracked his knuckles.

  “Then you shoulda paid it back asshole!” The debt collector slammed his fist into the man’s face.

  Blood splattered over the floor. But the debt collector wasn’t done yet. He slammed his foot onto the man’s ribs. An audible crack could be heard.

  “Hey, hey, keep him alive you hear? Can’t get his cash if he’s dead. But more importantly, we don’t want ‘him’ coming down on us,” one of the debt collectors, dressed in a much fancier outfit than the others, warned.

  “You got it, boss.”

  The debt collectors began beating the poor man until they were satisfied.

  “Hah… How many Cets did he owe us?” The fancy debt collector muttered.

  “Must be at least a million by now, eh, boss?”

  “Mm… I feel like we raised his interest rates a bit higher than that, but sure. I’ll let you off easy so long as you pay within the week.”

  “A million Cets in a week!?” The bloodied man exclaimed. “That’s-that’s impossible!”

  “A million Cets could buy you a luxury brand car. For a common office worker, that’s too much to ask.”

  “That’s what he gets for not paying up! Ain’t that ri-“ The thug began to say as he took a look back.

  Suddenly, he froze, not daring to utter a single word. His friends all looked at him in confusion, before taking a slow and careful glance at who he was looking at.

  The man was wearing a casual-looking hoodie, with nothing that could really be said to stand out. His clean brown hair peeked out from underneath the hoodie, obfuscating him just that little more. However, no matter how ‘normal’ this getup was, there was no concealing that famous face of his.

  “L-L-Lemuel Salas!” The fancy thug yelled. Each debt collector sprung into combat positions, whipping out their weapons.

  “Hah… I thought it would take longer to get recognised. Perhaps I should try wearing sunglasses like Gal does,” Lemuel sighed.

  “I’m off-duty right now, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let you guys go,” saying this, Lemuel raised his hand.

  Mana flowed out of him, dashing to the entrance of the alleyway. Within seconds, a powerful defensive barrier had formed at its entrance, ensuring no escape.

  The debt collectors tensed up at the barrier. Lemuel Salas had an almost 100% catch rate when it came to criminals precisely because of his Aspect. With defensive walls so staunch no ordinary man could hope to break, it was nigh impossible to escape from him. At least, not without taking down the man himself.

  “Argh! No choice! Take him down!” The head of the gang yelled out.

  Immediately, gunshots sounded throughout the area. Bullets flew at Lemuel, who didn’t bat an eye. Just as it seemed they would make contact with him, the bullets clanged off of an invisible barrier. Each bullet that should have met skin and drew blood bounced off of him. Others flew past him and hit the wall, which gave the same result.

  “Kh!” The thug’s leader dodged a ricocheted bullet as he barked out commands. “Get in close! He can’t take us all on!”

  The thugs rushed forward with their knives out. Lemuel, in turn, began calmly walking over to meet them.

  “Drop your weapons and you’ll get off with a lighter sentence.”

  The first blow was made by a thug, who made an attempt to stab at Lemuel’s ribs. His knife shot towards Lemuel’s torso, who made no attempt to stop it.

  “Huh!?”

  The blade did not pierce him. It did not even bounce off of his skin-tight barrier, it simply stopped. In mid-air.

  “D-die!” He screamed, trying to stab at Lemuel over and over again.

  “That’s a line you shouldn’t cross,” Lemuel stated, as he swiftly grabbed the thug’s arm and threw him over his shoulder. The knife dropped to the ground with a clang.

  “There’s two more of you. I’m sure you understand that all of you can’t even scratch me, so I suggest surrendering.”

  “N-never!” One of the thugs yelled, scampering over to their debtor.

  “I-idiot!” The leader shouted.

  “Shaddap! Come closer and I kill him! I swear it!”

  The thug’s knife neared the bloodied man’s neck. The man was so woozy that he could barely recognise what was happening, but even he could feel the cold glint of steel on his neck.

  “Don’t do it. Nothing good can come out of this.” Lemuel’s gaze tightened, glaring at the thug. Even still, his steps drew closer.

  The thug’s face was filled with sweat, but at this point, it was all or nothing. “Let us go, and I’ll let him go! Drop the barrier and don’t chase after us!”

  Lemuel’s steely eyes did not betray any emotions. He did not say a single thing and only stepped closer and closer. The leader’s breath hitched as Lemuel passed him, for he was too afraid to do or say anything. Threatening to kill someone was something he had done before, but the actual deed was a line he never dared cross. Yet, he saw in his underling’s eyes a frenzied glare that told him he just might do it.

  “I-I’ll do it! For real! You want this poor guy dead or something!?”

  No response. Lemuel slowly kept walking.

  “Gah! D-damn it!”

  The thug’s fingers, trembling, tightened their grip on his knife. Lemuel showed no hints of fear, despite the fact he had a hostage. Was Lemuel Salas, the protector of Erelier, really this cold? No, maybe he just believed he didn’t have the guts.

  “I’ll kill him! Back off! Last warning!” The thug shouted, reeling his arm back for a stab. His hostage attempted to struggle, but his weak and battered body did not help.

  Lemuel paused. He took one deep look at the thug, took a deep breath. And then made his move.

  “No-!” The leader yelled. But it was too late.

  The knife stabbed into the guy’s throat, or it would have if the knife did not break upon contact.

  Lemuel landed a powerful punch to the thug’s face, causing him to release the hostage. He followed up by slamming him straight onto the ground and stomping his chest. By the time this had finished, the hostage had only begun to limply fall forwards. Lemuel gently caught him and laid him onto the ground.

  ‘How the hell did he sneak his mana over to him without any of us noticing?’ The boss wondered.

  “Call an ambulance for him,” Lemuel ordered the thug’s leader. He hurriedly did so.

  Lemuel turned to the thug next. “What you did back there was just as worse as if you actually killed him. That was a line you shouldn’t have crossed.”

  The thug was incoherent and could barely acknowledge Lemuel’s words.

  “You’ll be receiving a longer sentence than your friends here. I hope you’ll take the time to reflect on your actions.”

  Lemuel sighed and began to pull out his phone. After dialling the EPG’s number, he began to speak. “Hello, I’ve got an-“

  Suddenly, Lemuel noticed his phone wasn’t in his hand anymore. His eyes darted left and right, looking for it, finally landing on the leader of the thugs, who was still standing. Nervously, he pointed upwards.

  Lemuel slowly looked up, his gaze settling on a strange intruder. This intruder was floating in the air, upside down, letting his long rabbit ears droop. Those ears were the same colour as his hair, a deep, dark blue, and on his face was a pair of sunglasses, despite the fact it was night. Strangely enough, his hair did not droop down, and instead acted as if gravity was reversed. The most noticeable thing about him however was his smile, a smile that seemed as if nothing could get him down.

  “Gal.” Lemuel snatched his phone from his friend’s hand. “Came looking for me?”

  “You were takin’ too long. Geez, just when I finally carved out some time for you.” Galas rotated himself mid-air and slowly landed. His rabbit ears drooped down the side of his face.

  “Take the call for me,” Lemuel tossed his phone at the leader of the debt collectors and ordered.

  The thug’s head, who was too nervous to do anything but nod, began to call the police on himself. “Y-yes. Who am I? Oh, uh, I’m one of the criminals. Yes, he made me take this.”

  “Is waiting just a little bit longer too much to ask, Gal?” Lemuel stood with a wry grin.

  “It’s been a month since we last met up. How could you ask me to wait even longer?” He asked in a singsong voice.

  “It’s only been a week. And now that you’re here to stay, I imagine we’ll be meeting up often.”

  Lemuel held out his hand and the head of the thugs quietly handed his phone back. Hearing the all-too-familiar sound of sirens, he breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Let’s get back to our meeting spot, yeah?” Galas said as he skipped on out of the alleyway.

  “Sure,” Lemuel responded, not paying any attention to the other person who was still standing there.

  “U-um…” The man muttered.

  “I’ve encased you in a cube. It’ll dissipate once it’s detected you’re in handcuffs,” Lemuel explained as he walked away.

  “Oh. Uh, okay then. S-sorry for all the trouble…”

  ———————————————————————

  “Coming in, boss!” Galas yelled as he kicked in the door.

  “Damn it Galas! Stop doing that!” The aforementioned ‘boss’ in question slammed the counter table and growled.

  “Teehee,” Galas lightly laughed.

  “Who the hell says teehee!? Argh, I’m putting the repairs on your bill.”

  “Now, come on, Rho, what’s a door between two comrades?” Galas dashed up to the counter and made his best attempt at puppy-dog eyes. Not that anyone could tell since he was wearing sunglasses.

  “A lot. Now hurry up and order or I’ll kick you both out.”

  “Including me?” Lemuel slowly walked in and sat at the counter.

  “Yeah. You oughta keep him on a tighter leash.”

  “We both know it’s impossible to keep this bunny under control. Even for his sister.”

  “Hey, I pride myself on that. Helps a lot when I’m abroad.”

  “Say,” Rho interjected, “You’re staying here for a while, yeah?”

  “Yep. Finally got myself the 3rd member of the squad. Finally, poor Carmine and Rasa will have another playmate.”

  Lemuel perked up. “On that note, I should mention I managed to pick out some friends for Plu, too.”

  “Oh ho!” Galas’ sunglasses slid down his nose a little. “Bet you I can teach my squad better than you can.”

  “It’s not a competition, Gal. And I don’t think either of your kids would appreciate being used like that.”

  “What’s the harm, Lem? Competition begets improvement. Just look at us!”

  Galas sat on the counter and spread his hands. “Two simple classmates, driven by their desire to overcome the other. One would go on to become the shield of Erelier, the other would go on to become the best magician in the world.”

  “‘Best,’” Lemuel repeated.

  “Yes, best. Because every other magician out there could never beat me. I’ve proven it.”

  “Get off the counter!” Rho kicked Galas off. “And go order something already.”

  Instead of faceplanting onto the ground however, his face stopped just an inch before it. The man’s body then slowly rotated and floated over to a chair.

  Lemuel ordered first. “Just some fries please. I’ll be eating out with Plu later.”

  “And I’ll get…”

  Galas licked his lips as he looked through the menu. Despite the fact he always got the same thing, he always took his time perusing the menu.

  “Erebus Burger set. Game day fries. And the black coffee with 5, nah, I’m feeling 6 sugar cubes tonight. Got a mission to get to after this.”

  “…” Rhody’s face, already irritated, turned into an even bigger frown upon hearing the order. His eye began twitching even more.

  “What is it?” Lemuel asked.

  “A first timer has the same shit taste as you do,” Rhody answered.

  “What can I say? I like the taste, it’s just too bitter for me.”

  “I really can’t believe the two of you said the exact same fucking thing,” Rhody said, folding his arms as he did so.

  Galas let out a hearty laugh. “That guy sounds great! Maybe I’ll get to meet him someday.”

  Galas cracked a grin as he put his sunglasses into his shirt pocket. His mystical grey eyes shone, now released from their prison.

  “Now I’m all excited. Wanna go a round, Lem?” Galas turned to his partner.

  Rhody frowned. “That better be a round of drinks and not what I think it is.”

  “I can’t be drinking before having dinner with my daughter. But… if it’s the other thing, then I think I could go a few. Have to work up an appetite.”

  Galas and Lemuel’s auras grew. Their mana’s restraints slowly loosened, bearing down on the surrounding area. Galas had a confident smirk on his face, while Lemuel was calmly smiling back.

  “Out! Outside the restaurant!” Rhody shouted.

  “Oh, we can’t do that, Rho,” Galas responded. “We might hurt some of the populace.”

  “The barriers I helped set up for you will hold, I’m sure of it.”

  “Finish cooking the food and we’ll stop right then and there. But until then…”

  “WE’RE NOT DOING THIS AGAIN!” Rho suddenly charged the two.

  Grabbing their hands, Rho enveloped them with as much of his mana as he could muster. The two did not struggle and within the second, all three had disappeared from the restaurant.

  It was said that residents of Erelier felt small tremors that night.