Kornacis, the Lantern District, 32 Temptation Avenue.

A wagon rolled to the small alleyway separating the two buildings. A young man jumped out, walked to the back, and opened the back door of the wagon.

"…Come out."

Aren said, rolling his eyes.

With a scream, Mira bounced out of the wagon with a scream and hurled a punch at him, but then an invisible force stopped her.

She fell on the ground, slipped on the dirt, and landed on her butt, the trousers becoming wet from mud.

"You wild monkey!"

Aren put his hands under her armpits and pulled her up. She growled like a rabid dog.

"Before we enter this house, we need to have some ground rules in place. You won't scream or shout inside that house. You do not hurt that woman inside. You don't insult her. You don't do anything that would put her in danger.

"You are kind to her. You treat her with respect and consideration."

Aren said.

"…Might as well kill me, you pig."

Mira said angrily.

"In this moment, you will be her caretaker. You will listen to her like you would with me. You will protect her as if your life depended on it.

"You will address yourself as Mira. If she asks about your relationship with me, you'll say that you are my acquaintance, and you will not say anything about you being Rav'akari.

"And you do not leave this house unless Madam Agnes says otherwise. You do not try to escape either."

Aren said.

"…Fuck you!"

Mira said.

"Good!"

Aren grinned and then pulled her towards the door while she resisted. He opened the door and pushed her inside.

"…Who is there?"

In that moment, Madam Agnes picked up her walking cane and stumbled out of the living room.

"It's me, Madam Agnes."

Aren said with a smile, and then ripped the Human Flesh Mask off Mira's face. She returned back to her Rav'akari self.

She was surprised, as she was certain that Madam Agnes could tell her Rav'akari characteristics, but then noticed that she was indeed blind.

"Ah, young Aren!"

With a smile, Madam Agnes came to him and touched his face. It was indeed the same face that she recognized.

"…Is there someone with you?"

She asked as she could hear another person breathing.

With a sharp gaze, Aren turned to the Rav'akari girl.

"…I am Mira."

She said, sounding like she was gritting her teeth when she was speaking.

"Ah…"

Madam Agnes smiled at the sound of the sweet girl's voice.

"She will be living here with me for a while. She does not have any other place to be, but do not worry, I will also pay for her rent."

Aren said.

"Nonsense! She doesn't have to pay if she lives with you in the attic. The more the merrier, I believe!"

Madam Agnes said with a smile.

"I told her about you, and she volunteered to help you here as well. If there is anything you need help with, you can ask her."

Aren said with a smile.

"…"

Mira looked at him with a frown.

She was bought just to be this blind lady's caretaker? Something wasn't adding up, and she couldn't tell what Aren was after.

"Oh, I appreciate the help very much. I think I have some of my daughter's clothes for her, and I can get a mattress and some blankets and bedsheets for her."

Madam Agnes said and was about to head upstairs, but knowing of her situation, Aren stopped her.

"Just tell me where they are, and I'll go get them for her. You can go and sit in the living room. I saw that there were some newspapers left in the mailbox, so I'll read them to you after I am done with this."

Aren said.

"Ah, sure… It should be in the last room on the second floor, in the room with the bed with the pink blanket and rug. It is a mess in there, so be careful not to trip on anything."

Madam Agnes said, then stumbled back to the living room and sat down on her very own reclining chair.

With a nod, Aren pointed upstairs and looked at Mira sharply.

She just gritted her teeth, and while dragging her feet behind her, she made her way up the stairs.

After getting a mattress, some bedsheets, blankets, and clothes, she carried them to the attic with some difficulty, as the attic hatch was narrow.

Eventually, she put the mattress at the corner and put the bedsheet and blanket on before throwing the old clothes on top of the mattress.

"…This is bullshit."

Mira sat on the mattress, grudgingly staring at Aren, who was standing before the triangle window smoking a cigarette.

"…Cigarettes kill you, did you know that?"

"Then I am sure that you're hoping that I will never quit smoking!"

Aren said with a grin, turned over his shoulder at annoyed Mira, and asked.

"What's your story, by the way? How did you get caught? I heard your kind is hiding over at Sefirah."

"None of your business, piece of shit."

Mira said.

"That's an order."

Aren said with a smile.

That smile really irked Mira off. She wanted to wipe that smug grin off his face.

"…My father is Rav'akari, and my mother is human. My father forced himself on my mother, and nine months later, I was born.

"My father spared my mother, for who knows why, and I was a baby born out of hatred.

"I lived with my mother in a small village, where less than ten people lived. My mother really… didn't like me. I don't really blame her. I really hate her too.

"She is the reason why I am half of a person. This part of me that is human is… disgusting. I wish I could erase it all.

"One day, a slave caravan passed through our village, and they took notice of me. That's a lie, they already knew I was there.

"My mother contacted them. She got paid like 100 Iris coins for me. She was happy, and they took me away~"

Mira said with a laugh.

"Good for them that they got paid for my suffering. My mother really got scammed, huh. Good, good."

She said with a sarcastic tone, then looked at the old clothes next to her and then at the rags that she was wearing.

While the clothes given by my Madam Agnes were "old," they still looked a thousand times better than the rags she was wearing.

She wanted to put them on, but then she looked at Aren and gritted her teeth.

"Go take a bath. You smell really bad. Take the clothes with you, and change into them."

Aren said, took a drag on the cigarette, and then tossed it out of the triangle window.

"…Fuck you."

Mira grabbed the clothes and stormed out of the attic.

"Haha…"

Aren chuckled and then closed the window with a bang.