Hmm, now that the Chief has given me one day off. What should I do? Now that I've got nothing else to do...

Leaning his back onto the window of his branch's office, Ren taps his shoes as he runs in his own mind.

Hmm... Why did I came back here again? Shit I forgot. Maybe I should've go back home. The doctor said that I should rest after all.

As he wipes the back of his knight coat, he sees the sight behind the window- the sky-penetrating central bastion of the Knight's HQ standing stiff on the city's heart, surrounded with the absolute busyness of the roads that circle it. Even within the floor Ren is currently in, the roof of the central bastion is still nowhere to be seen. Several giant spacecrafts is in sight though, but that is to be expected as the central bastion also served as one of earth's interplanetary borders.

Just like when he first arrived here, Ren still couldn't take his eyes off of how tall the building is. Even if it's truly the most extravagant of them all, Ren should've been used to it at this point right?

Ah, thinking off... I've never actually been in there before. Should I explore it for a bit? Hmm... I mean it is one of the city's main attraction after all. Damn, they thought about everything didn't they?

"Ren... Haah... What time is it?" A familiar, ghoulish voice intrudes Ren's thinking.

"Ah, Samuel, you're awake? It's one PM now," Ren looks to the sofa on the lounging area, where Samuel is slithering out of the sleeping Anastasia's ink-filled eye cavity.

"Is... Is the Chief here?" The demon hums.

"No, she isn't. Oh by the way, can I ask you about-"

The demon jolts back into his hole. Not to be seen again.

Well. That's quite annoying.

Ren sighs to himself as he leans back, slightly sliding down as he mumbles his lips.

Welp. It is what it is. Okay then, I'll just go sightseeing the central bastion.

Snuffing out a breath, he giddily steps towards the door, then out to the hallway into the elevator. Floors after, Ren steps out into the intelligence agency's main lobby, still bearing his carefree smile.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Ah, the agency's quietness is as same as ever. Only Cathy's unpleased gaze looms over him as she benches herself in her precious reception table. With a few intentional coughs, Ren approaches with a giddy smile.

"Ehm... I-"

"Don't start."

"..."

"Anyways. I'll go now," He turns around towards the front door of the lobby.

There's no use trying to ask her about yesterday... So... Nope.

Mumbling to himself, he stops right beside the lobby's entrance, where he leans onto its glass window.

Man... Where the hell is Sion? That memory I saw was... Questionable. Maybe Sion knows something that memory bullet doesn't. The only thing left to ask is where the hell is he.

As he loses himself in his own thoughts, rumbling footsteps enters the lobby. A centaur woman together with an orc walk past him further into the lobby's right corner, where they turn to and enters through an extravagantly big arc entryway with a sign that says; 'Cafeteria' plastered onto its trim.

The cafeteria seems to be quite the popular lounging spot. Maybe I should go there. And...

In cue, his stomach grumbles at the thought of food.

Welp, it won't hurt to visit and check that place out. I've nothing to do anyways.

Nodding as he smirks to himself, he walks towards the entryway and the moment his shoe clack in, his eyes widen and his lips curved up at the sight.

Amazing...

"..."

"..."

"..."

No one is here.

As he walks towards the food stall with a giddy smile, he scans his surroundings; within the big, auditorium-like room, the tables of four seats are placed in a half circle pattern, filling half of the room. The food stalls itself stand in a row at the other half of the room, where it consist of plethora of cuisines of many different nations and cultures; Japanese, French, Chinese, American- the selection is complete in terms of menu options. It even have interplanetary cuisines such as Martian style fried rice and many more. With the dome-shaped glass roof letting in fresh sunlight and the rows of greenery planted at the trims of the room's walls, the place indeed makes a nice spot to lounge and laze around.

Aside from that couple Ren saw earlier and a few staffs working in the food stalls, it seems all the seats are empty. And his tail couldn't stop wiggling at the thought of him eating all those food...

"!!!"

he slaps both of his cheeks before shaking his head.

No. No. I shouldn't waste my time here. I'll just get some quick meal and go.

And so, he walks towards the Japanese stall located on the middle of the row in between the American and the Chinese stall. As he leans on its counter, he raises his eyebrows when his eyes meet a familiar four pairs of insect eyes.

"God dammit. I knew this day would come," The familiar, electro-synced voice of a certain, mite-faced cashier buzz through Ren's ears as its source scoff and approach him.

"Ah! You work here too??"

The alien rolls his eyes as expected, "yeah, yeah. Now just tell me what you want and leave. I need to catch some sleep after this."

"Aw c'mon~ aren't we friends already? We practically meet everyday after all."

"Buying packs of mindomie, EVERYDAY. On MY SHIFT. Doesn't make us friends. Hell, I've always wondered how you consume those MSG packs and still live."

"W-Well, it's just that I didn't expect you to work here y'know? And you said it yourself that you should never underestimate the bond between a cashier and his customer..."

"That was just me being dramatic. My fiance fucking dumped me just before our wedding after all."

"Eheh... Well... That's just life... Ehm, anyways, what's the best menu here? Do you have any recommendation?" After that little banter, Ren looks up to the displayed menu; miso ramen, curry ramen, yakiniku don, demi glaze omurice, the menu itself is filled with so much options that he couldn't choose.

But... His drool stops the moment he sees the other end of the menu- the price. 500 Rouss, 650 Rouss, 700, and more and more, it keeps on rising and rising, from top to bottom, till it hits 1500 Rouss.

Now, he understands why no one eats here.

"Hmm... Well, I recommend-"

"Actually... Never mind," Ren says as he slumps away from the stall, defeated and depressed.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Ah... The feeling that ache in your body when you're anticipating something that you've been craving for hours, days, or sometimes, weeks, only for that thing to crumble like dust. Ren can sense his stomach both grumbling and craving, as if he needs to shit that craving out. But well... Even though his family is rich... He in his current status isn't equipped to deal with luxurious pocket changes, just the like of this entire cafeteria that have no business setting up its price like that.

In the end, all Ren could do is to hold back his dramatic tears and cope as he looks to the opened sky above.

Why oh great ones? Why must I suffer like this? Please... someone smart, answer me...

...

...

...

"Ah, Ren. Have you seen the Chief? Is she already in the office?" Like an angel descending down from heaven, the deep, masculine voice of a certain ram-horned demon awakes Ren from his sullen thinking.

He glances to the source of the voice, Kai, Amura and Udin is sitting at one of the table with still sizzling and foaming platters in front of them, thus the hungry fox floats to their table cartoonishly as he sniffs the savory and sweet fragrance of their brunch like a puppy that's about to receive his treat.

"Hey dude... You okay there?" Seeing Ren's wagging tail, Udin the genderuwo raises an eyebrow, though his expression is hidden behind his ragged, green locks.

"Ah! I-Im fine!" Caught in action, Ren pulls back his drools and step away slightly from the table, "I just haven't eaten breakfast yet..."

"Ah, so that's how it is. Then sit. My treat."

At Kai's gentle and accepting voice, Ren's eyes slowly widen as they sparkle with hope once more.

And Kai's smile... It is the most precious and sincere he has ever witnessed in his years of living. So sincere that he looks more angelic rather than demonic, with a beam of holy light shining from behind him.

"Hey darling, why are you so insufferably generous? Ren's rich right? He can pay for his own food!" Amura, who's sitting beside Kai swoops into the offer as she leans onto his muscular arm, "ah, no offense Ren."

"O-okay. Thanks for your concern..." Ren's lively spark fades away just as fast as they came.

"Tch, don't be like that Amura. Beside, you're not gonna be able to finish that ostrich egg all by yourself right?" Kai glances back at Ren, still keeping his angelic and generous smile, "come sit, ignore what she said."

With that, Ren's tail wags again as he sits beside Udin, though his eyes stay locked onto the still sizzling yakiniku pot in front of him.

"Aaahh... Finally... Something other than instant noodles..." Ren grabs a pair of chopsticks from the table's tray and move to pinch a piece of meat. With one pop, the flavors of minced garlic combined with the sweet and juicy meat comes rushing down his tongue as if a waterfall of flavors were kept inside them. Thus Ren begins his feeding frenzy- he rapidly picks off slices of beef one by one.

"Ah ah! Don't eat it all! I want some too!" Udin says as he do the same.

"My, my~ with that appetite, you sure haven't eaten for a while. Where did all those money of yours go? I sure hope that the Chief didn't siphoned them all," Leaning her face forward to Ren, Amura gives him a sly smirk.

"Well, no... Not yet, at least," Ren sighs as he pauses before another bite, "mmph, how did you all know that by the way?"

Udin's beaming red eyes turns to Ren, "hmm? Know what?"

"That I'm... gulp Quote on quote, 'rich'," He says, pulling of an air quote.

"Ah, the Chief actually shared your files to us just before you joined the first branch. Although I do think that's a violation to your privacy, but she does this every time someone new joins so... Fair is fair I guess," Udin answers nonchalantly.

"Ah... I see..."

Somehow I felt like the Chief has gotten away with too many things...

"Ah, by the way, Kai, where were you three days ago? You know, when the Chief suddenly pulls us up to catch two assassins?" Ren mentions, perking his ears to him.

"Ah that... Wait, actually, Amura told me that you flunked the operation. Is that true? But if it is, then that's fine. You can still count the amount of cases you've worked in with your fingers right? Beginners aren't always lucky after all."

"Y-You don't have to mention that..."

"Ah, darling~ don't you remember that I lost an arm fighting in that battle? Ah, if only you're there to protect me with that big, strong arms of yours. It'll be such a dream..."

"That's the third time you've lost a limb. And you're a unicorn, so why should I bother?"

"...Tch."

"Anyways, me, Udin, Samuel and Ana were assigned a case on Mor. A pretty horrific one actually. I don't think you'll keep your appetite if I elaborate," Kai adds.

"Yeah... God... I didn't know the human body could contort like that..." Udin hums, rather accidentally loud.

Eh? Ren slightly jolts his eyes to him.

"Hah, I still have that picture Samuel leaked to me. Wanna see?" Amura pulls out her phone as she scrolls through its gallery.

"Ah... Well, no thanks," The sweet beef in his throat jumps up, but he manages to push it back down.

"Hmm... Speaking of Mor'. I've never been there before. The only other nation I've visited was Thalassenia, but that was when I was still a baby. So I have no memory of it," Ren mentions, putting his chopsticks down.

"Maybe on the next vacation I should visit there, do you guys wanna co-"

"No."

"No."

"No."

All three says in unison, two with a silence stare, one with a passive-aggressive smile.

"Eh?"

"No. And that goes for you too," Udin grabs his shoulder.

Huh?

"Trust me. Don't go there. Especially if you're not a local."

"But... If that's the case then what about you, Kai? You're not a local aren't you?"

"Hmph. That's only because Udin and Samuel were there to guide me. Without them, not even Amura; a fucking unicorn that has made contracts with angelic spirits could survive there."

Ren was about to throw in another question, but through Udin's bright red glare, Ren remembers the words that the former has said the first time they met.

Ah... I remembered now. That place is filled with black magic related shenanigans. I see, i see.

Silence then overcome the group, though the eradication of their palate keeps them noisy, especially Amura with that giant ostrich egg she ordered, of course like her boyfriend mentioned, she burps in satisfaction when merely only one third of the egg is gone.

"Hey, didn't you say you was gonna finish it?" Kai says, disappointed as the pink unicorn leans back onto her seat all the while holding her bloated tummy.

"Welp, hear it for yourself," She playfully drummed her belly, smirking at the demon.

"Sigh. This is why I don't like going out on restaurants with you. You always orders the most expensive dish and never finish them..." With not much excitement, Kai slides her plate to himself as he grabs a fork and a knife.

"Ah, that reminds me. You two are dating right? For how long now?" Ren says as he take one last bite of the sizzling Yakiniku. Udin then takes the plate and scrape it clean with his inhumanly long tongue.

"Hmm... Four years..? I don't know. But definitely around that long, isn't that right darling?" Amura hums, just as Kai slurps the giant ostrich egg like a piece of wet noodle.

"Ehm, pretty much," He refines his lips with a tissue.

"For that long huh? To be honest, you two seems like polar opposites, both inside and outside. But well, honestly, I find that cute too," Ren jokingly says.

"Heh? Inside you say?" Amura smirks, "Every time I take a look at his 'inside', he always says 'mommy~ mommy~ plea-"

A quick punch to her cheek knocks her out in an instant.

"..."

"..."

The eyes on the other side of the table goes blank.

"Ahem, anyways. Shouldn't we go to the office? The Chief should be there by now," Kai mentions, glancing to both Udin and Ren, who's still trying to asses the situation, "Um... Hello? You two okay?"

"..."

"Sigh, sorry if this pathetic unicorn opened her mouth too much. If you still want to eat then we'll go first, see you both later," Dragging the fainted unicorn by her feet, Kai makes her way towards the cafeteria's exit.

"..."

"..."

"Hey."

"Uhuh?"

"You heard... What I heard. Right?"

"Unfortunately. Yes."

-----

The horns of cars doesn't stop the ache that cauterizes Ren's whole body. As he stretches, the taxi behind him takes off along the street, followed by tons of other cars, all cramped against each other. That taxi ride home sure took sometime. Ren didn't imagine that traffic could be this bad in the city, so bad that even when he slept the entire way, his body still feels rigid at the end.

On his first step onto the sidewalk, the slight breeze and the pale orange sunlight is the first to greet him. With not much else to do, he enters his apartment's lobby and quickly make his way into the elevator.

With a preppy harpy lady in a pink dress beside him, Ren presses his floor, and thus the elevator closes its door, welcoming a ding.

As the elevator's sign starts change numbers, Ren goes to rub circles on his stomach, feeling how those meals Kai treated starts to get rough and busy, almost as if punishing him for eating way too much. But welp, he couldn't help it, they're just way too delicious. And combined with all that walking around the central bastion of the headquarter, surely his stomach must really hate its brain now.

But outside of his gluttony, something else is still missing from his checklist for today. That is the full details of the operation three days ago. At least... From someone that actually experienced it. The Chief literally shot the truth to his head, then there's Amura and Cathy who relays the topic to whatever they want or avoid conversing with him at all. Then... There's Kao and Sion, both he still haven't met today.

Even if Sion doesn't want to tell him, he doesn't have to go as far to skip work, he could just-

"Ding."

A notification rings through his pocket.

S××n|18:56
Oi. Did you skip work?

Sion's message slightly widen his eyes, guess he did come to work after all...

Ren_Kitsss|18:57
I actually got there way earlier than everyone. Then the Chief told me to take the whole day off. Did Udin not tell you?

S××n|18:57
No. He didn't

Ren_Kitsss|18:57
Welp

His fingers take a short pause before they begin typing again.

Ren_Kitsss|18:58
I thought you were the one that skipped work?

Ren mumbles faintly to himself as the elevator dings, then the lady beside him proceed to exit.

S××n|18:59
Tf u mean by that?

Ren_Kitsss|19:00
:/
It's nothing

S××n|19:01
Did the Chief tell you?

Ren_Kitsss|19:02
Technically she didn't tell me. But she literally shot me lol

S××n|19:02
Oh god, she did something weird to you didn't she?

Ren_Kitsss|19:03
Well I mean... It worked. So
But I still haven't figured out the full story yet

Ren_Kitsss|19:04
Do you know who that winged man could be?

Sion's typing notification keeps rumbling on the bottom of his screen.

S××n|19:06
Winged man? Who?

Ah. There he goes again, avoiding questions.

Ren_Kitsss|19:07
Actually. Nevermind
Let's talk tomorrow.
And pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee don't be late again

Once again, Sion takes his time to respond.

S××n|19:09
K

...

...

Tch... This guy makes my head boil sometimes...

"Ding." The elevator stops and opens, as he scrolls up the latest news within his family's group chat, Ren takes his steps forward into the hallway of doors, nuzzling his foot into the carpeted floor.

Eh? Big sis is engaged?

He stops to briefly type in a congratulation message.

Welp, good luck to her I guess.

And so he puts his phone back into his pocket and put on a light smile as he skips several doors ahead, stopping at the door that stands on his left at the end of the hallway.

He pulls out his key, and ready himself to pull the knob-

"Creak."

...

The door slightly push open with just a slight touch.

I-It's... Not locked.

As his ears lower themselves, blood begins to rush onto his head and negative thoughts begin to form in his mind. Robbery? Thievery? Or solicitors? Or perhaps... It's the inccubus next door doing something weird?

Shit... No... No... He shouldn't think that way about his neighbor. From when they first met at that club, that guy seems nice, and have common sense at least, though he is a player.

As such, he brave himself to push the door as lightly as he could. But then...

"G-Gah... W-wait... Slow down... You're going too hard..."

And that voice... That deep, brass voice... Ren immediately recognizes that it belongs to his dear lizard friend, Niz. Thinking what could be the case behind those doors, Ren blushes and agape his mouth.

Shit... What in the actual fu-

Swaying his head left and right, he gulps his negative thoughts back down.

Nope. This is Niz were talking about. There's no way he scored one.

Even thought that thought sounds mean, Ren couldn't imagine any scenario that suggests the opposite.

And so, without anymore patience, Ren push open his door.

"Mmph- S-Shit... Fuck..."

Trying not to be distracted by those suspicious sounds, Ren tiptoe his shoes off and sneaks his way through the kitchen. He keeps himself low to the ground as judging from the purple tail that is sticking out from the sofa, Niz seems to be lying down on it, luckily the one he's on is facing away from door and kitchen. Good, anything to make it easier. Ren has decided that whatever business Niz is doing and how the hell he managed to be here in the first place, he'll just go to his room and act as if nothing happened. He doesn't want that grotesque image of Niz's lizard dick to be engraved in his mind after all.

"H-Hey! That tickles... W-wait... Ah! Now you're going too hard again!"

Crawling pass the sofa Niz is on, Ren hurries towards his door as if he's on a guerilla warfare, trying to bypass the enemy's defences. With every drags his arms create, he moves faster and faster to a release from this complex situation.

Yes... So close! My room!

That hope he holds is everlasting, eternal and undying. Yet, something else cuts it short.

"Clank!"

Right beside his waist, a marble vase drops onto the floor alongside the frail, small table holding it. He turns to it, realizing his happily wagging tail to be the culprit.

"Hmm?" A familiar female voice replaces Niz's sounds.

...

Shit. Its fucking over for me, isn't it?

And so, he looks back, to the recent voice.

"Eh?" His face turns blank at the sight of a certain blonde vampire lying on top of Niz with a tint of blood at the corner of her lips, while the same liquid drips from a pair of punctures at the side of the lizard's neck.

The two, realizing they've been caught, both break into blushing messes.

"Ren! W-Wait, this isn't what it looked like!" Charlie immediately jumps off of Niz to crawl towards Ren.

"Please, believe me! I definitely didn't drink from him on purpose! I-Its an accident you see!? An accident! Please Ren, I'm not that insane!"

Ren's face remains as blank as a sheet of paper, while Niz's feels a mental jab in his chest.

That moment, Ren drops silent onto the floor and fall into a shocked slumber.

-----