The Mysteries of the World

"Lavender, you understand your mission, right?"

"Yep, so all I have to do is keep an eye on this Subject K guy, correct?"

"It's not that simple. You're not only there to watch him, but you're also there to guide him. He's like a dog who's just been let out into the wild. You need to make sure he goes in the right direction. Don't be afraid to do what you need to do."

"Aha, I get you~ don't worry; I'm great at training little puppies."

"That better be right. You're the brightest of all the girls in the Colours Project. The facility has high hopes for you. Make sure you don't underestimate Subject K, and whatever you do, do not fall for him. If we sense that you might be doing so, we won't hesitate to swap you for one of the other girls."

"I got it. My standards are pretty high, you know~"

"Good. Report back every night at 11 pm. You're allowed to enjoy your time at Elaine Academy, but do not forget your mission."

"Mhm~ got it, boss."

For the first time in her life, the beautiful young girl was released from the cage—that was the experimental facility of the Colours Project.

***

It was quite late in the night.

Shiina had returned to her room already. Kay was alone, preparing to go to bed. However, before he had the privilege to dive into the comfort of the warm blankets of the dorm, his system abruptly alerted him.

[Mission Assigned]

[Save and retrieve Alice Sinclair]

[Part 1/3]

[Time Remaining: 14 days]

[Failure to Complete: {x1} Wheel of Punishment Spin]

What was this? The time limit seemed weirdly long.

[Alice Sinclair has been marked]

In the middle of a map-like projection, a bright yellow circle glowed. It was not far from the dorms. In fact, it seemed just around the corner.

Kay got up once again and began making his way out of his room. Walking down the silent hallway, he took the stairs to the bottom and went outside into the dark, cold night. There was a light breeze which was enough to cause some goosebumps to form. However, it wasn't a particularly unpleasant night; there was a clear sky with a bright moon and no clouds.

Making his way around the corner, he could hear the voices of a boy and a girl. There was some agitation as the voices grew in ferocity. As he made his way closer, he could begin to distinguish what they were saying.

"...I don't care if Karin told you to come here. She can't control me when I'm at this school. If you try anything like what you did today again. I'll kill you."

"...No matter what you do, I'll reach rank one."

"...You're annoying me, Alice. I really thought we could get along. I really thought you'd be different from Karin. But in the end, you're all the same."

Suddenly, Kay could hear the sound of swords clashing. Making his way around the corner, he witnessed Alice being attacked by one of the most important students at the school. Her brother was the first-ranked student in the second years, the student council vice president and the strongest student in the entire school—Luc Sinclair.

With [Ehyeh's Sword], Luc slashed at Alice from afar. Alice wasn't weak in any regard, being the third-ranked student in the first years. However, against Luc's [Infinite Blade], she stood no chance. With complete disregard for range, Luc's [Infinite Blade] could hit any target as long as there was nothing in the way.

Alice was unable to close the distance between them, but Luc was able to continuously attack her from several metres away.

All of a sudden, Luc noticed the boy watching from the darkness.

"What are you doing at this hour, visitor?"

"Um, I've got some business with Alice."

"Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

Luc's voice was weirdly monotone. However, his tone was clearly indifferent, as if he didn't care about anything.

"I'm just surprised the student council vice president would attack his sister."

"I see what you're doing here. I've had enough of this, do what you want."

With that, Luc suddenly walked off as if nothing had happened.

Alice was on the ground with a large gash on her right leg. The blood was leaking down her leg, staining her white socks with a dark red colour. She was in pain, but she did not call out, instead holding it in.

Kay made his way over.

"What was going on."

"Stay out of this, Outsider."

"Well, it doesn't really matter to me. However, I'm going to need you to come with me."

"Go away! I don't want your pity."

"Maybe I'll tell the school about what happened."

"Wait, no! Don't... tell the school."

"I'm afraid that I've got my own priorities. You're coming with me."

Kay leaned down and picked her up, carrying her like a princess. In shock, Alice tried to break away, pushing against his body.

"Let go of me! What do you think you're doing?!"

"You don't want the school to find out about what happened, right?"

"W-what... about it?"

"I'll clean up your wound, so you don't have to go to the nurse."

Finally, Alice gave in, letting Kay carry her all the way to his room. Luckily, as he made his way through the halls, there wasn't a single other student in sight. It was to be expected since it was late at night, although if someone did see the scene, it'd probably cause a commotion.

Eventually, he opened the door to his room, placing the girl down. As she took a seat on his bed, he grabbed the first aid kit that was hanging on his wall.

"You're not going to try anything, are you?"

"I'm just going to clean up your wound."

[Part One Complete!]

[Get Alice to be your partner for the Practice Tournament]

[Part 2/3]

[Time Remaining: 14 days]

[Failure to Complete: {x1} Wheel of Punishment Spin]

"Ow! Give me a warning, at least."

"Sorry."

Kay dabbed the large wound with some disinfectant. Alice squirmed around a little, but she maintained her composure. After that, he wiped the blood off her leg and wrapped a bandage around it. Eventually, Alice calmed down and looked around at her surroundings.

"So, why did you need me?" she asked.