chapter 1

"Get back here!"

"Get him! Run faster, why are you all so slow?"

I hear the shouts of my pursuers as I keep running, not bothering to look back.

'Fatasses should have chosen to exercise instead of eating. No way am I getting caught by you guys. It feels like a heart attack will kill you before you catch me,' I talk in my head, as I continue to run without looking back, even at there complaints.

I jump over a shop counter on the deserted street and dart into an alleyway. The town, riddled with narrow alleys, offers plenty of obstacles. I leap over bins, increasing the distance between me and my chasers.

Ahead, I spot a student from the prestigious Lionheart School.

"The barrier at that school has a unique property: it spreads any magic within its range. This diffusion could also hide the artifact's magic, making it appear scattered throughout the place. They're rumored to house numerous magical artifacts themselves, so if she arrives" i continue my talk in my head

'I can throw the artifact into the school's vault, suggesting that the school orchestrated the theft. This shifts the focus away from me' With this strategy in mind, I plan to use the school both as a hideout and a potential escape route if necessary.

I then magically enhance my arm while outrunning the two chasers, who appear on the verge of collapse. I call out to the student, "Hey, look behind you!"

"Huh?" As the student turns, I strike him in the face with all my strength. He immediately collapses, unconscious likely not even registering what hit him.

and grab him and start to run away so those guys have no cleu what i am after

"Surprising that i must say, I actually expected to fail. Lionheart students are reputed to be formidable," I mutter as I drag him into a nearby alley. I strip him of his uniform, leaving him in his undergarments, and quickly change into it.

"These don't fit perfectly, but it'll have to do," I remark, stashing my original clothes and the stolen artifact into my bag. I begin walking towards the school, blending in.

"HELP ME!"

I immediately turn towards the familiar-sounding voice.

'That voice... I recognize it, its mine?' I think as I investigate.

There, I find another student who looks strikingly similar to me, sprawled on the ground, bleeding and lifeless. I could probably save him, but...

'I never had a family; I was an orphan. He might be a long-lost brother or i should say i am the lost one here or maybe both, but who cares' I think as I search his pockets for valuables.

Curiosity piqued, I examine his face: black hair, an average complexion, lifeless eyes.

'It's like looking at my own corpse, which is unsettling. But is he really my brother?' I ponder, checking for any signs of life using magic.

'No signs of life. His blood is saturated with a potent poison designed to kill magicians; it proliferates with the presence of magic. Definitely an assassination.'

'Getting involved could be risky. If he was targeted, he likely had a complex history. Considering I'm entering Lionheart, could they mistake me for him? If so, his assassins might believe they missed their mark and come after me.'

I grip the artifact in my bag.

'Really, I have no good options. Dealing with the Magic Lord seeking this artifact will be far more troublesome than any assassin,' I conclude, making a decision.

With no favorable options, I choose the lesser evil and head towards the school. On the upside, by robbing two students, I've netted about 20 gold coins, a notebook, and a pen.

'Fantastic! Twenty gold coins! That's enough to buy 7 houses, rent them out, and retire peacefully. These academy students are loaded. Perhaps I should target more of them,' I muse, making my way to the school, confident the barrier will shield me from detection.

The Chasers' POV:

*Huff* *huff*

"Damn that Kuro, thinking he could just run away like that" one gasps.

"Yeah, that bastard. We thought he was in charge" the other adds.

They recall their mission briefing:

"I can't leave this place for a while, so I need you to deliver this artifact to my laboratory at the magic guild," a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl had instructed, while she was drawing a circle on the floor. Her beauty was almost ethereal, with a perfect face and an hourglass figure, she was this generation's lord of Magic.

"I could teleport you there, but she would detect me, so that's not an option. I'm entrusting this to you," she had explained.

"Why trust us so much?" one of the chasers had asked.

"I don't. I'm sending you with Kuro," she replied with a deadpan expression. They understood her reasoning; they were criminals, exiled from their own nation for opposing the prince. Despite having no obligation to assist them, she had taken them in under the condition they serve her.

Back to the present, they curse Kuro.

"Damn him, this was our chance to repay her for saving us, and we blew it. I'll never forgive you, Kuro," one mutters.

"Don't bother, brother. We're not cut out for this. We're diplomats, not fighters. We're back to square one," the other responds.

"But we have to continue. The Magic Lord is the only one who can save our nation from that idiot prince," he insists, clenching his fist.

"Perhaps you're right, Eldric, but I'm not sure we're suited for this," the other contemplates, shaken.

"Come on, let's at least try to pick up his trail," Eldric offers, helping his brother up.

"And don't say we're not meant for this. Even if we fail, maybe our efforts will inspire others. After all, we're just humans. We weren't born into power or wealth. Many are in our shoes; all we can do is try," Eldric reasons, gazing skyward.

Convinced, albeit reluctantly, Alaric agrees, and they resume their mission.

"I know you're worried, Alaric, and I am the same. I also don't know if this will work. Honestly, I hope you leave me and go live a good life instead of chasing this dream with me. If you did that, my heart would be at peace, even if I die," Eldric thinks to himself, questioning his choices.

Upon discovering the unconscious student, they ensure he's visible to passersby who might help, so they move him outside the alleyway.

They continue to follow through the alley. Even though the alleyway was deep, it didn't have multiple paths to walk through, so they had to follow a single path. As they went deeper, they started to smell something metallic. Then, the alleyway divided into multiple paths.

"Where should we go?" Alaric asked his brother.

"This metallic smell is bothering me; maybe we should follow it. It also gives me a bit of unease," Eldric replies to his brother's question.

'Is this blood? I'm not sure. It smells like blood,' Eldric questions himself.

"Wait, doesn't that mean we shouldn't take this path?" Alaric retorts.

"Don't worry; the unease isn't danger, it's more like it feels like this smell is blood. I'm not exactly sure, but I have smelled blood once, and it's close enough," and now Alaric was even more terrified by his brother's words.

"That's more of a reason to not go," he says, but Eldric still starts to go towards the smell, and Alaric can do nothing but follow him.

'What are you thinking, brother Eldric? Why are you making such rash decisions? Are you panicking due to our predicament or what?' Alaric wanted to question his brother but didn't want to add more pressure to his mind, so he kept quiet as he followed him.

Then, they follow the scent of blood to a horrifying scene: a student resembling Kuro, lifeless and bloody.

They rush to his side. "Kuro... Did he die in an attack? His bag's gone. Was he murdered for it?" Eldric speculates, his voice tinged with sadness.

"And to think, he was so young," Alaric adds, anger simmering.

'Damn, he was annoying, and I hate that he is the cause of all our current trouble, but he still had his whole life to live,' Alaric shakes as he thinks this.

Their questioning of the prince had been for the sake of a safer future for the young, making this scene particularly disheartening.

"What now? The Magic Lord trusted Kuro. If we claim he betrayed her and absconded with the artifact, she'll never believe us, especially now that he's dead and the artifact's missing. She'll think we conspired with the assassin," Alaric frets as he bites his lips in annoyance.

"Right. Plus, we're unscathed while Kuro's dead. She'll ask if we abandoned him, which could lead to our punishment. To top it off, she trusted Kuro a lot; it won't look nice," Eldric adds.

'Why did this have to happen to us now, of all times? It feels so unfair,' Eldric thinks to himself.

They deliberate, then use the ring the Magic Lord provided to transport Kuro's body as evidence, and head towards the domain of the Magic King, knowing any attempt to flee would destroy their last chance to earn her trust.

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Kuro: ha to think that dead body will cover my tacks good job dead guy

the 2 brothers: don't you feel any sympathy

Kuro: what's that can i eat it?