Face of Melancholy

After accepting Gin’s offer to stay at their place and assisting Enna to fix the place, he helps them to clean the family’s store. Enna’s job is to make and sell pottery, while at the same time, Enna and both of her beast children work on planting, growing, and selling flowers. Basically, it’s a flower store. Shouya helps out by making new pottery for her.

He had worked in arts and crafts before back in middle school, so this isn’t really new to him. However, making pottery is something that Shouya hadn’t made in a long time, so he felt very rusty when making them. He had made an attempt to make one, but he ended up making a mess and getting clay on himself. He made a couple more attempts and got used to it as he started to remember how to make them.

While Enna and her kids work at their store, Gin works in a blacksmithing business. He works on repairing and creating weapons and armor for the military, civilians for self-defense, or for adventurers who take on quests. He doesn’t just make weapons and armor, he can also make other things like silverware, accessories, keys, or any other things. You ask, he’ll make it.

Hours have passed and the sun has already started to set. Enna and their children close up shop as business time has come to an end for the day. Shouya felt a sigh of relief as he had finished working.

“Whew, I’m beat.”

“Thank you for your assistance Mr. Kirikage.”

“Oh please, you can just call me Shouya if you like.”

“Alright, thank you Shouya.”

Enna gives a slight nod to Shouya and he blushes as Enna calls him only his first name. Then someone opened the shop door and it was Gin, who came back from his blacksmithing job.

“Oh, hon! You’re here!”

“Heya! Has the boy given you a hard time?”

“He’s amazing. He made such brilliant pots and we had so many customers. Oh! I’m preparing dinner tonight. I’ll call both of you up when it’s ready.”

Enna heads upstairs to prepare for the family and Shouya, leaving both Shouya and Gin downstairs.

“Hey, thanks again for helping us clean and helping my wife with her business. It’s nice to have someone to help her and the kids in the shop while I am gone. Hopefully, those rascals didn’t push you too hard, did they?”

“Oh, it was no problem. It’s been a while since I’ve done this before. Glad that I’ve put my artistic skills to good use.”

“That’s great to hear. Hey, how about I hire you to work with my wife?”

“Hehe, maybe I should. I mean, working here isn’t so bad.”

“Alright, you’re hired!”

Wait, huh?

Shouya’s face became perplexed when he heard Gin hired him to work at the shop. He wasn’t sure if he meant it as a joke or he was being serious. He asks him just to make sure.

“Wait, you’re serious, aren’t you? I mean, if it’s a joke, then that’s a funny one.”

“Do you really think I was joking?”

Gin turns to Shouya and shows his sharp white fangs, giving him a smile. He wasn’t joking, he was actually being serious about hiring Shouya to work with them. Shouya didn’t think that he would get a job in this world.

“Wha- you’re actually serious?!”

“That’s right!”

“I-Isn’t this happening way too fast? Getting a job instantly is too early. I didn’t get a chance to do an interview. Ah! What about Enna? She’s the one who owns this store, doesn't she get to choose who she hires?”

“Oh, don’t worry, she knows. In fact, it was actually her idea to begin with. Besides, I don’t know the reasoning behind it myself either.”

“Huh?”

I mean, working with pottery is not a bad idea. But if that’s true, then why didn’t she ask me that in the first place?

The idea of hiring Shouya to work with Enna isn’t a bad idea, but the only question is why? Why didn’t she tell him this herself and ask him if he wants to work with her and help her with the store? That way, Shouya would get a clear cut understanding of her proposal.

I’ve always wanted to try out something new, something I can help others with and make them feel happy. You know what? I’m going to do it! Yeah! I’m in a new world and I want to start a new life with a new body! I don’t care if this is a dream or not, if I’m stuck here, then fine. The old me is gone, the new me starts now!

Shouya’s expression turned from worry and confusion, to courageous and confident. If what he thought about is true, then he should have no problems living in this world without having any doubts pulling him down.

“I don’t really have a choice, do I? Alright, I’ll do it!”

Gin gives him a big hard pat on the back as he welcomes Shouya to their business. The pat hit Shouya so hard that he felt as if someone threw a tennis ball at him. This didn't stop Shouya from smiling or at least shed a tear—at least a little.

“Hehe. Then welcome to the business! This calls for a celebration! Oh wait, we’re having dinner tonight and you’re already invited. It’s a double whammy! Hm?”

But as before Jin can continue to cheer, someone knocks on the store’s front door. Who could it be at this hour? The store was already closed, there is even a sign that says “The store is currently closed. Please come back tomorrow” in front of it.

Both Gin and Shouya couldn’t wrap their heads around it. But this doesn’t stop Jin as he is the first one to respond to it.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it.”

Gin approaches the door and turns the lock to unlock the door. He then begins to open the door.

“We are closed for today, can you come by another time?”

“Oh, no, I’m not looking to buy anything. I am looking for someone. Have you seen a guy who has black and white fur, the same height as me, and his name is Shouya?”

“—Ah! Wait a minute!”

Shouya couldn’t help but overhear someone saying his name. The way they talk to Gin sounds like they’re worried about him. He looks at someone who is talking to Gin. He sees a familiar red furred fox in a maid outfit in front of him.

“Alisa?”

“Ah! Sho!”

The worried fox girl Alisa charges at Shouya and she gives him a big hug. Meanwhile, Gin just stands there as he quiescently looks at them.

“You know her?”

“Uh, yeah. Alisa, what are you do—h-hey!”

Before Shouya could say anything, Alisa's frantic bodily inspection for wounds took him by surprise.

“What are you doing?”

“Quiet now.”

Her face remained as serious and determined as ever until the very last moment. The look of relief spread across her face.

“Thank goodness you’re fine. I was so worried!”

“Hey, relax. I’m fine. I barely have a scratch on me.”

“I know, but still…”

Even though Shouya looked unharmed, Alisa still worries about him. She is like a mother who worries about their children’s safety. Despite the fact that they barely know each other for just one day, Alisa treats him like a child.

Shouya holds on to Alisa’s hands to make her stop touching and deforming his face.

“Ok, I get it. But more than that, how did you find me?”

“I heard that you got into a fight with the Blue Sharks. Is that true?”

As she asks him that question, Shouya looks away from her, trying to not look at her bright emerald-colored eyes. But Alisa could already tell based on his facial expression. That would mean that she now knows what Shouya had done.

“What were you thinking of taking on the Blue Sharks by yourself?! Don’t you know what they are? They are criminals, scumbags, they are doing this just for money! But thankfully you’re alive, that’s all that matters.”

Alisa’s worried expression changed to a face of relief. She was well aware that Shouya fought the Blue Sharks alone and how much humiliation he got when he was defeated. Luckily, Gin was there on the scene and defeated them, so she didn’t have to worry about it anymore.

“Anyways, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I—”

“We’ve just hired him to work with us.”

Before Shouya could say anything, Gin interrupted and explained to her. Alisa’s eyes went wide as she didn’t expect this outcome.

“Woah, really?! Just what kind of damage did Mr. Kirikage do?”

“Wha-? I did no such thing! I chose it on my own volition!”

“Oh? Is this true mister?”

“That’s right! He helped out my wife with the store and I asked him if he wanted me to hire him, he agreed and so, I hired him.”

Did he just miss the part where it was his wife’s idea?

Shouya became puzzled when he didn’t mention the idea was from his wife Enna. He could point it out to Gin about that, but he didn’t want to be put in an awkward situation, so he did the best he could by not mentioning it to Gin in front of Alisa.

She turns to Shouya and she smiles at him.

“Oh well. I’m glad that you got yourself a job. Hopefully, that would replace the money that was stolen.”

“That’s ri- ahh! I forgot!”

“What’s the matter Sho?!”

“That guy! He was here!”

“Ehh?!”

The moment that Shouya had realized that he had forgotten what was his original objective. He was supposed to get his stolen money back from Clugil. He was sidetracked by so much stuff going on that he forgot to get it back from him. Now it is too late to find him and get his money back.

While Shouya is in a pandemic, Gin looks at him in confusion, not knowing what is going on.

“I’m...confused. Care to tell me what’s going on?”

“Well you see, do you remember the guy who’s in charge of invading the store and commands his guys to fight you?”

“You mean that bastard Clugil? Yeah, I know what you mean. What about him?”

“He’s also the guy that stole my money from me and ran off with it. Now I don’t know where he went off to.”

“Oh! You mean this?”

Gin puts his hand and reaches down to his own pocket. Then he takes it out and shows Shouya a familiar small bag in front of him.

“—My wallet!”

“I figured who it belonged to. It was laying on the floor after the fight and I’d thought that I would use his money as payback for ruining the shop. Don’t worry, all the stuff is still in there.”

Shouya opens his wallet to make sure that Gin was right. Thankfully he wasn’t wrong. He sees all the content that was in his wallet was still intact, nothing was missing inside.

“Thank you so much.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it. You can say that we’re even now.”

“I guess you can say that. Oh, is it okay if she is also invited to the dinner?”

“If she wants to, then sure!”

Shouya then turns to Alisa and asks her.

“Well Alisa, do you want to eat with us?”

“Oh, that's a kind offer, but I’m going to have to decline. I have to work on the night shift at the inn with Gunther, so I can’t stay long. Sorry.”

Ah, right, I forgot!

As she is saying this to Shouya, Alisa vigorously apologizes to him as she couldn’t accept the invitation as she has to work in the inn. Shouya had forgotten that she works in an inn with Gunther, so of course, Alisa turned down the offer.

“Ah, so you’re Gunny’s kid.”

“‘Gunny?”

This is the first time Shouya has ever heard that name before. This is probably a nickname short for Gunther, it does make sense, but Shouya can’t tell just yet. He begins to wonder how Gin knows him.

“Speaking of which, I’d better head back. You wouldn’t believe how much work I have to do when the place gets up at night. A lot of cooking and a lot of old men drinking.”

“From what I’m guessing, among them is Gunther?”

“Yup! Anyways, see ya!”

Alisa quickly heads out the store to help out at the inn. But before she leaves the store, Gin interrupts her by giving her a heads up.

“Hey, little miss, if you see that old man of yours, send him my regards.”

“Will do!”

And with that, Alisa left the store. The only people that are left now are Shouya and Gin, and also Enna who is upstairs making food for the family and for their guest Shouya.

“That girl got spunk.”

“Yeah, I guess you can say that.”

“Do you two have a thing for each other?”

“W-What?!”

When Shouya heard that, his face became beet-red. He didn’t think that both he and Alisa would be in that kind of relationship. Shouya and Alisa were just friends, but in Gin’s point of view, he sees it more than that. Of course, when Jin first saw her and based on her reaction to Shouya, he had thought that the both of them were a couple.

Shouya, now flustered and his face turning redder, tries to explain to Gin about that misunderstanding.

“Me? Her? Nononono, we’re not like that, honest! We just met each other just today! There’s no correlation between- ack!”

But before he can say anything else, Gin raises his beefy hand to pat him on the head.

“Don’t worry, this secret is between you and me. So you don’t have to worry about it.”

Shouya begins to slowly calm down and takes a deep breath. But yet, he is still embarrassed by the way Gin said. He can’t argue or correct him any further.

“Anyways, let’s head upstairs. I’m starving!”

Gin heads to the staircase as he is getting ready to eat meanwhile Shouya follows behind him.

But it wasn’t like that though, really…

❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋

“Alright everyone, dinner is ready!”

Enna announces to everyone that it was time for dinner. The food had already been set up on the table by the time Shouya and Gin had arrived upstairs.

Shouya couldn’t help but widen his eyes in amazement as he saw how much wonderful food that was on the table.

“Wow! The food looks delicious!”

“That’s Enna for ya! She can cook really good food. No one can replicate her amazing cooking talent.”

“Oh, shush! Not in front of our guest. Don’t listen to this doofus, I’m not really that good.”

“No, you are. From looking at what I’m seeing, I’ve never seen anyone who can cook better than you.”

“C’mon you guys, it’s really embarrassing!”

Hearing both of Shouya and Gin’s comments makes Enna’s face blush. She tries to cover her face with her hands, but no matter how much she tries, her cheeks are still beet red.

The table is filled with a delicious large plate of juicy meat in the center along with various vegetables, rice, and noodles surrounding it. The only thing that is out of place is the strange substance that is on small bowls. Shouya points it out and asks her what that is.

“What’s that?”

“Oh? You’ve never tried Quagi sauce?”

“‘Quagi sauce’? Can’t say. I’ve never had it before.”

“Then you’re in it for a treat! Come, let’s eat!”

The three of them, including the dog children, gathered around the table and began their feast. Shouya picks one of each of every food that is on the table and places them onto his plate, including a bowl of noodles on his side.

He cuts a piece of meat, dips it in a strange colored sauce—otherwise known as Quagi in this world—and places it in his mouth. Shouya’s taste buds start to tingle as he tastes something that is out of this world.

“Woah! This tastes great!”

“Hehe, thanks.”

After that delicious piece of meat that Shouya ate, he spreads a bit of Quagi sauce on top of another piece of meat and begins to wolf down on it. After which, his eyes turn to the bowl of noodles and starts to devour the glistering noodles.

The food is so delicious! I...can’t...stop it!

Gin notices this and shows a wide grin on his face while holding a drumstick in his hand.

“Is this an eating competition? Alright, challenge accepted!”

Both Shouya and Gin gobble down the food like savages. Meanwhile, Enna warns them about how much they’re eating.

“Careful you two, you might choke yourselves with all that food.”

After a warning from Enna, the two of them gulped down their glasses of water.

“Haa… Man, you really can eat fast!”

“Really? Oh, sorry! I probably should’ve used table manners when I’m eating!”

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s normal for all of us to eat like that. We’re not some rich snobs that’s all about ‘table manners’ or anything else that involves being the higher echelon. We’re not that kind of people, so eat till your heart’s content.”

It was something that Shouya hadn't heard before, but at the same time, it was really a heartfelt speech to hear. Eating without needing to worry about table manners? That was something that is unheard of.

“Really? So it doesn’t bother you?”

“Nonsense! We’re not strict. You’re free to eat however you like, like a family.”

“—!”

Before Shouya takes another bite of the food, his body freezes when he reacts to what Jin had said.

Like...a family?

Instead of eating any more of Enna’s food, he gently places it back on the plate, not needing to eat any further. His face turns pale and he looks at the plate with a melancholic look on his face. Sena looks at him with a concerned look on her face.

“What’s wrong mister? Does your tummy ache?”

“Huh? Oh, uhh, yeah! Oooh, you probably used too much of your mother’s sauce.”

“Hehe, forgot to mention that my wife’s cooking does have a ‘kick’ when it enters your stomach.”

“It does not! Don’t be such a liar!”

“Hahaha! Relax Enny, it’s just a joke.”

“Hmph!”

Enna angrily puffs her cheeks at Gin’s bad but silly joke as she thought what he meant was true. Shouya looks at the wolf siblings and asks one of them.

“Is there a bathroom I can use?”

“The first door down the hall to the left.”

While holding the bone at hand, Jakki points Shouya to the door that is right next to him.

“Oh, thanks.”

He then leaves the table and heads to the door where the bathroom is and opens it. The place is not anything new, it’s like what you see when you go to somebody’s house; a bathtub, the sink, the toilet, and the mirror. It doesn’t make you go and say “wow, this room is so fancy”, it’s just a regular bathroom from a regular home.

Shouya closes and locks the door behind him. He leans back on the door and thinks back on what Gin had said before.

“‘Like a family’ huh? I mean, c’mon. We just only met today, and yet, you treat me like family? What is with these people in this world? Alisa is being nice to me, Gunther is being helpful, and Jin and his family are taking care of me like I’m a member of the family. Are they really…he…hehehe…”

As he talks to himself, Shouya quietly laughs as he tries to figure out what is happening to his life. As he continues to laugh, tears begin to run down from his eyes.

“H-Huh?”

Shouya tries to wipe off the tears from his eyes, but it barely does anything as it still continues to come down. He walks to the sink and turns on the faucet, letting the water run. He cups some water using his hands and splashes his face with it, wiping off his tears.

“Hah! Whew! ...Why was I crying? I don’t feel sad, I’m happy. Yeah, I’m really happy! Happy that I’m living life! I’ve met nice people, I’ve eaten good food. Even if this is a dream, I shouldn’t feel bad, I should be happy.”

“That is because that’s the only way you think of that.”

“—!!”

As Shouya talks to himself, he hears a voice. The voice that he heard didn't sound like it was from outside of the room. This voice doesn’t sound like anyone he knows; Gin, Enna, Alisa, Gunther, Clugil, or anyone. It sounds like the voice that is familiar to him—no, perhaps too familiar.

“They’re only nice to you because they pity you, they feel bad for you. What they only give you is nothing but sympathy. They don’t care about you, they don’t want you, they only want to use you so they can make you work for granted until you’ve outlived your usefulness. You’re nothing but their pet slave who is licking their master’s shoes!”

The mysterious voice threw such vulgar words onto Shouya’s mind, trying to dig in deep, make him feel bad, and change his mind about the decision he chose. Shouya tries to deny it as it is his own decision that he had made.

“You’re wrong, I chose this. It was my decision—”

“‘Your decision? Hahahahaha! Yeah, right! Did you forget? Did you choose to be sent into this world? Did you choose the clothes you get to wear? Did you choose to be hired and work for those people? Of course not, you don’t get to make those decisions. Life is choosing it for you. All because you can’t choose for yourself.”

“...”

Shouya went silent as the voice inside of him reminded him of his indecisive outcomes. It was generally correct; all of these life choices that Shouya has until now were chosen for him by everything that is around him. He wasn’t given a question to choose from these choices, they were handed to him with no questions asked.

“That may be true, but…I don’t care.”

“Oh?”

“Even though I didn’t get a choice, I still believe that I can still live with myself. I don’t care if I don't get a choice of what I want, this is my life, and I have no intentions to go back. I want to live with it, no matter what life throws at me!”

Despite what the voice said to him, Shouya doesn’t plan to give up his new life in the new world. Even if things don't go in his favor, he still wants to enjoy the new life that is given to him and venture the world with a smile on his face.

However…

“So that’s what you choose. Would you rather live in a world where you have freedom and deny yourself over going back and accepting reality? I am disappointed in you. Your family will be disappointed in you. In fact, they would be disappointed in you if they were alive.”

“—!!”

Shouya’s reaction to what the voice said to him changed his emotions from confident to a frustrated look. Something has switched Shouya’s attitude

“Did I strike a nerve, or did you forget about your family on purpose so that you deny their existence?”

“—”

“Oh well, it’s not like they even care about your existence either. I mean, it’s not like they ever loved you since they abandoned you.”

“—”

“Oh, wait, I think it’s too late for that. Now they’re not gonna see or love their happy little boy anymore because they’re DEAD!!

The more the voice talks to him, the madder and madder Shouya gets. He tries to restrain himself, holding back his anger inside of him, he even grips his own head and covers his own ears as he doesn't want to hear the voice anymore.

“—Shut up.”

“Aww, what are you gonna do, cry? Throw a temper tantrum? Or maybe even kill yourself?”

“Shut up…”

“Hahahaha! Look at you, that is what you are! You’re weak, pathetic, a coward! You couldn’t even hold your ground for ten seconds and got your ass beat by that thief! You’re a failure! Not a single living being will ever come to save you, they just use you as a stepping stone for them to achieve greater heights for them. You’re like a shadow, just like me.”

“Shut up… Shut up… I’m not like you, I’m nothing like you!”

No matter how many times Shouya has to ignore the voice’s words, they continue to antagonize him. But he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“Fufufufu, it’s useless to deny it. You're nothing but a weak, powerless, idiot, boy. You can’t run away from me forever. You want to know why? Open your eyes.”

Shouya didn’t want to listen to the voice that was in his head, but he had no choice but to do what they said. He looks up slowly to see his own reflection in the mirror. There has been no change in appearance; a black furred dog-like demi-human wearing the clothes that he had bought in this world. He has been like this ever since he had been transported into another world.

However, there is one small difference. Unlike Shouya, where he is struggling to keep himself together, his mirror self is looking at him, smiling.

“In a world where nobody needs you, you’re hopeless.”

“I said shut up!”

Shouya finally snaps and shouts to his other self, and fueled with rage, he clenches his right hand into a fist and punches it, leaving a ball-sized crack on the mirror. When he punches the mirror, the voice suddenly stops talking to him. The voice is finally gone from his head. The false image of himself is not going to bother Shouya anymore.

“Haa…..haa.....haa..…”

Shouya’s effort to get rid of his other self was a success, however, he is in pain both emotionally and physically. He looks at his own knuckles, he sees small cuts on his hand when he smashed the mirror, but it doesn’t bleed that much.

“.....Ah! Crap! The mirror!”

Shouya realizes what he has done. He had broken the mirror that is a property of Gin and his family. This situation has turned for the worst as he feels awful for breaking their mirror. Shouya tries to think of a way to get out of this. He stares at the cracked mirror, hoping that he has an excuse for breaking the mirror. That’s where it hit him.

“Oh! I got it, but that would mean… No! I have to do it! I don’t even care about myself anymore! I don’t care what anyone says! It’s my choice!”

Shouya pushes his hands on the wall around the cracked mirror and places his forehead on the spot where he punched it. He can feel the shards of hard glass touching him, like feeling small ant-sized knives are poking him.

“Just hope that it works...”

He takes a deep breath and pulls his head back away from the glass while holding on to the wall. He pulls back as far as he can until only the fingertips are still touching the wall. Then, in a split-second, he headbutts himself to the mirror.

“Arrg!”

The pain of hitting glass shards by using your head may have caused damage to a human’s body—or in this case, a demi-human’s body—some facial damage. Shouya flails on the floor in agony as the pain of smashing his own head onto something sharp. It has exposed a large cut on his forehead and a drop of blood crawls down from his head.

As for the glass itself, the crack from the glass had increased its size when Shouya headbutted. He had headbutted in the same place where he had punched it before. It covers any indication of when he had punched it, making the excuse more believable. It was a sacrifice that he had made as he had no choice.

The blood still drips from Shouya’s forehead and as he calms down, someone knocks on the door from the other side.

“Umm, Shouya, are you okay in there?”

“Oh, I’m okay. Well, actually...”

Shouya uses his one hand to get up from the floor while he holds the wound with his other hand. He still felt the pain that he had caused himself, but it was the only way to fake his reasoning for shattering the mirror. He unlocks and opens the door, seeing Enna in front of him. She looks shocked when she sees him in this condition.

“Oh my, what happened to you?”

“Oh, I slipped myself. But it’s nothing, really.”

“It looks more than a ‘nothing’. Let me see your head.”

“Please, you don’t want to—”

“Let me see Mr.Kirikage.”

“A-Alright…”

No matter how hard he tries to neglect Enna to not show her the wound, her demeanor shows that she is being serious and worries about Shouya. He ended up showing his wound to her.

“How did this happen?”

“I...slipped and bumped my head into the mirror. Also, sorry about your mirror.”

She turns her eyes to look at the broken mirror that is in the bathroom. The mirror has a huge crack that she had never seen before. Usually, owners would complain to the person who broke their property and get them kicked out of the house, but Enna, she’s different. She takes a deep breath and sighs.

“Well, accidents happen.”

“W-Wha?”

What did she mean by “accidents happen”?

Shouya doesn’t quite understand what that means. He looked at her, but instead of an angry and unsettling face, she smiled.

“It doesn’t look too bad. Here, hold still.”

Enna raises her hand and places two of her fingers—both the index and the middle finger—to where the wound is in front of it by a centimeter apart. Then, a small bright yellow light starts to glow from the fingertips.

Is this...healing magic?

He couldn’t believe it, but he recognized it from playing fantasy RPGs or watching anime that have magic in them. This is, of course, a healing spell. The light begins to close the wound on Shouya’s forehead and the wound magically disappears, acting as if nothing happened.

“There you go!”

“W-Wow…”

“Now about that mirror.”

“Huh?”

Enna heads inside the bathroom and approaches the broken mirror. Shouya couldn’t understand what she had meant. He just looks at her and sees what she is going to do.

She stretches out her arm at the broken mirror with all five of her fingers open and a bright light begins to glow in front of it. Instead of a bright yellow light that heals Shouya, a bright jade-green light appears in front of her. As the light begins to glow, the mirror starts to act up. The glasses start taking shape and the shards of glass begin to come together piece by piece. Then finally, the mirror was suddenly fixed. Fragments of glass shards forged together to form a new mirror, it acted as if time had rewind itself.

After Enna repaired the mirror, she took a deep breath and then exhaled.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Who knows, using so much magic is making me tired.”

“You know you don’t have to do that. I mean, I can pay for a new mirror for you.”

“Don’t be silly, save your money. I wouldn’t want to see you spending your job's pay for something so small.”

“Ah, so I guess you’ve heard it from Gin?”

“That’s right! I very much appreciated and thankful that you joined us. C’mon, everyone is waiting at the table, unless you want the leftovers.”

“Ah, r-right!”

Enna heads out from the bathroom and joins Gin and the siblings. Shouya follows suit and heads towards the table and continues eating the food.

The sky just became dark and the waxing moon glistened the night sky. The climate changed from a blazing hot to a calm cool temperature and the city lights started to glow throughout Vincilos.

“You will have to come with me. Pugar, escort his team elsewhere.”

“Ya don’t get t’ tell me what to do, Lince! C’mon boys, we got enough time t’ kill.”

While Pugar escorts Touya and Raiji to someplace else, the elf man—known as Lince—opens the door of some sort of a warehouse in front of them and Clugil enters with him.

What both Lince and Pugar had escorted Clugil and his teammates to is the docks, where items such as food, materials, and clothes are stored in this location. Not only that, but there are also boats that are stored here as well for shipping purposes. Right now, no one is riding one in the middle of the night.

As they entered the warehouse, he saw members of the Blue Sharks gathered in the warehouse, cheering and yelling.

It turns out that there are two muscular beast men fighting in the center of the warehouse; shirtless, shoeless, and they have to fight using their fists. One is a dog-man with gold fur and a scar on the bridges of his nose and the other is a cat-man with brown spots and a tail missing from his tailbone, only leaving a small stump of what it remains. Around the two fighters are iron cages surrounding them so that they can’t escape from the fight.

While the two fighters are fighting, Clugil, being led by Lince, heads towards large iron crates. The crates were used to carry items that are very unique items or items that cannot be touched by water, unlike wooden crates. Now they’re stacked to look like the shape of a pyramid.

Both Clugil and Lince climb from crate-to-crate to get to the top of the pyramid of crates. Then they see someone, a giant man, is sitting on the top with his fist pressing against his cheek.

“Sir Vikov, I have summoned him here.”

“...”

Vikov, leader of the Blue Sharks, ignores Lince as he continues to watch the fight that is going on. He is a large white-furred tiger with black stripes. He wears a long sleeveless black coat with silver fur around it. As Lince would’ve liked to get Vikov his attention, he is too busy watching the fight going on, so he waits until the fight is finished.

The two beast men are heavily wounded, badly bruised, blood dripping out from their noses and mouths, cuts all over their body, and even the stage is stained with blood, vomit, and urine from the grotesque fight that has been going on here, in this very place. How many people fought here? How many people won and lost here? This isa nonstop bloodshed, yet people are seeing this as entertainment. Clugil, being a member of the Blue Sharks, felt disgusted by what was going on here.

As the fight continues, the dog man gives a hard uppercut to the cat man to break his guard and then he does a spinning kick at him in the solar plexus and crashes him into the wall of the iron cage. The dog man leaps in front of him as he is going for a flying punch, but before he can, the cat man quickly dodges the punch, hitting the cage instead. The cat man hugs him from behind and then does a suplex.

Both of them slowly get off from the stained floor and breathe heavily as they’re exhausted from fighting this long. The dog man and the cat man charge in at the same time as they trade one last hit to each other. The dog man punches the cat man in the face, at the same time, the cat man punches the dog man in the gut. The cat man stumbles backwards to align himself, however, the dog man is on his knees and starts to regurgitate from his mouth.

While he is on the floor, the cat man picks him up and wraps around the dog man’s neck with his arm, putting him in a chokehold. The dog man tries to break free, scratching the skin with his sharp claws, but the cat man wouldn't let him as he holds him tightly around the neck. The dog man taps on the cat man’s arm, as he is giving up and begins to tap-out from the fight, but the cat man doesn’t seem to let go.

Clugil notices this from a distance and tells Vikov to stop the fight.

“Hey, he’s tapping out! You can tell him to let go!”

“...”

“H-Hey, aren’t you listening to me?! The fight’s over, you can tell him to let him go!”

“...”

Clugil tries to tell Vikov to end the fight immediately, but from the looks of it, he has no intentions of stopping it.

“Sir Vikov isn’t going to listen to a peon like you. So know your place and silence until after the fight is finished.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, and you can’t tell me what to do! What if that guy kills him?”

“It is for Sir Vikov to make that call. Keep in mind that I’m second-in-command, I’m ranked higher than any of you in this organization. So if you want to value your life, then it's best that you hold your tongue, or else.”

“...”

Clugil clicks his tongue as he has no choice but to watch until the fight ends. Lince is Vikov’s right hand man and Vikov’s most trustworthy henchman in the Blue Sharks. He’s the one that commands the entire members of the Blue Sharks whatever Vikov orders. When Vikov tells Lince to do what he says, he follows and orders other members to do what he was given.

The cat man continues to squeeze the dog man with his arm tighter and tighter. He tries desperately to break free from the chokehold by scratching and biting the cat man’s arm, but he couldn’t, and then, he is immediately knocked out. His arms dangle in the air, as if there’s no sign of life. The crowd began to cheer for the result of the outcome.

The cat man releases the dog man only for him to collapse onto the floor. His body twitches and his mouth starts to foam, and to add an insult to injury, the cat man steps on him and poses on top of him and cries out his victory. Even though the cat man ended in victory, Clugil felt disgusted by the outcome.

After the fight between the two beastmen in the cage, Lince turns his eyes on Vikov and finally speaks to him.

“How was your enjoyment, sir?”

“Disappointing. This fight has no entertainment value that it bores me.”

“I see. Anyhow, I have this peon here as you requested.”

“Ah, right. Thank you, Lince.”

Lince places his hand on his chest and bows to his leader after Vikov had thanked him. Vikov looks at Clugil with his sharp red cat-like eyes.

“Clugil. Do you know why I summoned you here?”

“Is it about the rumors about us?”

“Exactly.”

“Look, if you give me enough time to explain—”

Before Clugil can say more, he pauses as he sees Vikov raising his hand in front of him.

“You had fought against someone and lost. This leaves a scar in the organization. All I can say is that I’m disappointed in you and your crew.”

The white tiger’s voice is not a sound of frustrated or loud anger, but a calm yet monotone voice. Given the status that Vikov has, it’s clear that he is responsible for sending his own men to do stuff that he ordered them to do. Whether his men succeed or fail, he gives judgment for those who can satisfy him.

“But please, boss! It’s not my fault that my team and I lost to that bastard! He came to us and wrecked our shit! Please, you gotta give us another chance!”

“Are you a fool? After your past failures that you’ve done to you and your team, do you really think that Vikov will give you another—”

“Halt, Lince.”

“But sir!”

Vikov raises his hand to silence Lince from talking any further. Lince wants to object to the idea of giving Clugil another chance, but he restrains himself and mutters “Yes sir” as he backs off from the conversation.

“I will give you one more chance, but it will be your last chance.”

“T-Thank you, boss! I can assure you that I will never—”

“However…”

Clugil was interrupted by his boss as he got up and approached Clugil. Vikov is, if not, the largest member of the Blue Sharks, ranging over nine feet tall. Compared to both Clugil and Vikov side-by-side, Vikov is like the size of a giant.

“B-Boss, what are you— Ack!”

Vikov uses his gigantic hand to lift Clugil by the head and then tosses him into the arena where the two fighters had fought. Clugil rolls over and slams back first into the cage.

“This will be a test for you. A fight to the death. In order to gain your chance, you need to survive. If you win, you’ll get another chance. But if you don’t, you’ll die.”

“Is this some kind of a joke?! If it is, then, you got me! Hahaha!”

As Clugil laughs sarcastically, pretending as if it is meant to be a joke, Vikov—and everyone in the warehouse—isn’t laughing. Instead, he sees him and everyone around him giving Cligil a cold, blank stare.

“You can’t be serious, right? I’ll be killed if I fight you!”

“Oh no, I won’t be fighting you. Instead, you will be fighting against Darmac.”

“D-D-Darmac?!”

Everyone in the warehouse cheered when Vikov called out the name. Clugil, however, doesn’t sound too pleased with it. But then, everyone went silent when a loud howl could be heard from inside the warehouse. Someone jumps from behind the crowd, hops on the railings of the cage with his feet, and lands into the arena on all-fours.

“Those who call my name enter the world of Payne. Awooo!”

“AWOOO!!”

The crowd cheers and howls loudly as the muscular wolf-man jabs his finger in the air.

“That’s right. I, Darmac Payne, have entered the stage!”

His body was covered in cyan-blue fur all over his body. He clad in silver leather pants with blue highlights and gold fur on his waist to combine with his loud personality. Clugil couldn’t help but find it not only obnoxious, but also afraid of him as he wasn’t prepared to face anyone.

After Darmac made his grand entrance, he looks at Clugil and jabs his finger in front of him.

“Hey, you! You’re that Clugil guy, right? Well, I got news for you buddy: nobody has beaten me in a fight once. So if you think you have a chance of beating me, don’t. Because you are already dead before we get to reach the second round. So it's best that you make a will and savor this moment, because it’ll be your last!”

He says it as he fists two of his silver gauntlets into each other and takes up his battle-ready position. The gauntlets that he wears are iron-plated that protect his arms all the way up to the elbow. They look similar to what the soldiers wore along with their armor, however, they are modified to have blue tips on the blades of the arms and holes that let his fingers go through.

“This is ridiculous! C’mon boss, isn’t there another way to—”

“Grit your teeth, ‘cause here I come!”

Before Clugil can even finish, Darmac quickly charges in headfirst by leaping towards him and makes a heavy but fast punch. But Clugil quickly dodges the punch, making Darmac hitting the cage instead. The attack is so strong that he makes a fist-size hole in the steel cage. Instead of retracting his own arm carefully, he uses it to tear the cage apart, leaving a huge hole in the center of it.

“Hey! Don’t ever think about running, we’re just getting started.”

“You have got to be kidding me!”

Darmac continues to attack Clugil as he sends multiple fast strikes to him; punch, kick, jab, sweep, he even uses his tail to attack him. But every time he attempts to hit him, Clugil dodges, and sometimes blocks, each and every strike. He hasn’t gotten a chance to attack him.

“Is this the only thing he can do?”

“Man, the rumors are true. He sucks!”

“We wanna see a fight, not a rat dance!”

“Tear him apart! Give us bloodshed!”

While the two of them are fighting, other members of the Blue Sharks send boos and jeers at the performance of the fight. Meanwhile, Vikov, along with his assistant Lince, watches the fight from the sidelines.

“Well, this is a different reaction from what we had expected. What do you want me to do, sir?”

Vikov ponders a bit of what is going to do about the situation the fighters are in. Then he came up with the idea.

“Bring them into the field, too.”

“Ah, yes, I understand. As you wish, sir. I’ll get right on it.”

As soon as he gets what Vikov is saying, Lince jumps down crate-by-crate to command two of his subordinates to bring “them” into the arena. While that is going on, Clugil keeps on dodging Darmac’s attacks.

“C’mon now, is that all you can do, run? You’re letting the audience down.”

“I’m not running, dumbass! I’m protecting myself!”

He says it as he keeps on dodging and blocking Darmac’s attacks. The attacks that he deals out are unpredictable, so there’s no way to figure out where to hit him. Clugil starts to slow down as his body starts to give in from all the dodging. However, this gives Darmac the advantage.

“You’re slowing down. Good. Then I hope you can actually take a hit. Hyah!”

“Gah!”

Clugil tries to defend Darmac’s attack, but his guard breaks when Darmac uppercuts Cligil’s defense, leaving him wide open. Then, he sends a hard punch to Clugil in the solar plexus. As he gets hit by that punch, Clugil coughs out blood and Darmac sends him flying to the other side of the arena. The impact of the punch was so hard that it felt like he was hit by a boulder.

“Now this is what we wanted to see!”

“The fight is finally on!”

“Darmac is the true badass of the Blue Sharks!”

The warehouse echoes when members of the Blue Sharks send loud cheers when Darmac lands a blow on Clugil.

“I didn’t want to disappoint you all with this inexperienced fighter dragging out the game of chicken, so I’d ‘thought why not toy with him until he gives out’. You all want to see me beat him more?”

“Yeah, kick his ass! I want to see him bleed!”

“Now this is a fight worth watching.”

“Hell Yeah! Screw that pussy rat, keep doing like you always do!”

“Keep on punching him until he dies!”

Based on the crowd’s reaction to Darmac’s question, it looks like they do want to make Clugil suffer. If this surely keeps up, then Clugil might not be able to survive. Lince, who is behind the cage, tells Darmac the news.

“Payne. Sir Vikov is sending you two more challengers to fight.”

“Oho? More fresh meat? Lucky me! I love a good challenge. Send them in!”

While Darmac, intrigued that he’ll gain some challenge of himself, Lince commands his subordinates, while they are carrying two beastmen with them; both blindfolded, gagged, and their hands tied behind their back, to be thrown into the arena.

“What the—?!”

Clugil couldn’t believe his eyes. The two beastmen that the thugs brought were both Touya and Raiji. However, they were both badly bruised and covered in cuts all around their body. Clugil quickly approaches them and unties their hands.

“The hell happened to you boys?”

“I’m sorry, sir. They fought us, but we were outmatched.”

“It’s that...damn one-arm bastard! They set us all up!”

“Wait, a setup?!”

“Boss gave the order to these guys. They wanted us dead.”

“—!”

Realizing that this whole plan was a setup, he turned his attention towards Vikov, who was sitting on top of a stack of crates.

The fact that both Touya and Raiji were covered in bruises was because they were with Pugar when they were separated from Clugil. This was their chance and attacked them without giving any warnings. It was a plan—given the order from their boss, Vikov—from the start.

“W-Why boss?”

“...”

“We did everything you told us. We did everything where we needed to go. We did everything to make you satisfied! Weren’t we good enough?!”

“...”

“Answer me!”

As Clugil tries to get answers from the leader himself, Vikov remains silent as if he didn’t care to answer his question, he only wants to see both Clugil and Darmac fight. However, he took a deep breath and he gave his answer to Clugil.

“...You are weak.”

“Huh?”

“You are weak to defend yourself. You are weak to fight against someone. You are weak to complete a task that I set out. You are an embarrassment to the Blue Sharks’ name. I would never let someone this weak to be in the Blue Sharks, let alone leading a team that is pathetic as you are. This organization has no room for failures. Weakness is a sin; the strong survive and the weak die. That is what you are, and that is your punishment. Execution.”

That’s what it is. The reason why Vikov threw Clugil, and the rest of his team, was sent into the arena in the first place. It was meant for their punishment; punished for failing, punished for embarrassing the Blue Sharks’ name simply because he was weak.

Clugil has no idea how to take it all in. Meanwhile, Darmac, who is standing on the other end of the arena, was quietly patient as Vikov’s speech went on. Then, he finally voiced out towards Clugil after Vikov was done with his speech.

“Are we gonna fight or not? I don’t really give a shit what’s going on, but my fists are aching for a fight that I can’t wait any longer! So c’mon!”

“You shut up!”

“Oh?”

“‘The strong survive and the weak die’ my ass! We’re here because we survived on our own volition. Just because you act all high and mighty, do you have to control and walk over us? I know we’re a criminal organization, but all of us take up petty crimes like stealing and breaking stuff, not resorting to killing someone! This is too far! It is not what the Blue Sharks are supposed to be! This is against what the boss had intended.”

“Well, you shouldn't have taken the job in the first place. We’re not some goodie two-shoes like you, your team, or that old timer who calls himself your ‘boss’. If you don’t like it, too bad, you’re stuck with it. You can’t back out of it now. If you do, well, you’ll die, obviously. Besides, we like the new ways, ain’t that right, fellas?”

“You da man, Darmac!”

“Yeah! Screw that old turd!”

“With Vikov as leader, we can do whatever we want!”

“Hell yeah! The old Blue Sharks sucks!”

Even what Clugil had said was somewhat justifiable, Darmac—and other members of the Blue Sharks—said otherwise. It seems like they’ve forgotten the old ways of the Blue Sharks used to be. Now it has become a criminal organization that wants nothing but money and bloodlust, and with Vikov leading the Blue Sharks, no one is going to defy him, otherwise, they’ll share the same fate: death.

“C’mon Darmac, kill this weakling!”

“Yeah, there’s no reason to have them in here!”

“Just start the fight and kill them!”

“If you kill them, you can have my body, Darmac!”

“Do it, Darmac!”

Everyone in the warehouse chants Darmac’s name and demands him to kill Clugil on stage. Darmac couldn’t help but give a big smile to his face as he listened to the crowd chanting and demanding.

“Hear that? That’s the voice of people wanting what they want, and I’m gonna give it to them. Now fight.”

“Damn it...”

Clugil didn’t want to fight him, he never wanted to fight him to begin with. He has no magic, no armor, or anything to defend himself. But he had no other choice. He has to fight to survive. But he is not the only one that is standing with him, there was also Touya and Raiji.

“If you think you’re gonna beat us, think again!”

“Yeah, so what if we’re weak? Even if Clugil—I mean sir, can be mean at times, we’re still by his side.”

“You guys…”

After showing some courageous banter from his teammates, Clugil decides to stand along with them and fight with them. Touya raises his fists, Raiji takes out his twin short swords, and Clugil equips himself with a dagger in hand.

“Alright! Let’s show them who’s boss! If we make it out alive, we’ll reach the top and return Blue Sharks to the way it was!”

As Clugil claimed himself, both Touya and Raiji responded with a loud “yeah!” as they’re getting ready for the big combat that is about to happen.

“Listen here you meat-headed asshole! I’ve already learned by fighting your kind, so don’t think I’ll make the same mistake twice.”

“Splendid! Now how long can you last?”

Darmac gave himself a wide grin as he was getting ready to face off against Clugil’s team in a deadly no holds barred.