“Th-That’s terrible.”
It was all just old memories now, though. Dark, musty air. Barred windows. Ice-cold, splintered floorboards. Sounds echoing through the air of the children’s supposed “instructors” shouting and hitting them. Someone’s sobs.
“What an awful place,” Lily remarked.
“I guess so, yeah, looking back.”
Normally, in a situation like that, the children would band together and comfort one another, but their older “caretakers” had disliked any form of unity among their charges, and had created a system to prevent it.
“They divided us into small groups. If one kid in the group messed up, the whole group was held accountable,” Zenos explained. Moreover, the first to report a mistake would be rewarded with sweets and the like. As a result, the children had grown wary of one another, creating a tense, uneasy atmosphere.
“It’s amazing you managed to get through that,” Lily said, shocked.
Zenos shrugged. “Well, that was all I knew at the time, you know. And”—he paused for a moment—“I was actually one of the lucky ones.”
“How was that lucky?”
“No, see, every group had an older kid as a leader, acting like an assistant to our caretakers, bossing the younger ones around.” The leaders had been mostly harsh to those below them, taking out their frustrations over their own mistreatment on the younger children. “But my group’s leader was nice and covered for our mistakes. Thanks to that, our group got along.”
As a result, they’d become friends, or as close to friends as they could’ve been in that environment. Of course, they couldn’t have openly shown how close they were to one another in front of their so-called instructors. Zenos often had gotten corporal punishment for refusing to loot the dead of the slums, thus disobeying the orders he’d received. But his group’s leader had often covered for him, sparing him from worse treatment.
“Oh, wow,” Lily said. “What was the leader like?”
“Hmm. She had long hair and a gentle smile. She was kinda like our big sister.”
“A big sister...” Lily paused, her hands stopping midair, holding the teacup. “Was she pretty? No, I’m sure she was. She has to have been. I just know it.”
“What are you talking about? This is about back when I was a kid.”
“I know. I just know, okay? The women who gather around you are all pretty.”
“Lily?”
A chuckle echoed through the air as Carmilla floated down from the second floor. “I see. So our next contender is a demure woman.”
“Our next what now?”
The wraith chuckled again. “Think about it. We have a young elf. A big sister-type lizardwoman. A werewolf with animal ears. An orc sporting a pair of melons. A taciturn knight. An earnest girl with glasses. What could be next, if not a demure woman?”
“You lost me halfway through all of that, but what’s this about an earnest girl with glasses?” Did she mean Umin, from the Royal Institute of Healing? “Also, why do you always show up when we’re talking about this stuff?”
“Nonsense. This is simply the only place where I ever ‘show up.’”
“I guess that’s true.”
Carmilla grinned wickedly. “So this woman was your first crush, was she not?”
“What?!” Lily exclaimed. “I knew it!”
“Have you considered not jumping to conclusions?” he deadpanned.
As a kid, he’d been too busy just trying to survive to even think about such things. Looking back, though, there was no doubt that the girl’s gentle smile had been a source of comfort.
Zenos leaned his chin on his hand, gazing out the window. “Hope Liz is doing okay out there somewhere.”
***
As night fell upon the slums, a lone lizardman stood at the outskirts of the city.
Due to the postfestival attack by a faction within the Black Guild, the lizardmen’s leader, Zophia, had ordered her people to patrol the slums. This lizardman had wandered away from the group he’d been with to relieve himself.
On his way to rejoin them, he heard someone call out behind him. “Excuse me...”
Turning around, he saw a woman with almond-shaped eyes, her violet hair swaying in the tepid breeze. The sinking sun shone dimly upon her, casting long, thin shadows on the ground. An overwhelming sense of allure emanated from her entire figure.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Does it matter?” she replied. “Would you like to come with me for a little bit?”
“What? I-I’m working. Besides, who gave you permission to...do business...here...?” The lizardman’s words trailed off as his senses were overwhelmed by a dizzyingly sweet fragrance. Captivated by her enchanting smile, he took her hand, and immediately a sharp pain shot through him. “Ow! What the hells?!” The woman’s nails dug into his palm, drawing a thin trickle of blood. “What are you doing?!”
He tried to grab her, but she pointed her index finger downward and commanded, “Kneel.”
“Urk...” His knees buckled, his back bent against his will, and his hands grasped at the ground. “You... What is this...?” Unable to even raise his head, the lizardman lay there grunting.
Slowly, the woman leaned over him. “Now you can’t disobey me anymore.”
“What are you—”
