Traveling in a luxury SUV with a private driver and a loyal maid made the scorching afternoon sun feel almost nonexistent. Aidera sat comfortably in the back seat, her gaze fixed outside the window, watching the northern part of Grimoir pass by
Clara and Paul accompanied her, seated at the front. Their destination: a small repair shop near the harbor.
"Milady, are you sure this is the right way?" Paul asked, glancing through the rearview mirror.
"Don't worry. Just follow the map," Clara replied, eyes focused on the navigation app.
Aidera said nothing, casually listening to her podcast through sleek wireless earbuds. She looked serene, but Clara couldn't help raising a brow.
"Sigh~ How did you even think of getting your laptop fixed there?"
"There was a sign. 'PC Repair Service Available'—even if the writing was barely visible," Aidera answered, clearly annoyed by the skepticism.
"I understand, but... Why does it have to BE there?"
The incident had started when Aidera's laptop began overheating and glitching. Instead of bringing it to the official service center, she insisted on taking it to a small shop they randomly found days ago. Clara wasn't thrilled with the idea. But in the end, Aidera got her way.
The reason was simple: she believed that all repair shops were the same.
"Fine. I'll go pick it up and handle the payment," Clara said. "You can wait in the car, Milady."
"Sure," Aidera replied, still lounging.
Ten minutes later, the SUV pulled into a quiet lot in front of a modest building with a faded sign: Julius Photocopy. The sea stretched behind the structure, and waves could be heard in the distance.
Clara got out, leaving Aidera and Paul in the car.
A moment later, Aidera removed her earbuds and stretched. "Hey, Paul. You bored?"
"Hmm? No, Milady. I'm alright."
"Let's step out. We're near the sea—might as well enjoy the view."
"Oh—uh, okay."
They walked toward the beach, the ocean breeze sweeping across their faces. Aidera's hair fluttered gently, her eyes calm.
* * *
Five minutes passed. Clara finally returned, walking alongside the shop owner, an older man with an easy smile.
Aidera watched them from afar. Something about the man looked... familiar.
She narrowed her eyes, then closed them briefly. A flash of recognition crossed her mind.
"Wait a minute! That man is..."
Consumed by an overwhelming sense of curiosity, she finally decided to walked toward them. She wanted to confirm her thoughts directly.
"Milady, where are you going?" Paul was surprised.
On the other hand, Julius also noticed someone approaching. "Oh, is this your friend?"
"Uh, sir, this is—" Clara began.
"Yes, we are friends. Close friends hehehe." Aidera interrupted, smiling confidently. "There's something I need to ask, sir."
"Oh? What is it? For two beautiful girls like you, I'll answer anything," Julius grinned.
"I just want to know... what actually happened to my laptop yesterday?"
"Uhh..."
The problem arose when it came to electronic devices; he didn't understand anything about them.
"I... don't really understand. My son is more knowledgeable about such matters, and he was the one who fixed your laptop."
That reaction right away made Aidera frown, her blue eyes loaded up with interest. "Your son?" Her tone shifted slightly. "By any chance, is he a student at Grimhour Institute?"
"Yes, actually. Just started this year?"
A moment of silence followed. Clara's eyes widened as pieces started falling into place. The photo in that lost wallet. The man's face—aged but unmistakable.
"Your son, his name is Zeyn, right?" Aidera smiled to herself.
"Umm yeah? Wait... Do you know him?"
"We just met recently."
Hearing that answer, Julius's eyes lit up, as if proud. It turns out that his son has already made moves to talk to girls.
"Alright, sir, thank you once again for fixing my laptop. We'll take our leave now," Aidera said.
"Oh, okay. You're welcome, and thank you for visiting my store. Take care on your way."
They turned around and headed back to the car, intending to go home. Clara glanced at her Madam, who was still smiling to herself. A feeling of joy because her guess turned out to be correct. It turned out that the man was Zeyn's father.
"What kind of coincidence is this?" Clara wondered aloud.
"Pfft~ Who knows? At least now we know where he lives. "
"Huh? Why did he suddenly become important?"
"Networking's always useful," she replied with a wink. "Besides, I still have questions for Zeyn. That vision I had... I want answers."
"Ugh, are you still obsessing over your unreal hallucination? Are you planning to ask him some strange questions?" Clara responded, sounding exasperated.
"Why so serious? I'm not accusing him of anything," Aidera said, frowning.
Aidera pouted in annoyance. But whatever the reason, the three of them continued their journey. They were heading to their apartment. As for the car, Paul would continue the journey on his own and park the car at the Chana family mansion later on.
* * *
The SUV stopped again at a convenience store near the port area. The place was quite large and equivalent to most convenience stores in West Grimoir.
The reason for their stop was actually quite simple. Firstly, one of them needed to use the restroom.
"Pardon. I won't take long," Clara hurriedly said as she exited the car.
"Me too. Excuse me, Milady."
The second reason was that Paul, who happened to be a smoker, took the opportunity to visit the convenience store and buy cigarettes.
"Really? They just left me like that?"
Aidera decided to open her laptop to check its condition after the repair. As soon as she opened the device, a facial recognition feature read her face quickly, allowing her to log in instantly.
She was amazed because the laptop had never been this fast since she first bought it. The repairman was truly skilled to not only fix the laptop correctly, but also make it twice as fast.
"Wow, it's so fast now?"
Curious, she decided to test it more thoroughly. The convenience store had a small indoor café—perfect.
Unfortunately, out of nowhere, someone wearing a black hoodie approached her just as she stepped out of the car.
"Hey!"
"Huh?" Aidera responded, taken aback.
"You better hand over your belongings quickly before something bad happens," the person warned.
Before she could do anything, a blade glinted in the sunlight.
"W.. What is this? Who are you?!" she gasped.
"Shut up!"
With trembling hands and unsure of what to do, the girl slowly walked to the side, intending to escape. Unfortunately, the thief was aware of her intentions and grabbed her shoulder tightly, preventing her from running away.
"Don't run! Hand over your belongings quickly! Before your two friends come back, or do you want this knife to stab you?"
"Unm..."
Dread grasped Aidera as the person continued to threaten her, pressing the sharp knife against her skin.
The mention of her two friends earlier indicated that this person had been targeting their car since their arrival. She was left with two choices: either surrender the laptop she was holding or buy time until one of her two companions returned.
Aidera was left with two choices: either surrender the laptop she was holding or buy time until one of her two companions returned. However, in her panicked state, she couldn't think clearly.
Should she scream? But the surroundings were eerily quiet.
Should she fight?
"I said give it!" the thief urged, increasing the pressure with the knife.
* * *