"Now, wait!"
Saint Dolores stopped Vikir in his tracks.
"Aren't you being too hard on her? Did she get a kiss?"
"No."
"It's not 'no', it's 'not'! She wants to kiss you like that, so give her a kiss!"
"I'm embarrassed."
Dolores opens her mouth in disbelief.
I've never seen anyone say "embarrassed" so openly before.
She pushes past Vikir and picks up Nymphet.
"Uh-oh," she says, "that cold-hearted oppa doesn't like kisses. Can I do it to my sister instead?"
"...."
"Oh, you hate big sister...?"
But Dolores was a very determined Nymphet.
Dolores watched in disbelief as Nymphet walked away and Vikir walked away.
'She never seems to open up to anyone, does she....?
She knew why Nymphet had opened up to Vikir.
Nymphet had dropped her ball in the sewer while running, and Vikir had jumped into the sewer to retrieve it for her without hesitation.
How could anyone not be moved by the sight of him returning the ball to her, even with filth dripping from his body?
Dolores, who must have been watching the scene from a distance, was moved to tears by the sight of Nymphet herself, who dropped the ball into the sewer.
'...Vikir. What an unknown.'
Dolores thought to herself as she watched Vikir's back shrink in the distance.
He wanted to know more about the junior.
* * *
The day drew to a close.
Vikir left the great hall and headed for his dormitory.
The four-man dormitory was shared by Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, and Vikir.
The daycare workers on duty in front of the dorms waved to the students.
"Okay, volunteers, come on in."
"If you're late, you know, all the doors to the building will be closed, and we won't be able to open them for you."
"You are not allowed outside the dormitory after 10:00!"
The curfew here at Indulgentia Orphanage is strangely strict.
At night, the doors and windows of all the buildings are locked, and traffic is strictly prohibited.
The dormitory supervisors are always roaming the halls, listening to the volunteers' complaints, but Vikir realizes that it's not for protection, but for monitoring.
'...especially in the dormitories where the children stay.'
Even Vikir had never visited the children's quarters at night before.
Guards roamed the exterior of the building, and the four shadows of Guilty stood guard inside.
Geronto, Hebe, Fedo, and Ephebo.
I had never seen them, but I could smell their presence by the faint stench they emitted.
As long as these four troublesome obstacles stood in his way, he could not move forward.
So Vikir stood still and waited for the right time, when their scent would fade even further.
And today, on the night the dark clouds swallowed the moon. It was time to hunt.
Vikir made his way to the public shower room, stepped out of the shower, and wrapped a towel around himself.
Dinner would be served in a few minutes, and then it would be time for bed.
He dries off and heads to bed with a nonchalant attitude.
"Hey, Vikir!"
As planned, Tudor shoulders into Vikir.
When Vikir turned his head, Tudor grinned evilly and whispered.
"You, man. Look at those fucking abs. Who did you get ripped like this to kill?"
Tudor chuckles and rubs Vikir's stomach.
Then he narrows his eyes and coaxes Vikir in a low voice.
"That's right. Are you just going to take this fine body of yours to bed tonight?"
"Then what and where are we going?"
"Come on, Vikir. When you die, your body rots and turns to dust. We need to use this young, limber body a little more efficiently. It's for the greater good, isn't it?"
Tudor chuckled as he looked at Vikir's public good(?) body.
Sancho, who was next to him, looked down at Tudor in a pathetic way.
"So, you're talking at length about sneaking off to the girls' dormitory at night. Is this coming from a guy who claims to be a wannabe hero?"
"There is a saying that a hero has his true colors. "Heroes naturally like colors."
At Tudor's words, Piggy, who was beside him, timidly asked.
"Isn't this a heroic lecher?"
"Hahaha! Anyway, it's a knight's romance to find a lady who will give him her all, and who can blame me?"
Tudor began to persuade Sancho and Piggy with a glint in his eye.
"Isn't it delightful to imagine," he said, "to cross the pitch-black night, and the mighty boundary, and climb up the east wing of the castle wall, and meet her! If only there were no dragons in the way, it would be chivalrous literature! As you know, even the dormitories at our academy are strictly separated for men and women, and if it weren't for this opportunity, I wouldn't be able to spend a night in the same room with a woman for four years!"
"Uh, what are you going to do with them?"
"Yes, Piggy! That's a good question! What do we do... just drink and hang out! We play drinking games and talk about more serious things, huh?"
"Hmmm. Drinking games? You mean, like, drinking until one of us collapses and dies?"
"That's a very Sancho opinion, why would you play that kind of game with girls, not that stupid northern drinking game, but a random game or a truth game or something!"
Sancho, a native of the North, was intrigued by Tudor's comments, as his only experience with nightly drinking was with a group of sweaty men.
Piggy, too, had never really talked to a girl her own age before, and looked at Tudor with half concern and half anticipation.
"Hmmm. I'm all for it, but the question is whether the girls will like me, ... or think I'm a lust-blind muscular pig."
"Whoa, hey, Sancho. Girls think the same way as boys, and I've already kissed with one lady during the day. We've arranged that if we go to the right place at the right time, she'll sneak out the back door to greet us."
"Hey, can I come too? I hope I won't be too much of an annoyance...."
"Haha! The more people the better, so we can share the punishment if we get caught, and Piggy! Be confident! You're chubby and cute, so you're secretly in high demand!"
The conversation goes well(?).
Having succeeded in getting Sancho and Piggy on board, Tudor nervously turns his head.
Vikir stood there, expressionless.
Tudor looked at him and opened his mouth.
"Uhm. Vikir. As much as I'll try to keep you out of harm's way as much as I can... since we're sharing a room for four, I think it's best if you have one last night of excitement for your memories....."
"Let's go."
"Aww, don't be so cut and dry about it... eh?"
Tudor rolled his eyes.
And so did Sancho and Piggy.
Vikir made it clear again.
"Let's go. I like girls."
"...."
It was the most mismatched look and line in the world.
Tudor stuttered and opened his mouth.
"You do realize we're not going to duel with girls, right? It's socializing, you know."
"I know."
Vikir nodded, and Sancho and Piggy widened their eyes.
"Vikir. You're not sick, are you? Tell us if you are. My salve, made from herbs that grow in the north, heals even the mind...."
"Vi, Vikir. What's wrong with you? You usually had no interest in women… … ?"
Of course, as his friends had feared, Vikir had never been interested in women.
But Vikir had something else in mind.
'Tonight is the best time to kill the demon ....'
It was a moonless night, and the nocturnal world was the perfect hunting ground for the Night Hound.
Vikir will sneak out of the dormitory under the guise of a group of men and women, and he'll look for any loopholes in the rigorous guard.
If he's caught early on an assassination mission, he can use the other boys as an excuse.
Boys of his age do that, girls of his age do that, and adults who see the innocent love of youth often smile tolerantly.
Tudor is from the high nobility, and Sancho and Piggy are students at a young academy, so their identities are pretty much guaranteed.
If Vikir is caught wandering the halls, he can probably get away with the excuse that he got lost looking for the girls' quarters.
Meanwhile, Tudor excitedly outlined the day's plan.
"Great, Vikir's on board, so all the boys in our room are going. When we hear the clock tower bell ringing at midnight, we're going to pretend to go to the bathroom, then we're going to go out into the hallway... and follow the exhaust vent in the ceiling... and climb up the water pipes... to where the latch on the first floor bathroom window in the girls' dormitory is broken... and then we're going to go up to the emergency exit, where the girls will write down the room number of today's rendezvous point on a note and put it under the flower pot....."
It was a fairly specific and thorough plan for a kid's rendezvous.
Vikir's rarely serious expression matched the innocence of the plan.
The larger the number of boys and girls involved in the plan, the more room there was for distractions.
" ... this way. Tonight, there's a gap when the wardens on duty change. We'll gather at the end of the emergency exit and leave when the midnight bell rings."
The fluffy one-day puppies groan with excitement at the deviation they are experiencing for the first time in their lives.
And then.
Mixed among these little balls of fur was an experienced hunting dog hiding its sharp teeth.