The Bookkeeper

Raiden felt gentle nudgings and something soft brushing against his face. He began opening his eyes and abruptly sat upright, startling Ash, who tumbled onto the bed.

He frantically patted himself down, checking for wounds from the battle, but relief flooded through him as he broke into a smile—he was alive and unharmed.

[Papa...] Ash’s voice echoed in his head as he turned to her.

"Oh, it was you who woke me up." He said softly, reaching out to gently stroke her scales.

However, his expression darkened in an instant. He reached for his neck once more and began feeling around it, but the only thing there was his necklace.

Still, he wondered how he was alive—he couldn’t remember anything after he passed out from suffocation during his fight with old man Jasper.

Did someone rush in to save him? But even through the confusion, he smiled as he recalled the battle.

From the beginning, Jasper had intended to finish the fight before Raiden could even strike. Thinking about it made him burst into laughter, his heart filled with excitement. The old man had scattered his chains across the battlefield, probably the moment he arrived.

If it weren’t for the wager Raiden raised, it wouldn’t have been a fight at all. And Raiden got the message perfectly—Jasper wanted him to understand what it meant to be a killer without resorting to excessive violence.

Just as he sat there laughing at the memories and patting Ash, Levi walked in and leaned against the wall. His shirt hung slightly loose as he ran his hand through his ponytail.

Raiden stopped laughing and turned to him. "How’s everyone?"