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“Did you hear? The wandering magician is supposedly incredibly beautiful!”
“So I’ve heard! Apparently, his beauty is enough to make everyone stop and stare at him!”
“Wait, wait, who is he? How come I’ve never heard of him before? What’s his name?”
“He introduced himself as Merlin Hermes! Aahh, people said even the way he introduced himself was so alluring…”
Cindy, a member of the elite Nighthawks team Red Gloves, stops in her tracks as she notices her captain looking lost in thoughts.
“Pretty boy…?” He mumbles absentmindedly. A frown paints his lips as he looks lost in thought, an annoyed expression forming on his face.
Cindy gasps.
Oh no.
Is her captain jealous?
As far as Cindy knows, Leonard Mitchell is renowned as one of the prettiest men in Backlund. Was he jealous of someone who was threatening to take his spot? Cindy didn’t expect her captain to be so… vain.
Hesitantly, she walks towards Leonard, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Captain, don’t worry! You will always be the top vote at Church of the Evernight’s most beautiful believers!” She tries to cheer him up, her other hand pumping a fist.
Leonard blinks, slowly looking at her with a blank expression on his face.
Cindy shivers. She has never seen her captain with such an empty look on his face. It’s almost horrifying.
She sends him a shaky thumbs-up, slowly backs away, and runs off. Far, far away from an all-too-emotionless captain.
She can only hope that the pretty magician doesn’t stick around for too long.
So.
Merlin Hermes is a wild Beyonder.
Cindy resists the urge to scream. While Merlin Hermes does not seem to stay in one place, disappearing and reappearing randomly, the rumors about his beauty do not fade one bit. Instead, it only grows.
In turn, Leonard’s gloomy mood worsens.
He’s sulking every day in the headquarters, an aura of dread surrounding him. He looks upset, almost like someone whose dog got kicked in front of him.
Or, in his case, someone whose Prettiest-Boy-In-Town title is getting taken away from him.
“No one… call… pretty…” Cindy hears her captain mumble.
Captain????????
Cindy can feel the metaphorical tears running down her cheeks. Goddess, what did she do to deserve a captain like Leonard? For a moment, she contemplates throwing a chair or maybe even a table at the other.
“Captain, Merlin Hermes is a wild Beyonder. We should be careful of him.” Cindy says, desperately trying to keep her eye from twitching. “Besides, the news of the Fully Automated Wishing Machine is spreading panic throughout the churches. Merlin’s appearance is one we cannot keep track of.”
Leonard does not respond.
Cindy feels her patience snap, “My point is,” She stresses out, “Merlin Hermes is dangerous. His popularity among the common people does not matter. We have to subdue him.”
And for the first time, her captain responds.
With a sharp, almost threatening glare.
Cindy reels back, surprised at the hostility displayed. What?
“Don’t touch him,” Leonard hisses. Then the tension eases out of his shoulders, like the strings holding him up have snapped. “Sorry, I know you don’t…” He gestures vaguely.
Cindy sighs.
Don’t what? Don’t obsess over his new pretty-boy title the way you do?
“Do you know Merlin Hermes, Captain?” She asks instead. She needs to have her pay raised, preferably right now.
Leonard jumps, “Uh, no…! Definitely not,” He shoots her a very sincere smile. One so heartfelt she can almost ignore the lie. Almost.
Cindy wants to return to her room and enjoy the sweet, sweet embrace of sleep. At least when she’s not awake she doesn’t have to deal with this bullshit.
“Okay,” She says and promptly walks out of the room. She gives up.
Her captain will give her an aneurysm one day, she can feel it.
“Cindy, has the Captain seemed… odd, recently?”
Cindy turns her head to her teammate. She drags her hands to her face and groans loudly, causing Bob to look at her in concern.
“You have no idea,” She practically wails, “The Captain was supposed to be the sensible one! The calm and collected one!”
Bob winces in sympathy, “I heard he’s been sulking for weeks because Merlin Hermes is a threat to his title as the Most Beautiful Man in Backlund. Is it actually true?”
Should anyone have asked Cindy the same question a few months ago, she would’ve laughed her heart out and shared the joke with everyone. Now, though, when it’s actually happening in reality, Cindy feels nothing but despair.
She nods.
Bob grimaces.
“...You know, I never thought the Captain would care so much about that title. He never even tried to look his best.”
“I know what you mean. Captain already looks amazing even without effort, so I thought he simply didn’t care about his looks. Turns out…”
The two share a look full of understanding.
“What are you guys talking about?”
Cindy jumps out of her seat. Bob screams.
“Goddess, I almost had a heart attack! Don’t scare us like that!” Bob complains.
The newcomer laughs, “Sorry, sorry. Anyway, I have some news to share with you.”
“What is it?” Cindy leans closer, hoping it’s some new juicy gossip. She’s a little sick of having to deal with Leonard’s gloomy mood, so hopefully this one can distract her from it.
The newcomer, who Cindy vaguely remembers is named Luther, lowers his voice to a whisper. “I saw Merlin Hermes.”
“WHAT?!” Bob and Cindy scream in unison, attracting the attention of several people. Sheepishly, they apologize, then turn back to Luther.
“Is he as good-looking as everyone says he is?”
“How does he look like?”
The onslaught of questions takes Luther off-guard, before he waves a hand to calm them down. “He’s gorgeous,” He says with such seriousness unfit for the topic. “Like, really gorgeous. He’s very kind and graceful, too, as expected of a magician.” He sighs dreamily.
“What else?” Cindy asks impatiently. “Anything about the Fully Automated Wishing Machine?”
“Oh, uh, I didn’t see it.” Luther laughs nervously, “I was too distracted by his beauty. Hey, his looks aren’t even lacking compared to Deacon Mit—”
CRASH
Cindy closes her eyes. She can feel it.
With a resigned sigh, she slowly turns to look at the source of the sound.
There it is .
Leonard Mitchell.
Cindy almost whimpers.
Leonard’s eyes are bloodshot, and he’s mumbling something indecipherable and inaudible to the three of them. He’s walking towards the exit slowly. On the way, he passes their table, and Cindy hears it.
“...Merlin…”
She trembles.
…Is her captain planning on doing something terrible to Merlin Hermes?
“Gentlemen, it’s time for an intervention.”
Her two audiences, Bob and Luther, nod with seriousness.
Cindy slams her hands down the table, “Captain has been sulking for way too long. He’s clearly jealous of Merlin Hermes.”
“The wild Beyonder,” Bob says grimly. “It’s one thing to be annoyed over your title getting taken from you, it’s another thing for it to be stolen by a wild Beyonder.”
“—And it’s an entirely different thing to be envious of a wild Beyonder!” Luther cuts in, gesturing wildly. “Why doesn’t the Deacon want to persecute him? You said he even warned you not to touch Merlin Hermes, right?”
Cindy nods.
Luther sits back down, “I understand. Despite feeling jealous, the Deacon can’t bring himself to hurt someone with such a pretty face…”
“Focus,” Bob hisses. Luther obediently shuts up.
“Anyway,” Cindy stresses, “We’re going to follow Captain for the next few days. He showed signs of wanting to hurt Merlin Hermes, so maybe him telling me not to touch Merlin was because he wanted to be the one to hunt Merlin.”
“ Signs of wanting to hurt Merlin?! ” Luther almost screeches.
Cindy waves a hand, “Not really. But he had a really gloomy aura and was mumbling Merlin’s name earlier. I think he has some kind of plan.”
Luther and Bob nod their heads.
From the corner of her eye, Cindy sees Leonard leave the Church.
“Alright, let’s go. Remember not to get caught.”
They each pray to the Evernight Goddess and proceed to follow Leonard as discreetly as they can.
“Where is he going?” Luther whispers. Cindy doesn’t answer.
They round a corner, watching carefully as Leonard looks around. He stops, mumbling something under his breath. The three of them watch with bated breath as Leonard directs his gaze somewhere, and a figure steps out from the shadows.
Holy Mother of Concealment.
Is that Merlin-fucking-Hermes?!
Did Leonard really challenge the other Beyonder to a fight?!
Leonard launches forward. Alarmed, the three of them move to stop him, when—
“Klein!”
Huh?
Leonard hugs the figure of Merlin Hermes. Who, by the way, looks annoyed but in a fond way. The way one would look at their friend (or a lover…) who does something so incredibly exasperating.
“Klein, I missed you!”
Merlin—Klein?—hums, rubbing the back of Leonard soothingly.
“Did you hear what they were calling you?” Leonard asks indignantly. Cindy tenses. If her captain was going to use this to start a fight…
“No. Tell me?”
Cindy almost gasps. What a nice voice. She definitely sees the appeal.
“They’re calling you the prettiest boy in town!” Leonard complains. Cindy sees Merlin’s lips quirk upwards, as if he's trying to suppress a laugh.
“Is that why you’ve been upset? Are you worried I’d steal your title?”
Behind her, Bob groans. Cindy understands the feeling. Merlin is definitely provoking Leonard!
“No!” Leonard responds, pulling away from the hug and a blush forming on his cheeks. Wait, is he flustered?
“Then?” Merlin asks, sounding impatient. Still, Cindy doesn’t sense hostility or annoyance in the way he questions her captain.
Leonard sighs, “You’re too pretty, Klein… Too many people are vying for your attention now.” Then a quiet, “I want to keep you for myself.”
Merlin’s mouth drops open. Cindy’s does too.
…So he was jealous, but for an entirely different reason.
“Leonard, you…” Merlin sighs, before he speaks out, “You three can come out now.”
“Um,” Cindy says unintelligibly. “Was he talking about us?”
“Yes, I was.” Merlin says. Oh.
Guiltily, the three of them shuffle out of their hiding spots. “Hi, Captain.” Cindy greets. Leonard gapes at them.
“Since when were you three here?!”
“Since forever,” Merlin grits out. “Dear poet, how careless can you be? How can you not notice three people following you?”
Leonard grimaces, “Can you not scold me with such a gentle face? Besides, the old man didn’t remind me!”
“Pallez was probably sick of you.” Merlin deadpans. He slides a hand down his face, and suddenly, he looks all too different. No longer does he possess hair that goes down to his shoulders, nor does he look like the alluring angel everyone’s been talking about. Instead, he looks like a regular young man with a bookish air.
He smiles at the three of them, “Pleasure to meet you all. I’m Klein.”
“He’s my lover,” Leonard inserts himself into the conversation. Klein stomps on his foot.
Cindy’s too busy gaping to respond. Still, Klein doesn’t seem to take offense to that. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, I have to turn someone into Beyonder ingredients.” He drags Leonard by the ear and leaves, the protests of Leonard going unheard.
Silence.
What the fuck, Captain?