Lilith lay on her bed with her eyes closed, lost in thought, trying to gather her thoughts and make sense of her current situation. She had always gotten into trouble, but her brother Sunny usually saved her—and of course, her friends on the team helped too. But now, there was no Sunny, no Lisa, no Carlos. Only Nir was around.
Even with Nir present, questions crept into her mind: Can I really trust him? What will he do when he finds out I'm part of the infamous Star Thieves gang? These questions weakened her trust in Nir.
As she drifted deeper into her thoughts, she suddenly opened her eyes to find the cowgirl—her roommate—right in front of her. Her face was incredibly close, her short blonde hair just a centimeter away. The cowgirl quickly pulled back a few steps, and Lilith did the same.
"Umm, okay..." The cowgirl looked visibly tense, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. Naturally, Lilith reacted with a confused mix of surprise and tension, creating an awkward atmosphere between them.
The cowgirl swallowed hard and said, "Umm... what I meant to say was—you looked great today, you and that red-haired guy."
Lilith couldn't find the words, so she forced a reply: "Umm, thanks..."
The awkwardness thickened, but the cowgirl pushed herself to speak again: "Are you sure about what you two did?"
Lilith's face filled with confusion. "Did what?"
"You know... messing with gang members and embarrassing them in front of everyone."
Even more question marks popped up over Lilith's head. "Gang? What gang?"
The cowgirl looked at Lilith with puzzled eyes and, after a moment of thought, realized Lilith was new.
"Oh, right! I forgot—you and that guy are new, so you probably don't know. This floor is ruled by a gang called the Chaos Hunters."
"Great, another tacky name… Seriously, who picks these names around here?"
The cowgirl continued, "This gang has members in the prison, so they're respected. Their leader, James, was locked up. The guy you beat up yesterday was one of them, and I don't think this will end well."
Lilith sighed deeply and rubbed her eyes. "Look... I didn't do anything. Nir was the one who did all of that, so I'm in the clear."
The cowgirl shook her head. "As long as you're close to him, you'll be a target too. You need to be careful."
Lilith sighed again and said, "Thanks for the warning... but who are you?"
"Oh, sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Asomas—you can call me Aso. Since I've introduced myself, can I know your name?"
Lilith smiled and replied, "I'm Lilith. Thanks for the warning, Aso."
Aso sat on the bed across from Lilith's and said, "You're welcome..."
She lowered her head, nervously interlocking her fingers, and said in a shaky tone, "A-actually… I wanted to ask you something. If that's okay?"
Lilith smiled with curiosity and said, "Of course, why not?"
Despite her words, Lilith was very cautious about the question, ready to lie if needed.
Aso's voice trembled as she forced herself to speak, then suddenly blurted out: "Are you dating that red-haired guy?!"
An awkward silence blanketed the room.
Lilith understood the question but couldn't respond.
Aso quickly tried to lighten the mood: "Um, I didn't mean anything by it… I just… well…"
Her stammering only made things more awkward. She realized that.
Lilith felt a bit of pity for the cowgirl, who looked like she was about to cry:
"...No, I'm not dating him."
Aso looked up with a smile, while Lilith turned her back and lay down:
"Thank you!"
The corner of Lilith's lip twitched as she drifted off into deep sleep.
***
The next morning, as Lilith walked toward the cafeteria to meet Nir, Aso followed her. Their conversation the previous night seemed to have brought them closer.
While walking, Aso began to pester Lilith with questions like:
"What's the red-haired guy's name?"
"Does Nir have a girlfriend?"
Lilith tolerated all the annoying questions, and for some reason, whenever she saw Aso, a strange feeling came over her—like she was seeing a younger version of herself. Was I really this annoying back then? She began to appreciate the patience of Lisa and Sunny.
Lilith asked Aso, "You do know it's dangerous to be seen with me, right?"
Aso shyly replied, "W-well… I just wanted to see Nir for a moment… thanks for caring about me."
Lilith thought to herself: This little brat… does she think she's in a romance story in prison?
When Lilith entered the cafeteria from the women's section, she saw the red-haired boy sitting alone, calmly eating.
What a fancy sight… at least in Aso's eyes.
Lilith walked up and slapped the back of his head:
"You idiot! Didn't I tell you not to eat until we met?!"
Nir stood up angrily:
"What's your problem?! Every time we meet, you hit me! That hurts, you know?"
Lilith stared at him, shocked, then turned her head down and to the right:
"S-sorry."
Nir sighed and said, "I'm sorry for yelling too. But seriously, stop hitting me. It hurts."
Lilith nodded quietly, while Aso stood behind her, waiting for an introduction to Nir. She was visibly nervous.
Aso thought of a thousand ways to introduce herself, but they were all either too plain or too embarrassing.
She wanted to introduce herself in a unique way, so she kept thinking.
Lilith interrupted her thoughts:
"Oh right, I forgot to introduce you. This is Aso."
Reacting instinctively, Aso said:
"Oh hi there! I'm Asomas—you can call me Aso."
She extended her hand with a trembling smile and quivering lips. Despite her effort to stay confident, her eyes betrayed her nervousness.
Nir noticed this quickly and his expression shifted from stern to cheerful.
She must be scared of me after what happened yesterday… plus I just yelled at Lilith. I can't blame her.
He smiled brightly, deciding to improve his image.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Nir."
As soon as Nir shook Aso's hand, she was overwhelmed by mixed emotions. Her heart raced, her face turned red, and she couldn't hide the smile spreading across her face—though it wasn't visible to Nir because of her hat.
All this happened right in front of Lilith, who watched the scene unfold:
Are we in a romance drama or what?
Lilith cut in:
"Nir, this isn't the time for introductions—we need to find a way out."
Aso's eyes widened: "What? You're escaping?!"
Lilith quickly covered Aso's mouth: "Shh! Be quiet or someone will hear you!"
Aso nodded silently, her eyes wide with shock. Lilith let go, and Aso asked again in a much lower voice:
"What? You're escaping?"
Lilith nodded:
"We have to get out. We can't stay here."
Aso was silent for a moment, then said:
"But how? We're on the third underground level. Escaping from here is almost impossible."
Lilith raised an eyebrow:
"Third level? What do you mean?"
Nir calmly explained:
"This facility has three underground floors. The deeper you go, the tighter the security."
Lilith looked around for guards:
"But the only guards I've seen are the ones between the men's and women's sections, right?"
Nir stroked his chin:
"You're right… maybe we can get out."
Seriously? What is this idiot thinking?!
Aso sighed:
"Follow me."
She led them to a corner of the cafeteria near a wall.
"Look at this wall."
She knocked on it, then knocked again in a different spot.
"Did you notice the different sound in the first spot? That's actually a door, but only the police in official uniforms can pass through it. Even the guards can't go through."
Nir thought to himself:
What an amazing girl… Even though she's scared of me, she's helping us. I really need to be nicer to her.
He placed his hands on her shoulders:
"That's awesome! You're amazing!"
Stunned, Aso didn't respond—her face turned red again.
Lilith slapped Nir on the head.
He turned to her, surprised:
"Ouch!! That hurt! You said you wouldn't hit me again!"
Furiously, Lilith yelled:
"I said I wouldn't hit you without a reason—you're bothering the girl!"
"Huh? What did I do?!"
They growled at each other.
Aso interrupted in a barely audible voice:
"I-it's fine… Actually… I liked it…"
Silence fell... and it was awkward for Aso.
"W-what I meant was…"
Before she could finish, a man stepped out from the wall she had just talked about.
All three backed away.
The man was imposing, with a cold expression, short black hair, red eyes, a formal uniform, and a chess rook insignia on his chest.
As soon as Aso noticed the symbol, she froze in place, trembling.
Lilith and Nir noticed, and Lilith asked quietly and nervously:
"Aso, who is that man?"
Lilith turned to Nir and saw him baring his teeth at the man, clearly angry.
Aso didn't respond—she remained silent.
Another man came through the wall, dressed less formally and without a badge.
The second man stopped when he saw the imposing figure staring at the inmates, and calmly asked:
"What are the names of these inmates?"
The man with the glasses scanned them:
"The girl with the hat is Asomas Ross, that girl is Lilith Toriac, and the boy is Nir Rontier."
"Huh… Nir, is it…" The imposing man walked toward Nir with slow, confident steps…