This chapter is brought to you by 忘れじの言の葉 by DAZBEE.

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There was always some apprehension among his unit when the mission required seduction. It wasn't as if NIne was not unused to intimacy, though he did loath it since he found the targets unworthy of even breathing.

However, some infiltrations required killing the targets as discreetly as he could whilst disgracing them, so what better way to do so than to pretend to take them to bed?

Seduction, according to Robin, was an important skill to learn if one wanted to be the best of the best. Rarely did it mean sleeping with the targets, but enticing them just enough to want one's attention was the opening any seducer worth their salt needed to sink a blade.

Robin was a seduction specialist. He didn't quite look the part, being as plain as he was, but he had a pair of eyes he often lined with red, and it was enough to attract any target.

He took one look at Nine and insisted he just needed to dress up and sit still, and most targets would come to him like fly to honey.

Lord Uncle did not agree with Robin's teaching methods, nor did he sign off on allowing Nine to participate in the seduction course, but his Lady Aunt was the one who signed off the paperwork and by the time he found out, it was too late.

"You're doing what?!"

The way his Lord Uncle stormed into Lord Eartha's office with the rage of a tiger was astounding.

Nine almost thought the building would collapse.

Thankfully, someone had the mind to summon his Lady Aunt. She arrived just in time, as everyone feared the city lord would be assassinated.

This was all to say that Nine believed himself capable of seducing a target.

He followed what Robin said and donned the clothes that would do the job.

It was often something sheer, with loose pants that sat at the hip bone and exposed the ankles, a cropped shirt made from silk, and pointed soft shoes that were more slippers than functional shoes.

"People find this attractive?"

"It leaves room to the imagination, but also a preview."

"I look like I'm heading for bed."

"You certainly do."

One of the newer recruits, a young man who went by the name Sparrow, got whacked in the head for that comment, though Nine had no idea why.

Nine figured all his targets had poor taste in clothes.

The door of the cell opened up to reveal several men leering at him with disgusting glints in their eyes.

Nine kept his head down.

His wrists were shackled together, and the chains were connected to the walls. He was sitting in a helpless sort of way that made him seem more vulnerable. Robin called it a damsel-pose.

He was roughly pulled to his feet, though one of the men barked an order to "be careful with the goods. Can't have him bruising this early."

Cue more lascivious stares.

Nine raised his head slightly and saw three shadows on the ceiling.

"Cat, Siamese has finished setting the bombs and Dreamer took the records. All shareholders have been successfully eliminated by Peacemaker," Venus reported.

Very rarely were missions ever so organized. Whenever seduction was involved, his unit would suddenly become the most elite and efficient agents ever seen.

The last phase was to kill the target, who happened to be a very paranoid and guarded man.

He's the organizer of this illegal underground human trafficking ring, and Nine had allowed himself to be captured at a festival in a village nearby that was frequently targeted.

Now, he was to be auctioned.

And according to intel, the target would be participating in this auction.

The infiltration had taken several days, but alas, the mission was about to come to a close.

The men pushed him into a human birdcage.

Then the curtains opened to a cheering crowd.

---

Cesare saw the beauty in the cage, like a bird with its feathers clipped, frightened, and alone.

It was a man, he could guess by the lack of breasts and long legs, a young man, with copper skin and long dusky brown hair trailing down his back.

His head was bowed so Cesare couldn't see his face, but according to his men, he was a beauty to behold.

The young man was dressed in a gauzy white shirt and loose black pants, making his appearance more enticing to the clients. Cesare noticed there was a black collar around the young man's throat. His men had said something about that. It was impossible to remove from the man, so they kept it on.

They guessed he might have been a pet at some point belonging to a lord. Likely abandoned after being toyed with since they found him wandering listlessly in that village festival.

The young man raised his head and the crowd went silent.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Cesare felt the beating of his heart against his ears.

Who was this nightingale before his eyes? The temptress goddess of the southern grains, he ne'er saw true beauty 'til this night. Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sigh, like a sea nourished with lovers' tears.

The crowd started to murmur, and a woman raised her number high in the air.

"Thirty-million!"

A man Cesare knew was known for breaking his toys shouted, "Eighty million!"

"One hundred million!"

These filthy lords and ladies raised their numbers one by one, bidding with an outrageous amount of money to gain ownership of the young man.

Could they be blamed for their desires?

He was like a beautiful doll, just waiting to be spoiled and ruined.

"Three hundred million!"

There was an uproar.

Who would dare to buy a pet for that amount?

Some clients were forced to drop out, their faces turning purple in anger.

"Four hundred million!"

The crowd went silent once more.

Some upstart boy from some random branch of the Stella Family had raised his number. He stood up and calmly watched as the crowd whispered to one another, his expression not faltering a single moment.

Cesare frowned. Did the lad even know what to do with a beauty like that? He still had spots and looked like a virgin.

"Four hundred million to Number 134340!" the auctioneering said, "Anyone else?"

No one else said a word.

In the back of his mind, Cesare could already imagine the exorbitant amount of money he just made by easily selling this young man.

"Alright, going once, going twice--"

"Eight hundred million."

Cesare raised his number and calmly announced.

Yet, he could simply make more.

He regretted not checking the goods this time around. Perhaps he could have taken the young man for himself before the auction even started. Alas, what's done is done, and the young man will know to pay him back once he believes Cesare to be his savior.

---

No one knew what to do when they saw Pluto in the audience.

Mercury saw the way his cousin's face grew colder and colder as the bidding went on.

He recognized him.

Pluto remembered Tobus.

It was very likely he would try and save him from the situation, and as much as Mercury would love for that to happen, Tobus needed to be bought by the target.

What the fuck is your allowance?

Mercury met Bel and Otto's eyes.

Did they just fail the mission?

But they didn't, because the target raised the price once more.

"Sold!"

Look, Mercury knew Tobus was pretty. Many people in Vesna liked him. A lot.

Their target, this motherfucking-bastard-son-of-a-whore-cunt, didn't even deserve to be breathing the same air as Tobus.

It didn't matter if he had money, it was all made from the flesh trade. It didn't matter if he was young and handsome because being young and handsome wouldn't save him from a knife to the eye.

Bel made a hand signal.

'We need to get moving.'

Tobus was about to be taken back to the target's estate.

---

The one good thing about the target was that he was young and smelled clean. Older targets tended to stink, and their wrinkles and beards disgusted him from the lack of washing.

Nine didn't make it a habit to empathize with any of his habits.

Why was a man his age leading an illegal underground human trafficking ring? That was none of his business.

Whatever tragic backstory the target was trying to play out with him was for naught.

Nine simply didn't care.

Hence why they were sitting in a carriage in silence.

"Peacemaker is leading the rest by foot. They are in the trees." Venus informed him.

Nine stared out the window and spotted three swift shadows moving through the branches.

A cloak was thrown over his shoulder, and he looked up to meet the target's soft and gentle gaze.

Young people these days were truly too daring. To buy something he believed to be nothing but a dull-witted doll, where was the paranoia? Did he think no one would be sent to kill him?

Robin had gone over what "type" this man would like.

Someone like a broken bird, which he could fix and break to his heart's desire, believing himself a savior of some sort.

Nine made sure his demeanor was exactly what the target wanted, and he fell for it instantly.

He wrapped the cloak around his body and curled into himself, acting the part of a frightened young man, naive and helpless in the face of a stranger.

Let the seduction begin.

---

Cesare could already imagine the future.

His heart was beating quick like a thousand hummingbird wings, and he felt warm all over at the sight of his new pet.

He looked barely alike to his childhood first love, but their eyes. They were so similar, though his white moonlight's eyes were more blue.

Cesare imagined what it would be like to fall for a poor little bird trying to fill the shoes of an eagle.

He would be kind to him. At first. Treat him like a lover should.

Then, he would begin to exhibit traits of a cruel and callous master once the young man realized he was merely a substitute.

After, when the young man becomes weak from his torture, Cesare shall play the role of a remorseful lover.

Then he will chase him and cry at his feet, begging him for forgiveness and groveling to the point he becomes ill.

Once that was done, the young man will give him the justification and excuse to extract himself from the criminal underworld.

They could run away together, somewhere nice and isolated, where his promise to take care of him for the rest of his life would come true.

"What's your name?"

The young man stared at him with gorgeous green eyes,

There was barely a spark of intelligence in them, despite how wary and frightened he was.

Truly a doll.

Cesare's smile became more earnest as he patiently waited for a reply.

A long stretch of silence engulfed the carriage, but then he heard a low voice trickle into his ears.

"Nine."

My, this young man could be a crooner. Nightingales could sing, perhaps far better than the eagle who had flown away from him.

He could imagine the young man would please him with his singing, day and night until his throat turned bloody.

Oh, how many songs could Cesare make him sing?

All the ones his eagle used to know, his nightingale shall learn them all.

---

Venus was intently watching through the magic surveillance spell. Mercury and Bel had rigged the carriage from every angle, so he could see everything happening between Cat and the target.

No mind-reading magic was needed for Venus to figure out how delusional this man was.

The way his eyes went blank and he retreated into some kind of memory or fantasy was clear as day, and if Venus could tell from the surveillance, then Cat could definitely tell from where he was sitting across from the man.

The way he looked at Cat like he was trying to strip him with his eyes, alone, was disgusting.

Didn't matter if he was "dastardly handsome and charming (due to psychopathic and narcissistic tendencies)" according to the reports. Everyone in the unit was already looking at him like he was another dead body.

The carriage came to a stop and Nine was carried out.

Yes.

Carried out.

Like a feeble thing who couldn't walk.

Ugh.

---

[One year ago]

Turning twenty-one felt bittersweet. His kittens were getting older, the Monttevi puppies weren't really puppies anymore, and both Lord Eartha and his Lord Uncle were greying.

"How old are you?" Nine asked them both during his birthday ball.

His Lord Uncle looked at him with apprehension, and slowly, he asked, "... Why?"

"Just checking."

He hadn't meant to sound so ominous, but their age remained a mystery to him.

Nine didn't know why his Lord Uncle and Lord Eartha were aging so rapidly. It wasn't as if they had any wrinkles or anything. Their hair was simply turning white rather quickly, and his Lady Aunt, who claimed was of similar age to his Lord Uncle, was still considered a beauty among the people of Vesna.

To be honest, Nine hadn't met a lot of "old people" despite having lived two lifetimes. Aging was not... a thing in the Interstellar Era. The natural lifespan of a soldier was about forty, and it was genetically modified to be that way since bodily functions started to slow down after forty.

From what little he knew about being old, their bodies would start to lose strength, and then they would be feeble and need to be cared for due to health issues.

"Did he just call me old?"

"He's fascinated by the concept of aging. Ignore it."

"I am not old! That's insubordination! Cat! Cat! Get back here! Say it to my face!"

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The author has something to say:

Let it be known that Nine knows what sex and intimacy are, he just has no desire for it (Interstellar soldier, remember?). It doesn't mean he won't be open to love, though. He just prefers not to do anything beyond, I don't know, holding hands? Maybe a kiss? Ladies and gentlemen, I assure you, there is romance. The action... there might be a peck at some point. We'll get there eventually sob sob sob.

(Y'all, Volume I of TRVYMGTH had the relationship development end with holding hands, and that was already too much action. Now who gave me the audacity to speed run a romance in a month? sob sob sob sob sob sob.