Kenji opened the door.

There she was.

A girl. Maybe sixteen. Petite. Silver hair tucked under a dark hood. Her cloak looked like it had been dry-cleaned in a JRPG boutique. Silent boots, serious eyes.

Kenji took a cautious step forward.

Then—

Shhk!

A dagger sprang from her sleeve, stopping just an inch from his throat.

“I–I’m sorry! Please die quickly!”

Kenji blinked. “C-Come again?”

She lunged again.

Kenji sidestepped, caught her wrist, and twisted. The dagger spun from her fingers and clinked to the floor like a dropped spoon.

“Who are you?” he asked.

The girl froze.

“What are you doing?” he pressed, mildly annoyed now.

“Let go of me! This is my second day!”

“Second day of what?!” He released her.

She dove for the dagger. Fumbled. Recovered it. Held it out again.

“A-Are you Nakamura Kenji?”

“Yup, that’s me. Please don’t stab me again.”

“Then your life is over right here and now!”

She lunged again.

-2 DMG

Kenji stumbled back a half step, rubbing his ribs. “Ow—what the hell?”

He shoved her lightly.

CRITICAL HIT

She flew backward with a squeak, bouncing off the wall like a ping-pong ball, and slid to the ground at 1 HP.

Clutching to her elbow, she whimpered, “P-Please spare me! I won’t do it again!”

Kenji scratched his head.

Did I accidentally max out my Rizz stat… or is she just built like a Pokémon on tutorial mode?

The girl buried her face in her knees. “I’m gonna get demoted… again…”

Kenji crouched down.

“So, uh… you want food and a band-aid or something?”

She peeked up at him through silver bangs, eyes wide and suspicious.

“Wh-Why are you being nice to me?”

Kenji offered a hand with a half-smile. “Because if Ismail finds you passed out in the dirt, he’s gonna write Sufi poetry about it. And none of us want that, trust me.”

She stared at him. Hesitated. Then, slowly… took his hand.

Inside the cozy mudbrick house, the girl sat stiffly on a woven cushion, arms hugged tight around her knees.

Nasrin appeared with a plate of reheated kebab and warm flatbread.

She devoured it like she hadn’t eaten in days.

Kenji sat across from her.

“So… what’s your name, Stabby?”

“…Protocol says I shouldn’t tell you.”

“Come on. I just fed you kabab.”

She sighed. “Sujatha.”

“Cool. I’m Kenji. But yeah, you already knew that. So… Am I really tagged as an easily killable person?”

Sujatha looked away, blushing. “Y-You weren’t supposed to fight back! They said you’d be a weak target!”

“Wow. Thanks?”

“Nobody else wanted a contract flagged Abnormal Glitch. I took it because I’m still on probation.”

“Wait—you’re doing this as an internship?!”

“Obviously. The Assassin’s Guild is super competitive.”

DING!

A glowing notification popped into Kenji’s HUD:

SIDE QUEST COMPLETED: You spared a cute, confused, low-level hitgirl.
+300 XP
LOOT DROP: Legendary Armor – Moonlit Leather Light Armor
STATUS EFFECT GAINED: +2 Charisma with Awkward Girls

Kenji looked down. His old crusty tunic had been replaced with sleek black armor. It was definitely cooler than anything he’d ever worn IRL.

“Whoa. This leather’s smoother than my GPA.”

He glanced at the mirror.

Sujatha was… not impressed.

Footsteps approached.

Ismail stepped in, broom in hand.

The old man stepped in, holding a broom.

“Kenji, the courtyard smells like the donkey went on a dry fig binge. You’re on cleanup duty.”

Kenji raised a weary hand. “I just got stabbed.”

“Then consider it part of your healing process.”

His eyes landed on Sujatha.

“A new friend?”

“Sort of,” Kenji said, still half-sprawled on the carpet. “She tried to assassinate me. Now we’re vibing.”

Ismail nodded.

“In our culture, if someone tries to stab you and you offer them tea, it means they’re family now.”

Sujatha blinked. “What kind of messed-up hospitality is that?!”

Kenji shrugged.

Nasrin breezed in with tea like this was just another Tuesday.

Ismail turned to Sujatha.

“Sujatha, grab a bucket and help Kenji gather our four-legged friend’s fertilizer.”

Sujatha choked on her tea. “W-What?! I have standards! In my culture—”

Ismail was already humming his way back into the kitchen.

Kenji stood with a groan. “Come on, Sujatha. Time to embrace our shared destiny as unpaid labor.”

She followed, sulking. “Ugh. I should’ve stabbed you way harder…”