Intrusion

Under the cover of the cold night, inside an apartment shrouded in silence, a young girl was fast asleep in a surprisingly empty room.

"Zzz..."

The place was almost completely stripped of furniture or personal items.

"..."

"....."

Just a few steps away from the bed, two figures stood in the shadows, watching her intently.

"..."

The first was a woman with hollow eyes, an expressionless face, and brown hair neatly tied in an elegant bun, dressed in a spotless maid uniform.

"Glup.."

The second figure was a five-year-old boy with striking silver hair and deep white eyes, tightly gripping a frying pan with both of his small hands.

That's right... THAT'S ME!

Does this count as a full-blown breaking and entering?

Well... looking at it from a purely legal standpoint, technically no.

After all, this is Sara's apartment, and she was the one who brought me here and unlocked the door for me!

So following that flawless line of logic, the real villain and sole culprit behind all this madness is right there, sleeping peacefully on that bed...

Although I admit I had high hopes of knocking her out with a single strategic pan strike the second we set foot in here (for justice and the cause!), but unfortunately, the girl was already sound asleep before we arrived. But don't worry, my beloved frying pan... your glorious moment to shine will come sooner or later.

<"Can you stop rubbing that frying pan so devotedly and focus for once?!">

"Ah... right, sorry, my bad..."

After quickly regaining my composure thanks to Echidna's timely mental scolding, I took a second to remind myself of the real reason we had come to this place in the middle of the night.

Huh? Are you curious to know what we're doing here? Well, fine, I guess I can give you a bit of context.

If you remember the original story of "Kim and Sara," you'll know that, according to the natural flow of the plot, Sara ends up becoming the most popular prostitute on the site. However, at the very same time, Sara's family puts up missing person posters for her. At one point, Kim makes a half-joking comment saying that if the police ever found them, Sara should take full responsibility for the "kidnapping."

And what ends up happening? Sara, having no free will and following the command to the exact letter, turns herself in to the authorities and takes the entire blame. Due to her robotic and abnormal behavior, she ends up locked away forever in a psychiatric hospital. Meanwhile, Kim, the true mastermind behind all this torment, uses the drama of the situation to magically fix her relationship with her parents and ends up living a comfortable, guilt-free life filled with luxury.

WHAT ON EARTH KIND OF ENDING IS THAT?!

Yeah... that was exact same thing I screamed in my head when I read that part of the story for the first time.

But fortunately, we are still in time to radically change the course of events!

Why am I going through the trouble of stepping in, you ask? Well, obviously to resolve these dangerous plot hazards before it's too late for everyone. And to pull off this feat, I have the indispensable help of tonight's Most Valuable Player.

"That's exactly why I'm counting on you completely, Echidna!"

<"Keep in mind that I am only doing this to expand the number of your concubines and strengthen our bond.">

"..."

I was on the verge of firmly telling her that I have no such thing and want no such thing, but a sudden, terrible chill ran down my spine. Making the wisest decision of my life, I chose to swallow my words and remain discreetly silent.

Am I a coward, you say?

OF COURSE I AM, AND PROUD OF IT!

After all, listen to me carefully, my friends: the ones who survive until the very end of the story are always, ALWAYS the cowards... AND I INTEND TO LIVE A LONG LIFE, DO YOU HEAR ME?!