Luc was a home, staring at the massage he got through an email.

  Charlotte had somehow managed to get his boss to give him 3 weeks off to recover, even though he was already healed.

  “What is she planning…”

  Luc couldn't complain, however, as a lot had happened, and he could use the days off.

  2 days had passed since the incident, and he was staying at home as the mall and the surrounding area was being patrolled. The ability hunter had escaped, apparently. Also an injured civilian had mysteriously disappeared, and it was unsure if he survived or died.

  “This has turned into such a mess…” Luc said as he scrolled through the news bits belonging to his city.

  For the second time this month, people living in his area were advised to stay home and only go out when necessary, as they hadn’t solved the issue with the ‘bloody fridge’ incident and now the ability hunter was still on the loose.

  Paired with the ‘eyecorner men’ and public panic was at its all-time high.

  “I totally forgot about those horned men… What is happening to this country…”

  Luc checked if he got any messages from Genie before changing channels and started to watch some more SAU.

  Some no name amateurs were fighting and Luc yawned as it wasn’t interesting at all. He knew that everyone would have to start somewhere, and he would be in that same situation if he ever participated, but he also valued his time and entertainment and switched to another channel.

  ‘Charlotte Lambert, a high-ranking executive at Lambert Gadgets, is under investigation as there is reason to believe there is a connection between her and the suspected murder of the son of a fellow board member. Sources suggest the incident may be linked to an alleged attempt to grasp for power within the company’s leadership.’

  Was what Luc heard moments before he was about to, pausing as he realized that he recognized that name.

  “Huh? What?”

  Luc turned up the volume and put the remote control down.

  ‘Law enforcement authorities have confirmed that Lambert is a person of interest in the case but emphasized that the investigation is ongoing, and no charges have been filed at this time. Lambert’s legal team has denied any accusations, asserting that Lambert is cooperating with investigators and expects to be cleared of all suspicion.’

  “She did suggest that she was an important person and was looking into something, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad…” Luc said as he tried to understand what was going on.

  ‘The incident has sent shockwaves through the corporate world, raising questions about the internal dynamics at Lambert Gadgets and the lengths to which some may go in the pursuit of power.’ Was how the news bit ended.

  “I bet this is bullshit, I don’t believe that a woman who would fetch a bloodied man like me off the streets in the middle of the night would assassinate a person just for power…”

  Luc leaned backward but realized that he couldn't be too sure as he didn’t know Charlotte that well.

  It was then when Charlotte’s words at their meeting floated up.

  “Ah right, she suspected the horned men to have killed that person. I almost forgot but… how is she going to prove that?”

  Lux changed to another news channel which was talking about how the ‘bloody fridge’ incident was still being investigated, which a half hour later went to a recap of the progress in investigating the ‘eyecorner men’. None which had any progress.

  “Yeah, if they can’t even figure this out, it’s unlikely they will believe her…”

  Luc decided to believe in Charlotte, as he was sure that he as a person wasn't very useful to Charlotte, and he knew that how people behaved when that was the case revealed their true character.

  Sure they had promised to investigate the horned men together, but Charlotte did go through lengths that she shouldn’t have which made Luc trust her at least a bit.

  Luc tapped on his phone but paused as his finger hovered above Charlotte’s name.

  “Would calling her and asking her about this be appropriate? It’s not my business and I don’t know her that well…”

  Luc put his phone down, but in his clumsiness pressed the screen and the call started. “Oh shit!”

  He grabbed the phone and the call connected before he could press it off.

  “Yes? Are you in trouble again?” The voice of a woman said from the phone.

  “Uhh, sorry, I butt dialed.” Luc said with a nervous laugh.

  “I see, mind meeting up at Genie’s shop? There is something I want to talk about. Is in 2 hours okay?”

  “Uhh, yeah. I will be there…”

  The call ended and Luc stared at his phone.

  “There was less energy in her voice. Maybe it’s related to what I saw on the news…”

  Luc grabbed an empty bottle, refilled it and gulped down its contents. He got up, turned the TV off and changed.

  His eyes fell on his backpack as he walked toward the front door.

  “Do I need it?”

  Memories of the past week flashed through his head and he grabbed the backpack as he hadn’t been particularly lucky and was unsure if his unlucky streak had passed.

  He opened the door but went back inside, grabbed the wrapper of the golden fridge, stuffed it into his backpack and left.

  Public transport was as unpleasant as ever, but at least there weren’t many people out and about and Luc made it successfully to the city center.

  Luc entered Genie’s shop and saw a person he disliked.

  “So the parasite has returned, go away! I won’t allow you to endanger my friend!”

  Cherise furrowed her brows and folded her arms. “You again?! Stop stalking me! I’m talking to Genie, stop butting in!”

  Luc rummaged in his bag and pointed the mana detector at Cherise.

  “Genie, can you move a bit?”

  “Okay, I have a box to show you anyway!” Genie said as he ran to the back.

  Luc’s device continued beeping, despite Genie having moved out of it’s ranged.

  “What’s with that stupid toy?”

  “It exposes you for the parasite that you are! What are you doing to my friend?! For some reason, he can’t stop being exploited by you.”

  Cherise smiled and Luc’s device started beeping more frequently.

  “Oh, I see a mana detector. But so what? Do you have any proof? Ability users aren’t that rare you know? Anyways I have better things to do than talk with you.”

  Cherise walked past Luc and winked before leaving.

  Luc clasped his chest and stepped back, “What…”

  His heart was beating like crazy, and he tried to calm down. “An infatuation ability? What a wicked woman…”

  Luc refilled a bottle and gulped its contents, causing him to calm down and regain control over his feelings.

  “Genie is in danger!”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “How so?” A voice said as an individual, cloaked suspiciously, entered the shop.

  “Huh? Charlotte? Is that you? Why are you disguised so… poorly…”

  “I only had a cap, sunshades and an old long coat… hiding my face fully draws more attention… what happened to Genie?”

  “Uhh, nothing yet. I just discovered that a parasite extracting resources from Genie has an infatuation ability… she almost got me too…”

  Luc and CHarlotte navigated between the narrow aisles and entered the storeroom.

  “Huh? Who is that?” Genie asked as he bumped into them.

  “See Luc, my disguise isn’t that bad.” Charlotte said as she took off the long suspicious coat and cap.

  “Ooh, Charlotte! Look!”

  Genie held up a box with a cup on it.

  Luc took the box from Genie and inspected it. “A thermal cup? What’s so interesting about it?”

  “I was thinking of gifting it to Cher…”

  “Oh no! Don’t give that parasite anymore!” Luc said as he tossed the empty box aside.

  “But…okay… and what are you guys doing here, by the way?”

  “There is something I need to tell you guys, do you have a moment?” Charlotte said nervously.

  “Of course, but only if you change your name to Garlotte!”

  “This again Genie…” Luc shook his head in disapproval and Genie gave up.

  “Let me at least close the store for now.”

  “You might have already seen it on the news but… I’m suspected for killing the son of one of the advisors.”

  “Huh? You’re a killer?”

  “Of course not Genie… I don’t know what the situation is here, but Charlotte doesn’t seem like a killer.”

  Genie rubbed his chin. “Hmm, true, she had all the chance to kill you the last time you were here.”

  “Hey! I’m not a killer! I’m being set up! But… I just wanted to tell you guys that I might not be able to hang out or investigate the horned men as i’m being watched. It was difficult enough to sneak out.”

  “Can’t they just get someone with a detective ability or something?” Genie asked as he sat on the couch.

  Charlotte shook her head. “There aren’t many that have that abilit and those that do are expensive…”

  Genie continued rubbing his chin, which abruptly stopped.

  “Uh oh, that look… don’t do it Genie!”

  “Hahaha! I got it! You can’t spell Genius without Genie!”

  Genie snapped his fingers and the area got covered in thick smoke.

  *cough cough* “That’s not how ‘genius’ is spelled, and what did you do?” Luc asked as he waved the smoke aside.

  A silhouette appeared from within the smoke, striking strange poses.

  “Genie the ninja will uncover all their secrets and clear Garlotte’s name!” Genie said as the smoke cleared, and he was dressed like a ninja.

  “My name is Charlotte! And why a ninja…”

  “Ninjas are cool!” Genie said, as he made backflips and swung a ninja sword with skill.

  Charlotte pointed at Genie while looking at Luc. “how does that work?”

  Luc sighed and rubbed his temple. “Well since this is to help you out, whatever his wish was, is probably going to be quite effective. This means that Genie might as well be a real ninja now…”

  “Come come! Some dirty secrets need to be brought to light! Time to infiltrate the headquarters! And, poof!” Genie disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a small wooden log behind.

  “So about when I said that Genie was a weirdo…”

  “I get it… did he really just disappear? And where has he gone to?”

  Luc walked toward the log and inspected the area but found no trapdoors or strange tricks. “Well, as I said, he might as well be a real ninja now and probably went to the headquarters of Lambert Gadgets…”

  “But the security is quite tight…”

  “As I said… Genie might as well be a real ninja now. He will probably get in…”

  Charlotte put on her long suspicious coat and restored her disguise. “Come! We need to stop him!”

  She grabbed Luc and dragged him outside. He wanted to complain that Genie might as well be a real ninja now for the umpteenth time and that it was unlikely that they could stop him, but it was quite clear that Charlotte wasn’t responsive to that.

  He got pulled into a vehicle and brought to the headquarters of the Lambert Organization, or Lambert Gadgets, how most people call it.

  Luc couldn’t help but think that this looked like a kidnapping to other people as a person in a suspicious get-up had been pulling him along and pushing him into her car.

  “We’re here. I’m not supposed to bring those who don’t belong to our company through this entrance but it’s less use and can limit the eyes on us.”

  Charlotte said as a keycard let them in.

  They entered in a small empty hall which was well decorated with lounce couches, stylish desks that allowed workers to sit down and charge their laptops, and even a small bar.

  Smoke suddenly exploded and a silhouette appeared from it.

  “You guys are slow! Come, I found something fishy!” Genie said as he beckoned Charlotte and Luc.

  “Hey Genie, maybe…”

  “Wait Luc. What did you find Genie?”

  “No time! They might finish their sneaky talk if we take too long!”

  Genie created strange hand signs and slammed the ground with his left hand.

  Luc and Charlotte suddenly found themselves disguised as flowerpots in a large meeting room with some middle-aged and elderly men.

  “Ssht, our disguises will break if you move too much or make too much sound.” The Genie flowerpot said.

  “This is ridiculous… but thank you Genie.” The Charlotte flowerpot said.

  “Hahaha! I don’t believe that the media believed that without any proof,” A middle-aged man said while drinking what appeared to be bourbon.

  “Oh no, they didn’t believe it. What they did believe was the monetary bribe, hahaha!”

  The men laughed and looked out of the window, looking down on the city.

  “Charlotte is competent, but her ability is useless. There is no point in having her in a leadership role. All we need to do is wait for her reputation to be tarnished beyond repair, and then my son can come out of hiding and finalize the deal with Guillerme.”

  Another man leaned back and crossed his legs. “You are sure that Guillerme will be the future, yes? I would hate to jump ship for it to stay worse than the Lamberts.”

  The elderly man that appeared to be the one who allegedly had his son killed by Charlotte laughed. “It doesn't matter if you stay or change, when this succeeds we will have control over both. Lambert will become our backup and experimental asset. All the risky products will be made by them and the successful ones will get improved by the Guilerme. The inferior and defective products will then only tank the Lambert’s reputation while the Guillerme grows.”

  The Charlotte flowerpot shook in rage, making slight noise and drawing the attention of the men in the room.

  “What was that?” One of them asked.

  The men scanned the area, and looked into the direction of the flowerpots but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  “Anyways, I’ve heard that Charlotte has slipped away. Your investigators will continue controlling her movements, right?”

  “There are not many places where she can go, and she will have to return home at one point. And what could she possibly do in one day? Hahahaha!”

  The men laughed and got up. They bantered a bit, and left the room after turning off the lights.

  The Charlotte flowerpot shook, fell to the floor and turned into Charlotte.

  The Genie and Luc flowerpot returned to normal and both held Charlotte down. “Let me go! I will have their head! They can’t do this to the company my grandfather built up from scratch!”

  “Easy Charlotte! You’re going to make it worse if you go now. And aren’t you worried about what they have planned for you?” Luc said as he grabbed a bottle out of his backpack, refilled it and offered it to Charlotte.

  “I…I already had the feeling that I wouldn’t get an important leadership position… I just want to be part of the company my grandfather made. That’s why I’m upset that they want to destroy it…”

  “I see, Genie did you somehow record that interaction?”

  Genie waved a strange scroll while nodding, making Luc unsure if that so-called evidence would be usable in court or anywhere else.

  “Alright, it seems that Genie’s weirdness has helped a lot. This is what strengthens his wish, while selfish ones weakens them.”

  A tiny bell on Genie’s attire jingled softly, making Genie freak out, but silently.

  “Guys, this is bad my rap went off.”

  Luc and CHarlotte crossed their arms and glared at Genie.

  “You’re getting us in trouble afterall?!”

  “Nono!” Genie said as he waved his arms and pointed at the tiny bell afer silencing it. “It’s just a simple wire trap to notify when something dangerous comes close.”

  “Genie, we’re in a quite secure building… what could be dangerous besides security guards?”

  “What do you mean? Everyone knows that pirates are ninja’s worst enemies!”

  Luc glanced at Charlotte to check if she was aware of this random statement that was probably fiction, and Charlotte shook her head, denying any knowledge on this.

  “Now you’re just making things up. There are no pirates here…”

  The building rumbled as if a small explosion had gone off several floors below them.

  “I knew it! They already started their attack!” Genie said, as he made several hand signs and turned himself and his friends invisible. “Come come!”

  “Strangeness aside… his ninja skills are very useful…” Charlotte pointed out as they followed Genie through the corridors and took the stairs down.

  “It’s why his ability is situationally useful or useless. I just wish that he was a bit more specific from time to time, but I think that this wish was well thought of. I wouldn't call it a genius idea, however…”

  Chaos and smoke met them. People were screaming and amilities and magic got fired off left and right, as well as Lambert gadgets that wre created for self defence.

  The 3 targets that prompted these responses were horned men, all surrounded by green energy and seeding whips through the foyer, slamming problematic individuals aside and binding and strangling the weaker ones.

  “The horned men! We need to help out!”

  Charlotte was about to run off when an arm grabbed hers and stopped her.

  “Us 3 against them? Did you forget that just 1 almost beat us? Also we’re still invisible. Let’s at least make a plan. I don’t think that fighting them is wise but if we have to… let’s at least ambush them…”

  Charlotte calmed down and nodded. “You’re right.. Say Genie, what other things can you do as…a ninja…”

  Charlotte and Luc looked around but couldn’t find Genie.

  “Oh no…”

  Paperclip shurikens flew toward the horned men, dealing minimal damage while Genie made more hand signs, slammed his hand on the ground which summoned his giant paperclip.

  “A sword is cool, but nothing beats my beloved paperclip!”