Paradis had been at war for fifteen years. Even after I made it to Captain, people still stared, mostly the ones from the Military Police. Not that I gave a damn. None of those cowards had the guts to say anything to my face anyway.

I walked into the bar with Section Commander Hange Zoë and Commander Erwin Smith; two idiots I was stupid enough to call my best friends. Lit a cigarette at the table while we talked and drank whiskey.

The two of them were Alphas—Hange and Erwin. And then there was me, a high-breed Alpha. What the hell was that even supposed to mean? Pure blood, top-tier genetics. Felt like some damn stud. Made it worse whenever Hange opened their mouth and started going off about that crap.

The bar was nothing special. Typical Paradis dump — wooden walls, dim yellow lights. The old man who owned the place always offered us drinks for free, though I always paid for mine in the end. Didn’t make much, but I wasn’t about to let anyone do me any charity just because I’m the so-called Humanity’s Strongest.

“Marley’s going to lose this war,” Hange said, chewing on a piece of meat like a damn animal. “With Hizuru and the Western countries backing us, it’s getting clearer every day. The war’s almost over.”

I shot they a look of pure disgust. Four-Eyes was repulsive ninety percent of the time. But now she was making some sense, this shitty war had lasted 15 years now.

“I hope so. This shit’s dragged on long enough,” I muttered before knocking back my whiskey. "I already have white hair on my balls now."

I was about to ask Erwin’s opinion, but when I turned to him, I caught him staring at the stage, completely mesmerized. Did make sense at first. It was jazz night. He’s always been a fan. I followed his gaze.

That’s when I saw her. Couldn’t have been taller than five feet. Black hair, a white dress, a white rose pinned in her hair, red Mary Janes. Getting ready to sing. And then I understood why he was looking like that. Just a girl, twenty at most, about to sing like any other.

Until she opened her mouth.