"SS... 1"
These letters appeared exceptionally glaring on the parchment. Even if it were a God, seeing these miraculous stats achieved in a mere two days would make them incomparably excited. But Amou Kirukiru did not.
"God!"
"This still isn't my limit."
Amou Kirukiru murmured in a low voice.
Haimer sat on the edge of the sofa, a helpless look on his face as he retracted the clothes he had handed Amou Kirukiru to cover herself. The lines of Amou Kirukiru's back were elegant and tight; with the rise and fall of her breathing, her shoulder blades trembled slightly, like a bird of prey ready to strike.
"These are already stats that transcend the common sense of Lower World residents," Haimer said, his finger lightly tapping the numbers on the parchment in Amou Kirukiru's hands. "Lv.1, the SS stage. Even Ais Wallenstein, hailed as the [Sword Princess], probably couldn't reach this at this stage. Do you know what this means? It means your talent is enough for the Gods to call you a growth monster."
"If I'm a monster..."
"Then I should be a little greedier, shouldn't I?"
Having said that, Amou Kirukiru directly crumpled that piece of paper recording her stats into a ball and casually tossed it into a corner. Then, the next second, Amou Kirukiru directly raised her hand, backhandedly grabbing Haimer's wrist.
"God." Amou Kirukiru's voice carried an extremely suppressed panting. "I feel very bad right now. Extremely bad."
Amou Kirukiru said this while leaning her body forward, closing in on Haimer. The distance between the two was extremely close, close enough that Haimer could clearly smell the scent of body wash from her freshly taken shower.
"That feeling like bugs are crawling inside my body has faded a bit, but it's still there. They are biting my blood vessels, gnawing at my bones. They are crying out in hunger."
As Amou Kirukiru spoke, she grabbed Haimer's hand and slowly pressed it against her own chest. There, her heart was beating frantically at a terrifying frequency. "Thump, thump, thump." Every single beat was like striking a drum.
"So?" Haimer did not dodge, allowing Amou Kirukiru to hold his wrist. His gaze calmly watched the madness that was about to overflow from the depths of her eyes. To a God, this level of madness couldn't even be considered an offense. Instead, it was more like an amusement. "Are you trying to tell me you still don't want to sleep right now?"
"Sleep?" Amou Kirukiru looked as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. She slightly leaned her head over, her black hair falling onto the back of Haimer's hand, causing a slight tickle. "How could I possibly fall asleep in this state?"
Amou Kirukiru took a deep breath, as if trying to calm the restless blood in her body, but she clearly failed. That dry heat was seeping out from her very marrow.
"God. Since this hasn't reached the limit yet. Since you also said I am a monster." A cold light flashed through Amou Kirukiru's eyes. "Then help me out once more. I want to try... if I can turn the S into three."
SSS.
—A forbidden domain that would make even the Gods look sideways, rarely recorded even in the history of the Lower World.
Haimer raised an eyebrow. "How do you want me to help you?"
"As long as God is willing to allow me to strike!"
The moment Amou Kirukiru's voice fell, without even the slightest warning, Amou Kirukiru moved. At such close range, her body was the fiercest weapon. She directly released her grip on Haimer's wrist, forming her five fingers into a claw. With a sharp sound of wind at her fingertips, she aimed straight for Haimer's throat. Fast. Accurate. Ruthless.
This was Amou Kirukiru. If it had been an ordinary Lv.1 adventurer, or even a Lv.2, facing this sudden, completely unreasonable strike, they would probably have been killed instantly.
However...
Smack.
A crisp sound rang out. Haimer simply raised his hand slightly, and at a spot less than a centimeter away from his Adam's apple, easily caught her wrist.
"Attacking me right here?"
To actually dare attack her own God. Amou Kirukiru truly was a madwoman.
Fortunately, Haimer didn't hate this kind of madwoman. Instead, his fingers applied a slight amount of force. That unshakable strength, like a mountain, transmitted through her wrist, instantly making Amou Kirukiru feel a suffocating sense of oppression.
But this sense of oppression did not make Amou Kirukiru back down. Rather, it was like pouring a bucket of oil onto a bonfire.
"This is it!" The flames in Amou Kirukiru's eyes burned even brighter; it was a poison named 'excitement'. "This is exactly the feeling! God! Fulfill this for me! As long as I succeed, I'll do anything!"
Amou Kirukiru let out a low roar. She didn't try to pull her hand back; instead, borrowing the force of Haimer's grip on her wrist, she exerted strength from her waist, following the momentum to close in on him.
In this moment, the two instantly engaged in close combat. Amou Kirukiru completely used a life-risking fighting style. Elbow strikes, knee strikes, grapples. She was practically squeezing herself dry. Like squeezing a sponge that was already near dry, trying to force out even the last drop of water.
Haimer naturally blocked, deflected, and dispersed her force.
Bang!
The muffled thud of a fist smashing into a palm.
Smack!
The sound of arms clashing.
Every block perfectly neutralized her strength, yet made Amou Kirukiru feel an unshakeable despair, as if she were facing a vast ocean.
"Haa!" Unable to break through his defenses, Amou Kirukiru let out a low growl. She leaped up abruptly, delivering a kick toward Haimer's waist. This kick carried the whistling sound of wind.
Haimer sidestepped to dodge, taking the opportunity to grab her ankle and pulled her into his embrace.
"Ugh!"
Losing her center of gravity, Amou Kirukiru fell straight into Haimer's arms, crashing squarely into him. That scalding hot body pressed tightly against Haimer just like that.
"Do you still want to continue?" Haimer lowered his head, looking at Amou Kirukiru, who was panting heavily and drenched in sweat in his arms.
Her skin was astonishingly hot—the manifestation of her body temperature rapidly rising after high-intensity exercise. The excreted sweat flowed down her neck, sliding past her delicate collarbone, sinking into her half-exposed chest, soaking the clothes she hadn't worn properly to begin with.
"Hah... hah..."
Amou Kirukiru gasped heavily for air. Her chest heaved violently, bumping against Haimer's chest. Her physical stamina had actually been overdrawn long ago. That burst just now had already used up the very last of her strength. What supported her movements right now was entirely her unyielding willpower, along with the side effects brought by the skill named 『Battle Crazed』.
"Not yet..." Amou Kirukiru struggled to stand up, but found her legs were somewhat weak, unable to exert any strength, just like noodles. "Again... Update... Right now... immediately..."
Amou Kirukiru's voice was intermittent, yet carried persistence. That hand, which was still trembling, tightly grasped Haimer's lapel.
"God... I... again..."
Haimer looked at Amou Kirukiru in this state and sighed helplessly. "This is really a headache. If outsiders saw this, they'd think I was abusing my Familia member in here."
But still, Haimer reached out his hand, pricking his fingertip once more. A drop of Divine Blood.
Drip.
The Divine Blood fell onto Amou Kirukiru's back, which was flushed red due to the intense exercise.
Red light suddenly flared up. The sacred text surfaced once again, dancing in the air. Haimer swept a glance over it.
"Mhm. Strength increased. Agility increased. Although not by much. But... they definitely moved."
As Haimer's words fell, these few words, to Amou Kirukiru at this moment, were no different from the most potent stimulant, more effective than any recovery potion.
"Moved... As long as they moved..."
Amou Kirukiru seemed to experience a terminal lucidity. A surge of strength gushed out from her originally weak body once again. That was strength exchanged by overdrawing her life force. Her pupils contracted sharply.
"Then let's continue. Until it stops moving. Until... I can't move."
Madness. An instinct carved into the strong. The gambler's psychology of repeatedly jumping back and forth between destruction and rebirth.
If one were to extend their gaze, extend it to that savage era when Gods had not yet descended, and civilization had not even been born, to use history as a mirror. When the first ape picked up that still-burning branch with trembling hands. Was it afraid? Of course it was afraid. Fire would scorch its fur and bring severe pain; that was an alarm bell carved into a living creature's instinct to avoid harm.
But. It still picked it up. Why? Was it to keep warm? Was it to drive away wild beasts? Or was it simply because that dancing red light looked so captivating, so full of power? Even if it meant burning its palms, even if it meant setting itself on fire?
Human history, to put it plainly, is a history of constantly probing the edge of the cliff. Starting from the first person who dared to eat that brightly colored fruit which could have been highly poisonous. From the first person who tried to smelt two completely different metals together. To madmen like Amou Kirukiru, who, in pursuit of that tiny bit of stat increase, would not hesitate to squeeze their bodies to the brink of collapse.
It is precisely these mad actions of humanity that are the fundamental reason they have been able to step-by-step reach where they are today in this malice-filled world. Only madmen dare to look straight into the abyss, even daring to raise their middle finger at the abyss, grasping the key called 'evolution'.
Amou Kirukiru was undoubtedly the cream of the crop among such madmen. In order to catch a glimpse of the scenery at the summit, even if she had to break her legs running, she would climb up with her bare hands. It was precisely this ultimate purity. A resolve to discard everything—including her own self—in order to become stronger. Even in Orario, where Gods gathered like clouds, this was a scarce talent.
...
With this, the night grew deeper. Even the chirping of insects outside the window had ceased. But the commotion in the first-floor hall had never stopped.
Once. Twice. Thrice.
Bang!
Amou Kirukiru was knocked down. The dull sound of flesh slamming against the wooden floorboards. Then the sound of her struggling to get back up. Charging forward again. Being knocked down again. Getting back up again.
This wasn't sparring at all. This was a one-sided trampling. It was also a self-mutilating form of training. But every time she fell, Amou Kirukiru, like a junkie, grabbed Haimer's hand and demanded he update her stats immediately.
Even if it only increased by a single point. Even if that string of numbers only underwent a miniscule change. Amou Kirukiru would reveal that heart-palpitating smile.
This was a trampling of her own limits. To the point that Amou Kirukiru's consciousness had begun to blur. The world before her eyes was shaking, and Haimer in her vision gradually turned into a double image.
But Amou Kirukiru's body was still moving. Moving purely on instinct. The skill named 『Battle Crazed』 was roaring. As long as the target named 'God' in front of her hadn't fallen, as long as that string of stats hadn't reached its peak, her body would not stop.
"Update..." Amou Kirukiru's voice was already as weak as a mosquito's hum. Her throat had long gone hoarse.
Once again, Amou Kirukiru lunged at Haimer. This time, her movements were very slow. And halfway there, her legs gave out. She fell straight to the ground with a thud. She didn't even have the strength to lift her hand. Her entire body toppled forward, her forehead resting against Haimer's knee. Her sweat spread into a small damp patch on the floor.
However, Amou Kirukiru still stubbornly raised her head. Those eyes, which had already lost their focus, still stared deadlocked at Haimer. Her lips trembled.
"Up...date..."
Haimer looked at Amou Kirukiru. Her originally fair skin was now covered in fine beads of sweat, as well as red marks caused by prolonged collisions. This was already the tenth time tonight. And also the last time. Because Haimer could feel that her body really had reached its absolute limit. If this continued any longer, it would probably break down.
"That's enough." Haimer didn't refuse again. He crouched down, and the sacred text lit up for the final time.
Name: Amou Kirukiru
Lv.1
Strength: SSS1251 → SSS1299
Endurance: SSS1253 → SSS1299
Dexterity: SS1118 → SSS1299
Agility: SS1148 → SSS1299
Magic: I0
Aside from the[Magic] in the ability values needing to wait until grasping 'Magic', all other attributes were at SSS. Maxed out. Forging an ultimate stat panel.
"How is it..." Feeling the warmth on her back, Amou Kirukiru tried hard to open her eyes wide, wanting to hear that answer. But her eyelids were as heavy as lead.
Haimer reached out, unfolding the parchment that had already been crumpled into a wrinkled mess, and placed it before Amou Kirukiru's eyes. "See for yourself."
Amou Kirukiru narrowed her eyes. Her vision was blurry, a mass of overlapping images. But that conspicuous letter repeated three times. Like a brand, it instantly etched deeply into Amou Kirukiru's eyes.
"S..."
"S."
"S."
Amou Kirukiru muttered, her voice carrying a dreamlike unreality. The corners of her mouth slowly curled up, grinning wider and wider. Finally, pulling out a somewhat silly, yet incomparably satisfied smile. A smile as if a child had received their most desired toy.
"I succeeded... God... I succeeded..."
After Amou Kirukiru said this sentence, the string that had been pulled taut all night finally snapped completely. Her body went limp, slumping directly forward.
Haimer, having long prepared, steadily caught her body. The Amou Kirukiru in his arms had a scalding hot body and long, drawn-out breaths. She had completely fallen into a deep slumber. But even in her sleep, her hand still tightly gripped that piece of parchment.
Haimer looked at the defenselessly sleeping Amou Kirukiru in his arms, then looked at his crumpled sleeve. He helplessly shook his head.
"Good grief. Although this nature of yours, willing to throw your life away to get stronger, even dragging a God down to achieve your goal, truly suits my tastes. After all, only someone greedy enough can climb higher in that tower. However..."
"Since you've accepted my Grace. Since you've been carved with my name. If you don't cherish your body, then you must accept a severe punishment. After all, being branded with a God's mark means that the current you is my private property. Damaging a God's private property is quite a major crime."
Once the contract was established, everything about the Familia member was branded with the God's mark. Be it their soul, or their flesh. Even the infinite possibilities this body could create in the future. All belonged to the God as private property.
Therefore, pushing open the doors to the master bedroom, moonlight spilled across the floor through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Haimer didn't place Amou Kirukiru on that large bed capable of holding several people, but casually set her down on the plush rug in front of the windows.
His movements weren't gentle, even carrying a deliberate roughness. But Amou Kirukiru had no reaction; she was too tired. That overdraft was an exhaustion on the level of the soul.
Haimer looked down at Amou Kirukiru from above. Under the moonlight, Amou Kirukiru's bare upper body was covered in red marks; those were the bruises left behind from her collisions with Haimer just now, looking shocking upon this jade-like fair body.
"As a price, I'm going to punish you." Haimer slowly crouched down, his finger condensing another drop of Divine Blood. "Since you want to become stronger that much. Since you wouldn't hesitate to turn yourself into this battered state for those so-called stats."
"Then I will... Deprive you of the right to enjoy the process. And turn the ceremony you look forward to the most into a one-sided notification."
To adventurers, [Leveling Up] was sacred. It was a transition in the level of life, a giant step for a mortal drawing closer to the Gods. At such moments, they would usually need to bathe and change clothes, and under the witness of their God, listen to the God's declaration with their own ears, harboring a mood of nervousness and excitement. That was a sense of ceremony.
But right now, Haimer decided to deprive her of this sense of ceremony.
Drip.
That dense drop of Divine Blood fell onto the very center of the sacred text on Amou Kirukiru's back.
An unprecedented red light erupted in the room, even eclipsing the moonlight outside the window. Those sacred texts that had already reached the maximum value of SSS seemed to boil in this instant. They frantically twisted, fractured, and restructured, breaking the limits of the [Vessel].
The light faded. Haimer looked at the completely refreshed text on Amou Kirukiru's back, the corners of his mouth curling into an arc as if a prank had succeeded.
Those originally shocking lines of SSS had now all been reset to zero, replaced by a brand-new level.
[Name]: Amou Kirukiru
[Race]: Human
[Level]: Lv.2
[Stats]: Strength: I0 | Endurance: I0 | Dexterity: I0 | Agility: I0 | Magic: I0
[Development Ability]: 『Adamantine Body』 I: Drastically enhances the body's hardness and resistance to strikes, granting the flesh steel-like tough characteristics.
[Magic]: None
[Skills]: 『Incarnate Blade』, 『Battle Crazed』
Skills:
『Incarnate Blade』
The flesh is a weapon. Physical strength is vastly enhanced as [Endurance] and [Strength] increase, and is no longer restricted by the material limits of the human body. When taking physical attacks, a judgment will be made based on the difference in [Strength] and [Endurance] between both parties. If one's own judgment is higher than the enemy's, a portion of the damage can be exempted, and the received impact force will be returned to the opponent several times over in the form of a [Shockwave], causing a recoil effect. Bare-handed attacks are treated as slashes from a [Renowned Blade] of the same level, possessing the [Armor Penetration] trait.
『Battle Crazed』
An extreme obsession with strength turns into the firewood for growth. The acquisition speed of all stats and proficiency gains a massive boost. This boost effect has no upper limit and depends on the depth of the obsession. If fighting against something deemed as a [Target That Must Be Surpassed], the growth speed of all stats is doubled.
"Alright. The punishment is over. Next is waiting for the good show to begin."
Haimer thought about it, then picked Amou Kirukiru up and laid her on the bed.
...
Time, to an unconscious person, holds no concept. When Amou Kirukiru's consciousness floated back up from that chaotic darkness, there was no splitting headache like a hangover, nor was there the extreme weakness following an excessive overdraft.
Instead, the world had changed. This was Amou Kirukiru's first sensation upon opening her eyes.
The chandelier on the ceiling, the facets of every single crystal on it, were as clear as if they were right before her eyes. Outside the window in the distance, she could even hear the faint sound of an unnamed bird's wings slicing through the air currents.
Her body... was so light. That original heavy feeling, like being filled with lead, had vanished, replaced by an unprecedented sense of fullness. It was like swapping into a new body.
"You're awake?"
Amou Kirukiru paused for a moment and turned her head. What caught her eyes was a pair of legs—a pair of long legs crossed together, resting very comfortably on the coffee table.
Moving her gaze up, Haimer was sitting on the sofa across from her, holding a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a book in the other, reading with great interest. The morning light spilled across the side of his face. He looked sacred and inviolable, if one ignored the teasing look in his eyes as he looked at Amou Kirukiru right now.
"Did you sleep well?" Haimer closed the book.
According to the usual script, a young girl waking up in the morning, under circumstances where she wasn't properly dressed, being seen by the opposite sex—the normal reaction would undoubtedly be to scream. Or blush. At the very least, she should subconsciously look for something to cover herself first. No matter what kind of monster worshipped strength, when it came to this most primal tension between a man and a woman, there should always be some biological instinctive reaction.
However, Amou Kirukiru looked down at her own upper body as if what she was looking at wasn't her own body, but a piece of pork.
Then, she raised her head. Those pitch-black eyes met Haimer's gaze head-on. No shyness. No panic. There was only confusion.
Then, she made a move that almost made Haimer spit out his coffee. She directly reached out and carelessly grabbed at that patch of snow-white skin twice, as if checking some kind of part.
"God. My body... has changed. Is this what Lv.2 feels like?" Amou Kirukiru simply didn't care about her own body. And with a single stride over the coffee table, she rushed right in front of Haimer.
Resting both hands on the armrests of the sofa, she penned Haimer in the middle, looking down from above. That delicate face of hers was practically touching the tip of Haimer's nose.
"Did you still take action?" Amou Kirukiru stared into Haimer's eyes, her fingers lightly tracing the back of his hand. "While I was unconscious... You arbitrarily took my body... and remodeled it into the shape you wanted."
These words held boundless ambiguity. If Hestia were to suddenly push the door open and walk in right now, Haimer wouldn't be able to wash himself clean even if he jumped into Orario's sewers.
But Amou Kirukiru clearly didn't feel there was anything wrong with what she said. She even made that contact tighter.
"If it's God, even if you dismantled my bones and reassembled them all over again, I wouldn't have any objections. No. Rather, I should say..." Amou Kirukiru licked her somewhat chapped lips, the light in her eyes frighteningly bright. "I'm looking forward to it."
Silence.
This straight pitch caused all the words Haimer had prepared to get stuck in his throat. Especially when seeing Amou Kirukiru acting like this—not only lacking any shyness, but bearing a face full of enjoyment, even wanting him to 'do it again'.
Helplessness. Deep helplessness. Like throwing a punch into cotton. Like trying to scare a kitten, only for the kitten to turn around, expose its belly to you, and let out a mating-like purr.
"Alright, alright. I'm not going to talk to you about this." Haimer waved his hand, deciding to skip this topic. So he backhandedly picked up two rolled-up pieces of parchment from the table behind him. "Here. Take it. See for yourself."
Haimer directly tossed them over. The two papers fluttered down lightly, landing right on Amou Kirukiru's face, blocking that visage that made one want to pinch it twice just by looking at it.
Amou Kirukiru didn't mind Haimer's attitude. She reached up and grabbed the two papers, sitting up straight on the sofa. She casually crossed her legs. The clothes on her body, which hadn't been buttoned properly to begin with, slipped halfway down due to her large movements, revealing a large expanse of fair skin, but she couldn't care less.
Sweeping her gaze, those four recurring 'S's, and that string of nearly maxed-out numbers behind them.
Strength: SSS1299
Endurance: SSS1299
Dexterity: SSS1299
Agility: SSS1299
Magic: I0
Amou Kirukiru's fingers gripped the edges of the parchment tightly. The paper emitted a slight crinkling sound. Even though she had long had a premonition, when this result was truly placed before her eyes, that impact was still immense. This was the limit of mortals. Even a miracle that surpassed limits.
"It's not over yet." Haimer tapped the table, reminding Amou Kirukiru to look at the other sheet.
Amou Kirukiru took a deep breath and unfurled the one on the right. When she saw the text at the very top, her pupils contracted sharply for a moment.
Level: Lv.2
There was no so-called process. She took a nap, and when she woke up, it was already behind her.
It had to be said, this move by Haimer was truly quite wicked. Amou Kirukiru indeed felt a faint sense of disappointment. That feeling was like watching a mystery show and being directly spoiled on the killer's identity; although you knew the ending, the fun of peeling back the layers was gone.
However, this disappointment was quickly dispersed by a new line of text that appeared below. After all, Amou Kirukiru was very clear. This '0' didn't mean she had nothing. Rather, it was a new starting point, standing atop a towering skyscraper built by those four 'SSS's.
This was merely the starting point of Lv.2. Just the 'I0' in her current state alone contained an actual physical strength that already far surpassed the her from yesterday. Especially beneath those base stats that had been reset to zero and recalculated, in that originally blank column for [Development Ability], impressively appeared a brand-new entry.
Development Ability: [Adamantine Body] I
"[Adamantine Body]?" Amou Kirukiru softly read out those words, finding it somewhat unfamiliar. "Although I heard from Tsubaki that leveling up grants a Development Ability, this doesn't seem to be one of the common ones, does it?"
Usually, the acquisition of a Development Ability is related to a person's experiences. If it was an ordinary warrior, they would most likely awaken something like [Hunter] or [Chain Attack]. But what kind of path was this [Adamantine Body]?
"It's probably an extremely pure ability, one that could even be said to have been born to take a beating. However, placing it on you is quite reasonable. After all, yester..." Haimer shot a half-smiling glance at Amou Kirukiru's shoulder, which still bore some red marks. "You took quite a few of my punches with your face. That mad dog energy of yours, wanting to bite off a piece of meat even if your bones were broken, was probably judged by the Grace as you possessing an extremely strong obsession to be more durable so you could fight for longer."
Hearing this, Amou Kirukiru didn't retort. Instead, she reached up to touch her collarbone, where the pain from last night's collisions still seemed to linger.
"Born to take a beating, huh..." She softly repeated it once, casually tossing that parchment onto the table, the corners of her mouth splitting into an exaggerated arc. "No. It's so I can swing my blade one more time before being killed. God. I like this ability very much."
Even if it was an ability named [Adamantine Body] that sounded like a turtle shell, as long as it was in her hands, it would be the strongest spear. As long as her body didn't shatter, she was a blade that would never dull.
"As long as you like it." Haimer shrugged his shoulders. Just as he was about to make a few more quips at this newly promoted fastest-leveling person in the world...
Knock, knock, knock.
Three highly rhythmic knocks sounded at the door. Immediately after, an emotionless, childish voice came from outside the door.
"Kami-sama. Someone is here outside. Furthermore..." Inaba Tsukuyo paused, her brows furrowing slightly, as if organizing her words to describe two other voices. "Aside from the Elf miss, Miss Shakti is also here, along with three other people."
"Other people?" Ryu coming to fulfill her promise was within expectations. But this early in the morning, besides Ryu, who else would form a group to come here and make their presence known?
...
At this moment, outside the gates of the Haimer Familia's mansion. The morning air carried a hint of chill. This street belonging to Orario's high-class residential district was so quiet right now that only the chirping of early-rising birds in the distance could be heard.
However, right in front of those imposing wrought-iron gates, an extremely subtle pantomime was currently playing out.
Ryu was standing in front of the gate. She was wearing that maid uniform with lace trim she had brought from the tavern. Even the hair accessory on her head was worn perfectly straight. Even though she was used to wearing these clothes in the tavern, standing right now at this main gate full of aristocratic atmosphere, appearing in the capacity of a debt-repaying maid still made her feel a wave of shame. Her back was straight, like a javelin. Both hands tightly gripping her skirt. Her face completely serious.
But, compared to Ryu's side, by the bushes on the other side of the gate, the atmosphere appeared somewhat comical.
"Meow—"
A desperately suppressed whimper.
The [Black Cat] Chloe was currently curled up into a ball, sticking tightly into the shadows at the base of the wall.
[Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Memoria Freese
Chloe Lolo
3152 CV
Often treated as an assassin's partner, loves close combat, has already attached herself to you. Has no fanatic enthusiasm for Bell's people, scaring them half to death.]
That long tail, which was usually raised high to express her emotions, was now tucked between her legs. Her ears were also in airplane mode, pinned tightly against her scalp. Her slit pupils trembled wildly, staring deadlocked at the blue figure that had suddenly appeared not far away.
Beside her, the [Black Fist] Lunor wasn't doing much better. Her body was as stiff as a board.
The two wanted to run. Their legs were weak. If they didn't run. Suffocation.
For no other reason but because of the woman currently standing before them, looking at them with a scrutinizing gaze.
—Captain of the [Ganesha Familia].
—[Wand of the Elephant God].
—Shakti Varma.
This Lv.5 big shot, who possessed the functions of a military police captain in this city, had clearly come to discuss official business with Haimer right now. But destiny was just that wondrous. Before she even met the main target, she bumped into these two folks first.
In this world. In a giant metropolis with a population of several hundred thousand. Two former assassins bearing massive bounties—who, although they had long washed their hands clean, still had red names hanging in the official records. On an early morning outside of business hours. In a residential area that wasn't a place of business. Running head-on into the most impartial military police chief in this city, who also happened to be the only one with the authority to arrest them.
This kind of probability was probably lower than picking up a 100% pure Magic Stone on the 1st Floor of the Dungeon.
But just as Murphy's Law stated: "If there's a possibility of things going wrong, no matter how small that possibility is, it will always happen."
As for Chloe and Lunor, their current identities were actually legal. With Mama Mia covering for them, the tavern's protection, and even the Guild turning a blind eye to them. By all rights, they could entirely puff out their chests and greet her with a 'Yo, morning Chief'.
But, in an instant, that biological instinct of a mouse seeing a cat, or a wanted criminal seeing the police, instantly took over their brains.
Evasion was an instinct. Stiffness was a reaction. And this kind of reaction, in the eyes of a law enforcer, usually had only one explanation.
—These two, they've definitely been up to some shady business again.
"..."
Shakti slightly narrowed her eyes. A professional, sharp glint flashed in those blue eyes. Her gaze lingered for a second on Chloe's bristled tail, then looked at Lunor's already slightly trembling calves.
"Clerks from the Hostess of Fertility?" Shakti's voice was cold, carrying an oppressive presence that commanded respect without anger. "If I remember correctly, this place is separated from your tavern by a very long distance. Why would the two of you appear here?"
____
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