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Chapter 21: Reaper Guild
🕑 Added 2023-11-13 17:52:48 +0000 UTC“Lady Eli! How's the parfait! I heard the parfait here is good!”
"Hmm… too sweet," I replied. The food wasn't bad. However, with sugar being subsidized and also considered a luxury, many people tended to overuse it in their dishes.
"Eh? You don't like sweets? How come?" I thought girls loved these things, so I offered Alicia to try it during one of our outings. She loved it very much. But when I tried them, I found out I didn't like them that much.
Right after taking care of myself, Alicia took me to a restaurant in the inner circle. It was a neat place with a discounted open-air seat, although such designs were unpopular. There was nothing to see in the outskirts here; this kind of thing could only work if the restaurant faced a town hall. However, this one was facing the slums.
"Here is your order. Triple choco donuts. Miss Mages."
"Thank you!" Alicia, who paid the bill today, seemed to enjoy sugar. Being a mage really is a blessing, huh? They were well-paid and held in high regard. Moreover, they could work out simply by using magic and filling feystone. You would be hard-pressed to find a fat mage in this country. However, I now knew that not all in life was shiny. Yesterday was proof. Some people would steal from others.
"Eli… You are so somber today. Please don't let what happened yesterday weigh on your mind. You know, there will always be some people like that."
"Yes… I know," I replied half-heartedly. My mind was still relishing the excitement of last night. I was also trying to prepare myself mentally for tonight's meeting.
"Eli!" Alicia pinched me on the cheek. "Try to stare at me. Come on!"
"N-no. Why would I do that?"
"It's fine! I will prove that I am your friend! I can take it."
"Not here. We will scare some bystanders."
"Well, I guess it is true. Let's finish our meal and then head home. We also need to prepare for our return trip to Shadowstep." Alicia planned the following event for me, and I simply nodded at her.
Instead of going home immediately, we went shopping. As usual, tea sets and jewelry were not to my taste. I bought a set of throwing knives instead. When the seller asked me, I answered casually, claiming it was for sports. He chuckled while selling me the knives and advised me to stay safe.
"Here is the throwing knife set. Please be careful. They are sharp."
"I wouldn't buy them if they weren't sharp. They could kill people, right?"
"Yes, they could. That's why, don't use them on other people," he said with a smile. I never let go of my mana lock, so the shopkeeper took my banter with humor. None of them took me seriously.
"Ugh! Lady Eli, please stop buying knives! Buy some jewelry and dresses instead. A count such as you should not only have five dresses for balls." Alicia rolled her eyes when she said that.
"But this knife looks pretty! Look! There are gems embedded in it. It counts as jewelry, right?" Alicia gave me a sickened look.
"You already have fifteen similar knives in your room. You can't show those to anyone except the steak knives and the cooking knives. What's the point?"
"Ugh… they are not similar… one is a wakizashi, five are throwing knives, three are daggers, two are folding knives, two are steak knives, and the other three are a cleaver, paring knife, and filleting knife. You use them too!"
"The fact that you remember them all astounds me."
"Sorry."
"Nah. It is fine! Everyone has their own hobbies. I knew that Safira had some weird hobbies as well. She went around collecting milk, you know."
"I see."
"Then we have Nana, then Johnny. You know. Nana is timid, right? However, lately, they have been getting close! And then…" Alicia and I continued to chat until sunset. Even when night came, Alicia kept talking while preparing for our return.
"Ugh. I left a little too early today. I hope Alicia didn't come to my bedroom." I muttered as I used my newly acquired stealth skill to sneak outside.
Blessing of the Killing Star (lvl 3)
- fearless
- intimidation
- improved strength
- improved agility
- beast instinct
- dark magic
- Stealth
Choose your upgrade:
- Improved Mana
- Camouflage
- improved Strength lvl 2
The vampiric strength and improved agility disappeared from my previous choices. So, does every new level grant different options? I wonder what camouflage does. I already have stealth. I leaned more toward improved mana. However, my mana was already good. I never ran out of mana except when I worked overtime for feystones because I needed additional money.
As I pondered my newly gained skills, I reached the pavilion tavern the old guy told me about. "This is a bar, right? Could underage children come in?" I wandered around the said tavern for close to an hour. I must have looked incredibly suspicious. I covered my cloak with my dark magic, but I didn't cover my face; otherwise, the other guy might have a hard time finding me.
"Hello there, little brat. You missed the morning call. Trying to embarrass your new mentor? What a rebellious kid!"
"Eek!" I jumped back.
"That scream was worth the effort I put into scaring you. Hahahaha. Alright, come in! Ah, please put your hood down."
"N-not yet! How did you know my name?" I quickly pulled out a karambit from my necklace.
"Oh! I see. My apologies. Where are my manners? I must have been in this business for too long. My name is Edwal. However, in this business, you must call me Reaper Number 4, and you would be Reaper Number 666. As for why I knew your name… pfft. My apologies. However, no nobles in this empire have never heard about your name."
"Huh? I was that famous? For killing 12 kidnappers?"
"Hahaha. It is not the number you kill. It is who you killed. You killed a pretty famous mercenary when you were ten years old. Because of that, three reapers failed their quest."
"You!" I glared at him, full of hatred. However, my reasoning won out. I couldn't beat him, and there was no proof that he did the deed anyway.
"It is not me. I did not kill Alicia's father." He glared back at me. It was my first time seeing someone who was not afraid of my eyes."
"Alright. If you would please stop staring at me. I am not a pedophile, you know. If you think your eyes are scaring anyone in the reapers guild, you are dead wrong. In fact, a lot of people might like it. Any other questions, Reaper 666?"
"No. Reaper 4," I answered with his codename.
"Alright. Come in." I did as he said. As expected, the inside was a bar. Following him like a duckling, I was brought to a bartender.
"Bartender. Usual order number 4 and 666 on the menu," he said as he swiped the card in front of him.
"Ah! So she is the one. Fruit Juice for you, missy." The bartender smiled as he gave me a glass of milk.
"Huh? This is milk." I tilted my head, but I drank it anyway. The milk was tasty.
"Hahaha. Well, come inside. She already has the key, right?"
"Yes." No further words were spoken. The bartender only smiled when I asked him questions about reapers. Reaper four scolded me for it and dragged me downstairs before I finished my milk.
"It was just a storeroom," I muttered.
"Yes! R666. I heard you are smart. So, listen carefully. From this point forward, you never see anything. You never talk about anything. You know nothing. Are we clear?"
“Huh? Ah! Secret thingies?”
"Yes! This is serious. If any secrets leak, a bounty might be placed on you. This is very important. Moreover, since you are a count's daughter and not a nobody from the slums, you would have a double identity. Understand? This is very important."
"Alright. We work in the darkness to serve the light!" I was giddy with excitement. This was like those assassin movies. Will I have to take a pledge? What was the pledge again? Where others blindly follow the truth, remember, nothing is true?
"Whoa, You certainly read too many poems. We didn't serve the light. We serve money."
Edwal slid his card inside a crevice of a wall and moved out of the way as the wall with the shelf in front of it rotated. The secret door revealed a path with a spiral staircase. I marveled at the secret door. As I activated my magic sights, I realized the wall was a magic tool with a magic block on the outside. It would only look like an ordinary wall from the outside, even if a mage saw it. As we came down, a guard talked to me.
"What's the password?" I asked him. "I wanna try."
"What password?" he tilted his head as he came in. Huh?
"What's the guard for then?"
"What guard?"
"That one!"
"I didn't see anything." He smirked at me. At that moment, I knew what he meant. Ahh, yes. I see nothing. I know nothing. The door led to an office space with several cubicles. However, unlike the boisterous mood outside, here it was completely silent. Edwal then came forward to the guild receptionist look-alike.
"Hello. This is Reaper 666. She needs her ID card. She is a mage. She doesn't need the phone. But give her the clips. Eli, give your card to him." After I gave out my card to him, the bartender then eyed me curiously. Perhaps he found it amusing that I was smaller than he thought.
"Of course. Congratulations on your successful registration, Reaper 666. Your operator will be assigned in a few days. Would you want to set a nickname now?" He then gave me a card with two clips on it.
"No," I answered. I didn't know anything about this assassin organization. I didn't want to do anything yet.
"Nope! Set her name as Killer Rabbit. You know, because she is actually more dangerous than she looks." Edwal replied. I glared at him. However, I gave up on intimidating him and nodded.
"Very well, you are now registered as Killer Rabbit. Remember that your official name is Reaper 666. First, let me introduce you to our guild rules. You may take commissions from that wall. You will be paid in points. Points can be turned into money or something else."
"Okay. May I take a look at the wall?" So, their system was like an adventurer guild, like in those guilds upstairs? What a disappointment. Well, I guess I shall see some goblin-slaying commissions and call it a day.
Commission 77: Poison a water well in Bron territory. Reward 20p.
Commission 45: Kill Baron Bluke. Reward 50p.
Commission 81: Kill Elidranthia. Reward 100p.
"Huh? Wait a minute! My name is in here!" I almost shouted toward Edwal, only for him to cover my mouth as he glared at me. He whistled merrily.
"Sir, may we know who commissioned these commissions?" Edwal asked the receptionist.
"That would be 800 points, sir," He then winked at me. It finally clicked into place. I could use this place to gather information and prevent another misfortune from befalling my friends. The fact that my name and Alicia were here meant that I had angered someone important.
"Ah. I forgot. You need to do at least one commission every week. One more thing. You may not mention anything about this guild to the outside nor its commissions. Doing so will put a bounty on your head. 0Ah, an operator will be assigned to you, so you don't have to come here in person, and you will always be able to look at the commissions. Just use your card's virtual room or phone."
"Huh? Is this a phone?" I tilted my head at the clip that was attached to the card. "Weren't phones extremely expensive magic tools that only dukes and royalties use? They gave them out to all members?"
"R4, are you sure she is a good candidate?" the receptionist finally asked him and broke his stoic face. "You registered her even though she didn't have a lick of training? She didn't even know anything about us until just a moment ago."
"She has the skills. I will impart the necessary knowledge later. Moreover, she is in nobility. We need that kind of person. We are terribly shorthanded lately."
"I see. I sincerely hope she doesn't turn into something like R400 to 500. They are a nasty bunch."
"Well, we shall see. She is a bit unique, you know."
"She certainly is. Is she ten? Or eight? Well, for such a kid to be recruited by you of all people. She must be unique. In more ways than one."
"I am twel—Bft!" Edwal closed my mouth more strongly now.
"Alright. I will be your operator for the time being. Let's go to an empty room upstairs. Give me the 666b card."
I wonder who I should kill this time. I will have to refuse to kill innocents, though. I am a psychopath. But even I have standards!
