46. Meli No C Ha

Among the prominent families of the United Kingdom of Meli, the Pig family, with the largest territory, the most manpower, and a self-proclaimed strongest power, was in a state of despair. As the head of this family, the patriarch of the Pig family had been feeling like he was plummeting off a cliff, continuously falling without any sign of recovery!

First, there was the attack on the various federations actually controlled by his family, launched by that b*tch Rinka and her underhanded tactics. When they lost too many hands in a short time and needed reinforcements to “retaliate,” those useless good-for-nothings took far too long to bring in support!

By the time the reinforcements arrived with new weapons imported from the Prulist Kingdom, the other side had already cleaned up all the mess they needed to! The other two families not only refused to help teach Rinka a lesson, but it seemed they even took benefits, allowing Rinka to thoroughly blacken their name during her speeches in those few days, causing the patriarch’s reputation in the capital to plummet significantly!

Hmph! That b*tch Lin Ke really only has her mouth to be of any use! As for the other two families, Pig didn’t actually expect them to lend a hand; they’d just sit back and watch, swaying with the wind, cooperating with the winning side and kicking the losing side when they’re down. The four major families of the Meri United Kingdom have always had this kind of relationship.

But none of that mattered! What truly infuriated Pig was something else! Because if “that thing” hadn’t failed, Pig felt he wouldn’t have been humiliated and defeated this time!

So, when night fell, and the full moon hung in the open sky outside the window, Pig sat alone in his luxurious office, fuming while smoking a cigar. He looked up and once again saw that dark figure, and all the anger and frustration he had accumulated over the past few days finally erupted as he hurled the half-smoked cigar at the figure!

“You useless piece of trash!”

Did the cigar hit her, or did she dodge it? Pig didn’t care at all! Right now, he just wanted to curse at this “bounty hunter” in front of him!

“Eh… eh?”

This bounty hunter prided herself on her “one hundred percent order fulfillment rate”! She had indeed cleaned up Lin Ke’s people before, so she seemed quite strong! However, Pig was only now realizing he had been fooled! Because this time, she had clearly accepted the job to “take care of” Lin Ke and that foreigner beside her, yet she had failed! Even if she couldn’t deal with Lin Ke, at least taking care of that foreigner would have been acceptable!

But now! Pig could see clearly: those two were just fine, lively and well!

“Um… I’m here to take the job, what’s wrong with that?”

“You still dare to speak!!?”

This time, Pig directly smashed the ashtray on the table at her!

“You accepted the contract, took the bounty, so why didn’t you take care of even one person!?”

As the head of the family, it was understandable that Lin Ke had bodyguards around her, and Pig could accept that; after all, given her ridiculously low price, he hadn’t held out much hope. However, this bounty hunter hadn’t even dealt with that man, which clearly meant she hadn’t even made a move!

As the shouting subsided, the bounty hunter finally reacted.

She scratched her head in confusion; rather than being puzzled, it was more like she was displaying a very “whatever” attitude!

“Eh? Didn’t take care of it? Which job, which person?”

“What…”

“Ah~ I’m really very sorry! I complete my orders daily, so if I happen to miss one or two sometimes, that’s quite normal, right? I’m sorry~”

“Missed”? This job involved the kingdom’s supreme leader, and she could just “miss” it!? Did she think this was child’s play!? Looking again at the bounty hunter’s “innocent” smile, Pig’s anger flared even more!

After all, hiring a bounty hunter was a highly risky endeavor! Because once it failed or the information leaked, the employer might face retaliation, and it could even lead to a tarnished reputation and social death!

“Do you still have the face to be here, CC? Haha?”

“Sorry about that~”

The bounty hunter’s voice was filled with a cheerful innocence, as if she had no hint of remorse at all.

After effortlessly dodging the pen that Pig threw at her, she waved her hand, “It’s fine~ No big deal, I’ll just help you finish it for free this time. No charge~”

“Ah~ But what was it you wanted me to kill again? I doubt I can find the list, so could you give me another copy?”

This guy! He even dropped the matter of dealing with Linka! And he still had the nerve to say she would cover for him!? Hmph! Didn’t he realize? If a bounty hunter fails a mission, they have to submit to the employer’s will until the employer is satisfied!

This woman looked all giggles and laughter, who knows when she might leak the fact that he had hired her! That’s why Pig had no intention of letting her “cover” for the failed mission.

Glancing at the bounty hunter, clearly a young girl, Pig couldn’t quite understand how someone like her could become a professional “killer,” but he already had a plan.

“You failed your mission, so now you belong to me.”

Throughout his interactions with this bounty hunter, Pig had seen her profile more than once.

At least she was definitely not bad! This was the conclusion drawn from Pig’s rich experience. So dealing with her would be much simpler; he could just pull her in as a servant after her mission failure, useful day and night—wasn’t that just perfect?

However, the response from the other side surprised Pig.

“Ah? A bodyguard? Sorry, but I don’t take on troublesome jobs like that, especially not long-term ones. I don’t accept jobs that last more than a day~”

“You!”

Pig was momentarily stunned, then shouted angrily, “Do you want to go against the rules of bounty hunters!? You failed your mission! You better be my dog! If I find out and go to the bounty hunter headquarters, you think you can still take jobs!? Your life won’t even be guaranteed!”

“The bounty hunter headquarters? Rules? Ah~ Who cares about that stuff, it’s so troublesome.”

The bounty hunter waved her hand, “So do you have any tasks for me? If not, I’m leaving~”

“Want to leave!? Do you think you can just walk away!?”

A bounty hunter who failed their mission was the employer’s dog; daring to break the rules before making up for their failure meant that the employer could do whatever they wanted without any responsibility!

Pig pulled a gun from the drawer and aimed it at the bounty hunter by the window, threatening her.

“You’ve failed your mission. Either you serve me as a dog, or…”

Was it a coincidence? Just as the threat left his lips, the pendulum on the wall struck midnight, heralding the arrival of a new day!

【Dong～dong～】

“Then give me… s… gag…”

Even Pig’s triumphant voice from a second ago was abruptly cut off at this moment!

Accompanied by a chilling shiver, Pig lowered his head and discovered that a knife had somehow found its way into his chest—sharp, precise, exuding an eerily intense purple mist, not a drop of crimson blood escaping!

“You… you actually…”

In the next moment! Pig looked up in disbelief at the bounty hunter by the windowsill!

This woman dared to lay hands on him!? He was her employer! He was the one who had failed the mission! She had broken the rules, and yet she dared to attack her employer!? Did she not want to live anymore!? Such a thing had never happened before… and to him, of all people!?

“I… I am your employer…”

“Ah? What did you say?”

Only then did Pig realize: this bounty hunter, who had taken on numerous tasks from him, was now… devoid of her playful demeanor, looking at him as if he were a stranger.

“Um… didn’t we just meet? And you’re pointing a gun at me.”

Immediately, the bounty hunter yanked on the chain in her hand, and Pig’s bulky body emitted no sound as, in the blink of an eye… it transformed into a mere husk!

The withdrawn knife also brought back a roll of parchment from Pig’s desk, and the elven girl regarded it with a serious expression for quite some time.

“My bounty task, strange, how could I ‘overlook’ this? If I don’t patch up this loophole, it feels like it could lead to trouble. Lin Ke, and the man beside her, two… hmm hmm~”

As the clock struck midnight once more, a cold wind swept into Pig’s office, and the windowsill was already empty.