Chapter 2640 – Dark Moon

“Jonas Müller. He used to work as a secretary for a mid-sized company called Blood Rack, which researches and combines blood. Last night, he killed his employer and stole the company’s assets and goods. The goods are alchemic blood that Blood Rack has been researching for a long time.”

“…Alchemic blood. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“It’s said to be a medium that allows mana users to use alchemy.”

“The incident happened last night, and it’s related to alchemy. So, it’s influenced by Adarium, LK’s new product.”

Yuria immediately grasped the situation.

The information about Adarium, which appeared at the royal charity auction yesterday, spread around the world in an instant. As the information that Adarium could only be handled through alchemy, not ordinary methods, spread, the value related to alchemy rose. The personal value of alchemists, as well as stocks even slightly related to alchemy, skyrocketed.

The alchemic blood would also be most expensive to sell now.

“Dean. Isn’t this usually the job of the London Guard or the London Knights? Looking at the documents, all the information, including the criminal’s location, is available. If the London Guard were to step in, they could catch him right away.”

“The location information is something I investigated and found out separately. The wanted notice for Jonas Müller will be announced in two days. We need to catch Jonas Müller before then.”

“Is it to protect the reputation of the maids and butlers?”

“A butler who betrayed his employer. This isn’t just Jonas Müller’s problem. It’s something that harms all the servants working in Neo London. We need to eliminate Jonas Müller as discreetly and quickly as possible.”

Yuria nodded.

This was a matter of trust. If this became known, it would negatively affect the entire industry. It would harm the job changes, employment, and salaries of maids and butlers.

‘Honestly, I don’t really care.’

After all, Yuria would only serve one master. The servant industry? It didn’t matter if it collapsed. She had no intention of changing masters to work.

Anyway, this was Maria Hilton’s evaluation.

“Understood. Are the other targets similar?”

“No. This is a request and an order from the royal family.”

“…For such an order to come to the academy. That’s unexpected.”

“It can’t be helped. The Maid Academy and the Butler Academy basically possess military power. We have no choice but to cooperate with the parliament and the royal family.”

If one aimed for Flower-class or higher, military power was essential. In reality, even Triple-class was on par with a decent mercenary.

“Yuria. The other two people you need to eliminate are nobles. Both are barons, one is an anti-establishment figure, and the other is a spy from the Freesel Kingdom. I’ll leave the method of elimination to you. This is also part of the evaluation.”

“Is there a backup plan in case I fail?”

“Are you worried about failing? That’s unlike you, Yuria. What do you think? Do you think I would have prepared for your failure?”

“If I were Dean Maria… I think I would have prepared. Preparing for the unexpected is also a maid’s duty.”

“As expected of you, Yuria. Excellent. Here is a new ID card that I prepared just in case. It’s an ID card approved by the parliament, so you won’t get caught anywhere. The identity will be discarded in two days. Also, here’s a card with 10 million credits as a down payment. Feel free to withdraw it if you need cash.”

“Thank you, Dean.”

The documents were perfectly memorized the moment she saw them. Yuria took what she needed and was about to leave.

“Yuria. This must be your first time doing something like this. You might feel it’s unfair to be evaluated on something you’re doing for the first time. Even if you’re a Level 7, doing something for the first time is unfamiliar. But I believe you’ll do well.”

Maria thought that Yuria had gotten lucky and reached Level 7 just through talent. It was understandable. Yuria had never directly shown any kind of military prowess. Also, her activities were far from combat.

A graduate of the Knight Training Center? There was no particularly noticeable practical experience either.

“I will meet your expectations.”

She didn’t know. That for Yuria, this kind of work was just a normal task. And that in another world, her nickname was the Dark Emperor.

Yuria already had a plan in her head.

* * *

Jonas Müller was heading towards the western border. If he could have, he would have left Neo London immediately after committing the crime last night, but he headed to the border. It meant he had a separate plan. Or he judged that this side was safer.

Either way, there was a high possibility that he had an accomplice.

Instead of chasing Jonas Müller right away, Yuria decided to deal with the other two targets first. She judged that it was more efficient in terms of time.

‘The result is already decided. Dean Maria probably knows that too.’

Yuria was a Level 7. And she didn’t bother to hide her power. If it was an intermediate level of power, maybe. But it was more beneficial to reveal the power of a Level 7.

‘This isn’t a difficult task that requires a Level 7 to step in.’

So, the evaluation Maria mentioned wasn’t about the result of the mission, but the process. What was the best result she wanted from this mission?

‘Quietly and quickly. And if possible, without a trace.’

It wasn’t a difficult task.

Yuria sneaked into a noble’s mansion in broad daylight. In this world, she couldn’t use magic. But that didn’t mean she didn’t know about magic.

The barrier installed in the mansion? By slightly twisting the barrier’s formula, it could be easily broken. However, this time, she wrapped her body in shadows and entered the barrier. The barrier didn’t even recognize Yuria.

Her shadow searched every corner of the mansion, collecting information in real-time. And she found the location of the target.

Shadow movement.

Yuria instantly moved to the shadow she had identified. It was a space movement technique that she could use because of her high understanding of space.

She appeared in the shadow behind the study. The target, a pot-bellied man, seemed busy reviewing documents.

Yuria pondered for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

‘A cerebral hemorrhage would be more natural and better than a heart attack.’

The shadow near his ear moved and entered his ear. Soon, the man’s eyes widened, and he collapsed from his seat.

“Cough?!”

Immediately after, a terminal inside the man’s body sent a signal to the London Knights headquarters. The target was a London Knights insurance subscriber. Yuria knew this but didn’t touch the terminal. Doing so would have been more unnatural.

Yuria dealt with the other target with a heart attack. Two nobles suddenly dying. It was suspicious, but since there was no evidence, it would be treated as an accidental death. The upper echelons of Neo London would want that.

The next target was just Jonas Müller.

There was no reason to drag out the mission. She walked into the dark shadows. No one could see her.

* * *

Jonas Müller, dressed in a butler’s uniform, was heading towards the western border with a travel bag.

He was surprisingly calm for someone who had killed his employer last night. He was a Flower-class butler. He wasn’t so incompetent that he would get excited and flustered just from killing one person. Of course, he had hidden the badge that signified Flower-class in his pocket.

The badge was good, but it attracted too much attention. The badge had authority, so he liked it, but when he needed to avoid people’s eyes, like now, it was rather a hindrance.

He moved confidently. If he acted suspiciously because he had committed a crime, it would attract attention.

Why was he still wearing the butler’s uniform? Servants themselves were common in Neo London.

Even without a license, one could work as a maid or butler. It was just that they wouldn’t receive as good a salary or treatment as those with a license.

‘There are no eyes watching me. I thought at least one or two London Guards would follow me. Did I overestimate myself? Well, since more than half of the police are corrupt, they wouldn’t move easily.’

As he headed towards the western border, the gazes towards Jonas gradually gathered. It couldn’t be helped. While a butler’s uniform was common in the city, it became rarer as one headed towards the border.

‘But I don’t want to change. I’m different from those guys. I’m a Flower-class butler. An elite among elites. Even if the situation is bad, I can’t wear the same clothes as them.’

Above all, he had a slight case of mysophobia and didn’t want to wear dusty clothes.

He got into a carriage and reviewed his plan.

He would meet with agents from Alphatier Pharmaceuticals at the western border and cross the border. After that, he would trade the blood alchemy at Alphatier headquarters. And he would rise to success, gaining immense wealth and a high-ranking position at Alphatier.

‘It’s a waste of my abilities to live as a mere butler.’

He used to be satisfied with this position. A high salary and social authority recognized by everyone. Lower nobles would be wary of him, and even most businessmen would be cautious around him.

But the essence was that he was a servant employed by someone.

‘With my abilities, I don’t need to serve a master.’

At first, he thought about starting a business, but… there was no suitable business model. If he created a mediocre company, it would surely be crushed by a slightly larger company.

Mercenary work? He didn’t get a servant’s license to do such lowly work.

‘A high-ranking executive at a large corporation. Even if it’s not an executive, a decent department head or section chief would be good enough.’

The carriage stopped. They had arrived at their destination.

“Sir, we have arrived at your destination.”

He carefully got out so that no dirt would get on his body. The carriage pulled by a mechanical horse turned around and headed back to Neo London.

He looked around after getting off at the western border and clicked his tongue. Compared to the city, it was as shabby as a pioneer village. Wooden buildings were more common than concrete buildings, and the floor was not maintained, with trash rolling around.

‘Even the air seems dirty. I want to meet the company agents and leave this place as quickly as possible.’

He headed to the hideout where the Alphatier company agents were staying. The number of people gradually decreased, and finally, no one was felt. The street itself seemed dead.

‘As expected of a company. They managed to find such a place and use it as a hideout.’

As he headed to the hideout, he felt uneasy. It was too quiet.

Shouldn’t a company agent be watching by now? Or was he unable to sense the company agents? He, a Flower-class butler?

He tried to suppress his anxiety and entered the hideout building. It was a shabby two-story building. It was a building that had once been used as a pub. He opened the dilapidated first-floor door and went inside.

There were more than eight people. Sitting on chairs, standing, or leaning against the wall. Men and women in different poses. Strangely, no presence was felt at all.

Among them, one woman caught his eye. A beautiful woman with cyan hair wearing a maid’s uniform. She was sitting on a chair, reading a newspaper. It was today’s newspaper, with a picture of Count Eugene Meyer on it.

“You’ve arrived. I’ve been waiting for you, Jonas Müller.”

It was strange.

She was clearly speaking, but why was there no presence at all?

Was she even human? Was she a hologram? Jonas swallowed hard and asked her.

“Who are you? Are you an Alphatier company agent?”

“Do company agents wear maid uniforms these days? I didn’t expect to hear such a stupid question.”

Jonas gritted his teeth.

“…Did you kill all of them?”

“Yes. I didn’t originally plan to touch them, but… I killed them because they were from Alphatier.”

Alphatier was the enemy of her master. Therefore, they were also her enemy. Interrogation? She didn’t do it. There was no way that disposable pawns would know high-level information.

Yuria got up from her seat. She carefully folded the newspaper and dropped it on the floor. The sound of the newspaper falling was not heard. It was sucked into the shadows on the floor.

“…A cyan-haired maid. Right. I’ve heard of her. There’s a maid at the Maid Academy who’s aiming for Prime-class. Indeed. It seems the Maid Academy sent you to kill me. I heard you recently became a Level 7.”

“It’s… still unpleasant to hear my name being spoken by others.”

Behind Jonas, a shadow silently surged. The jet-black shadow gathered into one and became a sword, falling towards Jonas’s neck.

Blood spurted from Jonas’s neck. The blood became a sword and blocked the shadow sword. The shadow sword bounced off and disappeared.

As far as Yuria knew, Jonas’s fighting style was close-quarters combat using short future predictions. He didn’t have any abilities using blood.

“That’s the alchemic blood you stole. You were hiding it in your body, not in your bag.”

“It’s common sense to keep important things in the safest place.”

Jonas took out a black knuckle made of adamantite from his pocket and put it on his hand.