Me? Grand Master?

The sun began to rise, replacing the night.

The fire at Millard's residence had been successfully extinguished by the city's military personnel.

The Ashur residents witnessed the collapse of the front part of the Millard Family's house with joy. The family had long been a source of annoyance for them due to their arrogant behavior.

The residents laughed contentedly in their hearts and started gossiping behind the Millards' backs, saying that karma had caught up with them.

Raphael paid no attention to the noisy voices around him. At the moment, he was more concerned about his son's fate, who had been found in a critical condition.

Not only was he in critical condition, but his body was as dry as a mummy with a large stab wound on his shoulder.

Edmond was immediately taken to a renowned doctor and alchemist. Regardless of the cost, the Millard heir had to be saved!

Behind all of this, questions arose in everyone's minds. Who carried out the attack? What was his/her intention?

No one knew.

Raphael himself suspected that the attacker's goal was to take the girl who had been forcibly taken by his son.

With that in mind, he believed that the attacker was from C-Owl.

The problem is, dealing with that orphanage was somewhat troublesome. Not only because he had to deal with Ethel, but the name C-Owl itself held a power that surpassed him.

As the largest orphanage in Westya and even Kastia, the royal family was very grateful to Ethel for addressing the issue of street children. This had significantly reduced street crimes like theft in Westya.

This made the name Ethel quite respected by the nobility. Ethel and C-Owl were names sheltered by the royal family.

Raphael couldn't just go looking for trouble with them, especially given the current situation.

Even if it was true that C-Owl attacked them. The attack could be justified because the root of the problem was Edmond, who kidnapped their member.

'By the Wind! This woman and her damn children are truly a plague! They are truly annoying!'

Raphael cursed in his heart as he began to make his way to Duke Bahman's house.

He couldn't do anything against C-Owl, but not with Duke Bahman. As the ruler of Ashur, who wouldn't be angry if someone bombed their territory?

Unfortunately, much to Raphael's surprise, it wasn't C-Owl who attacked him.

C-Owl themselves were currently in a panic because Cherry had disappeared from Millard's residence.

Where did she vanish to and with whom? As an orphanage doubling as an intelligence organization, this was the first time they seemed blind to the recent events.

"What really happened?!"

.

.

Far from the site of the explosion, the person causing the confusion and commotion was casually walking, carrying his coffin bag.

Cien walked through the city towards his place of accommodation.

Along the way, he would occasionally stop by street food vendors to taste the local delicacies while listening to news about the events at Millard's residence.

'The news spreads so fast... I haven't even reached my lodging, but the news might have arrived before me.'

Cien was surprised that the news traveled faster than he did.

Cien didn't know how this happened, but he suspected that the news spread quickly because impatient citizens eagerly spread the good news of the explosion of the noble house they despised throughout the entire city.

'If it's true, Millard's name has truly fallen into a steep abyss.'

Cien was at a loss for words over Millard's situation. He felt that if his father knew about Millard right now, he would be crying up in heaven.

"Well… sorry, Old Man. I can't do anything about this..."

Cien muttered, feeling like he had disappointed his father. He took a deep breath and continued walking to the inn.

About half an hour later, Cien arrived at the inn.

As usual, he stood out with the coffin he was carrying. All the inn's patrons who were enjoying their breakfast looked at Cien as he entered with a stunned expression.

Without paying attention to all the stares, Cien passed by and climbed the stairs to his room. It was somewhat difficult, walking through the narrow corridor with the coffin on his back. Cien had to be careful not to bump into the walls.

It didn't take long for him to enter his room.

Inside, in one corner of the room, various weapons brought from Death Valley were gathered. Before going to Millard's residence earlier, Cien had emptied the contents of his coffin bag.

Why?

Cien opened the coffin, revealing an unconscious girl lying inside. Her body was tied tightly to the side of the coffin to prevent her from shaking.

Cien put the girl inside the coffin to avoid drawing attention from the people around Millard's residence.

Because he had brought someone who should be in the residence, it could make him suspected as the attacker. He doesn't want to stand out.

The plan worked. He wasn't suspected as the assailant. But, well with the coffin, his fate remained the same, he still stood out as a peculiar merchant.

Cien released the rope from the girl. He lifted her and placed her on the bed.

Cien then took a chair, placed it in the front corner of the bed, and sat down, waiting for the girl to regain consciousness.

There were many things he wanted to ask the girl.

"This child... she knows about Ethel..."

Cien thought as his eyes began to close, realizing that he himself lacked sleep.

***

Elsewhere, precisely in the royal residence.

The current ruler, Abayomi Bes Tahoma, woke up from his sleep in a bed filled with six courtesans.

Abayomi woke up due to a knock on the door from his subordinate.

Instructing the subordinate to enter, he paid no attention to his appearance at the moment. He simply sat on the bed shirtless, with the sleeping women embracing him.

The subordinate who entered immediately was momentarily stunned before finally discarding any strange thoughts and began reporting the incident of an attack on a noble family from Westya.

"Millard? I feel familiar with that name, but... why should I care? They are not from Mandora. Let Duke Bahman handle it! You woke me up just for such a trivial matter?!"

"No, Your Majesty. I only wanted to request permission to strengthen Your Majesty's security. We fear that the attackers might target the royal family."

King Mandora snorted in annoyance, "Do you think I am weak? Why should I fear a terrorist who dares to oppose a mere baron?"

King Mandora felt belittled as the need for his own safety must grow tighter.

The Tahoma family had the potential to become rulers due to their inherent power. Each King of Mandora had always been a formidable figure in the kingdom, generation after generation.

The same held true for Abayomi, a person with Rank 10 strength. He was not someone weak.

"This is merely precaution, Your Majesty," a subordinate said.

"Hmph, do as you wish. I don't care. Carry on! Oh, and this afternoon, I want to see Lake Ashur belonging to Bahman."

"...Understood, Your Majesty."

The subordinate withdrew, leaving the King in the chamber with his women.

After being left by his subordinate, Abayomi didn't immediately return to sleep or indulge in the warmth of his bed.

He pondered, contemplating the name mentioned earlier—Millard. Somehow, the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't recall why he felt acquainted with it.

The problem was, he sensed that the name held importance. But what was it that mattered?

"This is frustrating. Well, let's... focus on the work at hand," murmured King Mandora, revealing a wicked smile.

***

Time slowly transitioned into afternoon.

Inside the rented room of Cien, a girl who had been unconscious began to move her slender fingers.

Her eyes slowly opened.

The girl – Cherry – was taken aback when she once again saw the unfamiliar ceiling.

The first thing that crossed Cherry's mind was that she had been moved to another room in the Millard residence.

Cherry felt instantly gloomy. It seemed that the nightmare would continue. At least that was her initial thought before she observed her surroundings more carefully.

She realized that this room was not as spacious and luxurious as the rooms used by nobles.

She even considered it more like an ordinary inn room based on the design and layout of the furniture.

"Where... where is this?" Cherry asked, not understanding the situation she found herself in.

Panic crept back into her. However, seeing no one else around, Cherry immediately ran towards the door, opened it, which turned out to be unlocked, and left the room.

For a moment, Cherry felt as if she was free. Unfortunately, that feeling was short-lived. Suddenly, a tug on the back of her collar halted her steps.

"Where are you going?"

Cherry glanced behind her and found a person dressed in a black robe from head to toe. His face remained unseen, except for a pair of eyes resembling cold emeralds, staring at her.

Cherry wanted to scream but didn't have the chance, as her body was suddenly lifted and thrown back onto the bed where she woke up earlier.

The door was closed and locked.

Cherry once again wanted to scream for help. However, once again, the mysterious person in front of her began speaking before she could, halting her actions.

"Do not scream and do not leave this place. Right now, you are the most sought-after person by the people of Duke Bahman. If you want to stay alive, it's better to stay quiet here for the next few days," Cien said, not allowing the girl to scream at all.

He then removed his hood and untied the scarf that was wrapped around his neck.

Cien always had to hide his face whenever he went out. He did this to prevent his identity from being known.

If his friends among the merchants were still in Ashur, his face would be very familiar to them.

Cien was extremely cautious about his connections here. After hearing the story about the relationship between the Millard Family and Duke Bahman, he was unsure if those merchants were friends or foes.

Cherry, who heard Cien's explanation, wanted to respond.

However, before any words could escape her mouth, when she saw the face behind the concealing robe, her mouth fell open and her eyes widened.

"G-Gra-GRAND MASTER?!!"

"Hmm... Grand Master? Who? Me?"