Ch. 26 - A High Paid Job (2)

Karflo was somewhat surprised when one of his assistants told him that Ultores' best member wanted to meet him.

The last he had heard, that young man was in Great Kingdom of Celtekhna. That was two weeks ago. What had brought him here in such a short time?

Karflo ended his card game and took the dozens of platinum coins he had won. He handed all the money to the assistant and told her to have fun. Then, he immediately headed to the café he managed. If their best member had come to meet him, it was his duty to hurry.

When Karflo arrived in his office, the sight he hated most greeted him. The 17-year-old teenager was sitting in his chair, holding Karflo's secret holy magazine. He clearly remembered hiding it in the most secure place. Even his assistants believed he had thrown away that cursed holy magazine. But how had it ended up in the boy's hands?

"Your taste is awful, Karflo." The long-haired teenager, with a ponytail at the back and bangs framing his face, spoke in a bored tone. "If I were you, I'd buy one featuring portraits of naked empresses and princesses. They'd definitely be more arousing."

Karflo should have been upset at being told his taste was bad. However, the boy's next words completely erased his irritation.

His mind immediately drifted to the one woman he most wanted to admire—Empress Lasyana. The 24-year-old ruler of Neiracia Empire. Her beauty was flawless, mesmerizing. Karflo couldn't stop himself from imagining the young empress, the most powerful person in the empire.

"You agree with me?"

That question dragged Karflo's wild thoughts back to reality.

And just like that, his holy magazine went flying from the boy's hands straight toward his face. Karflo quickly caught it, unwilling to let the precious, limited-edition item hit the floor. He was extremely possessive and protective of it.

"Your perversion and shamelessness still amaze me. Your wife has a beautiful face and a seductive body, yet your eyes still hunger for the beauty of other women. I wonder, if one woman isn't enough for you, why don't you just marry another?"

Karflo snorted and stuffed his holy magazine inside his shirt. "Loyalty is the one thing that must never be abandoned in any situation," he said as he sat in front of the chair that was supposed to belong to him. "When a man abandons loyalty, nothing about him has value anymore. He becomes nothing but a scum."

"And yet you use your eyes to admire the beauty of other women."

"Heh, as long as I don't drink from their chalice, it's not betrayal." Karflo defended himself. "Anyway," he continued before the boy could mock him further, "I've never heard of the magazine you mentioned earlier. Where can I get such a priceless item? I'm willing to pay a fortune."

"You actually believe something like that exists?"

Karflo shrugged. If such an item existed, he would already own it. There was no need to give a verbal response to that rhetorical question. "So, what brings you here?" he asked. "How's your work in Celtekhna?"

Shin Kurogami, better known as the "Ruthless Killer", was the youngest member ever to join Ultores. He had been part of them since he was seven years old. Ten years had passed since then. The black-eyed teenager, whose hair was just as dark as his eyes, had become a living legend within the organization. Shin had never failed a mission.

"My work went smoothly. I only slaughtered the half-demon troops Camelot sent along with ten battalions of their soldiers. Oh, and I also killed two of their Round Table Knights. I sold both of their swords and heads to Rammuel. That king was quite pleased and paid me handsomely."

Shin's combat strength was also the best—his power was something to be admired and feared.

Karflo wasn't sure about Nessthanovla, but he was confident Shin could defeat any other Primordial Demon in a one-on-one fight. He also hadn't seen what Glazzier's strength was like. However, if someone asked him who the strongest individual on the Western Continent was, he wouldn't hesitate to answer—Shin Kurogami.

"How did Camelot react?"

Shin shrugged.

"If they propose a ceasefire, I doubt King Rammuel will accept it." Karflo theorized. "He'll likely send a large force to annex part of their territory. Celtekhna is in a strategic position—it would be a waste to let the opportunity slip."

"There might be an all-out war between them, but I don't care." Shin paused briefly before tossing a rolled-up parchment at him. "That's why I'm here."

Karflo quickly unrolled the parchment. It was a wanted poster. Nothing surprising—at least until he saw the reason Camelot was hunting the fugitive.

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy had saved Primordial Demon Lukhiel from being killed by King Arthur. In the process, he had managed to injure the king before escaping. More than that, he had also stolen a valuable artifact from Camelot. The boy was wanted dead or alive.

"Interesting," Karflo commented.

"Do you have any information?"

"Unfortunately, no. I don't—ah, these double red helix earrings…."

"You know something?"

Karflo didn't answer immediately. He stared at the fugitive's portrait, studying it carefully. The longer he looked, the stronger his conviction became. There was no mistake—his assumption was correct.

This is definitely M, Karflo thought, somewhat amused. But if he wore a mask to hide his identity, why didn't he remove his earrings?

Karflo didn't understand that part. However, he had no doubt about the truth of his assumption. That guy was definitely M.

"Looks like you know something."

Karflo set the poster down and looked at the young man intensely. "I won't deny it," he responded. "I know this boy. But you know the rules, don't you? Ultores doesn't sell out its own members. If you're planning to hunt him down and take him to King Arthur, I won't tell you anything."

"Hahahaha."

That laughter sent chills down Karflo's spine.

"I could kill you and sell your wife to a group of nobles, you know."

"Would you go against Ultores just for a million escal?"

"I was joking," Shin said casually, though his smile made Karflo's heart nearly jump out of his chest. "This kid is interesting," he continued. "I want to test his strength. More than that, I need subordinates to realize my ambition—to destroy the Great Human Council. They've ruled this world for too long, even Nessthanovla and Merlin don't dare to oppose them. I want to change that."

Karflo's forehead furrowed upon hearing Shin talk about the Great Human Council.

If there was any organization that was the most secretive in this world, it was the Great Human Council.

Karflo knew nothing about them. He only knew what circulated in rumors. The Great Human Council controlled the world's technology and banking industries. Every bank across the continent was under their control. If they willed it, the entire nations could be plunged into crisis. However, there was no evidence—only rumors.

"He just took a job from Empress Lasyana. He's probably no longer in this city." Karflo paused for a moment and stared intensely at the young man. "How do you know he was here?"

"I don't know," Shin said casually, then stood up and left. "See you, Karflo. I'm heading straight to the capital."

…Karflo could only slap his own forehead.

He had slipped up—no wonder Shin had laughed earlier.

If he hadn't said "Ultores doesn't sell out its own members", he might not have needed to tell the truth. He could have given an answer that wasn't correct but wasn't entirely false either.

"Dealing with him is always a hassle," Karflo muttered as he pulled out his treasure and began spoiling his eyes.

-----ooOoo-----

The night had long passed its peak when Mariel and Celinee found the residence of their final target:

Albeth Earnest Hecktacular. Guilty of conspiring to overthrow Empress Lasyana; embezzling one hundred sixty-five millions escal; actively supporting criminal activities; and owning twenty-nine female slaves—six of whom were underage.

He was truly a scum that needed to be eradicated.

"Same plan as before?" Celinee asked as they stepped through the gate after eliminating all the guards outside.

"Of course. You handle all the guards; I'll steal all his money and valuable items. We won't let anyone live except the slaves and the children."

"I'm worried you're getting addicted to stealing."

"No, no. There's no joy in doing evil. But, like I said earlier, we need a lot of money to help a lot of people. Stealing from human trash is the easiest way."

"Whatever."

"I'll be quick," Mariel said before dashing in a different direction from Celinee.

The ninja would enter through the door, while Mariel would break in through a window. They needed to move fast and leave the noble's mansion before anyone realized.

The window Mariel broke into was on the second floor. The room was filled with books—likely a private library. Mariel quickly scanned the shelves. He took a dozen books with interesting titles and stored them in his dimension before exiting the room and moving to the next one.

The sound of breaking glass should have drawn the guards and servants, but Celinee had already drawn all attention downstairs.

Mariel entered each room one by one. Locked or not, it made no difference. He entered without hesitation. With his wind element, he could slice through doors without making noise.

His actions went smoothly. Too smoothly. He even managed to kill a few sleeping people without waking them.

The upper floor seemed unguarded. If there had been any guards, they had already gone downstairs. There were no servants or slaves on this floor either—only the house's owner and his family.

Mariel killed everyone he encountered—except for the children.