An Invitation to Kill

Perhaps Becky wanted to make up for Emma's behavior toward Irina, as she offered no resistance to her throughout the entire day and even stayed over for the night.

Ten handshakes earned Irina 100 experience points, five hugs another 100 experience points, and sleeping together 100 more experience points, bringing her remaining total to 610 points.

However, Irina was slightly disappointed that she no longer gained experience from head pats. Had Becky developed some sort of resistance from being patted too often?

If possible, Irina would have liked to keep Becky around indefinitely to continuously farm experience, but the next day, Becky had to leave. It seemed she had some business at the palace with King Dawn VII and didn't return for the entire day.

That day, Irina gained nothing. She didn't attempt to gain experience from Feilin either—last time, Feilin had already noticed a change in her behavior, and she didn't want to do anything suspicious. She could only endure until nightfall.

It was now September 24th.

At night, Irina once again donned the hooded robe she had used before, put on her colored contact lenses and mask, turned off the lights, and silently left her villa using her Gate Painting Pen.

Tonight was another gathering for supernatural beings in the Iris District, and Irina planned to attend.

Her primary reason was the Strangulation Maniac that the man called Enforcer had mentioned last time. The case had been on Irina's mind ever since, as she wondered whether the Strangulation Maniac was the murderer who had killed the original Irina. She wanted to gather more information.

Since she had already attended the gathering once before, she was now familiar with the process and quickly reached her destination.

She knocked on the door in the prearranged pattern, and the Host of the gathering opened it.

"Newcomer or regular?" The Host glanced at Irina.

"Doll," Irina responded in her disguised voice.

"I figured it was you. After all, there's only one member here with that height." The Host chuckled, stepping aside to let her in.

"Mr. Host, mocking someone's height is extremely rude!" Irina protested.

"My apologies, Miss Doll. That was my mistake. I sincerely apologize," the Host immediately said, offering a perfectly executed gentleman's bow.

Having recently studied the etiquette of the Kingdom of Night, Irina could tell that the Host's bow was impeccable—so perfect that it surprised her.

Even among nobles, many could not perform such a flawless gentleman's bow. This suggested that the Host was someone well-versed in high society.

She cast him a deep, thoughtful glance but said nothing more, proceeding straight to the basement.

Tonight, there were even fewer attendees than last time. Irina only saw two other people, and based on their masks and silhouettes, she guessed that they were familiar faces—Enforcer and Egret.

"Looks like we don't have many people tonight. Let's get straight to it," said the Host after returning.

Following tradition, everyone briefly introduced themselves.

"Miss Doll, do you have anything to trade this time?" the Host asked with a smile.

"Unfortunately, I still don't have anything to sell. However, I might bring some suitable items to the next gathering," Irina replied in her disguised voice.

She wasn't making empty promises. According to the original Irina's memories, her cycle was due to start after the 25th of the month. That meant she would have some Y-type blood available for trade… as long as no one minded its source.

"In that case, I look forward to our next gathering," the Host nodded before turning to the others. "As for me, I don't have anything to sell tonight either. What about you two?"

"I have a piece of Crowwood, an alchemical material. If handled by someone skilled in alchemy, it could even be refined into a supernatural artifact," Egret said, holding up a piece of pitch-black wood.

"Not bad. If the price isn't too high, I'll take it," the Host commented.

Egret didn't respond immediately, instead glancing at both Irina and Enforcer. Seeing that neither spoke, she sighed in mild disappointment.

She turned back to the Host. "Five thousand Fells. If you can't accept this price, I'd rather sell it at an official supernatural trade fair. I'm sure plenty of buyers would be willing to pay."

Since supernatural beings weren't outright forbidden, there were legitimate marketplaces for them. However, such places were government-regulated, took a cut of every sale, and forbade the trade of alchemical materials like human blood, which was why underground gatherings like this one existed.

Crowwood, however, was a perfectly legal alchemical material.

"I can accept that price," the Host said, pulling a wad of gray banknotes from his coat—each one marked 100 Fells. He counted out fifty bills and handed them to Egret in exchange for the Crowwood.

After completing the trade, Egret said, "That's all I have for sale."

With that, everyone turned to Enforcer.

Enforcer hesitated for a moment before speaking in a heavy tone.

"I don't have anything to sell either. But I'd like to hire two people who are at second-tier class or higher to help me with something. Of course, I will pay accordingly."

"Oh? Hiring people? That's a first for my gathering," the Host said with amusement. "What kind of job?"

"Murder."

The room fell silent.

Enforcer's voice was noticeably colder than usual. "Of course, the target is a vile criminal who fully deserves to die, yet he continues to roam free. I have a personal grudge against him and want to deal with him myself—but I'm not confident that I can win alone. That's why I need help. And it has to be tonight."

"The target is a second-tier class? A Warrior or a Spirit Medium?" Egret asked curiously.

"No. He's a third-tier class—a Duelist." Enforcer shook his head.

Everyone fell into deep thought.

Irina sighed and said, "Mr. Enforcer, for someone of that level, if they have truly committed enough crimes, I suggest reporting them to the Bureau of Mysteries. That would be the best course of action."

The Host and Egret nodded in agreement.

"No, Miss Doll. I have to do this myself. And if I get the right help, I know we can succeed," Enforcer insisted.

"In that case, are you also a third-tier class?" Irina studied Enforcer carefully.

"Yes. I am a Duelist as well," he confirmed, then continued, "I also own a powerful supernatural artifact. In a one-on-one fight, I'd say I have a seventy percent chance of winning. I'm only looking for help to raise that chance to ninety percent or higher."

"Apologies, but I won't be participating in this," the Host was the first to decline.