Chapter 13
"Miss Ryuu?"
Eugene's call caused the composed Ryuu to lose her state slightly.
She took a light breath and turned her beautiful face towards him.
She spoke in her usual polite and calm tone:
"Since you are aware of our past, you must also understand that it was an unbearable past that we wish to leave behind."
"Although we live an ordinary, bland life now, compared to all the darkness of the past, this is already a great blessing."
"Therefore..."
Ryuu's words suddenly stopped halfway.
Silence...
"Eh? Wh-what's wrong?" The Elf girl looked very confused.
"Ryuu, did you just say that many words at once?"
The first to be shocked were her daily companions.
Chloe and Lunoire both stared at her in astonishment.
In their eyes, this Elf usually just pulled a long face. Aside from when she was with her best friend, Syr, her expression would slightly improve a tiny bit.
But today, for some reason, the aloof Elf had suddenly blurted out such heartfelt feelings?
And to this total stranger?
"Ah! I, this, I was just speaking on instinct..."
Ryuu, realizing she might have said too much, shyly lowered her head, and the tips of her long ears flushed a faint pink.
She didn't know why this happened.
Why did she inexplicably share her inner feelings?
"Miss Ryuu, you haven't spoken your mind to someone in a long time, have you?"
Eugene smiled and spread his hands, indicating full understanding.
A taciturn personality means an internal closedness.
If the everyday accumulation isn't vented, it will condense into melancholy.
And Ryuu, who had gone through the abyss and found the light again, was exactly like this.
Although outwardly unchanged.
Deep down, she still longed to pour out her heart to someone.
Once Eugene, a person who knew her past, appeared before her, Ryuu had subconsciously labeled him a "symbol of the past."
The desire to tell the past that her present self was happy was thus unconsciously fulfilled.
"Well, I'm truly very sorry."
The girl, who had experienced such a loss of composure, lowered her head even further, causing the other two girls to chuckle.
It seemed like a good deal to see this girl's rare other side, right?
"However, when all is said and done, although a person's life goes through many twists and turns, every stage is indispensable."
Eugene turned the conversation back.
Bringing up the past was even better.
"Miss Ryuu, you were a member of the Astraea Familia, weren't you?"
Hearing the Goddess's name, Ryuu immediately returned to her usual state, sitting upright and nodding.
"Please don't rush to refuse my request."
"After all, this matter has some connection to that Lady and to you personally."
Ryuu's eyes narrowed.
Unlike Chloe and Lunoire, Ryuu had deep ties to her Familia.
The reason she committed so many murders was to avenge her lost Familia comrades.
Therefore, the moment Eugene brought up the subject, her attitude immediately changed.
"It was many years ago, in the era when the Astraea Familia was active, many villains were punished by you."
"I wonder if you remember a Dwarf named 'Ted' among them?"
"Ted..." Ryuu pondered for a moment, then frowned.
"I remember him."
Of course you remember him.
Eugene chuckled inwardly. Because this is part of your plotline. You will definitely get involved in this matter, no matter what.
"That fellow was captured by you back then, and he wept bitterly in front of Lady Astraea, promising that he would repent. The merciful Lady also believed that people could change, so she gave him a second chance."
"Yes." Ryuu sighed lightly, full of nostalgia. "Lady Astraea, she was always full of compassion."
"But Ted, he wasted that precious compassion."
!!!
The moment Eugene said those words, the air in the entire room suddenly turned cold!
"What... what did you say?"
Ryuu's brow furrowed tightly, her eyes instantly darkening, and her small body uncontrollably exuded an intense aura!
The top-tier Level 4 Adventurer was truly terrifying!
Eugene remained unhurried. "The person I've provoked is named Terry Cervantes, a leading tycoon in Orario's Entertainment District."
"And his true identity is none other than Ted from back then!"
"Murder and identity theft, human trafficking, bribery, smuggling of prohibited goods, falsifying accounts..."
"The beauties abducted from various places have become his playthings, and the laws of this city are practically meaningless to him."
"Ted, he has trampled upon the compassion given by the Goddess and has instead fallen step by step, becoming the King of Crime in this city!"
Each and every detail became fuel for the furnace before her, causing it to burn even more fiercely.
Crunch! Her pale fist clenched, making a frightening sound!
"Unforgivable!" Ryuu's eyes were as cold as ice, and her throat trembled.
It was precisely because of excessive benevolence that the flame of darkness was fanned.
Eliminate evil completely!
This was the very thing Ryuu risked becoming a killer to correct.
"It seems our agreement has been reached."
Eugene offered a smile.
Ryuu, after trying hard several times, finally regained control over her surging emotions.
She no longer cared about the Elf's aloofness towards strangers, discarding that subtle discomfort, and actively reached out, taking Eugene's hand.
So big, so warm...
So delicate, so soft...
Both of them uncontrollably had that thought pop into their heads.
"Although I believe I have lost the qualification to execute justice."
"Even so, I absolutely cannot accept that Lady Astraea's compassion be so trampled upon!"
Goodness, that was quite the inspirational speech.
Eugene gave her a sincere smile.
"Then I leave it in your capable hands."
With one person secured, the remaining two were no longer a major problem.
Turning back to Chloe and Lunoire, who were still enjoying the show, Eugene said nothing, simply smiling knowingly at the two of them.
"Uh, that, this matter doesn't have much to do with us, meow..."
"Yeah, even though this is important to Ryuu, we really have retired..."
Eugene, seeing them hesitate, found it amusing.
He couldn't help but remind them, "Terry's influence and strength are not to be underestimated. I estimate he will likely hire one or even several Level 5 Adventurers to back him up."
"Wow! Wouldn't that be super dangerous!" The two girls simultaneously looked at Ryuu, but the Elf girl showed no sign of changing her mind.
In the side story's plot, although Ryuu caused chaos in the casino and successfully reported Terry.
During her escape, she was still discovered by a Level 5 Adventurer.
Fortunately, that Level 5 was Shakti Varma, the Captain of the Ganesha Familia, "Staff of the Elephant God."
They had a previous acquaintance, and the Ganesha Familia had already begun to target Terry.
Otherwise, the outcome would have been truly hard to say.
The fact remains: even the strongest Level 4 cannot defeat a Level 5.
"So the strength of you two is also very important."
"Three unknown Level 4s even if you encounter a Level 5, you should be able to retreat safely, right?"
"That's not how it works, meow!"
"Yeah, this venture is inherently very risky, right?"
Chloe and Lunoire's reactions were intense.
Their careers as assassins and bounty hunters had always prioritized their own safety above all else.
They found Ryuu's behavior knowing the mountain held a tiger and yet heading straight for it hard to understand.
"The price is negotiable."
Eugene immediately brought out the power of money.
"I heard that you two broke Mama Mia's shop and were extorted for 100 million, forcing you to work here, right?"
"I can pay that 100 million for you."
"Not only that, but if you're willing, you can both work for me from now on."
"That's better than working in a restaurant for half your life, right?"
Never mind that 100 million is a huge sum; the money came so easily that Eugene didn't feel a thing.
Wouldn't it be more satisfying to spend Terry's money to hire people to fight him?
With the terms set so high, combined with the unwillingness to see their friend risk herself alone, the deal was clearly shaking the two girls' resolve.
One last push was needed.
Eugene timely brought out his trump card.
"By the way, I heard that over the years, Terry has had two of his most capable subordinates: one is a black-haired Cat Person, and the other is a brown-haired strong man."
These two are the very ones who were tracking Eugene and were utterly humiliated by him.
"Their backgrounds are quite something. One is said to be an assassin in the underground society, and the other is a renowned bounty hunter."
"Their names seem to be 'Rollo' and 'Faust'?"
"Oops, why do their characteristics sound so similar to yours?"
Eugene pretended to be amazed, putting on an exaggerated expression.
Chloe Rollo and Lunoire Faust, who had been involved in the underworld for a long time, instantly understood what had happened.
They were replaced!
Their hard-earned reputation and titles, gained through blood and storm, countless perfect assassinations, and near-fatal struggles...
...were stolen by two unknown individuals!
Doing respectable work as a tycoon's bodyguard, with an annual salary hundreds of times higher than washing dishes.
Those two people had just so comfortably stolen the ten years of effort put in by the "Black Cat" and the "Black Fist"!
"Waaahhhhh!!!"
Chloe and Lunoire both screamed and jumped up simultaneously, their voices piercing the roof, the resentment even deeper than what Ryuu had released earlier!
"How dare they do such a shameless thing! Unforgivable, meow!"
"What I went through these ten years how dare they...!!"
"We absolutely have to kill them (in unison)!!"
Well, that should seal the deal.
Eugene looked at the two girls frantically pacing and scratching their heads, a relaxed and relieved smile on his face.
Feeling something, he turned his head and met the gaze of the Elf girl.
The latter quickly lowered her head in embarrassment. Perhaps due to her panic, her heart inexplicably beat faster.
"How is it that this person seems to have everything under his control?"
In the hallway outside the door, Mama Mia only shook her head and sighed bitterly as she listened to the commotion inside the room.
"Honestly, beware of bad men, you foolish girls."
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