From the outset, I knew that helping Jeanne with her sword training would be challenging, given that I was a pugilist and not a sword master, as my css system specified. Therefore, I headed to a modest bookstore with a friendly shopkeeper and purchased a Manual of Sword-fighting to aid my teaching.

  Despite having access to the CCT network to search for online books, I found that most of them were designed for aura-powered individuals. And I knew such books would be of no use to Jeanne and could even potentially harm her if she attempted to practice the techniques written in them.

  So the old book is my best option to help her.

  As I delve deeper into the training manual, Jeanne diligently practices her swings on a makeshift dummy crafted from brooms and tires. People always throw away lots of things.

  At one point, I pause from reading and observe Jeanne’s movements. I notice her dropping her guard as she hits the dummy on the left side.

  “Keep your shield up,” I remind her.

  “Sorry!” Jeanne responds as quickly raises her guard and takes a step back before unleashing a powerful strike.

  After the quick correction, I return to my book and finish the first chapter before closing the training manual and observing Jeanne’s next move.

  She has come a long way since our first session, and her movements are now more fluid and precise, not perfect, but better when I first met her. I take a moment to appreciate her efforts before standing up from the ground and summoning my own sword and shield set.

  I had obtained them from a bcksmith who was more than happy to sell me dull weapons instead of throwing them away. Although the weapons were useless for an actual fight, they were suitable for training, and I knew I wouldn’t accidentally hurt Jeanne if I hit her by accident. However, as a pugilist, wielding a weapon not intended for my css was a significant disadvantage, and I could feel the weight of the sword and shield more than I should have.

  Nevertheless, I approach my apprentice, who notices me and stops swinging Crocea Mors. “Alright, so after reading a bit, I think I can help you with some basics,” I announce and circle around her, my sword and shield at the ready. “Raise your sword and shield and hold them properly, and don’t stand still! Your life depends on it.”

  Jeanne quickly follows my lead and moves in the opposite direction as I take one step forward. I observe her movement and make an abrupt change in my footwork to test her reaction speed a couple more times.

  “Now try attacking. You’ve got to put your back into a good ssh. Don’t try swatting me like a fly or bottle. Attack me with your whole body.” I instruct her again.

  She nods and executes the same attack she has been practicing, but as she turns, she lowers her shield, causing me to frown in disapproval.

  Without hesitation, I take the initiative and charge towards her with my shield, bashing it against hers and catching her off guard. However, I don’t let her fall to the ground.

  “Don’t drop your guard!” I remind her firmly. Her shield guard will be a constant problem, I’m sure of it.

  She frantically nods and adopts her stance again, going for a direct diagonal ssh which I block with my shield, hearing a strong cnging noise as our weapons collide.

  I can tell that her attacks are still slow, but they have a decent amount of strength behind them. As she goes for a thrust attack, I use my own sword to swat hers away. I’m not entirely sure if it’s a correct move, but I felt like I was relying on my shield too much. Jeanne looks slightly surprised as she loses her stance, but rather than falling on her face, she pnts her right foot and uses that momentum to spin on her heels, aiming for my neck.

  I react quickly, bringing up my shield to catch the sharp edge of her sword and watch as it bounces off. “Not bad, not bad at all. I didn’t expect that,” I say with a grin.

  Jeanne smiles and puffs out her chest in pride, clearly pleased with herself.

  I lower my guard, signaling a brief break before moving on to the next point, and the blonde knight follows suit.

  “As I’ve read. Sshing, stabbing and movement are the foundation that you build everything else on. But we both know it isn’t that simple. You cannot give your opponent, in this case me, any time to react.” I raise my guard again. “Like this.”

  Grunting in annoyance, I feel my arms struggling with the imposed handicap, weighing me down and making me sluggish. Despite the challenge, I grit my teeth and summon every ounce of strength to brute-force my way through it. With determined focus, I charge at Jeanne, unleashing a powerful downward ssh, quickly followed by a brutish attack from the opposite direction. I finish the short combo with a swift kick at her shield.

  My grin widens as Jeanne captures every movement perfectly, unfazed like a stone wall, just like I taught her weeks ago.

  I take a deep breath, gathering my energy before I go again. This time, I put even more strength and focus into each move, unching three thrusts in rapid succession. Jeanne tries to deflect them, but she fails, exhausting herself and giving me an opening to exploit.

  With the perfect chance, I propel myself forward, aiming a shield bash directly at her golden shield. With a resounding csh, her shield trembles, and Jeanne loses her footing, falling on her butt with a surprised expression on her face.

  “As you can see, one strike can be easily fended off, but if you string them together, it becomes difficult,” I expin, pnting my sword into the ground and extending my hand to help her up.

  “Yeah, I noticed,” Jeanne grumbles, rubbing her backside before accepting my hand. She quickly gets back on her feet and takes a moment to catch her breath.

  I pick up my sword and take a couple of steps back, giving Jeanne some space to compose herself before resuming our training session.

  Jeanne takes a few moments to collect herself, visibly frustrated with her previous mistake. Without warning, she charges towards me with her shield leading the way, crashing against mine with a loud cnging sound that reverberates through the air. With an unexpected burst of speed, she aims to stab my stomach from below.

  My eyes widen as I swiftly spin to the left, narrowly avoiding her strike, before jumping back to create distance between us.

  As my feet hit the ground, I frantically search my stomach for any signs of injury, but there is nothing. Not even a scratch on my clothes. I let out a sigh of relief, gncing up at Jeanne briefly before dropping my shoulders in defeat.

  “Yeah, no more real swords with you.”

  -Hours ter-

  “Finally!”

  Jeanne colpses on the grass with a sigh of relief.

  I take a seat next to her and rub the back of my neck. “Gotta admit, for a couple of newbies, that was pretty good.”

  Jeanne sits up and shakes her head. “I never realized combat could be so complex. I mean, the movies always make it look so easy. Just grab a big sword and swing it around, right?” She makes a chopping gesture with her hand.

  I chuckle, summoning a pair of water bottles. “We’ve got the basics, at least. It will be hard work to turn you into a master, but I’m sure Beacon will cover more advanced stuff.” Handing Jeanne one of the bottles, I crack open my own and take a long drink.

  Just because I can regenerate stamina doesn’t mean I don’t get thirsty after a long training session.

  Jeanne cracks open her bottle and takes a swig, then pours some of the water onto her face to cool down. She wipes away the droplets with her arm before taking another sip.

  Taking this moment, I stare at my training weapons, frustration building inside me. I had meticulously followed the manual, step by step, but it had unlocked nothing. I had been so sure that reading the basics of the manual would unlock a new job. Even specific instructions had achieved the same result. But it seemed that something was missing. Perhaps the css system has different requirements compared to the job system?

  Before I can dwell on this any further, my scroll rings, interrupting my thoughts. I scowl, assuming it to be Neo calling for something, most likely to bug me with side-jobs. But as I check my scroll, I realize that it’s a message from my real boss, asking me to come to the kitchen as soon as possible.

  On a Sunday.

  That’s strange, but there has to be a good reason.

  “Gotta go.” I send my training weapons back to my inventory before standing up and brushing off my pants.

  “Did something happen?” Jeanne asks curiously.

  I shrug. “Work-reted stuff. Dunno what it’s about.”

  “I see…” Jeanne stands up, her fingers absentmindedly twirling a lock of her hair. “Same time next week?”

  “You know it.” I smirk in response.

  [Affection with Jeanne d’Arc increased by 2, 09/100]?I head to the main avenue where I take a taxi. Maybe I’m overusing taxis, but I can afford them, so it isn’t a concern, just a passing thought.

  Also, it left me right in front of the kitchen where the old dy is already waiting at the entrance with a much bigger human next to her. That alone raises some eyebrows in me, but I will py along for now.

  She takes me inside her office and offers me a seat and the big human stands next to the door.

  I wait as my boss calmly takes her seat behind her desk and pces her hands on it, her eyes narrowing as she stares at me.

  “Did you spike the food?”

  “...What?” I finally ask after a moment.

  “We’ve noticed that the workers who ate from your dishes have become more… energetic, to put it mildly. That’s not even counting the fact that they always ask for seconds, and in some cases, more.” She expins, her frown deepening even further. “That isn’t normal, and our clients have already raised their concerns for potential addicts”

  I sit there, stunned, trying to process what my boss just told me. I never thought that my improved cooking job would actually bring me this kind of trouble. I thought they would be happy if the workers got a small buff.

  “But what does that have to do with me?” I ask, trying to reason with my boss. “I did nothing or add anything besides what you provide.”

  I can’t help but feel frustrated as I realize that I can’t simply tell my boss the truth. I can’t expin to her that the workers are more energetic because of an intangible gamer system that naturally gives a buff to everything I cook, thanks to my cooking job reaching the Adept tier. It’s entirely out of my control.

  My boss just sighs and rubs her temples in frustration. “Don’t take it the wrong way, but we’ve had problems with a past cook spiking the food with addictive drugs just to earn more lien. We can’t allow that to happen again. We barely survived the wsuit that followed.”

  As I lean back in my chair, I can feel the weight of my boss’s accusations bearing down on me. I know that she’s about to say something else, and I can’t help but feel a sense of dread as the consequence of possibly losing my legal job.

  But I refuse to give up without a fight. I raise my hand in a quick oath, hoping to convince her of my innocence. “Madam, I swear on anything that is sacred that I did nothing to the food.”

  My boss scrutinizes me with a suspicious look in her eyes. “I wish I could believe you, but I can’t,” she says finally. “We’ve already sent one of your dishes and some workers to a b to check for anything harmful. I won’t report this to the police, because I know they’ll throw you in a cell without question. But you can’t come back here.”

  My heart sinks along with my ears as I realize what she’s saying. “Are... are you firing me?”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t take any chances,” she says firmly. “I need to look out for the rest of my workers.”

  “But... but I didn’t do anything wrong,” I protest.

  She doesn’t reply. Instead, she reaches into a drawer and pulls out a small, white envelope, pcing it on her desk with a soft thud. “Here is your severance pay. Please leave.”

  I stare at the envelope in disbelief, my mind struggling to comprehend what was happening. But as the reality sets in, my disbelief gives way to a rising tide of disgust and anger. My hands clench into fists, my nails digging into my palms as I struggle to keep my emotions in check.

  Something that doesn’t go unnoticed as I feel a firm grip on my shoulder from behind, and I turn to see a towering human looming over me, with his eyes warning me.

  Without hesitation, I grab his wrist and lock eyes with him for a moment before forcefully removing his hand from my shoulder. I storm out of the office, smming the door behind me to release the frustration that’s been building up inside me.

  As I reach the entrance, I notice a broom leaning against the wall, and without a second thought, I give it a swift kick, sending it cttering to the ground.

  Lost in my thoughts, I keep walking in no real direction until I find myself surrounded by rge metallic containers of different colors. But between everything, one blue barrel stands in my way, and I kick it in frustration. Yet, instead of flying away, it simply fell to the side, revealing a pile of sand.

  As I stand there, staring at the fallen barrel, my ears perk up at the sound of waves crashing against the walls. It takes me back in time even if it’s for a fleeting moment, and it draws me further into the dockyard, where ships are being loaded and unloaded by rge cranes.

  But I resist the temptation to enter the work zone, staying right behind a red container instead. Promptly jumping onto it, I walk up to the edge and sit down, using it as a vantage point to gaze at the sea below me. The waves pointlessly crash against the walls made of concrete, a relentless force against the solid structure.

  I feel a wave of emotions rising within me, compelling me to quickly summon my mask and put it on. I don’t want anyone to see me like this, not even strangers who wouldn’t give a fuck anyway.

  With the mask securely in pce, I let out a tired sigh and watched my hand clench into a fist; the knuckles turning white before I sm it against the metal container under me.

  ‘It ‘s just a job. It’s just one fucking job. It’s just one fucking easy job that was taken away from me. Fine, I don’t fucking care. I will find another easy job in this fucking city of opportunities.’

  That old hag can go fuck herself. She even thought it was her good deed of the day that she wasn’t reporting me to the police. Not even taking the time to confirm those suspicions. Oh no. Take whatever accusation at face value.

  I need to look out for my people, my ass.

  Likely the rest of those bastards were jealous that I was making bank with my superior skills and they were getting scraps, fucking cry me a river, you useless bitches. I am better than they will ever be. My fucking numbers don’t lie, I’m an Adept cook, and I have room for improvement. They will be stuck there, cooking for sweaty humans for the rest of their miserable lives.

  My food now is capable of making you stronger and faster. Everyone else needs to use fucking drugs. How can they even hope to compare?

  And what can I even do? Protest? As if someone would give a damn.

  But my moment of solitude is interrupted as I feel a shadow loom over me, blocking the sun. With a slight sense of trepidation, I take a gnce over my shoulder to see Neo extending her parasol with a smile.

  An actual, genuine smile.

  “I’m not in the mood for games...” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

  Neo’s expression doesn’t change as she slowly walks next to me, settling down beside me and leaning her weight against my shoulder. She keeps her umbrel open, casting a welcome shadow over us both.

  She never makes any sense. Better said, was she following me?

  “What do you want from me?” I ask, my voice ced with bitterness. “To mock me?”

  Neo calmly lifts her head from my shoulder and turns my face towards hers, her delicate touch removing my mask and revealing my face to the chilly air. A sudden gust of wind sweeps over me, sending a shiver down my spine as I feel the coolness of the breeze against my damp cheeks.

  I don’t care. I SHOULDN’T care, so why is this affecting me so much?

  Pathetic.

  Neo doesn’t ugh or mock me; instead, she simply reaches up and wipes away my tears with an unexpected but gentle touch. A small, tender smile pys at the corners of her lips as she does so.

  I jerk away from her hands and hastily pull my mask down, my heart racing in confusion and my other hand grabs my tail to stop it.

  That’s when Neo makes her move, surprising me with her strength again as she pulls me down onto her p. I sit there, stunned, as her hand gently caresses my head, her fingers passing through my hair in a soothing motion. Her fingers occasionally py with the tip of my ears, making them squirm and getting me to actually crack a ugh.

  I lose track of time as I stay in Neo’s embrace, my gaze firmly locked on the sea as I watch another rge ship depart from the port, its cargo hold filled to the brim. The sound of the horn bring startles me out of my thoughts, causing me to sigh.

  “I lost my job, for some bullshit reason.” I start. “Now I need to find a new job before my ndlord finds out or that asshole will kick me out. I think I can find a new job, but no longer as a cook because it’s possible that hag has told everyone that I’m a drug dealer of sorts.”

  ‘But you are.’

  Her blunt reply makes me snort and let out a short ugh. “I move stuff Neo, don’t use it or sell it, a middleman at most.”

  Neo merely pats my head.

  “Fuck that hag, fuck her.”

  ‘Do you want to be a chef that much?’

  Her question makes me think for a moment. “Not really. It isn’t a lifelong dream to be a famous chef around the world. It was just a thing I knew how to do very well.”

  ‘So why are you so worked up? It‘s just a stupid job.’

  “It is the situation, Neo. Something I never did and I can prove it, yet they still fired me and had the gall to pretend it is a favor for them to not call the cops on me because they would arrest me without question thanks to be born a faunus.” I expin with a frown.

  ‘You can always go full time with us.’

  I slowly get up from Neo’s p and rub the back of my neck, staring into her mismatched eyes. “Neo, I need a legitimate job to keep my home.”

  How can I even expin that I’m not doing anything shady, the very thing humans fear, when I drop them loads of money with no expnation?

  ‘Your loss~~’

  I roll my eyes behind my mask and, with a flick of my wrist, summon a cold drink and hand it to Neo. She takes it with a grin and cracks it open, the fizzling sound of the can opening filling the air.

  A cold drink to ease the mood, I guess.

  ‘We can wreck your old workpce, you know? It will be fun.’

  She takes a long sip and licks her lips from satisfaction before giving it back.

  I drink the cold Pepsi and let out a heavy sigh. “As tempting as that sounds, if I were to do that, they would surely put two and two together and call the police on me. And if that happens, my ndlord would void my contract without appeal and kick me out onto the streets. Good luck finding a new pce after that.”

  One night on the streets was more than enough for me. I don’t need or want a second night.

  Neo pouts momentarily, but her disappointment quickly fades as her eyes light up and a mischievous smile spreads across her face and extends her hand towards me.

  ‘You need to have some fun, and I know just the pce.’

  I hesitate for a moment, looking down at Neo’s outstretched hand, before finally taking it and together we jump off the shipping container. Neo immediately begins brushing off my clothes and booping my nose.

  “Doesn’t Roman have you busy with stuff?” I ask, remembering that she is always away doing something during the day.

  The fashionista merely shrugs.

  He will be pissed.

  “Lead the way,” I finally say, unable to hide the smirk on my face.

  -Later-

  We arrive at a warehouse that looks much grander than Roman’s hideout. It’s bigger and better maintained, giving it a more modern look. Two guards dressed in nondescript gray uniforms stand watch outside the entrance, their only visible weapon being a taser strapped to their belts.

  Neo takes the lead and moves towards the entrance, walking with slow, deliberate steps. Before I can even blink, she disappears from sight. Moments ter, the guards crumple to the ground, knocked out cold with the ice-cream girl standing on top of the unconscious bodies, a satisfied smile pying at the corners of her lips.

  She beckons me over with a pyful gesture to help her drag the bodies out of sight. We dispose of their bodies in a nearby garbage dumpster and close it shut. As I turn around, I see Neo pying with a key ring, twirling it around her fingers with a smug expression before walking towards the main entrance and quickly unlocks the door, giving us access to the mysterious warehouse.

  As I step inside the building, my eyes widen in surprise at the sheer scale of the pce. Row upon row of crates and shelves stretch out before me, each one meticulously organized and beled, along with rge machinery scattered throughout the space.

  Neo quickly moves towards a wooden crate and retrieves the spike from her umbrel, using it to forcefully open the wooden crate before kicking it down. Revealing nothing but colorful clothes.

  She frowns in annoyance and moves towards another crate. Instead of opening it, she destroys it with a swift kick, causing metallic parts and circuits to scatter across the floor.

  All of those broken parts bear a striking resembnce to the famous, or perhaps infamous, Ats knights. My doubts about their origins are resolved when I come across a broken head with the Ats symbol painted on it. “These belong to Ats,” I say, pointing at the head.

  Neo nods, still grinning as she picks up the broken robotic head and pyfully kicks it like a ball, causing it to collide with a shelf and further break apart. She quickly gestures for me to come closer as she grabs a box from the shelf and uses her bde to cut it open, revealing white foam trying to hide a rge blocky object. She pulls it out and sets it down on a nearby crate, gesturing for me to take a look.

  I furrow my brow as I see the Ats symbol once again, but this blocky object is slightly smaller than the broken droid's head and doesn’t appear to be as damaged. If it weren’t for the fading paint and scratches around the edges, I would say it looks brand new.

  ‘Remember the stuff you brought to Roman?’

  I give her a nod in response.

  ‘It was part of this warehouse. Some idiot is smuggling them out of Ats without Roman’s permission.’

  I shift my attention away from the cube and turn to Neo, who is sitting on a nearby crate. “Do criminals even need permission to do things?”Neo tilts her head to the left, a mischievous smile forming on her lips.

  ‘If they want to live.’

  Neo extends her right hand, pointing at the strange robot, silently telling me to pass it to her. I promptly do, throwing it at her, and she quickly catches it with both hands, starting to tinker with it. I’m not exactly sure what she’s doing as she pulls out some cables until a small spark shoots out.

  Suddenly, she throws the mini robot up in the air, and much to my surprise, it activates, bringing forth a pair of propellers that spin so fast they make a buzzing noise.

  However, the small drone’s green light suddenly turns red, and it focuses its only lens on Neo. She merely smirks back and waves a hand. The response is instantaneous, as the drone lunges at her, intent on cutting her with its propellers. Before I can do anything, Neo impales the drone with precision through the lens, effectively shutting it off and stopping its movement.

  Only then does she look at me with a raised eyebrow, amused by my intentions to help her.

  ‘Wanna help me find and destroy these cute little bastards?’

  “It’s this your idea of fun?” I ask.

  She nods as she removes her spike from the robot and throws it away.

  ‘Smashing things is fun!’

  I observe her in disbelief as she picks up a gss chandelier and smashes it against the floor, the sound of breaking gss echoing through the warehouse. She turns to me with a mischievous grin, as if daring me to follow suit. I hesitate for a moment, but I end up grabbing an expensive-looking camera and tossing it to the ground, stomping on it until it is completely broken.

  After looking at my handiwork, I can’t help but agree with her. There’s something satisfying about letting loose and destroying things. So I leave her side and look around, searching for crates and boxes in the search of more of those blocky drones to destroy.

  In the meantime, I destroy whatever catches my eyes on the shelves.

  A mannequin? Smashed.

  A color collection of scrolls? Snapped in half.

  A nice-looking TV? Shattered screen.

  My little spree comes to a halt when I accidentally bump into a marked box. Curiosity getting the best of me, I pry open the box to reveal the drone that Neo had instructed me to destroy earlier. As I pull it out, I notice it is in the same state as the one she had destroyed moments ago, with the small exception that its propellers are now fully exposed. It has razor-sharp bdes which are not only capable of flying but also very capable of cutting flesh.

  An idea forms in my mind, but before I act on it, I quickly check my surroundings to make sure that Neo isn’t lurking nearby but a subsequently crashing sound from the other side of the warehouse told me enough that she won’t be spying on me.

  So, I safely store the drone in my inventory.

  [Ats Manhack v2 has been added to your inventory.]?That’s a somewhat strange name they’ve given to that small machine.

  I shake my head and refocus on my task at hand. Lifting a nearby wooden crate, I sm it against the floor, breaking it into tiny pieces and scattering its contents, which turn out to be nothing of value, just little trinkets. Moving on to another section, I destroy another crate, but this time I’m rewarded as a manhack bounces on the floor. However, this time, I stomp on it repeatedly under my boot, rendering it completely useless.

  I don’t know how much time has passed by, but I manage to find 3 more manhacks and a couple of crates filled with Ats knights’ scraps. That without counting the potential millions of lien in destroyed merchandise.

  Although I kept a few electronics that will be useful in my home, like a multi-use rice cooker, it even has the function to bake cakes!

  ‘Come back to the entrance.’

  I follow her instructions and soon spot the ice-cream girl standing in front of the wide metallic, her umbrel fully open and resting on her shoulder, protecting her from the non-existent sun.

  “I only managed to find three.” I say out loud.

  Neo lifts her hand and fshes a smile of triumph, showing five fingers. I roll my eyes, not realizing we were in a competition. But she says nothing and calmly walks towards the nearest shelf. She delivers a powerful kick that breaks the support, causing the entire row to colpse, and the other rows follow like dominoes.

  To make things even more chaotic, she pulls the fire arm lever, causing the anti-fire mechanism to trigger, and everything, including me, gets drenched.

  “Very funny, Neo. Very funny,” I say, my tone dry.

  She just gives me an innocent smile before grabbing onto my arm and sharing her umbrel as we head towards the back exit. Which was something we wanted to do since it’s likely that a lot of people will rush to the main entrance to see what’s going on.

  And we don’t want to be in the middle of chaos since cops surely will come to investigate.

  Once outside, I finally take off my mask and send it to my inventory and look at Neo with a raised brow. “So care to tell me what that was all about?”

  I would have preferred not getting a shower since didn’t bring any spare clothes with me.

  Neo breaks away from my side and lightly punches my arm before fshing another of her smug smiles before vanishing from sight.

  Pretty soon my scroll rings.

  ‘First to the base!’

  ‘We could have gone together, you know?’

  “;)”

  Soon after her st message, I hear the sirens in the distance, prompting me to leave the area as quickly as possible and avoid any problems. But before I can sprint away, I notice a dder leading to the roof. I quickly climb it and use the rooftops to make my escape, jumping from building to building, feeling the wind.

  On a somewhat positive note, the hideout isn’t too far away, and I reach it in a matter of minutes.

  Since the pce is totally clear from garbage or rubble, I nd gracefully on top of the warehouse and scan the area, spotting an open roof hatch. With my curiosity piqued my interest, and I approached the entrance to investigate. I notice a rge scaffolding below, which seems to have been pced there intentionally for convenient access or a potential escape route.

  Without hesitation, I drop inside the warehouse and take a quick survey of the surroundings. As expected, the pce appears to be just like any other day, with henchmen moving crates and loading or unloading items from trucks.

  Upon closer inspection, I notice that the only difference from a typical day is Roman Torchwick working in another pce that isn’t his metal table. He stands in front of a rge whiteboard, deeply absorbed in studying a map while holding a marker in one hand, while the other hand holds a lit cigarette.

  Meanwhile, Neo seems less focused on that map, lounging on a nearby crate and happily eating a piece of cake.

  I take one final gnce around the warehouse before jumping down to the first level of the scaffolding and finally vaulting over the railing, nding on the floor. Quite loud, I may add.

  Action that startled some workers by accident, causing some of them to drop their crates or even fall on their ass.

  “I see you helped our dear Neo with her little clean up.” Torchwick speaks up, not bothering to turn his attention away from the board.

  “Nothing better to do,” I reply as I walk up to them. Several circle marks are drawn on it, indicating targets, but I don’t know what they actually mean or what would be the purpose.

  Torchwick crosses a picture on the map, quickly revealing it to be the yout of the Industrial District. “Ah, yeah, nothing better to do,” he comments, turning to face me with a smirk. “So that means you’re more than capable and free to do a couple more hits.”

  I point at Neo, who stops mid-bite and tilts her head to the side. “Isn’t that her job?”

  The thief chuckles and looks at the girl. “Do you want to?”

  Neo lowers her half-eaten snack and pces a finger under her chin, looking pensive for a moment before happily nodding. “Well, there you have it! You’ll be hitting those pces as a team.”

  “I wasn’t talking about that,” I grumble. “I only want to do deliveries.”

  “Don’t feel bad, kitten! It’s a cleanup, nothing bad or difficult according to your standards. Just some idiots thinking they can force themselves into my territory. We swipe them off and all things return to normal with our pockets full as a bonus.” He takes a puff from his cigarette. “I promoted you for a reason, didn’t I?”

  “At least they are assholes like you.” I sigh in annoyance.

  “That’s the spirit!” He excims and marks another circle on the map. “With Ats snooping around, they are bound to find out and search for those idiots.”

  Neo starts cpping, her eyes sparkling with excitement. I can’t help but roll my eyes, but if we get to break stuff and take some nice stuff like before, then it won’t be that bad.

  “I think there is a slight change of pns, Roman Torchwick.” A voice echoes across the room, getting everyone’s attention.

  As I look towards the source, I see a woman in a long red dress accompanied by two individuals. One is a green-haired girl, and the other is a haughty-looking guy with silver hair. They walk into the scene with an air of confidence… sheer arrogance would be a better fit, making me frown when they finally stop and the woman steps forward, her heels clicking on the concrete floor.

  Roman merely raises an eyebrow and taps his cigarette to remove the excess ash before putting it back into his mouth.

  “Which one of you idiots called a prostitute here?” He sneers, looking at his henchmen who exchange bewildered gnces.

  I observe a subtle twitch in both women’s expressions at Roman’s btant insult. However, the leader doesn’t retort or try to defend her honor, but she turns to her left and saunters to the nearest worker, who becomes increasingly nervous while her two associates stay behind and smirk.

  The woman in the red dress smiles and pces a hand on the man’s shoulder.

  And he becomes ashes.

  OH GODS HE WAS LITERALLY BURNT TO ASHES!

  He wasn’t given even the chance to scream, and now he was nothing but a small pile of ashes on the floor.

  I don’t even know how much time has passed as everyone, absolutely everyone, stares in silent shock at the scene. Only one of the men lets out a scream and runs terrified for his life, the rest dropping everything and following the screaming man.

  This leaves only the three of us with the smiling monster and her cronies.

  Not daring to look away from the red woman, I give a sidelong gnce to Neo, who has a deep scowl on her face, her hand tightly gripping her weapon.

  I shift my attention to Torchwick, who just stares sck-jawed, causing his cigarette to fall to the floor.

  “I think I’ve got your full attention, haven’t I?” she says with a smirk and her eyes burning.

  I want out.