Great Knight Territory, Kawalerielki
With the qualifiers for the 23rd Knight Major only six months away, construction speed had accelerated on the largest arena in Kawalerielki, built specifically for this event. Compared to previous iterations, the Chamber of Commerce wanted to hype this year's champion into the most popular star athlete, so they were building momentum starting with the venue itself.
But inside the Chamber of Commerce tower, which stood tall in the very center of the Great Knight Territory's downtown, it was exceptionally silent.
Councilman Barton stood in his office, his face grim. He had a habit of standing by the huge floor-to-ceiling window in his spare time, looking down on the entire Great Knight Territory, as if all of Kazimierz was in his grasp. To outsiders, Councilman Barton was the absolute spokesperson for the Chamber of Commerce, sitting on equal footing with the Grand Knight Commander of the Supervisory Commission, controlling all of Kazimierz together. In reality, only Councilman Barton himself knew that above him, there were major figures even he feared.
These major figures were different from entrepreneurs like him who had tangible businesses. No one knew what they had, but a single word from them could make all of Kazimierz 'quake'.
They didn't actually care about the deaths of the two magnates, Taylor and Corbett. Dead was dead. The boards of both companies had already nominated their pre-selected candidates as chairmen, who would continue to serve as third-level magnates and council members for the Chamber of Commerce, as if the two men had never been important at all.
The reason Councilman Barton looked grim wasn't because of those two, but because of the killer...
The killer hadn't been found... Even after a solid week of investigation, not a single clue had been uncovered. Magnates of this level certainly valued their lives. Even at home, their security was layers deep. But even under such strict security, they were still killed soundlessly. Such an assassin...
Who wouldn't be afraid?
Of those who became Chamber of Commerce magnates, how many didn't have blood on their hands or enemies? With such an unknown assassin at large, it was like a sword hanging over everyone's head. They feared that at any moment, the blade would fall from the sky, and they would end up like Taylor, Corbett, and the other four: head separated from body.
Therefore, Councilman Barton had recently invited other council members and members to a general meeting. But unexpectedly, almost no one came. In the end, they had to hold the meeting online. Many of the council members and other magnates, who had plenty of blood on their hands, had been terrified ever since hearing Taylor was dead. They holed up in their safe houses, daring not to come out. Even when they had to "attend" an external meeting, they used body doubles who looked like them.
"Mr. Barton."
The Armorless Union's Lazurites, Roy and Monique, walked in.
Councilman Barton's expression softened slightly: "Have you found anything, Mr. Roy, Ms. Monique?"
"Our Armorless Union members investigated everyone the six had simultaneously offended during this period, but we found nothing. During this time, the six of them liked to use high prize money to attract a large batch of independent knights to participate in matches, only to torture and kill them in various ways. But all these people were, without exception, ordinary people with no background. However, there was one little squirrel named Sona who was quite rare, having survived two of their matches and even winning a lot of money."
"According to Taylor's secretary, they were quite optimistic about that little squirrel and even helped her register for the regular season match in a month, despite her status as an Infected."
Councilman Barton's expression didn't change: "How strong is that little squirrel?"
"If she fights for her life, she can barely defeat the 'Devil Knight'. And the 'Devil Knight' is barely at the level of a top-four qualifier knight."
"A knight who's only top-four in the qualifiers could kill Taylor like this?"
Roy smiled and shook his head: "Of course not. Even a champion knight couldn't. Or rather, if I were to do the killing, I might be able to do it with a bow and arrow. But with a sword, I couldn't possibly be so clean and efficient. Unless, perhaps, a Darksteel Azurite did it themselves."
The serious Monique, standing next to Roy, interrupted him.
"Mr. Barton, I investigated related Originium Arts abilities during this time and actually found something. Historically, there has indeed been a spatial-ability Originium Art that can instantly transport oneself and anyone they touch to a pre-marked location. However, this type of Originium Art is extremely rare. It hasn't appeared many times in Terra's history, and even today, there are probably only a few people in the entire world who possess it. Therefore, we speculate that the killer definitely has spatial-related Originium Arts. They teleported the six magnates away, killed them, and then teleported them back."
"To possess that kind of Originium Art, and that level of swordsmanship... I estimate their strength is no less than a Darksteel Azurite."
Councilman Barton just felt a headache coming on.
A sword-user, strength rivaling a Darksteel Azurite, and proficient in spatial Originium Arts....
"Thank you for your hard work."
————————
With the Knight Major only six months away, and this incident suddenly blowing up, the Chamber of Commerce was in chaos. Many of the council members and magnates who had done dirty deeds hid in their homes, afraid to come out, fearing they would be the next one to get picked off. It would be awkward if their head landed on the ground and they met Taylor in hell.
Meanwhile, the killers, Lucas Reeve and Sona, had a rare few days of leisure.
With money, the whole family moved into the new house. Although 150 square meters was a bit crowded, they used partitions to divide the space into more small rooms, making it barely livable. The remaining two million-plus was enough for them to live on for a long, long time.
*Ding-dong.*
As the doorbell rang, Sona, who was in her room listening to Lucas Reeve's daily boasting and storytelling, felt her squirrel ears perk up instantly. She had been terrified of knocking sounds lately, afraid it was the Chamber of Commerce.
"There's a pretty girl at the door."
Before Sona could open the door, Lucas Reeve had already spread his Spiritual Power and seen the person outside.
"A pretty girl?"
Sona froze, told the children playing in the living room to go back to their rooms, and then cautiously went to open the door.
The door opened.
Sona was stunned. It was just as Lucas Reeve had said: a very pretty Kuranta girl was standing at the door.
She wore a white top and jacket. The jacket and top weren't very large; even standing still, one could faintly see her flat, pale stomach. Her lower body was clad in matching athletic shorts that stopped at her hips. They weren't tight, but they still highlighted the contours of her hipbones. A slender waist and perky hips—even without a side view, it was easy to guess how exquisite this pretty Kuranta girl's figure was.
Her legs were wrapped in black over-the-knee socks. Her thighs were long and her leg shape was perfect.
Most dazzling were her long, silvery-white hair and matching silvery-white ears. Her eyes were a similar color to Sona's, a bright brown. Her features were delicate and cute. Standing there, she looked like a porcelain doll.
Sona didn't know her.
"Mr. Reeve, do you know this young lady?"
"Nope..."
Lucas Reeve's denial made Sona's heart leap into her throat. She didn't let her guard down just because of the other person's appearance.
Lucas Reeve observed the girl carefully through Sona's eyes. It was obvious she had come here specifically. Although her figure looked slender, it unscientifically pulsed with a strong sense of power. The muscles under her skin were clearly a product of intense training. Though she looked thin, her strength was definitely not small. She was a skilled girl, much stronger than that 'Devil Knight'.
Probably from the Chamber of Commerce.
In truth, Lucas Reeve knew they would definitely suspect Sona. But suspicion was one thing; they would never *really* think Sona did it. Sending someone over was just a routine visit. From the impatience and laziness in the beautiful girl's eyes, Lucas Reeve could easily tell... she wanted to get off work.
She would probably just come in, ask a few simple questions, and leave.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Centaurea, from the Chamber of Commerce."
Centaurea said calmly. The Armorless Union was a secret organization to ordinary people, so its members usually claimed to be from the Chamber of Commerce when outside.
As expected...
Sona's heart instantly tensed.
"May I ask... is something wrong?"
Sona showed a hint of fear. If she were calm, it might be suspicious.
"It's like this, Miss Sona. Have you seen the news these past few days? Several of Kazimierz's magnates are dead."
"Yes..."
"Those men were the organizers of the two private matches you participated in."
"So...."
Centaurea shook her head: "Don't misunderstand. We don't suspect you."
Then, Centaurea thought to herself, *And you couldn't have done it, so don't overthink it.* She glanced at the ladies' watch on her wrist. The hands had already passed 5:30. Quitting time... Centaurea just wanted to finish questioning and leave, go home, change into loose pajamas, lie on her bed, drink a glass of milk, and put on a face mask.
"I'll ask, you just need to answer."
"Do you know Taylor and Corbett?"
"No."
"Are you the only one who survived both matches?"
"I think so."
"Alright, sorry to bother you."
Centaurea asked a few random questions, going through the motions for her boss. She looked at her watch again. 5:33... Three whole minutes of overtime.
After leaving, Centaurea called her superior.
"I've investigated the little squirrel. No issues."
"Mm."
Roy, on the phone, just grunted. In reality, this investigation was just a formality. After all, he didn't believe this little squirrel was the killer either. How could she be....
Only a complete idiot would think a little squirrel, who wasn't even an official knight and joined those boring matches just to survive, was the killer.
"Platinum Azurite, I'm about to send you info on an assassination target. He's leaving tonight, so kill him before tomorrow morning. Sorry to make you work overtime."
Centaurea: "???"
After Centaurea left.
Sona let out a massive sigh of relief.
As the accomplice who provided the body, Sona was still terrified of being exposed. But from the conversation, Sona was completely at ease. They really didn't seem to think she was the killer. Even Sona herself didn't think so. If it weren't for Lucas Reeve, Sona wouldn't believe she could assassinate those bigwigs. And Sona was the only one who knew of Lucas Reeve's existence. Others could think for a lifetime and never guess.
Sona returned to her room. Lucas Reeve drilled out of her body.
The TV in the room was playing the news.
"Following the popularity of the documentary "The Infected" from the famous Columbia directors Lucas Reeve and Nian in Kazimierz, a considerable portion of the public has proposed online that the living conditions of the Infected in Kazimierz should be improved, giving them the same rights as ordinary Kazimierz citizens. Therefore, after discussion among many council members of the Chamber of Commerce, the council recently proposed that, to protect the basic rights of the Infected, starting from this year's Knight Major, all official Knight Majors will attempt to open participation to the Infected. Even the Infected can have the right to become titled knights!"
Sona: "???"
"Lu... Lucas Reeve???"
Sona suddenly froze.
That name??
Sona looked up in disbelief at Lucas Reeve floating in the air: "Mr. Reeve, what's your name?"
Lucas Reeve looked speechlessly at Sona: "Master, what line of work are you in?"
"This...."
Sona looked back and forth between the TV and Lucas Reeve, completely stunned.
"Mr. Reeve! Are you the one who filmed this documentary??"
"Indeed."
"!!!"