The office remained covered in thick smoke.
Shouts echoed from every direction.
Clang!
Kaito slipped between the confused guards like a shadow.
One by one, he caught glimpses of the strange purple symbols hidden beneath their sleeves.
"There."
With a swift motion, he tore the first one away.
Rip!
The guard blinked in confusion.
"...Huh?"
Kaito was already moving to the next.
Another symbol.
Another tear.
Rip!
Within seconds, the remaining guards began lowering their weapons, their eyes clearing as the strange control disappeared.
Across the room—
Henry heard footsteps rushing toward him.
He immediately raised a pistol.
Bang!
Saito tilted his head.
The bullet whistled past his ear.
He lunged forward.
Henry tried to step back.
Too late.
Saito grabbed Henry's wrist.
As they struggled, Saito noticed a faint purple mark wrapped around Henry's forearm.
"There you are."
Without hesitation—
he grabbed the edge of the mark.
Rrip!
The symbol peeled away.
Purple fragments scattered into the smoke before vanishing.
Henry's body suddenly went limp.
His pistol slipped from his hand.
Clatter.
He collapsed onto one knee.
A few moments later—
the smoke slowly began to clear.
The office came back into view.
The guards looked around in confusion.
"...What's going on?"
"...Why am I holding a gun?"
"...What happened?"
Near the doorway, Scrapper slowly pushed himself into a sitting position.
He rubbed his head.
"...What happened?"
Rin let out a tired laugh.
"You just got mind controlled."
Scrapper looked down at his hands.
"...Again..."
Across the office, Henry coughed.
"Cough... Cough..."
He slowly looked up.
His eyes wandered across the room.
They settled on Saito and the Blue Scarf crew.
A confused expression spread across his face.
"...Who are you?"
He looked around his office in disbelief.
"...Why are you in my office?"
Saito and Kaito exchanged a brief glance.
Whatever Void had done...
...it had affected far more people than they had first realized.
Warren looked around the office.
The guards had lowered their weapons.
Henry was on one knee.
The strange purple symbols were gone.
He clicked his tongue.
"...I wasn't paid enough for this."
Before anyone could react—
he turned.
Whoosh.
He disappeared through the doorway.
Saito's eyes widened.
"Hey!"
"Wait!"
He sprinted after him.
By the time he reached the hallway—
it was empty.
Only silence remained.
"...Tch."
"He got away."
Saito returned to the office.
Henry was still looking around in confusion.
"I asked..."
"...what are you all doing here?"
The guards instinctively stepped in front of Henry.
Their rifles rose once again.
Saito raised both hands.
"We're not here to fight."
Henry frowned.
"...Then why are you here?"
Saito answered calmly.
"We came to settle a debt."
Henry blinked.
"...Debt?"
His eyes moved past Saito.
They landed on Malfoy.
"...Sir Malfoy?"
Malfoy nodded.
"Yes."
Henry looked genuinely surprised.
"Why are you here?"
Malfoy held up the empty envelope.
"To pay my debt."
Henry stared at him.
"...Debt?"
He shook his head.
"I already told you..."
"...not to pay it."
"It's free."
"On the house."
The entire room fell silent.
Bomb looked at Kaito.
Kaito slowly nodded.
Saito let out a quiet sigh.
"You really were being controlled."
Henry looked at him.
"...What?"
Saito folded his arms.
"You were under mind control."
"You demanded more and more money from Malfoy."
"You even tried to hire us as your bodyguards."
Henry's face drained of color.
"...Crap..."
He looked at Malfoy with genuine regret.
"...Sir Malfoy."
"I'm sorry."
"I don't remember any of that."
Malfoy smiled gently.
"It's okay."
Henry took a deep breath before turning to his guards.
"Stand down."
The guards immediately lowered their weapons.
"Yes, sir."
The office finally relaxed.
But Saito remained thoughtful.
Void had never entered the room...
Yet somehow, he had turned an honest businessman into an unwilling puppet.
For the first time, Saito realized that some enemies could leave chaos behind without ever being present themselves.
The tension from the office had finally faded.
Henry Company's dining room...
A long wooden table was covered with steaming dishes, fresh bread, roasted meat, fruit, and bottles of wine.
The Blue Scarf crew sat together with Malfoy and Scrapper.
Henry stood at the head of the table with a polite smile.
"Please."
"Enjoy the meal."
"It's on the house."
Saito's eyes sparkled.
"...Free food?"
Without another word, he picked up his utensils.
"Then I'm eating."
Bomb laughed.
"Captain didn't even hesitate."
Fanny giggled as Saito happily filled his plate.
Kaito quietly poured himself a cup of wine.
Henry walked over to him.
"I'm sorry..."
"...for causing you trouble."
He bowed his head slightly.
"Eight Assassin."
Kaito took a sip before answering.
"It's okay."
Henry nodded.
"And..."
"I'm also sorry for almost hurting your subordinates."
Kaito looked at him for a moment.
"...Subordinates?"
Henry blinked.
"Isn't this your crew?"
Kaito calmly shook his head.
"No."
He pointed across the table.
Saito was too busy eating to notice.
"...It's him."
Henry followed Kaito's finger.
"Oh..."
"Blue Scarf."
Saito finally looked up, still chewing.
"...What?"
Henry bowed toward him.
"I want to apologize for everything that happened today."
Before he could continue—
Saito raised a hand.
"It's okay."
He swallowed another bite of food.
"Just don't let yourself get mind-controlled again."
Henry couldn't help but laugh.
"I'll do my best."
Bomb grinned.
"That's one strange apology."
Rin leaned back in his chair.
"At least nobody died."
Alya, now with a bandage wrapped around her side, smiled faintly.
"I'd prefer if our next meeting involved less getting thrown into walls."
Scrapper rubbed the back of his neck.
"...I'd prefer not attacking my own allies again."
Fanny smiled as the atmosphere around the table relaxed.
For the first time since entering the building, everyone was simply sharing a meal together, leaving the chaos of the battle behind—though the name Void still lingered quietly in the back of their minds.
Saito set down his fork.
He looked across the table at Henry.
"Anyway..."
"Just how rich are you?"
Henry smiled and took a sip of his wine.
"Let's just say..."
"I could buy an entire city if I wanted to."
Bomb nearly choked on his drink.
"A city?!"
Saito blinked.
"...That's rich."
Henry laughed.
"It didn't happen overnight."
"It's all thanks to my suppliers..."
"...and my workers."
He looked toward Malfoy with a warm smile.
"Especially..."
"...my most trusted supplier."
"Sir Malfoy."
Saito turned to Malfoy.
"So..."
"You're his supplier?"
Malfoy nodded.
"That's right."
Henry continued.
"Sir Malfoy provides the finest wine in all of Roma City."
"I've worked with him for years."
"He has never failed to deliver quality."
Malfoy smiled modestly.
"You flatter me, Sir Henry."
Henry shook his head.
"I'm only speaking the truth."
He lifted his glass.
"A business survives because of trust."
"And Sir Malfoy has earned mine."
Fanny looked proudly at her father.
"I knew Dad was good..."
"But I didn't know he was that good."
Malfoy chuckled softly.
"I just do my job."
Saito smiled.
"Looks like we were protecting a celebrity without realizing it."
The table erupted in laughter.
Even Henry joined in, the tense atmosphere from earlier replaced by the easy conversation of people finally getting to know one another beyond misunderstandings and conflict.
Henry smiled and raised his glass.
"Now..."
"Less speaking..."
"And more eating."
"Don't be shy to ask for more."Hello There, if you like this and would want to see more of this, make sure to leave the comments and support with power stones
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