Sydney grabbed the cloth-wrapped bundle with both hands, her fingers trembling against the dark fabric as she hurried down the high-arched corridors of the secure sector. I followed right behind her, the heavy weight of the custom Death Chant Shotgun, the black-and-silver original Tommy gun, and the single bootleg copy shifting silently beneath my canvas cloak.
She threw open the heavy mahogany doors to the executive office, revealing Chief Anton sitting behind a massive desk buried under towering mountain ranges of official knight bureau paperwork. He looked up, blinking tirely through his spectacles.
"Greetings, Eirene, how can I help you today? I see you're keeping Sydney on her toes."
Sydney couldn't even wait for me to present the claim. "Chief Anton!" she gasped, her voice strained with absolute paranoia as she stepped forward.
"Eirene... Eirene just slaughtered the supreme leader of the arms trafficking guild! This is Don Anthony!"
Before she could fumble with the knots, I reached out with my single right hand, snatched the heavy bundle from her grip, and casually tossed it across the room. Chief Anton's reflexes kicked in; he caught the wet, heavy cloth smoothly out of the air. He unrolled the edge just enough to peek inside at the charred, grim features of the criminal mastermind. Because I hadn't meticulously sliced his neck with a blade… choosing instead to let the catastrophic forest explosion tear his vanguard apart and decapitate him in a blast of fiery shrapnel… the edges of the trophy were rugged and blackened by soot.
Anton's eyes widened behind his lenses. For a brief second, the veteran commander looked entirely stunned.
"Eirene… take a seat."
He immediately swept his hands across the desk, clearing away the tall stacks of open field reports and logistics ledgers, pushing them to the side so that nothing stood between us. The mundane bureaucracy of the city was completely discarded; I now had his absolute, undivided attention. Sydney pulled up a chair right next to me, her chest still heaving as she stared at my shadowed hood.
"Eirene, first it was the Lotus Queen, Oksana, just weeks ago, you completely dismantled her entire narcotics empire and crushed her cartel in four days. Now, you bring in the absolute leader of the arms trafficking guild, Don Anthony! In the name of the gods, how did you do that? You have single-handedly taken down two legendary, untouchable S-rank bounties in the span of less than two weeks! Both of them have been a massive, agonizing pain in the Bureau's side for years, and you just went out and liquidated them like it was nothing!"
I remained completely silent, staring back at them through the deep shadow of my hood with my single green eye. Anton knew my operational profile well enough to remember that I was entirely mute in this state, incapable of offering a verbal boast or explaining the intricate blood magic and tactical execution that had laid the mafia to rest. I could have easily used my shapeshifting to temporarily restore my vocal cords and my tongue, but in the heart of the Luminous Bureau, it was far safer to stick to my current persona. My silence only added to the terrifying, mythical aura of the legendary hunter Eirene. I let the charred head on the desk do all the talking for me.
Chief Anton stared at the charred head of Don Anthony for a long moment before looking back up at me, a profound look of respect hardening his weathered features.
"You've done more for this bureau in two weeks than entire battalions of knights achieve in a year,
It's almost absurd to say thank you at this point… dealing with S-rank bounties seems like nothing more than a piece of cake to you. Tell me, Eirene, what is it that you need from us today?"
Sydney nodded vigorously beside him.
"Yes, Eirene. Name it. Whatever the Bureau can provide, you've earned it tenfold."
Remaining entirely stoic, I reached into my purse and pulled out my personal notepad along with a ridiculously short, stubby pencil… one that had been sharpened so many times it was practically running out of lead. Holding it firmly in my right hand, I quickly scribbled down a concise list of demands and slid the paper across the cleared desk.
The listings were direct and to the point:
1. My five gold for the bounty.
2. The files for Vanessa.
3. The church made by Father Columbia.
4. Nearest orphanage.
5. Where is Alta Granite?
6. ESPECIALLY, don't tell my siblings any of this.
Anton adjusted his spectacles and began reading the requests in silence.
To me, the checklist was perfectly aligned with the day's heavy deadlines. First, I needed to collect my hard-earned reward of five gold pieces for putting an end to the arms trafficking kingpin. Second, I required the highly classified intelligence files on the immoral rogue knights to pinpoint Vanessa Katt's exact whereabouts. Third, I needed the location of the church established by that fascinating reincarnated soul from Earth, Father Columbia. Fourth, I needed the coordinates of the nearest orphanage so I could quietly drop off the 30 stolen gold coins and satisfy my kinder heart. Fifth, I needed to confirm Alta Granite's current location so I could track her down and hand over the bootleg Tommy gun strapped to my spine.
But the final rule on that paper was by far the most critical of all:
"my siblings could never find out about any of this."
The grand, staggering irony of my life was that back at our family home in Town Allure, my brothers and sisters knew me strictly as Eirene the ordinary commoner… the quiet, dependable sister who helped manage the family meat shop. They thought I was just a simple butcher's assistant. They had absolutely no earthly idea that here in Caria, I was a legendary, lethal bounty hunter who had single-handedly dismantled two of the most dangerous S-rank criminal organizations in Andromeda in less than a fortnight. If Elias, the Shadow Walker, or any of the others caught wind of my true operations, my double life would shatter instantly.
I kept my single green eye locked on Chief Anton, waiting for his response as he finished processing the list.
Chief Anton let out a slow, deliberate breath as he finished reading the stubby pencil markings on my notepad. He looked up, a faint smile of deep administrative relief touching his lips.
"Well, you certainly came to the right place, the rewards and the highly classified files on Vanessa Katt are already being processed by Sydney. But as for the rest of your inquiries, I can give you the exact coordinates right now."
He tapped the paper, running his finger down my list.
"First, this Father Columbia character. If you're looking for his 'church,' you'll need to head straight down to the 7th District… the entertainment district. It's an unusual place for a holy man, but he managed to rent out a prominent commercial building to preach this new faith of his. He's managed to gather a small, highly dedicated group of followers out there. According to our intelligence monitors, he has even transcribed a massive, complex holy text he calls 'The Bible.' We still have no idea what that word actually means, but he treats it with absolute authority."
Anton then looked up, a soft, respectful nod directed at my hidden face.
"As for your request about the nearest orphanage... Eirene, if you truly want to contribute to the local children, you don't even need to march down to the slums. You can actually submit your donation directly into the Bureau's official charity fund right here. It would be a monumental help to the city if your hard-earned five gold reward from executing Don Anthony was donated straight into our system. We can handle the distribution for you."
I kept my expression entirely stoic beneath my hood. Anton assumed I wanted to donate my bounty reward. He had absolutely no clue that the five gold coins from the Bureau were going directly into my personal pocket to fund my weapons manufacturing, and that the actual donation I was carrying was the secret stash of 30 heavy, 1.2-cm radius gold pieces I had personally plundered from the mafia's central vault. I let him keep his assumptions; it only made me look more like a saintly hero.
"And regarding Alta Granite, your instincts were completely correct. She is currently stationed at the Capital Knight Bureau Association or CKBA. She has swiftly risen to become one of the top contributors to the local monster-hunting boards, and our real-time roster confirms she is active in their main hall right now."
Finally, Anton's face turned incredibly serious, his tone dropping to a quiet, ironclad promise.
"And as for your final rule... I give you my word as Chief of this Bureau. I will keep your secrets absolutely safe. I will ensure your name is never plastered across the Caria Times or any other public newspapers for these assassinations. And I will never reveal to your older brother Elias or your older sister that you are the legendary, lethal bounty hunter who just single-handedly dismantled two S-rank criminal empires in two weeks."
To emphasize his commitment to my cover, Anton reached into a secure iron lockbox behind his desk and pulled out a physical document… the official, state-sanctioned record of my civilian identity within the kingdom's archives. He slid the parchment across the wood so I could verify it.
I leaned down slightly, my single green eye focusing on the ink. The record read precisely:
Records of Eirene (FAKE)
Name: Eirene Rynd
Age: 18 Years Old
Registered Profession: Appraiser
Combat Assessment: None. Zero combat experience. Ordinary commoner.
Looking at the paper, a wave of deep, internal satisfaction washed over me. To the entire world… and especially to my elite investigator brother Elias… I was just a harmless, fragile teenager who evaluated the monetary value of trinkets and helped out at the family meat shop back in Town Allure.
The Bureau was playing its part perfectly. My double life was flawlessly protected, my targets were mapped out, and the massive chess board of Caria was officially mine to command. I reached out, sliding my civilian record back to Anton, and waited for Sydney to return with the bags of gold and the top-secret intelligence on Vanessa's location.
I tore the top sheet off my notepad with a crisp snap, sliding it across the polished mahogany desk toward Chief Anton. Right beside the paper, I unclipped the heavy canvas pouch from my belt and dumped its contents. Thirty massive, gleaming gold pieces… each a pristine token of the arms trafficking guild's blood money… clattered loudly onto the wood, stacking up in a heavy, opulent tower.
Anton looked down at the note I had just scrawled, his eyes reading the blunt message:
"I looted it at Don Anthony safe, give it to the orphanage."
The Chief's jaw practically dropped. He stared at the mountain of gold, completely dumbfounded by the sheer audacity of my thievery. I hadn't just executed the most feared crime lord in Andromeda; I had casually cleaned out his most secure personal vault right under the noses of his entire syndicate. A slow, deeply impressed nod formed on Anton's face as he realized the magnitude of my success. He gestured sharply to Sydney, who quickly gathered up the 30 gold coins with trembling hands and hurried out of the room to process the massive donation, leaving just the two of us in the quiet office.
With the room secure, Anton reached into his lower desk drawer and pulled out my official reward. He counted out five heavy, pristine gold pieces… my formal bounty payment for the execution of Don Anthony… and pushed them toward me. Right beside the coin pouch, he laid down a thick, wax-sealed folder stamped with the highest clearance level of the Bureau.
The classified files on Vanessa Katt.
I reached out my single right hand, sliding the heavy document folder beneath the dark folds of my canvas cloak. A cold, ruthless satisfaction flared within my chest. I was now only a few steps away from claiming the legendary bounty on the Immoral Commander, Cameron. Armed with this definitive intelligence on the exact location of his beloved wife, my infiltration strategy was perfectly mapped out. I would hunt Vanessa down, subject her to a swift, uncompromising interrogation to harvest every scrap of personal data, and then utilize my advanced shapeshifting ability to steal her identity. Disguised flawlessly as the Commander's wife, I would march straight into the heart of the rogue knights' heavily fortified base without drawing a single blade. It would be an absolute piece of cake.
My objectives at the LKBA were officially complete. I gripped the armrests of my chair, preparing to stand up so I could begin the next phase of my journey… descending into the chaotic markets of the 6th District to procure the rare medical supplies and volatile chemical compounds required to brew Maine's lethal tear gas formula.
But just as my boots pressed against the floorboards, the heavy mahogany doors of Chief Anton's office swung open with a sudden, authoritative click.
The heavy, metallic scent of high-grade enchantments and disciplined martial prowess immediately flooded the room. Three figures stepped across the threshold. Leading the group was a fiercely disciplined vanguard flanked by two elite companions: a high-ranking, staff-wielding mage and a heavily armored paladin radiating holy aura.
My breath hitched silently beneath my deep hood, and my single green eye narrowed to a razor-sharp point.
Walking directly into the room, his perceptive eyes already scanning the cleared desk and the faint, lingering scent of soot, was none other than the legendary Shadow Walker himself.
My older brother, Elias Rynd.