Chapter 116
Chapter 116
An Unexpected Alliance (2)
What kind of relationship existed between Kairus and Featherwing?
It was something the Aylan Republic had been curious about, and Cecilia too shared that curiosity.
Originally, no one in Bennett City cared about the past identities of those who ended up there. After all, the histories of the people who rolled into this place were always tattered and frayed.
Although Kairus used the Swift Blade, the House Featherwing had never been reluctant to share its teachings about the Swift Blade with others.
Even without counting Kairus, there were quite a few people in Bennett City who could use the Swift Blade.
However, the fact that the Aylan Republic was taking interest and investigating his possible connection to Featherwing meant there was something about Kairus that drew their attention.
“Hello!”
“Not so good.”
Kairus stared at the blonde, blue-eyed girl who suddenly burst through his office door and greeted him, his eyes filled with irritation.
“I was hoping you’d at least welcome me a little.”
“Is there a reason I should?”
At his words, Nora’s expression visibly darkened.
“I’d be happy even if you just pretended to be glad to see me.”
“I have no reason to make you happy.”
Kairus’s tone remained sharp.
As a Featherwing, he already held an unfavorable impression of the Lunaseeker, and they had tried to slit each other’s throats during the battle for Pontus.
He had even thought she’d left Bennett City, and now here she was, barging into his office—there was no way Nora Galatea’s appearance could be a pleasant surprise to him.
“Well, you see… I got caught while trying to run away.”
“Bullshit. Who’d catch a runaway Lunaseeker?”
At Kairus’s words, Nora smacked her lips and replied,
“The Representative of the Rose Garden.”
“That makes sense.”
He had spoken as if no one could ever catch a fleeing Lunaseeker, but things were different when the pursuer was Cecilia Longhorn.
There were plenty of monsters that broke common sense, and Kairus knew very well that Cecilia was one of those beyond-measure monsters.
“Why did she catch you?”
“I don’t know. See this tattoo on my neck?”
Nora showed him the tattoo engraved on her neck, then explained its purpose to him.
“Well, isn’t that something.”
“What’s something is my luck. I went through hell to become an agent, and now I’m just a hostage.”
After letting out a deep sigh, Nora pointed her index finger at Kairus.
“Anyway, I’m here under orders from my new master, so I can’t just go back.”
Cecilia had ordered Nora to work with Kairus for the time being. Simply put, she had sent a spy—one who openly declared herself as such.
“Well, I guess you’ll be of some help.”
A Lunaseeker agent with proven skill would now be accompanying Kairus.
Although relations between Featherwing and the Lunaseeker hadn’t been good, that was all in the past. With Featherwing now destroyed, none of it mattered anymore.
“…Fine.”
After staring at Nora Galatea for a while, Kairus finally nodded.
Reinforcing his fighting power wasn’t a bad thing. It only bothered him that she was someone Cecilia had attached to him.
Kairus wasn’t in any position to interfere with Cecilia’s plans. In fact, within this city, there were probably only about seven people who could challenge her schemes at all.
That was exactly why Cecilia had sent the spy so openly—as if saying, What are you going to do about it?
“Let’s work well together.”
When Kairus held out his hand, Nora’s blue eyes blinked in surprise. Then, with a mischievous grin, she smirked like a prankster.
“You’re really going to shake hands with a Lunaseeker? One slip and you might end up pricked by a needle and gone for good.”
“The Representative of the Rose Garden ordered this. She’s far scarier than the likes of you.”
At his words, Nora gave a small nod and took his hand.
“How much is the salary?”
“What, you want money?”
The warm air that had filled the room for an instant vanished in a blink at Nora’s sudden question.
“You’re planning to use me for free?! That’s not fair! Pay me!”
When Kairus showed no sign of agreeing, her speech slipped naturally into casual tone.
Still, Kairus didn’t think her demand was completely absurd. If it were possible to hire a Lunaseeker agent with money, anyone would be willing to pay a hefty sum.
“I can’t give you a salary. We just started this business ourselves. But we can split whatever profits we make.”
Not everyone working in the office received a monthly wage. Dividing up the payment from completed requests was something Kairus could easily agree to.
“The Lunaseeker used to pay salaries. I want a salary too.”
Judging by her continued casual tone, she’d clearly given up on being polite.
“And this isn’t the Lunaseeker Agency, kid.”
Kairus immediately dismissed Nora’s whining. Whatever she had done with the Lunaseeker was none of his concern.
He didn’t know how long they’d be working together, but if they had to, it would be Kairus who held the leash.
“Hee-ing.”
“Hee-ing? I didn’t think anyone actually made that sound out loud. Just swear, will you? That gave me goosebumps.”
While boiling water for tea, Kairus shot her a remark, then began writing something down on a sheet of paper.
“What’s that?”
“A contract guaranteed by the Rose Garden.”
Kairus explained to Nora the importance of receiving the Rose Garden’s guarantee.
“I get it. If I break the promise, the Representative comes and chops off my head, right?”
“Excellent intuition.”
After finishing the document, Kairus handed the contract to Nora.
“You can read, right?”
There was no way the Lunaseeker skipped education. If necessary, they could probably even teach someone how to play the geomungo of the Daeyeon Kingdom.
“My share looks too small. Can’t you raise it a bit? Maybe by five percent?”
“You’re a greedy kid.”
Though he said that, Kairus calmly changed the percentage.
“Better now?”
Instead of replying, Nora nodded. He didn’t know how long this would last, but for now, that made three members in the office Kairus had built.
A direct descendant of Featherwing.
A knight of the Scarlet Leaf Order and the only daughter of the Kellogg family.
And now, a Lunaseeker agent.
“With this lineup, we won’t be getting pushed around anywhere.”
The three of them together could handle one or two mid-tier organizations in Bennett City without much trouble.
In a city where power spoke for everything, having strength meant having more choices.
“Oh, and this too.”
While looking curiously around the office, Nora suddenly remembered the letter Cecilia had given her and handed it to Kairus.
“Three sheets.”
It was the letter of recommendation Cecilia had promised. She had originally said there would be two, but there were three inside the envelope.
Since Nora had joined them, Cecilia must have prepared one for her as well. Kairus handed one of the letters to Nora and explained its use.
“I understand. So when does the evaluation start?”
“All I’ve heard is that it’ll begin soon.”
While Kairus and Nora were talking, the door opened and Irena came in.
“Wha—?!”
“Oh my god!”
The moment Irena saw Nora’s face, she immediately swung her sword at Nora’s neck.
Startled, Nora drew her yataghan and blocked Irena’s slash.
“Say hello. She’s a teammate you’ll be working with for a while.”
A metallic shriek, like a scream, rang out between the clashing weapons.
“What he said is true. I’ll be working with you for the time being.”
“This is insane.”
Muttering that, Irena sheathed her sword.
“I don’t care since her skills are proven. But how am I supposed to trust a dog of the Republic?”
At Irena’s words, Nora flared up.
“And you’re a dog of the Empire!”
At Nora’s retort, Kairus let out a small “Oh ho.”
“She’s not wrong.”
Irena belonged to the Scarlet Leaf Order, so calling her a dog of the Empire was actually quite accurate.
“…”
Irena couldn’t deny it and fell silent.
“Where you’re from or what you’ve done doesn’t matter. If you have skill, that’s enough.”
He had no intention of taking on any new requests until the regular qualification review was over.
‘The request isn’t what matters.’
It was unlikely that Nora Galatea would be staying with Kairus for long.
If that was the case, then she needed to gain as much benefit as possible during the short time they had together.
‘Something like real combat experience.’
An opportunity to fight a Lunaseeker agent while having one’s life guaranteed was extremely rare.
No—under normal circumstances, it shouldn’t even be possible. When fighting a Lunaseeker agent, one side always ended up dead—either the opponent or yourself.
Since such a rare opportunity had presented itself, it had to be taken full advantage of.
“Follow me.”
There was an open lot where Irena and Kairus often sparred. The two of them took Nora Galatea there.
‘Well, a good thing’s a good thing.’
It wasn’t as though Nora Galatea couldn’t guess what Irena and Kairus were thinking. Having little social experience didn’t mean being stupid.
She could tell they wanted to sharpen their skills by sparring with a Lunaseeker, but from Nora’s perspective, that was fine with her.
‘One’s from the Scarlet Leaf Order, the other’s someone connected to Featherwing.’
Through repeated sparring, Nora Galatea could also gather plenty of valuable experience.
“Sis, go easy on me, okay? I’m still growing.”
Spinning the yataghan lightly in her hand, Nora said with a playful tone.
The first round began between Irena and Nora.
“What do you expect to gain from a spar where someone holds back?”
Drawing her Stained Glass blade, Irena took her stance and charged toward Nora like a flash of light.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Blocking the rain of strikes with her yataghan, Nora found herself momentarily confused.
She had fought Irena once not long ago. Judging from that experience, Irena’s current speed was far beyond what Nora had anticipated.
“What the hell—did you start using your days like weeks or something?”
“Secret.”
Even if Irena’s skill had skyrocketed, it wasn’t as though Nora was so weak she would be easily overwhelmed.
It was simply taking her a little longer to reach the inevitable outcome.
Behind the swiftly moving Irena, faint yellow trails remained in the air like the tail of a comet.
“She hasn’t used Nimbus or the Swift Blade yet.”
With his arms crossed, Kairus observed the two. Nora Galatea wasn’t showing her full power either.
Irena, too, had yet to use Nimbus or the Swift Blade.
“Well, one’s from the Empire, the other from the Republic.”
An imperial knight and a republican agent—of course, neither wanted to reveal all their techniques to the other.
“Are all imperial knights about as strong as you? What a letdown. My taxes feel wasted.”
The intent behind her words was clear—to provoke Irena into showing her real strength.
Irena smiled.
“Oh my, if you want to provoke someone, make it short and sharp, you orphan girl.”
Lunaseeker training began at a very young age. Children with parents would never willingly endure such brutal conditioning.
That was why nearly all Lunaseeker agents were orphans.
“…”
It was short, sharp, and devastatingly effective. For an instant, Nora Galatea nearly lost her composure and lunged at her.
“Sis, saying things like that… makes me sad.”
Barely managing to regain her composure, Nora forced out her reply in a broken tone.
She had calmed down, but Irena’s provocation hadn’t completely lost its effect.
‘She’s putting too much strength into her grip.’
Kairus noticed the excessive tension in Nora’s hand gripping the yataghan.
‘Still, Nora Galatea’s going to win this one.’
Predicting Nora’s victory, Kairus continued watching the duel unfold.