My Soul card is a Reaper

The teenager instantly dropped to his knees. "I apologize, Lady Kiara. Please forgive me."

Earlier, he had been confident while guiding the customers.

The information boards beside each weapon display had helped him explain things clearly.

Even the weapon testing had gone smoothly thanks to Noah's supervision.

However, when packaging the product, Alucard had accidentally made a mistake.

He had placed a P226 pistol (20 rounds) into the package instead of the P365 (10 rounds).

If Kiara had not checked the box at the last moment, the mistake would have caused a 20 gold coin loss.

Kiara looked at him silently.

The amount itself was not significant.

But the idea of losing money due to carelessness annoyed her.

"I am already paying him a ridiculous salary," she thought quietly. "Now I also have to double-check every sale?"

Her irritation slowly faded into a sigh.

"It's alright," she said finally. "Beginners always make mistakes on their first day."

Her voice became slightly firmer. "But make sure it never happens again."

Alucard bowed deeply. "Thank you, Lady Kiara."

He returned to work immediately.

*

Far away, inside the Emperor's Chamber of the Imperial Palace, a different conversation was unfolding.

"Arrest Kiara?"

The Emperor stared at his daughter in disbelief. "Sera… what exactly are you saying?"

Before him stood Serestia Phoenix, the Fifth Princess of the empire.

She had arrived with urgent news.

"These days the entire empire keeps talking about that person," the Emperor continued slowly. "From clashing with noble clans to helping the Second Prince… I hear new rumors every day."

Even the strange Nexus Store in the Carlo District had become a popular topic throughout the city.

When he asked for proof, Serestia answered firmly. "There is a witness."

She continued. "He is a disciple of the Amber Clan. He was attacked by Kiara but managed to escape alive. Before escaping, he saw the abduction of Kristof Drake."

The Emperor closed his eyes briefly.

Then he sighed.

"No. That witness cannot be used."

Serestia frowned. "Why not?"

The Emperor looked directly at her. "The Amber Clan is closely allied with House Dawn. And Kiara is an enemy of House Dawn."

He spread his hands slowly. "If we use such a witness, the case will collapse immediately."

He paused. "And we will only create an unnecessary enemy."

Serestia clenched her fists. "But Father, the Desmont bandits themselves wrote that the ransom transaction must happen before Kiara. What better evidence could we ask for?"

The Emperor shook his head. "That argument will not work."

He explained calmly.

"Kiara will simply say the bandits chose the location because the store suppresses cultivation."

He paused briefly. "Even someone like Xander Cross becomes helpless inside that store. So of course, criminals would choose such a place for transactions."

Serestia's frustration burst out. "Then what can we do? Father, we cannot allow such a person to escape punishment."

The Emperor smiled bitterly.

"If Kristof Drake personally testifies against Kiara…"

"And if a leader of the Desmont bandits confesses…"

"Then the Imperial Palace will have no choice."

He paused before adding quietly. "But even if that happens… I would prefer to forgive Kiara."

Serestia stared at him in shock."Why?"

The Emperor leaned back slowly. "I made a deal with that person."

His voice lowered. "Three flying war puppets. With weapons like those, the Imperial Palace could suppress most sects and guilds in the empire."

Serestia took a small step back. Her eyes widened.

"So the rumors were true," she thought. "Kiara really has the Emperor's support."

*

Late afternoon sunlight stretched lazily across the floor of the Nexus Store in the Imperial City, casting long golden beams through the tall windows and painting the polished tiles in soft light. The quiet hum of the city outside could barely be heard inside the store's enormous interior, where the magical spatial expansion made the place feel almost like a separate world.

Kiara leaned back comfortably in her chair behind the counter, one arm resting over the backrest while her other hand slowly stroked the soft golden fur of the small cat curled in her lap.

She muttered lazily while tilting her head toward the ceiling. "After running around everywhere for days, I almost forgot how good it feels to just sit and do nothing."

The golden kitten in her lap responded with a deep and contented sound.

Purrr…

Felix lay sprawled comfortably across her legs, its tiny body rising and falling slowly with each relaxed breath. The creature looked completely at ease, as if the entire shop belonged to it.

Kiara absentmindedly continued rubbing the cat's back while staring at the quiet shop floor.

Perhaps it was the effect of the seven points of luck she currently possessed.

Or perhaps the news of her return had already spread throughout the city.

Whatever the reason, the business that day had been far better than usual.

Since morning, the shop had sold six hundred bullets, four P226 pistols, one P365 pistol, twelve single-shot pistols, seven revolvers, five fragmentation grenades, and eight smoke grenades.

And that was not even counting the regular order from House Storm, which alone accounted for five hundred gold coins worth of weapons every single day.

Within just ten hours of opening, the total sales had already exceeded one thousand gold coins.

Since Kiara retained sixty percent of the earnings, several hundred gold coins had quietly added themselves to her account.

Yet money was not the only reason she felt satisfied.

Her gaze drifted toward the far corner of the shop.

Alucard stood there quietly, organizing weapon boxes and carefully checking the shelves.

Apart from the mistake he made earlier while packaging the pistol, the boy had performed surprisingly well.

He rarely made mistakes when explaining the weapons to customers, even though he had only started working that very morning.

Of course, when it came to demonstrating the weapons, he simply stood aside and watched.

He was still unfamiliar with their operation.

For now, Kiara had decided that demonstrations would only be handled by Noah or Zion.

At least until the boy became comfortable with the equipment.

That arrangement worked perfectly fine for Kiara.

Whether the work was done by a human, an android, or a robot did not matter to her in the slightest.

As long as there were no mistakes.

With the store's inventory already stocked with enough weapons, Kiara did not even bother crafting new items. Instead she remained seated, enjoying the rare moment of peace.

For nearly an hour, not a single customer had entered the store.

Kiara used the quiet time to watch recorded combat footage.

Floating above her palm was a small projection showing highlights from the recent sparring matches between Zion and Lucian Storm.

She watched the video like someone enjoying a sports compilation, occasionally rewinding moments where Zion's movements looked particularly impressive.

But the calm atmosphere did not last forever.

The heavy glass doors at the entrance slowly opened.

Four figures stepped inside.

Kiara's eyes shifted lazily toward the entrance.

One of them immediately caught her attention. Not because he was unfamiliar. But because she recognized him. These people were not customers.

At the far corner, Alucard quickly straightened his posture and hurried toward the entrance as he had been trained.

"Welcome to the Nexus Weapon Store," he said politely. "May I know what you are looking for?"

The newcomers stepped inside and immediately froze.

The moment they crossed the threshold, the invisible pressure inside the store pressed down on their bodies like an unseen mountain.

The suppression effect of the divine artifact hidden within the shop was unmistakable.

One of the men slowly scanned the enormous interior. "I thought the rumors about this place were exaggerated," he muttered.

This man was Everson Drake, the Patriarch of House Drake. "But it seems the stories were true."

Beside him stood Darryon Drake, one of the clan elders and a powerful six-star Spirit Warrior.

The moment he stepped inside, a strange helpless feeling crawled across his skin. His instincts screamed at him to leave immediately. He had not felt this powerless in decades.

Nearby stood a stout merchant.

Harrison.

He stared around the store with open amazement.

When he had visited this place before, it had been impressive.

Now it looked completely different.

Behind them stood the final companion.

Harriot, Archbishop of the Church of Thanatos.

But unlike the others, Harriot's reaction was completely different.

He stood completely still. His eyes were fixed on Kiara. Sweat slowly rolled down his temples despite the cool air inside the shop. His breathing grew uneven. It was as if he had seen something terrifying.

Alucard noticed their strange reactions but simply waited patiently.

Harrison finally spoke. "We came to see the owner."

The boy stepped aside immediately.

Kiara remained seated behind the counter. She did not stand up. She did not greet them. Her eyes briefly swept across the group before returning to the cat on her lap.

"What do you want?" she asked calmly.

Harrison forced a respectful smile. "Hello… Lady Kiara."