Chapter 75: Mission Success

He continued serving… Since the other catering group was gone, they were much more needed in this place and he had just served one glass to a table with a pair of noble-women who actually thanked him.

His new face didn’t look bad at all.

These people were mundane but they still had better faces than humans back on Earth.

“Did you hear about Amagi Koya?” The first girl asked her companion. “You know that handsome guy that saved the Academy and defeated four Iron class monsters while being a two-liner… did I forget to mention that he’s so hot…”

Koya’s eyes twitched and he swore the mask around his face heated up a bit for no reason.

“Yes girl, I was finger-fucking myself to him before we got here.” She leaned in and Koya served her cup. “I’m contemplating on going to the Academy myself to get a view of that hunk… who knows? He might fuck me in the bathroom.”

She then turned to Koya who was serving the cup. “Thank you…”

She looked at his nametag. “Sai Tenji. What a nice name…”

He bowed and walked off, serving a few more customers before heading to the back room to get more drinks.

He had a plan which required him to drink from the spiked bottle beforehand and let her drink afterward… The poison was slow-acting and would work about 30-40 minutes after use and he needed her dead by midnight latest.

’It’s 10:30pm.’ He thought. He needed to build her trust in him… if not, even after drinking it she could still accuse him of poisoning her but considering he’d chosen the server route, he had to work around that constraint.

He filled cups with drinks and placed them on the tray before coming out.

’Do I need to frame someone for trying to assassinate her? She’ll believe it since she’s paranoid but I’ll need proof.’ He thought as he looked around.

Marina and the rest were doing their jobs properly and from what he could see, one nobleman was specifically trying to flirt with Marina and she was responding with polite bows.

He didn’t really know what to make of her… however he spread Sensory out immediately. He was glad that Sensory didn’t make changes to the air around him but rather let him see everything.

Apart from the numbers of people, he focused on their movements and whether he was lucky or skilled, he had actually detected an assassin… or something like that.

The man looked to be in his thirties and was wearing formal wear with a top hat. However in his coat, there was a weapon shaped like a crossbow.

’Bounty hunter I guess… that makes sense. They exist in this world and she as well as the other council members should have bounties on their heads.’ He thought.

This was amazing timing.

He was meant to be a mundane human so he couldn’t alter that story but who said he couldn’t make an accidental save?

The bounty hunter slowly stood from his table, adjusting his top hat with trembling hands. To everyone else, he was just another well-dressed noble but he knew the truth.

He was a desperate father.

His son who was eight years old had been kidnapped by the Black Hilts two weeks ago and they’d sent videos of his boy getting beaten, crying and begging to come home.

The authorities couldn’t help and every attempt brought more pain. So the Black Hilts gave him this mission: Kill Saeko Mizushima, and his son goes free.

He was supposed to wait until she was alone and make it clean but watching these council members laugh while his boy suffered… he didn’t care about clean anymore.

The Black Hilts were funded by someone at this table. He’d discovered that much. So why not take down as many as he could? Create chaos and maybe his son would be freed.

A noble lady noticed his shaking hands. “Are you alright, sir?”

He smiled hollowly. “Just fine, my lady.”

He walked toward the main table. Bodyguards watched the perimeter… they didn’t consider well-dressed nobles dangerous.

’Fools.’

He passed a young server boy carrying a tray… the young man couldn’t be more than twenty and was a bit nervous-looking which meant he was probably new.

’Sorry for ruining your evening, son.’

Saeko was distracted, laughing at something another council member said. Ten feet away now and the hunter’s hand moved to his coat.

He pulled out the crossbow and loaded it with a poisoned bolt before raising it and then aimed…

Saeko Mizushima was listening to Council Member Torimo drone on about import tariffs when she heard the scream.

A woman’s voice that was shrill and terrified cutting through the string quartet like breaking glass.

Saeko turned instinctively toward the sound and saw a man ten feet away pointing a crossbow directly at her chest.

Time seemed to slow.

She could see everything with crystal clarity… the desperate look in his eyes and his finger that was white on the trigger as well as the poison glistening on the bolt’s tip. Her bodyguards turning, reaching for weapons, but they were too far, too slow, she was going to die right here…

Then the server boy tripped.

It wasn’t graceful or coordinated. His legs simply gave out beneath him like someone had cut his strings.

His tray of wine glasses went flying through the air in a glittering arc, tumbling end over end.

They hit the hunter’s chest and face with brutal force making glass and wine explode across his formal wear, soaking into the expensive fabric. Red and white mixed together like blood and milk.

The hunter staggered backward with wine in his eyes and his hands jerking reflexively… The crossbow fired.

Saeko felt the wind of it pass her ear, so close she could smell the poison. The bolt embedded itself in the wall behind her with a wet thunk.

She could hear it hissing as the poison dripped onto the marble floor and began eating into the stone.

Then the server boy stumbled forward from his own momentum and crashed hard into the hunter’s legs. They both went down together in a chaotic tangle of limbs.

The hunter, soaked and furious, threw a brutal punch. It caught the server directly in the face with a sickening crack.

The boy flew backward and landed in a heap at the base of Saeko’s chair with blood streaming from his nose.

Then the bodyguards arrived… Three of them tackled the hunter simultaneously, weapons drawn. One of them wrenched the crossbow away, another drove a knee into the man’s back while the third pressed a blade to his throat.

“Don’t move or I’ll cut your fucking head off!”

The hunter went limp. “Just… kill me. Please. They have my son. They have my—”

A bodyguard struck him across the head and he went unconscious.

Saeko stood frozen with her heart hammering, staring at the bolt in the wall. If that boy hadn’t tripped… if those glasses hadn’t hit the hunter at that exact moment…

She would be dead.

The server boy was struggling to sit up, one hand pressed to his bleeding face. Marina rushed over to help him.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!” The boy was babbling, it was clear he was terrified. “I don’t know what happened, my foot just… I’m so clumsy, I’m—”

Saeko walked over to him slowly, everyone was watching her. The entire hall had gone silent except for the unconscious hunter being dragged away.

She knelt down next to the boy and pulled out a small vial from her dress pocket. It was a top grade healing supplement and she dabbed it on his face.

The bleeding stopped immediately and even the bruise faded.

“What’s your name?” Her voice was steady but her hands were shaking.

The boy looked up at her, face pale. “S-Sai Tenji, madam.”

“Sai-san…” She looked directly into his eyes. “You saved my life.”

“I… no, I just tripped, I’m very clumsy, I ruin everything, I—”

“You saved my life.” She said it firmly this time then she stood and turned to Marina, reading her nametag. “I’m borrowing Sai-san for the rest of the evening.”

“M-madam?”

“He stays at my table. I want him close.” Saeko looked around at the other council members who were slowly recovering from the shock. “Let’s continue the party. Security… double the guards so there will be no more surprises tonight.”

The string quartet started playing again. Slowly, conversation resumed but everyone kept glancing at the bolt in the wall.

Saeko returned to her seat. Sai Tenji followed behind her like a lost puppy, clearly terrified.

’Lucky boy,’ she thought. ’Or something else? No… that was pure accident. He’s mundane. I can feel it. He just has… incredible timing.’

She sat down and tried to focus on the conversation around her but her hands kept trembling.

She’d come so close. So close to dying… If she hadn’t commissioned that Order hit on Yamada, none of this would be happening but she’d had no choice. He was going to destroy her and ruin everything she’d built.

’Was it worth it?’

She didn’t know anymore.

About thirty minutes later, it was 11pm exactly. Saeko was listening to the other council members discuss pressing issues… trade routes, embargo threats, and guild tensions. One of them turned to her suddenly.

“Are you sure he should be here?” The man gestured at Sai Tenji who was standing respectfully behind Saeko’s chair. “These are sensitive matters.”

Saeko shrugged.

“He probably doesn’t understand anything we’re talking about. It’s not like common people follow merchant politics.” She glanced back at the boy. “Or can you?”

Sai bowed quickly, shaking his head. “I don’t understand anything… and even then, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

They gave him nods of approval and returned to their conversation.

Saeko still hadn’t drunk anything… Every glass offered made her think of poison but her throat was dry and her hands were still shaking slightly from the adrenaline.

“My lady…” Sai Tenji spoke quietly. “Please let me get a drink for you.”

She looked at him. “I’m… fine.”

“You’re not.” He said it gently. “You’re in shock… you need something but you won’t trust anything served here.” He paused. “Let me help.”

“How?”

“I’ll get a sealed bottle. Open it in front of you. Pour two glasses… one for you, one for me. I’ll drink mine first. If I’m fine after a minute, you’ll know it’s safe.”

Saeko stared at him. “Why would you do that?”

Sai chose his words carefully. “Because… the Supplement Guild contracts with our catering company. My sister is sick… severely. She needs expensive healing supplements just to stay alive. Without this job, I can’t afford them. Your guild has kept me employed for two years.” He looked down. “You’ve kept my sister alive without even knowing it. This is… repaying that debt.”

Something in Saeko’s chest tightened. When was the last time someone had done something for her out of gratitude rather than fear or greed?

“…Pour.”

Sai walked to the server section.

Koya took one sealed bottle and tapped the top three times. From his Order-issued watch, invisible particles moved through the seal and into the liquid. He didn’t know how this technology worked but it was effective.

He returned with a tray and two glasses and set them down in front of Saeko, unsealing the bottle where she could see every movement then poured both glasses.

Koya then picked up his glass and drank it all in one go, his poison resistance neuralized it immediately.

Sixty seconds passed and he stood there, perfectly fine with not even a hint of discomfort.

“See? Safe.”

Saeko picked up her glass slowly… looked at it and then drank.

It tasted normal… It was fine wine which was probably expensive. She waited for something to feel wrong but nothing happened.

“Thank you, Sai-san.” She actually smiled at him.

A real smile. “You’re a good kid.”

Fifteen minutes passed. The wine had been smooth, warming. Saeko found herself relaxing for the first time all evening.

The conversation around her continued but every few minutes, she’d glance back at Sai Tenji standing respectfully behind her chair.

He’d saved her life. Whether by accident or luck, he’d saved her. And then he’d risked drinking potentially poisoned wine just to put her at ease. How many people in this room would do that? How many of these council members would sacrifice anything for her?

None… They’d kill her themselves if it benefited them.

But this boy… this mundane server with a sick sister… he’d done it without hesitation.

“Sai-san.” She turned in her chair. “Tell me about your sister.”

“M-madam?” He looked surprised.

“Your sister… The sick one. What’s wrong with her?”

Sai seemed uncomfortable talking about it but answered anyway. “She has Mana Deficiency Syndrome. Her body can’t handle mana naturally. Without daily supplements, her organs would start failing.” He looked down. “The supplements are expensive. 30,000 crowns a month.”

Saeko’s chest tightened. That was… that was a fortune for a server. He was probably working every event he could just to keep her alive.

“How old is she?”

“Twelve.”

“What’s her name?”

“Yuki. It means snow.” Sai smiled sadly. “She’s always been pale… even as a baby.”

Saeko made a decision. “After tonight, come to the Supplement Guild headquarters. Ask for me personally. I’ll make sure Yuki gets her supplements. Free of charge… For life.”

Sai’s eyes went wide. “Madam, I… I couldn’t possibly—”

“You saved my life tonight, Sai-san. Your sister gets to keep hers. That’s fair, isn’t it?”

Tears actually formed in his eyes. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I don’t… I don’t know what to say.”

“Then don’t say anything.” Saeko turned back to the table, but she was smiling.

Maybe after tonight, she could start changing… Maybe after the investigation died down, after all of this was over, she could be better.

She would stop the dilution scheme and actually help people instead of exploiting them… maybe there was still time to be the person her younger self had wanted to become.

Fifteen minutes later, Saeko’s vision blurred.

She blinked and tried to focus however everything was suddenly… heavy.

“I…” She stood abruptly, Her legs felt weak and she assumed this was stress. “I want to retire to my private study.”

“Madam?” One of the bodyguards stepped forward immediately.

“I’m just tired. It’s been… a long night.” She gestured at four of her bodyguards. “You four come with me. And Sai-san.” She looked at the server boy. “I want to reward you properly for saving my life. From now on, your company… regardless of whatever happens tonight will continue serving the high-class events. I hope the rest of you take note of tonight.”

The other council members nodded approvingly. Marina looked like she might faint from joy, Sai had just secured them elite status.

They ascended to Saeko’s personal quarters on the third floor. The study was a complete library with towering shelves and a large desk in the center.

It was soundproofed and had no cameras… she’d made sure of that. This was her private sanctuary.

“Lock the door please,” she said as they entered. One bodyguard locked it from the inside.

Saeko sat heavily in her chair. “Ugh… my head hurts.”

She closed her eyes… just for a moment to rest then she heard movement. There was a wet sound… it was a gurgle.

Saeko’s eyes opened at the sound of movement.

The first bodyguard was on the ground with his throat torn open and his hands clawing uselessly at the wound. The second was gurgling, trying to scream, but only blood came out in thick spurts.

Sai Tenji was holding a knife with a crimson handle which was the Red Hall’s signature blade.

He moved like death itself. The third bodyguard pulled her weapon but Sai was faster. His blade punched through her eye socket once, twice, three times and she fell.

The fourth charged with a desperate roar with a blade aimed at his head and Sai blocked with his bare forearm, with a gathering of mana, the sword bounced off and he grabbed the bodyguard’s skull and dragged his knife horizontally across it, splitting it in two like ripe fruit.

Four bodies with their blood spreading across her beautiful floor.

Saeko sat frozen in her chair, mind refusing to process what was happening.

“This room is soundproof.” Sai’s voice was different now, it was cold. “You made sure of that yourself.”

Reality crashed down. “I… I hired Red Hall! I paid you millions! Why are you—”

“You hired them for something else. I’m here for different reasons.”

“Please!” Tears streamed down her face.

She stood on shaking legs and started pulling her dress off with trembling fingers. “This is what you want, right? I’m still… I’m still beautiful.”

Her dress fell… She stood there naked, crying, and completely desperate.

The woman who’d ordered men killed, who’d poisoned soldiers, and who’d built an empire on fraud was reduced to this.

“Please. I’ll become your toy. Use me however you want. Every day. Any way you want. Just let me live. I don’t want to die. Please. I’ll do anything.”

Sai didn’t look at her body but he didn’t look away either and just looked at her face with those empty eyes.

Saeko’s expression crumbled. “You’re… you’re not even from Red Hall, are you?”

Silence.

“It was all an act. The clumsiness. The gratitude. The sister.” Her voice cracked. “The trust. You made me trust you. You made me feel… you made me feel GOOD about myself for the first time in years!”

She screamed and charged at him with her bare hands. “You BASTARD—”

The knife went through her skull from chin to crown, splitting her head vertically in one clean motion.

Saeko Mizushima collapsed.

Koya stood there… Calm Mind keeping his emotions completely controlled. He looked down at her bloodied corpse.

For a moment, he thought about Yuki. The fake twelve-year-old sister with Mana Deficiency Syndrome who didn’t exist.

Saeko had offered to save her… maybe she could have changed but that wasn’t his problem.

He had a mission after all… These people only wanted political benefits, there were no “good” people but rather “honest” people.

Koya looked around at the carnage. “Is this what Red Hall would do, or do I need to make it more traumatizing?”

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