Chapter 148: The Client

"Well? What are your thoughts now?"

Standing on a hillside outside the settlement, gazing down at the brightly lit, clamorous, and filthy slums below, Varian could not help but raise his chin slightly and look toward the elven girl beside him. Upon hearing this, the elven girl wore a conflicted expression, her mouth parting, yet she found herself utterly at a loss for words.

Just as Varian had surmised, the elven girl did not entirely believe what he had told her; she had even suspected it was merely a fabricated excuse meant to keep her from attempting to run away. After all, the end of the world sounded far too absurd. Besides, emotionally speaking, she simply could not accept the reality that the world she understood in her mind no longer existed. Having lost her own memories, the only things she could rely on were the remnants of knowledge concerning this world stored within her mind. If even that knowledge proved useless, then she truly would have nothing left to lean upon.

However, the events that had just transpired back in the tavern had completely shattered the elven girl's worldview. Along the journey, she had gotten along quite harmoniously with the other girls in Varian's company. Aside from the initial confrontation, there were no irreconcilable conflicts between them, and her relationship with Aluka was actually rather pleasant. Yet, what the elven girl had never expected was that the young woman who always wore a smile and appeared so innocent and carefree could be so utterly decisive when it came to violence. The other party had merely slighted her slightly, and without another word, she had drawn her weapon and ended their life right then and there...

At this thought, the elven girl cast another complicated look at Aluka. At that moment, Aluka was humming a tune while checking her firearm under the light, seeming completely unconcerned about the lives she had just taken. Furthermore, the elven girl was certain that this was no act, for she had seen with her own eyes how that person's skull had been utterly blown apart... Recalling that scene, the elven girl shuddered involuntarily and quickly averted her gaze.

"I... I don't know..."

"No matter. After all, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles; you will see in due time."

With a casual shrug, Varian spoke. At that exact moment, the roar of engines shattered the quiet, and three vehicles came driving up from not far away, pulling to a halt in a neat line right in front of them. Blinding headlights flashed on, causing the elven girl to instinctively turn her head away. Varian, however, narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips as he watched the three cars stop before him. A surgical scalpel danced endlessly between his fingers, reflecting a series of cold flashes under the glare of the headlights.

As soon as the three vehicles came to a complete stop, their doors swung open. Several filthy, heavily armed men climbed out. At the lead was a young man in his early twenties sporting a mohawk.

"Are you the bounty hunter who took on our commission?"

Staring at Varian, the mohawk-haired youth let out a light scoff before striding forward and shouting aggressively. Hearing his voice, Varian merely raised his head, cast a single glance in his direction, and spoke.

"Ah... stay right there and don't come any closer. I have no desire to get too near to you filthy, ugly beasts; it would lower my standards."

"You little—!"

Hearing Varian's words, the youth's eyes widened in fury as he opened his mouth to hurl abuses. But the next instant, his eyes bulged further. Clutching his throat, he staggered backward a few steps before collapsing backward onto the ground with a heavy thud. Illuminated by the headlights, a surgical scalpel could be clearly seen protruding directly from his neck.

"Clatter!"

Witnessing this sudden turn of events, the mohawk's companions were visibly stunned, completely at a loss as to what had just happened. It was only after seeing the youth convulse and take his final breath that they snapped back to their senses, roaring in rage as they raised their weapons. Yet, this time, someone immediately intervened to halt their actions.

"All of you, stand down!"

A hoarse voice rang out. Then, Varian saw a middle-aged man dressed in relatively neat attire stride out from the crowd. Paying no mind to the corpse lying on the ground, the man merely cast a cold glance at the hot-headed idiots around him. Under his piercing gaze, those who had raised their guns hastily lowered their barrels and dropped their heads in obedience. Even the three vehicles that had been blazing their high beams switched their modes, no longer shining their glaring lights directly at Varian and his group.

They were even more obedient and docile than sheep meeting a tiger.

Satisfied that the situation was under control, the man nodded before turning his gaze toward Varian, raising his voice to speak.

"I apologize for my son's rudeness, Doctor. I am truly sorry; the boy knew no better and offended you. Please forgive him."

"It's nothing. Just a minor conflict."

Facing the man's apology, Varian maintained his indifferent demeanor. Once again, from some unknown place, another surgical scalpel materialized between his fingers, spinning continuously.

Meanwhile, the elven girl was utterly dumbfounded. She stood frozen beside Varian, staring blankly at the corpse of the mohawk youth who had been alive just moments before. She could not recall whether she had ever seen a dead body before—at least, since awakening, this was only the second time.

And this time, it was all the more incomprehensible. The man had merely uttered a few words—she hadn't even registered what had truly happened—and he had been killed just like that? Come to think of it... was that Mr. Varian's doing? When on earth did he make his move? Why hadn't she noticed anything at all?

With these thoughts, the elven girl glanced to her sides, hoping to find someone else showing the same astonishment as herself. To her utter disbelief, however, not only was Aluka entirely unfazed, but even Franka, the youngest-looking of them all, was simply holding her ridiculously childish magic wand, her wide eyes filled with a crystal-clear innocence as she stared ahead—an innocence so pure it was as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred.

Not only that, but the elven girl also noticed that the armed men on the opposite side—who had looked like fierce, aggressive bandits just moments prior—were no longer displaying any emotional fluctuations. Even the man who had stepped forward wore an expression of utmost naturalness. Had she not heard his words moments earlier, the elven girl would never have guessed that the youth lying dead on the ground was actually his own son.

Looking at his calm and composed demeanor, there was not a shred of grief or anger over the death of his child.

Her mind spinning with questions, the elven girl could only watch as the conversation between Varian and the middle-aged man continued unhindered.

"You're the one who posted the commission to eliminate the familiar?"

"Yes."

"However, you should be aware that familiars cannot be completely killed."

"I am well aware of that, Doctor."

Hearing Varian's words, the man nodded.

"However, we have our own methods."

"Is that so..."

Varian showed no concern for the man's pretense of mystery. He simply nodded and spoke once more.

"Then, let us confirm the compensation."

Battling a familiar was always a perilous endeavor, especially considering that the adversary could not be permanently slain, which multiplied the danger tenfold. In fairy tales, when a hero was dragged down into the abyss by a dying villain boss, could they really be called a tragic hero? But if one foolishly accompanied them to their death only for the villain boss to miraculously resurrect a few dozen days later, that would be a farce, not a fairy tale.

"Um... Miss Aluka..."

Taking advantage of the moment Varian and the man were discussing the reward, the elven girl could no longer suppress her inner bewilderment and asked in a hushed whisper. Hearing her voice, Aluka, who had been listening with sheer boredom, immediately turned her head, looking at her with curiosity.

"What is it? Something the matter?"

"Well..."

Faced with Aluka's gaze, the elven girl hesitated slightly before voicing her concern.

"...Mr. Varian killed that man... is that really alright?"

"What could possibly be wrong with that?"

Hearing this, Aluka's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the elven girl as if she were an alien. A moment later, however, she remembered that this elven girl was not like them, so she tapped her forehead and offered a helpless explanation.

"Oh that? He deserved it."

"D-Deserved it?"

Though she had mentally prepared herself, the elven girl was still thoroughly shocked by Aluka's response. The man had only spoken a few sentences—even if his tone was a bit flippant, surely it didn't warrant a death sentence?

"Well..."

Seeing the sheer incomprehension on the elven girl's face, Aluka sighed helplessly before speaking.

"Think about it carefully. When these guys drove up just now, didn't they blind us with their headlights?"

"W-Well... is there a problem with that?"

Faced with the elven girl's baffled counter-question, Aluka sighed again, exasperated by her lack of street smarts.

"Now imagine, what would have happened if they had opened fire on us at that moment?"

"Opened fire..."

Hearing this, the elven girl turned pale. She certainly hadn't forgotten how, blinded by the headlights, she had instinctively turned her head away to escape the glaring beam. If the other party had opened fire then... At that thought, her body trembled.

"B-But didn't they not shoot?"

"They didn't shoot, and wanting to shoot are two entirely different things. Those guys were trying to intimidate us. Hmph, if the Commander hadn't taken out that idiot, I reckon we would have had to teach these fools a lesson ourselves. And when that happened, it wouldn't have been just a matter of one or two people dying."

As she spoke, Aluka even reached out and pulled the bolt of her laser rifle with a sharp click.

Persuasion index: MAX.

Watching Aluka's actions, the elven girl curled her body inward, taking a step back as she inwardly wailed in anguish:

What kind of world have I actually ended up in?!