Kiana’s capacity for action was remarkably high.
That was an undeniable fact.
The moment Russell finished weaving his grand tale, Kiana had already leaped out the window to settle the score with the so-called “Raiden Dragon-Sniper.”
If things went according to plan, he would hear news of Kiana beating Raiden Ryoma to a pulp within three hours at most.
What should he do until then?
After a moment of thought, Russell began to harass Megumin.
The reward for the Tip System’s current quest was an Oripathy Inhibitor Factory.
This would obviously require workers—and very reliable ones at that.
Of all the workers available, none were more reliable than the Shadowkhan.
“My dearest Megumin, might I ask if you’ve completed the development of the item?” Russell urged his employee to work overtime in an exceptionally gentle tone.
“?”
Megumin responded with a single question mark.
“Boss, are you in your right mind?” the girl from the Crimson Demon Village looked at him with the baffled expression of an old man squinting at a smartphone on the subway.
“It’s only been a day.
Would you really trust the quality of a magic item produced in just one day?”
“I feel like something that just barely works would be fine.”
“I have a draconic bloodline, so I can run very fast.
Even if something goes wrong, I won’t get caught,” Russell added, eagerly raising his hand.
His statement left Megumin completely frozen.
Why did this boss sound like he had a death wish?
“Roughly how long will it take?” Russell pressed on.
If possible, he hoped for it to be done within three days—the funeral rites for Cocolia were still about eight to ten days away.
If he could get his hands on the Shadowkhan control device in three days, they could get right to work screwing bolts in the factory…
ahem, developing Oripathy inhibitors.
“About fifteen days.”
Megumin’s answer stunned Russell.
Didn’t she say this was a very simple spell?
Why would it take half a month?
As if anticipating Russell’s confusion, Megumin began to explain.
“If my father were to forge it, it could be done within three days.
However, that item would, at best, only borrow the authority of the Oni Mask.”
“But the statue of Shendu you gave me was very popular with everyone in the village.
So, I rented the statue out in exchange for some rare materials, and then I asked Yunyun to help me design a new plan.”
Yunyun.
The only daughter of the Crimson Demon Clan’s chief, and Megumin’s best friend.
In terms of raw knowledge, Yunyun might not necessarily surpass Megumin, but unlike Megumin, whose father was still aspiring to greatness, Yunyun’s father was one of the most powerful mages in her world.
“According to the chief, the mask itself is an excellent material.
It can be completely reforged, and we can add a switch to the binding spell.
What a good woman!
Russell was instantly moved.
Instead of pocketing the money she earned from renting out Shendu, she used it to improve the item?
“Megumin, I was wrong.
I shouldn’t have overlooked your charms just because you’re flat-chested.”
“I hereby declare that from this day forward, among all the people I fall in love with at first sight, you are the one I love the most!”
Hearing these words from all the way in the Crimson Demon Village, Megumin pondered for a moment.
“Since you love me so much, how about you double my salary?”
“…Talking about money hurts our relationship.” Russell’s expression changed in a flash.
“Tsk, tsk—”
Russell scratched his head, trying to figure out how to explain to Megumin that being a boss sitting in an office was also very hard work.
But before he could formulate his explanation, the communicator buzzed with a notification related to Kiana.
Kiana had already arrived at the prison.
[Stop messing around over there.
It’s time to work.]
—o—
Raiden Ryoma.
President of ME Corp, representative of Anti-Entropy.
In the secular world, he was the master of a Fortune 500 corporation.
In the underworld, he was the pillar of Anti-Entropy’s conservative faction.
By any measure, he could be considered a high-quality human male.
However, even high-quality men can be ambushed.
Due to the misappropriation of company funds, he had unfortunately been caught by a rival faction and sent to prison.
To be honest, for someone of his stature, this was a minor inconvenience.
The real problem was—
“Lord Ryoma, our people have nearly all been exiled by Cocolia.
The situation is very unfavorable for us.
What’s worse…
our mecha production line has also been seized.
The person in charge of that factory has been infected by Honkai energy.”
A prison guard sidled up to the cell door, speaking in a low voice.
The fact that the man in charge of producing Titan mechs had been infected was something of a dark joke.
No one knew better than that factory director how to protect himself as much as possible.
He had worked in that position for over a decade, yet just half a month after President Raiden Ryoma was ousted, he contracted an incurable affliction.
A power grab.
Raiden Ryoma paced inside his cell, his brows tightly furrowed.
Although Cocolia was treated like a punching bag by Schicksal and played for a fool by World Serpent in the main story, when it came to dealing with her own colleagues, she was a true God of Infighting.
After all, conflicts between different organizations still required a certain degree of restraint.
Operating under that assumption, Raiden Ryoma had lost.
Perhaps, from the very beginning, she never understood Anti-Entropy’s ideals.
She had joined simply to obtain greater power.
What should he do next?
The middle-aged man’s expression grew increasingly grim.
“President, do you need us to prepare for a prison break—” the man, who had infiltrated the prison as a guard, urged.
But halfway through his sentence, he stiffened and collapsed to the floor.
What happened?
Raiden Ryoma’s face changed drastically.
“Sorry about that, mister.”
A remarkably beautiful girl tossed a baseball bat to the side, dragged Raiden Ryoma’s subordinate out of the way, and then skillfully produced a key to open the cell door.
Was this someone sent to rescue him?
The girl’s beautiful long white hair, azure eyes, and slightly goofy face involuntarily reminded him of a certain white-haired scoundrel he had known ten years ago.
Was she Siegfried’s blood relative?
His expression instantly became complicated.
He had always looked down on Siegfried; that man possessed top-tier talent but was reckless and completely unreliable.
But now, he was the one sending someone to save him?
He thought to himself that this girl was cut from the exact same cloth as her family head.
She even knocked out his own subordinate during the rescue mission.
Someone in the know would realize she was here to help; an outsider would think she was here to cause trouble.
This was probably because Welt greatly admired Siegfried.
As one of Welt’s little fanboys, a thick wall of jealousy had always stood between Raiden Ryoma and Siegfried.
Raiden Ryoma kept a stern face and offered no thanks, looking a bit ungrateful—the tsundere archetype had been out of style for years, especially for a grown man.
He walked toward his fallen subordinate, preparing to carry him to a more comfortable spot before regrouping with Siegfried.
But just as he crouched down, a thick, large bat blurred into an afterimage—
THWACK!!
Raiden Ryoma’s vision went black.
Just like his subordinate, he collapsed on the spot.
He had made one critical miscalculation.
The eldest daughter of the Kaslana family wasn’t here to save anyone at all.
She had been duped by her “brother-in-law” into dealing with the Raiden family’s traitor.
“Brother Russell, I’ve taught this…
uh, Raiden Long-something or Raiden Dragon-Sniper a lesson, just like you said.” The girl pulled a walkie-talkie from her pocket, reporting the situation to a certain someone.
“Oh, right, can you put in a good word for me later?
They have a reunion dinner in the Far East for the New Year, and I want to join in on the fun.”
The girl’s voice, tinged with a hint of calculated coyness, revealed her improper intentions toward Raiden Mei.
“Mhm, thanks.
I’ll talk to my uncle about it.”
Nearby the prison, the young man squeezed the Sheep Talisman in his pocket and made a solemn promise.