[You really need to practice concealing your aura,] the Tip System advised.
Across from him, the beautiful maid wore a look of anticipation, but deep within her wine-red eyes, a viper seemed to be hiding.
Among the S-rank Valkyries, Rita was, without a doubt, dead last.
And not just the current generation’s dead last, but the last among all known S-ranks in history.
But even so.
Her perception far exceeded that of a normal person.
This was the very foundation that allowed her to become Schicksal’s strongest assassin.
The moment the man named Russell had stepped into the shop, he had already caught her attention.
The man’s aura was incredibly potent, similar to that of the current head of the Apocalypse clan.
The head of the Apocalypse clan was a former S-rank; if not for the restrictions placed upon her, that short, white-haired old crone might have been the strongest S-rank Valkyrie.
To be perceived as similar to her, this man’s strength…
had to be at least approaching A-rank.
And yet, he did not exist in her memory.
Rita had absolute confidence in her memory.
So, she’d been mistaken for a spy.
[Rita lacks the rule-breaking physical constitution and special abilities of the other S-ranks.
To boost her damage output, she has always opted for weapons infused with high-intensity Honkai energy.
You don’t have an extra Honkai-resistant genome; you’d have to tank it with your raw life force, which is obviously a terrible idea.]
[Hurry up and use the Thousand Years of Death!
I know you have kunai coated in chili extract in your pocket!
Three consecutive uses of Thousand Years of Death will be enough to create a crack in her mental state, then you can use Distortion of Common Sense to create a one-hit-kill opportunity!]
The Tip System’s tone instantly became serious.
“Using such a low-brow tactic on a beautiful girl doesn’t seem right,” Russell said, pointing a finger at the Tip System from his moral high ground.
[No, if you cared about martial virtue, you wouldn’t be carrying five kunai coated in chili extract in your pocket.]
[Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that woman.]
[Other than having a large chest, long legs, a pretty face, and being good at taking care of people, what other merits does this woman have?
I suggest that if you’re in heat, you direct it towards Kiana or Raiden Mei.]
The Tip System attempted to correct Russell’s aesthetic preferences.
Russell rolled his eyes.
He was lucky this dumbass was just a tip system and not some kind of ranking-based cheat ability.
Otherwise, if the world eagerly awaited an update to the list of supreme beauties, only to find the top spot was some geriatric politician with his butt in the air…
who knows what kind of shock that would inflict upon all of humanity.
“The main thing is, there’s no need to fight right now,” Russell stated, explaining his reason for refusing to use the Thousand Years of Death.
[Tsk, let’s see you say that when you’re in an underground prison.]
Whoosh—
The still-scalding coffee was hurled directly at the waiter’s face.
In the very next instant Russell made the throwing motion, a flash of light streaked through the air, shattering the airborne coffee cup into dust.
“Sir, striking a lady is hardly the act of a gentleman.”
The beautiful maid smiled, her expression as radiant as ever.
However, a scythe had appeared in her hand from out of nowhere.
After her poisoning attempt failed, the woman had swiftly moved to suppress him with force.
As an S-rank Valkyrie, even the weakest among them, she had the confidence to subdue any spy!
Come on, then.
Let me see what you’re capable of.
The gorgeous woman fixed her gaze on Russell’s limbs.
It was a technique only someone with maxed-out observational skills would use—predicting the target’s actions in the next few seconds based on the scope of their movements, then cutting them off in advance!
But in the next moment, Rita froze.
She watched as the young man in her sights silently touched the necklace around his neck.
In the next instant, the necklace vanished, and the young man collapsed to the ground.
As if he were dead.
Huh…
he just fell?!!
Bafflement filled Rita’s face.
—o—
“Only idiots try to solve problems with brute force,” Russell, now in his spirit form, declared nonchalantly as he trailed behind a certain maid.
Why fight?
His choice was to immediately let his soul leave his body and, in his astral state, toss the Sheep Talisman to Raiden Mei for safekeeping.
The maid named Rita got into a black luxury car and drove towards a Schicksal branch office.
Even after several hours, a trace of bewilderment still lingered on her face.
Before the fight even started, the enemy had already collapsed.
She had thought it was suicide, but a quick check of his breathing revealed it was normal.
His heartbeat was tested and found to be exceptionally strong.
It was all a little absurd.
He was taken to a hospital for an examination, and the conclusion was that he was perfectly healthy, with clear signs of genetic modification, likely from a faction with advanced gene-tech.
Gathering intelligence was predicated on the target being conscious.
Rita was eager to figure out where this man came from and what his objective was.
All she could do was assign people to watch him and keep him on an IV drip.
Completely unaware that a certain someone’s soul was following her, Rita sighed.
Why did she have to run into such a strange person?
It was baffling.
“Lady Rita, you don’t look so well.”
Beside her, another girl, also a member of the Immortal Blades, looked at her with concern, a faint hint of affection in the depths of her eyes.
Back at the counter, this girl had said that if Russell rejected Rita, he’d be ganged up on by a bunch of young men.
But judging from her own behavior, the ones cornering Russell in an alley would most likely not be a group of able-bodied young men, but a group of lesbians.
“I suppose you’re right.” Rita pressed her temples, looking troubled.
“It’s probably because I’ve been sticking to sleeping only two hours a day recently.”
“Would you like to take a bath together?” the girl asked, her face full of anticipation.
“…Perhaps not for now.” Rita replied with a gentle smile, causing a hint of disappointment to appear on the girl’s face.
[You’re the craziest dame in Gotham City, the busiest clown in the circus, the night guard at McDonald’s, and both the Big and Little Joker in a deck of cards, huh?]
The Tip System’s voice chimed in.
“Huh?” Russell, operating as a ghost, was taken aback.
He didn’t quite understand what the Tip System meant by that sudden outburst.
[You’ll get it in a minute,] the Tip System said cryptically.
Russell scratched his head in confusion and continued to follow Rita.
Unsurprisingly, he ran into a certain illegally beautiful woman wearing a sports tank top.
The Goose of Justice—Durandal.
“Rita, you don’t look very well today,” the cool-headed but slightly dense woman said, looking at her vice-captain’s troubled face with concern.
“Want to take a bath together?” the girl asked her vice-captain after a moment of thought, her words remarkably similar to the previous girl’s.
Rita’s eyes instantly lit up.
“Okay!”
Same recipe, different flavor.
Russell glanced back.
The young Valkyrie was still psyching herself up, probably still trying to figure out how to ask Rita out.
He now more or less understood what the Tip System had meant.
But speaking of which…
Russell looked towards Rita and Durandal.
The two captains of the Immortal Blades were gathering their clothes, clearly preparing to leave.
Should he follow them?
Russell was lost in thought.