Beta and Gamma had invested a tremendous amount of time and effort into preparing this specialty shop, even hiring several employees.
When night fell, the employees returned to their homes, leaving only Gamma and Beta to guard the store.
The bicycle business had become the envy of many greedy merchants.
Hearing movement outside, Shino prepared to get up and deal with it.
“Lord Phantom, please let me handle this,” Gamma said.
“Very well, go ahead.” The thieves who had broken in were after the core blueprints for the bicycles.
Most of the components were outsourced to various factories, but the core mechanism of the rear wheel was hand-crafted by Gamma and Beta themselves.
Gamma, who possessed the “Mana Hand” technique, had taught it to Beta, allowing the two of them to produce the core parts with high efficiency.
The thief headed straight for the workshop in the back of the Mitsugoshi gallery.
That was where the secrets were kept.
He reached the door and began picking the lock.
“Entering someone’s home without permission is quite rude, don’t you think?” Gamma’s voice rang out from behind him.
“When did you–?!” The thief spun around, glaring at Gamma.
“Since you’ve spotted me, I won’t be polite.
Instead of digging through files, it’s easier to just squeeze the information out of the owner.
And while I’m at it…
hehehe!” Even though the thief wore a mask, Gamma could feel his lewd, disgusting smirk.
“How vulgar.
Unfortunately, you lack the strength to back up those words.” Gamma didn’t move an inch.
A Mana Hand manifested and clamped tightly around the man’s throat.
He tried to scream, but no sound could escape.
“Did you know?
People choked to death like this don’t bleed.
It makes disposing of the evidence much easier,” Gamma explained coolly.
A minute passed, and the man stopped struggling.
Gamma didn’t let go.
All of the Seven Shadows had learned “Mana Perception” from Shino; they could tell at a glance if a target still had active mana.
Unless the opponent was exceptionally powerful, this skill never failed.
After “playing dead” for a minute, the thief realized Gamma wasn’t releasing him.
He snapped his eyes open and began struggling again, but after a few more moments, he finally lost consciousness for real.
Only after confirming his mana had completely dissipated did Gamma release her grip.
Suddenly, Shino appeared behind her.
“Ah!
Lord Phantom!” Gamma’s face flushed a deep crimson.
Panicked, she began flailing her arms to explain herself, but Shino’s sudden appearance had made her so nervous that her coordination failed.
Her Mana Hand dissipated, and she promptly tripped over her own feet.
Looking at the floor rushing toward her face, Gamma gave up.
*It’s over.
I’m going to embarrass myself in front of Lord Phantom again!* But then, a pair of arms caught her just before she hit the ground.
“Are you alright, Gamma?” *Lord Phantom is holding me!
I can die happy!* Gamma’s nose began to bleed–not from the fall, but from Shino’s face being inches away from hers.
“Gamma, your nose is bleeding.” Gamma quickly composed herself, using a Mana Hand to steady her posture while taking out a handkerchief to wipe her face.
“Lord Phantom, I feel a bit dizzy…
I think I’m anemic,” Beta added from behind Shino, swaying in a perfectly timed “fainting” pose.
Shino’s internal assessment: *She’s faking.* Nevertheless, he flickered over and supported Beta.
“Are you okay, Beta?” “I feel so much better now that you’re holding me, Lord Phantom!
You’re so amazing!” “What about the…
corpse?” Gamma asked, pointing to the man on the floor.
“Gamma ‘killed’ him, so you should be the one to dump him outside the city,” Shino replied.
“Beta!
You just want to be alone with Lord Phantom!” Gamma snapped.
“I do not!” “Alright, don’t argue over something so small.
I’ll take care of it.” Shino grabbed the body and vanished.
He returned a short while later.
“Lord Phantom, what are you planning?” Beta asked.
“I was thinking…
a bicycle should be easy to copy.
A merchant would just need to buy one and take it apart.
Why hasn’t anyone succeeded yet?” “That is the result of Eta’s and my collaboration,” Gamma explained.
“We added a special mechanism to the core components.
If the casing is forcibly removed, the internal parts self-destruct instantly.” Beta remained silent.
She hadn’t thought of that detail; Gamma had been the one to point it out during production.
She had to admit, Gamma really was the smarter one when it came to logistics.
“Have you figured out who is targeting you?” Shino asked.
“Well, since Beta and I are usually busy hand-crafting the parts…” “I found out.
I found some clues from that ‘corpse’ just now.
As they say, ‘it is impolite not to return a favor.’ Since they want to play dirty, we shouldn’t forget our manners!” “As expected of Lord Phantom!” Beta and Gamma chorused.
In a lavish manor, a morbidly obese man paced anxiously.
“This is the seventh time!
I hired a top-tier professional this time, hopefully he brings back what I want.” “That Mitsugoshi shop has no vision.
I told them that if those two women became my concubines and handed over the bicycle business, they would have endless luxury!” “They dared to reject me three times!
Once I have the core technology, I’ll drive them into bankruptcy!
Then I’ll expand the bicycle business nationwide and make a killing!” A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in!” The “thief” who had broken into the shop earlier entered.
“You’re finally back!
How did it go?” “I didn’t find the documents, so I just kidnapped the two of them instead.” Shino “dragged” the bound Gamma and Beta into the room.
“Hehehe!
So you finally have your day!” the fat man cackled.
“Get out, I’ll interrogate them myself.” “Where’s the payment we agreed on?” Shino asked.
“You’ll get it tomorrow!” “I want it now, or I’m taking them back.” “You bastard!
Do you want your money or not?!” “I was going to play along a bit longer, but forget it.
This is boring,” Shino sighed.
His mana surged, and his disguise melted away, revealing his black military uniform and cloak.
Simultaneously, Gamma and Beta effortlessly snapped their ropes.
“You!
You!
Guards!
GUARDS!” the fat man screamed.
No one answered.
There wasn’t a single soul left alive outside the room.
“Hand over your entire fortune, and I might spare you,” Shino said coldly.
“My whole fortune?
In your dreams!” Without hesitation, Shino thrust his sword through the man’s heart.
“You…!” The man gasped, never expecting Shino to actually kill him.
Wouldn’t he lose the money?
Shino immediately cast a healing spell, pulling the dying man back from the brink of death.
“My patience is limited.
Speak.
Speak or die.” “I’ll talk!
I’ll talk!” The man confessed the location of his vault.
Shino went to check, but found only a few million Zeny.
The house alone was worth more than that—the man was clearly lying.
“Lord Phantom, let me handle this,” Gamma said with a predatory glint in her eyes.
Beta and Shino, not wanting to watch a bloodbath, stepped out of the room.
A short while later, the man had told her everything.
When Shino re-entered, the man was a broken, mangled mess.
“I’ve told you…
everything…
please…
let me go…” “Very well, I’ll let you go,” Shino said, turning to leave.
As he walked away, he gave Gamma a subtle look.
Gamma understood perfectly.
One must always keep their word; Shino said *he* would let the man go.
He didn’t say Gamma would.
Gamma drew her slime sword and walked toward the fat man.
“He…
he said he’d let me go!
What are you doing?!” “Lord Phantom said he would spare you, and he is a man of his word.
But I have no intention of following his lead this time.
Leaving you alive is just asking for trouble.” Before dawn, Shino, Gamma, and Beta returned to the Mitsugoshi Company with three hundred million Zeny.
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