The night was getting darker. Finally, the last guests left, and only Goth and Sophie were left at the counter on the first floor.

As Goth's maid, Sophie had been with Goth's since he was still in Lingnan Town. At that time, she was still a maid in the inn, and the boss saw that Goth, who was living alone, was too pitiful, so he "lent" Sophie to him to help.

On the surface, Goth could be freed from endless chores, but in reality, Goth knew in his heart that Sophie did almost as much work as she did for him.

No way, who made our Mr. John Goth a housekeeper in fact? In a sense, he is a man who writes laziness on his face, but secretly he is too diligent.

"Go back, Sophie," Goth instructed, "I have something to do." ”

Seeing the maid lady looking at her suspiciously, the young merchant said, "There is a special batch of 'goods' that must be inspected today." …… It's a bit dangerous, and there's no way to put it off. ”

"You didn't stock today." Sophie said skeptically.

"I have a way of buying goods that won't be seen." Goth said.

Sophie pursed her lips, a pair of bright little eyes that twinkled with dissatisfaction, and the expression seemed to say "You're lying"! But in the end, she muttered as she carried out Goth's order and left through the back door of the shop.

Sophie was from an empire, and if it weren't for the fact that on her sixteenth birthday, Mr. Goth had helped her pay taxes for exemption from military service—which was a lot of money for civilians—she wouldn't have been so easy to talk to!

Confirming that she was gone, Goth sighed. It's business as usual today. Only Goth knew that there were unexpected "customers" visiting the store.

The young merchant closed the door early, re-ascended to the second floor, and pushed open the door of a room. The room was quiet, dark.

"I know you're here." Goth said calmly.

No one answered.

"You're getting better at stealing," Goth said, shaking his head, "I almost got tricked by you." So, I turned on the lights. ”

The young merchant lit the magic lamp in the room.

There was already a person in the small room. It was a half-elf girl with short ear-length hair, wearing a lilac dress and pure white sandals and socks, and the whole person exuded an otherworldly temperament.

"Renee." Goth stared directly at the half-elf girl in front of her, Regines Nightmur.

Renee has two distinct identities: the eldest lady of the Feodorovich family, a student of Solidar Academy, Renee Fedorovic; and, the killer of the "Hand of the Sea of Clouds", "Regines Nightmour" who lives in the dark world.

As fate would have it, the merchant Goth and the other Black Apostles failed to cross path, but he had several relationships with Renee. At that time, Renee hadn't even recognized her brother Levi.

Goth knew that if Renee was looking for him as a young lady and a student, she wouldn't have to hide her tracks like this. The person who met him now was by no means the cold noble lady, but the messenger of the strongest dark force in the mainland.

Renee once infiltrated the Maiden's castle, and even Victor, who used the "Void Jump" secret ritual, couldn't catch up with her.

"Tell me, what's the matter?" Goth took a deep breath.

……

While Renee and Goth were negotiating, Hailin, another special killer of the "Hand of the Sea of Clouds", was staying on the grass not far away, leaning against a bush, watching for Renee. She wore a yellow dress and paced back and forth with a pocket watch in hand, pretending to be "waiting for someone".

Renee and Helen, who were contemporaries when they were trained by the organization, were the only two girls to survive.

Helen has taken on many dangerous infiltration missions, assassination, theft, intelligence gathering, and more. It stands to reason that this negotiation mission did not require a dangerous person like her to appear, but it was the supreme leader of the "Hand of the Sea of Clouds" organization, the mysterious Lord Ionia himself, who had to take over.

According to Master Ionia, "It is likely that John Goth was once a powerful mage, and he himself or some other powerful spellcaster cast some kind of secret magic that caused the vast majority of people on the continent, including himself, to forget his existence as a mage." Spy on him and invite him to work with the Order...... If he refuses to agree, it doesn't hurt to take him into the organization by force. ”

Eventually, Renee, who had had several encounters with John Goth, took on the task, and Helen assisted her.

At present, Goth is just an ordinary young man selling magical items on the surface, and with Renee and Helen, he should be able to deal with it...... It's just that if you want to do it quietly, you have to be a little more serious.

As for why he was in such a hurry, Ionia-sama also gave a rare explanation: "The legendary spellcasters in the world each have incredible means. Aside from me, Palamedes of the Black Floating City should be able to withstand the effects of this spell. In addition to him, Nicholas, the speaker of Occad, is also ninety percent sure, but with Nicholas's insidious nature, he may not be known on the surface. ”

As for the others? Not a chance. Like the Imperial Prime Minister Friedrich, he is powerful, but he has not studied cause and effect and soul enough, and he is afraid that he will not be able to completely resist this trick. Even if you notice something wrong, you won't be able to figure out what's going on for a while.

In any case, it is very likely that other forces will also come into contact with Goth. Levi, who recognized Renee last year, has even begun to investigate Goth's intelligence through the "Hand of the Sea of Clouds...... According to Lord Ionia's judgment, Goth's value is extremely high, and it is worth the "Hand of the Sea of Clouds" to start before the major forces!

Helen can only hope that Renee's actions will go well.

Suddenly—

Hailin, who was bored, heard a strange sound in the distance.

"It's ......"

Someone's coming!

The bright moonlight sprinkled on the grass. Helen could see it clearly: one black, one red, two slender figures swooped down from the night sky, landed not far from her, and then headed for the door of Goth's "Heart of the Stars" shop.

The female killer couldn't help but be shocked.

In the vicinity of the pure white city, people who can fly in the sky are far from new. If a mage came from where she came and suddenly patronized the "Heart of the Stars", Hailin wouldn't be surprised. But—

The two girls who fell from the sky were dressed in a way that clearly did not look like Mage Elrios. Judging by their pace and demeanor, these two girls are capable warriors. Even Helen could conclude that they were flying with the "Flying Charm" before.

Is it an emissary sent by a certain force to negotiate with Goth? This possibility cannot be ignored. In this way, Renee and Goth's negotiations are stirred up. The girl in black, Hai Lin could feel a faint pressure just by looking directly at her figure.

They must not be allowed to influence the organization's plans...... Helen thought.

The female killer hesitated. She is good at stealth combat, and when she is helpless, she will not fight the warrior head-on. And the warrior who is good at using magical items is the enemy that Hailin has the most headache.

But, just don't ask?

The two men were completely unaware of their identities. Make a sudden move, take down one of the two first, and then fight the other hand-to-hand...... Helen is confident of winning.

What's more, Hai Lin also carries a miniature anti-magic field that can suddenly open. Even if the other party comes up with some strange magic items, as long as the anti-magic field is opened, their effect can be canceled. It was the dead of night, and as long as they were put down quietly, there would be no commotion.

As Helin pondered, the two had already walked past her. The girl in red smiled at her. And the one in black didn't even seem to even look at her.

Then Helen recognized.

She had seen this girl before......

“……”

"The World of Light", the Lady Victoria of the Empire!

The female killer's face finally changed.

As a spectator, Helen had watched the battle between the girl and Dimi up close.

Even if the female killer is confident in her own ability, ordinary people will not dare to provoke and practice the "Bright World" of "Buddha-figure Advent", invincible below the blue ocean level. Helen is not afraid of danger, but that doesn't mean she's going to challenge enemies she can't defeat.

The female killer can only let the girl pass by her.

Notify Renee? No, you don't. Renee has her own measure, but the two of them may have wasted their efforts this time.

Why does the Empire move faster than the French Powers and the Confederation...... Even Lord Ionia hadn't expected that. It is even more inconceivable that it will send a "bright world" with a very high status. Could it be that they have any information that they don't even have the "Hand of the Sea of Clouds"?

Just as Hailin began to prepare for her next move, the girl walking in front suddenly stopped.

"You." She turned her head and locked her eyes on Helen.

……

And at the same time.

Renee was briefly telling Goth what she meant. When approached by a "businessman", the "Hand of the Sea of Clouds" still decided to do what he liked and start with business cooperation.

"That's it......" the singer nodded, "I see, this order for the 'Hand of the Sea of Clouds'...... It does make me a lot of money. ”

The young merchant seemed to be lost in thought. He leaned against the window, his gaze seemingly casually skimming the window.