Chapter 2: Sorry, I’m the Police
“Everyone’s rooms have been arranged. It’s getting late, so you should all get some rest.”
“Tomorrow, I will take you all to the academy for an assessment. Even if you fail, there’s no need to be discouraged. You are all outstanding talents who have formed your first Soul Pact before the age of twenty. I believe the military will also open its doors to you.”
The noblewoman named Annrina’s voice was very gentle, which put the somewhat anxious young people at ease.
Suddenly, someone stood up, his face flushed, and asked, “Please forgive my impudence, Miss Annrina! May I ask if your manor still needs servants?”
Annrina was slightly stunned, but quickly recovered. She covered her smile with her fair hand and replied, “We don’t lack servants at the moment, but if you’re willing, I am in need of a personal bodyguard.”
“It would be my honor to be your bodyguard!”
The young man said loudly, his face flushed, drawing envious glances from those around him.
They all hailed from poor villages and borderlands. Because they were detected to have excellent soul aptitude and the potential to become Beast Tamers, their families pooled their resources to send them to the great city of Lesa for better development.
Whether it was passing the assessment to become a student at the Beast Tamer Academy or joining the military for training, these were among their goals.
Of course, being employed and valued by a noble family was also a good option.
And what’s more—
Many young people at the scene unconsciously cast fiery gazes at Annrina’s graceful figure, secretly swallowing a mouthful of saliva, filled with jealousy and envy for the lucky person who spoke first.
That was a personal bodyguard, someone who could spend time with Miss Annrina day and night. If they were lucky, it wouldn’t be an impossible dream to win the beauty’s heart.
However, since someone had spoken first and secured the only vacant position, these restless young men could only suppress their impulses.
Annrina didn’t seem angered by the undisguised, smoldering gazes. Instead, she smiled and looked around, gently raising the wine glass in her hand.
“Then, I will toast everyone with this last drink.”
Her words were beautiful and pleasant to the ear, as if possessing some unknown magical power, calming the heat in the hearts of those around her. They all raised their glasses as she instructed.
“I feel like I’m seeing a large group of vibrant leeks, lined up and waiting to be harvested by a scythe.”
Looking at the scorching gazes directed at Annrina from all around the hall, Shaya’s gaze towards them held a hint of pity.
Although there were Beasts and magic technology, the common people in this world were indeed still at a medieval level of enlightenment. They clearly hadn’t experienced the harsh realities of “heavy money for a child” and “minus 8000.” They were completely unaware of such an obvious scam.
Thinking this way, developing an anti-fraud app in this world might have a promising future.
While his thoughts wandered aimlessly, Shaya’s spirit moved slightly.
Next moment, a graceful silver-white figure appeared silently on Shaya’s shoulder.
That small silver-white figure silently faded, blending into the night outside the window, unnoticed by anyone.
After completing all this, Shaya also raised his own glass vessel, and the crimson wine flowed down.
Although over the years, he had accumulated considerable wealth through his transmigator’s mind, copying things and employing marketing strategies, even secretly controlling some industries.
However, to complete that hellish mission, most of the money Shaya earned was poured into it. Just to excavate the ruins of the Azure Court Duchy, he had hired an archaeological exploration team of nearly a hundred people multiple times, which also led to his long-term state of being broke.
For this reason, although it wasn’t the main objective, Shaya naturally wouldn’t miss out on any bounty rewards he could claim along the way.
He couldn’t help it; having fallen into the pit of archaeology, even a landlord couldn’t afford to be extravagant.
“It’s getting late, I’ll take everyone back to their rooms to rest.”
Scanning the entire hall and seeing that everyone at the dinner party had consumed the wine, Annrina softly spoke again.
Even so, her figure remained motionless. Her beautiful voice seemed to carry a hint of suppressed heat.
A few breaths later.
Bang—
Bang—
These were the dull thuds of flesh hitting the ground.
It wasn’t an isolated incident. In an instant, the sounds of clattering tables and chairs echoed throughout the entire hall.
“The wine has a paralyzing toxin, Miss Annrina! Someone intends to harm you!”
A dry voice came from the lucky person who had spoken first and secured a position. He was already unable to move and had fallen to the ground, but he still spoke to warn her regardless of his own safety, clearly already seeing himself as her personal guard.
The response he received was a indifferent and icy gaze.
And a keenly sharp dagger that tore through the skin on his neck, freezing all his expressions into a stiff posture.
Flesh and blood splattered, staining Annrina’s originally beautiful face with an unnatural blush.
She drew the dagger from the collapsed corpse, looking down at the people lying askew all over the hall, her eyes flashing with undisguised madness.
“You all formed your first Soul Pact at such a young age. In your hometowns, you must have been geniuses and elites who were highly anticipated.”
“It’s truly enviable… You are mere lowly commoners, yet you are worthy of possessing such enviable talent.”
Behind her, black mist quietly diffused, gathering into a butterfly-like form.
The wings formed from black smoke bore terrifying patterns resembling white bone skeletons, the opposite of the butterflies people imagined flitting among flowers.
“However, the more of a genius someone is, the more delicious their unwillingness and despair will be when they are on the verge of death, won’t it?”
The entire hall fell silent. The paralyzing toxin in the wine had spread, and at this point, they had even lost control of their vocal cords.
They could only watch with terrified and desperate eyes as the noble lady, whom they had initially seen as merciful and kind, walked towards them step by step, holding a keenly sharp dagger.
The black butterfly behind Annrina, engraved with withered bone patterns, flapped its wings. Wisps of black mist floated from the collapsed figures, all of which merged into the black butterfly behind her, causing Annrina’s pretty face, connected to her familiar, to show a hint of intoxication.
The Nightmare Butterfly fed on the souls, fears, and despair of others.
Such an evil familiar was naturally not tolerated by the world.
But in the face of the pleasure of gaining power, Annrina had long cast aside worldly laws and the honor of nobility.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to disguise herself as a benevolent person, taking in trainee Beast Tamers one after another who had no background but outstanding talent and pure, delicious souls.
During this time, she had been suppressing her true nature, diligently pretending to be kind.
And now, it was finally time for the harvest.
They were merely commoners from remote villages. Even if they disappeared, no one in Lesa would care.
Thinking this, Annrina, no longer suppressing her true nature, her once elegant steps became increasingly unrestrained.
She arrived beside another fallen figure. The raised dagger was about to do something.
But then, her peripheral vision made her pause mid-motion.
Annrina turned her head silently and looked at the black-haired youth leaning against the dining table in the corner, idly cracking melon seeds.
“Who are you?”
Among this batch of prey, this black-haired youth was not conspicuous. He only left her with a vague impression of being taciturn.
But he had undoubtedly drunk the wine just now, a fact she had personally confirmed.
Even a high-level Beast Tamer, without summoning their familiar to enhance their physique, would not be able to resist that anesthetic.
Yet, at this very moment, the other party was calmly and unhurriedly cracking melon seeds, his movements elegant, as if completely unaffected by the sudden turn of events.
“Looks like you drank a lot, but you didn’t touch a drop. This is a basic skill for nobles. Clearly, you haven’t been through the ordeal of drinking culture.”
“In our era, if you didn’t master this skill, you’d turn into a sugar lump before you were thirty.”
As if seeing through Annrina’s thoughts, Shaya stopped what he was doing.
He tidied his clothes and then pinned a badge to his chest.
“Sorry, I’m the police.”
