Second Lieutenant, Reichel Schwertspinne, Russiva Imperial Year 782 Month 4, Day 8, Blohm Main Residence (Berilian), Deutsche Empery

*kruuuuuk*

The door creaked ever so slightly as Reichel closed the door slowly with the intention of minimizing the noise, so as to not disturb the sleeping Anny on her way out.

After Reichel had knocked out the child Anny with a single hit she volunteered to carry the little girl back to her room by obligation as the big sister.

And now Reichel was finally going to get her free time.

*brak* The wood of the door made a quiet sound as it made contact with the frame, even though Reichel was careful not to make any noise.

And as Reichel turned around to face away from the door and leave for the kitchen, another familiar face stopped her in her tracks.

“Yo.” The man’s voice was cheerful, very much fitting his bright green fedora and light face that implies the youth of a man in his late twenties.

Aside from the green fedora, the man wore a green coat with a black vest, his right arm was covered with a cape that only covered his right side, and he had on green breeches with black socks reaching up to just below his ankles accompanied with sleek jet black boots.

Reichel reflexively thought about how the boots should be green as well if he was following the pattern scheme but then was reminded that black boots are just easier to clean compared to green boots.

“You’re here ...” Reichel said indifferently.

This man was Adrian Wentz, one of the few executives belonging to the Blohm company.

A mysterious man through and through, Reichel has barely any knowledge of him besides the fact that he takes care of the most non-legal operations of the Blohm Company and the fact that his class is quite a rare one.

The [Courier] class, specializing in speedy techniques and stamina that boasted no low level but yet was a class unfit for battle.

'Rather than battle ...'

The Courier class was much more specialized than running, which was almost the opposite but not quite.

Reichel was imagining about the use of an army of couriers with vests filled with bombs charging straight into the enemy in Allahu Akhbar style.

It was a battle plan that would be more than revolutionary in terms of Hyurasia’s current arts of war that could potentially win many battles, but with the concept of useless sentiments like The Warrior’s Honour and the International Treaty of War she would have trouble actually incorporating them into the army, but that was a story for another time.

"I was kind of surprised to see you here you know, I thought that you'd actually arrive tomo--"

*bonk!*

Reichel’s right hand hrew a speedy right hook powerfully connected with Adrian’s nose, causing Adrian to stagger back and almost fall into the ground if he didn’t support his body with his left hand.

All while checking his bleeding nose with his right.

"You probably had a hand with the old man comissioning me to Imperial Officer School didn't you?" Reichel questioned as she took out a handkerchief from her breast pocket and wiped off the blood from her gloves.

Although Theodor had a lot of influence in the capital by himself, there was no way that he'd be the one to personally ensure the merits of comissioning Reichel despite still being one year away from the legal age requirement for enrollment.

Adrian was one with a silver tongue, it wouldn't be any surprise if he managed to sway those people in the academy with mere emotional persuasion alone.

“Ngahhhh, I saw that coming from a mile away ... not gonna lie ...” Adrian said as he held his nose after confirming that there was indeed flowing down from his nostrils.

*crack* He adjusted the position of his nose as if it was dislocated.

“But I guess I do deserve that.”

"Jaaaaa, it's nice to see you too Rei!"

"Don't get so familiar with me sie schwanzluscher!" (You cocksucker!)

*phuk!* Another one of Reichel's fists struck his nose again, making Adrian fall to the ground again.

"Okay ... I deserve that too ..."

Reichel thought it was weird, where did Anny learn how to use [Fleeting Rush]? It wasn't like Anny ever once saw Reichel using those moves before, so she must have learned it from someone else.

Someone with a great skill-set of speed-related skills, but it couldn’t just be any person ...

It had to be a person with a frequent free access to roam around the Blohm Residence freely and then someone close enough to Anny herself for Anny to actually accept their tutoring.

Only one person with the right qualifications popped up to Reichel’s mind.

A certain Courier.

"If you ever teach her any of those high-level skills again I will murder you."

"Ahhhhh! So scary! So scary! Don't say the word 'murder' so lightly!"

Reichel didn’t like Adrian, he was annoying, obnoxious, and mostly too bright for someone like her, she  couldn’t stand these friendly types at all.

‘Well, at least he’s capable, even if that’s his only redeeming trait.’

"Anyways, why are you here? Shouldn't you be collecting rocks or something?

 “What do you think I am? A kid!?”

“...”

"Sigh, why do you have to be so cold all the time?"

*gruff*

Adrian opened one of the many windows littering the walls of the large corridors inside the Blohm residence.

The beautiful and calming orange of the sky dyed with the setting sun became much clearer with less window frame obstructing the view.

*fuuuun*

Adrian stuck his head out the window immaturely before taking in a large breath of air with nose, before exhaling all the outside air.

“Ahhhhh ...” Adrian said as he moved his head back from the window, turning to face Reichel again.

“Fresh air is a quite a delightful thing, don’t you think?” He smiled while tipping his fedora again.

Such an action annoyed Reichel, but she didn't know why exactly she felt infuriated at that motion.

"I came here to give you the thing you were asking for."

"I see, you're here to give me the thing."

"Exactly, I'm here with the thing."

"..."

"You don't know what I mean by the thing do you?"

Reichel brought up her hand for another solid right hoo--

"Ahhh don't hit me don't hit me! I'm talking about this thing!" Adrian said as he brought up his hand to cover is face and his other hand bringing out a piece of folded paper giving it out to Reichel.

Reichel discontinued her motion of powering up her right arm as she instead took away the piece of paper from him and unfolded it, eyes wide as she looked at the unfolded piece.

...

...

...

“Danke.” Reichel gave her sincere thanks as she verified the contents.

This was something she needed.

It was a highly detailed map of the capital of the Deustche Empery, Berilian.

From every house and general business, to even the properties of every aristocrat on site, it was a higly detailed map with many landmarks.

At the most lower-right corner of the map was the seal of the Empery’s royalty, confirming that this was a map one of the maps that were solely available to high-ranking officials and assets of the Empery.

Solely available to top-tier kind of people belonging to the Deutsche Empery.

‘If someone found this in my possession getting mistaken for a spy would definitely be the least of my worries ...’

Execution wasn’t out of the question as well.

People in the Deutsche Empery have been executed for even the most mild suspicions of being a spy, but if Reichel was every seen with something like a detailed map detailing every known major landmark in the capital then it was going to be game over.

But there was one other thing that was off about the map.

“Why do you have a need for such a thing anyways? I never knew you’d be the type of person to dabble on things like the Unterwelt.”

There were many “X” marks, marks mostly amassing in the slums, where the criminal activities, the so-called ‘darkness’ of every city that exists converges at.

The criminal underworld.

The Deutsche Empery is no exception, in the darkest part of the Empery is where the so-called darkness thrives in particular.

People exploiting people until the opposing party is unable to get themselves out of hell by themselves, and even in hell people will continue to exploit you. That was how it worked.

Piles of debt from investments that went awry, picking the wrong opponents, stealing under your friend's noses, betrayal, it was just that kind of world.

The Unterwelt of the imperial capital. (Underworld)

 “And to make things worse, wouldn’t it be bad for your military career if a promising officer was found dabbling in the issues and politics of the criminal Unterwelt?"

 Reichel’s reputation may be great, but if it was ever mentioned that a girl her age not only had connections, but even a business running in the Unterwelt then most of her credibility would just sink down the drain as if it never existed.

“You can rest easy, It won’t be business.” Reichel assured Adrian, with a soft voice.

That statement was both true and false.

Tralse?

“Then for what other purpose would you be there for?”

It was weird, usually when one goes to the Unterwelt by their own volition it would be to suck some poor sod’s money off of them, if they even had any money at all.

 “What I will be there for is none of your business.”

“My my, such a tongue, such a tongue!”

While Adrian was disliked by Reichel, Adrian also disliked Reichel in return.

The girl was too cold even to her comrades, she shows no sign of compassion to anybody other than Anny and was far from a people person.

She lacked any kind of ethical values and looks at people as if they were resources or tools to be used for her own benefit.

“You see Frau Schwertspinne ...” The tone of Adrian’s voice turned cold.

The hairs on Reichel’s skin stood up, not in fear but more of a feeling close to shock and awe.

“What you do in the Unterwelt is indeed my business.” Adrian adjusted his fedora to prove his point.

Adrian didn’t screw around when it came to matters of his profession, anything that had the potential to become big in the Unterwelt concerned him, no matter how small the chance.

Adrian released an aura of pressure that was unthinkable for his past attitude, and it even made Reichel respect him again.

Reichel was reminded, that even though Adrian looked like a fool on the surface, he was still Adrian, Level 7 {Courier} and one of the few executives of the Blohm Company.

He wasn’t someone she could just push around.

“... stress-relief.” Reichel answered.

Though that wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t exactly the whole truth either.

Adrian could tell as well, and although it wasn’t the answer that he wanted it was still an answer that was expected from someone like Reichel.

But even still, Adrian could tell what Reichel was saying, or rather a lot of things from those two words, but not exactly the whole truth.

A lot of people were going to disappear overnight.

“... Be sure to avoid any of the Blohm Company and her allies’ men, be back before sundown so the clean-u—“

“—That is unneeded.” Reichel interrupted Adrian just as he was about to say ‘so the clean-up squads can get to work’.

Clean-up squads were an essential part in Unterwelt business, although the capital guard didn’t really care about a dead body or two some real genuine capital guards with a big-ass heart and dreams to become a hero occasionally appear every once in a while and fucks over the large crime syndicates despite the overwhelming odds.

Clean-up squads helped reduce the tracks, so capital guards and vigilantes could have much more trouble pointing out who did what.

Adrian narrowed one of his eyes, obviously questioning Reichel’s words.

“Rest assured, no dirt will be found.”

“And how exactly can you confirm that there will be no corpses? Please, do enlighten me.” Adrian questioned Reichel.

Cleaning-up was easier said than done, although one doesn’t really have to clean scene outright, the least clean-up squads could do is move all the bodies from a crime scene under the watch of the city guards, dispose of all personal-class possessions, and make sure they dispose of the bodies in a place that would take too long for the city guard to find before it decomposes too much so they could no longer identify the victim.

“I can’t really say how, but there won’t be any corpses left once I’m done with them.”

“So you’re going to use space magic to dispose of the bodies in another dimension? You, one of the cursed?” Adrian chuckled.

Being one of the cursed really had its disadvantages it seemed.

“Or perhaps don’t tell me you actually plan to burn the bodies?” Adrian highlighted such an amateur mistake that Reichel twitched her eyebrow in annoyance again.

“I’m afraid I can’t really trust you going to clean up by yourself without telling what your choice of method will be, and as such I will be sending clean-up squads before the end of the night for my ease of mind.”

“Fine, go suit yourself then.” Reichel sighed, it was a shame that she couldn’t say that she would eat the corpses herself, but that also made things easier in a way.

“I’ll be going now.”

It didn’t really go as Reichel planned, but at least she didn’t have to worry about Adrian getting in her way.

“Take care, and remember, be back by sunrise!”

Reichel nodded, and instead of her plan to head to the kitchen she turned around in the direction of the exit in the Blohm Residence.

“Oh, and Frau Schwertspinne ...”

Adrian suddenly called out, just as Reichel turned his back on him while pocketing the piece of paper holding the valuable information.

But Reichel didn’t turn around to listen, rather she pretended not to hear him as she wanted to make use of the opportunity at hand just as the vibrant peaceful orange of the sky slowly obliviated into the dark night.

She was eager to finally feed, and she didn’t want to waste anymore time just as the most optimal time for hunting was on it’s way.

“Happy hunting.”