The Broker

Moments before Jay killed Ella.

"That's your third one, right?" Erik asked.

"Yes! Only two more and the quest is done!" Luna responded energetically as she collected the spear she had previously thrown at her target.

The two were currently exploring the Southern Fields, searching for slimes. While Luna naively thought that Erik just helped her complete her first quest of defeating five slimes, Erik guided her far away from the place where Ella and Jay went.

If everything went according to his calculations, Jay must have been using that opportunity to kill Ella now. Thus, it was Erik's task to distract Luna in order to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"Oh, found one!" Luna announced eagerly, approaching the nearby slime like an assassin.

"Wow, at this pace, you might even be able to do your second quest!" Erik commented, forcing a laugh.

Indeed. Everything was according to plan. He had to continue playing Luna's helper, whereas Jay would finish off Ella and regain a part of himself. There was nothing that could ruin that simple plan.

"It's you two again, huh?"

Erik broke into a cold sweat immediately after recognizing that authoritative and irritated tone. As if partly paralyzed by fear, he slowly turned his head to the woman who was in her late twenties.

"I sensed danger and rushed over only to see that it's your work again." the woman sighed.

"E-Elsa, I—"

Elsa, a tall woman, flipped her long, raven-black hair back while piercing Erik with her narrow, menacing black eyes that were devoid of any other color. Furthermore, she wore a black business suit that stressed her slim figure, boosting her image as a powerful and intimidating individual.

"Explain the situation in one sentence." she ordered, interrupting the stuttering Erik.

Erik glanced over to Luna, who was busy with her slime hunt, before taking a deep breath.

"Jay—I mean, Jason and I are currently hunting a person carrying a fragment of Jason..." Erik answered nervously.

"Is it Ella? The girl from the picture I gave you?"

"Y-yes."

"Thought so..." Elsa sighed again with her arms crossed. "Where are they now?"

Erik simply pointed in a certain direction.

"Got it. I will take a look and go."

"Uhm..."

But before Elsa headed toward Ella and Jay, Erik began to open his mouth, seemingly searching for the correct words to use in front of her.

"I know this is greedy, considering how much you helped us already, but you're the only person who can detect them, so—"

"Here. However, that's the last time, okay?" she cut off Erik as he made a desperate plea, handing over a picture of a person.

"Thank you so much...!" Erik expressed his gratitude genuinely as he bowed his head while taking hold of the picture.

"You remember the deal, right? I won't help anymore unless he says so himself."

"Of course, I remember. However..."

"What?"

"Are you fine with being that passive?" Erik asked cautiously, knowing very well that saying one wrong thing would put him six feet under.

Elsa huffed, hearing Erik's comment.

"This will be a valuable lesson for him. If this gets wrapped up too quickly, do you think he will have changed?" she said, showing a faint grin on her face.

Erik could not retort. What she had said was right.

He wanted to call it quits and separate himself from her since it would not be good for his heart if he were to keep being in her presence. However, when he was about to bid farewell, he noticed something far more troublesome than Elsa herself—Luna was gone.

"You're searching for that girl? She sprinted away the moment you showed me where the other two were." Elsa stated indifferently after reading Erik's panicked expression.

"Why didn't you stop—"

Overtaken by his panic and emotions, Erik accidentally let it out on Elsa, who, in turn, silenced him preemptively with her fierce gaze.

"Since I have urgent things to attend to, I have to take my leave for now. If there's anything you need from me, don't hesitate to contact me." Erik said rapidly in a calm tone before running off.

"Sure." Elsa responded in a flat tone as she observed how Erik rushed toward the Jay and the others.

And fortunately, it only took a few minutes for Erik to catch up, although he was still unfortunately too late.

"Who launched the signal flare?"

Ella's dead body lay on the ground. Jay was also on the floor, trying to explain the situation to Luna, who had probably overheard his conversation with Elsa and headed over to Ella's rescue. And then, there was the police. Not just any police force, but the Kilgen Police Force—carefully selected and skilled police officers who had already reached the middle to upper sections of the tower.

Looking at that scene, there was no doubt that Jay was viewed as the criminal.

"E-Erik, you're finally here!" Jay cried in joy.

However, Erik only palmed his face with his hand. Now, he, too, was viewed as a criminal, or at least as an accomplice.

"Nobody move!"

Among the people wearing white Japanese haoris with a dark blue police uniform beneath them, a certain person stood out—a blonde, shoulder-length-haired woman in her late twenties with fierce red eyes. While the rest of the unit stood still, she alone approached Jay and Luna while taking a short look at Erik.

She tied her short hair in a ponytail before she stopped in her tracks.

"Explain." she commanded intimidatingly.

And before Luna could use the chance to explain what happened from her perspective, Erik jumped in.

"The thing is—"

However, it appeared as if Erik had no luck today. After having encountered a scary woman, he had to handle yet another troublesome woman. The policewoman wasted no breath and instantly drew her sword, trying to cut Erik into pieces.

"I told you not to move." she reprimanded sharply, directing her hostility toward Erik, who had evaded every attack, although his clothes did not.

Still, that single interaction was the start of chaos. With the officer's attention on Erik, Jay carefully pushed Luna aside and joined Erik's side with his sword unsheathed.

"You're trying to resist?" the officer asked as a smug grin crept onto her face.

"What are you doing, you idiot! We could have talked our way out!" Erik whispered aggressively to Jay.

"Talk our way out?! She almost sliced you into pieces!" Jay retorted. "We have a better chance fighting than reasoning with that crazy woman!"

The policewoman's veins were bursting upon that statement.

"Not only do you underestimate me, but you also dare to call me crazy?"

The subordinates in the back began to panic as they noticed the change in the woman's mood.

"I am Scarlet Kilgen, Captain of the Tutorial Section's Kilgen Police Force." she introduced herself as she straightened her posture.

She readied her sword—a katana—as she crouched down.

"I don't need an explanation anymore. One look at this scene is enough to figure things out." she added with a grin that was as malicious as a criminal's.

Scarlet leaped at the two men, swinging her sword to cut both of them down. However, Jay kicked Erik away and parried the sword.

Following that, the other officers and Luna charged in as well.

"If possible, I wanted to be on good terms with the police..." Erik lamented, dropping his shoulders.

He then faced the wave of officers and fought back. Instead of launching heavy strikes, Erik skillfully evaded the officers' sword attacks and sent them to the ground by swiping their feet or throwing them over his shoulder.

"Did he learn those techniques from the Kastauf Family...?" Scarlet wondered.

She remained calm since her opponent was lacking in technique.

"You sure you want to continue?" she mocked Jay, who had cuts all over his body.

"Swordsmanship was never my forte, you see?" he responded with a smirk.

Jay charged at her, clenching his sword tightly.

"Hng!"

However, he had to stop midway when a spear came flying toward him and almost hit his head. He glanced over to the direction from which the spear came, only to see Luna, who had mustered up her courage to throw it.

"Got you now." Scarlet chuckled after she flicked Jay's sword away.

She swung her sword so fast that an average person could not keep up. Jay's armor was shattered, his clothes were torn into pieces, and blood sprayed from all directions. And after marking his body with several cuts, Scarlet retracted her arm, intending to thrust her sword into his chest.

"Jay!" Erik yelled as he hurried over to him despite multiple officers clinging to his limbs, trying to hold him down.

The grinning Scarlet pushed her sword forward.

"Huh?"

But at that moment, she lost too much strength. Her legs began to wobble, and her sword felt heavier than usual.

"What's going on?! An Exclusive Skill?!"

Scarlet looked at Jay, who, however, looked behind her.

"It's not a skill, so don't worry."

A shiver ran down Scarlet's spine.

"However, do not move an inch from there, okay?" Elsa commanded as she showed a smile that did not reach her cold eyes.