Chapter 57: A Poor Girl Doesn’t Dream of a Kill Order Demon
This kind of offering replacement service wasn’t something just anyone could do. Karina and Stina were an exception.
No matter what, they were still the children of Queen Arachne, and possessed a certain degree of legal immunity. They wouldn’t be held responsible for their actions.
Of course, they couldn’t be too blatant about it. If word got back to the Queen, they would be in serious trouble.
But they didn’t have to worry too much. The Queen was notoriously fickle, and unless it was absolutely necessary, no one dared to report anything to her.
Finally, Karina’s strength was at the low-level Destruction Class, while Stina was a bit stronger, at the mid-level Destruction Class.
For beastkin who couldn’t even hunt their own offerings, their strength was more than sufficient.
“Sigh, if only we could catch the one on this kill order,” Karina said, her chin resting on her hand, looking wistfully at the wanted poster on the wall. “Ten thousand gold coins for information, three hundred thousand for a live capture, two hundred and fifty thousand for a kill…”
“That would… chew chew… take a long time,” Stina said, taking advantage of the break to stuff a piece of flatbread into her mouth.
“I know,” Karina sighed.
It was just a fantasy. The target was a demon commander, at least a Calamity Class being.
Even their older sister, Diana, wasn’t a match for her.
But Karina still held onto a sliver of hope. Ten thousand gold coins for reliable information…
If she was lucky enough to encounter the target, even if she couldn’t defeat her, if she could just escape with her life, she would be rich…
And with her status as the Queen’s daughter, she didn’t have to worry about being cheated out of the reward.
Just then, a soft knock came at the door, followed by a sweet, childish voice.
“Excuse me, is this the Nana Studio?”
Nana Studio was the name Karina had come up with, imitating the human agencies. Most professional knights in the Empire now called themselves “studios” instead of “squads.”
(Mainly because of the Sugg incident. Most of the old mercenary groups had disbanded, replaced by smaller, more elite teams operating under the “studio” name.)
“No, you’ve got the wrong place,” Stina said, her mouth full of flatbread.
“Oh,” the voice said, and then the sound of footsteps retreating.
“Wait, no, this is the Nana Studio!” Karina cried out, rushing to the door.
The small figure, who had been about to leave, paused. “Is it, or isn’t it?”
“It is, it is! You’ve got the right place,” Karina said, then, pushing her sister’s head down, she hissed, “Stina, you idiot! You almost ruined our first business opportunity!”
“Mmmph…” Stina whimpered, still chewing on her flatbread.
“Well, you’re not open for business, are you? I thought you were closed for the day,” the newcomer said, walking back towards the door.
“Do we have to be open for business?” Karina asked, confused.
“Don’t you?” the newcomer asked, equally confused.
They stared at each other for a long moment.
Bai then noticed that Karina looked a bit like Diana.
Not just her style of dress, but also some of her features. But she lacked Diana’s seductive aura, and instead, seemed a bit… foolish.
“S-so we have to be open…” Karina said, a sheepish smile on her face.
It wasn’t entirely her fault. Her business mentor had been the great merchant, Grace.
And Grace’s business deals were all made at elegant balls, over glasses of wine, after a series of witty, verbal spars. The concept of an “open” or “closed” shop was foreign to her…
“If you’re not open, customers will think you’re closed for the day,” Bai said, feeling a bit sorry for the clueless sisters. “If I hadn’t sensed two strong auras inside, I wouldn’t have even knocked.”
“So that’s why we haven’t had a single customer…” Karina muttered, then, composing herself, said, “Please, come in, Miss—”
“Just call me Little Fox,” Bai said, not wanting to use her real name. She had borrowed the name from the elves’ description of Dream Demons.
“Miss Little Fox, please, come in,” Karina said, gesturing awkwardly. Her sister, Stina, was still chewing on her flatbread, staring at Bai with curiosity.
In truth, their lack of business wasn’t just because their door was closed. Their flyers were also a mess.
And the prominent spider emblem was terrifying. Few beastkin dared to even look at them.
The terror inspired by Queen Arachne wasn’t limited to her own children.
To other beastkin, her bloodlust and cruelty were unimaginable, a fear even greater than that of the demons.
As Bai entered the shack, she was struck by the beastkin’s unique sense of style. Even the Queen’s children lived in such squalor.
But then she noticed the walls, covered in her wanted posters.
Karina, in her dreams of a quick fortune, had collected every wanted poster she could find and plastered them all over her walls.
She dreamt of encountering “Isabelle” and claiming the ten thousand gold coin reward.
But for Bai, it was a bit… unsettling.
Not only were the walls covered in her wanted posters, but each one was also marked with a large, red “KILL” in the center.
Thankfully, she was now in her Dream Demon form, and the image on the posters was blurry enough that she wouldn’t be recognized.
“Miss Little Fox, are you a mutated fox-kin? And you have three tails…” Karina asked, her gaze fixed on Bai’s fluffy tails, itching to touch them, but restraining herself out of respect for her customer.
Her sister, Stina, however, had no such restraint. She reached out, trying to grab Bai’s tail.
“A branch of the northern fox-kin. A distant relative,” Bai said, her tail deftly dodging Stina’s grasp.
Then it swung down, smacking her on the head.
