"Interested in the whereabouts of a rogue Gravekeeper?"
Oh dear, was he interested now. If that Gravekeeper was Mudi, then he would be able to launch the first attack.
He'd accepted it would be impossible to track down Mudi without letting the Empire know, so all he could do was wait until Mudi got impatient and attacked first.
"Why don't you sit down and let's negotiate a price for intel?"
It obviously turned fishy very quickly, but the temptation was just too much.
She had grasped a weakness she could exploit. His first thought was a secret unit sent by the Empire. If so, he'd have to be very careful of what he's going to say.
A rogue Gravekeeper on the loose was the last thing he wanted the Empire to learn about, but if they already knew...
A lot of thoughts went through his head. In the end, this might be a test of loyalty from the Empire.
"Who are you?"
"Merraid Oarburgh." She replied after some great difficulty. Under her breath, she was disgusted, mumbling something about a man asking for her name.
The situation turned bizarre with the maids looking as if her name told everything.
It perplexed him. A bell was ringing, but nothing came to mind. All humans were the same.
They realized it. Their terror wasn't known to this man and asserted it as arrogance. They knew precisely who he was.
Merraid couldn't stop her murderous thoughts from going bazooka. She was deeply jealous, meanwhile also felt offended. The reason was,
'What does Esdeath even see in these disgusting men? Especially this pompous prick she's spoiling. I really want to test out his rumored immortality.'
This was properly Esdeath's first love interest being extremely jealous. Since their meeting in a tournament years ago, she instantly fell in love with Esdeath. To this day, she regrets being too eager and had tried to kiss her.
Now Esdeath only saw her as trash she would kill on sight, not enough to go out of her way and personly search for. It strangely felt good being looked down on. It was a good thing she wasn't wearing underwear.
A little wet fantasy with Esdeath managed to calm her down. Still, none of her struggling emotions spilled on her face—other than a perverted one.
But the big maid, Gilberda, frowned when she heard Haco say, "Now I remember. You're that assassination group I've just heard about."
Just heard about? They have been notorious for decades. It felt like they were being belittled—even more so when Haco questioned—
"—but how do I know if you aren't imposters."
That was enough for the hard-headed Gilberda. Her build was a similar size to Nenet. Even her temperament seemed similar as she let go of the umbrella and rushed forward. The posture of someone about to make a destructive punch could be seen.
When she reached him, Married caught the umbrella while being seated. She looked like someone leisurely watching a show. But her expression quickly seemed like someone that might have bet on the wrong contender.
In a flicker of flames, he looked like a spirit god of flames descending. Completely unconcerned, the destructive punch was flicked with the back of a talon, into the ground with a catastrophic,
**Booooom!**
The force was efficiently redirected into the ground. Cracks followed by a crater dented it.
Gilberda was a little dumbstruck. Her fist was deep underground while he was using her arm as a branch to stand on—like a toy a budgerigar would have.
That image didn't last for long. From each side of Haco, curved two deadly chakrams took his attention. It was very clear they were going for his neck and torso.
After an elbow blow to Gilberda's face, teamwork he'd never seen before unfolded. Just as he wanted to take a step back, he felt pain from his angle. A beetle with scissor-like pincers cut his tendons.
While his attention was divided, four thin swords snaked around Gilberda's back and impaled his body.
The other maid, Cassandra, had four arms and had used this moment to sneak attack. She was showing a clear sneer as she said, "This is what you get from disrespecting Madam Mera."
It was clear none of them believed the rumors of someone being immortal. Because no one could escape the group that was nicknamed Shinigami. They could harvest any life for the right price.
When they believed the fight to be over, their instinct registered a chill when Haco unbothered lifted his arms over his head. If it wasn't because of his frosty expression, it could be confused as a victory pose. The palms were straight, pointing up.
Merraid felt it too despite sitting meters behind.
With good reason as his arms burst into flames and formed long wings trying to reach the heavens. They soon fell like two dull guillotines on the three lined-up assassins.
They scrambled out the way. Gilberda forced her arms out of his grip. Four long and deep red rifts were made as payment for doing so.
Cassandra had abandoned her swords and took out two small daggers. Gilberda wanted to attack again despite her arms bleeding. Cassandra intended to follow behind. But a sign from Merraid made them stop.
They watched him effortlessly dodge the chakrams and pull out the swords from his body with a solemn expression.
'The rumors do have some truth to them. Seems like it will be Plan B.' Merraid contemplated.
With this skirmish, each party had its intentions. Haco's were,
"Who's controlling the insects?"
To show goodwill, Merraid lifted a finger and summoned an insect, "That would be me."
The negotiations could now begin.
A new table was quickly put up with Haco and Merraid sitting in front of each other.
Will he be able to resist temptation and what price would he have to pay?
Not even Haco would know before treading the line.