Zero cracked his knuckles, rolling his shoulders as he stood in front of the glowier.

  Soma leaned against the ter, arms crossed, while Erwin stood nearby, his usual calg expression masking his excitement.

  "Alright," Zero exhaled. "Time for anamble."

  His finger hovered over the 11-pull button, and with a decisive tap, the s fshed, sending eleven tarot-like cards sliding out from the register one by one.

  The three of them stared at the cards, watg as each was revealed.

  The first?

  10 Magical Energy.

  The sed?

  Another 10 Magical Energy.

  Zero sighed. "Well, here we go again."

  The third, fourth, and fifth cards?

  10 Magical Energy.

  Soma chuckled. "Your luck is sistent, at least."

  The sixth?

  10 Magical Energy.

  Zero rubbed his temples.

  The seventh?

  10 Magical Energy.

  Then, on the eighth card, something different.

  It glowed brighter thahers, its edges shimmering in gold.

  [100 Magical Energy]

  Soma burst out ughing.

  "Oh shit, jackpot!"

  Erwin simply nodded. "Not bad. Having a rge pool of magic is useful, even if it's not fshy."

  Zero sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Still not a character, though."

  The ninth card?

  10 Magical Energy.

  The tenth?

  The moment Zero flipped it over, the card's frame turned silver, the ter glowing intensely.

  It was a Character Card.

  The card's illustration was of an older but well-built man, dressed in a perfectly fitted butler suit, his silver hair slicked back, his sharp eyes radiating quiet strength.

  His name?

  [Sebas Tian – Iron Butler]

  Underh, the description read:

  in: Overlord (Anime)A dragonoid created by "Touch Me." House Steward of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. A loyal and powerful batant, skilled in both hand-to-hand bat and battlefield strategy.

  Zero stared at the card.

  "…Who?"

  Soma shook his head. "No clue."

  Erwin crossed his arms. "At this point, we just have to accept that we're getting characters from anime we never got to watch."

  Soma scratched his . "I gotta admit, though. It's kinda crazy. Anime was just eai for us, but here we are summoning their characters into reality."

  Zero chuckled. "If only Cecil gave us a full library of all the anime we missed."

  Soma tilted his head, eyeing the card.

  "He looks like a butler."

  Zero nodded. "Yeah, definitely has that whole 'refined but deadly' look."

  Soma smirked. "Great. That means he help with my job in the café."

  Zero snorted. "I doubt a battle butler is gonna want to be a waiter."

  Soma shrugged. "You never know."

  They were about to move ohe eleventh card slid out.

  It glowed faintly, much smaller than the rest.

  Zero flipped it over, and his fastantly went bnk.

  The card dispyed a tiny rat, standing proudly with a chef's hat.

  [Remy – The Rat of ary Genius]

  in: Ratatouille (Pixar Movie)Skill: Gusteau's Ghostly Advice – Provides divine inspiration for cooking, subtly guiding the user's hands to create the perfect dish.

  Zero stared in disbelief.

  Soma's jaw dropped.

  Erwin blinked ohen twice.

  "…Wait," Zero said ftly. "Did we just pull a rat?"

  There was a beat of silence.

  Then, Soma colpsed onto the flhing hysterically.

  "OH MY GOD—WE GOT A RAT."

  Erwin massaged his temples. "We are literally summoning fial warriors from across different dimensions… and you just pulled a rat."

  Soma wheezed. "A COOKING RAT."

  Zero's eye twitched as he held up the card.

  "Why the hell is this even an option?! Who put a goddamn Pixar rat in my gacha pool?!"

  Erwin, still posed, simply said, "Teically, Remy is one of the most talented chefs in fi."

  Soma wiped a tear from his eye. "No, no, this is perfect. We summon another e and stick Remy in him."

  Zero scoffed. "For what?"

  Erwin smirked. "So Soma make better food."

  Soma froze mid-ugh.

  Then, his head slowly turo Erwin.

  "Take that back."

  Soma folded his arms, smiling. "I know you're not talking shit about my idea when you're literally my junior e."

  Erwin pointed dramatically. "Oh wow, bringing up e seniority now? That's low."

  They all ughed, their tensioing away for a moment.

  Even after the hellish day they had, at least for now, they could fet their problems and just be themselves.

  …

  M sunlight filtered through the windows of Café Lebnc, casting a warm glow over the polished wooden floors. The air was calm, the st of coffee and freshly baked bread beginning to fill the space.

  Soma desded the stairs, stretg his arms as he prepared to start breakfast prep for the m rush.

  But the momeepped onto the café floor, he froze.

  The pce was immacute.

  Not a sirace of the previous day's chaos remained.

  'The shattered coffee jars? Gohe bloodstains on the ter? Vanished.Even the bullet hole in the wall? As if it had never existed.'

  Soma narrowed his eyes.

  "What the hell…?"

  His firailed over the ter. Smooth. Not even a scratch.

  For a brief moment, a shiver ran down his spine.

  'This café... is kind of eerie sometimes.'

  He let out a sigh.

  "Well, at least I don't have to ."

  Shrugging it off, he headed to the kit, lighting the stovetop as he began his daily routine.

  …

  By the time Zero, Erwin, and Soma finished breakfast, they were all ready to split up for the day.

  Erwin grabbed his coat, adjusting the pels of his suit before heading toward the door.

  "Alright, I'm off—"

  "Wait."

  Zero's voice stopped them both iracks.

  "I need you two here for a sec."

  Erwin raised an eyebrow. Soma g him, shrugging.

  "Alright. What's up?"

  Zero stood from his seat, rolling up his sleeve.

  Then—without hesitation—he sliced his own palm.

  Blood pooled into his palm, dripping onto the wooden floor.

  Erwin sighed. "Here we go again."

  Soma frowned. "Zero, we have bandages, you know?"

  But before they could say anything else—

  Two new es materialized in front of them.

  Zero grinned, shaking his bleeding hand dry.

  "Looks like that 100 Magical Energy had its use, huh?"

  Erwin smirked. "You've leveled up. grats."

  Zero oward the new es.

  "Alright. Time for an experiment."

  Zero turo the first e, holding up the Sebas Tian card.

  "You first. Let's see what happens."

  He pressed the card against the e's forehead.

  Instantly, the e's body shimmered, twisting like mist. His features sharpened, his form stretched taller, and his clothes morphed into a pristiler uniform.

  Wheransformatioled, Sebas Tian stood before them.

  His silver hair ly bed back, his suit pressed and immacute.

  Sebas opened his golden eyes, blinking a few times as he adjusted to his new form.

  "It's strange... being a e of an Archdemon while also being a Dragonoid."

  Erwin tilted his head. "How does it feel?"

  Sebas touched his ow, deep in thought.

  "It's like... 2 + 2 = 4."

  Soma blinked. "What?"

  Sebas eborated.

  "The two eleme separately, but they do not flict. The Archdemon base remains, but the Dragonoid abilities have yered on top of it. I need more time to fully adjust."

  Zero smirked.

  "Good. Take your time."

  Zero turo the sed e, holding up the Remy card.

  The e looked between Zero and the rat card.

  Then, realization dawned on him.

  "Wait."

  Zero nodded.

  "Yeah. I need you to die."

  The e took a step back.

  "Dude. What the hell?"

  Zero folded his arms.

  "Listen, Soma got hurt yesterday, but he didn't dematerialize. I o know what happens to a e and the card when the e actually dies."

  The e sighed.

  "…So you wao absorb the rat card, the killed, just to see what happens?"

  Zero nodded.

  "Yup."

  The e rubbed his face.

  "…You suck."

  "I know."

  With no other choice, the e closed his eyes as Zero pressed the Remy card to his forehead.

  A sed ter, the e shrunk down, morphing into the tiny form of Remy the rat.

  Erwin adjusted his cuffs. "Alright. Now we kill him."

  Sebas stepped forward—

  And without hesitation—

  SQUELCH.

  He stepped on Remy's head.

  The room went silent.

  Soma grimaced. "Ugh… even though it's a rat, that was still us."

  They all stared at the lifeless rat body.

  Erwi down. "It didn't dematerialize."

  Zero rubbed his .

  "I still feel the e… but it's really weak."

  Erwin stood up. "Try dismissing him."

  Zero focused.

  The body of the rat shimmered, then vanished into mist.

  Left behind, lying on the floor, was the Remy character card.

  Soma with his foot. "So, the card just drops when a e dies. That means it's not lost forever."

  Zero smirked.

  "Good to know."

  Sebas folded his hands behind his back.

  "Young Master Erwin, may I request something of you?"

  Erwin arched an eyebrow. "What's up?"

  Sebas' gaze sharpened.

  "Find the location of the men who attacked this café."

  Erwin's lips curled into a smirk.

  "Already pnned on it. I have a lead. I'll track them down today."

  Sebas bowed slightly.

  "Thank you."

  Soma frowned. "Your personality ged. That's weird."

  Zero chuckled. "Yeah, yetting more... butlery."

  Sebas nodded. "I am simply adjusting to the role I was given."

  Soma rubbed his .

  "You know… I don't think you should stay here."

  Sebas blinked. "Why not, Young Master Soma?"

  Soma grinned.

  "Because you'd be wasted here. You should infiltrate a noble house."

  Zero's eyes lit up.

  "Oh… I like that. Take over a noble family from the inside."

  Sebas hesitated.

  "I… am uain. After abs the Sebas card, I feel an unwavering loyalty to my main body. Infiltrating another household does not align with my instincts."

  Zero patted his shoulder.

  "You'll figure it out. For now, just stay here and focus on gathering magical energy."

  Sebas bowed. "Uood."

  Erwin grabbed his coat and notebook, turning for the door.

  "I'm heading out. I'll see what I dig up on Mandy's husband and the gang."

  Zero nodded. "Good. Let me know if you find something."

  Soma stretched. "Alright, let's open for the m rush."

  As Erwin disappeared into the city, Soma and Zero stepped onto the café floor—ready to faother day.

  …

  Erwin moved through the crowded streets of Pi, slippiween merts, beggars, and city guards like a shadow.

  His Background Character form made sure of that.

  To anyone who looked at him, he was just another nameless fa the crowd.

  But his eyes were sharp. His memory, even sharper.

  After merging minds with Zero, he had noticed something Soma and Zero hadn't.

  'The gang that came to Lebnd the gang colleg proteoney in the marketpce?'

  The same.

  Zero and Soma might not have seen it, but Erwin had caught the detail immediately.

  A tattoo—a distinct marking on the wrist of both the café intruder and the grunts in the market.

  'However, there was a difference.'

  The marketpce thugs—the ones running the prote racket—were low-level grunts.

  The café enforcers, oher hand, were a tier higher.

  'That means the gang has a hierarchy.Which means it has a leader.'

  Erwin's eyes flickered down to his notebook, where he had listed the merts that hadn't paid proteoney.

  If some stalls didn't have to pay, that meant they were either ected to the gang… or protected by someoronger.

  'Let's find out whie it is.'

  Tug the notebook away, Erwin adjusted his colr and stepped forward.

  Iigation, start.

  …

  Somewhere in Pi, inside a dimly lit warehouse, a ma on one knee.

  His expression was tense, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.

  Behind him, several other men kneeled as well, silent and unmoving.

  At the head of the room, sitting on an ornate leather chair, was their boss.

  A sharp-dressed man, his gs gleaming uhe ntern light, eyes filled with cold irritation.

  His fingers drummed against the armrest.

  "Expin to me…"

  His voice was calm, but deadly.

  "Why two of our posts got raided this m."

  Silence.

  The kneeling leader swallowed hard.

  Then, cautiously, he spoke.

  "I… I think it's because of me, sir."

  The boss's gaze so him.

  "Oh? Do tell."

  The leader exhaled, then quickly expihe events from the previous day.

  He told the boss about how he and his men had roughened up a new café, how the owner had cimed police prote, and how, just this m, two of their hidden drug posts had been raided.

  The room fell silent.

  Then—

  The boss's fist smmed against the armrest.

  "So because of a useless café… we lost two of our best hiding spots?!"

  His voied, causing a few men to flinch.

  He clicked his tongue, muttering a curse under his breath.

  "Bunch of useless fucks. 't even keep a café owner in check."

  Taking a slow breath, he calmed himself, his mind already w on their step.

  "…We 't afford to be reckless right now."

  The boss's eyes flickered to a map of Pi, pio the wall.

  His gang's influence read thin, their forces still adjusting after taking over the Bernald Family's old territories.

  'A full-scale war wasn't an option.'

  For now…

  "Focus on guarding the other posts."

  He waved a hand, dismissing them.

  "I don't want another i. We're not ready for war."

  The men quickly bowed ahe room.

  The leader, however, remaiill for a moment longer, his fists ched.

  'A café owner did this…?No. That demon is hiding something.'

  …

  Across the city, Sergeant Wolfe stood in the middle of a ransacked drug den.

  The air was thick with the stench of chemicals, broken crates and shattered bottles littering the dusty floors.

  He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.

  "Even after two major busts, there's still this much product floating around."

  His eyes flickered over to a row of fiscated evidence.

  Powdered substances. Magical enha drugs. Some crates even had strange sigils burned onto the wood, likely smuggled goods from outside the kingdom.

  A mess.

  Just how big was this operation?

  "Sergeant."

  A voice called out.

  He turo see Officer Mo approag.

  She gave him a crisp salute. "The entire post has been cleared. We found nlers."

  Wolfe nodded. "Good work."

  Mo hesitated for a moment before adding—

  "It was thanks to my CI."

  Wolfe's brow furrowed. "Your informant?"

  She nodded. "She tipped me off about a relocation of the gang's safe houses. That's why we hit this pce before they could move it again."

  Wolfe crossed his arms.

  "…Keep a close eye on your CI. If the gang finds out who's feeding us intel, she'll be in danger."

  Moensed slightly, then nodded.

  "I uand. I'll make sure she stays safe."

  Wolfe gnced around the wreckage o time.

  "Good. Let's move out."

  As they left the building, Wolfe's thoughts lingered on the bigger picture.

  'Just how deep does this go?'