Charlot didn’t want to get involved in this matter any further.Besides, he had no particurly deep friendship with Mrs. Pascal; their retionship was strictly professional. Sending a flor as dolence money and dispatg his personal an to deliver it was already quite a generous gesture. If he were to personally go, it would signify a “close friendship,” which could be sidered aep iiquette.

  Mrs. Nancy aowledged this with a nod and accepted the flor from Charlot’s hand.

  Charlot also gave her two times as pensation for running the errand.

  He gnced outside at the weather. The sky was dark and overcast, and rain still fell steadily. Without hesitation, Charlot decided to “skip work” again. After all, as the Head Overseer of the Lukavaro District City Patrol Guards, no one would question his “attendance.”

  Letting the matter go, Charlot ate his meal while reading the duel challenge sent by Venie Arsenault. Yesterday, he had been so engrossed in studying Cat Spirit Magic that he hadn’t even had the ce to look at this “first-ever duel challenge” of his life.

  The duel dot followed the standard legal format, carrying the same weight as a real estate tract. There were three copies in total: one for each party involved and a third to be stored at the local city patrol guard office.

  The duel was set for three days ter!The witnesses were Venie Arsenault and Aubrey Tildon Atwood!The duel partits were Charlot Meburg and Harriet Alva.

  Acc to the duel regutions, Harriet Alva, as the challenger, determihe date, while Charlot Meburg, as the acceptor, chose the location.

  Addison’s full name was Addison Alva.

  The Alva family was a middle-css household. Both children had beeo school, and Harriet had even attehe National Academy. She subsequently ehe military as a Sed-Css Gunnery Sergeant at rank 44. Now 32 years old, Harriet had been promoted steadily due to her bravery in battle. She currently held the position of Fifth-Css Gunnery Sergeant at rank 41—equivalent to a civil service Assistant Clerk, a First-Css Civil Servant, or a First-Css Gunnery Sergeant.

  If it weren’t for some mishaps, Charlot himself would still be at rank 41 as a clerk.

  pared to Charlot, Harriet had over ten years of cultivation and frontline bat experience. Faced with such a battle-hardened soldier, Charlot would have avoided this duel if he had any choice.

  After finishing his breakfast, Charlot sighe three copies of the duel dot and achubi Fortress as the duel location. He left two copies behind and tasked Mrs. Nancy with delivering the third to the Fierce Horse Detective Agency.

  After breakfast, the rain showed no sign of stopping, nor did the sky clear.

  Charlot returo his room ohird floor and immersed himself once again in studying his diary and quietly practig Blood Glory.

  Siransf Machubi into a byrinth, Charlot’s mastery of Agmirs Labyrinth had been improving steadily. Unfortunately, he hadn’t yet found a sed suitable ruin-city to transform into a byrinth. Cities like Strasb, which were still inhabited, were out of the question—unless he somehow became the ruler of the city.

  Luckily, there were still ht months before the Labyrinth God of the Aggras Sea desded, so he wasn’t in a rush.

  Charlot’s primary focus remained on studying Vampiric Scroll 22. He had already mastered the Bloodfme Aura from the first page and Bloodfire Transfiguration from the sed. Retly, his efforts ohird page, which recorded Fme Dragon’s Hand, had shown promisis.

  Although he had already unlocked the fifth Blood Vortex after mastering the Agility Rune and could now pursue Spider Teique, Charlot decided against it. After weighing cost-effectiveness, he chose to fully focus on breaking through Fme Dragon’s Hand.

  Unknowingly, the entire day passed.

  As the room dimmed, Charlot lit an oil mp. Feeling hungry, he gnced outside and saw that the sky had finally cleared.

  He went downstairs and said to Mrs. Nancy, who was emerging from the basement, “I’ll eat out. You don’t o prepare anything.”

  Mrs. Nancy bowed slightly and watched him leave 58 Elysée Avenue.

  ...

  Elysée Avenue was still lively at this hour. While some shops had already closed, others had lit kerosereet mps. The wealthiest stores had even activated magical mps, their expensive light shining through crystal gss to dispy luxurious goods to every passerby.

  Charlot chose a restaurant he hadn’t tried before, ordered a set meal, and ate in his usual refined and posed manner. Just as he was cutting his food, a deep-eyed man with brown hair, gray eyes, and an upright nose pulled out a chair and sat opposite him.

  What stood out most about this man were his ears. They were slightly higher up on his head, covered in fine fur, and notably rger than a human’s. It was a cssic Orc appearah a remarkably pure bloodline.

  Such behavior was extraordinarily rude, but Charlot didn’t lose his posure. Instead, he immediately picked up his Alchemical e and drew his Magnum Mauler.

  The brown-haired, gray-eyed man smiled slightly, unbothered by Charlot’s aggressive stance. He made a gesture for “calm.”

  “Mr. Charlot, there’s o be so tense around Orcs!”

  Charlot replied curtly, “By , you should address me as Mr. Meburg. And yes, I am very tense. Are you from the Orc Assassin Alliance?”

  Charlot’s Eye of Insight was screaming warnings. This time, it hadn’t activated until after the man sat down—proof of his overwhelming strength.

  A powerful individual, an Orc with a pure bloodline, and an ued appearance...

  Charlot was certain that this brown-haired, gray-eyed man was an assassin from the Orc Assassin Alliance.

  As for why the assassin didn’t strike immediately? It robably due to some... peculiar personal preference.

  Assassins and killers weren’t known for being normal. Many of them had some form of mental quirks or bizarre hobbies.

  The brown-haired, gray-eyed man smiled and said, “Alright, Mr. Meburg, I am from the Orc Assassin Alliance.”

  “One of my colleagues failed to plete his mission, so I’m here to finish it for him.”

  Charlot took a deep breath, preparing to strike with all his might, when the man tinued, “I have a bit of a... quirk.”

  “I enjoy killing my target’s loved ones first, right in front of them...”

  Charlot’s heart leaped with joy, and he immediately shouted, “The person I love most is Senior Menielman Soumet!”

  The atmosphere froze in awkward silence.

  The brown-haired man took a deep breath and said, “Could you choose someone else? For example...”

  Charlot cut him off. “The Duchess of Messau!”

  “I prefer older women—they’re much more... satisfying!”

  The brown-haired man fell silent for a moment before murmuring coldly, “I suppose I abandon this little quirk of mine.”

  Charlot bit his Alchemical e, his figure blurred, and in a fsh, he transformed into a young, agile cat. With a powerful leap, he sprang onto the rooftop.

  He stepped swiftly across the tiles, twisted his waist, and narrowly avoided three throwing khat whistled through the air. Like a streak of lightning, he darted out of the restaurant and into the night.