The Bookkeeper

The transmitter looked somewhat terrified before Noelle, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead while his white aura fluctuated. Raiden was confused by what was happening and decided to approach them; however, before he could get any closer, Noelle turned to him.

"He will be taking us." Her dark violet eyes stared at him bluntly, the aether cigarette resting between her lips.

Raiden gave her a lazy look. "Sure…"

The transmitter gestured for them to follow him to an alley by the gothic building. Noelle followed immediately, and so did Raiden. The alley led them to a back door of the gothic building, where there was a massive wooden door that the transmitter knocked on gently three times.

The door opened to a small room where a red-haired man in red clothing, glowing with a yellow aura, sat on a brown leather couch behind a small polished wooden table. Near a warm amber lamp, he showed his golden teeth in a grin as two individuals in black cloaks, like their guide's, welcomed them in.

The moment they entered, the room felt historic despite the young man's golden teeth. There were paintings similar to ones Raiden had seen in the palace hanging on the walls, but what drew his attention was the ceiling.

It glowed blue like the ocean, as beautiful as the coast in Coast City, with swirling patterns—possibly symbolic constellations and arcane symbols—glowing in green and gold. Though it looked somewhat like the world's map, it was different.

"What brought you here, lads?" The man asked as he settled back on the sofa.

"Where can we find the twenty-eight pages?" Noelle blurted, and the man immediately started laughing.

Raiden shook his head in disappointment and began massaging his forehead. From the man's expression and appearance, this wasn't information he was going to give out just because they asked. He was clearly a businessman.

"You walked in here to ask such a ridiculous question?" The man shook his head. "Don't you kids have anything better to do?"

Raiden cleared his throat, took a few deliberate steps forward, and positioned himself just above Noelle, drawing everyone's focus to him.

"She can be silly like this sometimes…" Raiden gave her back a pat, but Noelle's face began to twitch from irritation.

The man's eyes narrowed for a moment. "I think I know you from somewhere." As he tapped his fingers on the table, his eyes suddenly lit up. "You're the bookkeeper, aren't you?"

A smile crossed Raiden's face at the man's reaction, and he shrugged; this was going to be easier than he had anticipated.

The man rose to his feet. "It's an honor to have you, bookkeeper." He offered his hand for a handshake, and Raiden casually accepted it. "The name is Steve, leader of the transmitter cohort."

Noelle sneered while Raiden smirked back at her. "Can we talk now?"

"Yeah… it will be a pleasure," Steve replied enthusiastically, remaining on his feet.

Raiden walked over and settled onto the sofa with him. Steve wasn't perplexed in the slightest—if anything, he was intrigued by Raiden's confidence.

"Now, tell me, what can you tell us?"

A menacing smile crossed the man's face. "In this cohort, we've dedicated ourselves to learning the history behind our world, secrets you can't find anywhere." His expression began to darken. "That's why we are the transmitters, the bridge between this world and our past."

He flashed a rehearsed smile. "That's why it's an honor to have the first bookkeeper in our kingdom's history perform the bloodline ritual… that's a bold decision we transmitters admire."

His expression fell once more, shifting to the cold demeanor of a businessman as he moved away from Raiden. "However, we don't share anything for free… not even to the king."

Raiden giggled and took a deep breath. Money wasn't that much of a problem, but the credibility of the information they would receive was questionable.

These kinds of people were certainly operating under the radar from the law, and might leverage corrupt connections to retaliate if he provided them with bad information. But at that moment, he had few options.

"You already know who I am… you'll need to do more talking to get what you're after."

Steve laughed proudly. "The bookkeeper, huh?"

"I don't really care what you intend to use the twenty-eight pages for." His expression darkened. "However, I'm very interested in the money you'll be making for doing your job."

Raiden narrowed his eyes, his expression composed as he waited for Steve's price.

Steve cleared his throat. "Four million Persa would do…"

Raiden was taken aback by the demand, staring at Steve in shock. While he had unlimited worth as the bookkeeper, four million Persa—likely enough to sustain an average person for life—wasn't something he could casually request from the kingdom without explanation.

He sighed. If this was the cruel game Steve was willing to play, then he could play along with it. Tilting his head slightly, he took a better look at the yellow star-shaped crest on Steve's neck and noted the number seven within it. He smiled.

"Is that all?"

Steve put his hands up in surrender. "I am nothing but a mere businessman."

Raiden turned to Noelle, who stood with her hands folded across her chest and an unreadable expression, her aether cigarette smoldering between her lips.

"Can you pay him for me, rulekeeper?"

"Don't give me orders!" Noelle sneered.

Steve's expression darkened instantly. "Wait, what? She's the rulekeeper?"

Before his words could even settle, Noelle activated her domain. Raiden rose to his feet, patting Ash, who rested on his shoulder, then bypassed Noelle to walk toward the two guards in black stationed by the door.

He gave them a soft smile while they remained frozen, sweat beading on their foreheads as they attempted to move. Raiden giggled, seized their heads, and slammed them into the stone wall, crushing their skulls to a liquid. Their warm blood splashed across Raiden's face and black sheet, spattering Ash's white skin.

However, Raiden glanced at his hands as he admired Ash's strength—the moon dragon's power flowing through him. If he could easily crush someone's head at 5%, what could he do at 100%? The thought alone brought a gentle smile to his face.

He turned backward to see that Noelle had shattered almost all the joints in Steve's hands. His smile vanished instantly. He knew Noelle was heartless from their first encounter, but this exceeded his expectations.

Her expression remained calm, devoid of emotion, while Steve appeared to scream in agony, though it seemed she had created a rule preventing any sound from escaping. She was cruel, just like Jack's mother, Jane.

Raiden smiled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're the villain here."

Noelle tilted her head toward him, staring at him from the corner of her eye with a cold expression. She said nothing—just returned to her work.

"…" Raiden instantly reached for his throat, trying to comment on her expression but finding he couldn't speak anymore. Her rules within her domain were affecting him.

He shrugged with a smirk and began wiping away the blood on his face and on Ash's body.

"I… I will talk," Steve said with a trembling voice.

Raiden turned to them as he waited for more.

"The only people who know where the pages are located are the Apex Circle."

Raiden's expression darkened. He would have been scammed if he had paid the price Steve asked for. He began massaging his forehead.

"But… they are in the Kingdom of Noor, in Dark City." His golden teeth were clenched as he gestured toward the table before him. "You can find my badge there," he muttered.

"Just give it to their leader when you arrive…" he murmured.

Raiden watched as Noelle checked for the badge. He couldn't talk, but he really wanted to ask a few questions. The Kingdom of Noor was about a month away by the fastest ship, and by that time, FIRMO would have already gotten to the pages if possible.

"You see," Steve said the moment Noelle found the badge. "You can let me go now."

He tried to move over there to at least alert Noelle about the situation. But before he could even close in on them, Noelle snapped his neck and killed him instantly.

Raiden's expression turned disappointed, his mouth agape. Noelle turned to him, tossed him the badge, and deactivated her domain.

"Do you know how far Noor is?"

Noelle gave him a lazy look. "He couldn't lie or hide anything." She shrugged. "That was all there was to it."

Raiden sighed as Noelle walked past him and exited the room. After a brief moment, he followed. He began to wonder if it would be best to inform the kingdom about it; maybe they could help with their teleportation magic.

However, he knew informing the kingdom would limit his chances of having the pages all to himself—they would want them disposed of.

Noelle was ahead of him, but he was in no hurry to catch up as he was lost in thought. But someone caught his attention in an instant, and he and Noelle both paused in place.

It was the young man in a straw hat they'd encountered on their way to the city, a Nightmare, displaying the same calm demeanor with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword and the other tucked within his black cloak.

Raiden's heart began pounding, goosebumps coursing through his skin as Noelle also began taking a few backward steps. If he was there to punish them for killing Steve, then they were in for huge trouble.

"This guy is bad news…"