Biscuit Arrived for Their Appointment with Her Hair in a Single Ponytail

Gelman watched a charred hand reach out from the raging inferno. Only after he could no longer sense Leech or Worm did he look at the updated projection from the Hunter Badge.

"Physique: 28 → 30"

"Aura: 20 → 21"

"Pressure: 62 → 65"

"Item: Leech's Squirming Sleeve Dagger (new)"

"Is it over?"

At that moment, a head appeared through the hole in the ceiling. The big eyes behind the Black-rimmed Glasses studied the scene for a while. Only after confirming that Gelman's battle was over did she speak again.

"Gelman, do you need me to pull you up?"

Gelman shook his head and replied, "No, I can jump up by myself..."

But Shizuku hadn't heard him out. She wiped the beads of blood from her forehead with the back of her hand, then pulled her head back and made the decision herself.

She really had only been asking.

Then she lowered Evil Tenderfoot. Its pink tongue dangled like a rope.

"Hurry, I'll pull you up."

Gelman had no choice but to walk beneath Evil Tenderfoot and jump lightly, grabbing its rough tongue, which was covered in tiny barbs.

"All right. Pull me up."

Shizuku pulled with both hands, as if she had hooked a big fish with Evil Tenderfoot, and hauled Gelman up from the floor below into the room where he had been staying.

Gelman steadied himself, released Evil Tenderfoot, and looked around.

Owl was sprawled on the floor. The unmistakable marks of Shizuku's finishing blow were on his head. With it smashed up like that, there was no way he could still be alive.

"Shizuku, did another enemy break into your room?" Gelman asked to confirm. "Did you deal with him, or did you let him get away?"

"You mean that strange guy with a pair of wings? I was reading in the living room when he suddenly flew in and greeted me..."

Gelman raised a hand to interrupt her. "You can skip the details. What happened to him?"

"He's dead." Shizuku pushed up her glasses. The Evil Tenderfoot in her hand disappeared. "He wasn't very strong."

Gelman nodded. He heard more and more footsteps gathering in the hallway outside, while shouts of "Put out the fire!" came from downstairs. He pointed to the window.

"We should leave."

"Aren't we waiting for your friend?" Shizuku asked, puzzled.

"We need somewhere quiet. More people will be coming soon." Gelman took out his phone, composed a new Text Message, and sent it to Biscuit. "The Rendezvous Point has changed again."

"Do we need to leave Saba City this time?" Shizuku asked. They had moved from Yorknew City to Saba City before, so relocating to another city wouldn't have been surprising.

"There's no need." Gelman pointed at Owl's corpse. "Our warning should be clear enough. If they keep bothering us, they can think about what happened to these six Shadow Beasts."

Shizuku rubbed her chin and nodded. "That's true. The mafia should understand our warning and make the sensible choice."

A minute later, a crowd poured into Gelman's room. Some were anxious hotel staff, while others were guests who had come to watch.

They looked around, only to find no one alive in the room—just a horribly disfigured corpse. The balcony's glass doors stood open, and the sea breeze lifted the curtains.

It was eight o'clock in the evening.

Jelba Port was another harbor in Saba City, besides Dore Port. The sea was as black as ink in the night. Only where the lighthouse's beams swept across the water could bright, shimmering ripples be seen.

Gelman sat at the stern of a rundown fishing boat he had bought on the spot. He held a box of soda crackers with its packaging torn open, eating them one by one as he watched the harbor with dark eyes.

Nearby fishermen, vendors, sailors, tourists, and others gradually left, or simply climbed into their boats to rest. The surroundings fell silent, as if a funeral were being held.

The commotion at the Dore Port Hotel seemed not to have reached Jelba Port, on the other side of the city. Or perhaps people had grown used to the violent crimes that took place in the city day and night.

Only four people had died. Unless someone was involved, they would merely think, The city's getting more dangerous by the day. The police are a bunch of tax thieves, then forget all about it.

Gelman was nearly done with the crackers when a small, familiar figure emerged from the shadows.

This time, instead of twin ponytails, she wore an equally cute single ponytail. Grasping her burgundy Princess Skirt in both hands, she sprang lightly onto the fishing boat.

"You and your companion really have no intention of letting this matter rest."

Biscuit put her hands on her hips and smiled. "The news that six Shadow Beasts died in a row has already set the Dark Web ablaze."

"If they were truly capable, I would already be dead in Yorknew City."

Gelman offered Biscuit the last cracker.

"As professional assassins and bodyguards, they misjudged their opponents' abilities. They have to bear the consequences. I don't think they could have failed to understand that."

Biscuit took the soda cracker and pretended to be a refined young lady as she nibbled at it in front of Gelman. She chewed gently and nodded.

"Six out of the Ten Dons' ten Shadow Beasts were lost all at once. That's a huge, devastating blow to them. Even if it cost them face, they still withdrew the bounty on you."

Gelman led Biscuit into the fishing boat's cabin. He had to bend down to get inside, while Biscuit could walk in upright without a problem.

"If they keep stubbornly harassing me, I don't mind taking care of the remaining four Shadow Beasts too... Sit wherever you like. I'll go to the wheelhouse."

"I'll come too."

Gelman headed for the wheelhouse, but Biscuit had no intention of waiting in the cabin. She followed close behind him, unhurried.

"The chances of that are low. I'm sure they've learned their lesson. The two things they're most likely to do now are recruit new Shadow Beasts and hire professionals."

While Gelman wasn't looking, Biscuit had finished the crunchy cracker. She even took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth, preserving her perfect young-lady image.

She lifted her head slightly and saw a young woman with short black hair and glasses standing at the helm. She must be the "companion" Gelman had mentioned earlier.

Biscuit couldn't help feeling a little jealous. She envied the woman's youth, beauty, and figure—but only a little.

Gelman lightly patted Shizuku on the shoulder. She turned to look at him, her eyes full of bewilderment and innocence—emotions that had no place in the eyes of someone from Meteor City.

"Can you really pilot a fishing boat?" Gelman asked again to make sure. "I can leave it to you without any problems, right?"

"Of course." Shizuku nodded impassively. "I've piloted one once before, and I just spent five minutes reading the Crew Manual."

"Then I'll leave piloting to you. Take us out to sea."

Shizuku pushed up her glasses, which had slipped down her nose. "No problem."

Listening to their conversation, Biscuit couldn't help wondering.

"I've piloted one once before" and "I just spent five minutes reading the Crew Manual" didn't sound reassuring at all.

Would they really be all right?

One of them was bold enough to say it, and the other was willing to believe her. If the boat capsized out at sea, there was no guarantee anyone would be able to rescue them in time.

If she, Biscuit, with her illustrious reputation, drowned in the sea, she wondered how Netero would make fun of her.

As Biscuit watched, Shizuku operated the fishing boat's buttons and helm with some awkwardness.

After the entire boat let out a rumble as if it were about to fall apart, it slowly sailed out of the harbor and disappeared into the darkness beyond the lighthouse's reach.

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