Mumuzawa's room was on the eleventh floor of the Red Dragon Hotel. The Kakin royal family had booked the entire floor.
That night, the shooting had put the guards on maximum alert. They kept watch in the corridor all night to prevent any further assassination attempts.
As for the assassin Dio had wounded, people dispatched by Kakin seemed to have dragged him away on the spot. He probably had no chance of surviving.
Dio had no desire to sleep, so he patrolled while occasionally tossing out a Nen bullet to train his Emission.
The entire night passed without incident.
September 1 arrived, and Yorknew City's grand annual auction extravaganza finally began.
Over those ten short days, the number of auctions held throughout Yorknew City, large and small, could reach tens of thousands.
Most were public auctions, while a small minority with mafia ties were held underground.
The mafia here specifically referred to the [Ten Dons] from the manga, whose fearsome reputation far outstripped their actual performance.
The very format of the underground auctions made it clear that nothing they sold was legal or aboveboard: organs from rare animals killed by poachers, ancient artifacts stolen by tomb robbers, and so on.
Dio had even made a point of checking previous years' Nampis auction catalogs. The [Scarlet Eyes of the Kurta Clan], one of the world's seven most beautiful sights, were classified as rare animal poaching products...
Dio had no interest in the auctions. His savings had barely covered his rent at the Hunter Association.
If he wanted to attend those high-end auctions, he would probably have to use his handsome face to find himself a rich woman...
Brrrrrr-
Dio's phone was ringing. Standing in the corridor outside the prince's door, he took out his beetle-shaped phone and answered. A familiar voice came from the other end:
"Hello? Dio?"
Cheadle?
Speak of a rich woman, and one appeared?
Dio frowned, suddenly turning serious:
"It's me. Ms. Cheadle, did you need something?"
"Yes. This is important, so I need to interrupt your assignment for a moment."
On the other end, Cheadle stared at her computer screen, her brow furrowed and her eyes filled with self-reproach:
"At 9:21 this morning, an account with an unknown IP address logged into the Belal Mercenary Recruitment Network and posted... a bounty on you!"
Dio's mind raced, but he did not panic. Instead, he asked calmly:
"Because of what happened that day? Was it Kakin?"
Click-
Before Cheadle could answer, a door opened within Dio's field of vision.
It was the door to the Twelfth Prince's room...
Dio narrowed his eyes slightly and silently watched Mumuzawa emerge.
Poised and as serene as a peony, Mumuzawa slowly approached Dio with the measured steps of royal etiquette, her large eyes meeting his calmly.
Here came another rich woman...
And she just happened to be from Kakin.
"Hello, Mr. Dio," Mumuzawa greeted him softly.
Dio met her gaze calmly without speaking, quietly waiting for Cheadle's answer:
"...Yes, it was the [Secret Court]... but that IP address wasn't in Kakin. It was in the Minbo Republic."
"I've already had a Hacker Hunter find a way to ban that account, but the records show that several mercenary groups contacted it before the bounty was taken down..."
Cheadle's voice grew softer:
"...I'm sorry... Dio... for dragging you into something like this... You should abandon the assignment and return to the Hunter Association for now."
"Ms. Cheadle, a hunter can fail an assignment, but never abandon it, right?"
Dio spoke just as softly.
Across from him, Mumuzawa felt a little awkward when he completely ignored her greeting and focused on his phone call instead.
In Kakin, whenever a member of the royal family greeted someone, that person would immediately stop whatever they were doing and respond attentively.
This was the first time Mumuzawa had ever been ignored to her face. Still, her royal upbringing and her temperament kept her from doing anything discourteous, so she could only stand there and wait for Dio.
Only now did Mumuzawa get her first close look at the security officer who had saved her the night before.
He's so young. He can't be much older than me. And he's so tall...
After a long silence without a reply from Cheadle, Dio continued firmly:
"I won't abandon the assignment. I'll protect the Twelfth Prince until the mission is complete!"
Hearing those words, Mumuzawa suddenly froze a little.
She had never lacked guards growing up, but this was the first time a boy almost her own age had stood before her and declared so plainly that he would protect her.
"But don't worry, Ms. Cheadle. I'll come back. I still remember that I have another assignment to help you finish."
As he spoke, Dio remembered that Cheadle only wanted what was best for him. He softened his tone a little to soothe her anxiety.
Cheadle's sense of responsibility was simply too strong. She wanted to do everything herself and take the blame for everything, too.
But Dio was also a hunter-temporarily. How could a hunter abandon an assignment he had personally accepted halfway through over something like this?
If Chairman Netero found out, he would surely treat Dio to a punch faster than the speed of sound!
At last, Cheadle's resigned voice came from the other end:
"All right... If you run into any trouble, remember to contact me."
Dio hurriedly nodded and agreed.
Cheadle then hung up and sighed helplessly. In his place, she would probably have made the same choice.
She stared at her phone's dark screen, then suddenly frowned as something occurred to her:
"Was that a girl's voice just now?"
"Hello, Prince Mumuzawa."
Dio lowered his phone and returned the Twelfth Prince's greeting.
"Ah, hello, Mr. Dio..."
Prince Mumuzawa snapped out of her daze and hurried to respond.
Seeing that she seemed a little nervous, Dio softened his voice and asked:
"Did you need something, Your Highness?"
At his question, Mumuzawa slowly calmed down. After considering her words for a while, she said slowly:
"I'm planning to visit Yorknew City's markets and smaller auctions today, but Lieutenant Ralph believes that having too many guards and security officers in a busy market district would actually be counterproductive."
"So, after discussing it, we've decided to reduce the number of accompanying guards to five for future outings. Everyone else will stay farther back, disguised and on standby."
"All right, count me
in."
Dio decisively claimed a place among the guards. He had long been unhappy with this two-layer protective formation, and a chance to provide close protection would certainly let him make better use of his abilities.
Mumuzawa could not help letting out a sigh of relief at his immediate agreement.
After all, the security team's contract had explicitly stated that they were only responsible for perimeter duties. Suddenly asking them to provide close protection would certainly demand more effort.
She had not been sure whether he would agree.
"Then I'm sorry for the trouble, Mr. Dio."
Mumuzawa gave a smile she had not shown in a long time and bowed slightly, then eagerly turned and hurried back to her room with little steps to prepare for the outing.
Then another thought struck Dio:
If we're visiting the markets, should I buy Cheadle and the chairman some gifts? Not that either of them could possibly need anything...
He promptly took out his phone and sent Cheadle a message:
"Teacher, what kinds of gifts do girls usually like?"
Cheadle: ?
Yep, perfect.
Dio was thoroughly pleased with his thoughtful arrangements. Even while working, he remembered to bring gifts for his friends and family. Sure enough, getting along in the world wasn't about fighting and killing-it was about knowing how to handle people~
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