Chapter 25: The Meeting
In the outskirts of a spirit empire was a city known as Anfang. It stood on the border of the Farlands and was considered the center of the adventurer's starting point. It was where adventurous spirits began their starting point and their journey to the Realm of Spectrum. Such was the purpose of the city, and its importance was immeasurable.
Within Anfang, where strange buildings got built, at least a dozen blocks away from the headquarters of the security bureau, was an alleyway. It was covered in darkness due to the two tall wooden buildings on its sides. In the small and dark way were two figures. They were the recent visitors who entered Anfang.
One was a beautiful young girl with silver-white hair and light magenta eyes. She had crow-like wings behind her waist and was a gorgeous beauty, wearing a military uniform. She appeared to be rather cold as her pale white skin seemed to be soft and smooth. Anyhow, she was none other than Alastair Hecate, the alleged dark spirit.
The other one was a young lady wearing a victorian maid outfit. She had a monocle on her eye, and her jet-black hair was strapped under a ponytail. She was also gorgeous, and her body was seductive enough to rival the best of the best. She was Alastair's companion, the maid, and the guide of her journey.
She was Soteria.
Anyway, Soteria had a smile plastered on her face as she stepped forward to her master. Before fading, her master's wish was to gather all the information that Anfang could reveal. And in such a small time frame, she couldn't collect such information. So she decided to use other ways, such as violence.
Using it was better than what she had expected as money was also not a problem for them at this very moment. Such actions of hers made her realize that her master was simply picking the most efficient and dangerous way to reach a goal. But even then, Soteria knew not to test the limits of fate.
"So you got all of the information we need?" Alastair questioned with a calm voice while Soteria nodded with an emotionless expression. Such expression of hers had a tinge of confidence as she took out a paper that consisted of the essential information they might need.
Alastair raised an eyebrow and started reading it. The information was rather detailed, and it was more than what she had expected. From how it was written, it appears that her maid had used violence to get such a piece of information. Well, it was expected with such a small timeframe.
Alastair was happy that her maid didn't hesitate to use violence to complete a goal. Though, Alastair was a bit curious about where her maid got such a piece of detailed knowledge about the city of Anfang. Soteria noticing Alastair's curiosity, immediately answered.
"Lady Alastair, I managed to acquire a mining company on my way to obtaining information. So the money problem we recently had shouldn't be on our way. Other than that, the mining company had some dirt problems on the inside. It was easy to coerce its owners and force him to sign a contract."
"You should know what that contract was."
Soteria gazed upon her master with a calm expression as Alastair found herself deep in thought. Dirty problems were normal in companies, but it appears that the security bureau wasn't that thorough. They simply looked at the outside but not at the inside, which was a fatal mistake.
"So what kind of dirty problems are we talking about?" Alastair asked as she needed to hear what problem it was to judge whether or not it was even a problem at all. Soteria then answered without any hesitation. "The owners are involved in a large spirit trafficking ring."
"Spirit trafficking ring? That is unexpected, but I guess that the realm of Spectrum isn't that different from the other worlds in the Materium Realm." Alastair shook her head in disappointment. She should have expected such a thing, but even then, it took her by surprise.
The fact that there was a large spirit trafficking ring within Anfang was a massive problem. Either the security bureau knew of it and was currently gathering evidence, or they were in it. But with such a vast criminal influence, it should be easy for her to conquer the city of Anfang.
"But for now, the criminal organization behind it isn't our problem. This information of yours is incredible. I'm proud of you, Soteria. You went beyond my expectations." Alastair smiled as she praised her maid. For Alastair, Soteria was probably the best maid that ever existed in this realm.
"HMmm..." Soteria didn't reply though her calm and emotionless expression was breaking apart. It seemed that she was happy with the praise of her master. Such a reaction of hers even made Alastair slightly chuckle. It was quite a cute reaction, and Soteria was working hard on hiding it.
"Now, let me continue reading it." Alastair silently uttered as she continued reading through the information Soteria gave her. She didn't know if this information was accurate, but it should give her enough knowledge to piece the big picture of the city of Anfang.
"The 12 high officials of Anfangs, I met with at least five of them in the interrogation room, and that included the security chief. The seven remaining ones are leaders of giant corporations within the city of Anfang. They seemed to be the money machines in the 12 high officials."
"Vader Familia? That is a strange first name and last name. The security chief is weird." Alastair had finally gotten the name of the security chief. Vader Familia was his name, and it appears that he had a wife. His wife was working in the capital and would come back every last two days of the week.
"His wife is almost retiring, at least a month later. So why is that information here? Well, I don't know what kind of job his wife has. It might be enough to topple the current balance of power in this city." Alastair shook her head as if it was a theory. Besides, the chief's personal life wasn't her problem.
"The city of Anfang is divided into 12 districts. 4 of the districts are in the industrialized zone. It seems that the mining company was also within it. But that shouldn't be the problem for now. What I want is the information about the army in the city of Anfang."
With this in mind, Alastair started looking for knowledge relating to the army. It didn't take a while for it to emerge, and it was pretty detailed. She didn't know if this was the current report or an old one, but it seemed that Alastair shouldn't underestimate the power of the city of Anfang.
"Over five thousand in the cavalry, twenty thousand as foot soldiers, ten thousand archers, seven thousand and five hundred shield bearers. This city is packing a lot of soldiers. But it is considered to be the starting point of the adventurers, so this sizeable army makes sense."
Alastair nodded to herself as she decided to keep the information with her. She was content with the knowledge Soteria gave her. Alastair then turned her gaze towards the maid and uttered with a smile plastered on her face. "Shall we find our room, Soteria? Staying in the streets has been quite tiring for me."
Upon hearing Alastair's words, Soteria didn't hesitate and replied with a calm voice. "Then, we should go find the most expensive hotel in this city. Lady Alastair should receive the best of the best this city could give. Also, don't worry. In terms of efficiency, a good place gives a good result."
"Well, what you said made sense. Though, do you know the place?" Alastair asked as Soteria had a slight smile formed on her face as she replied. "Of course, before arriving, I prepared a room for Lady Alastair to stay. It is a two-bed bedroom, with the most expensive luxury possible."
"Eh? How much did that cost?" Alastair wondered about the price of their hotel room. She wanted to save money for the two of them. She wouldn't even mind sleeping in the stable to save money for their future plans. Soteria tilted her head and replied with a wondering expression.
"Mhhm... Well, the cost is not a problem. I believe that we should focus on the other ones, such as the future enemies of our plan. The government of this city is obviously our rival, but I believe that the criminal organizations within would pose more problems. After all, they don't need to heed the law to do what they want."
Soteria was relatively good at changing the subject as Alastair immediately switched her thoughts towards the future enemies she would face. The enemies were not to be underestimated, especially the high officials within the city of Anfang. Alastair wouldn't want to confront them for now.
"I believe that we should be careful with our next steps. I have met with the high officials of the city, and all of them were stronger than me. But, most of all, I'm bothered with the security bureau chief. His power is extremely powerful, and they fluctuate depending on the situation."
"With his background, I'm becoming more worried about him. So let's become passive for now and act as innocent as possible." Alastair looked directly at Soteria's eyes with a serious expression. Upon seeing the seriousness of her master, Soteria nodded as a cold expression emerged from her face.
"Understood, Lady Alastair. We'll be careful to not announce our presence. I will be checking the mining company and have the owners operate it." Soteria said with a calm voice as Alastair raised an eyebrow and questioned with her soothing voice. "Can you trust them? They might be the cause of our downfall."
Hearing the words of her beloved master, Soteria smirked and answered. "They are nothing but cowards. With the chains on their necks, I believe they wouldn't dare to betray us. But if they do, they would experience pain they have never felt in their lives before their inevitable deaths."
"That's good." Alastair nodded with an expression of satisfaction as she wouldn't want her plan to fall before it even started. "Then, shall we go?" Alastair said as Soteria turned her gaze towards one of the buildings in the streets. She shook her head and followed her master.
As they left the alleyway, Alastair uttered her last orders for the day to Soteria. "As always, be my maid, Soteria. Follow my lead." Alastair's words echoed throughout Soteria's ears and mind. Soteria nodded as they had entirely left the alleyway. The light of the brilliant golden sun shone over them.
Alastair then turned her head towards Soteria and said. "I can't believe that you got lost in that alleyway? What would you do if there were dangerous people in that dark place? Also, why would you even be there, to begin with?" Alastair said with a displeased tone as Soteria lightly bowed and apologized.
"I apologize for getting lost, Lady Alastair. I didn't know what to do when they took you. Did they do something bad to you?" Soteria questioned as Alastair shook her head and replied. "They didn't. Unlike those in the capital, at least they didn't try to do anything violent without hesitation."
"I see... So shall we stay in the hotel, Lady Alastair? I, fortunately, got some money from your relative in this city. He wanted to ready his house before your arrival, so he wanted us to stay in the hotel." Soteria explained as Alastair had an elated expression plastered o her face.
"Wait, what? I got a relative in this place?" Alastair found herself confused as Soteria nodded and answered. "Yes, I was also surprised at first, but fortunately, he gave us the emblem."
"Since he has the emblem, shall we go to the hotel?" Alastair said with a slight smile plastered on her face as Soteria smirked with an emotionless expression and replied. "My Lady's wish is my command. I have readied everything you need and everything you want. Only time will tell for the results to blossom."
The two of them then walked towards the direction of the hotel Soteria was speaking of.
As they walked through the streets, on one of the roofs of the building, a figure was hiding behind a chimney. The figure resembled that of a lady. And the lady was none other than the secretary of the security chief. The right-hand lady who got sent to investigate the alleged dark spirit under the order of her one and only superior.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone