In a small secluded residence on the outskirts of Kit City, Lant was respectfully reporting his findings to a one-eyed man wearing an eye patch.
This one-eyed man was the assassination target of Liyami: the slave trader Furnace Hook.
He listened quietly as Lant relayed the information.
“After Laien’s investigation, we confirmed that the woman named Lilis wasn’t lying. Her name is indeed Lilis, and she is a mercenary. Her identity and background are normal, perfectly meeting your requirements. Would you like to hire her?”
Lant recounted all the details Laien had gathered to Furnace Hook.
When he finished, he waited expectantly for a response.
He wasn’t just hoping to complete the task his boss had given him this time; he was aiming to regain his former standing.
More importantly, if Lilis got hired by the boss, he could use his position to deepen his relationship with her—maybe this time he’d finally lose his virginity!
After hearing Lant’s report, Furnace Hook lowered his head to think for a moment, then slowly lifted it.
“Good. It seems you’ve finally found someone useful this time. You didn’t disappoint me. Since her background is clean, bring her over. Remember, don’t cause any unnecessary trouble.”
Hearing this, Lant’s face lit up.
Maybe his plan to lose his virginity would really work out.
He quickly thanked his boss, left the hidden residence, and headed towards Laien’s house.
Meanwhile, Liyami was bored out of her mind waiting at Laien’s house.
Several days had passed since their last conversation.
During these days, Liyami had been shuttling between Laien’s house and her temporary rented room.
She stayed at Laien’s place during the day, pretending to be his bodyguard, and returned to her rented place at night to maintain her false identity.
She had fabricated a fake identity for herself as a mercenary named Lilis.
Though beautiful in appearance, Lilis had been an orphan since childhood and chose to become a mercenary, living off commissions from assignments.
Except for her looks, this fabricated identity was quite ordinary, so Liyami wasn’t worried about being exposed.
Even if she were, she had backup plans.
Of course, all of this hinged on infiltrating Furnace Hook’s bodyguard team first.
Thinking of that, Liyami couldn’t help but grumble, “Furnace Hook’s intelligence gathering is ridiculously slow.”
She had already been waiting for several days, and they still hadn’t finished the investigation?
She was sure she had made the fake identity simple enough that it should have been verified quickly.
Furnace Hook’s people were really useless!
It wasn’t hard to understand why Liyami thought this way.
The person in charge of investigating Liyami’s background was Laien, who was just an ordinary businessman who had gone bankrupt before.
If he really had such fast investigative skills, he wouldn’t have gone bankrupt.
Just as Liyami was bored enough to start counting dust on the ceiling, the door to Laien’s small house was forcefully opened.
Standing at the door was none other than the anxious Lant, who had hurried over.
As soon as he entered, he spotted Liyami and excitedly walked toward her.
Liyami was momentarily stunned but then felt a wave of joy mixed with a hint of confusion.
She was happy because judging by Lant’s expression, she had probably been “cleared” by Furnace Hook’s investigation and could finally officially join Furnace Hook’s bodyguard team.
But what puzzled her was why Lant was still so excited upon seeing her.
The effect of the Enamoring Charm should have long since worn off, and she hadn’t cast any other charms on him.
Why was he still so obsessed with her?
Could it be some aftereffect of the Enamoring Charm?
Whether or not Lant’s excitement was a lingering effect of the charm didn’t really matter now.
There were more important matters—namely, what Lant had to say about her official bodyguard status.
“Miss Lilis, our boss has approved your application to join. Now, come with me to meet the boss!”
Lant said excitedly to the mercenary Lilis, who looked somewhat puzzled.
“Meet the boss? But isn’t our boss Laien? He’s upstairs, right? Where else would we go?”
Hearing this, Lant cast a disdainful glance upstairs.
“Him? What does he even count as? He’s just a proxy pushed forward by the boss. The boss can replace him whenever he wants. He’s not really our boss. Our true boss is a big shot. Don’t worry—when you meet the boss, not only will the pay not be less, it’ll be several times more!”
Lant proudly boasted to the mercenary Lilis.
She smiled politely and nodded occasionally, thinking that if she had known Lant talked this much nonsense, she wouldn’t have put on such a show.
Once Lant finished speaking, she immediately said, “In that case, hurry up and let me meet the real boss.”
“Alright! Come on, get in the carriage with me.”
After Lant and Liyami got into the carriage, Lant suddenly slapped his thigh as if he’d just remembered something.
“Oh, right. The boss’s residence is confidential. Before you officially become the boss’s bodyguard, you need to wear this to get in.”
He handed over a black eye patch.
Liyami felt magical power emanating from it—it seemed to be a magical item that blocked the wearer’s sight and hearing.
But such a low-level magical device was naturally useless against Liyami.
On one hand, with Liyami’s level, this eye patch couldn’t block her vision or hearing at all.
On the other hand, even if it did, she wouldn’t care, since she already knew where Furnace Hook’s residence was.
She was doing this purely to blend into Furnace Hook’s bodyguard team, not to find out where he lived.
After putting on the eye patch, the carriage started moving, heading towards Kit City’s industrial district.
During the journey, probably fearing Liyami’s boredom, Lant kept rambling on.
However, this only made Liyami feel more annoyed, and she sincerely wished they would reach their destination quickly.
Elsewhere, Furnace Hook sat in a temporary study he had chosen, calculating Lant’s return time.
The reason he asked Lant to find a beautiful bodyguard wasn’t for anything else—he just couldn’t stand being surrounded only by men.
He was quite lecherous by nature.
When free, he would order his subordinates to find a few prostitutes to keep him company overnight.
But recently, due to certain circumstances, he couldn’t expose himself recklessly and had to suppress his desires until the situation cooled down.
Now, in his residence, there were only men and some Beastman Slaves that hadn’t yet been sold.
Though many buyers would do unspeakable things to Beastman Slaves, he refused to do that himself because it was too disgusting.
He really couldn’t imagine what kind of person would desire such filthy Beastman Slaves.
Were they even human?
No matter what, his patience had limits, so he sent Lant to find a beautiful bodyguard.
Even if he couldn’t do “that,” at least it would be a feast for the eyes—and it wouldn’t cost him anything extra.