At dusk, in a remote little tavern in the lower district of Kit City, Lant was drinking alone, drowning his sorrows.
If you want to know why he was like this, you have to start a few days ago.
Back then, he was still leisurely serving as the Head Guard in his boss Furnace Hook’s previous hidden mansion.
Every day, all he had to do was scold his subordinates a bit and patrol occasionally.
It was really easygoing, and the pay was good.
Except for the lack of women, Lant quite liked those days.
Then, some wild orcs accidentally sneaked into the mansion to steal some food.
That scared Furnace Hook so much that he immediately moved to a different place.
Moving to a new place was one thing, but after relocating, the situation only got worse instead of better.
His workload increased dramatically.
Now he had to patrol ten to twenty times a day, with no chance to slack off or live as easy as before.
The new place wasn’t even bigger than the old one, so he didn’t understand the point of so many patrols.
On top of that, Furnace Hook recruited a lot of new guards, several of whom were stronger than Lant.
And because of the incident before, Lant was demoted from Head Guard to a mere Patrol Captain.
Now he even had to run errands and recruit people.
Thinking about all this made a surge of anger well up inside Lant.
He gulped down a big glass of wine and started grumbling about his boss fiercely.
“Tch, ‘damn Kit City!’ My boss has clearly lost his mind. Recruiting people is one thing, but insisting they have to be beautiful women? What kind of nonsense is that? Where the hell are we going to find strong and pretty women to be guards? If there really were any, I’d like to see one! He must be crazy for women.”
Of course, Lant could only complain quietly in this obscure little tavern.
If Furnace Hook ever heard what he just said, Lant wouldn’t even be Patrol Captain anymore.
And he still wanted to make a bit more money.
“Sigh, where am I supposed to find strong, beautiful women who are willing to be guards…But if I can’t find any, the boss might get mad again. I really don’t want another pay cut.”
Lant was troubled by this, but there was nothing he could do.
Although he had found candidates before (after all, the boss paid well—if he weren’t a man, Lant would have applied himself), every time the boss rejected them.
So, up until now, he hadn’t hired a suitable guard.
Lant raised his glass and drank heavily.
At this point, only alcohol could ease his mind.
Soon, Lant finished the wine in his glass.
Just as he was about to ask the tavern owner for another, he noticed someone walking toward him.
Lant was puzzled.
He had deliberately chosen a remote tavern he’d never been to before, and had confirmed there was no one around he knew.
How did someone manage to find him here?
He was about to stop the person when he realized the newcomer was an incredibly beautiful woman.
Seeing her face, Lant was stunned.
Could there really be such a beautiful woman in the world?
She looked like a Saintess.
No, she was more like a Witch, bewitching and seductive.
But why was she here looking for him?
Could it be…for that kind of thing?!
If so, being with such a heavenly beauty would be amazing!
For some reason, Lant felt an irresistible attraction to her.
Every move she made tugged at his heart. He even felt that giving everything for her wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
So, who was this woman that had Lant so utterly captivated?
Of course—it was Liyami!
Yes, the beautiful woman standing next to Lant was none other than Liyami.
She was here on an assassination mission.
She had already decided to infiltrate Furnace Hook’s mansion disguised as a guard to carry out the hit.
Coming to find Lant was naturally part of that plan.
But she didn’t come to him casually.
She had prepared quite a bit, one of which was knowing Lant’s current situation.
Seeing how infatuated Lant was, Liyami knew her charm had worked perfectly.
Before coming here, Liyami had captured a few miserable street thugs to test her powers.
The purpose was to confirm how well she could now control the Silver Pattern.
The results were very good.
She could now release her bewitching aura at will and precisely target only one person, even controlling the intensity.
No more causing the kind of commotion she once did when walking the streets.
Although she hadn’t tried cranking the charm to full power yet, the normal Enthralling Charm alone was already quite formidable.
Indeed, just as she approached Lant, Liyami activated the Silver Pattern, using Enthralling Charm solely on him.
This charm made the target feel a devotion strong enough to give everything for her, making them obsess over her.
The actual effect depends on the target’s mental strength and number.
The weaker the target’s will, the fewer the affected, and the stronger the effect.
Lant’s mental strength was definitely not strong, and Liyami only used Enthralling Charm on him.
So his current infatuated state was completely normal.
Surprised by how well it worked, Liyami thought she could use this ability in future assassinations as well.
Just as Liyami was pleased with her powerful new skill, Lant couldn’t hold back any longer.
This beauty hadn’t said a word since sitting beside him.
He had no idea what she wanted.
Maybe she was too shy and wanted him to take the initiative?
Well, he was happy to oblige.
“Ahem, beautiful lady, may I ask what brings you to see me, the ‘mighty Lant’? If it’s for that kind of thing, don’t worry—I’m battle-hardened and can definitely guide you well!”
Hearing Lant’s blunt words, Liyami twitched the corner of her mouth.
If this charm had any side effect, it was this.
If the target had some decency, it was fine, but if not, like Lant, they kept saying things that made her speechless.
Still, this was a side effect she could tolerate.
“Oh dear, Mr. Lant, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I’m here to apply for a guard position. I heard your boss pays well, so I came specially.”
After saying this, even Liyami felt a little embarrassed.
That tone was way too much like a sly flirt! Looks like she still needed to work on playing the feminine role better in the future.
As for whether this sly talk would raise Lant’s suspicion, Liyami didn’t care at all.
The Enthralling Charm wouldn’t be broken by words like these.
“Ah…is that all? Well then, please follow me.”
Lant was a little disappointed, but to win Liyami’s favor, he agreed.
After all, who knows—maybe she’d suddenly want to try the other kind of thing with him later?
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