Chapter 89: First Come, First Served

Tos covered his face with a sinister look in his eyes, letting out a villainous laugh.

“Red, are you chickening out?”

“You’re the one who signed my name, damn it!”

“Don’t fight, don’t fight,” Brian stepped between them like a peacemaker.

“We’re all brothers here—share the good times and the bad, right? Everyone gets that, yeah?”

“Captain….”

“Brian…”

Both Red and Tos, who’d been squabbling just a moment ago, showed a flash of emotion in their eyes.

“So I signed both your names.”

With that, Brian flashed a dazzling smile and showed off his pearly teeth, giving a thumbs up.

“Enjoy yourselves.”

“You’re no saint either!!”

Red had to admit, having a group of brothers like this,

This life is just too straight.

Straight enough to go lie in a coffin.

Since their names had already been written down, Red and Tos, no matter how reluctant, entered the passage.

The corridor was very quiet, adorned only with luxurious and refined decorations.

At the end of the hall, there was a room with the doors left ajar.

“Doesn’t look like there’s any problem here.”

Tos muttered to himself, then gently pushed the door open a crack, trying to see what kind of monster might be lurking inside.

“Hello! My name’s Monica~”

As soon as they heard this voice, Red and Tos both froze.

It was simple—the voice belonged to that silly goose from Liz’s party they’d seen yesterday!

Sure enough, as Red and Tos fully opened the door, the person standing before them was the same blue-haired, big-breasted knight from yesterday.

“What?!”

Tos couldn’t believe it.

“Why are you here?”

“What’s so strange about that?”

Monica scratched her head in confusion, but soon her face lit up with her usual energetic smile.

“But Red, what are you doing here?”

“…It’s complicated.”

Red wasn’t familiar with Monica.

No, in fact, he could say he didn’t know her at all.

And knowing she was one of Liz’s people, Red didn’t want to get too involved.

But just because Red didn’t want to get involved didn’t mean Tos felt the same.

Just as Red was about to leave, Tos, with a rose in his mouth, slammed the door shut and locked it.

Red glanced over but didn’t say a word, communicating only with his eyes.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“Red, don’t you find this woman incredibly alluring?”

Tos looked as if he were discussing some sort of transgression.

“No, you’ve misunderstood. That’s not what I meant.”

Tos wagged his finger.

“What I mean is—a princess of the empire giving you a massage. Isn’t that kind of tempting?”

“Sorry, I’m not interested.”

Red shot him a dead-fish stare and was about to leave, but Tos suddenly hugged his leg, looking up at him with desperate eyes.

Tos hadn’t said it aloud, but it was clear—Monica seemed to have a bit of a thing for Red.

Though, it was a pretty faint bit.

If Red left, Tos figured he’d have zero chance.

It’d be better if Red stayed.

That way, he’d have more chances to chat and connect.

“What’s wrong?”

Because the two of them were having a silent conversation with their eyes, Monica was completely clueless about what was going on.

Her silly expression was filled with utter confusion.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Tos let go of Red’s leg and performed an elegant noble’s bow.

“We’re here for the challenge. Please begin.”

“Okay.”

Though she didn’t know what was happening, Monica started massaging the two of them.

At first, Red thought Monica’s hands would be especially strong—after all, she was a knight and had clearly undergone intense training.

But as it turned out, it wasn’t painful at all.

In fact, it felt great.

In every aspect, her strength was just right.

The only flaw was that she was wearing armor, so there were occasional minor bumps and scrapes.

Even Tos, who’d been tense for a while, soon relaxed and eased his frown.

“So that’s all it was…? Guess the people outside are just weak.”

“I’m actually pretty confident in my skills, you know!”

Monica puffed up her chest proudly.

“Back at the Knights, I’d always give my brother massages, too!”

But while Tos was already lost in bliss, Red couldn’t shake off a feeling that something was off.

If it was just this gentle, why had so many people ended up passed out outside?

As Red was pondering, Monica continued.

“Red, I actually came to Nightbright Town with a clear purpose—I want to cooperate with you.”

As soon as Monica said this, Red recalled Otto’s warning.

A lot of people would be coming to ask him about the core array of the Bloodhound Hunter Spider.

It seemed clear that Monica and Mason were here for just that.

With that in mind, Red replied,

“If it’s about the Bloodhound Hunter Spider, you’d be better off going directly to the president of the Gilded Chamber of Commerce. I’m sure he’d be happy to work with an imperial princess like yourself.”

Monica scratched her head in confusion, sizing up Red as she did.

She didn’t understand.

She was, after all, a princess of a nation.

No one ever showed such indifference or resignation when receiving her invitations.

After pausing, Monica spoke again.

“It’s not just about the Bloodhound Hunter Spider. I believe you can create even better, stronger mechanical constructs. As a princess, investing imperial resources in you is a win-win for both of us.”

While talking business, Monica seemed like a completely different person from her usual self.

Right now… she seemed like someone who could decide countless lives with a single gesture.

No, she really was at the very top of the empire.

This was a world apart from her silly goose persona.

Even so, Red sighed and shook his head.

“Thank you for your appreciation, but I’m sorry—I still have to decline.”

“Why?”

Monica gazed at Red seriously.

“Are you worried this will affect your cooperation with the Gilded Chamber of Commerce?”

“That’s not it.”

Red gave a wry smile and shook his head.

“Just consider it my personal problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“You… What’s your relationship with Liz?”

“She’s my cousin. Why?”

“Dawn’s Edge lost a member not long ago. You know that, right?”

“Yes, we lost a frontliner. But what does that have to do with us working together?”

“The frontliner that left… was me.”

Red let out a sigh.

He didn’t want to get involved with Liz, even if Monica was just her cousin.

Even if they were only cousins, it was still family.

If anything went wrong, it’d be a pain to deal with.

And that wouldn’t just trouble him—it could trouble Monica too.

Better to be upfront from the start.

“But Red, aren’t you a Mechanist…? Eh?”

At this point, Monica finally caught on.

Oh, so her cousin was using a Mechanist as a frontliner?

And then kicked said Mechanist out?

Ah…

Ahhh?!

It took Monica a full ten seconds to process Red’s words.

Her face looked stunned.

Seeing her like this, Red couldn’t help but twitch his lips.

He really couldn’t figure Monica out—was she pretending to be dumb, or just genuinely this clueless…?

“Ah! Sorry!”

Monica suddenly gave a ninety-degree bow.

“I didn’t know about that—I’m really sorry!”

“It’s fine, Your Highness. This has nothing to do with you.”

Red had already made it clear he didn’t want to be involved with Liz, so he was upfront from the start—this was his own business.

The brief interlude didn’t disrupt the challenge, though honestly, Red couldn’t see what was challenging about any of this.

Wasn’t this just pure enjoyment?

How did those guys outside end up in such a state?

Red wasn’t alone in his thoughts—

Tos nodded in wholehearted agreement.

At that moment, Monica withdrew her hands and continued, “Basic Massage is done. Next up is the ‘Massage Chicken’ session.”

Her clear eyes swept over the two of them with a hint of expectation.

“So… who wants to go first?”

The moment she said this, Tos nearly jumped up.

His voice trembled like never before, his eyes turning red, full of countless unsaid words.

His tone was so earnest, it was as if he were entrusting his last wish.

“Red, you know I’ve never asked you for anything. Just this once, just this once—let me go first, okay?”

Looking at Tos’s fervor, Red’s mouth twitched.

Was this… really necessary?

“Fine.”

Oh well, let him have it.

Upon hearing this, Tos’s face lit up as if he’d just won the lottery.

He was so excited he nearly gave Red a bear hug!

But just as Tos was about to declare victory, Monica, as if suddenly remembering something, added offhandedly, “Oh, by the way, do you want me to wear stockings and step on you? It works even better.”

Red’s eyes sharpened with resolve.

Tos’s smile froze.

The two of them almost simultaneously turned, their gazes colliding violently in mid-air.

The atmosphere congealed; the temperature plummeted.

The camaraderie from a moment ago vanished, replaced by a suffocating tension, like two gunslingers facing off in a western duel.

“Red, you already have Litt. Let your brother go first for once, can’t you?”

“Litt is Litt. That’s totally unrelated. Besides, this is a challenge, and I was the first to sign—there’s a thing called first come, first served, you know?”

“Thud!”

As they argued, a heavy, metallic sound suddenly echoed in the room.

They looked down and saw, not far from their feet, a heavy Arm Guard glinting coldly on the ground—or more accurately, embedded in the floor.

Centered around the Arm Guard, a meter-wide stretch of hard floor was shattered with cracks radiating like a spiderweb, as if struck by a meteor.

“Sorry, guess I didn’t fasten it tight enough—it fell off,” Monica smiled, picking up the Arm Guard and glancing at the two ashen-faced, shocked men.

“And don’t argue. One at a time. It’ll go quickly.”

“Uh… Red, why don’t you go first? We’re brothers after all—doesn’t matter who goes first, right?”

Bean-sized beads of sweat poured down Tos’s forehead as he forced out an awkward, hideous smile, turning his head as slowly as a rusted machine.

But when Tos’s eyes finally settled beside him, he realized—the spot next to him…

…was empty.

Where was Red?

Tos whipped his head around toward the door.

“Click.”

Someone even locked the door on his way out!

“Red!! I won’t let you off, even as a ghost—AAAH!!”