Chapter 153: Night Raid

Giliath demands your power stones!

Reverie is releasing this week o.o

*

As Naoto, Ennea and Ines quickly approached the city of Roer, the same could be said for the several figures clad in cloaks from the opposite direction. These figures quickly sprinted in the darkness from the northeast. Ouroboros's cloaked scouting ship could be seen zooming in from the southwest.

And yet at the time, the citizens of Roer had no idea that a night raid was about to be conducted on the Reinford building...

Meanwhile, at the Reinford Building.

With the day wrapping up, most of the workers inside the Reinford Building were heading home for the day. The Reinford Building was one of Zemuria's most advanced structures to date, with the IBC Building coming in a close second. It wouldn't be until later that the Orchis Tower would become one of Zemuria's most advanced structures, spanning almost double in floor size compared to the Reinford Building.

Well, the Reinford Building is more of a castle than an actual tower.

And on top of it being the headquarters of the Reinford Group, it was also the home of the Reinford Family. They had built a couple floors at its top, which was solely used by its family members, with the Chairman's Office at the very top.

The family only used a couple of the floors, as the rest of the building was reserved for the workers of the Reinford Group. It housed several divisions, but most of its floors were now empty for the night, aside from a few workers who were staying to pull all-nighters.

It made sense for more workers to be staying later, as a result of a recent business opportunity the Reinford Group successfully caught. It allowed more opportunity for jobs, but at the same time, a certain someone was starting to feel more lonely as a result of longer hours that their parent was currently doing...

One of the rooms on the 24th Floor.

A sole figure could be seen walking through the large open corridor, which led to several rooms of the Reinford family. Large window panels could be seen covering most of the floor, allowing one to see outside over the picturesque view of Roer. The person walking appeared to be a woman in her twenties, and sported short and curly lavender hair. Her outfit consisted of a dark violet maid's uniform with a white apron over it. This person was the main maid of the Reinford Group, who went by the name Sharon.

Passing by a couple bedrooms and the library along the way, Sharon soon found herself approaching one of the smaller rooms. Yet as she reached the door, a sound of running water soon reached her ears. Hearing this, a smile appeared on Sharon's face as she approached the closed door, only to knock it with a couple taps.

"Milady, is the bath's temperature to your liking?", Sharon asked behind the closed door. The moment Sharon's voice escaped from her mouth, she heard a loud splash from the inside.

"E-Everything's fine, Sharon! Geez...", A girl's voice escaped from inside the room. Hearing that, Sharon smiled again, only to speak to the girl inside the bath.

"Hehe, I'm only making sure that it is to your liking, Milady. With the Chairman out on business leave, it is only just us two here. Should you require anything of me, I'm only a call away.", Sharon responded happily despite hearing the fluster of the girl she had just heard.

"I know!", The girl's voice retorted back after hearing Sharon say that. Sharon blinked as she heard a hint of discontent in the girl's tone. For now, Sharon could only sigh. It was true that the Chairman Sharon spoke of was none other than the girl's mother. However, Sharon could tell that there was quite a rift between the two. The girl's mother was just promoted to Chairman earlier this year, and ever since then, the two had literally slim to no interactions with each other. It made sense to see that the girl was unhappy about the current situation.

But it's not like Sharon could do anything about it, since it was none other than the Chairman who was her current employer. She felt guilty about this matter.

"Still, it's not like I can do much about it, Milady. You know those railway cannons are of utmost importance to the Reinford Group. We'll be able to maintain our strong footing once this project is complete.", Sharon said, feeling a bit reluctant as she said so.

"Hmph. Can't that stupid mother of mine set aside a mere fifteen minutes just to enjoy a dinner together!? All she does is want to flaunt those cannons to the rest of the country. They're all just for show.", The girl's voice yelled out angrily.

"It was the Imperial Army who requested such a thing. It's not like our Reinford Group could turn down such a business opportunity.", Sharon simply answered. "I could at least try to reach out to the Chairman to see if she can set aside a few minutes, even if it is just for a night.", Sharon tried to suggest, only to hear a harrumph from the girl inside the closed room.

"Hmph. Don't bother, Sharon. I've already gotten used to this. I'll just be eating alone. AGAIN.", The girl responded, still angry about not being able to make such a thing happen.

Sharon could shake her head hearing this response.

"I'll be here if you need me, Milady.", Sharon could only answer. As much as she wanted to reach out to the Chairman, she knew she was still very busy to allow some free time. Sharon only heard another splash, and now silence from coming into the room. Seeing the girl no longer wanting to talk, Sharon slowly started to walk again, proceeding to do her duties.

As for the girl inside, she slowly sank into the large white marbled tub that could be seen in the center of the room hearing Sharon leave the closed door. This room was mostly made marbled gray tiling with a full washing area off to the side. It wasn't this room alone, but the whole couple of floors seemed fancy. One would at least say, this girl was among the rich people. After all, this girl was the daughter of the current Chairman of the Reinford Group. But despite having such a title to her name, the annoyed look remained in her eyes as she enjoyed her bath.

"Geez, stupid mother. How can she think those stupid cannons are more important than her own daughter...?", The girl retorted, only to slide further into the tub. Upon a closer look, this girl appeared to be around twelve years old, and she was now in her growing period. She sported lush blonde hair and striking scarlet eyes. Her hair was currently laid down, not being held by any ribbons. This girl was one who would attend Thors Military Academy in the future, and become a core member of Class VII. Alisa R, or the heiress to the Reinford Group, Alisa Reinford.

Still feeling that way, as she submerged herself into the bathtub's water, her mouth was soon wrapped by the hot water and the several bubbles that floated on top of the water. She started to blow some air into the water, and created some bubbles of her own. The hot water of the bath was definitely making Alisa become more relaxed as the time she spent in it went on, which caused her worries to slowly vanish. Her mother had recently become the Chairman of the Reinford Group earlier this year, and her Grandfather, the ex-Chairman, is now nowhere to be found. He had said to the two he would be going out into the world on a business trip, but both the mother and Alisa hadn't heard a peep from him since then. As a result, Alisa was now alone most of the time. She had constantly complained about it first, but she had slowly begun to accept such a reality.

Being the daughter of a top businesswoman in a gigantic empire, that is.

Alisa reveled in those thoughts for the moment, enjoying the silence in the bathroom for a bit. As she did, time began to pass again, and the softness of the water continued to relax her body even more. She was only twelve years old, but was still a child in her early teens who was already dealing with this stress. To Alisa, her time spent in the bath was her savior. And at the very least, Sharon was still around for when Alisa needed her. She made most if not all of her meals as well, and she had no complaints about how it tasted.

Sharon was extremely skilled in what she did as a maid. Alisa knew that fact well. It's been a couple years since her mother founded Sharon. The one thing she wouldn't dive into though was her past. Alisa always wondered what Sharon did before she started working as a maid for their Reinford family. But no matter how many times Alisa asked Sharon, Sharon would never budge on the matter.

Thinking that, Alisa slowly dipped her head outside of the water, enjoying a warm breeze in the air, but a cool one as well as the window further beyond was currently cracked open. The summer breeze was slowly filling the room as hot air escaped from it. Alisa hung her dripping wet hair over the tub's edge, as she did her head. Leaning backward a bit, her eyes slowly opened, allowing her to see the outside sky above.

Yet the moment she opened her eyes, her body became frozen stiff. Expecting to see the starry night sky, she had seen something else entirely different.

A single violet blood-red haired red boy currently could be seen floating upside downward, staring right back at her, obstructing her view of the starry sky.

"Hey there, beautiful.", The violet blood-red haired boy said, greeting Alisa. It took her a good moment to realize a boy was floating outside of her bathroom.

"Ahhh!", Alisa suddenly shouted, not expecting a person to be hanging outside her own bathroom window, seemingless for that matter. Alisa's voice was loud enough to carry into the main corridor, which caused Sharon to come to a sudden halt to what she was now doing, cleaning the hallways.

Sharon knew she hadn't heard this yell in quite some time, and a serious look appeared in her eyes, only to rush toward the bathroom door. Using some of her strength, she managed to kick the door wide open, only to see a shocked Alisa, looking toward the window.

"Are you alright, Milady--?", Sharon tried to ask, only to trace Alisa's gaze. She too soon spotted a sole figure who appeared to be floating in the air, upside down, observing the room before him.

"Oh, one moment please.", The boy suddenly said, which distracted the two's thoughts. Before the two could do anything, the boy took out a thin sword of sorts, only to go into a defensive stance. A second shadowy figure quickly swooped down from above, and the boy struck out, matching the strike of the second figure's sword. Clang!

"Go to hell!", The second figure said, striking out swiftly and fiercely. Yet the boy calmly floated there, waited and received the strike. It was swift, and a loud sound of clashing metal struck the bathroom. However, the boy was quick to react after.

"Not happening today, buddy. I kind of got a thing scheduled with this girl before me. I'd very much like it if she remained alive.", The boy said, only to strike out with the rapier in his hand. With his spare hand, he grabbed the arm of the cloaked figure that held their blade, and obstructing its path, the boy struck out right into the cloaked figure. A piercing sound of flesh struck the two's ears, only to see blood splatter onto the window. Seeing the sudden blood appear, Alisa froze up again. Yet before the cloaked figure could let out a scream, the boy let go of the arm he was holding onto and reached out toward the figure's neck.

With one swift motion, the boy clutched hard, and bones cracked. The cloaked figure couldn't even scream before his eyes dulled, causing his life to pass on. He dropped dead right then and there.

"Now that's better.", I smiled, seeing one of the Garden of Sword's assassins now dead in my arms. I saw a quick notification, only to see the number of killed assassins increase from 0/10, to 1/10.

I held onto the body though. Seeing the window was cracked open, I jumped inside, only to see a startled Alisa and a serious look in Sharon's eyes.

"Long time no see, Kreuger.", I decided to say, wanting to see what kind of response Sharon would give. Sure enough, the moment I uttered that name, a cold look appeared in her eyes.

"S-Sharon?", Alisa couldn't help but ask, seeing Sharon pull out a dagger from underneath her maid uniform. She slowly walked up to me, only to point her dagger outward.

"Who are you?", Sharon asked me as a cold look swept her eyes. Even Alisa felt a chill go down her spine, despite still being inside the bathtub.

"Harsh, but expected. We haven't personally met before, but if you really want to know, just have a look yourself.", I calmly answered, only to toss the dead assassin's body toward Sharon's end. I tossed it in a specific way to where it would show the assassin's emblem. It was a Sword.

"This...", Sharon tried to say. "I knew it. It's them.", Sharon continued to say, revealing a frown.

"What's going on, Sharon?", Alisa tried to ask, only to have Sharon quickly look back at her.

"You need to get out of the bath, now, Milady. Any more and your life will pose at ri--!?", Sharon tried to warn Alisa, which caused her to blink at Sharon. But before Sharon could finish her sentence, the three of us heard a large explosion from further downward, only to feel a small quake shake the building. The water over Alisa's bath also shook.

"Ahh!", Alisa yelled out, not expecting such a thing to happen. However, hearing that noise, I couldn't help but reveal a smile, bearing my large fangs.

"The night raid has just begun.", I declared.

*

[Insert picture of Alisa Reinford here]

[Insert picture of Sharon Kreuger here]

[Insert picture of Irina Reinford here]