Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 2 Miss Arrogance

Altaïr moved quickly through the crowds of the East End.

It was already noon, and some of the East District workers who had the conditions to come out for lunch had already poured out of the factory, and Altaïr easily blended in with them.

After walking around in the crowd twice and making sure he wasn't discovered, he quickly changed direction and turned into a hidden alley.

After entering the shadow of the alley, his movements suddenly became brisk. He jumped over all kinds of debris on the ground as easily as a gazelle, avoiding the puddles and mud caused by the rain of the previous two days.

About twenty minutes later, he stopped in front of a pub. The pub's sign had turned yellow, with a black peaked hat stained with wine and a copper crucible bubbling.

Altaïr pushed the door open with familiarity, and the wind chimes hanging on the door began to jingle.

"Brother, this place is closed during the day...Oh, it's you."

On the old bar, a pile of black clothes suddenly moved, revealing the female owner under a soft hat. After recognizing Altaïr, she did not stop him, but quickly stood up and closed the door to make sure no one was watching here.

"The guest is waiting for you inside, Box 3." The female proprietress stretched, looked at Artair tenderly, and made way for him.

"Okay, Gagran." Altaïr threw the white cloak on the bar. "I'll return the clothes to you. Give me the deposit later."

Altaïr walked into the tavern, his thoughts already drifting to the upcoming bounty and the potion recipe.

After the War of Faith, many people gained extraordinary abilities by chance, including him as a bounty hunter.

The name of the potion was "Assassin" - this was what the employer told him after he learned about this. At that time, he only felt that the employer seemed to want to say something to him, but in the end he did not speak.

Of course, it's not a bad thing for an employer to be quiet. Quiet usually means that he doesn't have many demands, and Altaïr likes such an employer, and this time is no exception.

Go to the West District and kill Baron Sindras - this is the only request from that lord. Baron Sindras was supported by the Conservative Party, but he himself tends to be the big bankers in the New Party, so it is reasonable for him to be assassinated.

"Good afternoon, Miss Pride."

Altaïr opened the door of the box and greeted him politely.

Sitting inside the box was a blonde lady wearing an emerald green ruffled dress, a white mask on her face, and a beautiful pearl earring on her left ear. She nodded slightly, without standing up, folded her hands at her waist, and performed a simple sitting noble salute.

No matter which time I see her, I feel that Miss Arrogance is truly a well-educated aristocratic woman.

Altaïr sighed inwardly. When he was Baron Sinderas's personal valet, he had seen many noble ladies, but none of them performed noble etiquette as well as Miss Pride.

The other party should be an old noble who is more particular about this, so he chose Baron Sindras as the target of assassination. Of course, I just need to take the money and do the job.

"I learned from my sources about Baron Sinderas's death. Well done."

Miss Pride gave a slight nod of approval.

"Although the other party is of prominent status, it is not an impossible task."

Altaïr nodded in response.

"Well, as agreed, this is your reward—the formula for the Assassin Path Sequence 7 potion and 2000 pounds in cash."

Miss Pride said in a sing-song voice, pushing a suitcase and a blank paper towards Altaïr.

"This is higher than what we agreed on previously." Altaïr was puzzled.

"You did a good job. The Mandated Punishers had no idea that this was a murder disguised as an accident with almost no supernatural powers. This saved me a lot of trouble."

Miss Pride smiled, and the corners of the mask on her face curled up slightly.

Miss Arrogance is still so generous... She doesn't seem to have anything to do with "arrogance", why did she choose such a nickname...

No, facing an assassin, he openly exposed his magical items and financial resources. Even in the chaotic East District, he still insisted on his aristocratic etiquette. Didn't he care what others would think from the bottom of his heart?
This is the real arrogance. It doesn't make people feel malicious because the other party will never show any malice to ants or insects...

Artair was dazed for a moment, but he quickly came to his senses, took the suitcase, and put the note in his pocket.

The thought that the other party might have lied on the note seemed to have never occurred to him, as if it had been erased by something.

"Then I shall take my leave. Thank you again for your generosity." Altaïr stood up and bowed slightly.

After Altaïr left, something in front of Miss Pride seemed to break like glass. Her expression was no longer the formulaic sweet smile, but a little gloomy and sentimental.

"Noble etiquette... The last time I saw this kind of etiquette, I was still a naive little girl. Now I have begun to step behind the scenes, not for justice, but to use assassination as a means to control the development of the situation..."

Miss Pride, or Audrey Hall, couldn't help but sigh softly. However, she quickly adjusted her mood using her "audience" ability.

"This Altaïr seems to be a good partner. I also need someone like him in the East District to collect intelligence for me. After all, Backlund is still too mysterious. I can't just look at the dream world of all the Backlund people in the middle of the night. This might anger other demigods... It's a pity that he chose the Assassin Order. Maybe I have to call him Miss Altaïr in the future?"

Audrey laughed at herself: "But, that's also good."

Then, her figure disappeared like a sugar cube dropped into water.

On the other side, Artair, who had earned an extra thousand pounds, had already walked to the bar downstairs.

"Your deposit, two pounds." The graceful landlady pushed two one-pound notes over. Altaïr took one and pushed the other back.

"Have a margarita first, and then tell me if you have any new work recently."

"Didn't that lady just give you a commission? You shouldn't be in such a hurry to use the money."

Gagran turned around and took out tequila from the bar cabinet and started mixing it, while chatting casually with Altaïr. Although the bar was closed, Altaïr obviously couldn't drink a pound of alcohol by himself, and Gagran would not go against money.

"I have other uses for that money." Altaïr drew his dagger from his sleeve and wiped it with a rag on the bar until the blade was shiny enough to shine.

"That's true, but I don't have any big orders for you." Geglan shoveled ice in the freezer. "Recently, a new executioner came to the Zmanger Party in the East District. Someone offered her 200 pounds to make her disappear."

"Those people from the highlands are really like sardines in Jianhai County. One net is pulled out and another net is pulled in."

Altaïr complained. "Wait, did you say 'she'?"

"Yes, that's a woman."

Gagran pulled out a portrait from under the counter and threw it to Altaïr.

"Her name is Vinata (note from the incompetent author: Latin for hunter). She came with the airship this year. When the army retreated, she was injured and left to fend for herself in a small clinic in the East District. Unexpectedly, she survived and joined the gang of the plateau people. Because she is a good fighter, several other gangs around her could no longer sustain themselves, so they pooled their money and came to me to take on a commission."

"What other information?"

Altaïr looked at the woman in the portrait with great interest. She also had blonde hair, but not pure blonde like Miss Pride, but a light blonde like wheat with a hint of brown, which was a common hair color in the Star Plateau.

Although it is a half-length portrait, you can still tell from the head-to-shoulder ratio that she is tall. There are a few freckles on her face, but they are not very obvious. She looks more like a farm girl or a hunter than an executioner.

"She seems to be a Beyonder, her path is unclear, probably Sequence 9, her strength and speed are both amazing, she likes to use blowgun darts and throwing stones with a throwing belt, and she also has some poison, but it doesn't seem to be very toxic, it can only make people faint or lose strength. Oh, and she can also set traps."

"It doesn't seem impossible." Altaïr put away the portrait. "If anyone else asks, tell them that Altaïr has accepted the mission."

"Your Margaret,"

Gagran threw a glass of tequila and ricotta in front of Altaïr.
"The next party is tonight. You've missed a few already. The guys there are starting to wonder if you've become a snack for wild dogs. Do you want to go by yourself or should I go and say hello for you?"

"Then I must go and thank them for their blessing," Altaïr took a sip from his glass.

"Eight o'clock in the evening, the same place, the same rules." Gagran sat down behind the counter. "But before that, I suggest you change your clothes this afternoon. You still smell like the Tussock River. It smells like two homeless people making love in shoes filled with urine."

"That sounds terrible. I'm going to go back now."

Altaïr frowned. Normally, one wouldn't be overly sensitive to one's own body odor, especially after an hour's swim in the heavily polluted Tussock River.

Thinking of how he had just met that "arrogant" lady, Altaïr felt his face getting hot. He drank the rest of the wine in one gulp and quickly got up and left the tavern.

(End of this chapter)