I don't want to be an elf!

Therefore, in order to complete the second side quest, she must deliberately fail to capture Atsushi Nakajima.

But if she really did that, Mori Ougai might notice that she was slacking off and thus stop trusting her.

Although Tokisaki Kurumi doesn't care much about other people's opinions of her, she needs to use the Port Mafia as a stage to complete the main quest, so gaining Mori Ōgai's approval is essential.

If she could, she really wanted to refuse the task.

However, she couldn't think of any reasonable reason to refuse.

Left with no other option, the only thing to do now is to take on this task first and then make plans later.

So, Tokisaki Kurumi put away the documents in her hand, smiled and said, "Please give them to me, Mr. Mori. I will do my best to complete them."

"Very well, in that case, please accept this."

Mori Ougai took out a black cell phone and handed it to her: "This is the organization's dedicated contact phone. If you need support or to report a situation, use this phone to contact me. If I need you to come to headquarters, I will also contact you through this phone."

"Oh? It does look a bit different from other phones on the market." Tokisaki Kurumi opened the phone, only to find a handful of essential apps. "Could it be that it has trackers and eavesdropping devices installed, ready to monitor my every move?"

“If it were someone else, I probably would have done the same,” Mori Ougai said bluntly. “However, with someone like Tokisaki who has the ability to read memories, I wouldn’t make such a basic mistake that would break trust.”

"Trust...?"

Kurumi Tokisaki gave the man in front of her a deep look: "Although I don't think I can gain your trust, please try your best to gain my trust, Mr. Mori."

"All I can say is that I will do my best," Mori Ougai shrugged. "After all, I don't think gaining Tokisaki-san's trust will be an easy thing."

"If you can win me over with your sincerity, I believe it won't be difficult," Kurumi Tokisaki said provocatively. "If once doesn't work, try twice; if twice doesn't work, try three times. Anyway, I'm already yours, and the one thing we don't lack is time."

"Ms. Tokisaki, please stop teasing a middle-aged man who has a thing for young girls."

Mori Ougai looked helpless and patted Alice's puffed-up head, saying, "Alice can't stand hearing this. Look, she's already jealous."

"I'm so sorry, I almost forgot about Mr. Mori's peculiar fetish." Tokisaki Kurumi smiled. "Well then, if there's nothing else, please allow me to take my leave."

"Please wait a moment, Ms. Tokisaki."

"Anything else?"

"Regarding your personal secretary," Mori Ougai said with a helpless expression, "there used to be only one guerrilla leader, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, so there was only one secretary, Ichiyo Higuchi, whom you met yesterday."

"Yes, a very gentle woman is probably not suited to be a member of the mafia."

“I had the same idea, but for some reason she has stayed in the organization, even though I hinted that she could leave, she never accepted,” Mori Ougai said. “To get back to the point, my original idea was for her to serve as your secretary while assisting Akutagawa-kun, helping you carry out your missions. However, last night she refused to become your secretary, saying that assisting Akutagawa-sama now would exhaust me and leave me with no energy to assist others.”

"It's a real shame. We had a pleasant conversation in the car yesterday. We should have gotten along very well."

"However, Higuchi doesn't seem to think that way. I could hear her voice trembling when she talked about working for you," Mori Ougai said calmly. "Ms. Tokisaki, could you please stop scaring my employees in the future? As a doctor, I assure you that psychological trauma is very difficult to treat."

"Well, I don't remember ever scaring her."

Kurumi Tokisaki tapped her chin with her index finger, looking as if she didn't understand: "Perhaps, Mr. Mori has misunderstood."

"Just let it be."

Mori Ougai didn't pursue the matter further. He took out a stack of photos from a file bag and spread them out on the table: "Higuchi is unable to provide assistance for personal reasons, but that's not a big problem. She's not the only one in the organization who can help you. Please choose a personal secretary from among these people."

Upon hearing this suggestion, Kurumi Tokisaki's first reaction was to refuse.

First of all, she doesn't need any secretary to assist her when she's carrying out missions. Given Tokisaki Kurumi's fighting style, anyone would be a burden to her during battle.

Secondly, she didn't want someone belonging to Mori Ōgai to stay by her side, because that old fox Mori Ōgai would definitely have his so-called private secretary monitor her and report on her every move.

If he accidentally gets hold of something against us, things will be really bad.

Just as Kurumi Tokisaki was about to refuse, she glanced at the people in the photo and noticed a familiar face among the candidates for personal secretary.

After hesitating for a moment, she ultimately decided not to refuse.

“I’m not very familiar with the Port Mafia, so having a private secretary to assist me is a great idea.”

Kurumi Tokisaki picked up the photo of the girl with lifeless eyes and said with a smile:

"Then, I'll choose this child."

Chapter Seventeen: The Girl Favored by Slaughter

After choosing her personal secretary, Kurumi Tokisaki left the Boss's office.

Mori Ougai, citing other matters to attend to, did not go with Tokisaki Kurumi to meet her new secretary, but instead had a waiter lead the way.

Following the waiter down the elevator to the second basement level, Kurumi Tokisaki arrived at the Port Mafia's dungeon.

Walking in the dim light, she saw one prisoner after another being held here.

They were emaciated, with sallow skin, and almost every one of them showed signs of abuse and torture.

Some had lost an arm, some had empty, black eyes, and some had their bodies covered in hideous scars.

These are all people who are enemies of the Port Mafia.

Or perhaps, someone who was once an enemy of the Port Mafia.

Now, having overestimated their abilities, they have fallen into prison as losers. No matter how glorious their past may have been, they are now imprisoned in this dark dungeon, waiting for death day after day.

Even if someone walks past them, they act as if they don't see them, not even bothering to move their heads.

Upon reaching the deepest part of the dungeon, the number of prisoners gradually decreased, revealing only empty cells.

The waiter stopped outside one of the cells, unlocked the door with a key, opened the door, gestured for them to enter, and respectfully greeted Kurumi Tokisaki: "My mission is now complete, sir. You may go see her now."

"Why is my new secretary locked in the dungeon? I thought this was where you imprisoned criminals," Kurumi Tokisaki asked疑惑地问道, "Isn't she a member of the Port Mafia?"

"Before she became your personal secretary, she was an assassin under another guerrilla squad leader, Ryunosuke Akutagawa. During the last assassination, she let a child who witnessed the murder escape, and as punishment, she was imprisoned here by Lord Akutagawa to reflect on her actions."

"Oh, right, I almost forgot this child works for Akutagawa." Tokisaki Kurumi suddenly realized, "If I snatch someone from his ranks, won't he hold a grudge against me?"

"Rest assured, this matter has been approved by the Boss, and even Lord Akutagawa has no right to object."

"If that's the case, that would be good."

"Are there any other questions?"

"No, thank you for your answer."

"You're welcome. I'll be leaving now."

The waiter, having finished his work, left the dungeon, leaving Kurumi Tokisaki alone.

Her gaze fell upon the cell. The dim light in the corridor barely illuminated half of the room. Tokisaki Kurumi squinted, barely managing to make out the petite figure hidden motionless in the darkness.

Even if she overheard people talking about her, she didn't care at all.

It's like closing off your heart and locking yourself in a world where you have no contact with the outside world.

The most talented and skilled assassin in the Port Mafia, a criminal who rose to the government's most wanted list at lightning speed, and the holder of the supernatural ability "Yaksha Shirayuki" born for killing.

An unfortunate person who, due to an accident, falls into a quagmire and wanders aimlessly towards hell.

The girl favored by slaughter, Izumi Kyoka.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Tokisaki Kurumi."

Kurumi Tokisaki walked in from outside and stood in front of the girl: "From today onwards, you are my subordinate."

Kyoka Izumi in the cell finally moved. She raised her head and looked at Kurumi Tokisaki with lifeless eyes.

"Who is my target?" Izumi Kyoka's voice was devoid of any emotion. "Whom am I going to kill this time?"

“The good news is, this time you don’t need to kill anyone,” Kurumi Tokisaki replied. “From today onwards, you are no longer an assassin for the Port Mafia, but my personal secretary.”

What can I do for you?

"What would you do for me? Hmm, that's a good question." Tokisaki Kurumi pondered, stroking her chin.

What exactly does a private secretary do?

According to Mori Ōgai's explanation, the personal secretary appears to be an assistant who answers her questions, guides her to better integrate into the organization, and provides help in action.

Although she had just told Mori Ōgai that she wasn't familiar with the Port Mafia, that was just an excuse.

As a transmigrator, she was very familiar with the Port Mafia's modus operandi and had few questions that needed answering. Since she was destined to leave this world in the future, she didn't have much desire to build good relationships with others. Having her clone by her side to assist her when carrying out missions was enough.

A personal secretary or anything like that is of no use to her.

This is also one of the reasons why she just wanted to refuse a personal secretary.

Therefore, even when Izumi Kyoka asked her what her job was, she had no clue.

"Ah, right."

After thinking for a while, Kurumi Tokisaki seemed to have thought of something and said calmly, "I will rent a house as my living place afterward, so your tasks include, but are not limited to, cleaning, laundry, cooking, and housework."

Upon hearing Tokisaki Kurumi's words, Izumi Kyoka's doll-like face showed a hint of confusion.

Cleaning, laundry, cooking, and doing housework?

This kind of thing...shouldn't it be done by the maid?

Why should she do it?

She is a key member of the Port Mafia, an assassin who has never failed an assassination mission and has taken the heads of several big shots.

Shouldn't the reason this woman named Tokisaki Kurumi chose her as her subordinate be because she has excellent assassination skills and is a qualified tool?

Cleaning, laundry, cooking, and housework are things that anyone can do, so why choose her to do them?

Seemingly not understanding Tokisaki Kurumi's words, after a moment of silence, Izumi Kyoka repeatedly asked, "I don't need to kill anyone?"

"From today onwards, the only thing you need to kill will probably be the live fish you buy from the supermarket," Kurumi Tokisaki said calmly. "I don't need you to kill anyone. I don't have any enemies in this world, and even if I did, I would do it myself."

"My value can only be demonstrated through killing."

With her lifeless eyes fixed on Kurumi Tokisaki, Izumi Kyoka said in a flat tone, "If I cannot continue to act as an assassin, I am worthless."

People who have no value do not deserve to live in this world.

This is the truth that Ryunosuke Akutagawa upheld as a creed of the Port Mafia's unyielding mad dogs.

As members of the Mafia, they have no value if they don't kill.

Human lives are war merits, and infamy is a medal. Only by constantly proving their worth can the Mafia be qualified to survive in this cruel world.

This was the first lesson Izumi Kyoka learned after joining the Port Mafia.