At the moment Talulah appeared, Platinum finally recalled the identities of the people before her.
Ursus Empress Talulah.
Ursus Imperial Chancellor, the Doctor.
And aside from them, An Xora and FrostNova were also nobles and high-ranking figures of the Ursus Empire—people who had stood at Talulah's side during the coronation ceremony that day.
She had just randomly picked a restaurant to work at. What kind of karmic virtue did she possibly have to end up serving this group of gods?!
Not to mention that her identity had already seemed to raise some suspicion earlier. If she were misunderstood as an assassin trying to assassinate the empress…
At that thought, the fear on Platinum's face faded, gradually transforming into serenity.
Platinum, it seems… this time you're really done for.
No, no, pull yourself together. Strictly speaking, her identity had only aroused a bit of suspicion—it hadn't actually been exposed yet.
As long as she stayed extra cautious from here on out, maybe—just maybe—these big shots would forget about her soon enough.
With that mindset, Platinum busied herself back and forth. At An Xora's and Talulah's request, she didn't reveal their identities to anyone else in the restaurant. She single-handedly handled serving dishes, refilling drinks, and all related tasks, spinning like a top for nearly two full hours before finally enduring until the end of the meal.
Once everyone had finished eating, An Xora picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth, then turned his gaze toward Platinum, who was drenched in sweat from exhaustion.
"You're an assassin from the Armorless Union, right?"
Thud!
Platinum dropped to her knees.
"My lord, I've been wronged! The Armorless Union hasn't paid wages for a long time already—I really just came out to find a job! I never imagined I'd run into all of you! I truly never had any intention of assassinating anyone!"
Platinum swore that in her entire life, she had never let out such a tearful, desperate cry, nor had she ever poured out emotions this sincere.
Damn it—damn that cursed Armorless Union! Exploiting her on a daily basis wasn't enough; now she couldn't even work a normal job without being dragged down by them!
How could they be this selfish—damn it!
If she really died here today over something like this, she swore she'd never let those inhuman superiors of the Armorless Union go, even as a ghost!
"No need to be nervous. If you'd truly had the audacity to make a move against us, you'd have been dead the moment you stepped into this private room."
After all, no one present was weak.
It wasn't that they looked down on Platinum—but aside from the Doctor, who basically had no combat ability, and Kal'tsit, who was essentially just a Mon3tr launcher, whether it was An Xora, Jibril, Talulah, or FrostNova, any one of them could pin this poor little Kuranta to death with a single hand.
So while Platinum had been panicking for ages, in reality, no one here had actually taken her seriously.
Whether that was good news or bad news for Platinum… was hard to say.
"Eat these two."
An Xora took out a modified Monster Cell and a dose of Limit-Break Elixir from his pocket and tossed them to Platinum, who was kneeling on the ground.
"Since we happened to run into an Armorless Union assassin, you might as well do something for us. Take this modified Monster Cell and the Limit-Break Elixir, then go and finish off the entire Armorless Union for us."
"Huh? Me?"
Hearing An Xora's words, Platinum looked up and pointed at herself.
"That's right. The new Kazimierz has no need for an assassin organization like that. We're just on vacation right now and can't be bothered to handle it personally. You don't need to worry about strength—I've given you some very good stuff that will greatly boost your power."
"Once you're done dealing with the Armorless Union, you can report to the Imperial Assassination Corps, Miss Hintraya."
"Um… I don't remember Ursus having an Imperial Assassination Corps?"
Talulah raised her hand at just the right time and voiced her doubt.
"I just made it up," An Xora replied casually. "Ursus does have the Imperial Guard, which can double as an assassination force, but they've got more important duties most of the time. It'd be better to form a department specifically meant to do dirty work for us."
"Tumors like nobles and commercial unions exist in plenty of other countries too. If we don't have a specialized department to deal with them, what if those guys just run the moment they see us in the future?"
"That makes sense. Once work in Kazimierz gets underway, I'll immediately reassign personnel and set up the new department."
Talulah let out the sound of a true workhorse.
After listening to An Xora and the others' conversation, Platinum looked at the Monster Cell in her hand—pulsing like the heart of some living creature—and the golden Limit-Break Elixir. She swallowed.
"Um… what happens if I don't eat these?"
"You'll die,"
An Xora answered kindly, with a warm smile.
Hearing that, Miss Hintraya nodded calmly. Without changing her expression, she stuffed the Monster Cell into her mouth, then immediately downed the elixir in one gulp.
In an instant, the aura around Platinum began to surge explosively, surpassing the level of the Silverlance Pegasi in the blink of an eye—and it kept rising.
After a short while, Platinum clenched her fist, feeling the explosive power coursing through her body in disbelief.
Right now, she felt like she could easily kill over a hundred of her former self.
"About two Imperial Guards' worth of strength. That should be enough,"
An Xora said after sensing the aura around her.
Although Platinum held the Platinum Seat within the Armorless Union, her original strength was far inferior to Talulah or FrostNova.
FrostNova, having taken only the Monster Cell, could easily possess power comparable to two Imperial Guards. Platinum, on the other hand, needed both the Monster Cell and the Limit-Break Elixir just to barely reach that level.
Still, if the target was merely the Armorless Union, strength on par with two Imperial Guards was more than sufficient.
After all, three Silverlance Pegasi were enough to push the Armorless Union into a hard fight. Seven could easily crush the entire organization head-on. And although both were top-tier forces of their respective nations, there was still a clear gap in strength between Silverlance Pegasi and Imperial Guards.
"To be able to raise someone's strength to this level so easily…"
Kal'tsit murmured in a daze, seeing the effects of the modified Monster Cell and Limit-Break Elixir for the first time.
"Do these things have side effects?"
"There aren't really any side effects. In fact, aside from boosting strength, they come with plenty of other benefits—like bodily recovery, increased potential, extended lifespan, and so on."
"If there is one side effect," An Xora said, shaking his head,
"it's probably that anyone who's taken the modified Monster Cell and the Limit-Break Elixir can no longer disobey any orders from me or Mebius."
"So the moment you swallowed those two things, everything about you already fell under my control. Do your best, Miss Hintraya."
"Yes…"
With things already set in stone, Platinum didn't feel much regret.
What was one more master, anyway? Being able to keep her life was already a huge win. The boost in strength was pure bonus.
Recalling her past experiences, then thinking about the task these lords had just entrusted to her, Platinum's face didn't show much—but deep down, an indescribable feeling had begun to rise.
One thing was certain—
Someone was about to have a very, very bad time.
…
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