Hilda arrived at a critical mont. Theia’s face lit up when she saw Hilda enter the room, her willpower faltering just as Hilda dashed in.
The turtle vanished as Theia’s power faded, and the knife in Tula’s hand resud its deadly trajectory toward Reeva’s gut. However, thanks to the brief freeze and a bit of combat training Hilda had given him, Reeva managed to avoid a fatal blow. The heretic knife only grazed his belly before Hilda’s knife found its mark, slashing across Tula’s neck and ending his life.
Hilda didn’t stop there. She swiftly stabbed Tula’s body multiple tis to ensure he was truly dead.
"It’s my fault," Hilda said, her voice thick with regret, her face riddled with grief. She had nearly lost Reeva.
"No, it’s on . I gave the order," Reeva replied, not blaming her for what had happened.
"Failing to save the master’s life is the maid’s fault," Hilda insisted, her expression growing more serious after Reeva’s denial.
"If you say so," Reeva conceded, turning his attention back to the heretic. "How do you think he survived the first ti?"
"It must have been due to a mystic artifact. Otherwise, surviving a wound to the neck would be impossible," Hilda replied.
In the novels, many such artifacts could save soone from the brink of death. Reeva found it hard to believe that a blood cultist with only three stars had access to one.
"Do you think he’s really dead this ti?"
"I... don’t know," Hilda admitted, considering the possibility. In the realm of artifacts, anything was possible.
Reeva decided not to dwell on the matter further. If they had to face Tula again, they would be more prepared. He still had a few cards to play if Tula tried sothing else.
"Um... what do we do with that?" Theia asked, slightly unnerved by the sight of blood and the aftermath of killing soone. Even though it was Tula, he was still wearing a hotel waiter’s uniform. However before she can get her answer, her body loses all its power and flops down.
"We could leave it here and claim that the waiter attacked us first. The hotel would likely take our side," Reeva speculated. Not realizing that Theia has already slept. "However, I’m more concerned about the waitress outside. It might raise suspicion if other guests see her."
"I’ll take care of it," Hilda said. Holding theia in her arms.
She left the room and quickly returned, dragging the woman’s body inside. The body was pale and lifeless, but Reeva noticed sothing unusual.
"She doesn’t have any injuries on her body," Reeva observed.
Hilda examined the corpse and confird that there were no major wounds, except for the one she had inflicted herself. This was likely a result of the mystic power at play—perhaps the ability to control the blood of others.
Reeva shared his theory with Hilda. It was better to be cautious, especially since Tula had already returned from the dead once. It would be foolish to assu he couldn’t co back a third ti.
Reeva, Hilda, then decided to leave the hotel with Theia on Hilda back. Reeva inford the hotel staff about the attack to avoid any suspicion. The receptionist nodded at his explanation and escorted them out of the hotel. As Reeva had predicted, they didn’t care much about the incident.
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It was late in the morning, but the burger shop was still open. Reeva, Theia, and Hilda had changed into custom-made outfits—aprons and red hats—designed to enhance their brand after the business took off.
Theia made a ntal note to adopt this strategy when she returned to her own house soday. Hilda diligently worked at the at station, while Reeva interacted with custors.
Ti passed, and they eventually entered the afternoon. It was ti for Reeva to start his serious training.
The first thing Hilda had him do was run around the city. The most valuable trait in the Antores family training regin was stamina. If you lost a fight, at least you wouldn’t lose because you were tired.
Reeva still had so residual stamina from the original Reeva’s training, but over ti, it had waned due to neglect and lack of practice. Hilda insisted he runs for two hours as a start. She wouldn’t let him slack off, even when he felt like his legs could give out at any mont.
After training for two hours, Reeva was finally allowed so free ti. However, his relief was short-lived as Hilda warned him that she would increase the intensity as he improved.
He was beginning to understand why the original Reeva had struggled.
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That night, Reeva, Hilda, and Theia visited Holen’s detective office. They arrived at closing ti, but Holen was still at work, the oil lamp in his office still burning. Theia excused herself, saying she would bring a burger to the old lady next door.
Reeva nodded, thinking that one or two free burgers wouldn’t hurt the business.
He and Hilda entered the office, greeted by the familiar chi of the bell. Holen looked as professional as ever, but as soon as he saw them, he smiled like the happiest person in the world.
Even Reeva was slightly shocked by the amount of yellow mist emanating from Holen’s body.
"Welco, my dear friends! I heard you’ve completed my holy quest," Holen said with a bright smile, gesturing for them to sit on the sofa as he prepared tea. As Reeva waited, Hilda placed the ornate box on the table.
Holen humd a tune as he served tea, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he glanced at the box. Reeva noticed his expression and decided to address the matter directly.
"We encounter a mystic in your Holy quest. Do you know anything about that?" Reeva asked, watching Holen’s reaction closely. He stops Holen from taking the box.
"What do you think, my friend?" Holen replied. SMieling till, not giving Reeva anything.
"As the best detective, you probably knew about this all along, right? But you withheld the information, fearing I wouldn’t accept the job," Reeva speculated, suspecting the entire ordeal had been orchestrated.
"You’re half right, my friend," Holen said, smiling. "This best detective did know who wanted the knife, but I’m not omniscient. I didn’t know there was a mystic after the item."
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