PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

In both the big cities and the satellite cities, that was the case in all but one; Green SeedTown. After the bitter winter battle, Green Seed Town had entered a period of recovery and reconstruction that focused almost all of the available manpower in the city, including the military manpower.

Therefore, the level of surveillance within the city had significantly dropped since most reconstruction works were taking place near the city walls.

That’s where things get strange, just like what happened in other cities. The first days after the attack, violent incidents and aggressions became much more common. Activities such as smuggling or drug sales reached their apex, but this changed almost unnaturally just a couple of weeks after the attack.

It started as a ridiculous and unfounded rumor told only among a few locals but soon became an urban legend that even the underworld had to pay attention to. The Shadow Reaper, a creature of the night always lurking in the shadows, prowling the dark alleys of Green Seed Town, bringing death and pain to any sinful soul that crosses his path.

Like many other urban legends, the story of the Shadow Reaper was anything but specific and sounded a bit too flowery to be accurate. Still, few people dared to ignore the legend.

Seven days after the rumors began, the number of thieves, murderers, rapists, pedophiles, drug dealers, and other criminals who had succumbed to the Shadow Reaper’s sharp blade was so high that even the military began to pay attention.

Bodies with their throats slashed kept turning up in the city’s darkest and most inhospitable corners; the victim was always a criminal of some kind. There were many cases where said criminal was in the middle of committing a misdeed when the Shadow Reaper showed up, delivering death in just a blink.

At least, that was what the witnesses had said, a pair of hands seemingly reaching out of the darkness itself, holding a glowing dagger. Then, with just a metallic flash, blood was shed, and the criminal’s life was over.

.....

A pair of hands emerging from shadows and disappearing instantly after finishing their task was what all the witnesses reported.

Having finished the delicious breakfast on the table, Claire withdrew her satisfied expression as her emerald green eyes turned serious as she read the news in the newspaper.

Claire was not foolish; since the first day she heard this news, a particular figure appeared in her mind, but because her relationship with that person was not close enough, she did not ask. However, this person was becoming too notorious, and things might get complicated if she continued like this.

Taking a deep breath, Claire’s gaze turned determined, and looking directly into her own shadow, she spoke firmly, “Would you mind explaining to me what this is about?”

Revna’s figure emerged from Claire’s shadow, calm and refined, at least that’s what Revna looked like on the surface, but Claire knew this rose had thorns too sharp to be underestimated.

Revna looked at the newspaper, and a faint bloody smile grew on her, but the coldness in her eyes was never directed at Claire. No matter what, Claire was her master’s wife, so in Revna’s bizarre worldview, Claire deserved respect and care.

The same helpful and friendly demeanor that Revna displayed in front of Desmond was shown again when Revna dealt with Claire. “As you can see, young lady, some uneducated person gave me a ridiculous nickname.”

Claire almost couldn’t believe how quickly Revna admitted that she was the one the newspaper was talking about. Even more disconcerting was that Revna seemed to have focused on the wrong problem.

“Revna, I don’t think that’s the problem here. What the hell are you supposed to be doing?”

Confused as to why Claire was upset, Revna answered very honestly. “Master Desmond has given me the task of protecting this house, protecting you and Miss Sasha, but since Miss Sasha rarely leaves the lab, I tend to dwell in Miss Claire’s shadow most of the time. I only comply with the orders of my master.”

Claire began to feel exasperated; she already knew that Revna was here to protect her and Sasha. Desmond had mentioned something before leaving, but that was a completely different problem.

“I’m talking about what comes out in the newspapers.”

The sudden realization hit Revna, causing the gears inside her twisted mind to engage, though the response Claire got was only worse than anything said up to this point.

“I was just cleaning up the garbage.”

An eerie coldness, a sinister indifference, and a complete lack of guilt, the words Revna gave in response were something Claire hadn’t expected to hear.

Claire didn’t know how to respond to that; she knew that her naivete would only get her killed or Desmond in trouble at best in this cruel world. Claire no longer wanted to depend on Desmond for everything. She also wanted to be helpful. If she couldn’t even perform such a simple task as dealing with Desmond’s subordinates, Claire would be no better than just a decoration.

From the way Revna brought up the subject and the complete lack of an emotional reaction, Claire immediately knew that the logical route was the way to talk to Revna.

“I don’t care if you clean up the trash or not. The problem is that you’ve caused too much ruckus; this might draw unnecessary attention to you. You must remember who you serve. If this whole thing gets Desmond into trouble, I’m sure he’ll be very disappointed in you.”

The mere notion of disappointing Desmond was enough to cause an immediate look of concern to cross Revna’s face. Needless to say, in Revna’s mind falling from Desmond’s grace was worse than death.

“I deeply apologize for my irresponsible actions; I will make sure to further contain my activities and be more discreet about them. I thank the young lady for advising me on this.”

Claire smiled bitterly as she saw Revna bow to her, this wasn’t exactly the effect Claire was going for, but it could also be considered some sort of victory, so Claire tossed the problem to her head.

Claire might seem a cheerful girl, but she had gone through that dark time of a year after the day of awakening and had seen many things in the bunker. She was also not ignorant of the sins committed by Desmond, so Claire had a unique vision regarding good and evil.

To some degree, no one in the Desmond residence could be considered a person with an ordinary moral compass, but the way the world was right now, it was hard to tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Ding* Dong*

The sound of the front doorbell snapped Claire out of her daze, Revna slipped back into the shadows, and Claire could only sigh wearily.

Keeping her complaints to herself, knowing that Revna would hear them from her shadow, Claire got up from the table and walked to the hall, opening the door; only a package was waiting on the ground.

With a look of realization, Claire took the package to review the shipping data, confirming it was the package she had been waiting for for a little over a week.

Running back to her room with the package in her hands, Claire suddenly had to dodge Estela, who was walking down the hall as Claire ran. Already being in her room, Claire didn’t take even a second before opening the package.

Emerging from the shadows, Revna watched with interest, but she didn’t forget to give Claire a friendly reminder. “Young miss, I’m afraid she’ll be late reporting to the barracks if you don’t start enlisting soon.”

A moment later, Claire took out the contents of the package and ran to the mirror in high spirits, quickly placing what was in her hands in front of hers. Only then could Revna see the revealing black and white dress in Claire’s hands.

It took Revna a few seconds to realize that this was no ordinary dress, aside from how revealing the clothing was with the skirt barely covering part of her thighs and a plunging neckline; the visual appearance of the gown gave away that this was obviously a maid dress.

Of course, an honest maid would not wear a dress like that; it was clear that this was some kind of sexy clothing to impress the opposite sex, probably in intimacy. Revna was interested in the beautiful dress, and the notion of drawing Desmond’s attention certainly piqued Revna’s interest. Still, she said nothing and watched as Claire eagerly tried it on.

Obviously, Claire had bought this piece of clothing that was just one step away from lingerie to show off her charms to Desmond, but her expression quickly took a turn for the worse when she realized the dress measurements weren’t correct.

Loose in the chest area and the skirt being a bit longer than intended, though sultry, the dress still looked distinctly out of place when Claire wore it. Looking into the mirror, Claire’s gaze wandered to the curvy figure of Revna, who was seen behind her reflected in the mirror.

Somehow, the way Claire was looking at her now made Revna uncomfortable.