Chapter 116: Secret Mission

"...You’re all dressed up, Professor Zenith. That’s new. You look really beautiful in that dark blue dress." Charlotte says this while wearing an elegant red dress, the kind of outfit you’d normally only wear to attend somewhere very important.

"..." I look down at my body. I’ll have to wear an extremely formal outfit too, so even though I don’t like it, I had one made for myself, with an adjustment so I can fit my tail through it.

"It’s standard. Don’t look at me as if I’m someone who doesn’t know how to behave, or as if it’s shocking for me to wear something like this. We’re going to a very important party." I say to her as I take a box containing a ring from my clothes.

"Here, wear this ring. It has a tracker in case something happens to you so I can find you. I have one with a tracker too, in case you need to find me. Nexus will tell you where I am. Just ask him." I modified her phone so her Nexus would respond with a little more freedom.

"Don’t forget. All you need to do is socialize. I’ll handle the mission. You’re just my taxi today, understood?"

"Okay, okay, Professor Zenith. I already know that. So, can we go? I’m curious to see this!" She opens a rift in space as I take a deep breath. At least she rested well after today’s training, so she’ll be useful today.

"..." She goes through first, and then I follow, appearing in front of an enormous mansion. The two of us walk toward the gate, where I scan two invitation cards into an analysis system, and it lets us in.

’I like that there are no lines, but the amount of money spent on a single card is insane...’ The card is made of 70% gold and has an absurd anti-counterfeiting recognition system. Just manufacturing one of these cards costs about as much as one of the arms of my old prosthesis.

In other words, the owner of this party is absurdly rich, wealthy enough that his fortune obviously came from certain illegal activities. But nobody has any proof, so all we can do is ignore it.

"Professor Zenith, why are so many rich and powerful people gathering here? I’m curious about that! Apparently, even some very important politicians are here."

"It’s simple, Charlotte. It’s a very expensive party, so it’s a way of showing status. There’s also an auction, and most importantly, there’s the opportunity to network with other important people and try to form partnerships and business deals."

"Don’t forget your manners, Charlotte. Don’t bump into anyone, don’t talk to anyone unless they talk to you, and don’t make any enemies. Everyone there is troublesome. You don’t want a rich enemy who can make your life difficult." I avoid causing trouble with these people myself precisely because I know they have every means of making life difficult for anyone they don’t like.

"Hmmm, so even someone as tough as you knows how to respect others!" She teases me, but I ignore it. It’s not respect or fear. They’re simply people I know are far above me in the hierarchy.

And I also know that my attitude and personality are terrible for talking to people like this, so I’d rather avoid them. After all, I don’t want enemies who I know could make my life miserable with their money.

"Welcome, ladies." A butler appears in front of us with a polite smile, but his eyes immediately go to my prostheses, and he has a very analytical gaze as well.

"Your weapon is showing." When I say this, he quickly straightens his posture to hide the weapon.

"Oh, my mistake. I apologize for letting you see it, and thank you for informing me, Lady." He genuinely seems grateful, because employees aren’t supposed to display their weapons, and if their employer sees them, they’ll be in trouble.

"I’m more interested in the auction area. I would like to be escorted there. My companion here would prefer the ballroom, so naturally, she should be guided there." I say this in a much more formal tone.

"As you wish. Please wait a moment while I call someone to guide you. Do you have any specifications?"

"...Girls, and no weapons...and someone who knows the layout of the mansion well enough to answer questions and clear up any doubts. My companion is quite curious, and it’s her first time at a party like this, so I want her to feel comfortable asking questions." When I say this, the butler nods and heads along the path through the immense entrance garden and into the mansion.

"You...really...can talk like that?" Charlotte stares at me as if she’s seen something bizarre.

"What?"

"Your tone... It’s strangely formal. It’s really weird seeing you act so formal and polite like this. Normally, you’re super rude, sarcastic, and cruel..." She genuinely seems shocked.

"There are places where you need to behave appropriately. During military operations, I’m serious and not sarcastic at all. At parties, I behave the way I’m supposed to." I’ve been humiliated plenty of times at parties like these because I didn’t know how to behave properly.

So I learned etiquette out of sheer hatred, just so people would stop looking at me like some poor nobody from the streets. Not that it was a lie—I did come from the streets—but seeing those spoiled rich kids looking at me as if I were beneath them annoyed the hell out of me. Meanwhile, when I have proper manners, they tend not to make assumptions before knowing who I am.

After all, many of them judge people by their appearance and the way they behave, and as long as someone behaves properly and they don’t know who that person is, they’ll end up treating them more "politely."

’This makes me think about my dress... I paid so much to have this dress made, and I don’t even like it...’ My dress is beautiful, but it’s not good for fighting, it’s not exactly comfortable, and it accentuates the feminine sides of my body way too much. That’s something I’d only want Nadir to see.

’Damn stylist, I made it clear I didn’t want anything flashy...’

"Professor Zenith, how did you get an invitation? Obviously, it’s not something you can buy, so did you get one from someone you know?" She seems somewhat interested in this.

"I stole it."

"Hahaha, nice joke, Professor Zenith..."

"..." She falls silent when I don’t play along with her assumption that it was a joke.

"...W-Wait, you’re serious?"

"Yes."

"...!!!"

"Isn’t this going to get us in trouble!? Y-You stole it!!"

"First, don’t talk so loudly about this kind of thing. Second, it won’t cause any problems, because that’s how these invitations are obtained. It’s a test. There are 700 invitations. 200 of them are platinum invitations, and they’re given to very important people. The rest are gold invitations that are meant to be stolen."

"Normally, these rich people hire the best veterans to steal the invitations. It’s a way of showing who has enough money to hire someone skilled enough to steal one of them. It’s actually pretty difficult. I had a lot of trouble stealing two myself."

"...Isn’t that wrong or illegal?" She really doesn’t seem to want to get into trouble.

"Of course it’s illegal. After all, people can die while trying to steal these invitations. But who cares if it’s illegal when the host is so rich? Besides, it’s not like it’s written down anywhere."

"It’s implied, so the host is legally in the clear. He never said or indicated that the invitations were supposed to be stolen, but some of his actions made it obvious. Besides, he never sends gold invitations to anyone. It’s obvious in a way that isn’t actually obvious, because the law needs concrete evidence."

"And no, people who stole the invitations showing up at the party aren’t proof that he’s doing this intentionally." She seems surprised and very interested in this.

"Rich people are weird."

"...They are. So be careful." I tell her as I see the butler returning with two girls dressed as maids.

"Ladies, I’m sorry for the delay, but as requested, I’ve brought two maids matching your specifications." He says this with a slight bow toward me. The maids take the hems of their dresses and lift them slightly as they bow as well.

"...I want you to guide me. Since the auction will take some time to begin, I’d like you to show me around the mansion." I gesture slightly toward the maid who seems stronger to me, leaving the weaker maid to guide Charlotte.

"As you wish, Lady. Please follow me. I’ll show you some of the areas of the mansion and guide you to the auction when it’s time." She begins walking forward in rhythmic steps as I follow her.

"..." I look back and give Charlotte a nod. She begins following the maid assigned to her, and they head down another path since I sent her to the ballroom. I lightly touch the bracelet I’m wearing, activating the listening device I attached to Charlotte without her noticing.

Obviously, I don’t trust leaving a rookie completely alone in a place like this. If she does something stupid, I’ll help her.

’Although it’s going to be extremely annoying having to listen to everything she does through my right ear...’ There’s only one extremely discreet earpiece in one of my ears, so hearing sound from only one side is uncomfortable. But I also need to focus on what I’m doing, so I need to pay close attention to whoever is near me.

’I hope everything goes well and without any problems...’

"Lady, would you prefer a more educational route, or would you rather admire the beauty of the mansion’s grounds?"

"Something more educational sounds pleasant. Beauty is...superficial compared to what can be learned from someone as successful as our host." I tell her in a way that makes it clear I respect the host of the party and am more interested in him than in the artificial beauty of the event.