Last year, Kuroha and the rest graduated from Altheria and went their separate ways. Kuroha got a recommendation from Gedo Sasaki and she joined the SSB as a Magi officer, on contract for three years, meaning she has two left.
It was not only her who got a recommendation. Two more did. Kana Hikaru and Yuuki Hasegawa. Kana for her strategic mindset and intellect while Yuuki was recommended for his strength, although, he paled in comparison to Kuroha.
Of course, he would lose to her. She wielded the power of Nyx and could wield it any way she liked. At her strongest, she could give an Emperor a difficult time. Killing one would depend on which one she faced.
Kuroha's assigned squad was the squad that Drag Vanish led. In her first year, she was reckless—Kuroha still is—and often scolded by Drag. It was not until she started doing her own solo missions that she truly shined in. She completed every single one flawlessly and gained the title of the 'Grim Reaper,' as no one escaped her clutches.
Today, her title was shamed. Rucia Rientfell escaped from her.
The moment Kuroha entered the main office, the room fell silent. Many of the hard-working office workers were staring at her. It seemed that many were gossiping about her.
Kuroha knew this but chose to ignore it. After the incident where people shamed her for being a Familiar, she did not care what people thought of her. Instead of thinking about the gossip, she thought about the rumour itself.
(I didn't give myself the title of 'Grim Reaper' and they gossip when I fail to capture one person. Honestly, pathetic.)
Those were her exact thoughts.
"Ms Kuroika."
A man walked up to Kuroha.
"Yes?"
She noticed that the man was different from all of the office workers. Those in the SSB wore white coats so that they could be noticed easily in public or when protecting people. (This uniform would not be used for stealth missions.) The man who spoke to Kuroha wore a black suit.
"Miss Medovukha would like to talk to you."
"Oh, Medovukha wants to?"
Kuroha was somewhat indifferent.
Miss Medovukha was a woman called Vera Medovukha, a woman of Russian descent. She was a leader of the SSB. While Gedo Sasaki created it, there were two factions. His faction—Civilization—and her faction—The Space.
Vera Medovukha and Gedo Sasaki do work together but it seems like a war between the two factions is inevitable. Though, that was the story that the outside was given. Vera and Gedo, in reality, were good friends and allies.
The black-haired woman followed the man and they arrived at Medovukha's office which was on the top floor. He stood beside the doorway and showed Kuroha the way in.
A woman sat behind a desk. She greeted Kuroha with a smile.
"If it isn't the Grim Reaper?"
Kuroha narrowed her eyes.
"I'm starting to think that you came up with that nickname, Medovukha."
Medovukha was a pale woman. Extraordinarily pale. One would believe that she was a vampire. She was a woman with platinum hair that was styled into a ponytail. Her eyes were white and she wore a monocle over her eye. The suit she wore looked fitting from 200 years ago.
"So, what do you want with me, Silver Bullet?"
"Honestly, I don't want anything from you, I'm afraid, as much as I would love to help you, I want someone else. They're currently unreachable due to unforeseen circumstances. I want you to enable contact with them."
"A rescue mission?"
"In essence. Gedo and I are just worried about them since we haven't gotten a single message for two months."
"Two months?! Who is it you want me to rescue?"
"Our best hacker. The Magician is their self-proclaimed title."
"Oh..."
From that alone, Kuroha was able to deduce who it was. She sighed.
"I never thought of them to be so lazy."
She stated.
"You know the Magician personally?"
"Yeah."
She gave a simple answer, choosing not to elaborate further on the fact.
"I'll do it. Give me the address of their location."
"Sure, just don't be surprised when you get there."
·———·
Accepting her mission, Kuroha assumed casual attire and walked to the location. The first thing she noticed was the fact that it was the address of an apartment rather than a different SSB branch office.
"This is it."
She stopped in front of an apartment complex.
"This is the cheapest place I'd expect her to live at."
With a single mutter, she entered the area and climbed up the stairs, going to the last door on the second floor of the apartment complex. Apartment number 26.
Kuroha knocked on the door. She waited but there was no answer.
"Did something happen to her?"
When the woman pulled the door knob, it opened up. Kuroha opened the door—a horrendous stench reached her nose. She plugged her nose the moment she smelt it.
It smelled like a horde of decayed corpses bundled into a single apartment room. Due to Kuroha's abilities as a familiar, specifically a type of feline, her senses were enhanced. Especially her hearing and smell.
As Kuroha manoeuvred through the apartment, she knocked into multiple bags of trash and piles of clothes. There were also cans of beer scattered on the ground alongside cups of instant noodles. Then, she proceeded to the only room with faint light.
The living room was filled with bags of trash, manga, empty containers and utensils. The only light that was on came from the laptop on the table. With her head down on the table was a woman.
"She's sleeping like a corpse... Wait, is she actually one?!"
Kuroha ran over to the woman and looked at her. She sighed.
She was not dead, simply as dead as a corpse could look. Kuroha shook her awake.
"What?!"
The woman woke up in a panic, hitting everything on the table onto the floor.
"My laptop!"
"You look lively."
The woman turned to Kuroha. Despite her zombie-like appearance and the dark bags under her eyes, she smiled wholeheartedly when seeing Kuroha.
"Kuro!"
The woman hugged her waist, practically crying. Kuroha patted the woman on the head. When they were in high school, their positions would have been reversed.
"You look worse for wear, Kana."