Charlotte, although he had forced the leopard-girl Friedrika to retreat, was deeply shocked. This beautiful girl with emerald green eyes was even faster than the brown-haired, gray-eyed Algernon. If not for his Insight ability, which allowed him to monitor the entire Alcatraz District, Dragon Castle Street No. 5, he might have been kicked so hard that he'd be coughing up blood after just one encounter.
"That assassin who tried to kill me—I don't know what kind of beastman he was, but he definitely wasn't a leopard-man! This leopard-girl is using the true 'Leopard's Pursuit'!"
"The speed of that burst was terrifying."
As Charlotte reached the third floor, he saw Algernon, who greeted him with a warm, sunny smile, saying, "Good morning!"
Algernon couldn't help but curse, "You maniac, it's night!"
Charlotte flicked out Blood Rose, and in an instant, the magic rapier struck with twelve points of cold starlight, enveloping Algernon entirely. He didn't forget to add, "I'm just worried you might not see tomorrow's sunrise, so I thought I'd kindly wish you a good morning!"
Charlotte unleashed Dawn's Flame to its fullest, forcing Algernon back with one move. He leaped high, knowing there wasn't time to find a window. Friedrika, the leopard-girl, could catch up at any moment, and if the two enemies teamed up, it would be the end for him. So he crashed through the roof and escaped onto the street below.
Just as he breathed in the fresh night air, two killing intents locked onto him. Without a moment's hesitation, Charlotte sheathed Blood Rose, transformed into a young, agile feline, and slipped into the chimney of a nearby building.
The next instant, Algernon and Friedrika smashed through a neighbor's window and accurately pinpointed the fireplace, joining forces to "catch the cat"!
With the advantage of Insight and Agility, Charlotte managed to slip out of the building under their attacks. The two beastmen and the cat then began a frantic chase.
Charlotte scrambled up onto the roof of a building, dispelled his Cat Transformation, and drew the anti-space sniper rifle, setting up a shooting stance.
Algernon and Friedrika, having just lost sight of Charlotte, suddenly sensed danger. Almost simultaneously, they darted in opposite directions, and the magic-breaking shell streaked through the night sky, lighting it up like a brilliant firework.
Missing his shot, Charlotte immediately stowed the anti-space sniper rifle in his collar, transformed back into a feline, and darted into a nearby alley.
Algernon and Friedrika gave chase, but once again, lost track of Charlotte.
Friedrika angrily muttered, "He must have some other ability, or else he wouldn't be able to escape so easily every time."
Algernon agreed. The fact that two of the top assassins from the Beastman Assassin Guild had spent half the night chasing Charlotte without catching him suggested he had more abilities beyond Bloodflame and Angel's Sting. He said thoughtfully, "It's going to be difficult to catch him tonight."
As a professional assassin, Friedrika knew that in this situation, the best course of action was to retreat and look for another opportunity. Assassins should always stay in the shadows, never engaging in direct combat.
She nodded and said, "Let's leave Strasbourg for now."
Algernon agreed, and the two of them simultaneously activated Leopard's Pursuit, sprinting several hundred meters away.
Charlotte, back in human form, briefly considered striking while their speed was slightly reduced, but then shook his head and didn't even bother to retrieve his anti-space sniper rifle.
In non-combat situations, the two assassins' recovery speed was very quick. They soon accelerated again, covering several hundred meters. At such a long distance and with such fast-moving targets, Charlotte's barely decent marksmanship would only waste his precious magic-breaking shells.
Charlotte calmly followed them from a distance until he watched them disappear into the night. Only then did he turn back towards Alcatraz District, Dragon Castle Street No. 5.
Since he had already made a move, it would be a waste not to take something from the place.
He re-entered Chelsea Detective Agency, carefully searching the premises. He didn't find any cash, letters, or contracts, but he did come across a batch of weapons—several dozen short guns.
This made sense; assassins needed to stay hidden, and short guns were the most suitable weapons for them.
What surprised Charlotte, however, was that there was no third person in the agency. He had assumed there would be at least seven or eight staff members!
Charlotte packed up all the valuable items from the detective agency and took them to Falcon Street No. 1. He wasn't about to bring them home.
Then, he set the detective agency on fire!
He wasn't sure if the two assassins would come back, but although there were no extraordinary individuals in the patrols of Lucavaro District, there were still plenty of them, and they could hold their own in a fight.
Charlotte hadn't shown up for work in a few days, so his late-night visit surprised his subordinates. Although the patrols in Lucavaro District weren't the most disciplined, they still maintained basic military decorum, and some colleagues were out on patrol.
Charlotte instructed the night patrol not to alert anyone else and took the spoils of war back to his office.
He didn't think much of these spoils—after all, the truly valuable items wouldn't have been left behind by Algernon and Friedrika.
After tossing the items into a corner of his office, Charlotte lay down on the soft bed there. He was genuinely tired.
Though it wasn't the most comfortable, he slept through the night, fully rested. The next morning, Charlotte felt surprisingly refreshed. After washing up in the office, he figured since he was already there, he might as well take care of some business.
To Charlotte's surprise, Lucavaro District's patrols had a "big job" today. The body of Grand Duke Ferdinand was to be transported back to the Behemoth Principality for burial, and the coffin would pass through Lucavaro District, so the court had ordered the patrols along the route to provide "security."
Charlotte thought, "Grand Duke Ferdinand is already dead—no one's going to 'assassinate' him again. This job should be perfectly safe."
"Should I go join in the fun?"
"I've never been to a banquet since I came to this world!"
Although Dufin had already arranged most of the details, with or without Charlotte, everything would go smoothly. But Charlotte decided to personally lead the team to protect Grand Duke Ferdinand's coffin, to give the grand duke a final escort.
After all, he was originally from the Behemoth Principality, and Grand Duke Ferdinand was considered his "former lord."
Charlotte gathered his subordinates and noticed that attendance was unusually high today—over 180 people had shown up, likely because a fund had been allocated for this operation.
Charlotte sent a few of his men to buy some drinks, but since they had a security mission, they didn't buy beer.
Before setting off, he made sure all 180 patrolmen had a good meal and even distributed the short guns he brought back yesterday as rewards.
Dufin was deeply moved; his respect for Charlotte as a leader had only grown. He was a boss who didn't cause trouble and often treated his subordinates to group meals. Back on Earth, bosses who tried to placate employees with cheap meals instead of bonuses were considered heartless, but in the Old Continent, such a boss was considered extremely kind and virtuous.