The Butcher of Sargon (LoL x Arknight Fanfiction)

"Heh."

Kristen's expression suddenly softened.

"Mr. Garde, this joke isn't funny. Even if you have a good relationship with Saria, that's no excuse to make light of her reputation."

Kristen avoided Garde's gaze, casually finding a seat. It seemed that doing so might make her appear more composed.

Because she was wearing only a pair of high-waisted shorts, when she sat down, Garde could clearly see how her rounded hips flattened slightly against the chair.

She had more curves than Muelsyse, but not as firm as Saria's.

Although Garde wasn't intentionally staring, Kristen's attributes were nonetheless reflected in his view.

#======#

Character: Kristen Wright

Code Name: None

Gender: Female

Combat Experience: None

Birthday: May 13th

Race: Perro

Height: 171 cm

Bust: 91.78 cm

Underbust: 80.23 cm

Waist: 68.45 cm

Hips: 94.33 cm

Oripathy Status: Uninfected

Physical Strength: Standard

Battlefield Mobility: Standard

Physiological Endurance: Standard

Tactical Planning: Excellent

Combat Skills: Standard

Originium Arts Adaptation: Excellent

Evaluation: As the overarching authority of Rhine Lab, she will dedicate her life to pursuing her dreams with relentless determination and unwavering resolve.

#======#

As the evaluation suggested, Kristen wasn't someone easily controlled. Her Excellent level of tactical planning spoke for itself.

Even in a precarious situation, Kristen was still trying to find a way to gain the upper hand.

"Believe it or not, my relationship with Saria is close enough that she's entrusted me with the password to her home. I heard from Muelsyse that this room was left here long ago, and you haven't lived here for quite some time."

"Well then."

Garde stepped aside, gesturing toward the door.

"You should return to your own home."

Garde's words made Kristen's face darken. It was as if he was trying to drive her away from Saria.

Why?

"I refuse!"

Kristen knew her emotions were off-kilter, but she couldn't tolerate an Adakrys challenging her relationship with Saria.

Saria had promised to protect her—there was no way Saria would abandon her for some man, let alone a brute from the hinterlands!

"Miss Kristen, be reasonable, please," Garde said, exasperation clear on his face.

"If you're not leaving, where am I supposed to sleep?"

"I can book you a room at the Trimounts Square Hotel. Just because you know the password to this residence doesn't give you the right to drive me out."

Kristen lifted her chin, her expression cold as she stared at Garde.

"Because this is my room!"

Fair enough. Garde remembered that Kristen also knew the house's password. Unless Saria explicitly told her to leave, it wouldn't be appropriate to force her out.

"Suit yourself," Garde said.

As Garde turned away, Kristen's furrowed brows relaxed slightly. She picked up the communicator beside the bed, her tone indifferent.

"Wait, let me book you a room. If anything happens, I'll explain it to Saria when she returns."

"No, I think you misunderstood."

Garde turned back, a faint smile on his face.

"What I meant was, you sleep here, and I'll sleep in Saria's room."

"What?!"

Before Kristen could respond, Garde headed downstairs.

At this point, Kristen's mind was completely distracted from tomorrow's research agenda. Garde's words kept echoing in her head.

"This is Saria's house, and I'm Saria's boyfriend. Her fiancé, actually. Is there something wrong with me coming home to my own house?"

Could it be…? Could what that Adakrys said be true?

Impossible!

Saria would never fall for someone so easily!

How long had it been since Saria left?

Even if traveling from Columbia to the Sargon rainforests took only a month, factoring in the round trip, the time Saria had spent with that Adakrys couldn't exceed three months.

In such a short time, how could Saria possibly fall in love with someone else?

Kristen wanted to rush to Sargon immediately and ask Saria what exactly had happened during these days. Could it be that the Adakrys before her had used some means to coerce Saria into submitting to him?

Wait, the Oripathy suppressant!

Could this Adakrys have used the Oripathy suppressant to threaten Saria and force her to comply?

Kristen felt as though she had uncovered the truth.

Saria couldn't possibly fall for someone so casually. If this Adakrys used the Oripathy suppressant to threaten her, then everything would make sense.

Saria must have made such a sacrifice for her, for Rhine Lab...

Having found a "reasonable" explanation, Kristen's expression darkened. Even if this Adakrys had indeed helped Saria obtain the Oripathy suppressant, she couldn't bear to sacrifice Saria's happiness.

Even if Saria did eventually have to find a man to settle down with, it should be someone truly outstanding—not a coarse and vulgar barbarian from Sargon, no matter how passable his appearance might be.

In fact, when Saria initially mentioned going to Sargon, Kristen had opposed it. There were other ways to resolve the funding issue—several, in fact.

A proper compromise, deeper acceptance of military investments, and outsourcing certain collaborative projects—all of these could have been beneficial to the company if handled properly.

Just now, for instance, the military had presented a new collaborative project...

"By the way."

Garde, who had left earlier, suddenly returned.

"You mentioned before that as long as I didn't harm you, you'd tell me about things that might threaten Rhine Lab—like certain collaborations with the military."

"I want to ask—does Saria know about these projects you mentioned?"

Garde's face no longer held its usual smile. His gaze was icy, so cold that Kristen felt as though she was facing a ferocious beast, not a person—not a civilized being.

It gave Kristen the illusion that if she dared to lie, her body would be torn to shreds in the next instant.

"She doesn'—she knows!"

Kristen corrected herself at the last moment, summoning all her strength. She gasped for air, knowing that if she had answered differently, the situation could have taken a far darker turn.

But she wasn't willing to gamble on Garde's character.

"Hmm, I believe her."

Garde gave Kristen a deep look, as though recalling some unpleasant events yet to come.

He wanted to understand the root cause of it all—whether it stemmed from the autonomy of Rhine Lab's researchers or from Kristen's neglect as its overseer.

It seemed...

'This is such a hassle. I'll wait for Saria to return before dealing with it.'

Garde had no interest in getting involved in these messy affairs. He could barely manage his own problems. Right now, his only desire was to grow stronger. If it didn't happen directly in front of him, he didn't care.

He wasn't Kamijou Touma.

And yet, knowing and doing nothing to change it...

A flicker of crimson flashed in Garde's eyes.

'This feels so suffocating!'

<+>

The next day.

Razer woke to the sound of commotion. The hotel where she was staying, costing 100 Columbian Gold certificates for three days, wasn't too bad—just a bit out of the way.

After a quick wash, she headed to the front desk.

"Boss, what's going on outside?"

"What else could it be? Those big companies are looking for volunteers again," the hotel owner said, resting their chin on their hand, entirely accustomed to the situation.

"Every now and then, companies from the city come to recruit volunteers for clinical trials. Who knows how many will survive this time?"

"Clinical trials? Are they dangerous?"

"Who knows? With luck, maybe one or two will make it through," the owner said, deliberately trying to scare her.

"Little miss, you'd better be careful out there. Don't accidentally catch Oripathy. Forget about not being able to marry; if you end up like those people out there, it'd be a real tragedy."

At the entrance, Razer saw workers in protective suits leading residents of the lower districts into sealed vehicles—most of them Infected.

Among the workers, she spotted a few wearing uniforms bearing the Rhine Lab logo.

She had come to Columbia with dreams of its advanced technologies and prosperity. But what greeted her wasn't Columbia's freedom and progress—it was the numbness on people's faces.

Razer couldn't yet understand why the Columbia before her was so starkly different from the Columbia she had imagined.

But she didn't have time to dwell on it; she still had an interview to attend.

<+>

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