The Butcher of Sargon (LoL x Arknight Fanfiction)

At the Muelsyse residence, after an all-nighter preparing a work summary, the elf girl with yellow-green hair stretched and yawned.

"Whisperain, be good while I'm away, okay?"

"Mm."

After calling out to Whisperain in the other room, Muelsyse tidied herself up.

She was well aware of Garde's intentions: leaving Whisperain here was clearly so that when Whisperain grew up, she could work alongside her, securing a place to belong.

But sometimes, Muelsyse could barely look after herself—how could she protect someone else?

She grabbed her small satchel and looked outside.

She was debating whether to wake up that crocodile man or let him sleep.

"Huh, why is the CEO going out so late today?"

Spotting a familiar figure, Muelsyse muttered.

She noticed the CEO coming from Saria's house but didn't think much of it. After all, the CEO's house was right next door to Saria's. Leaving from there was completely normal.

It couldn't possibly be that the CEO was coming out of Saria's house, could it?

Deciding to wait until Kristen left before approaching Garde, she thought it safer—not for any particular reason, but wasn't fearing your superior the natural order of things?

But in the next moment, she saw a tall crocodile man in a formal suit awkwardly heading outside.

She noticed Kristen, who had walked far ahead, stop and wait for the crocodile man.

Muelsyse: "???"

No way! No way! No way!

She almost leaned over the balcony railing in disbelief as she watched Kristen and Garde walking one behind the other on the cobblestone path below.

When did that scoundrel Garde start getting involved with the CEO?

Ugh, no—"involved" was the wrong word. Kristen must have just happened to see Garde and waited for him out of politeness.

But why would the CEO wait for Garde?

Muelsyse pondered until her communicator buzzed with a new message:

[Since Director Saria is still on assignment in Sargon, the Defense Division will appoint a new Head. This was Director Saria's suggestion, and I have approved it.]

Then the group chat notifications started popping up:

[Kristen has invited Garde to the group chat.]

[Garde has joined the group chat.]

She saw Kristen immediately tag Garde:

"Mr. Garde, please update your group chat nickname."

Shortly after, Garde changed his nickname from [Garde] to [Head of Defense in Trimounts: Garde].

The group chat erupted in chatter:

[Defense Division Deputy Director Orba: Welcome, Mr. Garde, to Rhine Lab! I didn't expect you to already arrive. Thanks for your hard work on this operation.]

[Energy Section Director Ferdinand: Mr. Orba, do you know this new Head of Defense?]

[Defense Division Deputy Director Orba: I've met Mr. Garde once while in Sargon, but I can't divulge further details.]

[Structural Section Director Parvis: Haha, I also met Mr. Garde a few times in Sargon. What an honor that he chose to join Rhine Lab!]

[...]

In Colombia, nearly every mobile city has its own local network. While the connection is lost outside the city limits, within, communication is seamless.

The group wasn't very large—mostly key figures within Rhine Lab, like section directors and a few special department heads.

Before long, Garde responded to the enthusiastic welcome:

[Head of Defense in Trimounts Garde: Newbie here. Please go easy on me (bows).]

"Pfft!"

Muelsyse almost burst out laughing, finding it impossible to picture Garde bowing.

But she quickly realized something was off, and before she could hide, it was too late.

"Muelsyse!"

Not far away, Garde waved at her. Since Garde had stopped, Kristen had no choice but to wait.

Had Kristen not needed Garde for something, she wouldn't have wasted her time here.

Garde had already eaten up about half an hour of her time.

Kristen's dissatisfaction grew more evident, but Garde didn't care. After all, he wasn't truly her subordinate—they were simply using each other.

Garde was merely surprised by how advanced Terra's communication technology had become. Then again, considering they had neural-link communication, setting up a group chat wasn't a big deal.

That said, in Trimounts, only a few could afford communicators. The so-called advancements and freedoms always seemed to benefit the few.

"Good morning, CEO!"

Muelsyse hurriedly ran out, smiling as she greeted Kristen. Kristen nodded. She hated wasting time but made sure to use every moment productively when unavoidable.

"Muelsyse, we're holding a director's meeting today. One agenda item is to discuss Garde's appointment, and the other is to announce my decision to transfer part of my shares. Preparations for a press conference are also underway."

Kristen spoke flatly, never glancing at Garde.

"Share transfer?"

Muelsyse was stunned.

"Yes, I'm transferring 10% of my shares to Director Saria."

"Oh, so they're going to Director Saria!"

Muelsyse sighed in relief, having thought Kristen might transfer shares to Garde.

Though 10% of the shares might not seem like much, at this transformative moment for Rhine Lab, their value could multiply several times in just a few months.

"But wouldn't this leave you with less than 50% ownership?"

Rhine Lab was founded by Kristen and Saria, but the initial funding came almost entirely from Kristen. As a result, Kristen held 51% of the company's shares, while Saria had 16%. Together, they maintained absolute control over the company.

"It's fine," Kristen said calmly, offering no further explanation.

During tough times, when some shareholders sold their shares, Kristen had personally acquired most of them. So even after transferring a portion to Saria, her holdings in Rhine Lab still far exceeded anyone else's. As long as she managed the upcoming rounds of financing and prevented dilution, she had no concerns about being sidelined.

The only enigma to Kristen was Garde. Not knowing him well, she couldn't fathom his thoughts.

When she invited Garde into the group chat, she expected him to maintain the strong front he had shown in front of her. Instead, Garde immediately presented himself as non-threatening, earning goodwill from the group.

Kristen wouldn't have guessed that this greeting style was second nature to Garde. In fact, joining a group chat for the first time in this life, he had even deliberated over what to say.

Garde had purchased his communicator just yesterday while out with Muelsyse, so he was still unfamiliar with many of its features. Terra's communicators resembled the mobile phones of Garde's original world but were not quite the same.

"I'm telling you, Garde, you'd better trim those nails. Your fingers are too thick to use the screen properly."

Unless he bought a model with holographic projection, which cost several times more, the communicator he had now wasn't ideal for someone like him.

"Oh, right, long nails are inconvenient," Garde admitted.

Garde was not only tall but also massive, with fingers thicker than two of Muelsyse's combined—stout and long!

However, trimming his nails wasn't a simple task. Garde's skin was impenetrable by blades, let alone his nails. Even a nail clipper's blade would be ruined without leaving a scratch on them.

As Garde and Muelsyse chatted, Kristen tried several times to focus her thoughts but was repeatedly pulled back by their conversation.

"Muelsyse, take Garde to the Defense Division and help him get familiar with the place. Also, make sure he changes into Rhine Lab's uniform."

"No problem!"

Muelsyse agreed readily. She had noticed Kristen's mood wasn't great, and if not for Garde keeping the conversation alive, she probably wouldn't have spoken much at all.

Watching the two walk away, Kristen frowned briefly. For a moment, she considered warning Muelsyse not to get too close to Garde.

But soon, her brow relaxed.

If Muelsyse liked Garde, and Garde reciprocated, it would only benefit her.

First, it would allow Saria to see Garde's true colors and distance herself from him.

Second, it would free her from being constrained by considerations for Saria when dealing with Garde.

As for how this might affect Muelsyse? That wasn't Kristen's concern. Even as a married woman, Muelsyse could still contribute to science.

With Garde and Muelsyse gone, Kristen finally had some peace to plan her next moves.

As much as she wanted to return to her lab, Kristen understood the priorities. Rhine Lab's continued growth was essential for maintaining a stable research environment.

If Saria were here, she wouldn't have to worry about everything herself.

"Saria, do you really like that Adakrys man?" Kristen muttered under her breath.

<+>

Meanwhile, under Muelsyse's guidance, Garde soon arrived at Rhine Lab's Defense Division.

At just eight o'clock, Garde saw a large group of defense personnel wrapping up their morning training and heading off in batches to their respective posts.

As Garde and Muelsyse walked past a group of Defense Division personnel, they greeted Muelsyse respectfully while curiously eyeing Garde.

Garde was simply too tall, and in Terra, height and physique were almost synonymous with combat prowess. A person with a sufficiently strong build, even without formal training, could demonstrate explosive power beyond an ordinary person's imagination.

The defense personnel speculated about Garde's identity, why he had come to their division, and why a department director was accompanying him. After all, Rhine Lab had nine sub-departments aside from the Main Directorate, and the Defense Division oversaw four of them, while the remaining five were research-focused.

In other words, Rhine Lab might have ten sections, but excluding the overall director Kristen, there were only six department directors in total. The importance and authority of each director were significant.

For a department director to leave their responsibilities behind and personally accompany an outsider on a tour of their training area?

Soon, the Defense Division personnel understood why.

It turned out Garde wasn't an outsider—he was one of their own.

"Director Muelsyse, Mr. Garde, welcome," said Orba, the Defense Division's deputy director, warmly.

Initially, her were surprised to see Muelsyse, but remembering her close relationship with Kristen, it wasn't too surprising that the overall director had tasked her with showing Garde around the Defense Division.

Orba, a middle-aged Perro, was as good-natured as he appeared. According to Muelsyse, however, this seemingly honest and straightforward deputy director was a formidable force on the battlefield, capable of enduring Saria's full combo while wielding a shield.

In Saria's absence, Orba essentially managed the Defense Division and showed no interest in vying for power.

Given the importance of the Defense Division director position, Kristen would never entrust it lightly to someone outside her inner circle. While Orba had been with Rhine Lab for a long time, Kristen still considered him less trustworthy than Saria.

Thus, the Defense Division became the department with the least internal strife within Rhine Lab.

Orba gave Garde a tour of the Defense Division. However, they ran into trouble when it came time to prepare a uniform for Garde.

Due to Garde's size, there wasn't a uniform that fit him—even the regular employee uniforms were too small. Left with no other option, Garde had to remain in his original suit.

This made Garde extremely uncomfortable.

Suits were form-fitting by design, and with a belt fastened at the waist, standing up straight risked revealing the outline of his... overly prominent asset.

Midway through the tour, Muelsyse was called away, and Orba couldn't accompany Garde indefinitely, leaving him on his own.

Garde glanced at his hands and, after some thought, found a secluded spot to sit and began biting his nails.

As he finished trimming them, he noticed something—or someone—hidden amidst a pile of clutter behind him.

A white-haired Liberi girl with shoulder-length hair, golden eyes devoid of emotion but not cold, wearing a Rhine Lab uniform, emerged from the clutter.

"Who are you?" Garde asked.

Realizing she had been discovered, the Liberi girl emitted a series of strange, monotone statements:

"Warning: Dangerous lifeform detected. Evasion recommended."

She seemed to be calculating ways to escape from Garde's position, but his broad, door-like frame blocked all the exits.

Failing one tactic, she tried another:

"Evasion failed. Immediate concealment recommended."

The girl glanced at the clutter she had just been hiding in. However, with Garde approaching, the surrounding clutter offered no cover from his line of sight.

The girl grew flustered, though her expression remained blank, her voice continuing its odd refrain:

"Concealment failed... Warning, warning, dangerous lifeform approaching... System error..."

As Garde drew closer, the Liberi girl suddenly fainted.

<+>

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