[LAST ROUND]
It wasn't open yet since it was morning, but the sign flickered without fully shutting off.
Leah looked up at the building.
"The Last Round, huh."
Her tone sounded mildly intrigued.
"Nice name. Sounds like it's right on the brink of ruin."
Two Seraph Industry security guards stood near the entrance of the building.
They shifted their stance the moment Leah approached; while they didn't raise their muzzles right away, their hands hovered near their triggers.
"This building is property of Seraph Industry."
The security guard standing at the front spoke.
"Access by Archeon personnel is not permitted."
Even so, Leah did not stop.
"I think you're mistaken."
Instead, she pushed back against their words.
"I didn't come here today as the Representative of Archeon Genetics."
The security guard wore a puzzled expression.
Leah glanced up toward the top of the building.
"I came as a customer."
"...A customer?"
"The fourth floor is registered as a place of business."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Just because Seraph Industry became the landlord doesn't mean you'd turn away a business's customers, right?"
The security guard couldn't answer right away, his gaze darting sideways for a split second.
It was an unexpected response.
Keeping his eyes fixed on Leah, he quietly radioed in.
"...."
A brief silence followed over the radio.
Leah waited without showing any particular impatience.
The Archeon agents standing behind her quietly kept watch on their surroundings, and the Seraph security team did the same.
Yet Leah remained nonchalant, like a guest who had simply arrived a little early for an appointment.
The security guard received a response over the radio.
"...Yes. Understood."
He gave a curt nod before looking back at Leah.
"Understood."
Having finished the call, the security guard stepped half a pace aside.
"Only Ms. Leah is permitted to pass."
At that, an Archeon agent behind Leah moved to step forward, but—
"Representative..."
Leah raised her hand slightly, signaling them to stay put.
Once the Archeon agent halted, the security guard continued.
"A brief physical search is required."
At those words, the atmosphere among the Archeon agents turned frigid.
A rival corporation's security guard searching their own Representative, no less.
A single wrong word could turn this into an official dispute before the THC.
An agent stepped forward from behind.
"The Representative...!"
Leah flicked her finger, and the agent fell silent and stopped in his tracks.
"Stand down."
Without any sign of displeasure, she slowly raised both arms.
"They said it's procedure."
The security guard hesitated for a moment before calling over a female security guard.
Since the side demanding the search appeared far more uncomfortable, Leah smiled as if the entire situation amused her.
"What? Aren't you going to do it?"
"Proceeding now."
The female security guard approached and conducted the search as delicately as possible.
Leah stood still, keeping her gaze fixed on the interior of the building.
After a moment, the female security guard stepped back.
"Clear."
At those words, Leah lowered her arms.
"Satisfied?"
"...You may enter."
As the security guard stepped aside from the door, Leah walked straight into the building without looking back.
Inside, it was quiet.
"...."
The first floor was deserted.
Though the space likely served as a store or office in the past, only a few worn furnishings and dust remained now. Freshly installed makeshift Seraph security devices clung to parts of the walls.
"Hmm."
There were signs of recent work, but renovations weren't properly finished yet.
Leah scanned every single one of those minor details with her eyes as she walked past.
The transfer of ownership, the interior maintenance, and the stopgap security equipment were all recent.
This building was not a long-planned stronghold.
In that case, it was highly likely a location hastily secured at someone's request.
Her curiosity regarding that 'someone' deepened slightly.
Passing the second floor, she peered inside through the gap in the door.
It was an empty space with only a few stacked boxes.
Without stopping, she headed up to the third floor.
Naturally, the door to the third floor was shut.
The lock attached to it was an off-the-shelf Seraph biometric lock, completely out of place against the building's weathered exterior.
Though not a luxury model, it was excessive for an outer residential district.
Leah stood before the door and pressed the handle down, but naturally, it didn't budge.
"Interesting."
If whoever was inside were just an ordinary resident, a device like this wouldn't be needed.
No, Seraph had no reason to house an ordinary resident in a place like this to begin with.
Leah didn't press her ear against the door.
There was no need to resort to something so unrefined.
She glanced down at her wrist terminal.
She had turned off its external analysis module because of the search.
"...Should I leave it at this for now?"
She climbed up one more floor.
The fourth floor.
A bar by the name of Last Round.
From the outside, it didn't look open yet, but—
Since the door wasn't locked, Leah took hold of the handle without hesitation.
Jingle.
As the bell rang, the bar owner, who had been organizing glasses behind the counter, looked up.
The moment she saw who had entered, her eyes narrowed.
"We're not open yet."
"I know."
Leah gave a light chuckle.
"Can't you make an exception, though?"
The bar owner stared at Leah for a long moment.
The aura radiating from her attire and demeanor.
And the Archeon and Seraph forces deployed outside the window.
There was no way a customer walking in under these circumstances could be ordinary.
Yet the bar owner seemed to intuitively know that turning her away at the door wouldn't resolve matters cleanly.
She merely let out a short sigh.
"Suit yourself."
"Thank you."
Leah naturally took a seat in front of the counter.
Setting down a glass, the bar owner wiped the counter out of habit.
"Got anything to drink?"
"Didn't I tell you we're not open yet?"
"You told me to suit myself."
"Then I'll take whatever you recommend."
"I don't serve the cheap stuff to first-timers. Who knows if they'll ever come back."
At those words, Leah looked behind the counter. A surprisingly diverse collection of liquor bottles sat on the worn shelves.
She had assumed there would only be cheap synthetic alcohol, but taking a closer look, that wasn't the case.
There were aged whiskey bottles and imported liqueurs.
Some bottles looked like bootleg spirits, while others had their labels scraped off.
The variety was considerable, and their condition wasn't bad either.
Sounding mildly surprised, Leah spoke up.
"This place is nicer than I expected."
At that, the bar owner's expression softened ever so slightly.
"Finally, a customer who knows a thing or two."
"I like alcohol because it makes people honest."
"I like the sound of that."
"Guess you're not too fond of people?"
"Liking people in this neighborhood won't keep you alive for long."
Leah smirked at her words.
"Fair point."
It was right then.
Leah turned her gaze toward the side of the counter.
A corner seat of the bar, where the lighting barely reached.
A man was sitting there.
With black hair and an exhausted face, he was eating piping-hot, steaming food.
Inside a building where Seraph and Archeon had been locked in a standoff since morning.
Even after the Representative of Archeon had entered the bar.
As if none of this had anything to do with him.
Completely nonchalant.
Leah tilted her head slightly as she looked at him.
"Who's that?"
At her question, the bar owner's hands paused for a moment.
"Does this bar double as a restaurant?"
Yet despite Leah's words, the man did not look up and quietly continued his meal.
The bar owner answered a beat late.
"...Well. He's just a regular. Ignore him."
"A regular, huh."
Leah slowly repeated the word.
"A regular eating a meal in a bar that isn't even open yet..."
"He pays well, at least."
"A good customer, then."
"That's why I let him live."
The corners of Leah's mouth curled up slightly at her snappy retort.
That man wasn't looking at her, yet he knew exactly where she was standing.
The type of person like herself—calculating everything, yet relying on intuition at times.
She felt he was a kindred spirit who possessed that very same sense.
However, Leah pushed her intrigue down a little deeper.
If she got too excited and bared her fangs too early, her prey might flee.
"Hmm."
Leah looked back at the bar owner.
"Then, may I ask you something?"
"After barging in and taking a seat already, now you ask?"
"Just being polite."
"Ha."
Chuckling lightly, Leah asked the bar owner directly.
"Do you know anything about the person living on the third floor?"
The bar owner's expression didn't change.
One could say she hid it quite well this time, but Leah had already caught that tiny crack just moments ago.
The awkward tension that surfaced when she called the man a regular earlier.
And the momentary hesitation in her gaze the instant the words 'third floor' were mentioned.
"I don't know much."
The bar owner answered immediately.
"You know the landlord is Seraph Industry, right?"
"I know the landlord changed, yeah. The rent bill looks different now."
"The third floor is registered as a temporary residence."
"Guess so."
"And you don't know who lives there?"
"No idea."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then what about that regular over there?"
Leah's gaze shifted toward the man.
"Does he know the person on the third floor?"
The bar owner narrowed her eyes.
"Why do you keep poking your nose into other customers' business?"
"Because I'm fond of people."
"In this neighborhood, that's called picking a fight."
"Hehe... It's pretty much the same in other districts, too."
Only then did the man slowly set down his spoon.
Clack.
Picking up his water glass, he took a sip before speaking indifferently.
"You sure have a lot of interest in someone trying to eat."
***
"You sure have a lot of interest in someone trying to eat."
Kael looked at the woman with his spoon set down.
An unfamiliar woman.
At least, she wasn't a face he recognized.
Though Kael couldn't boast about it with total confidence, his memory was by no means bad.
No, remembering things was fundamentally a basic requirement for a Magician to begin with.
"...."
A white coat, impeccable posture, and a smiling mouth.
Yet her eyes weren't smiling.
'She must be the type who rarely reveals her true thoughts.'
Anyone capable of passing the Seraph security guards at the first-floor entrance and heading up here was certainly no ordinary customer.
The woman smiled at Kael.
"Oh my, did I interrupt your meal?"
"At least you understand the concept of interrupting."
"Understanding it is quite different from being considerate, though."
"So you're that type."
"Yep."
Her reply was swift and without hesitation.
A person who had no intention of hiding who she was, or someone well-versed in putting on that very facade.
As if sensing Kael's gaze, the woman slightly narrowed her eyes.
"Do you come here often?"
"The food is good."
Mira cut in immediately at those words.
"This is a bar."
"I'm eating a meal right now, though."
"How many times do I have to tell you? It's a bar."
"Why not use this chance to rebrand as a restaurant?"
"You're unbelievable, honestly."
The woman quietly watched the banter between Mira and Kael.
Then, she lightly tapped her finger on the counter.
Tap.
"Your name?"
Having no reason to tell her, Kael didn't answer her question.
Instead, Mira spoke up.
"Why have you been running background checks on everyone since you walked in?"
"Just curious."
"At that point, it's a chronic illness."
"It'd be nice if it were curable, but... unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be."
The woman merely smiled as she ordered a drink from Mira.
Mira glared at her for a moment before taking down a bottle from the rear shelf.
"This one's expensive."
"That's fine."
"It's very expensive."
"Even better."
Once the liquor was poured into the glass, the woman caught the aroma and gave a brief nod.
"Not bad. An import that came through the Arnel Route... I didn't expect to see this in Graverock."
"You actually recognize that."
"Comes with being someone who has to know a great many things."
"Does that include how to annoy people?"
"Now that's a field I'm quite confident in."
Kael picked up his spoon again.
Though he continued his meal, his attention remained entirely focused on the woman.
She, too, kept her eyes on Kael.
Without being blatant, yet effortlessly natural.
"I heard a major incident happened near here last night."
Kael gave no reply to the woman's remark.
Instead, Mira spoke up while wiping a glass.
"In Graverock, it's harder to find a day without a major incident."
"Is it common for flames to burst in the sky, too?"
"Maybe some drunk bastard set off fireworks."
"Then it must have been quite a pretty sight."
Kael took a sip of water, intending to bide his time, but—
As if telling him to abandon that thought, the woman leaned slightly forward.
The smile lingered on her lips, but her voice turned a shade more serious.
"Now then, Mr. Regular."
Kael met her gaze.
"Let me ask you one question directly."
Having observed every single one of Kael's movements, she—
"Could it be..."
Finally bared the fangs she had been hiding.
"Are you the person living on the third floor?"