I Hate Systems

"Relax, I'm not planning anything. I don't care if she's a human or not, since this isn't the Electra Empire or my Fawnker Dukedom." Horan said, relaxing his hold as he deactivated his lightning chainmail, "I'm just curious about her. This is the first time I'm seeing a cross-breed."

"Haah." Teto sighed, massaging his neck as he looked at the hairs on his hand standing erect, as if he had been electrocuted. He then took a seat on the nearby bed, beginning to speak, "I chanced upon her in the alleyway a couple of streets away. She's a troubled individual that has lost her parents. So, I wanted to help her."

He then began to recount her experiences, telling everything to Horan.

Horan listened to everything without interrupting, nodding at the end as he looked at her sleeping figure, wondering how she was able to sleep through all the mess and chaos that had happened.

He then muttered, "The staff here are irresponsible too. They didn't even bother checking the reason for the commotion."

"They don't wish to lose their lives, after all." Teto nodded, "This lodge is located right next to the back alleys. It seems stuff like this is pretty common."

"Anyway, ignoring all that," Horan peered into the alleyways, muttering while gazing at a certain house, "Supposedly, Luthak is living there?"

"Yes, Gehera is a Cartographer, so her information should be somewhat accurate." Teto nodded.

"She's just a novice though." Horan frowned before suggesting, "Why don't we use my Cartographer? He's a Master. He'll prove useful."

"My Lord, I don't wish to involve you in this mess. There's a decent chance Luthak is connected to some secret organisation. If I encounter any trouble, I can casually leave this Kingdom and go somewhere far away where this secret organisation's reach doesn't extend towards." Teto shook his head, "But, you're in no position to do that, right?"

"What you said makes sense." Horan nodded, glancing at Gehera, deep in thought before saying, "Say, what do you plan to do with her once her problems have been solved?"

"She'll live with her mother, obviously," Teto said.

"Then, that's more than enough reason for me to get involved." Horan smiled, "If what Gehera said is the truth, then her mother is the princess of a Titan Kingdom. This might be the best opportunity to forge diplomatic relations with them."

"Titans are a secluded race. They generally don't involve themselves in the affairs of other regions." He spoke further upon seeing Teto's confusion, "And, gaining their trust means direct benefits for me."

"So, I'll help her solve this." Horan said, "I'll be in Tentuna City for the next few days. And that should be enough. With a Grandmaster Metal Mage and a Pseudo-Saint like me being involved, we'll solve it pretty soon."

'But, it involves a Personal Fragment. And things aren't as simple as finding a lost princess.' Compass Carburettor thought but didn't mention it. He just nodded in response to Horan's claims, asking, "Then, shall we directly barge into Luthak's hiding place? With our strength, we needn't fear anything."

"We're screwed if they are indeed connected to a secret organisation. Had this been in the Electra Empire, I wouldn't even be concerned. But in the Xetuka Kingdom, I don't have the authority to intimidate a secret organisation." Horan said, motioning for Teto to wake up Gehera.

"Eh? Ehh?" Gehera woke up, rubbing her eyes as she gazed at the figure of Teto, for a moment confused as to why she was staring at this middle-aged man before recalling what had happened.

She then noticed another individual in the room, gazing at Horan as she was stunned, her mind blanking as she just stared at the individual without batting an eye, her face reddening in response.

Horan snapped his finger, creating a minor electrical surge that brought her back to her senses, causing her to cover her face behind her hands, embarrassed to have been staring at Horan so blatantly.

Indeed, he had features that caused people to be lost in them, staring at him while not aware of the passage of time.

And as she had been chasing after thugs all this time, seeing such a regal person caused her mind to blank out.

"I'm Horan. I heard about your situation from Teto. It's interesting, so I'll help you find your mother." Horan stated calmly.

"Thank you, boss!" Gehera was jubilant to be accompanied by such a handsome individual.

Upon seeing this scene, Compass Carburettor controlled his urge to facepalm, 'For a moment, she forgot everything else and just became excited to be accompanied by Horan. Thankfully, Stencil has high resistance to handsome men. It would have been a headache if she jumped around in excitement every time she saw a handsome face.'

Well, Stencil did grow up staring at him. So, his appearance was her base standard. Only if there was someone better looking than him would he be registered in her mind as handsome.

'Wait, didn't she call Horan handsome?' Upon reaching this thought, he indeed harboured some ill feelings towards Horan.

"Teto, you mentioned killing the thug while rescuing her before, right?" Horan spoke, breaking him out of his thoughts, "Did anything else change in the alleys after that?"

"Nope, they didn't even notice anything amiss." Teto said, pointing at another street, "See, the corpse is still there. It seems no one even passed by that route. So, the evidence is still untouched."

Gehera blocked her mouth with her hand, only now noticing the gruesome corpse that had been in her line of sight all along, even the blood splatter on the walls was visible.

Teto then noticed a man exiting a house nearby to Luthak's supposed dwelling, pointing at him through eye contact as he muttered, "Shall we capture him to investigate?"

"That's a good idea," Horan said as his figure flashed before reappearing in the original location, carrying the man in his hold, having already been knocked out using an electrical discharge.

Horan dropped the man to the ground, opening his palm to reveal a circle where multiple runes formed, causing lightning bolts to flash out like tendrils of an insect mouth, latching onto the man's head as they tapped into his neural system, causing his body to wriggle in response.

And with that, Horan nodded, "Ask him a question."