[One Week After Woods Joined]
Eridius set a fresh cup of coffee onto the counter before placing a small slice of cheesecake beside it.
The customer—a man in a green suit—nodded gratefully and returned to his conversation.
Business was thriving.
The café was packed.
People in green suits occupied several tables. A group in red argued loudly near the back. Yellow-clad visitors sat quietly in one corner, while a pair of exhausted blue-suited Fixers looked one bad day away from starting a civil war over coffee prices.
Eridius looked around the crowded café and smiled faintly.
Then the front door opened.
Ding.
Alexander stepped inside.
Covered in blood.
Not his own, judging by the amount.
Without hesitation, he walked behind the counter, tied on an apron, washed his hands, and immediately began taking orders.
Not a single customer reacted.
At this point, everyone considered this normal.
[Eridius]: Hey, Alex. How was Fixer work today?
He accepted an order from a customer before continuing.
[Alexander]: I was assigned to protect a man whom I also wanted to kill.
A pause.
[Alexander]: He possessed a remarkable talent for making everyone around him wish for his immediate death.
Eridius nodded.
[Eridius]: One of those clients.
He began preparing a coffee with the same concentration he normally used when fighting.
[Alexander]: By the end of the mission, even the receptionist at the Association office asked why I hadn't stabbed him during transport.
[Eridius]: That's usually a bad sign.
[Alexander]: It was.
A customer walked past.
[Customer]: Morning, Alex.
[Alexander]: Good morning.
The customer glanced at the blood covering his coat.
[Customer]: Rough day?
The customer nodded knowingly and continued walking.
Silence returned.
Then Eridius narrowed his eyes.
[Eridius]: Knowing you, you probably injected him with something horrible.
Alexander paused.
A beat.
Then—
[Alexander]: I injected him with something from W Corp.
Silence filled the café.
Eridius slowly lowered his coffee cup.
[Eridius]: You what?
[Alexander]: Nothing lethal.
A beat.
[Alexander]: In my defense, it was medically educational.
[Eridius]: That's not a defense.
[Alexander]: It is to me.
A customer at a nearby table slowly raised a hand.
[Customer]: Should I be concerned?
[Alexander]: Only if you're the man I was protecting.
The customer immediately lowered his hand.
[Customer]: Understandable. Carry on.
The customer looked around the table.
The others nodded immediately.
No objections.
No further questions.
Most of them were Fixers.
Some worked for Associations.
Others belonged to small Offices scattered throughout the district.
A few were independent.
All of them had spent enough time in the City to understand a simple truth—
If a Fixer wanted to stab their client, there was usually a reason.
[Customer 2]: Honestly, the fact he survived the entire assignment is impressive.
[Customer 3]: Last week I had a client who tried to negotiate his own rescue fee while I was rescuing him.
[Customer 4]: Mine tried to sell me life insurance halfway through an ambush.
Everyone sitting around the table collectively nodded.
Reasonable experiences.
[Customer 1]: The City doesn't lack monsters.
Eridius smiled a little and looked around him.
[Eridius]: Hey, where is Woods
And at that, he was met with a banshee scream coming from the bathrooms.
[Woods]: The giant cockroaches are back, AND NOW THEY CAN FLY.
Eridius took a sword from under the counter and looked at the customers who already drew their weapons
[To be continued]
[Author's Note]
Hello everyone. We're still not even halfway through the workload at the office, but I didn't want to leave you all waiting for too long.
So, while things are still hectic on my end, here's a piece of unfinished content to hold you over. I'll continue and properly finish it once I have more free time and a functioning sleep schedule.
Thank you all for your patience and continued support. I know the updates have been slower than usual, but I haven't forgotten about this story. Once work settles down, I'll get back to writing chapters regularly.
Until then, please enjoy this little preview of what's to come.