OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 361: Students Undercover

Chapter 361: Students Undercover

?

"So you're telling me those outside aren't students from the Academy?"

Emir looked behind him at the window displaying the wasteland.

There, multiple rows of students stood uniformly just in front of a paved road, their clothes no longer gold, blue, and green but simply black as their augmented suits were reset to the default state, naturally equipping a minimalistic overall design.

"Why do you ask?"

His gaze returned to the receptionist at Second Life's counter, a man whose eyes screamed annoyance.

"I'm not blind; no hunter group will be supplying all its men with E10 suits. Especially not people their age. So that only leaves the Academy."

Clap!

Smacking his hands together, Emir smiled and exclaimed:

"Look at you being smart! Now tell me, we've got an UNKNOWN group of young CELESTIALS that want to work under you for FREE. What do you say?"

The receptionist snickered.

"Sure, but you'll need a contract. I can't expose my neck to the people behind this UNKNOWN group of yours, so I'll have to specify in the contract that we won't be liable for any injuries or deaths and that everything will be your responsibility, Sir Emir of Azazel."

"Know me, dickhead?"

"I do. Everyone does."

"That's nice."

"It is."

"Indeed."

"...Indeed...?"

Confused at why Emir kept the conversation going, the man asked:

"Your head alright, Sir?"

"Hm. Write it up."

Even when still bewildered, the man did his job, presenting a contract that Emir signed once a few seconds had passed.

"It looks like your AI's real good."

"Not the first time I heard that."

[And it won't be the last~.]

With those words, Emir turned around and exited the shop.

To his right, just beside the door, were two people bleeding out on the ground, their legs cut off.

Unlike the passersby that gave not a single crap, most of the students glanced at them in worry, afraid that they might die at any moment.

Those of them who specialized as Zenith Wardens wanted to heal them, but they couldn't. Emir ordered them not to.

He even spent more time at the reception desk to make them watch those two bleed to death.

It might seem cruel, which it really was, but in a world like this, people like them held no worth.

A few minutes ago, when they had just arrived, those two nobodies were outside the shop, blocking everyone from entering.

Some might wonder about what they were doing. Was it for a grand plan? A conspiracy? Anything interesting?

No, it was simply a "goddamn" protest.

A usual event, as stated by the receptionist.

They had their legs cemented into the ground while screaming how unfair Second Life was, demanding that the basic life insurance package be set to free for all the residents registered under the UEF.

Their demands were fair if one looked at all human life equally, but that wasn't going to happen in a place like this, especially not when the Corporations were in control.

So they were removed from the door, their legs cut.

As they screamed in pain, the shop's guards checked their profiles, but as they saw them with no life insurance, they left them out to die, not bothering to even carry them away.

It was obvious to all that they used the two as an example for those that might come next.

Emir didn't help them for that reason; he didn't want to unnecessarily interfere with the Corpos if he could.

The fact that they were annoying and useless didn't help either.

Anyhow, the students certainly experienced shock when they watched what happened, but as time passed, they calmed down, growing numb to it and accepting their deaths.

It was a memory they would never forget.

The first death of a human life that they had ever seen, and it was due to corporate greed.

They weren't even hunters or Celestials. Just normal citizens from the settlement nearby.

Their protest was not for themselves but for their loved ones, who had to work as hunters to provide them with a pitful amount of food to survive these harsh times.

'Quite fitting.'

Emir mused as he stepped closer to the students.

But just as he was about to speak to them, his neck snapped to a certain direction, his

attention focused on a single man.

That man was the definition of the word gentleman.

A well-groomed beard, a small top hat that covered his short hair, and a monocle hung over

his right eye-all of it fit that definition.

His three-layer suit was quite dapper as well.

Yet... it certainly was an out-of-place combination.

'What the fuck is he doing here?'

Emir's mind wasn't busy scrutinizing his looks, however.

He was on high alert. Preparing to fight at any moment as the gentleman slowly approached.

"Ah... Is that truly you, Sir Emir? I've seen you in the distance, and I've got to say, I certainly

did not expect to see you here."

Still ready for battle, Emir calmly answered:

"I can say the same for you. I never heard that you were a hunter."

He pushed his monocle up slightly.

"A Celestial, you mean?"

"Yes."

The gentlemen questioned, and Emir confirmed, as he repeated:

"So, what brings you here?"

***

'Who?'

Sofia stared at her professor for a long while.

He was chatting away with a man who appeared so out of place that it didn't even seem funny.

Her interest in him was not due to his cosplay hobby, but because Sir Emir looked to be

enjoying himself as if he was talking to a long-lost friend.

In the time that she met him, she saw the professor smile, grin, snicker, frown, grit, and show many other emotions, yet she knew that they were fake.

They were created to keep up with a certain persona that he showed to the world, or at least to

them, the students.

Sofia didn't know what he hid, and it was a good thing for her, as only those dead saw it.

His real face.

A blank one-not calm, but blank. Simply still. Indifferent. As if everything no longer mattered to him.

What she knew and saw however, was his genuine smile, deriving enjoyment out of pure

chaos.

Right, the first time she saw him genuinely smile was when he fought against the Parasite

that took over Felix.

But this smile that he showed in front of her was different.

At first, he was on guard, but that switched quickly in what felt like moments, as the previous

Emir disappeared, and in his place was a young, carefree man.

That change was almost staggering.

It was as if three different people existed under the name of Emir.

Or was that fake too?

She didn't know. She couldn't.

As perceptive as she was, the girl was no Amon. For only he could figure out the true Emir, his

King's Gaze reading truth from false.

'But... maybe he knows.'

Sofia looked to her right, and her eyes landed on Elijah.

'He'll team up with me.'

***

[We're done over here, the convoy reached the Plaza. Do tell me when you've got them set up,

so we can time our return.]

[It'll be done in a few minutes.]

[Alright, we're on the way.]

Emir's quick conversation with Lyra ended as he continued to talk to the gentleman, a bright

smile not leaving his face:

"So did you find those so-called legendary scissors? Can't imagine you'll be that lucky."

His monocle jumped as he lightly chuckled.

"Unfortunately, you're correct. It seems my luck ran out when I evaded the Glaivemantis near the train tracks... Now that I think about it, I at least got out without fighting a single time, so

I am mistaken on that."

"You are indeed..."

Matching his mood, Emir let out a few chuckles himself.

"But do excuse me, Sir. I'll have to go now, my schedule is packed."

Taking his top hat off his head, he put it on his second heart and bowed slightly while saying:

"It was a pleasure meeting you. Do come visit my humble saloon again, Professor Emir."

"I will." Turning left, they parted ways, as Emir headed towards his students while the gentleman

walked towards the underground parking area.

[Nostalgia?]

Perking up at her question, he answered with a grin:

[More than that. Talking to him was almost calming. He's dedicated to his craft, and unlike Jr

over there, his purity isn't naive but the exact opposite.]

It was a purity forged from adversity. They both picked up on that in seconds after meeting

him.

The past Emir wasn't able to notice, while the same applied to Lyra. Just because she knew a

lot didn't mean that she was any better than him, as they had more or less the same life

experience.

[Mhm, his clothes aren't the only thing that is out of place.]

[Yeah, it's rare to find someone like that.]

With those words, Emir turned his attention to the students as he stopped a few feet away

from them.

"From now on, you're no longer students but are an up-and-up hunter group working under

Second Life."

His words were clear and loud, quieting the hunters nearby.

"Form your teams..."

Pausing for a moment, he pointed behind him with his thumb.

"And go!"