They all call me Great Master

As the eldest daughter of the "Lotus Leaf Hotel."

After her mother, Lady Didian, semi-retired, Didian basically took over the management of various hotel affairs.

This included the servants like Sapir and the chefs—they all respected this eldest sister. They remembered that, when they were young, she worked part-time as a "Golden Finger" to feed everyone, on top of helping the family sell lotus seeds and roots.

In the years after the war, Didian had quite a reputation on Rat Street.

However, as Sapir and her other younger siblings grew up, Didian had long since washed her hands of that business.

At least, she no longer did the "Golden Finger" jobs.

Other jobs?

Didian still occasionally moonlighted.

For instance, as an intelligence trafficker.

With the "Lotus Leaf Hotel" at her disposal, Didian always managed to obtain some information and tasks that ordinary people couldn't…

Commissions!

Just like this time!

Someone had offered a large sum of money for Didian to keep an eye on a man named "Dorn"—within an hour of Dorn checking into the hotel, the person showed up at the door with 200 gold notes.

Didian didn't refuse.

It wasn't that she didn't want to.

It was that she couldn't.

The person held a significant sway in South Los's underground world. If she upset him, the entire hotel would be at risk.

But now, Didian was starting to regret it.

With the appearance of the "Spirit Medium" Arthur Kredos, Didian knew things were going to go downhill.

This eldest daughter of the "Lotus Leaf Hotel" had never imagined being involved in incidents related to such significant figures.

So, she initiated her contingency plan—

Confront the adversary alone!

Take down that bastard!

Before that, though, she needed Sapir to take their mother and younger siblings and run for it!

To take a boat and leave South Los.

To head for Yan Fort!

The guy under the alias "Dorn" came from Inner Bay. Choosing Inner Bay as the safest option to flee was naturally out of the question, so she decided on the next best thing.

Yan Fort was a good place too.

Only after her family had left could she fight without holding back.

As for the siblings who had already left?

They had their own lives, which she didn't want to disrupt, nor did they want their lives disrupted.

After all, the frequency of their visits to see their mother during holidays was dwindling.

Maybe due to busyness.

Being busy was already enough.

During such times, Didian wouldn't "bother" them.

Of course, some troubles are out of Didian's control, aren't they?

"Eddie, go get Sapir and the others up."

"Charles, you go and pack our things."

"Charles, keep an eye on the street corner. If any suspicious people show up, come right back and report."

Didian started to give orders to her three brothers.

Meanwhile, she had begun inspecting the drawer at the counter for daggers, firearms, and crossbow arrows.

The road to Yan Fort would definitely not be peaceful.

She needed to prepare in advance.

With the crossbow strapped to her forearm and three firearms slanted across her chest.

The two sisters who worked as cooks in the hotel, Eva and Bosa, had already appeared at the door; recently woken, Sapir came out of his room.

"What's going on, Sister Didian?"

Seeing their fully armed sister, Eva and Bosa immediately gathered around her.

Turning back into his room, Sapir emerged again with a longsword, a firearm, explosives on his waist, and a wolf-toothed club in his hand that was as tall as an average person.

"Sister, who are we dealing with?"

Sapir asked directly.

For Sapir, Didian was his sister.

And her enemies were his enemies.

They just needed to deal with them.

No reason to ask why.

Smack!

Didian leaped up and smacked her brother on the forehead. A crisp snap echoed as Sapir looked puzzled.

"This is something I must do myself.

You need to protect Eva, Bosa, and...

Mother!"

Didian instructed, plucking the explosives from Sapir's waist and attaching them to her own back.

Hearing his mother, Sapir's lips parted but in the end, he couldn't say anything.

"Take everyone to the docks to board a ship to Yan Fort.

You know who to look for at the docks.

If all goes well, I'll go to Yan Fort to meet up with you, and then we can all return to South Los.

If not, remember never to return to South Los."

After speaking, Lady Didian handed over all the money she had saved, a total of 1042 gold notes, 125 Zeroes, and 7 pennies, to Sapir.

As Sapir took the purse, his eyes immediately reddened.

The 2.2-meter-tall strong man's tears flowed freely down his face.

"Take good care of our mother."

Lady Didian once again urged Eva and Bosa, her two younger sisters who were already sobbing softly.

Then, the lady walked toward the door.

"Sister, Garcia..."

"That guy is just my drinking buddy," replied Didian without turning her head or stopping her stride.

Garcia?

Lady Didian had met Garcia a long time ago.

She had also read articles written by Garcia.

She thought they were quite good.

Unfortunately, Garcia wasn't famous, and it was difficult to get his articles published, so Lady Didian was not surprised to see him at the information tavern.

Many people choose to sell information at small taverns when they are at their most helpless.

She was like that.

So was Garcia.

Watching the clumsy Garcia, Lady Didian had helped him several times in the beginning.

And Garcia was very grateful to her.

In fact, his first paycheck was spent on buying her a drink to express his gratitude.

Lady Didian had been invited for drinks before.

But a low-alcohol beer was a first for her.

Especially since, after buying that low-alcohol beer, Garcia didn't have even a single Zero left in his pocket, a truly unique situation.

Hence, Lady Didian actually accepted and drank the beer.

And in return, she treated Garcia to a meal of roasted meat with bread.

Because of this, their relationship became more familiar.

Because of this, Lady Didian knew that Garcia had recently seemed to be in favor with some important figure—Garcia didn't explicitly say so, but through his words and behavior, Lady Didian could feel that this man had changed.

But this change was ultimately Garcia's own.

Lady Didian wouldn't bring that kind of trouble upon her friends.

Even if her friend had gained some confidence.

Watching his eldest sister's retreating figure, Sapir handed the money over to his sisters Eva and Bosa for safekeeping, then hurried upstairs to find his mother.

Sapir had decided that he would first get his mother and his younger siblings safely to Yan Fort.

After that?

Of course, he would return to South Los and kill those bastards.

Thump!

A strong heartbeat resonated within Sapir's chest.

But at this moment, Sapir was completely unaware of it.

No one around him noticed.

Except for the "Exquisite Human Puppet" controlled by Arthur's consciousness.

'An unexpected Awakener?'

From the shadows, Arthur cast a surprised glance at Sapir.

Bloodlines are special; some people seek them in vain, others are born with them, and yet others awaken to them later in life—and it's for this reason that people say our ancestors were Nobles.

But today's Nobles won't acknowledge that.

They only expel those who staunchly believe in such ideas.

Meanwhile, they recruit the Awakened.

People like Sapir, who awaken unexpectedly, are even more favored by those in higher positions.

After all, they can form a certain fighting strength without the need for much training.

The only pity is that they are few in number.

And Arthur, naturally, would not let go of such a rare existence.

Without hesitation, Arthur walked out of the hotel.

To recruit Sapir, a direct persuasion is far less effective than finding Lady Didian.

Arthur believed that as long as Lady Didian joined, then Sapir would surely join as well.

As for how to get Lady Didian to join?

"Thank the darkness of South Los's gutters!"

The "Exquisite Human Puppet" murmured softly to itself, then in a few agile movements jumped onto the rooftop and stood straight on the eaves, looking down slightly at the scene below.