Chapter 886
The next morning.
Nexus Weapon Store.
The sunlight outside remained pale and weak while the morning breeze carried faint noises from the District into the store.
Inside the reception area, Arceus stared at Lucian with visible displeasure after hearing the news.
"How did this happen?"
Lucian sighed softly and shrugged.
"Who knows… But you should be careful from now on."
Nearby, Kiara silently listened while pretending surprise.
Meanwhile, Zion and Noah looked completely indifferent as always.
Kiara then calmly lied without changing her expression even slightly. "Last night, while I spoke with him alone, he mentioned the brothers from the Church of Doom would definitely rescue him eventually."
She folded her arms.
"I thought he was being delusional after everything that happened. But perhaps he was right after all."
Lucian's eyes widened.
"That means this situation is serious."
His tone immediately turned heavier.
"All of you should be careful from now onward."
Then his gaze shifted toward Arceus specifically.
"Especially you, Ark."
*
Ten entire days passed like drifting smoke beneath a stormy sky, yet Wester Silver remained nowhere to be found.
The Imperial Palace reacted as if a venomous serpent had escaped into a crowded city.
Thousands of soldiers spread across the Imperial Capital like iron waves flowing through streets, markets, inns, underground taverns, merchant routes, abandoned warehouses, noble districts, and outer villages, while the six great House leaders governing the Duchies were personally notified by Alexander Phoenix himself regarding the escape of a seven-star Spirit Warrior whose whereabouts had vanished as completely as a stone sinking into a black ocean.
The Emperor regretted not destroying Wester's cultivation. And he was now worried what Wester would do.
Taking this matter seriously, the Emperor called for a Special Investigation Team to entirely focus on tracking Wester's whereabouts.
Kiara was also summoned and questioned.
So was Arceus.
So was Selene Ash.
So were the elders of House Silver.
Even the servants who once worked at Silver Manor were dragged into investigations and interrogations.
The Empire searched so thoroughly that even ordinary citizens began whispering nervously in tea houses and markets that perhaps Wester Silver had already fled beyond the borders of the Phoenix Empire itself.
Meanwhile, Alexander Phoenix took the matter extremely seriously because a hidden seven-star expert was not merely a criminal.
A person like that was a walking disaster.
The Crown Prince and his allied factions wholeheartedly supported the investigation as well because they feared that Wester might seek revenge against everyone responsible for his downfall, especially after the betrayal inside House Silver became public knowledge among the higher circles.
Even the infamous WEB organization failed to trace him.
That alone made many people uneasy.
A man who vanished from the sight of WEB was no ordinary fugitive anymore.
In the end, after exhausting nearly every available lead, the Imperial Palace officially issued a bounty worth fifty thousand gold coins for Wester Silver, dead, and 100,000 gold coins if caught alive.
And yet…
No one found him.
Inside Nexus Weapon Store, Kiara also carried complicated feelings regarding the matter, although none of them appeared on her face.
Wester had failed to appear according to their agreement.
Kiara clearly warned him that betrayal would result in death.
However, the amusing thing was that she never truly implanted any tracking seal inside him at all.
It had merely been a lie used to control him.
And because the system never issued another quest regarding his capture or punishment afterward, Kiara could not even determine whether the man genuinely fled or whether some unforeseen problem had occurred.
Still, one thing remained certain.
If they met again someday and Wester failed to provide a satisfactory explanation, Kiara would kill him without hesitation and collect the bounty herself.
After all, fifty thousand gold coins were still fifty thousand gold coins.
For now, however, life continued.
The store continued operating normally.
The customers still came.
Weapons and ammunition are still sold like vegetables in the market.
The world did not pause merely because one broken noble disappeared into darkness.
As for Arceus, his displeasure regarding the escape slowly faded after several days had passed.
Like a wound gradually drying beneath sunlight, he eventually stopped dwelling on the matter.
***
Three more days later.
It was around noon on the 13th day after Wester's escape.
The dining area of the store smelled richly of roasted meat, warm soup, spices, fresh bread, and steamed vegetables while several butler robots moved around quietly with smooth mechanical precision, placing dishes across the long table.
Everyone sat together for lunch.
And just like every Friday before this one, the timer of the lottery wheel hovered somewhere around twelve minutes before refresh.
Most people around the table ate comfortably.
Only Kiara looked restless.
Every once in a while, her gaze drifted toward the wall clock.
Then back toward her bowl.
Then again toward the clock.
Arceus noticed it quickly.
Seeing that a large portion of food remained untouched before her, he gently asked, "Dear… is the food not to your liking today?"
Usually, he addressed her by name when they were alone, but because Alucard and Serestia Phoenix were nearby, he maintained the appearance of their relationship carefully.
Kiara looked up immediately and shook her head.
"No, it is not that, I just…"
Before she could finish speaking, Noah suddenly interrupted with visible dissatisfaction written across his face.
"There is no way Big Sister would dislike my cooking, Lord Arceus. She loves my food the most and I would never cook something that can displease my Big Sis."
The android's tone sounded calm at first glance, yet the faint offense hidden beneath the words was obvious enough that even Serestia quietly lowered her spoon.
Arceus immediately realized his mistake.
Not wanting to upset him further, Arceus immediately apologized.
"Sorry, I used the wrong words. The food is delicious as always."
He then glanced toward Kiara. "It is only because she barely touched her meal."
Noah's expression softened slightly afterward. "Big Sister simply has many things on her mind."
After living here for quite some time, he had already become accustomed to Zion and Noah behaving almost exactly like humans.
Especially Noah.
Among the two androids, Zion remained endlessly calm no matter the situation. Now that Arceus knew that both of them were life puppets and not humans, he could see Zion as a puppet, because he didn't have many emotions and often, he behaves like such.
Noah, however, was different.
He was deeply devoted to Kiara.
Painfully devoted.
Whether it involved cooking, cleaning, organizing weapons, training servant robots, or managing supplies, Noah handled every responsibility with almost terrifying perfection, and whenever anyone pointed out flaws in his work, he reacted emotionally unless the criticism came directly from Kiara herself.