The Alchemists

Aleksis finally gave up. She went to the wall that separated the restaurant and the penthouse and prepared herself to climb back home. Suddenly, a strong pair of hands pulled her shoulders roughly.

"Hey... you're a spy!" exclaimed the heavy voice behind her. Aleksis could smell the alcohol in his breath. She tried to pull away, but this man was too strong. She already embarrassed him in front of his co-workers, and he was really pissed off. He tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Heh... where is your bravery now? Who sent you?"

"No one sent me...!" said Aleksis. She tried to struggle, but this man was too strong. Although Aleksis was strong and usually knew how to defend herself, the man who caught her was far stronger than her.

Was... was this person also an assassin from Rhionen Assasins? Lest they were indeed related.

"You have to answer me honestly, otherwise I will throw you out the balcony..." The man raised Aleksis, who wriggled with all her might, as if she weighed nothing. He carried her to the glass wall on the edge of the Sky Bar. The glass wall was only 1.5 meters high as it was placed just to block the wind and prevent visitors from jumping to their death from the 100th floor...

But he had raised Aleksis higher than the glass wall, and she shuddered in terror... This threat was truly frightening. If she were to fall from this height, her body would be scattered beyond recognition. It would also damage the hotel's reputation.

"What's going on, Pavel?" suddenly the masked man, who had helped Aleksis before, appeared next to the man who was threatening her. He positioned himself between them and the glass wall.

"This is a corporate spy, Master. She has been asking a lot of suspicious questions and I caught her about to climb that wall to escape...!" said the scary man.

The masked man narrowed his eyes and carefully studied Aleksis. He immediately recognized the girl as the servant who had fallen from the wall earlier this evening.

"Are you really a corporate spy?" he asked in a soft voice. For a brief moment Aleksis seemed to recognize his voice. It felt like a dream.

"No... no... I have nothing to do with any company or anything... Please put me down..."

Now is not the time to act like a tough woman,  thought Aleksis. She had to use her crocodile tears to save herself. The masked man seemed to be more refined in attitude than his rude staff.

"Then why are you acting so suspiciously?" the man asked patiently.

"I... I..." Aleksis looked into his eyes and, for some reason at that moment, she did not dare to lie. "I'm sorry to be barging in... I'm looking for someone. That's why I crashed into your party..."

Her voice sounded weak and inviting pity, but he could judge that Aleksis was not lying.

"You have one minute to convince me that you are not a corporate spy," the man said again. He nodded to the man he called Pavel, "If you can't, he will throw you down..."

"Ugh..." Aleksis knew she would not win against them. Inwardly she cursed herself. She should have brought her personal bodyguards, Carl and Sascha, to the Sky Bar to go undercover. They would certainly be able to protect her in a situation like this.

She finally sighed, "I'm looking for my friend... I suspect that he may be a member of Rhionen Assassins. Since I can't find any information on Rhinoen Assassins, I was hoping that Rhionen Industries might have a connection with Rhionen Assassins... I just wanted to know if anyone here knows him... I desperately want to meet him again..."

The masked man frowned. He was surprised because Aleksis knew about Rhionen Assassins. Regular people would only know about Rhionen Industries, the big corporation, and not know about the other one, the assassin organization.

"What's his name? And how do you know he is related to Rhionen Assassins?" asked the man in an interested tone. He signaled Pavel to lower Aleksis on the floor and let her go.

Aleksis fixed her collar and tangled clothes, before answering in a slightly embarrassed voice, "Uhm... I don't know his name. I call him Prince Siegfried because of the dragon tattoo on his chest... He said I must die if I knew his real name..."

The masked man and Pavel looked at each other. Pavel looked like he was about to say something, but the masked man raised his hand and gestured him to leave. Pavel grunted and left.

"What is wrong with him?" Aleksis asked in annoyed tone.

The masked man did not answer. He looked at Aleksis carefully for a few moments, then slowly a smile curved up on his face.

"I think I know who you are referring to. I know your Prince Siegfried."

"Oh really???" Aleksis was immediately filled with explosive excitement, and she unconsciously hugged the masked man with enthusiasm. "Gosh... I didn't come here in vain... I can finally find him..."

The man was stunned by Aleksis' excitement as it was very unexpected. When the girl hugged him, involuntarily his hand moved to rub Aleksis' head.

While his hand was still in the air, Aleksis had freed herself and held his shoulders. Her exploding emotions were clearly visible on her face. Finally, the man slowly lowered his hand.

"You're very happy, aren't you?" he asked, smiling faintly. "What will you do if you meet him?"

"Oh, I've trained hard. I'll beat him in a Go match and he has to tell me his real name..."

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