Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 48: A Task Unlike Any Other

Rachel couldn't look any more annoyed as she slouched in the Director's office chair, absentmindedly swinging her feet.

"Ugh! Why do you have me waiting here in your office if you're going to be late? Stupid old goat..."

Her grumbling faded when she heard a stern, cold voice from the doorway.

"Is that how you talk about me behind my back? How...bold."

Rachel instantly shot to her feet, her eyes widening. She quickly bowed her head in the direction of the voice.

"Grandfather! I—I didn't mean it! It was just a slip of the tongue! I mean no disrespect!"

The man in the doorway, dressed in a doctor's robe, arched an eyebrow at her.

"Brat... Maybe try looking guilty when you ask for forgiveness."

"Hehe. Got caught~!"

Rachel chirped, lifting her head to reveal a wide smirk. She stuck out her tongue playfully and

tapped her forehead with her knuckles.

The old man let out a sigh, his stern expression faltering.

"What am I going to do with you...?"

Rachel's grin widened.

"How about giving me a paid vacation and a raise~?"

The old man raised a brow.

"You've been here for what, two weeks?"

"Two weeks and three days, to be exact!"

"And yet your supervisors have lodged more than two dozen complaints about you. You've certainly made a strong impression."

"Those old fogeys were so annoying. Why should I listen to them? It's not like I'm here to be a doctor or anything."

"Then you have no business being at this hospital then!"

"What I want is to be part of our Family's 'Other' Business!"

The old man scowled as his voice grew even more stern.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

"Absolutely not. You will not be joining in that business. Especially since you have no regard for the sanctity of life. How can you take a life without knowing the weight of a life!"

Rachel rolled her eyes, clearly uninterested in his sermon.

"But Killing people would be sooo easy. And make me a lot of money too!"

"Life isn't all about money, child!"

"Well it makes the world go round! I won't starve if I have more of it!"

Rachel snapped as she yelled at her grandfather but she regretted it already.

"Child..no..Rachel. You don't have to struggle like you did before. You won't be thrown back to the streets. There is no need for you to prove yourself through working in the Other Business."

The old man's eyes were forlorn as he gazed at his granddaughter.

"You are my granddaughter and nothing can change that. Even if your talent disappeared, you would still have a home to return to."

Rachel averted her gaze, somewhat embarrassed. She couldn't truly fault her grandfather. He was the one to take her in when she was just a lowly street urchin trying to survive.

She had shown an extreme talent in martial arts from a young age and was the old man's pride and joy. Yet whenever she attempted to join the assassin guild, she was denied.

Instead she had been forced to take this stupid nurse detail. The hours were long and the pay was abysmal compared to the work. She didn't understand why anyone would want to do this?

She had taken her grandfather's summons as a means of escape from the monotony

"So Grandfather. What did you call me for? You want me to tail someone or something?

Rachel felt her curiosity rising as her Grandfather sat behind the desk.

"Not quite..I actually have three tasks for you to complete. All of them will take some time to complete so I have already passed your resignation letter to your superiors here."

Rachel's eyes widened in surprise. What kind of task could require such a long time that made even her Grandfather seem on edge.

"Your first task is to ensure the safety of that boy that was discharged today. He is under the protection of the Gattioni Family but the Samaels have grown restless and will be willing to do almost anything to get that boy in their grasp..."

"Him? What's so special about the boy? You let him keep his accessories. Is he the son of a politician or something?"

Rachels guesses were reasonable but the truth was insane.

"Accessories? That young man had no such thing...

"Hah! Wait... are you saying he doesn't have any accessories? That he actually has real cat ears and a tail?!

Her eyes widened into saucers as her grandfather spoke.

"It has been confirmed to be so, yes..."

"Is he some sort of government experiment? How could this sort of thing happen?"

"The government had no part in this. In fact they are the ones funding the operation I am sending you on."

Rachels gaze flickered a bit as she could feel the hair on the back of her arms rising. If the government was stepping in already, whatever it was couldn't be good.

"Leone Haronyu is not the only one who has changed like this. However his case is the most prominent shift. He has gone from terminally ill to...what you saw".

"Literal Cat Boy. I am very much aware now!"

Rachel struggled not to laugh as she recalled the young man's behaviour. It was all making sense to her.

"So what's the 2nd task? Protecting one Kitty Boy cant be that hard."

It was the Director's turn to chuckle as he flicked something towards Rachel.

Without a change of expression, she casually caught it with a single hand. Glancing at the object, she saw it was a small bundle of photographs.

With an eyebrow perked, she directed her gaze back to her Grandfather.

"What's this? A potential model catalogue? She looks a little young for you though Gramps."

A sigh escaped the man's lips before he growled.

"You little shit! Those are photos taken of the individuals close to the Protection target! The first is Luna Haronyu. Leones only living relative."

"She's cute~"

"She is currently working as a Bodyguard for the only daughter of the Gattioni Family: Liliana Franscesca Gattioni. Luna has garnered the name [Rabbit of Carnage] among certain circles for her brutal and savage combat ability."

Rachel's gaze flickered with disbelief, such a small and cute girl was the rumored Rabbit? That seemed a tad ridiculous.

Barely restraining herself from voicing her doubts, she flipped to the next photo. It was a candid photo of beautiful blonde young lady wearing a pretty dress about to enter a limousine.

'That girl must be loaded. I wonder how much that dress cost? Probably more than what I make in a month as a nurse...wait she kinda looks familiar...'

Her grandfather's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"It's my understanding that you met the Young Miss of the Gattioni Family earlier today."

Rachels eyes shook in disbelief

That pretty green haired girl was the same woman as the one in the picture?

"What happened to her hair? What I saw was a vibrant green! It didn't even look dyed...Wait are you saying she had a change too?"

"That is exactly what I am saying... Yet this change is nothing compared to Leones. Look at the next picture."

With a slight tremor, she flipped to the last photo in the bundle but what she saw caused her to drop the photos altogether.

"What....What?! No. It can't be. That boy....That boy was him?!"

"The one and the same."

"B-but how?"

How could she possibly forget him?

This was the boy she had taken care of for the last week. She had laughed at his jokes even as his body rotted away from an illness that nobody understood.

She couldn't bear it when his condition suddenly nosedived. She had assumed he was dead but now it appeared that she was wrong.