Crazy Awakening: My luck can copy Talents.

"—His daughter. Marina Ríos. Twenty-four years old. Disappeared on January nineteenth."

The entire hall fell silent.

Adrián went very still.

The name had fallen like a stone into very dark water. Marina Ríos. Marina. Marina Ríos, twenty-four, January 19, 2023. One of the five cases Sariel and he had cross-referenced in the library. One of the five new moon cases.

He felt Ishtar tense beside him as well. She knew the information. Rhea had told her.

Rhea, at the head of the table, was looking at Adrián with a completely neutral expression. But her golden eyes — Adrián noticed now that he was starting to read her better — had a glint he hadn’t seen before. Something that looked like: I know exactly which parchment I pulled. It wasn’t a coincidence.

"The contract states," Rhea continued, in a clear voice, "that Nikolás Ríos has invoked our house after three years of unsuccessful searches. The police closed the case. Private investigators found nothing. He specifically asked for ’any entity that can find the truth. No matter the price. No matter the nature. Just the truth.’"

Silence.

"Do you accept the contract, Adrián?"

Adrián breathed.

He could feel every gaze in the hall on him.

Kael, with contempt and curiosity. Lira, with a serene smile that now had a component of real interest. Silvano, with concentrated attention. The other twelve, with neutral evaluation.

Rhea, with that expression of "I know what I’m doing, and I know what you’re thinking, and that’s why I pulled that parchment."

"Yes," said Adrián, without hesitation. "I accept."

Rhea smiled very slightly.

"Perfect."

She rolled up the parchment. Passed it across the table to him. Adrián took it. The parchment was warm to the touch, and it vibrated very faintly, as if it had its own heartbeat.

"The contact instructions are inside," said Rhea. "Ishtar will accompany you as an observer, per protocol. She can’t intervene in your execution of the contract. She can only report. If something goes wrong, you shout and she acts. But preferably don’t shout. New reincarnates who shout on their first contract have short lifespans in this house."

"Understood."

"Kael."

Kael looked up.

"Yes, mistress?"

"You’re going to accompany them as silent backup. From a distance. Out of sight."

Kael frowned.

"Why me?"

"Because the neighborhood where the contract is being executed is a border zone with the Fallen. And if the human called about his daughter who was a new moon victim, there’s a non-zero probability that the Fallen have been watching that address since then. I need muscle in case things get ugly. Non-negotiable."

Kael clenched his jaw.

"...understood, mistress."

"Excellent. The three of you leave at eleven tonight. Vega, you have four hours to rest, eat, and prepare yourself mentally. Ishtar will instruct you on the formal procedures of the contract during dinner."

Rhea stood up.

"Sessions adjourned. Everyone may withdraw."

The fifteen members of the entourage began to rise. Chairs scraping. Low conversations. Some leaving through the main door, others through a side door.

Adrián remained seated, the parchment in his hand, staring at it without seeing it.

Marina Ríos.

One of the five cases.

Rhea had assigned him, on his first contract, a case directly connected to Elena’s disappearance. It wasn’t a coincidence. Rhea knew what she was doing. Rhea knew everything.

"Darling~"

The melodious voice arrived directly next to his left ear. Adrián jumped slightly.

Lira Vex had approached without making a single sound of heels on marble, and was now leaning toward him from her seat, chin resting on the palm of her hand, very close.

Very, very close.

Adrián could smell her perfume — jasmine and something darker — and could see, with a clarity his brain hadn’t asked for, exactly how much thigh the kimono’s slit revealed from this angle.

"..."

"Ufufu~ I’m talking to you, darling."

"Sorry. I was distracted."

"I noticed. Very distracted. With the parchment. Nervous about your first contract?"

"More about your legs but also that a little."

"Oh, don’t be. It’s a very simple exercise. You find the human, listen to their request, negotiate payment, execute. Any lesser familiar could do it. You with your card might take a bit longer because The Fool isn’t exactly the arcana of efficiency, but you’ll get there."

"...thanks."

Lira tilted her head.

Her serene smile widened a little.

"Darling."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a personal question? Pure curiosity. No trick."

Adrián hesitated.

"Okay."

"Do you have any human girl in your life who matters to you?"

Silence.

Adrián went very still.

Lira looked at him. With that sweet smile. With those very still violet eyes. Without blinking.

"That’s a strange question," Adrián said carefully.

"It’s a very useful question."

"For who?"

"For me. Personality research. New reincarnates fall into two categories: those who cut ties with their human life immediately and those who try to maintain it. The former tend to be more efficient in their first year. The latter tend to be more interesting. I’m trying to classify you before I invest emotional energy into annoying you."

"..."

"You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to."

Adrián thought for two seconds.

Then decided that answering was less dangerous than not answering, because not answering would confirm exactly what she was trying to find out.

"Yeah," he said. "I have a human friend who matters to me. From childhood. It’s not romantic. Her name is Yuki."

"Yuki," Lira repeated, rolling the word in her mouth as if tasting it. "What a pretty name. And do you tell her things?"

"No."

"Are you going to tell her?"

"No."

"Oh, darling. Tragic lovers and kept secrets. I love stories like that."

"We’re not lovers."

"Not yet."

"Never."

Lira tilted her head again. The serene smile held, but something behind the violet eyes shifted — an imperceptible calibration, as if she were filing information away in a specific folder for later use.

"As you say, darling."

She straightened up. Moved away from Adrián’s ear. Gave him a very small tap on the shoulder with two fingers, with studied casualness.

"Good luck with your contract tonight. And take care of yourself. The border zone with the Fallen is dangerous, even if Rhea isn’t telling you in so many words."

She walked away with her usual fluidity.

And Adrián, still sitting with the parchment in his hand, felt for the first time all night that Lira Vex was probably much more dangerous than Kael. Kael was a hammer. Lira was something finer. Something you didn’t see coming until it was already inside.

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