Chapter 97: An Unexpected Problem

After breakfast, Lucian returned to his room.

He sat down near the window and began thinking about his next steps. Establishing a mercenary squad was not particularly difficult. As long as he met the basic requirements, he could register Shadow Genesis at the Mercenary Guild.

The real question was how he should handle the registration.

He could go there himself, but that would mean exposing his identity to people he didn’t know. Although he didn’t mind dealing with others when necessary, there was no reason to attract unnecessary attention at this stage.

After all, he had a much more convenient option.

His Shadow Soldiers.

Lucian had thousands of them, and each one could act independently to a certain extent. Sending one of them to the Mercenary Guild was a simple solution. He could remain at Sterling Manor while his Shadow Soldier handled the registration.

It was efficient, convenient, and wouldn’t require him to show his face.

What’s more, there was no need for him to waste time traveling to the guild himself.

Having settled on the idea, Lucian was just about to put his plan into action when the door to his room suddenly opened.

Evelyn walked inside.

“Lucian, when are we going to the Mercenary Guild?”

She asked the question casually as she entered the room.

However, Lucian didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he simply looked at her.

Evelyn stopped and stared back at him. After waiting for a few seconds, she frowned.

“What happened?”

Lucian continued looking at her for another moment before finally speaking.

“Nothing happened. Why?”

“Then why are you looking at me like that? I asked you a question. When are we going?”

Lucian shrugged.

“I’m not going.”

Evelyn blinked.

“What?”

“I’m not going to the Mercenary Guild,” Lucian repeated in the same casual tone. “I’ll send one of my Shadow Soldiers instead.”

For him, this was the most reasonable arrangement.

There was no need to make things complicated when he already had a way to handle the task without leaving his room. His Shadow Soldier could go to the guild, complete the registration process, and return once everything was done.

At least, that was how Lucian saw it.

Evelyn, on the other hand, stared at him as if he had suddenly started speaking nonsense.

A moment later, she raised her hand and pressed it against her forehead.

“You idiot!”

Lucian raised an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong with that plan?”

“What’s wrong with it?” Evelyn repeated, looking at him in disbelief. “Have you even thought this through?”

“Of course I have.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Evelyn took a deep breath, apparently trying to control her irritation.

“Then let me ask you something. Does your Shadow Soldier have any identification documents?”

Lucian paused.

Evelyn immediately noticed his reaction.

“That’s what I thought.”

She folded her arms and continued, “You can’t just walk into the Mercenary Guild and register without proving who you are. They may ask for identification documents. More importantly, you might have to prove that you’re a citizen of the Earth Federation.”

Lucian remained silent.

Evelyn looked at him as though she couldn’t believe she had to explain something so basic.

“Your Shadow Soldier doesn’t have any of those documents, does it?”

“No,” Lucian replied.

“Then how exactly do you expect it to register?”

Lucian didn’t answer.

For the first time since coming up with the plan, he began to consider the problem from Evelyn’s perspective.

Until now, he had focused entirely on the advantages of sending a Shadow Soldier.

It could move on its own accord, obey his orders, and perform mundane duties without needing his direct input. But more than that, it would allow him to keep his real identity hidden from the people at the Mercenary Guild.

From that standpoint, the plan was practically perfect.

Unfortunately, however, he had missed a slight detail.

Registration as an official squad didn’t just require showing up and announcing that they wanted to open a mercenary squad.

There were certain rules and regulations to follow.

Rules that may require documents.

Lucian looked at Evelyn.

“Can’t the guild just register the squad without inquiring too much?”

Evelyn looked at Lucian as if he grew another head. “Are you out of your mind?”

“What?”

“Lucian, this is the Mercenary Guild! Not some shoddy shop where you can just stroll in, buy something and leave! They are dealing with mercenaries, people who take jobs, slay beasts, and explore forbidden places! Of course they will have to check peoples’ identities!”

She sighed, then continued. “And even if they don’t, what will the poor squad do when a mission requiring identification comes up?”

Lucian scratched his chin.

That was quite a dilemma.

Even if his Shadow Soldier could sneak into the Mercenary Guild and complete the paperwork, the guild may require their soldiers to identify themselves at some point when Shadow Genesis begins operations.

Lucian couldn’t afford to get caught due to red tape and bureaucracy.

Evelyn watched as Lucian deep in thought and then shook her head.

“I can’t believe you actually forgot about that.”

Lucian ignored Evelyn’s remark and leaned back on his chair and contemplated her words.

He had an army of soldiers at his command, all of them fearsome warriors with great potential. They could do a myriad of things, jobs that would be troublesome for him to complete on his own. Jobs that commoners would fear to take on, he could deliver them without breaking a sweat.

Yet, they were no good to him if they couldn’t even get a registration from the guild because they lack documents.

A Shadow Soldier may look human, but looks can be deciving. While they may look like common soldiers, they don’t have the papers to prove it.

Lucian was so focused on not getting caught because of his Shadow Soldiers that he forgot an important detail, that the soldiers themselves aren’t legal in the eyes of the law.

Evelyn noticed the look on Lucian’s face and smirked.

“At last you come to your senses?”

Lucian glanced at Evelyn. “Yes, yes. You don’t have to rub it in.”

“Then maybe think things through before you act like that.”

“I did think things through!”

“Obviously not.”

Lucian fell silent. He couldn’t really refute Evelyn’s point.

It was quite embarrassing, actually. He had thought of such a convenient plan, yet it was foiled because of a simple oversight. And now he had no idea how he was going to solve this new problem of his creation. It was the worst timing, really.

Lucian stared at the ceiling, trying to think of a way out of this. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this problem was quite a big one. He needed to find a way for his soldiers to identify themselves somehow. Without them being recognized, his plan to get a registration from the guild could spectacularly fail before even beginning.

And to compound it all, he had no desire to reveal himself because of such a minor setback.