Chapter 336: Naming the Maid Girl

Solomon meticulously verified all the news reports he had just read and watched. He checked multiple independent news channels, Awakened forums, and local press releases.

It was all real.

But it felt so incredibly unreal.

It was absolutely not a coincidence, and Solomon was painfully aware of it. But the concrete proof, the video footage, and the forensic evidence all said otherwise. Every single one of their deaths appeared completely natural, accidental, or the result of an unrelated third-party tragedy.

It didn’t make any logical sense, and Solomon simply couldn’t comprehend how it was executed so flawlessly.

There was only one possible explanation. It was Balzac. Without a shadow of a doubt, it was the professor’s doing.

’But how could such a massive, synchronized feat even be possible without leaving a single trace of magical interference?’ Solomon wondered, pacing his bedroom.

He wanted answers. He desperately wanted to storm out of the house, hunt Balzac down in the city, and demand to know exactly how he pulled it off.

He waited for Balzac to return, but even after a few hours passed, the professor didn’t show up.

Restless, Solomon decided to leave the house with Jasmine and Barbaros. He walked them down to the commercial district. They ate a late lunch at his parents’ diner, and then Solomon promised to take Jasmine shopping to replace the clothes he had stolen. Jasmine, however, insisted that she wanted to go to a shopping mall in the city center instead of the local boutiques.

Solomon didn’t have anything else to do, and he wanted to head into the city anyway to check on the clerk, so he agreed.

They took a quick detour, stopping by Paul’s apartment first. Solomon rang the doorbell. Paul opened the door cautiously, peeking through the crack. When he confirmed it was Solomon, he let out a sigh of relief and opened the door fully.

Immediately, the maid girl stepped out from the apartment and stood dutifully in front of Solomon and Jasmine.

Jasmine noticed the clothes the maid girl was wearing. She pointed a trembling finger at the girl in absolute shock, then slowly turned her head to stare at Solomon.

"Those are my clothes!" Jasmine accused loudly.

Solomon nodded deeply, offering a shameless smile. "Yes, they are yours. I gave them to her because she was in desperate need of something to wear."

"What about my other new outfits?!" Jasmine demanded.

"I gave those to her as well, but they got a little dirty during an incident, so I had to get rid of them," Solomon explained casually. "Which is exactly why I am taking you shopping right now."

Jasmine puckered her lips and crossed her arms. "I want ten new pairs of clothes in return."

Solomon chuckled. "Sure, why not? I literally have nowhere else to spend all this money anyway."

Solomon turned his attention to Paul. "Have you prepared everything I asked for?"

Paul nodded nervously. "There is still some paperwork left to finalize and a few corporate accounts to structure, but it will all be done by this evening."

With the business update settled, Solomon took Barbaros, Jasmine, and the maid girl to a nearby, sprawling multi-purpose mall. The massive complex featured everything from popular food chains and luxury theaters to high-end clothing stores and magical artifact boutiques.

Although the maid girl now technically understood the purpose of modern items and how basic technology worked thanks to the educational videos, experiencing it all in person still felt completely surreal to her.

Solomon thoroughly enjoyed watching her subtle reactions whenever she grew curious and timidly tried interacting with the automatic sliding doors or the escalators.

Jasmine and the maid girl seemed to be roughly the same physical age, with only a slight height difference between them, even though the maid girl was technically several centuries old.

While they were walking past a clothing display, Jasmine turned to her. "What is your name?"

The maid girl did not answer. Instead, she turned her head and looked directly at Solomon, silently waiting for him to provide her name.

Solomon paused. ’I do not know your name,’ he realized. He looked at her. "Did you have a name before you were placed in the dungeon?"

She shook her head slightly. "I was given to the giants as a sacrificial slave when I was a child. I was raised by the older maids in the sanctuary."

"What did they call you, then?" Solomon asked curiously.

"I was referred to as ’The Slave’," she responded, her tone entirely emotionless.

Solomon frowned. "Do you have any name you want to be called now?"

She shook her head again. "I want you to name me."

Solomon mentally cursed himself. ’I absolutely suck at naming things. I am probably going to fuck this up and give her something ridiculous,’ he thought. He pondered the request for a long while, staring at the ceiling of the mall. Finally, an idea struck him.

"How about Iris?" Solomon suggested.

She nodded slowly, testing the sound of the word on her lips. "Iris. I like it."

With the naming ceremony concluded, the shopping spree officially began. Solomon handed Jasmine his black academy bank card. "Take Iris with you. Buy her anything she wants or needs, and get yourself whatever you want too. Get all the necessary girl stuff, also"

While the two girls disappeared into the clothing store, Solomon sat down on a nearby wooden bench with Barbaros resting at his feet. He glanced around the bustling mall, watching people walk in and out of stores, laughing, eating, and chatting.

It felt incredibly strange to be surrounded by such mundane peace after the chaos of the last few days.

He glanced at the people sitting on the benches around him. Most of them were busy scrolling on their smartphones. The man sitting directly next to him was watching a live local news broadcast on his tablet.

Solomon casually leaned over to listen.

...In breaking news regarding the tragic structural collapse at the BlueYorker’s Shield blast site," the news anchor reported grimly. "Chief Kurt, who was the next in line to become the City Commissioner, has been formally relieved of his active duties following his severe injuries. Deputy Chief Valerina will be officially appointed as the new City Commissioner following the end-of-service retirement of Commissioner Vane later this evening."

The anchor paused, shuffling his papers. "Medical officials have confirmed that while Chief Kurt is now in stable condition and recovering, the severe crushing trauma he sustained during the collapse resulted in the amputation of both his arms and his legs."

Solomon scowled, a dark satisfaction settling in his chest. ’He survived, but he is a permanent cripple who lost his entire career. He cannot even move without someone’s help now. A fitting punishment.’