Chapter 412: Samurai Honor Meets Harem Vengeance

Serina leaned slightly closer to the counter, her gentle smile remaining unchanged. "Oh? In that case, would you care to tell us who that other client was?"

The middle-aged man smiled knowingly. "Of course, honored guest. That information is certainly available."

However, instead of answering immediately, he raised one hand and casually rubbed his fingers together, making his intentions painfully obvious.

Cynthia stared at his gesture before calmly raising an eyebrow. "You want more money."

The man coughed politely, showing absolutely no embarrassment. "Ahem! Information concerning another client’s identity is naturally more expensive. I’m sure two distinguished ladies like yourselves understand that."

Serina chuckled softly, seemingly amused by his shameless business practices. "Fufu, of course. That sounds perfectly reasonable."

Without the slightest hesitation, she casually placed another pouch filled with spirit stones onto the wooden counter.

The man’s eyes immediately brightened upon sensing the contents. "Wonderful! It’s truly a pleasure doing business with such generous customers!"

He quickly collected the pouch before leaning forward and lowering his voice. "Well then, honored guests, the client who commissioned that investigation was someone from the Kurogane Samurai Guild."

Hearing the name, Serina and Cynthia’s smiles faded slightly.

After all, they were already quite familiar with that particular faction, having encountered its troublesome members at Haruto’s inn only recently.

The middle-aged man continued, completely unaware of their connection to the incident. "More specifically, one of their higher-ranking members, a man named Masaru, recently encountered the foreigner you’re looking for."

Serina almost laughed upon hearing the familiar name, but she maintained her elegant composure and continued listening.

The man shook his head before adding, "Apparently, Lord Masaru suffered a rather humiliating experience at the hands of one of the women accompanying that foreigner."

Hearing this, Serina and Cynthia immediately understood why their group had suddenly attracted the attention of these mysterious ninjas.

The middle-aged man continued explaining, "From what I’ve heard, Masaru and several other Nascent Soul samurai attempted to pressure the group, only to retreat after discovering that one of the women was far stronger than they had anticipated."

He shrugged casually before adding, "Normally, retreating from a stronger opponent would simply be considered common sense. After all, there’s no reason to throw away your life over a minor disagreement."

However, his expression gradually became more serious. "But the Kurogane Samurai Guild isn’t like most other factions."

Serina raised an eyebrow with genuine curiosity. "Oh? What makes them so different?"

The man leaned forward slightly before explaining, "Their entire reputation is built around the traditional ideals of samurai. Honor, courage, loyalty, and reputation are considered the very foundations of their organization."

He tapped the wooden counter once for emphasis. "To those people, such things are worth more than life itself. Losing a battle is one thing, but publicly humiliating an important member of their guild is an entirely different matter."

Cynthia frowned slightly, immediately understanding the implications. "I see. So Masaru’s retreat was considered a humiliation that damaged the guild’s reputation."

The middle-aged man nodded firmly. "Exactly! And because of that, they decided that such humiliation couldn’t simply be ignored."

He lowered his voice once again before continuing, "Naturally, they wanted to erase that humiliation, so they approached our organization and requested information about the foreigner and the women accompanying him."

Hearing this, Serina and Cynthia exchanged another knowing glance. By now, the entire situation had become perfectly clear.

The mysterious figures following Damian’s group weren’t acting randomly.

They had been hired by the Kurogane Samurai Guild because Masaru couldn’t swallow the humiliation he had suffered at Haruto’s inn.

Serina gently covered her mouth, suppressing an amused chuckle.

Cynthia, meanwhile, calmly adjusted her sleeves, her expression showing a hint of disappointment.

After all, she had initially suspected that some mysterious faction might be targeting Damian for a far more complicated reason.

Yet the truth turned out to be something as simple as an arrogant man’s wounded pride.

Serina and Cynthia remained silent for a moment, neither immediately responding to the middle-aged man’s explanation.

Instead, Serina maintained her gentle smile while silently activating their private communication technique.

[Mind Talk]

[Serina: Girls, we’ve discovered who’s responsible for sending those ninjas after us.]

[Miona: WHAT?! WHO?! Tell me, Sis! I’m going to beat the crap out of them!]

[Cynthia: Apparently, it’s the Kurogane Samurai Guild. More specifically, that man named Masaru whom we encountered at the hot spring inn.]

[Helena: Seriously? That idiot again?]

[Linsey: Hahaha! Wait, you mean the samurai who ran away after Miona scared him?]

[Miona: THAT BASTARD?! He actually dared to send assassins after us?!]

[Serina: Fufu, calm down, Miona. Apparently, his retreat was considered a humiliation, so he hired Yamikarasu to investigate us.]

[Cassandra: Hehehe! Oh, how wonderful! So that little samurai bastard actually wants revenge? Should I go find him and rip his head off?]

[Cynthia: Cassandra, please refrain from doing that for now. We’re still gathering information.]

[Cassandra: Aww... You’re all so boring today!]

[Helena: I’m more annoyed that those ninjas killed themselves over such a stupid reason.]

[Linsey: Yeah! We didn’t even get to finish playing with them!]

[Evelyn: Idiots.]

[Miona: Exactly! All of this because that coward couldn’t accept losing face?! Goddamn it!]

Serina almost chuckled aloud at her younger sister’s furious response, but she maintained her composure.

[Serina: Now then, what do you girls think we should do about this?]

[Cynthia: I suggest gathering more information about the guild’s intentions before deciding anything.]

[Helena: Agreed. No point rushing into another pointless fight.]

[Miona: Hmph! I vote we beat them up first and ask questions later!]

[Linsey: Hehe! I vote for Miona’s plan!]

[Cassandra: Ohhh! Finally, someone has a good idea! I vote for killing them all!]

[Cynthia: That would make questioning them considerably more difficult.]

[Evelyn: Obviously.]

[Serina: Fufu, how about we investigate first? If they intend to continue threatening our family, we can deal with them afterward.]

[Miona: What else is there to investigate, Sis?! Those bastards were clearly planning to kill us from the beginning! Let’s just kill them first!]

[Cassandra: Hehehe! Exactly! Why wait for them to attack again? Let’s wipe out their entire guild!]

[Helena: Honestly, they did bring this upon themselves.]

[Serina: Fufu, calm down, everyone. I understand your anger, but this isn’t the place to act recklessly.]

[Miona: Tch! Then what do you suggest, Sis?]

[Serina: I’ll gather more information about the Kurogane Samurai Guild first. Once we understand their situation, we can decide what to do. Alright?]

[Miona: ...Fine, Sis.]