Chapter 1444

<Episode 1444> 1444. Dark Moon

First, I checked the kitchen.

The fridge is untouched, the fryer’s still there. The CCTV was broken.

“There’s nothing to gain from the kitchen. I used up all the chicken anyway, and there are only pre-made sauce packets. If they were guys who studied the sauce, they wouldn’t have done this.”

They must’ve tried to guess the recipe from the ingredients used. But in this kitchen, all I do is fry chicken. Curing the chicken and making the seasoning sauce—all that happens at the factory.

“…Those guys probably figured out about the factory too. So what they’ll target next is…”

The factory.

I sighed while preparing to open the store. My factory in T District is in an industrial zone. The whole area has its own security. Those guys aren’t dumb enough to attack in broad daylight. So we had time until nighttime.

“I need to run the store first.”

I glanced outside the kitchen.

Customers were already lining up in front of the store, eager to taste Korean chicken.

8 PM.

Having finished work early, I headed not home but to the factory in T District.

The factory was dark, with no one around. Employees leave by 5 PM.

“There’s no need to fully operate the factory right now.”

If franchise stores increase, the factory might need to run 24/7. When that happens, I’ll need to hire more staff.

“I should look into other factories too.”

By then, it probably won’t be a chicken factory anymore. Even though it’s called Yuria Chicken, I don’t intend to sell just chicken forever. Chicken has clear limitations.

“Centering on chicken, I’ll expand into other fields.”

I plan to sell different foods.

“As long as people exist, food will always sell. There’s no one who doesn’t eat.”

I entered the office inside the empty factory and sat on a chair to wait, leaving the lights off intentionally.

An hour passed.

“Came too early, huh? Thinking about it, midnight would be more convenient for them to move.”

Even after midnight passed into 1 AM, no intruders showed up.

“Even past midnight, they haven’t come? They seem cautious.”

2 AM.

I started thinking they might not come at all.

“From the start, there wasn’t solid proof they’d come. It was just my assumption… feels disappointing. I have to go to the store during the day… Should I head back and sleep now?”

Just as I stood up, the pocket watch-style communicator in my pocket vibrated. It was a message from Yuria.

“Yuria, I’m coming back now.”

-Yes, Master. I’ll prepare so you can bathe immediately upon arrival. And… we’ve captured an uninvited guest.

Eugene’s empty house.

Yuria continued studying quietly while waiting for Eugene’s return.

Her method of study was reading and observing. This world was even more technologically advanced than Eugene’s, including the internet, which made it easy to research most things online.

She began acquiring knowledge of this world. Just skimming through gave her enough information.


Her memory isn’t perfect… but she’s the type who doesn’t forget most things after seeing them once. First, acquire knowledge, then using that knowledge can come later.

What caught her careful attention was magic. The magical system of this world differed from that of her own world. It was so different it even felt refreshing. For her, who had reached the level of a Grand Arc Mage, it was a refreshing stimulus.

“The basic magical knowledge can be considered covered by the course fees… but alas, there is no high-level knowledge here.”

She quickly shook off the feeling of regret. If one could obtain high-level magical knowledge through the internet, that would be stranger still. After all, magical knowledge itself is a treasure that cannot be exchanged for anything.

“It’s disappointing that I can’t use magic in this world.”

Magic unusable. That was one of the penalties she possessed in this world.

At first, she thought nothing of it. But it didn’t take long for her thoughts to change.

“It was inconvenient.”

It was a matter of efficiency and convenience. If she had magic, she could have quickly handled tasks that now required her to move her body manually. It felt like losing an arm, a loss of efficiency.

So Yuria thought:

“If I can’t use magic…”

Then she should use a similar kind of power. Fortunately, this world had quite a few such powers. Most notably, psychic abilities.

It’s widely known that most psychic abilities awaken naturally and cannot be cultivated artificially. However, she somehow felt it might be possible.

“Lord could use lightning even though it wasn’t magic, and he could wield lightning without the martial art ‘Thunder Flow’…”

She had observed Eugene closely for a long time. To her, the way Eugene used lightning didn’t follow the paths of either magic or martial arts.

A power manifested by will alone.

It was closer to the authority used by demons in the [Bak Hwan] world. Of course, not entirely identical.

“Lord’s perfect recovery follows a different path, so it’s impossible to replicate…”

But perhaps she could mimic Eugene’s lightning. This idea was only possible because she had transcended into a higher realm.

“…”

She rose from her seat.

When Yuria entered this world, she didn’t just gain penalties.

In exchange for losing her ability to use magic, she gained sharp senses. Her already exceptional senses surpassed their limits, creating a new form of perception. It’s commonly called the sixth sense, but Yuria simply referred to it as intuition.

Since it was such an unfamiliar sensation, even she hadn’t fully mastered it yet. Her intuition was telling her something—enemies were approaching.

“How dare they…”

She controlled her surging anger with cold rationality. Her brilliant mind swiftly calculated the situation and deduced the enemies’ intentions. They were likely after the recipe for fried chicken. Eugene had anticipated they would target the factory, but they came to his house instead. Did they think the recipe would be at home? No, they planned to kidnap Eugene and force him to reveal the recipe. It was faster and more certain that way.

This was an idea they could entertain because they didn’t know Eugene was a 5th-grade magician.

“This is unforgivable.”

She wouldn’t kill them.

There was too much to learn. And death was too merciful a treatment.

She checked the daggers strapped to her thighs and stepped outside the house. She didn’t want them invading the home she shared with Eugene.

As soon as she stepped out, three men approached. They wore masks and carried guns and knives. They tensed up upon seeing Yuria. There was one reason for that.

“A maid…?”

“Damn. He hired a maid?”

“Hearing he made a lot of money from chicken… seems it’s true.”

In Neo-London, the status of butlers and maids was tremendous. Whether in combat or administration, butlers and maids excelled in everything.

“What shou…”


“Are you going to do it?”

“Charge? We’re three, so there’s a chance, right? This isn’t the Upper District, and the maid hired by the S District probably isn’t that skilled.”

“No, we’re retreating. Even if she’s employed by an S District resident, she’s still just a maid. Moreover, I can’t sense anything from her. It’s questionable whether she’s even alive.”

Even though she was right in front of them, there was no presence.

If she hadn’t been standing blatantly in front of the house, they wouldn’t have noticed her at all.

They slowly backed away from the silver-haired maid.

“How rude. You come here uninvited, and now you plan to leave as you please? Even unwelcome guests are guests. Allow me to attend to you as a maid.”

“Miss, we have urgent business…”

The man pulled out a smoke bomb from his waist and threw it on the ground. Smoke quickly rose, obscuring everything.

“Scatter!”

The men ran off in different directions.

Yuria closed her eyes. She didn’t listen to any sounds. She ignored the subtle vibrations she felt through her skin. Relying solely on her new intuition gained in this world, she threw daggers attached to her thighs.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Aaaagh!”

“Guh!”

“Ugh…”

The daggers flew and hit their targets. They accurately struck the spine in the intended spot. With their nerves likely damaged, they wouldn’t be able to move for a while. However, Yuria frowned at the dagger she threw to the right. There was a mistake. The dagger thrown to the right didn’t hit the desired area. As a result, he didn’t fall to the ground and retaliated.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets flew through the smoke, aimed precisely at Yuria’s head and heart. The opponent also possessed extraordinary skill.

‘The direction of the bullets is clear.’

She lightly took a single step to the side. She had sensed it before the trigger was even pulled. Was it really possible to achieve such heightened senses? Even Yuria found it absurd.

‘…It might be related to the power of time I understood when facing the president of Pantheum last time.’

She opened her eyes. Due to the thick smoke, she couldn’t see anything. She continued walking forward.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets rained down. However, they didn’t even graze her collar. She moved gracefully, always staying one step ahead of the bullets.

Click click.

Out of ammunition, the enemy threw the empty pistol at Yuria. Of course, it didn’t reach her. The smoke began to dissipate. Yuria could see the sweating opponent. He drew a knife from his waist.

“You dodged bullets in the smoke? What kind of ridiculous monster are you? Even a warrior ranked 4th or higher can’t avoid unseen bullets… Why is someone with your skills in the S district?”

“Because I’m a maid. Wherever my master is, there I am.”

“You sure take your job seriously!”

The man charged with his knife. His movement was fast. Still, to Yuria’s eyes, everything was visible.

Just as the blade was about to reach her neck, Yuria raised a dagger and blocked the attack. She frowned slightly, as if something wasn’t to her liking.

‘My intuition isn’t activating. Troublesome.’

Of course, that didn’t mean she couldn’t handle the enemy in front of her. She kicked his calf with her boot-clad foot. Losing balance for a moment, she circled behind him and stabbed his spine with her dagger. He collapsed, unable to move.

“You’ve been paralyzed, but modern medicine is advanced, so treatment shouldn’t cause major issues. If anything, they can replace your spine with a mechanical one.”

“…You crazy bitch. So during the fight, you aimed for the spine with your dagger to sever the nerves… What the hell are you?”

“It’s late at night. It would inconvenience the neighbors, so please keep quiet.”

Yuria grabbed their arms and dragged them into the basement.