In a poorly lit office, a small portal appeared a meter or so away from a large, sturdy wooden desk. The candles flickered as the portal grew larger and larger; the person behind the desk slowly walked up to it, the edge of her daggers glistened from a mixture of fire and water.

Steam rose off the daggers, forming a small cloud above where a person’s head ought to be upon exiting the portal. The woman’s figure blended into the darkness of the room, obscuring her presence lest her opponent could see through her small cloud of smoke.

When the portal stopped growing, a man emerged from within, ducking under her arm that held the dagger close to where his throat was supposed to be. “Sheesh Natasha. I didn’t know we ended on that bad of a note a few weeks ago.” Cain teased her as he walked past her stunned face, approaching her desk.

“Oh… It’s just you.” Natasha mumbled as she sheathed her daggers and dispersed the steam. Cain noted her unusual reaction as he made a platform magic circle from him to sit on. “So, what brings you here?” Natasha asked as she took her seat back on her desk, across from Cain.

“I just came to get an update on everything that happened within the capital while I was gone.” Cain noticed her scrutinizing gaze, tracing it to where the portal used to be using his Mana Zone. Is she trying to figure out how I dodged her surprise attack..? Cain vocalized for Rex, yet continued to ignore his pleas in the group chat.

“Can’t you use your own information network to find out?” Natasha let out an exasperated sigh, having to deal with Cain’s antics on top of her current workload pushed her close to the brink.

“Nah, I’m too lazy. I’ll make it worth it though.” Cain responded, noticing her soft sigh. “You’ll give me information?” Natasha looked up at Cain while rubbing her shoulder and neck. “Nope, I’ll give you a neck massage and some other things.” Cain approached Natasha cautiously, using her confusion to move behind her swiftly.

“Huh…?” Natasha’s right hand hovered her dagger as Cain walked behind her, his hands sliding along her shoulders. Cain’s thumbs slid firmly along the base of her neck, maneuvering around her lower vertebrae while his other fingers kneaded the muscles that stretched from the neck to the shoulder.

“Oh… That’s the spot. Nope… Yeah, right there.” Natasha’s hand relaxed as Cain’s massage relieved her tension greatly. “You should try working in a brighter environment or else your eyesight will deteriorate.” Cain spoke as lightbulbs attached to magic circles spread across the room.

The magic circles froze their coordinates while converting the ambient mana into electricity for the bulbs. Magic circles in the form of a slider and a power button formed next to Natasha’s left hand that flopped onto the desk during the massage.

“Use the slider to control the brightness, the button next to it turns them on and off.” Cain demonstrated his words, leaning over Natasha to do so. Natasha’s left hand approached Cain’s while he adjusted the brightness of the room; her movements caught his eye and retreated his hand quickly, leaving the slider 3/4ths at max height. The room lit up slowly until the towering stacks of paper shielded stretching shadows.

“If your feelings were genuine, I would have considered it.” Cain coldly stated as Natasha curled her hand in rejection. Her usual cold demeanour replaced the gentle and soft one she laid before Cain. He continued the massage as Natasha grabbed a few documents.

“There’s been a stir in the fashion community recently. Apparently someone made some sort of glasses that look pretty cool, but you can’t see anything through them. The meat prices have skyrocketed recently due to the Shadowtrap family buying out all of the unaffiliated butchers.

“It hasn’t affected any nobles yet, but it’s causing quite the stir amongst the commoners. Some common vegetables and fruits are also increasing slowly. There’s been an increase in the flow of adventurers recently to the point restaurants, taverns, and inns are having a hard time accommodating them.

“Restaurants especially. They’ve been running out of stock on food almost everyday, at this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if the commoners were driven into a famine.” Natasha stopped for a moment to catch her breath while switching the papers in her hands.

Hmm… looks like that line is closer than I thought. Guess I’d need to be more active in monitoring the situation to prevent a rebellion. Cain’s remarks drove the confused Rex into a fury within the group chat, but he still went ignored as Cain focused on the massage and parsing the information he received.

“The Shadowtrap’s young master, Hunter, went into a deep sleep recently. Before he did so, reports came in that he acted insane, paranoid, and often talked to himself. Some housekeepers reported he didn’t recognize his own family for a few days too.” Natasha skimmed through the rest of the documents, separating the important from the miscellaneous.

Weird… He wasn’t supposed to go into a deep sleep though? Maybe it was a self defense mechanism…

Looks like he had schizophrenia, paranoia, and that one mental illness that made you unable to recognize people’s faces. Hah… forgot the name but meh. Cain slowed his massage to a stop as Natasha set aside the rest of the documents, unable to find anything of relevance.

“Any rumors about dragons?” Cain asked as he walked in front of Natasha’s desk, preparing a portal to his side while dispersing the platform he used a chair for a hot minute. “Nope. Will your… payment… really be enough? The value of this information is quite high.” Natasha’s eyes wandered around the room as she played with the slider.

“Yep. It’s more of a long term thing. If you still think it’s not worth it after a month then I’ll answer some of your questions.” Natasha rested her chin on her folded hands, her elbows pressing into the desk. “I’ll settle for that.” She muttered, a sigh illuminating the stacks of papers on her desk as she glanced over them.

Cain entered the portal the moment Natasha grabbed her quill and started working to avoid being called back if she remembered something.