Ariel, struggling to move her legs, climbed the stairs. She hadn't slept for almost a week already. Guild matters, preparation for the Ritual - this was all routine, but when dungeon expeditions were added on top of that...

The girl hadn't expected that clearing dungeons would be so difficult for her. She had heard stories from others but imagined the work to be less arduous. Not only were many of the spells in her arsenal unsuitable for fighting in confined spaces - she could have managed with that - but there was also another, rather unexpected challenge for the former scientist. As it turned out, she was a rather mediocre field commander. Leading a guild was one thing, but as experience showed, leading a squad in battle was something else entirely. Something completely different...

On top of this additional burden came the excessive curiosity of the authorities, guilds, and other organizations. The rapid development of Ainuminati had attracted the attention of many. If she hadn't recruited only earthlings into the guild, then, most likely, every third member of Ainuminati would have been someone's spy. But even so, she suspected that many of the service staff and mercenaries hired for various tasks were leaking information about her projects. Of course, she had taken certain measures, but they were clearly insufficient. She realized this when a new paper mill opened in the capital of the kingdom, almost completely copying her own manufactory.

Industrial espionage was something she could tolerate; she understood the inevitability of such a process and didn't worry too much about it, staying ahead of the game. After all, no matter how curious and persistent the locals were, they couldn't outplay an experienced scientific project administrator simply due to their lack of experience in multi-level intrigues. Perhaps the only ones who could play on this field with her on relatively equal terms were the Great Guilds. But Ariel had preemptively mitigated this threat by entering into a cooperation agreement with them. And then, through a couple of examples, she proved that cooperation would bring the Great Guilds more benefit than stealing her secrets.

Only, industrial espionage was not her main headache. More and more evidence was coming in that her people were being poached. Bribery, blackmail, threats. She wasn't prepared for this. Ariel understood that she currently lacked real power, and if she made a mistake, her guild would simply be devoured. Crushed by force after probing its weak spots. Twice already, only by a lucky coincidence, she managed to save abducted guildmates. But the girl understood that this was just the beginning.

'The guild needs an external intelligence service,' Arien thought for the umpteenth time today. Not a simple guard or counter-espionage unit, but people who would provide information that would allow her to act preemptively.

The problem was that all her people were in plain sight, and even the arriving newcomers immediately became the focus of attention for numerous spies. And she was too busy to engage in any off-the-books recruitment.

It seemed Raven was right, and it was time for the guild to change its location. To move toward Pentapolis, where her Ainuminati would likely be such an insignificant player that it would attract little interest at first. This would give the guild a chance to continue growing. However, what held Arien back from such a decision was the Ritual, the preparations for which were still incomplete. Yes, in recent days, she had managed to make significant progress on the path to the First Wall and even received another Adamantium Achievement. But even with this, she still needed to gather at least another third of the energy necessary for the Core growth. Besides, the problem with the last ingredient had not been resolved.

All searches, orders through merchants, requests to the Great Guilds had not yielded the desired result. No one had the gray nend fur.

And again, her thoughts returned to Raven.

That "lover" really was a tricky one, wasn't he?

'I'm sure you know where to get that damned fur!'

And Ariel had reasons for this conviction. Raven carried himself with too much confidence and independence during their last meeting. He clearly knew some secret. She didn't miss how his expression changed when he learned about the additional condition for carrying out the Ritual, which required the Leader to be of a higher Rank than the other participants. An additional test, when she feigned confusion, pretending not to know about the brush that Magevra used for the Ritual, only convinced Ariel that Raven was hiding something.

The girl was itching to break the binding artifact. She could bet nine out of ten that Raven would show up with the missing ingredient. What stopped Arien from such an act was only the fact that she herself was not yet ready. No, Raven was certainly a cunning bastard, but deceiving him was fraught with consequences. He was clearly the type who doesn't give people a second chance. Deceive him once, and any further cooperation would be out of the question.

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'And he can definitely be useful in the future.' Feeling a warm wave run along her spine, Arien corrected herself: 'Useful, but not in that sense!'

With this thought, the girl entered her room.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, sparks of prepared spells lit up above her palms.

In her armchair, in her favorite armchair, sat a stranger!

She had spent so much time and money on the protection system and was completely confident that only a specialist of at least Diamond rank could slip into her room unnoticed. But her unexpected "guest" clearly didn't reach such a high level. And yet, he somehow managed to get into her room without disturbing a single spell or artifact.

What stopped Arien from an immediate attack was only the fact that the "guest" demonstratively kept his open palms in plain sight.

This "guest" was dressed in something resembling a movie ninja costume. Two short blades lay at his feet, placed in such a way that he couldn't reach them quickly. This was likely also meant to be a demonstration of peaceful intentions.

Without removing the flames from her palms, Arien walked to the windowsill, demonstratively ignoring the "guest." She looked out the window and then, with feigned weariness, leaned against the wall, rudely scrutinizing the visitor.

'Not a local. One of ours.' As she scanned the lean figure sitting in her chair, Arien noted, 'An Arab? No, a half-blood. Half Indian? Ninja attire. An open face, a clear hint at a confidential conversation?'

No, she had never encountered this person before, but she had definitely heard of him.

When the "guest" began to squirm in the chair under her intense gaze, Arien spoke:

"What brings the Gray Ghost of Beziu to visit me?" The head of Ainuminati intentionally emphasized the last words.

"Rahu, my name is Rahu." The "ninja" smiled tensely. "And your security system definitely needs improvement."

"It's not designed for the experience and mindset of earthlings." Arien brushed it off as if it were something insignificant and immediately noticed the twitch in the Gray Ghost's cheek. She had definitely thrown him off balance with her show of indifference.

"I understand that it's impolite." The young man spread his hands as if apologizing.

"Let's not play these games." The girl demonstratively yawned. "Just tell me what you want."

"Um..." And indeed, he was young, Ariel noted. "I want to form an alliance."

"Come tomorrow, I'll review your request," Ariel responded in the voice of a hardened bureaucrat.

"I'm not interested in an alliance with your guild; I'm interested in an alliance with you personally." Something flickered in the young man's eyes, and Arien decided not to argue, graciously nodding her head.

"What kind of alliance?" she asked.

"I help you with your problem, you help me."

"And what is my problem?" Arien smirked.

"The envelope on your table." Rahu nodded toward it.

Approaching the table, the girl indeed found an unfamiliar envelope. Then opened it and read its contents. Closing her eyes, Arien cursed silently. If what she'd just read was true, the situation with the spies in her guild was far worse than she had hoped.

'Butcher, Valara, what were you lacking?' Two earthlings she trusted, according to the records, had been selling her out. Valara - to the local sheriff, and Butcher had been recruited by the Artifactors' Guild. And worst of all, unlike the other names on the paper, she hadn't suspected these two at all.

"Evidence?" she asked dryly.

"There will be, if we come to an agreement." Feeling that he had seized the initiative, the young man responded more confidently.

"Alright, I have a rough idea of what you might offer…"

"Oh! This is just the tip of the iceberg," Rahu smirked, baring his teeth.

"And what can humble little me offer to such a remarkable detective?" Playing the role of a frightened, small, and defenseless girl who had been betrayed by everyone, Arien asked with a tearful voice.

"Protection," replied the ninja-clad man curtly.

"Oh! I'm afraid those are not the services I can provide." That was the truth.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Rahu tilted his head. "I don't need protection from everything in the world. I just need one person to back off."

"One person?" Arien echoed.

"Yes, someone really enjoys hunting me," the young man involuntarily twitched his shoulder.

"Hunting?" Ariel asked again.

"Yes, twice already. Both times, I managed to escape. But I know for sure, she won't stop!"

"She?"

"A surprisingly persistent… girl…"

"And how can I help with your problem?" Completely losing the thread of the conversation, Arien asked while maintaining an impassive expression.

"Once, you already kicked her ass, the one she's so proud of. And I hope that the mere fact of our cooperation will make this crazy girl leave me alone."

"Who are we talking about?" Arien had a guess but wanted to hear the name.

"She calls herself Scully…"