The Bookkeeper-Chapter 55: Alora, Star

A brief silence settled over them as Raiden and his comrades waited for the opposing threat to come within reach. Though Raiden could feel the danger approaching, it wasn’t as overwhelming as what he had faced before. This left him wondering what they were truly up against.

Still, the moment he sensed the auras were close enough, he activated Gaze Beyond and looked through the distant forest. He saw them. Two girls.

One had dark hair with a violin on her shoulder, while the other had long white hair and a more developed figure than her companion, who appeared calm and collected. Both were dressed in black suits and wore star-shaped contact lenses.

Raiden smiled in an instant. They were Stars, and he remembered the one with the violin all too well. She had attacked them before and nearly killed him, leading his familiar, Ash, to save him and land herself in a very dire situation.

However, he knew this wasn’t his time for revenge. They had probably been sent by the kingdom, and if that was the case, attacking wouldn’t be their safest option.

Freya also activated her Gaze Beyond and described the Stars to the others in broken Persian.

"Stars?" Leo asked, both perplexed and curious. "Do you think the kingdom found your message too impulsive?"

Raiden smirked. He had said some inappropriate things in the message, but he was certain the Stars’ visit would work in his favor.

"No matter what happens, do not attack."

Each of them wore a confused expression while Raiden simply smiled, and looking at him, they knew they had to trust him. Still, Levi, who leaned against the entrance to the house, had a few concerns.

"Should I do my job?" he asked, flicking a blade across his fingers.

"No, we must all be around."

Before long, the Stars entered the barrier, and the moment they did, Raiden’s smile deepened. The dark-haired girl also widened her grin, clearly planning to make Raiden pay for humiliating her during their last encounter, but the other one stayed in character. She didn’t flinch once.

This was the kind of war Raiden had been anticipating for a while. This wasn’t a war of strength or magical prowess but a battle of endurance and mind games. Which of them knew what they were doing? Him or the kingdom?

The moment they got close enough, Raiden decided to meet them halfway. He opened his arms with a smile. "Welcome aboard, Stars..." He paused after a few steps. "To what do we owe such a pleasure?"

Before he could finish speaking, the dark-haired girl played her violin, and a sharp blade of sound launched at Raiden, striking just in front of his leg and cracking the pavement. All of his comrades panicked a little as they hesitated to step in.

But Raiden didn’t flinch; he didn’t even glance at the damage. He only stared at the Stars with his hands still spread wide, anticipating a calm response even though he knew he wasn’t going to get any anytime soon.

The girl was clearly offended by Raiden’s reaction to her attack and delivered three more. Two of them struck beside Raiden and nearly sliced off his head, leaving a small cut on his neck before continuing on to strike the building behind.

Yet Raiden still hadn’t even blinked from the attacks. He kept his posture unchanged, the smile still playing on his lips.

This stung the girl’s pride even more, so she threw the violin to the floor, sprinted toward Raiden, and struck him on the cheek. The force caused him to take a step back, which irritated Raiden’s subordinates even more—Leo was clearly on the verge of attacking.

But Raiden kept smiling, giving them the impression that he knew what he was doing.

In the moments that followed, it was strike after strike. But Raiden endured them all without showing any sign of weakness or anger. He simply smiled as his face was bruised while the white-haired girl stood watching.

This was exactly as Raiden had anticipated, and though each strike sent enormous pain shooting through his face, he fought the urge to scream in agony.

Thankfully, his regeneration was working—it numbed the pain before the next strike landed, letting him endure more blows without sustaining too much damage.

During his message to the kingdom, he had made a promise. They could come for the Book of Ashes if they believed there were people who could protect it better than he and his comrades could, and he vowed he would not lay a finger on any of them.

This was a risky gambit. The six elders could have simply sent their own knights to retrieve the book and kill Raiden and his comrades in the process. When questioned, they could claim Raiden broke his word and attacked first, forcing them to act in self-defense.

Well, he was certain that wouldn’t happen. He didn’t have anything concrete to base it on except for King Hannes being around and this being about the kingdom’s reputation. Everything was a gut feeling.

Even so, he knew they were going to attack regardless and would do anything in their power to make Raiden strike back at one of the Stars. Still, this wasn’t meant to kill.

How long could he hold on? The strikes continued, causing his face to swell so badly that he couldn’t see properly. His eyelids had swollen larger than his eyes themselves.

But this was his way out. If he managed to survive this, not only would he get the kingdom wrapped around him once more, but he could also demonstrate his resilience and gain influence even within the palace.

However, before Raiden could die from the strikes alone, the white-haired girl intervened. "Stop, June." The dark-haired girl stopped immediately and let out an annoyed sigh.

The white-haired girl bowed before Raiden, but all he could feel at that moment was unbearable pain in his face, his head aching relentlessly as if needles were being driven through his skull over and over. But he held his ground and managed a smile through his swollen cheeks.

"She is very sorry, bookkeeper. She can be troublesome sometimes. Please pardon her."

Raiden smiled again.

"I am Princess Alora Romanov. We’ve lived under the same roof for years, but I don’t think we’ve ever met."

Raiden could barely follow her words. The pain was unbearable even though his regeneration was working, and he wasn’t sure if he could even speak through his deformed face.

"This here is June Calmer, my fellow comrade as a Star."

Leo immediately joined them, leaving the others behind, wearing a confused expression. "You are Princess Alora? But I thought you were living in the Kingdom of Aurelia."

Alora flashed a sarcastic smile. "Well, I am here now..."

Leo bowed his head. "Would you like to take a seat, Lady Alora?"

Alora’s expression darkened, and she let out a sigh. "No, thank you..." The moment she said it, they could feel the barrier flickering like disturbed water and slowly fading from view.

"Raiden Night, the bookkeeper of the Book of Ashes, the Heart of Devourer... by my command as Princess of the Kingdom of Persia and devoted member of the Stars."

Raiden’s pain began to subside, but by that, point he knew everything Alora was going to say. And her—he remembered her now. They had never been on friendly terms.

Though both of them had spent most of their lives in the palace, they never had the chance to even talk to each other. But his mission was over, and he wasn’t interested in what she had to say. He needed to sleep!

"I hereby grant you your freedom from your prison... but a few measures will be taken to ensure you don’t betray the kingdom."

At that moment, Raiden’s eyes began to grow tired.

"Knights and Stars alike will be checking up on you twice every week."

The moment she said that, Raiden collapsed to the floor as everyone rushed to check on him. He had started feeling sleepy, and he knew that going unconscious after taking June’s strikes would only benefit him, so he allowed himself to sleep and ease the pain.

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