“……What……”
Achim narrowed his brow slightly as he asked.
“What is it you want me to get?”
The man said nothing — just as Achim himself had a moment ago.
Achim stared at the man’s tightly sealed lips, then asked again.
“No, wait……. Whose is it you want me to get?”
“……”
The man stayed silent again. Achim let out a short, hollow exhale.
This had gone well beyond the question of whether or not to commit theft.
It had been quite some time since the superior genetics of Alphas and Omegas had come to be regarded as something of rare value.
Alphas, with physical strength and mental acuity far beyond that of ordinary people — and Omegas, with their distinctive beauty and the ability to conceive children regardless of biological sex — it was only natural, in a way, that they occupied the upper tier of the wealth pyramid.
Because of that, the genes of rare Alphas and Omegas had long been bought and sold. When demand far outstripped supply, prices soared to absurd heights, and eventually governments around the world recognized the severity of the situation and declared the trade of genetic material illegal, citing human rights violations.
That had been over two hundred years ago.
But illegal trade has always flourished everywhere. The semen of Alphas and Omegas continued to change hands in the shadows, slipping past government surveillance — and it wasn’t hard to come across even now.
Stealing semen and bringing it back. In and of itself, that wasn’t particularly shocking.
The reason Achim had hesitated was because Michael Bernhardt was not just any ordinary Alpha.
“No……”
Achim let out a hollow laugh.
“You can’t mean the Michael Bernhardt I’m thinking of?”
He watched the man’s continued silence and felt as if he’d already received his answer.
Achim stared at him a moment longer, then let out a disbelieving hah. He crossed his arms and leaned back against his chair — the worn-out thing shrieking with an unpleasant metallic groan in protest.
A Royal Alpha, of all things. And I’m supposed to steal a Royal Alpha’s semen. The more he thought about it, the funnier it seemed, and Achim gave a quiet, wry laugh with his arms still folded.
Omegas made up only 10% of the global population. Alphas were even fewer — around 7%. And remarkably, even among that already tiny fraction of Alphas, there existed an exceedingly small number of “Royal” Alphas.
Across all seven continents — Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica — only twenty-two people in the entire world had ever been born with that trait, said to be a gift from god himself.
Subtract the deceased, and that left a mere seventeen.
Steal the semen of one of those seventeen, out of billions of people. The more he turned it over in his mind, the more absurd it was — Achim couldn’t help the dry laugh that slipped out.
“Can’t do it.”
Achim twisted one corner of his mouth up.
“You do know that Royal Alphas are treated under a much stricter standard than regular Alphas, don’t you?”
And that was the truth. What would be a misdemeanor if committed against an ordinary Alpha became a felony when the victim was a Royal Alpha — even for the exact same offense.
In short, one attempt at theft, and one wrong move, could mean spending the rest of his life rotting in prison.
Imagining himself growing old behind bars, Achim shook his head slowly from side to side, much like he’d waved his hand before.
“Even for 300,000 euros……. This one’s going to be tough. Sorry, but you’ll have to look elsewhere.”
Achim swallowed his regret down with great effort. He’d been so dazzled by 300,000 euros that he’d nearly thrown out his principles entirely and talked himself into doing it. But if the price for it was the rest of his life, even he had to conclude it was too reckless a gamble.
Just as he had when he’d turned the man down the first time, Achim deliberately looked away and waved his hand dismissively — and at that moment, the man abruptly reached a hand into the khaki jacket he was wearing.
It was only natural that Achim immediately went on guard.
He shot his arm out and grabbed the pistol he kept under the desk, training it squarely on the man — who froze on the spot with his hand still inside the jacket and stared back at Achim.
The Glock, gripped for the first time in a while, sent a tingling sensation all the way to his fingertips and toes. It was clearly a tense situation, and yet — Achim noticed, inexplicably, the corners of his own mouth pulling upward.
Savoring the feeling of blood rushing fast with the rush of excitement, Achim tightened the distance between the muzzle and grip to reduce perceived recoil.
Click — the satisfying sound of the Glock’s internal mechanisms engaging, a round being chambered, rang through the air.
“The self-defense laws in this country are a bit strict, I’ll admit.”
“……”
“Still, better to at least walk away with your life, wouldn’t you say?”
Don’t you think? Achim spoke with a glint in his eye.
But the man said nothing. Is he frightened? Achim thought — but looking more carefully, the man seemed only slightly caught off guard, and didn’t look like someone particularly preoccupied with the thought of dying.
Just as Achim was studying him carefully with narrowed eyes, measuring him up without dropping his guard —
“500,000.”
The sudden words made Achim’s hand jerk — he’d nearly pulled the trigger. It was so out of nowhere that he briefly wondered if the man was trying to barter for his own life.
Then something flashed quickly through Achim’s mind.
He stared wide-eyed with the Glock still in hand, and the man gave a resolute nod. Then he pulled his hand back out of the jacket.
Achim, briefly stunned, flinched and shifted his gaze to the man’s hand.
“……”
He’d been expecting a pistol or an OTF knife or something along those lines — Achim blinked at the bundle of cash in the man’s hand.
“With reflexes like that, you’re worth betting on.”
The man curved his lips up slightly, looking more convinced than ever, and let his satisfaction show.
Achim’s gaze moved back and forth between the man and the cash in his hand.
The adrenaline-fueled rush draining away was briefly a disappointment — but only briefly. In its place, he felt a different kind of excitement beginning to rise.
“500……thousand……?”
“That’s right. 500,000.”
Achim asked as though he couldn’t quite believe it, and the man nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
500,000…… Achim muttered and slowly lowered the Glock.
“This is the advance. Leave the deal open and I’ll leave it here right now.”
“……”
Achim swallowed again. His parched throat was wet once more as his Adam’s apple bobbed.
The initial 200,000 was already insane — and we’d gone from 300,000 to more than double that, 500,000 euros……
God, when did I become such a spineless wretch. Although — would anyone be able to resist 500,000 euros? Isn’t this a perfectly natural reaction? But even so, money aside — if this goes wrong, I could genuinely rot in prison.
Before he knew it, Achim was raking his hands through his hair. He’d even set the Glock down somewhere far away — the thing he’d once treasured so dearly.
He gripped his head and stared into the air in silence for a while before his lips moved.
“……Go.”
The man looked genuinely surprised watching Achim sigh and seem to give up. What a shame. I came with high hopes after hearing he was fast and clean. But if he’s really not willing, I have no choice but to find someone else.
The man clicked his tongue in disappointment and moved to take the bundle of cash back.
That was when — in the blink of an eye — a hand shot out and snatched the man’s wrist like it was snagging prey. It happened so fast that Achim himself thought it might have been even quicker than when he’d drawn the pistol moments before.
The man froze in surprise and looked down in silence, and Achim spoke in a low voice shortly after.
“Leave it.”
Achim stared intently at the thick bundle of money sitting in front of him, as if he could bore a hole straight through it.
— As you might expect, if the job fails, we take no responsibility on our end. Whether you get caught stealing and end up behind bars, or face whatever punishment — that’s your problem. No other conditions. Succeed, and the remaining 450,000 euros will be handed over immediately.
The man’s terms were simple. Fortunately, they were terms that matched Achim just fine — he had an absolute aversion to anything complicated.
Achim agreed without hesitation, and the man sat down and drafted the relevant memorandum on the spot, signing it in short order.
They each took a copy of the identical memorandum, and before the man left the shop, he turned back and said:
