Chapter 56: Invitation From Darkness

Invitation From Darkness

It was the beginning of winter when I left master’s house. The season has turned into early summer after the spring passed away. I’ll turn into nine years old after one more season passed.

I spent five months to crush the assassin guild. I left at the same day from the territory of Count Heydale where the northern frontier district branch was located and headed to the territory of Baron Norf that is a neighbor of the territory of Margrave Dandall.

That noble is the client whose heirloom was stolen by Mercenary of Dawn that I assassinated. It’s not like I have awakened to the calling as assassin after this late but……”heirloom”……for me whose parents died in an accident, something like that felt special for some reason. If possible I want to return the item to its family.

*Clatter……*

「…………」

I took out the heirloom necklace that I was storing inside my Storage so that it wouldn’t be lost and stared at it.

Spirit Tear──it’s a spirit’s magic stone that spirit who is erased from this world will rarely drop. This stone is also considered as gem. From the start it’s a magic stone with high purity, so it can also function as amulet if simple magic circle is carved into it.

Because of that it’s expensive and there were people who summoned spirits to hunt them, but many people got the table turned on them and died, and just the act of hunting the spirits who controlled this world’s principle is seen badly by the holy church──due to Fandora Theocracy that is the headquarters of the religion, it was decided that not only trading, but even just possessing Spirit Tear is a sin.

It’s not like that decision has any compelling force but, many of the light element sorcerers belonged to the holy church, so there is no statesman who opposed the decision openly.

I’m not interested why Baron Norf can have something like this in his possession. He paid a great amount of money, forty large gold coins to regain this item. Even in the past, this item shouldn’t worth that much. Then he must harbor a great 『feeling for family』 that pushed him to pay that much money for this.

Just in case I didn’t stop by any large city. I passed through forests and small cities, taking around one week to arrive at the town where Baron Norf lived, but I didn’t encounter any remain of the assassin guild.

Was I too cautious? ……No, I think there were only a few people who noticed that I destroyed the guild, but there is nothing better than being careful.

The cloak of monster leather that I bought in Gelf’s store was destroyed in battle, so right now I’m wearing a normal cloak that I purchased from a normal store. With my current appearance, there should be nobody who followed me based only on my appearance.

.

I paid one silver coin to enter the town, ordered a soup from a stall and ate it while asking around about the state of the town and the feudal lord. The portly female stall owner seemed to have free time and told me a lot of things.

「You can see that mansion on the hill over there right? That’s the lord’s mansion.」

「Hee……」

I can see that mansion even from the street. As expected from a place that is close to a metropolis like Dandall, it looks even more splendid than the mansion of Baron Seylace where I previously went undercover as maid.

「It might look small to the visitor who came from large city like Dandall, but this place isn’t that bad you know? Though the tax has gotten higher in these several years.」

「Did something happen?」

When I lowered my voice’s tone and asked, the owner who seemed like a gossip lover brought her face closer to me and lowered her voice in a whisper.

「I think it was around two years ago……the lord’s previous wife got attacked by bandits when she was travelling to another territory in a carriage. She died from that.」

「……Previous wife? Bandits?」

「Oh, so you also don’t know about that? The current madam is the second wife you know? And then, after that the lord gathered a lot of people like the knights and the adventurers to form a large scale subjugation force. They took down the bandits but, it looked like the lord really overdid it. Apparently he borrowed money from a company with a bit of bad reputation.」

「……Sounds bad.」

At that time the heirloom got stolen by Mercenary of Dawn, and in order to pay the request fee to the assassin guild, he might have borrowed money from that company.

「I don’t know how much of that is true okay? But, after that the merchant’s daughter lived in the mansion as the lord’s second wife you see. And after that the tax got raised, so it became a rumor that the lord is unable to go against his current wife.」

「I see……」

「Well, this town isn’t that bad, so if you’re also an adventurer little miss, work hard to make this town prosper okay-」

The female owner said that and laughed heartily. ……But.

「You know that I’m a “woman” ma’am?」

「Even though you’re dressed like that, it’s obvious from a glance when you’re that pretty little miss.」

「…………」

I’m wearing a cloak that covered me until my ankle just in case. Half of my face is also hidden behind a shawl. And yet I still completely looked like a woman?

Putting that aside, the baron’s reputation isn’t bad based on the information I obtained. Nobody is talking bad of him even after he raised the tax somewhat. His government must be that good until now.

Was the tax increase because he was made to do it by his second wife in order to collect the money?

Although the company’s reputation is bad, it’s only natural for a company to seek much profit after lending that much money with bad prospect of payment, so it doesn’t bother me. It was the baron’s decision to borrow money from a company with bad reputation and making request to the assassin guild, so it all depend on the baron of what he will do after this.

I’m simply coming here to return the “heirloom” to settle things.

Other information said that the baron has a single daughter, so perhaps it will be easier to hand the heirloom to that daughter rather than to the baron himself.

.

For now let’s go check this baron’s mansion first.

I entered the town as an adventurer, so perhaps I should show up to the adventurer guild, but perhaps there will be a record of me visiting here if I came to the guild even if I used fake name, so it will be better if I don’t drop in this city anymore in the future.

Even though I came to return a heirloom, I didn’t knock the front door and waited until it became night. Even using my eyes, I cannot see any magical protection over the mansion. Looks like it will be easy to sneak in.

I’m thinking of such thing while deciding to leave this place temporarily. It’s at that timing a voice suddenly addressed me from behind.

「Are you perhaps, an adventurer?」

「……Yes.」

The one who called to me is a young woman wearing a dress that looked somewhat worn out. I noticed her approaching me but, the way she walked and also her presence aren’t any difference from ordinary person, so I ignored her thinking that it would look unnatural if I paid attention to her.

「Aa, as I thought. Your atmosphere is different even though you’re this young, so I thought that’s the case.」

After I nodded, that woman clapped her hands cheerfully and she laughed merrily.

「……Who?」

「Ah, I’m sorry-, that was rude of me. I am the daughter of this land’s lord, Nora.」

「The feudal lord’s……lady daughter?」

I never expected of encountering my objective this easily…….

I unconsciously muttered seeing Nora’s cheerful atmosphere turned one eighty and she displayed an aristocratic courtesy. But then her atmosphere immediately returned to before and she waved her hand around in panic.

「Don’t mind it, although I’m a noble, I’m just a daughter of a minor baron, err……」

「And, what is your business with an “adventurer” like me?」

「Ah, yes, right……I was thinking that I want to try speaking with a female adventurer if I encounter one. If you don’t mind, can you lend me a bit of your time?」

「……Got it.」

By all rights I shouldn’t get involved with her. But, for some reason I felt something like anxiety in her tone when she said 『want to speak』, so I ended up agreeing.

But I forgot. Although Nora is a daughter of a baron of small territory and she herself is someone amiable who doesn’t act like a noble, she is still the young lady of a baron house that ruled over a population of more than ten thousand.

There is no way a “talk” with such noble lady would end up with just standing around at the side of road.

.

「Sorry that I can only give you tea that I brew myself.」

「……no problem」

Nora personally brewed tea for me in a room inside the mansion that seemed to be a living room.

I had no choice other than entering the mansion. Let’s think positively. More importantly why is she brewing the tea personally instead of telling a servant to do it?

It’s not impossible for a baron’s daughter to do such thing if she has experience of serving as a maid for the royalty or the like, but her outfit that is unbefitting for a nobility and the way she was gone to an outing alone without anyone accompanying her might have something to do with it.

「You see……I’ll have to marry soon. I’m a noble’s daughter, so I’m not objecting of being married to someone who my parent decided for me but……I’m feeling a bit fainthearted now. So I wanted to hear a story from adventurer who has gone to a lot of places.」

「……What do you want to hear?」

I talked to her as an 『adventurer』 about some harmless things just as she asked me, then Nora too started to talk to me about herself bit by bit.

It seemed that she already has a fiancée since she was small. Her fiancée is the third son of a baron house who planned to marry into her family. Both of them don’t dislike each other but, last year, it seemed her fiancée was changed because of some reason.

「It seems he has also talked with his parents but……it’s no good. Both of us are noble. We can’t go against our family……」

Nora said that brightly……she made a lonely smile.

「I see……」

I don’t understand the subtleties of romance. But, I somehow understood that Nora is still thinking of her fiancée from before.

「Nora-san, what are you doing?」

It was then, the door opened without the person even knocking first. A woman who seemed to be at her late twenty with gaudy outfit entered the living room.

「Step mother……」

「Oh, you have a guest.」

That woman……perhaps she is the second wife who came from the company that I heard in the rumors.

That woman is wearing a well-tailored dress unlike Nora. She saw me who had taken off my cloak and sitting on the sofa. After she realized that I’m an adventurer in a glance, 「hmph」 she snorted and continued talking to Nora while ignoring me.

「Have you finished with your errant to the company? You are engaged with my little brother after all, surely you have greeted him properly haven’t you? Linus will become the next baron, so you will regret it if you don’t start buttering up him starting from now.」

「Yes……」

「What are you doing with that kind of little girl in this……」

The second wife’s voice stopped while she was in the middle of talking.

I’m not doing anything. Far from talking, I’m not even letting out any pressure.

「…………」

But, that woman who turned her gaze at me might have seen something in my “eyes” as I stared fixedly without saying anything to her. She slightly stepped back and fear ran through her expression.

「H-hmph, you brat lack manners-!」

*Bam!* The woman slammed the door close and left with rapid footsteps.

「……S-sorry for that.」

「Don’t mind it.」

Although she was surprised by the second wife’s attitude, Nora apologized apologetically and I shook my head lightly in respond.

She really doesn’t need to mind it. After all I also don’t mind it at all.

I parted from Nora and left the baron’s mansion. From there I sensed the presence of several people tailing me for a while.

Two people……this is too hasty timing wise even if that second wife arranged it right after our encounter. But, their number decreased by one for a short while before increasing once more into four people after a while. At the end their number has increased until around ten.

「How about coming out?」

I intentionally entered a back alley and called out when I arrived at an empty place. The men showed a bit of sign of surprise before showing themselves.

「Well well, as expected from someone like you. You are the “ash crowned” aren’t you?」

「……Who are you guys?」

The people who appeared are dressed like inconspicuous commoner who can be found anywhere, but their atmosphere is telling me that they aren’t ordinary people.

The number of people who knew my true identity and called me 『ash crowned』 is limited. But, they gathered this many people just to contact a lone girl like me show that this won’t be a “peaceful” conversation.

Among them is a man at the middle of his twenty who is the only one wearing a better outfit than the rest. He is the one who called out to me. He bowed his head with a pretentious gesture like someone playing in being a noble. Then she displayed a worm-like smile.

「We are your pick up from the thief guild.」

「…………」

Why are people from the thief guild here? What does he mean by picking me up? In the first place how did they know about me?

There are a lot of things that I want to know but, that answer came from an unexpected place.

「Wha-!? What do you mean by that, Linus-!」

A man behind them raised his voice. The young who addressed me at the beginning called Linus turned around with a grin.

「Aa, we are really thankful for your information you know? After all, not only we were able to learn an important information like the destruction of the assassin guild’s northern frontier district branch this quickly, you even brought the information about the key figure who accomplished that.」

「That was because, you guys said that you will help me to take revenge-!」

「Fufu, did we say that?」

Linus……I knew that name.

More importantly, the voice of the man at the back is also familiar. When I looked toward there, I saw a man whose face and body are wrapped in blood soaked bandage. He is looking at me with a gaze filled with burning hate.

Aa, this man is…….

「The “beggar” huh.」

「”Ash crowneddd”!!」

The one tasked as lookout outside the guild as well as guide. I see, so this man survived.

「The contact for you and Radha in the capital ran outside covered in flame. He told me of your betrayal before his death-! The guys outside the guild who headed into the guild also got crushed by the cathedral’s destruction! It was all your fault!」

「I see.」

「YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!!」

When I replied emotionlessly like that, the beggar got enraged and pulled out a short sword.

It seemed the one who activated the trap I set up at the entrance was the male contact who I had never even met. If the information of me leaked outside from him, it was my miss for not putting up a trap that instantly killed the victim.

Even so the information that almost all of the members who were outside also died and the fact that I’m the culprit who crushed the guild had been spread is something that concerned me. I’m glad I’m able to learn it.

「Guboh!? Wha-……you-」

The lookout beggar suddenly vomited blood from his mouth. From behind him, one of the thieves had stabbed his stomach with a blade until it pierced through.

「We are thankful to you but, it’s a bother that you interrupted the talk like this. Do it.」

When Linus snapped his fingers, several people around the beggar stabbed his neck and chest with bladed weapons. The beggar reached out his hand at me at the end before light vanished from his eyes.

「Thief isn’t supposed to kill isn’t it?」

I sent a glance at the murdered beggar before muttering that. The thieves’ attention returned to me and Linus brushed off his front bang pretentiously.

「You know a lot. But that’s only applied toward the ordinary people. Besides this result is only natural seeing that he tried to lay his hand on you.」

「…………」

To me it only looked like you guys dealt with him because he didn’t have any other use for you though.

「How did you know that I’m here?」

「Before that, do you have the Spirit Tear with you? Originally we were going to purchase it from the Mercenary of Dawn. Can you hand it to us? Of course, I shall pay the reward that should be paid to them completely to you in exchange.」

I see, so their aim is “this”.

The beggar must have learned it from the contact. I nodded a little and showed the item just for an instant from my Storage like a magic trick. Linus’s eyes sparkled seeing the item.

「The reward?」

「Thirty large gold coins. I’m also going to give you an extra ten coins if you sign a contract with us.」

It seemed that he felt there is a chance for the negotiation to go smoothly seeing me asking for the reward. A vulgar smile formed on his lips just for an instant before Linus mentioned the word contract.

「What do you mean?」

「Fufu, isn’t it only natural that we want to have someone skilled like you at our side? Although you have crushed an assassin guild, the other branches are still going strong. The survivors of that branch will also continue to aim for your life. But, there is this secret pact of non-interference between the thief guild and assassin guild. There isn’t really any point to the pact for the individuals but, if you become our guest, the assassin guild also won’t be able to try anything with you so easily. How about it? It’s not a bad offer I believe?」

「I see now……」

……So it’s something like that.

He must be planning to tie me down under the pretext of protecting me while setting me up as an exclusive assassin of the thief guild seeing that they don’t have many combat expert in their ranks.

「I don’t think that this necklace is that expensive though?」

「It’s because it’s forbidden to sell it that there are people who want it even more. It looks like you are also trying to sell it directly to the baron but, too bad. Even that baron house doesn’t have any saving anymore, and even if the baron manage to obtain it, it will still end up in our possession one day, but if that’s how it’s going to be anyway isn’t it better for you to hand it to us right away?」

「…………」

Linus said to hand the necklace to them and they will pay a lot of money for it.

So they were lying in wait for me here thinking that I’m going to sell this necklace to Baron Norf. Well, I guess it’s only natural for a thief whose only purpose is money to think like that.

I have obtained almost all the pieces of puzzle. But there is still one more thing. What is the reason that this heirloom will still fall into the hand of the thief guild even after it has been returned to the baron?

I accelerated my thinking speed with body strengthening and restructured the information I obtained and pondered it.

Aa……I see.

「”Linus”……the new fiancée of the baron’s daughter(Nora).」

Linus’s eyes widened slightly when I muttered that.

「……So you have learned until that much. Fufu……as expected. That’s exactly why you’re worthy to be one of us-. It’s just as you guessed, the baron house is already within the grasp of the thief guild. Now, take my hand-!」

Linus held out his hand toward me with a refreshing smile. I also responded to that with a step forward.

But I don’t take Linus’s hand and immediately slashed Linus’s neck with the hidden weapon I took out from the Storage on my palm.

「GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?」

It was a bit shallow. Because there was a bit of space between us, it gave Linus a chance to dodge. My blade only ended up cutting Linus’s face.

「W-what are you doing-!? Without the thief guild’s protection, you’ll-!」

「I’m not looking for anything like that.」

The fiancée of Baron Norf’s daughter, Nora. The little brother of the second wife who came from the company that lent money to the baron.

Most likely, that company itself is affiliated with the thief guild. Did the company pulled strings in order to obtain the Spirit Tear without fail? Or perhaps they made use of the baron’s first wife’s death in order to obtain the baron house itself?

Perhaps it was both. Even the bandit attack to the first wife was likely arranged by the thief guild. It’s also more natural to consider that the Mercenary of Dawn was already connected to the thief guild from the start.

In that case, the misfortune that assaulted Baron Norf this time was schemed by the thief guild from the start in order to obtain money and status both.

I……absolutely won’t join hand with you guys who killed Nora’s mother for the sake of your own greed.

「K-kill her-! The opponent is just a single brat!」

Linus’s thin veneer broke and his true vulgar nature came out as he yelled. The eight other thieves pulled out their blades and took their stance.

Some among them should be feeling dissatisfied by the plan of welcoming a kid like me as guest, especially with my age and appearance. The thieves easily pulled out their weapons with their underestimation toward me completely transparent on their faces.

「…………」

The combat strength values of the thieves are around 150 with 350 as the highest. Most of them are rank 2 including Linus. Only three of them are definitely rank 3. One of them must be a sorcerer based on his stamina value and magic power value.

Among them is a young man with the lowest combat strength staying at the very back. He looked at me with knife in hand and his expression convulsed.

Most likely this man had used Appraisal or appraisal crystal to see my combat strength. But he reacted too slowly. It’s pointless if he doesn’t warn his friends right away after he realized.

「Be careful, that fellow-」

「──Pain──」

「Gugah!?」

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I shut up that man with Pain before he could say anything unnecessary. Then the knife I threw stabbed between the eyebrows of that stiffened man.

「Wha-!? Be on your guard-!」

「Shut up-!」

The thieves who were looking for an opening got serious after one of them got easily killed. They rushed to attack without caring of appearance.

「Stupid idiot-! Don’t think you can win against this many people, ash crowned-!」

One man charged with an expert knife handling. But, he is just too slow.

No matter how high his combat strength is, no matter how high his rank is, in the end he is just a thief. Their strength is nothing more than a skill to threaten ordinary people and throw their weight around.

I didn’t avert my gaze from the man’s knife that lunged at me and tilted my head to dodge. Then I cut the man’s neck as he passed me.

Seven people remaining──

「──Shadow Snatch──」

I dropped a fistful of “shadow” on the ground and an arrow punched from below into the crotch of the man who leaped over it.

「Higuh!?」

I immediately stabbed a pendulum’s blade into the man’s throat. The blade that I quickly pulled out is accompanied by a mist of blood spraying in the air. That blade tore the face of a young man who is dumbfounded from his friend’s murder. And then I leaped in that timing and pierced his brain with my black knife that stabbed from his lower jaw.

Five people remaining──

「──Fire Javelin-!」

The man who seemed to be a sorcerer fired Fire Javelin. But, he is obviously too panicked. Even I will die instantly if I got hit by it but──

「──Shield──」

*Crangg-!*

The Shield I chanted smashed with auditory hallucination of glass breaking from the insufficient magic power. But against a sorcery with this kind of sloppy structuring, the Shield lasting just for an instant is enough.

「GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」

The Fire Javelin that was diverted by the magic shield directly hit the thief who was approaching using Stealth behind me.

The man rolled around on the ground with flame covering his whole body. I jumped over him and threw away my cloak that is burning from the attack’s blast to block the sight of the sorcery that is starting to chant his next spell.

「Wha-!?」

When I threw several knives to there, I heard a stifled scream. When the cloak fell on the ground, the sorcerer’s corpse with a knife piercing his throat tumbled down.

Three people remaining──

「This damn little girlll-!」

「DIEEEEEE!」

The remaining two rank 3 lost their senses from rage and charged forward.

「──Weight──」

I chanted Weight and ran up a wall, jumped over the man in front, and then fired dark magic at the one behind him.

「──Pain──」

「Gih!?」

I threw a knife at that man who stopped moving from pain, taking away his fighting capability. Then as I landed, the man who I jumped over leaped at me from behind with his face red from anger.

「DON’T SCREW AROGYAH!?」

That man didn’t notice the pendulum’s string I set up when I jumped over him. His neck is strangled by his own momentum and weight. I circled behind him in that moment and kicked the back of his head as I pulled the string──

*Snap……-!*

There is a sound of bone breaking and the man’s neck snapped.

.

There is nobody standing anymore when I looked around. The last one, Linus has vanished without me noticing.

……So he ran. But that’s also within my expectation.

I kicked the jaw of the man writhing from Pain and the knife stuck in his stomach. I took out a poison from my waist poach and sprinkled it on the man’s wound.

「GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?」

It’s the imitation poison for intense pain that female thief used. Various kinds of liquids trickled out from all over the man’s face. He kept shaking his head in convulsion, unable to belief the situation he is being put in.

Now, I’ll have you tell me a lot of things.

There is no need for you to comprehend anything. But, just remember this one thing.

I crushed the assassin guild because they became an enemy of master and me. And then──

.

「You guys have also become “my enemy”.」

「Hii, hiih」

Linus pressed his hand on his blood soaked face while running through a back alley. He wondered how things turned out like this.

He wasn’t a man who should smolder in obscurity in this kind of rural territory of a baron. Linus always harbored such feeling in his chest. Together with his big sister who was also born in the slum, they always talked about their dream and groped for a way to climb up the ladder for many years.

It was fortunate that the thief guild leader of this town thought that they had talent and picked them up.

Linus and his sister learned that the baron of this land possessed a rare gem called the Spirit Tear. He brought that information to a high ranked noble that wanted it and obtained a connection with him. With that he made a scheme to obtain money and status simultaneously. He not only made his big sister as the second wife of the baron, he also planned to obtain the baron’s daughter for himself. That must be the manifestation of Linus’s sense of inferiority.

The plan was perfect. It was someone under the control of the thief guild who introduced the adventurer party Mercenary of Dawn to the baron in order to give them the request to recover the Spirit Tear, but it was also Linus and others in the thief guild who lent the baron the money for the request fee to the assassin guild in order to kill them.

From the start, Linus and others were planning to have the Mercenary of Dawn cleaned up by the assassin guild.

For the Spirit Tear, whether the Mercenary of Dawn came directly to them in order to sell it after repelling the assassin guild, or even if it returned to Baron Norf through the assassin guild, all of them should fall into their hands one day, but the situation changed outside of their awareness. An unbelievable information dropped unexpectedly on them.

The destruction of the assassin guild’s branch at the northern frontier district. Furthermore the culprit of that was the girl who dealt with the Mercenary of Dawn.

Although she was an assassin, was it possible for a child to accomplish something like that? According to the survivor of the assassin guild who brought the information to them, apparently that girl was a disciple of a demon race person. She cowardly scattered poison throughout the guild, and lit fire inside their headquarters to slaughter everyone.

Furthermore, it seemed the Spirit Tear was now in the possession of that assassin──the “Ash Crowned”.

At that time Linus considered it as a good chance.

He didn’t know what was the reason the child betrayed the guild but, the Ash Crowned who didn’t possess any way to sell stolen item should come directly to the baron to sell it. Even though she was just a kid, if she was capable of performing such cowardly act, she would surely be able to understand the benefit of coming under the umbrella of the thief guild.

He would hint how the survivors and other branches would want to take revenge on her, and then obtained her combat strength and reputation under the pretext of protecting her.

He didn’t care even if the actual strength of this “Ash Crowned” was actually low. Just the fact that they had the one who destroyed a branch of the assassin guild on their side would make the underworld to respect the thief guild of this town.

.

His plan went swimmingly at first. But Linus didn’t realize that the mind and strength of a kid who could slaughter a whole guild was beyond the range of their understanding.

When he met the Ash Crowned for real, he saw that she was just a pretty girl around twelve years old with a trace of childishness still remaining in her looks. Even after hearing how she crushed the assassin guild, the thieves got a misunderstanding due to her cute appearance.

It was impossible that a girl like this was “strong”. ……They thought.

The ash covered girl suddenly bared her fang at Linus and his men. His comrades got killed one after another instantly the moment they became hostile.

Although thieves didn’t specialize in violence, that was only 『compared to adventurer』. A lot of them were formerly thugs or born in the slum, so they were far more skilled than the likes of mountain bandits.

Furthermore this time they brought ten people of rank 2 or 3 in order to give her a scare too. But, the fight ended in an instant. Without even a shred of hesitation, as easily as plucking a flower at the side of road, the way she was reaping lives as though she was dancing, it was terrifying but also beautiful.

In fact, the girl was beautiful. To a degree that he was so entranced that he forgot the pain of his slashed face.

But, the way she plucked lives without hesitation with that appearance that could even be called as lovely looked like a god of death who didn’t belong to this world. The terror from the approaching hand of death made Linus abandoned his comrades who were being killed and ran away.

The sun was still high in the sky. If he could run and report to the guards patrolling the streets, Linus who was a company’s head clear at the surface might be saved.

However, Linus also had a pride as someone who lived in the underworld. If he did something like that in a quarrel between fellow underworld residents, he would become unable to continue living in this world. He also understood that.

Such “excuse” crossed his mind, and so he decided to not to run to the guards. But in reality, somewhere in his heart he realized that 『it was pointless even if he did something like that』.

That girl would definitely come to kill Linus.

If necessary, she would even slaughter everyone on his way to absolutely kill him.

The instant he saw the Ash Crowned’s eyes, Linus realized that based on his instinct as a dweller of the underworld.

.

「O-open-, open the door-!」

He returned to the company where he served as head clerk and hanged the back door loudly.

「L-Linus-san!? You’re wounded……」

「Shut up, move aside-!」

Linus pushed aside the man who opened the back door and ran into the building.

This company had been used since a long time ago by the thief guild of this baron territory as a cover. The thief guild’s base moved to here when it was decided to ensnare the baron. Right now almost everyone here had been replaced with the thief guild’s members.

「Close the shop! “She” is coming!!」

He ordered the shop to be closed in panic even though it was still evening, and chased out the few workers who didn’t know anything. Then he began gathering weapons from the warehouse and prepared to fight.

Linus was holding his weapon tightly at the back of the store while trembling. He hadn’t even got his wound treated. It made the remaining ten-odd thieves to look at each other in bewilderment.

Even though they were ordered to prepare to fight, the people who were good at fighting in this company had been taken out to accompany Linus. The remaining members here were only rank 1 or 2 who specialized in stealth or swindling.

Furthermore Linus wasn’t in the state of mind to explain the situation, so the thieves inside the shop were in confusion. It was then a man in his prime who didn’t wear any clothes on his upper body to show off his muscular build appeared from the back of the shop with half naked women clinging on him.

「What’s going on here, Linus-!」

「Pops-!」

That man was the leader of this baron territory’s thief guild. He was also the one who picked the siblings from the slum and acted as their parent.

「S-save me pops-! That thing……that woman is coming-!」

「Womaann?」

Linus spoke in fear while clinging on him with a scared face that was soaked in blood. The thief guild’s leader sighed in exasperation seeing that.

「Looks like you’ve really messed up. ……Can’t be helped. Oi, send an errand to gather the adventurer──」

「……Pops?」

The leader stopped moving the moment he started giving instruction. Linus looked back at him dubiously.

But, what he saw there, how there were two knives that were stuck in the leader’s throat and the area around his right eye turning black from the short arrow that was lodged there made Linus screamed reflexively.

The leader’s huge body fell backward and landed with a loud thud. Nobody could comprehend what had just happened from how outrageous it was. Even the prostitutes beside the leader were dumbfounded. Then everyone in that place felt a faint breeze inside the closed area. It tempted them to turn around.

「────!?」

Without anyone noticing, one of the roof windows had been opened. Outside of that window──with the background of the ultramarine sky that was starting to darken, a girl whose hair was dirtied by ash was looking down on the thieves below with cold green eyes that froze them.

.

「I came to kill you all.」

A massacre occurred in the downtown of Baron Norf’s territory.

First nine corpses were discovered at a back alley. Several guards who inspected eight of the corpses said that they belonged to a certain company. When the soldiers headed to that company, they found the shop closed even after morning came. When they entered inside, they found the corpses of more than twenty employees, including the company president and the head clerk Linus.

The casualties numbered more than thirty in total. It was the biggest murder incident that ever happened in this baron territory but, proof of participation in crime and documents of the company’s involvement with the thief guild were discovered inside the company. And from how almost all of the victims were killed in one attack, the incident was treated as an underworld’s dispute before it could become public knowledge.

Even if that company was the headquarter of this town’s thief guild, another thieves from everywhere would rush here and built the thief guild again somewhere in the town.

Among them there should also be a lot of fortunate people who happened to not show themselves at the guild that day. They would say this to the new thieves who came to the town with a fearful expression.

.

『Don’t get involved with the “Ash Crowned Princess”.』

Several months after the thief guild in this town was destroyed, the wedding ceremony of the only daughter of the feudal lord, Nora was being held in the mansion of Baron Norf.

The groom isn’t a company’s head clerk who became her new fiancée, but her previous original fiancée, the third son of a baron house with whom they had feeling for each other. With this she finally managed to make her desire came true.

Because Nora is the only child of the baron, he entered the house of Baron Norf as son-in-law and from here on he would learn how to manage the territory from the current baron as the one who would become the next baron in the future.

Baron Norf was moved to tears seeing Nora in wedding dress. There wasn’t any wife accompanying him at his side.

Baron Norf was holding a small portrait of his wife who died several years ago. The second wife who joined the family after that got divorced after the company she came from was closed down. Even before that the woman had been in a state of agitation from fear. She ran away from this territory the moment she got divorced. It was said that she lost her life from a bandit attack in a mountain while she was heading to Dandall.

In the wedding ceremony, Nora shared a smile with the young man who was her childhood friend. A necklace of Spirit Tear that has been slightly decorated so it can’t be seen what kind of gem it actually has is swaying on her chest.

According to the servants who I talked with, it seemed that necklace is a memento of her deceased mother. Apparently the grandmother of her mother was a spirit summoner and she received it from a spirit. In other words, it wasn’t an unsavory item that was obtained from killing a spirit like the taboo from the holy church.

「…………」

I made sure of Nora’s happiness before quietly turning my back on it.

Because of everything I did in this town, I became troubled of when and how to return to the necklace, but in the end I simply sneaked into her room and left it beside her pillow.

Just in case, I left behind a note that was written with the words 『Your mother is avenged』, but thinking back now, I might have done something unnecessary.

*Clatter……*

My gaze fell toward the scorched necklace on my palm that was the other Spirit Tear.

It was something I prepared to trick the contact and I managed to retrieve it during that fight but, the Spirit Tear turned into mere stone as though to declare that its role had ended.

This stone was something dropped by the spirit I defeated. I might gotten burned inside that flame without this water spirit stone. I wonder why that water spirit left behind this magic stone which is supposed to be something very rare…….

Perhaps that spirit was seeking death. But the only one who knew the truth was only that water spirit.

「……It’s pointless to keep thinking about it.」

I looked back once more for the last time before leaving this place. ……Nora looked happy. The words that I left behind will become a break point for her but, she shouldn’t look behind anymore.

At that time, Nora looked back with the same timing and our gazes accidentally met. Even though the distance between us is really far, Nora seems to remember me and her eyes widened just a little. Then she waved her hand with a wide smile. I also waved my hand a little before turning back and left.

.

I finally turned nine in these several months.

My body also grew a little bit again, but although I was able to crush an assassin guild and thief guild, I still can’t be said to be truly strong.

In order to fulfill my promise to some people, my strength is still lacking.

I also still haven’t paid back Grave who attacked me and might hurt Elena in the future.

I’m also still separated from the organization that Sera belonged to. I don’t even know whether they are enemy or ally.

The survivors of the assassin guild are also still attacking me sporadically. Because of that I still can’t return back to master’s place.

I’m still not strong enough to move aside everything that is trying to tie me down.

But, I already stopped running away. I also stopped hiding.

If someone want to kill me then come at me anytime. The stronger you guys are the stronger I’ll also become.

I’ll fight. For the sake of my promises with master and Elena, I’ll obtain strength so that not even the noble’s ties of obligation can bind me. I’ll become someone who is feared even by the people of the underworld.

This might be just a wild delusion of a pretentious kid. ……But, I’ll obtain “that”.

For that, I’ll live not as an 『assassin』 but as an 『adventurer』. Because I want true strength, not just strength against human.

*Pakin-!*

I threw the tag with the fake name(Anya) to the air and cut it apart.

I’m the adventurer Aria.

That’s why──

.

「Come out.」

When I called out toward the highway that has grown dark, a black silhouette oozed out from the darkness.

Most likely they are assassin from an assassin guild branch somewhere. Because they are covering their whole body, I can’t appraise them accurately, even so I can feel the strength of someone around level 4 from the atmosphere they’re radiating.

That assassin unsheathed a black one-handed sword. I also unsheathed my black knife, and the blades clashed at the same time.

.

「I won’t run away from anything anymore.」

In a gloomy back alley of a town, that girl was standing with her long black wavy hair fluttering. Her purple eyes that were surrounded with horrible dark circles like a sick person narrowed gently while looking down on a slightly dirty man.

That man was rolled on the ground after facing a girl who looked like she was still twelve years old. He opened his mouth with a scared expression while glob of cold sweats trickled down from all over his face.

「I-it’s true, I don’t know anything more than that, believe me! I only heard about the rumor of the woman called Ash Crowned Princess from a peddler!」

The man was a member of the thief guild in the capital. How did that man fall into this kind of situation? That was because the noble daughter before him was looking for information of a certain 『girl』. This man was simply unfortunate for knowing about that spreading “rumor”.

The truth of that rumor wasn’t certain. But it was said that girl who was said to be still in her early teen slaughtered the members of an assassin guild branch on her lonesome, and she also got into hostility against the thief guild on top of that.

After hearing all that, most people would think of it as simply foolish talk from a drunk, but even though it was a happening from far north, this mere rumor among the peddlers and thieves spread until as far as the capital.

It was an absurd story, but together with its “fame”, it was a fascinating enough topic for the merchants who came from the north to bring up as an idle gossip to draw the interest of their negotiation partner.

There was still nobody who seriously believed in that story, whether it was those one telling the story or those hearing the story. But, that noble daughter──Carla Lester was the only one who listened to it seriously before her gaze wandered to empty space in ecstasy.

「As I thought you’re alive. ……Aria.」

If that girl had decided, then she would surely carry it out no matter what kind of obstruction got in her way. In this world that was filled with agony, Aria was the only one who recognized her existence, and gave her a promise to 『kill her』 .

.

Carla saw a dream with her eyes still opened.

What came to her mind was the graduation party of the sorcery academy where she was brought to by her father for only once when she was little.

In that party, only nobles with rank higher than baron and their partner got invited to the palace. They were wearing resplendent outfit, took the hand of the partner in their heart with bashful smile, and then danced brilliantly.

That dreamy brilliant scene was instantly dyed with the color of blood.

The people inside that scene got replaced……by Carla’s fiancée the crown prince, and the sons of the high ranked nobles. They were all lying face down in the pool of their blood. The castle town that was enveloped in flame decorated the dazzling “stage”. There, Carla and Aria in their gorgeous dresses were trying to kill each other with only each other and nobody else reflected in their eyes.

.

「────!」

The thief got his head grabbed with an eagle grip by Carla’s fingertips that were like white fish. Crimson flame surged from the gaps of her fingers and burned the thief. A soundless cream played in the back alley. Carla let out a captivated voice into the darkness, like a girl who dreamed of a prince charming on white horse.

.

「Come to kill me quickly……Aria」

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