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Iris Lune walked through the town, sensing the emotions of her surroundings.

A cold hostility kept a constant distance, moving as if it were tracking her.

Is it me they’re after? This might be a jackpot right off the bat.

But why would anyone target Iris Lune in this situation?

Did they already know the Count hired “Dragon’s Throat” for the job? Or perhaps… were they after the Renée inside her?

Whatever the reason, she had to find out their objective.

I want to avoid a public scene. News would get to Diana. So… should I lure them out?

Iris Lune deliberately entered a narrow, less-populated alley.

Her pursuers sped up, rapidly closing the distance. They seemed to think this was the opportune moment to strike.

Iris Lune had a feeling that they were different from those knights.

Those zealots of justice would have openly challenged her in public.

The fact that these people chose to attack in a secluded place meant…

“Who are you?”

She stopped, and turned around.

Two men, dressed in ordinary traveler’s attire. They kept a flat hostility even when facing Iris Lune. No fear, no anger, no contempt. Just a cold intention to “attack.”

Iris Lune put her hand behind her waist, forming a hand seal, substituting it for a chant, layering several continuous enhancement buffs on herself.

What she was doing looked plain, but without high magic power, it would not have any real effect. In reality, it was an advanced skill.

“Do you have business with me?”

“Withdraw from the Count’s case.”

One of the men spoke intimidatingly.

Hearing this, Iris Lune did a mental fist pump. It wasn’t that Renée’s location had been exposed.

On top of that, a clue to the Night Python had just jumped right to her. It was like a duck had come with the leeks, pot, and broth.

After the threat, the men drew their swords.

Were they intending to hurt her for warning’s sake, and let her return alive? Or if she died, were they planning to send her head to their companions?

The men edged closer, step by step. Iris Lune held her staff and retreated while considering how to handle them.

For now, she would refrain from any actions that might expose that she wasn’t the real Iris. Her best bet would be to repel them with magic and have them flee and then follow them.

Leaving the city would draw more attention. They probably were planning to escape to a hideout in the city.

Benedict’s nose is going to be a pain. Even without being splashed with blood, if he smells my blood from this distance, he’d probably realize “it smells like a stranger’s blood.” That means I can’t chop their limbs off either… what the heck, this is a hardcore challenge with self-imposed restrictions.

There was actually a spell called <<Deodorant>>, but if she returned smelling of de-odorized magic, that too would raise suspicion. She had to escape this situation without attracting Benedict’s attention.

Looking at the offensive spells she had, the ones that ‘Iris’ normally used, most seemed to cause bleeding. Fire-attribute magic would leave a burnt human smell on her. To handle these guys without leaving a scent or trace of battle…

I’ll go with that.

While there was still distance, Iris Lune cast the spell.

” <<Ice Shackles>> “

Freezing cold air burst towards the two.

The magic didn’t work. She felt the magic being repelled.

It wasn’t that the men had resisted the magic. It was a charm.

In this world, disposable magic items existed that could defend against spells.

Called “charms,” they would protect the user by taking the brunt of the spell for them.

…So they did have those! They’re up against a Wizard, after all, so of course they’d have charms.

It seemed the two men planned to capture Iris Lune while they were protected by the charms.

Seeing Iris Lune move, the two men closed the distance at once.

“<<Ice Shackles>>…<<Ice Shackles>>! <<Ice Shackles>>!”

Iris Lune abandoned chanting and rapidly fired off the magic, trying to hit the two men.

The moment the sensation changed, Iris Lune quickly decreased the p-o-w-e-r of the magic, firing it at a strength similar to that of the real ‘Iris’.

“<<Ice Shackles>>!”

The charm that had been protecting the two assassins had now lost its power, and frost began to form on their hands.

And then.

“Gwah!”

With a clank!, both men’s arms were covered in ice.

Furthermore, the ice on their arms began to magnetically pull each other, fusing into a single shackle.

A low-level water elemental magic, <<Ice Shackles>>. A spell that created ice shackles to restrain an opponent.

It was only meant to restrain enemies without dealing damage, but if left unattended, it would gradually worsen into frostbite, eventually causing the hands to decay, which was quite a scary spell in its own right.

Their arms sealed, the two men stood frozen in front of Iris Lune.

They seemed unsure of what to do next due to this unexpected situation.

Alright! They’ll think the charms were faulty!!

Iris Lune had used her true magic power to quickly burn through the charms. And after destroying the defenses, she restrained them with a level of magic that wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

Even if this seemed strange, no one would suspect that she was an undead with the most powerful existence inside.

Now then, they won’t suddenly go ‘Since my arms are restrained, I’ll fight with Capoeira,’ will they?

Or, if they were willing to sever their own arms, they could use the frozen shackles as weapons. However, they were not ready for such a desperate battle, as the two men immediately turned their heels and escaped, disappearing in an instant.

They rushed into a smaller path. Their movement was swift, making it difficult to catch up in a chase. However, with her Abyssal Spirit powers, which allow her to read feelings and emotions, tracking them would be easy.

Iris Lune concentrated her mind and expanded her search area as much as possible.

Eltaref wasn’t that big of a town. If Iris Lune was serious, she could bring about half the town into her awareness.

Iris Lune perceived a swirling mess of emotions, like static on a screen. Ignoring the unrelated individuals, she focused on the two fleeing men.

They no longer felt any hostility, as they had given up on their attack. Only a hint of bewilderment, a hint of incomprehension, and a hint of fear remained. Due to their arms being bound by ice shackles, their pain was also palpable.

After pausing for a moment, the pain disappeared from both of them.

It seemed the assassins could not use magic, but if that were the case, they likely had some healing potions on hand. They had probably healed after finding some distance and cover.

They think they’ve lost me. Good effort. Now, where are they running to…?

Just like this town had a branch of the Adventurers Guild that oversaw the territory, Night Python should also have some sort of base here.

The best way to deal with pests was to strike at their nest. Iris Lune tracked where they were fleeing to.

Adan and Jonas returned to their temporary base, a room in an apartment complex, and collapsed against the wall.

The silence was filled with the sound of their heavy breathing. Eventually, Adan spoke up.

“We failed…”

Jonas remained silent. He knew that much without Adan saying it.

Adan took a metallic piece from his pocket and carelessly tossed it onto the floor.

The gold-like object was blackened all over, and was releasing white smoke as if it was burned.

It was a charm. A disposable item that provided temporary defense against magic.

Their target was a fourth-grade guard Wizard. They knew it would be a somewhat troublesome job, but all they had to do was capture him while their charms withstood the magic.

However, the charm broke after less than a quarter of the expected time.

Even if she was a fourth-grade wizard, she was just a kid. There was no way he could have such magic power. So then…

“The Night Python guys handed us a used product, didn’t they?”

“Probably. Damn it.”

Adan spat the words out, and Jonas agreed. They believed that they had been given charms that were already partially used and reduced in durability.

The two of them were merely in a position to accept dirty jobs for money.

What they were concerned about was the reward, and the penalty for failing their mission. If the failure was caused by the Night Python’s side, they could negotiate more strongly. They even thought that by being exposed to the danger of death (or arrest) they could gain some leverage.

If that was the case, then fine. It wasn’t their problem if Night Python were troubled by their failure.

“The next contact is tonight, right?”

“Yeah, same place as always.”

“Got it. We’ll take turns resting until then.”

The two nodded in agreement. Not even in their wildest dreams did they suspect that they were being tracked.

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