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Late at night, Adam and Jonas returned to their hideout after a clandestine meeting with a contact from the Night Python.

“Those damn bastards, making excuses…”

Adam, clearly frustrated, slammed the door shut, his annoyance palpable.

They had reported the details of their failed mission, along with the amulet they had been tasked to deliver, but they were met with nothing but evasive replies like, “That’s not possible,” or other such nonsense. Adam and Jonas, not wanting to be blamed for the failure, protested, but the issue was ultimately left unresolved. The contact seemed like he was going to take the matter back for further discussion, so they might be digging into it again later.

“More importantly, we need to talk about the next job.”

“I know. We’ll start the preparations first thing tomorrow.”

It was then. They heard footsteps approaching down the hallway.

Then, a knock on their door.

“…What? Who is it? At this hour?”

Adan asked Jonas, suspiciously, in a low voice. Of course, Jonas had no idea either.

“Maybe it’s a neighbor? You did slam the door pretty loudly, after all.”

“How troublesome… Hey, you go deal with it. Smooth-talk your way out of it.”

“Tch.”

Jonas clicked his tongue quietly and quickly shed his travel gear, changing into more casual, everyday clothes. Then, standing in front of the door, he spoke to whoever had knocked.

“What is it you need…”

“≪Curse Bind≫”

“Gefu!?”

“…≪Lockpick≫”

The sound of Jonas collapsing and the door lock clicking open happened almost simultaneously.

“…Huh!?”

Adam shouted in shock.

The impossible had just happened.

Jonas, who had answered the door, was collapsed on the floor, seemingly unable to move. Beyond him, standing in the doorway was a small, black-clad figure who had hidden everything but their eyes like an Eastern ninja.

But, having been on the receiving end of the young woman’s power just hours prior, there was no mistaking who it was. The blonde-haired girl mage. Iris of “Dragon’s Throat.” The one they had failed to ambush and barely escaped from.

“H-how are you here…!”

During their escape, they had erased their presence while also taking complicated routes back to their hideout. There was no way someone could have caught up with them so quickly unless they were a thief with skills beyond their own.

“This place is just a forward base… no, it’s more like a bunker.”

“Y-you!”

“≪Curse Bind≫”

“Agh!!”

The moment he tried to draw his sword, Adan was also knocked to the floor. The girl had cast magic, and suddenly, his limbs had stiffened, not responding to his will.

Adan and Jonas had both been adventurers for a time. But they had never heard of a spell called “≪Curse Bind≫.”

The two men, unable to move, were looked down upon by her emotionless, violet eyes.

“Thanks to chasing you two, I found their nest. You’re no longer needed. I’m not expecting much, but I’ll have you cough up whatever information you have before you die.

You have no right to remain silent. You can either suffer a lot before you die, or spill everything and die without much pain, it’s your choice.

…≪Deadly Poison≫”

A deathly silence filled the air.

This was a hidden room accessed from the back entrance of the high-end club, “Golden Bird,” in the entertainment district of Eltaref.

The room, lit with moody lighting, was filled with an ostentatious sofa, an upstart-like table, and countless shelves of liquor.

Scattered across the room were corpses.

The underlings. The bodyguards. Even the prostitute who had just been called in. The (corrupt) merchant who had been there to discuss some… business. Everyone present had been killed by a wind magic, their heads cleanly severed.

Everyone except for Jason, the mid-level manager in charge of the city of Eltaref for the Night Python.

“Who…are you…? How did you find this place…”

Jason choked out the words as a small hand tightened around his throat. His heavily pierced face was contorted in pain.

Jason, a heavily tattooed, muscular, and shaved-head man, was a well-known combatant within the Night Python.

Yet now, he was about to be killed, along with his men, by a single young girl.

Jason’s arms and legs were bound by restraints he had brought himself, the kind made for “certain play” (Though being a women’s size, the restraints dug into his flesh).

Even in this state, he should have been able to at least knock down a girl, but the manacles were too heavy, and his arms wouldn’t budge.

Jason didn’t know what she had done, (Surely one single magic could not do this much) but he understood that he was being weakened by a strong debuff spell.

“I’m the one asking the questions. You will remain silent and only answer what is asked of you.”

“Gyaaah!”

The girl coldly declared, then, without any hesitation, she used the knife in her hand to gouge out Jason’s eye.

Jason was terrified. By a girl who looked to be a third of his age, no less.

The girl, dressed all in black, looking like a thief with her face hidden, was nonetheless a mage. Her cold, violet eyes looked down at Jason with a hint of madness.

–What the hell is this monster…!?

She was incomprehensibly strong, and completely heartless. She didn’t seem to have any mental blocks that might stop her from harming others.

Those who lived in the underbelly of society had to experience several life-or-death situations to reach that state of mind. But this girl was already there.

There was no word to describe this twisted existence other than ‘monster’.

The monster looked around, as if confirming something.

“The information necessary to pursue the upper echelons, the Count can glean from the letters and records left here…which leaves two things that I’m curious about.

First. How did you know “Dragon’s Throat” was hired?”

“Huh? Why would you ask that, gyaaah!”

“Answer the question, and nothing else.”

His remaining eye was gouged out, and Jason could no longer see.

He still didn’t understand why she would ask that in this situation, but Jason knew he had to answer, and instinctively cried out.

“I-it was Wayne, a staff member at the Adventurer’s Guild, and Danton, a servant of the Count’s household!!

There seems to be more spies within the Count’s household, but I don’t know the details!”

“…I see. So there were spies after all. And the Count’s household has a separate spy network for both the Night Python in the city and the overseer of the territory.

Second. Was it your decision to target “Dragon’s Throat?” Or was it an order from above?”

“I-it was me! I decided! I was ordered to interfere with the Count, but the method was left to my discretion!”

“I see.”

Jason couldn’t see it, but he felt like the monster had smiled.

“So, if I kill you, no one else will know that “Dragon’s Throat” was targeted.

I don’t want my teammates getting worried and stopping our work. So, as dead tell no tales, please die.”

The morning after becoming a ninja, Iris Lune was in the room that was assigned to her party.

They had already accepted a quest through the guild. The short training period was over, and as of noon today, she would begin her full-fledged activities as Catherine’s body double. But before that, they could have a brief moment of family time together as a party.

“Huh, ‘Rose Princess of Hellrage’? A bit dramatic for a ten-year-old girl, wouldn’t you say?”

Hugh made a grimace looking at the wanted poster that Diana had brought. Benedict lowered his ears and bared his fangs.

“The first princess, abandoned because she was a cursed child, huh…”

“She lived without knowing anything, right?”

“That’s the rumor. What a terrible thing to do to someone.”

“This is just for show and venting. Why don’t they understand that they’re smearing the very ideals of their coup?”

The members of “Dragon’s Throat” were sympathetic towards Renée. Perhaps, having Iris, a peer, in their party, made them sympathetic toward Renée as well.

Iris Lune could perceive their feelings.

Their sympathy and pity felt as sweet as honey, seeping into her core. She wanted to relish their pity forever.

However, it felt like trying to quench a thirst that could never be quenched, no matter how much water you drank.

Like pouring water into a broken cup, nothing would remain. Everything was already too late. Sympathy and pity were useless sentiments for a revenge seeker.

“…By the way, what is Iris doing?”

“Oh, this?”

Iris Lune showed Diana a crystal ball that had peeked over her shoulder.

During work, Iris Lune’s belongings were also kept in this room. This crystal ball was a magical item she had taken out of them.

“Scouting.”

“Ah, the ≪Crystal Eye≫, I see.”

“That’s right. I heard they’re protecting the whole castle with a detection-blocking spell for the time being, so I thought I’d take a look at the security situation for now.”

Inside the crystal ball, the castle walls were bathed in the morning sun. A guard, who looked like he was finishing his night shift, stood there with sleepy eyes.

The ≪Crystal Eye≫ was, as the name suggested, a magic that allowed you to see far away through a crystal ball. That being said, you couldn’t usually see that far. Most magic consumed magic power in proportion to the square of the distance if you tried to extend the range. The ≪Crystal Eye≫ was no exception, and was mainly used for short-range, safe scouting.

“I don’t think you’ll find it all that interesting.”

“Yeah, we also heard about the setup…hey, what are you looking at?”

“Whoops, my bad!”

The moment she looked away from the crystal ball to respond to Diana, Iris Lune pretended to make a mistake, and she abruptly shifted the view.

The view was a poorly lit and dark room. It looked like a room in an apartment building, but it was too desolate. There was virtually no furniture. Inside, two men lay collapsed on the floor.

“Hurry up and show something else. Peeping is a bad hobb…”

Hugh, who was about to joke, stopped himself.

The men in the crystal ball were clearly dead.

Their skin had turned purplish-black, their faces in agony, like some hideous demon sculptures carved by a sculptor with horrible taste.

“What… is this?”

“What, did you find a couple getting busy?”

“Not that…hey, look at this.”

The three other party members, besides Iris Lune, peered into the crystal together.

Diana gasped.

“They’re dead…!”

“Iris, where is this?”

“I’m moving it around to check the surroundings. I think it’s near the castle, though.”

“Hey, we need to tell the Count about this…”

Benedict rushed out of the room, visibly flustered.

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