"Greetings, my name is Third and as you already guessed I am the leader of our group." Third said politely to Tommy.

"Greetings Third." Tommy replied respectfully before saying. "Might I assume you're the one I will be dealing with now that this guy has shown he is incapable of doing so?"

"Why you little…." Eighth started to say but was silenced by a look from Third.

"That is correct." Third replied. "I have been informed about the circumstances of your meeting with my younger colleague and what she has offered you in exchange for the item."

"You mean this?" Tommy asked as he withdrew the ceremonial dagger with the crest on from his pocket (Item Box) to show them all before he started to spin it in his hand.

As he did so he frowned before saying, "Good job this thing wasn't meant for killing, it's not balanced at all."

Liza's eyes lit up when she saw the dagger as this proved she was right in her assumption while Third eyed Tommy quizzically.

Eighth on the other hand looked at the dagger with worship before looking back at Tommy who felt a small amount of killing intent emanating from the man.

(Well that confirms that.)

((Just kill this guy and get the deal over with already, we still need to decide how we will fix our more important problem.))

(...)

"You don't seem concerned about showing us what we want at all, even though we outnumber you Mr Smith." Third said.

"Why would I, While I admit that at least two of you are fairly skilled, it wouldn't be much of a fight, Miss Third." Tommy replied, causing the three members of Black Noir to show surprised looks before frowning, "I'm afraid that mentioning my name which I have not even made an attempt to keep hidden won't be enough to give you the advantage in our discussions."

"So it would seem." Third replied.

"Then how about we reveal the information about you being the one responsible for the recent murders?" Eighth asked viciously.

Tommy looked at Eighth with a bored look before asking, "And what proof do you have?"

Eighth chuckled before saying, "Do we need proof? Just the accusation will be enough to make things difficult for you."

"True," Tommy confirmed before adding, "Then how about I return the favor by telling your colleagues here what it is you're hiding from them?"

Third and Liza frowned at this before looking at Eighth.

"What are you talking about kid?" Eighth asked.

"Are you sure Mr supposed Eighth of Black Noir's nine lives?" Tommy asked with a smile.

"What does he mean when he says 'supposed' Eighth?" Third asked with a frown.

"I don't know." Eighth replied as the killing intent directed at Tommy increased.

Tommy turned to Third before saying, "If you want to understand then I suggest you talk to him sooner rather than later because as soon as that idiot attacks me he's going to die and so will any chance of obtaining this information without paying a cost."

"I don't know what this kid is talking about." Eighth replied while glaring at Tommy.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Is that right, Neisud Buhei." Tommy replied calmly.

As Tommy said Eighth's name his eyes widened in shock before turning to fear.

"Who is this Neisud Buhei you speak of?" Third asked with another frown before saying. "I think you have confused Eighth with someone else."

"Is that right?" Tommy said while smirking at Eighth.

(Well at least he was smart enough to use a fake name.)

"Bastard." Eighth growled as he saw Tommy smirking at him as if saying, 'I know everything.'

He decided he needed to eliminate this brat otherwise his mission would be compromised so he suddenly shot a bolt of black energy at Tommy in an attempt to silence him.

((Ohhh a magic attack.))

(I was starting to think that attack magic didn't exist.)

"Too late." Tommy said as he quickly dodge rolled to the side evading the black energy while pulling out his Walther PDP.

Third and Liza watched in shock as the black energy blew a large hole in the ground where the strange young man had just been standing.

"EIGHTH WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Third shouted, she and Liza never expected Eighth to suddenly attack since Third had decided to try and negotiate first.

"Don't think that little dodge will sav…." Eighth began as he gathered more dark energy in his hands, however before he could finish speaking or launch another attack.

BANG

The dark energy in Eighth's hands vanished as his body dropped to the ground dead.

Third and Liza stared in shock at the now dead Eighth who had a hole in his head while Tommy calmly collected the empty shell casing.

It took Third and Liza a moment to process what just happened. One of the members of the nine lives, the nine strongest members of Black Noir, had just been killed right in front of them and so quickly.

While Eighth was the second weakest of the nine lives, he was still stronger than all the other normal members of Black Noir.

"Did you really need to kill him?" Third asked accusingly while she stared at the weapon in Tommy's hand before adding, "and where did you pull that weapon from?"

Tommy looked at her calmly before asking, "Are you in the business of leaving alive those who attack you with the intention to kill?"

"No." Third replied before adding, "However there was no killing intent in his attacks, he only wanted to teach you a lesson."

"Are you trying to cover for him for some reason, or are you just that lacking?" Tommy asked with a frown.

"What do you mean? Why would I have reason to cover for a dead person? Third asked, confused.

"If you were incapable of sensing the killing intent he was directing at me then you are severely lacking in your training and honestly the fact that you're still alive in this business astounds me." Tommy replied harshly.

"I don't know what sort of business you speak of" Third denied.

"Listen," Tommy said. "While I may not know exactly what sort of organization Black Noir is, I am able to tell that it involves theft or the acquisition of goods that don't belong to you, most likely on behalf of a third party."

"Then considering you and the dead guy have numbers as a form of identification, those numbers must be based of a ranking system where the closer your number is to one or even zero the higher your rank and level of authority which is why you were his superior, plus as I said before, your ability to hide was far better than his."

"However, seeing as how this naked girl here was obviously beneath the dead guy while being better at hiding and sneaking, there are two conclusions."

"Can you not phrase that a better way?" The naked girl asked with embarrassment.

"My bad." Tommy said to the naked girl with a smirk before continuing. "First is that your organization can not see talent when it is right in front of you, which is unlikely since someone of your rank is here to assist her."

"So it must be the second which is that the ranking system leans more in the favor of strength than skill, if that's the case and it is based on strength then Black Noir also most likely partakes in protection and or assassination missions, the later being the more likely of the two."

Third, Liza stared in shock at Tommy, although what he had just described was rough and only the basics, he had indeed described how Black Noir's ranking system worked.

"I'm impressed you managed to work that out with so little info." Third said with an impressed tone while looking at Tommy with more interest.

Tommy just shrugged before saying, "It's nothing special, your organization is not the first I have met in my life, I was even a member of one or two in the past."

"So you are an assassin," Third mumbled as if a theory had been confirmed before asking. "Were you hired to kill the criminal leaders in Oakforest City?"

"In a way." Tommy replied before continuing. "I needed something from someone in the city and their requirements were that I damage the criminal organizations and eliminate their leaders."

"However after I completed the task and returned for my reward the city guards were waiting in ambush to capture me after this person tipped them off. I killed some of the city guards before scaring the others away but not before finding out who tipped them off to my location."

"Unfortunately that person managed to flee while I was dealing with the guards so naturally I helped myself to that person's valuables from their house, however they are now my target so I plan to visit the castle soon and eliminate him."