"The main protagonist arrives late but at the right moment," I said.

The waiters brought all varieties of food to our table, from different steaks, roasted vegetables, and honey.

Yep, I shouldn’t have picked some foods with fancy-sounding names. Is that raw beef chopped into cubes? Do people eat that?

While the main protagonist might arrive late, I came here two days ago and was observing the fight from the second floor. I even pre-ordered food.

Thankfully, no one was injured this time. Agon and his team will enter the exam without injuries. Sei would have had it especially bad. That flute guy had a Special Ability that directly countered Sei.

"Since we're the ones who are quite close with each other. I think we should start planning a future strategy." Bets put his two cents in. "The death rate of this exam is over 17%, so if we want to at least survive-"

"We will survive," Anika interrupted him. She had sharp eyes like a scalpel.

She probably was about to say something like: 'only losers die'. But then she remembered the classmates and teachers who died in the training camp.

"Anyway, we know little about the exam. So we can't set direct terms on how we should work together. But our first basic rule should be not to hurt or kill the other. If we see one of us in trouble, we help them." I looked each of them in the eyes, trying to unravel any signs of uncertainty.

But there were no contenders; some nodded, while others agreed silently.

It would be a blessing if I could pull them through tonight without injury. Despite all my plans and preparations, the Expert Exam made the Training Camp Arc seem like child’s play.

…

We continued talking about what the future might hold for us.

Normally I would have messed around with Agon and Gem. They were always fun to be around. But spending classic time with the guys while Anika was around would be inappropriate.

Also, I didn't want Agon or Gem to talk about the last time I pulled a girl. They would probably add unnecessary comments that would cause misunderstandings.

After getting our fill, we got up at the same time.

"We should look around and try to find a place to stay," Bets suggested. "And also find a place with enough rooms for all of us. Some might have to share a room. But we need to be as careful as we can. There’s no rule that says someone can't take out the competition before the exam starts."

Killing an exorcist in an enemy country was dangerous. But there were so many special abilities out there. Who was to say there wasn’t some crime-concealing ability? There were probably a lot of them.

"Don't worry about lodgings. I have prepared six rooms for us," I told everyone else the surface things I had planned. Then I waved my hand, signaling them to follow me.

We walked up the stairs toward the second floor. The whole place grew quieter.

"I still don't think we should stay here. The place is filled with foreign Exorcists," Sei glanced around cautiously.

He wasn't wrong about that. "Who said about staying here?"

"You did, loud and clear," Agon added.

It was a rhetorical question!

If there weren’t others around, that would’ve been enough to start a fight with Agon. "Yes, and I did so loudly and clearly. I said I have prepared enough rooms for the six of us."

Those words were technically the truth. Just in case someone had a lie-detection ability. I had six rooms, one for each of us. However, I never said that we would use them.

Whatever poor bastard entered those rooms, he would be in for a nasty surprise.

I went to a seventh room I had rented under a different name, and we went inside.

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Then I opened the window and jumped out. Though it was from the second floor, with Ord even the weakest exorcist could do this without getting hurt.

They jumped down too and followed me as we stalked through an empty alleyway.

"It feels like we're ninjas," Agon whispered.

After maneuvering through some alleys, we arrived at a broken-down shop with a smudged sign on the front.

There were beggars all around the alley, and as we walked, their gazes followed us.

"H -Hey, you sure we're going to a safe place?" Gem asked, his voice shaking with fear. “What if one of these guys is a disguised Exorcist?”

"Don't worry, the Dark Sword Clan owns this alley," I reassured them. Most of these beggars were spies, but they worked for my clan.

Contrary to its outside appearance, the inside of the shop was quite luxurious. However, the items on sale here were quite dubious.

The whole place smelled of sweet lavender perfume with such a powerful aroma that I could barely smell anything else. Was the owner trying to hide some suspicious smell?

It was a shady place, like everything else my clan was involved with. Delia had told me I should come to this place if I ever needed to hide.

"Ah! Young master Kon, I have been expecting you!" A thin middle-aged man with crooked teeth and a slick smile greeted us. He had one eye looking one way and the other looking the other. "Miss Delia told me you might arrive one day. I have prepared everything you asked for."

"Thanks. Can you take us to our designated rooms?" I wasn't going to waste time with useless pleasantries. There was something off-putting about the guy, and it wasn't his appearance.

"Yes, yes, follow me," he smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Make sure to stick close to me, and no matter what you see, don't scream out loud. Or else that thing might come out."

That thing? What the hell is he talking about?

Delia never told me about any of this. But I knew she was about as smart as a rock. Why did I have such a troublesome cousin?

We followed him to the basement. It was hard to see; the only light source was a dim lamp on the man’s hand. "As per request, the whole place is sealed, so tracking abilities shouldn't work. At least weak ones because you would be in trouble if there's an ability like Mistress Delia's."

The hallway was dark, and damp, and smelled like cherries.

We arrived at one room, and once the door was opened. The whole place reeked of mold but looked clean and had six beds.

"I know how suspicious this place might seem. So to ease everyone's suspicion, I prepared six beds, and you can sleep in the same room," the man reassured us.

Yeah, that made him even more suspicious.

"Ahahaha, old man, you're a nice guy? And here I thought you were a suspicious guy." Agon gave him a thumbs up.

Oy! Don't just trust people you don't know!

He's from my clan, and he's suspicious as hell!

"Oh, no, I'm definitely a bad guy," the owner confessed.

He accepted the role so easily! What's wrong with these people? I expected this from Agon, but this guy was weird too. Was it okay for the clan to hire someone so loose-lipped?

Oh well, it wasn't my problem. If the Dark Sword Clan gets involved in some scandal, I will save my parents and maybe Delia. The others I don't care about that much. Possibly save the kids too, since they're faultless in whatever comes.

"So, what do you sell?" Gem asked.

“Mostly talismans."

"What kind of talismans?" Even I was curious.

"The kind that helps in a relationship. It's a business secret," the man smiled. "You know what they say, teach a man to fish, and he will pay you once. Sell him fish, and he will pay you a lifetime."

Where did my clan find people like this?

"I thought you were selling human organs," Sei stated.

I assumed that too!

"No, organs don't have that much of a big market. Quantity can be better than quality. Also, we might accidentally hire some psycho who liked the job and would target innocents. We don't work with people without morals!" The shop owner huffed his chest with pride.

I don't think that's something he should be proud of. But I just went with the flow. Also, when did the clan ever worry about morals?

"Okay, we arrived at your room," the old man opened a door at almost the end of the cold hallways. Inside were six pristine and clean beds.

"Here, Agon, take this in case you can't sleep," I handed my pill to my friend.

I wouldn’t trust a stroke of luck where he would slip, tumbling out of the bed and falling unconscious.

At first, I was afraid Agon would ask why I was handing him such a pill. But he just shrugged and put the pill in his pocket. "Thanks!"

He even gave me a thumbs-up.

I'm happy he didn't ask many questions. But he was way too trusting!

…

Still, despite the arrangements, we all slept soundly. The next morning we woke up with a paper above each of our beds.

It said – ‘Only an exorcist who can handle the pressure of the job and get a night’s sleep will be able to see this…’

But before I could continue reading it, the door to my room barged open. It was the shop owner. He had a sweaty face and looked like he had seen death. "Lord Kon! Something terrible has happened! There was a bloodbath in the capital!"