Reiren was getting more and more frustrated. Her fellow assassins had been restlessly killing each other, with some even trying to hunting them down. They were just trying to satisfy their anger, and no one was trying to figure out who exactly the traitor was anymore.

Meanwhile, the actual culprit was happily continuing with her extravagant life. Princess Catherina Vil Valoria was always protected by a bunch of knights wherever she went. Even with her and Eliphia's ability to pass by them and assassinate the princess, it was still a tall order.

"So it's impossible?" Eliphia asked as they walked in town. "Then what about just leaving to another kingdom?"

"Stop trying to make me give up," Reiren said. "Didn't you say you would support me?"

"Yes, but you didn't exactly have a plan, right?" Eliphia said. "We were just keep running away from our fellow assassins, and we never had a chance to get close to the princess either. So what was I supposed to support you with?"

Reiren sighed. "Yeah, I didn't know either..."

"Then let's go to another kingdom?" Eliphia asked with a smile.

"Stop that," Reiren said. "I can't..."

"Fine," Eliphia said. "I just need to make sure."

"Sorry, but I won't change my mind," Reiren said. "Anyway, did you check inside the tavern yet?" She asked as they got closer to the tavern.

"I'm doing it right now," Eliphia said, using her ability. "The tavern was almost full. I heard... a group of girls waiting for someone. And then they were talking about the dwarf kingdom. The others were the usual tavern customers that lived around here."

"No assassins or knights then?" Reiren asked.

"I don't think so," Eliphia said.

"Alright, let's get in then--" Reiren's words were cut off by Eliphia suddenly grabbing her hand.

"One of the girls noticed us," she said, even before we got inside.

"Targeting us?" Reiren asked.

"I'm... not sure," Eliphia said.

"Well, someone skilled was bound to exist around," Reiren said. "Let's just ignore it. We will be more suspicious if we suddenly go back. Unless...are you sure they were enemies?"

"I don't know," Eliphia said.

"Then let's go inside," Reiren said. "There's no need to be overly cautious."

Eliphia nodded, although her expression was still uneasy.

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They entered the tavern. From the middle of the room, the blue-haired girl looked at them.

"It's just two girls, maybe travelers like us? No need to be cautious," the blue-haired girl said to the tall girl that looked like a knight.

"Yes, don't surprise us like that," a small girl with twin tails said.

"You're right, I'm sorry, miss," the tall girl said.

They then continued talking about the dwarf kingdom.

Reiren and Eliphia continued to walk toward the tavern owner.

"Oh, welcome back," the tavern owner with a huge body and bushy beard said, smiling.

Reiren nodded. "The usual," she said.

"Me too," Eliphia said, seeming still uneasy.

"Alright, wait a moment, I will bring your order soon," the tavern owner said.

Reiren and Eliphia then walked to the only empty table, in the middle, close to the group of girls from before.

They sat down, yet Eliphia was getting more uneasy. Reiren held her hand, making Eliphia's eyes meet hers directly.

"What's wrong?" Reiren asked. "Did you hear something?"

Eliphia shook her head. "It's the opposite."

"What?"Reiren blinked in confusion.

Eliphia gulped. "Since we entered, most of the customers here suddenly didn't say anything. That's weird..."

"That's indeed weird," Reiren said, noticing that some of them were stealing glances at her.

Then the blue-haired girl said something that surprised her.

"So, are you Reiren and Eliphia, I presume?" she said.

Reflexively, they stood and brought out their weapons, staring at the blue-haired girl cautiously. At the same time, all the customers suddenly moved. Some moved to the door, some to the windows, blocking their way out with their bodies.

"I'm sorry, Reiren, but we need money," the huge tavern owner said.

Reiren cursed, finally understanding what happened. The whole tavern was bought by the blue-haired girl. They were all enemies.

"No need to be alarmed," the blue-haired girl said. "Please put down your weapon, I just want to talk."

"As if!" Reiren said. "I'm sorry, Eliphia. I should have listened to you."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not sure either," Eliphia said. "But what do we do now?"

Reiren glanced toward the door. She could try to run there and stab them, but their bodies would still block the door.

The same with the windows. They were completely trapped.

"My name is Aurora," the blue-haired girl said. "Please sit down. As I said before, I just want to talk."

Reiren stared at the blue-haired girl. They seemed calm and didn't seem to be going to attack them. Yet, there was no way she could trust them. Her mind was still trying to find a way to run.

"I told you to sit down," Aurora said. "Don't make me force you to do it."

The tall girl beside her pulled out her sword, and wind appeared inside that closed room, gathering around her.

The wind was pretty sharp. Reiren could tell that if she wanted, she could already cut both of their heads even without her sword directly touching them. That's how dangerous that lady knight with the sword was.

She grabbed Eliphia's hand, forcing her to sit down. Eliphia didn't protest. She could feel it, the danger of disobeying them.

"Much better," Aurora said, smiling as she clapped her hands. "Now let's talk."

"So who are you?" Reiren asked, still feeling intimidated. "What do you want from us?"

"I already told you my name," Aurora said. "But I guess that didn't really mean anything to you. And you asked me what I want from you? It's the opposite. I'm here to offer you my help."

"Help...?" Eliphia said, confused.

"That's right," Aurora said. "I can help you two fulfill what you want, with a price. Well, basically, you can even call it a contract if you want."

"Help? Contract? What are you talking about?" Reiren said.

"To put it simply," Aurora said, "I will help you, but not for free."

"You think we will believe you after you do this?" Reiren said. "Forget it. Let us go!"

"Well, I don't want to come off as being too forceful or anything, but there's no way you guys will listen if I didn't do this, right?" Aurora said. "And don't worry, I won't keep you here if you don't want to."

Aurora gave a gesture toward the people around the door. They understood and moved out of the way.

"But before you take your leave," Aurora said, "please remember my offer. I could give you a chance to assassinate the princess. I believe that's what you wanted, right?"

Reiren froze in her seat, but she tried to make it less obvious. That shouldn't have shocked her. If she had thought about it, that would not have been a surprising conclusion. Their assassin's group was destroyed because of the princess's actions. Of course, people could predict that the remaining assassins would want to take revenge.

"And as a bonus," Aurora said, "I could tell you how she found out about your group's hideout. Spoiler alert, there was no traitor in your group."

"What...?" Reiren immediately stood up.

Aurora smiled. "We will be around here for a few more days. If you change your mind, you can always come to me anytime. We can talk more about this in detail."

Reiren stood there, staring at Aurora who was still smiling. She couldn't help but wonder what was up with this girl. She couldn't read her at all.

Eliphia, on the other hand, couldn't wait to leave that place. She grabbed Reiren's hand and pulled her.

"Let's go!" she urged Reiren. "Before they change their minds!"

Reiren nodded and quickly walked to the door, half expecting they would be attacked from behind. But nothing happened. After all that, they had really left them free just like that.

"What's up with them?" Reiren said as they left the tavern, confused.

"I don't know," Eliphia said. "They didn't follow us either, but let's just go for now."

Reiren used her ability to mute their sound before disappearing completely behind the building.

***