Idris looked over at Thomas, who gently set Raina down, before slowly laying his hand on to the grip of his sword. He seemed hesitant, not too often seen in someone like Thomas.

Bruno remained kneeling, holding Nina steady with one hand and putting pressure on her wound with his other.

They all know who the Royal Guardian is, and they all know that it's pointless to fight.

“Very well,” said Reiner, sheathing his great sword, seeing that none wanted a fight.

“We don’t want to fight,” replied Thomas. “Just let us go.”

“There shall be no fighting if you desire so. But you are trespassing the Royal Palace grounds, and there shall be consequences.”

Thomas scrunched his nose slightly. If they get caught here, their progress would be hampered by weeks, maybe even months. But if they fought, their chances against the Royal Guardian would be minimal.

“We’re not here to hurt anyone,” Saya spoke up suddenly. “We’re here for our own good, our own protection.”

Reiner raised his eyebrows as he crossed his arms. “Who are you? Why are you here.”

“We are assassins of Rose,” answered Saya. “We are here for vengeance.”

“I see…” Reiner replied calmly. “That changes things then.”

There was silence as Reiner thought for a brief moment.

“Very well. Follow me.”

*****

“My sincere apologies for injuring a member of your group. I was unaware of your identities, so I treated it as a case of foreign intruders,” said Reiner, sitting in a large armchair in his spacious office. “Their serious combat abilities should have clued me in. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Thomas replied.

Reiner had taken them up to his office on the upper levels of the palace after their rough meet-up down in the library. Then he personally made them tea, asked for the finest pastries to be brought up, and summoned the Royal Physician, who was currently tending to Nina’s wound.

“Let us begin then. Why exactly are you here and what do you want?” Asked Reiner.

“We’re here to find our enemies,” Thomas answered bluntly. “There’s a mysterious foe targeting us, and we’re here to find them.”

Reiner looked over at Gracie Letterman, standing in the corner of the room, who gave him a small nod.

“I see…” said Reiner, rubbing his chin in thought. “Gracie, with due respect, could you please let us have a talk in private.”

“Of course,” she said with a bow, before quickly leaving the room.

Then Reiner turned back to Thomas, sitting across from him, and sighed.

“Truth be told, we have a detachment specifically tasked with tracking and documenting the work of assassins,” said Reiner. “Being by far the largest and most elite in Eidolon, Rose is one of our primary focuses.”

Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because the assassin clans are an invaluable asset for any kingdom to have. Some of the best mages are found in assassin clans, and the influence of the clans allows us not only political leverage, but even economic leverage at times,” Reiner explained. “Our activities have only ever involved documenting and surveillance, never anything which would remotely threaten the wellbeing of Rose. Please trust me, on behalf of the Royal Family.”

Idris looked at Saya, sitting next to him on the couch, out of the corner of his eyes. She was listening intently, her eyes focused on the Royal Guardian, trying her best to figure out the validity of his statements, and so far, no lies have been told.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Reiner called out.

A woman dressed in the same white uniform as Reiner stepped in, a servant following her with a tray piled high with intricate pastries.

“Hello, I am Christina Grunfeld, leader of the Assassination Survey Detachment,” she said, introducing herself with a big bow. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Hi Christina, please, have a seat,” said Reiner, gesturing to the empty armchair next to him. “Bring the pastries over too, please.”

“Of course.”

The servant handed the tray of pastries to her with a bow, before backing out of the door. Christina then brought it over and placed it upon the little tea table, before taking a seat in her armchair and opening up a thick folder of documents.

“This is Thomas, Bruno, Kana, Idris, Saya,” Reiner introduced them one by one. “There is Raina and Andrei, taking care of Nina who I unfortunately injured during our confrontation.”

“My pleasure,” said Christina in a hurry. “Reiner, may I…”

“Please go ahead.”

“Okay,” she paused to clear her throat. “I’m sorry for not being present sooner, my office is on the other side of the building from here. Can you please give me a summary of the situation?”

They all exchanged glances.

“Do we tell them everything?” Whispered Bruno.

“As it stands now, there’s no better option,” whispered Kana.

Thomas sighed, before quickly explaining the ambush during the first contract, Lilian’s sacrifice, their hunt for the perpetrator, the attack at night on the trade routes, and their meeting with Sir Allison Lapland. The whole time Christina listened carefully and continuously scribbled down notes.

“I see…” Christina mumbled, looking over her notes for a moment. “I’m terribly sorry for your loss… But would you like to hear my side of the story?”

“Of course.”

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“Our detachment’s purpose is mainly to keep track of assassinations and the general activities of assassin clans for statistical and historical purposes. We don’t keep these data in order to take advantage of assassins, or, in the case of Rose, attempt to expose you. Though the assassin business is a powerful one, under most jurisdictions, it is still illegal. We simply don’t pursue certain murders because we know it’s the work of assassins, and that even if we tried, we wouldn’t get anywhere.”

“I understand.”

“We were there at Schulz’s residence to investigate his murder, and our findings were… confusing, to say the least.”

“How so?”

“We concluded that it was likely the work of an assassin clan, but we could not conclusively ascertain which. While we suspected it to be Rose, the messiness of the interior and the rather large collateral casualties hinted at the fact that the operation did not go smoothly,” explained Christina. “At around the same time, we received reports of assassin clans who began operations earlier in the year being attacked by an unknown organization.”

“Sir Allison Lapland mentioned the same during our meeting with him,” said Kana, speaking up for the first time after being deep in thought.

“Yes,” Christina continued. “Crescent House reportedly suffered heavy casualties when their convoy was hit by several inexplicable avalanches, and their tracking owls have been going missing. The Bond of Orion was attacked during their first contract with sizable losses, though the exact details are unclear. In that aspect, it would seem that you are the lucky ones.”

The Kingdom of Luneria has historically always been one of their close allies, and its most powerful clan, Crescent House, is no different. Though still limited to secret meetings every once in a long while, Crescent House and Rose have always maintained a friendly relationship. Whenever Rose receives contracts in Luneria, Crescent House is always informed, and vice versa.

“Christina,” Reiner cut in. “The fallen was Thomas’ partner…”

Idris could see Christina’s eyes widen.

“I… I’m terribly sorry,” she stammered. “I was not aware…”

“It’s alright,” Thomas replied. “It wouldn’t be much different if it was someone else. Rose is one big family.”

“I… I see…” mumbled Christina.

“That is to say, we are not the ones you are looking for,” said Reiner. “Though I know not who your true foes are, it is not us. If those fighting against you become too strong, then call me,” he said as he tossed a little red pendant to Thomas, who caught it with one hand. “It’s a telepath gem, one linked directly to me. Wherever in the kingdom, activate it, and I will be present momentarily.”

“That fast??” Saya exclaimed.

“Yes. That fast,” Reiner answered.

Christina chuckled a little at Saya’s disbelief. “Reiner’s pet is a minor dragon gifted to him by the Kingdom of Luneria. With it and some exotic gems, he can fly anywhere in our kingdom in less than a day.”

“Woahhhhhhh…” Saya whispered. “I’ve only heard about great dragons in stories…”

Dragons are found in many places, they are used instead of horses in the Sun Empire, and the Kingdom of Aerion uses sea dragons to pull their ships, but the flying kinds are only found deep in the icy mountains of Luneria.

The vast majority of dragons are minor dragons—dragons that are relatively small and lack any major combat abilities, making them only useful in utility roles. Great dragons are the opposite, they are much larger and usually very destructive but are extremely rare.

Historically, great dragons have been used with spectacular effect in battle, their naturally extremely high effect power making them almost immune to magic attacks. But with the advent of heavier and more accurate conventional weaponry, great dragons are being used less and less in war.

“Anyhow, where are you headed next?” Asked Reiner. “I’m sure you have an idea of where to look?”

“The northern mountains,” answered Thomas. “We’re looking for someone who knows more than we do.”

Reiner nodded. “Best of luck on your journey, the northern mountains are no place for the faint of heart…”

“Thank you.”

“Hopefully, we can have a talk like this sometime in the future, Rose has never been close with the Royal Family, but for good reason,” said Reiner, getting to his feet. “Anonymity is your strongest weapon, and I don’t wish to harm that.”

“Perhaps,” Thomas said with a smile. “Who knows how the world will change.”

“Change happens fast, doesn’t it.”

“Sometimes we don’t even realize.”

*****

The smokey streets of Kingston sent an itch up his nose and down his throat, making him sneeze hard into his arm.

“Blesh you.”

“Thank you, Saya,” Idris replied, rubbing his nose.

“You welcome,” mumbled Saya, taking another big bite from her apple pastry.

“Saya…” Idris sighed. “How many of those have you eaten…”

Saya shrugged, her mouth puffing up as she chewed.

“Saya, too much food will weigh you down,” said Nina, walking beside them.

Thanks to Raina and the Royal Physician’s healing, the deep cut she had received was pretty much already gone, now just a small scar on her arm.

Saya stopped chewing, swallowed hard, and pouted. “You want some?” She asked, offering Nina her half-eaten pastry.

“Um… sure,” Nina replied, quickly grabbing the pastry from Saya and stuffing it in her own mouth. “You want some too, Andrei?”

“Sure.”

Reiner had insisted they take the pastries when they were about to leave, so Saya got a bag and began stuffing pastries into it. Idris tried one too, and it was indeed very tasty.

They are now heading towards the Rose outpost in Kingston, where they will send a message back home before heading off towards the northern mountains. Thomas decided to take the four apprentices with him to carry supplies on the way back, while the others prepped their carriage for the long journey ahead.

“This way,” said Thomas, turning down a small alleyway hidden from the main street.

At the end of the alleyway was a door to a little building, the insignia of a blooming rose above it.

“Who’s stationed here currently?” Asked Saya as they headed towards it.

“Iris, I believe,” Thomas answered. “I thought she would have told you?”

“Oh right! She did, hehe…” Saya chuckled wryly, scratching her nose. “I just forgot.”

Iris is a fellow apprentice of theirs. Being in her sixth year too, she is looking to graduate soon. As part of that, she volunteered to work at an outpost for one rotation.

They stopped before the door, Thomas stepping up alone and giving it three hard knocks.

There was no reply.

He knocked three times again, and when no reply came, slowly opened the squeaky door.

They entered the room together.

No one else was there, the seat behind the counter empty, no Iris in sight.

“Something’s wrong,” Thomas whispered.

“Maybe she’s just going to the bathroom?” Suggested Nina.

“No… there should be a sign placed on the counter if that’s the reason,” Thomas replied.

Slowly, he walked around the side of the counter, squinting to see in the darkness.

He froze and leaned down a bit to see more clearly, before turning to face them with a dead serious expression.

“You four, follow the trail, don’t get separated,” ordered Thomas as he ran out of the door. “I’m heading back for the others.”

“Thomas! What’s wrong?” Shouted Andrei.

But he was already gone, his long jacket flowing behind him as he ran.

Idris quickly looked behind the counter, using his power to move away the shadows.

There was blood in pools on the ground and splattered on the walls, purple and coagulated. A distinct trail led towards an open trapdoor in the corner of the room, continuing down the tunnel and away from sight.

The three others looked over the counter too, Nina covering her mouth in shock.

It seems, despite their best efforts, their enemies were still a step ahead.