"There are many ways they can use to manipulate your family members." Anom thought for a while before continuing, "They can cause some internal strife among the upper echelon. But that's just a basic method and I think your parents must already be prepared for such things. Other than that, your enemies can also make some of your family members think that your family has no chance of surviving in this clash. Then they will your give them some false hope that your family can only survive by surrendering and making your people force your parents to surrender. I don't know, the enemy is in an advantageous situation if we only consider the information we have on hand." He shook his head as he began wondering if he could enjoy himself after joining this mess.

Meanwhile, Crystal began trembling. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes as her breathing became irregular.

Anom noticed her reaction and became anxious. The girl had started panicking.

'Damn it! I shouldn't have said it like that.'

She was a girl from a well-off family who had lived a sheltered life. Although she was tough, in the end she didn't see much of the world. Or maybe she has only seen the good side.

Her home, it was the place where she had grown up among her loved ones, her family. Now that Anom stated a possibility that her home might get destroyed and that too by her own family members, the blow was too much for her to take.

Anom tried to think of something to sooth her as he rubbed her back continuously.

Seeing her still panicking, Anom didn't care about the consequences anymore. He lifted her head and connected their lips together.

The girl who had gone in panic felt like she had almost lost her soul when their lips connected.

She began panicking again, but this time for another reason. She tried to say something but her mouth was blocked so she could only let out low sounds from her throat.

But Anom didn't seem to hear anything as he felt a wonderful sensation as soon as his lips touched hers.

'So soft, so fragrant, SO GOOD…'

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain on his lips. He regained his senses as he broke the kiss and stared at the red-faced beauty glaring at him with an expression stuck between anger and embarrassment. She backed off a few steps and continued glaring at him.

"Oh, you're not panicking anymore." Realizing there was no way out, he could only shamelessly try to change the topic.

Crystal took deep breaths to calm her down. Then she saw Anom staring at her bountiful bosom, which made her even more mad.

"You-You are shameless. How can you kiss me just like that by catching me off-guard?" The girl wanted to add that he was trying to take advantage of her situation but she knew that Anom didn't have to wait till now if he really wanted to do so.

"Hey, calm down. You were panicking so I had to do something to shock you. This was all I could think of at the moment." Anom justified himself as he walked closer to her.

Although she knew that he just wanted to calm her down, his method made her angry.

"T-That was my first kiss! You could have kissed elsewhere and I would have been shocked all the same." She stated.

"Well, I just wanted to be thorough. Besides, I didn't have much time to think after seeing you like that. I was worried that your condition would worsen if I delayed too much." He argued back. Seeing that she was not that mad anymore, he asked shamelessly, "And what do you mean by kissing somewhere else?"

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"Y-You could have kissed m-my cheek or something," said Crystal as she lowered her head in shame.

Anom laughed at her cute reaction. Suddenly, he walked forward and grabbed her hands. Then his face moved forward, leaving a peck on her cheek. He asked, "Like this?"

Crystal stared at this shameless fellow and wanted nothing more than to give him a good beating.

Anom didn't give her any time to react after the second kiss and pulled her into his embrace.

Before Crystal could speak, Anom started saying, "I'm sorry for the first kiss, I couldn't think of any other way." Why would he when there was such a simple and wonderful way? He continued, "And this kiss was a friendly kiss. We can be considered acquaintances now. So it'll not be a stretch to call us friends."

Crystal didn't reply as she tried to move her body, which seemed to have turned rigid in Anom's embrace.

Anom gently caressed her soft black hair and spoke, "I can help you with dealing with your enemies if you want. What do you think? I'm your friend after all."

Crystal felt a sudden surge of warmth bubbling deep inside her. But she didn't let it show on her face as she snorted, "Humph! Who needs a shameless friend like you? And you want to help me? What can you do with your measly strength?"

Anom chuckled and said, "I probably wouldn't have been able to help if it was a direct confrontation. But I can do a lot of things now when the situation is still under control. Besides, I have confidence in winning against most opponents, even in a head-on fight. But the focus of my skill-set doesn't lie in that."

Crystal became interested, "Oh? So what's your occupation?" His fighting style was like an assassin, but his strength was also not bad. Crystal was curious about what he did for a living.

Anom raised his head high and cleared his throat, "I'm a thief!" That was all he said.

Crystal stared blankly for a moment before bursting into laughter, "Ha-ha! And here I thought my impression of you couldn't get any worse. So you are a thief. Haha! And those assassins you defeated were even more hilarious for being defeated by a thief." If not for Anom holding her, she would have started rolling on the ground while holding her stomach.

Anom frowned, "Hey, what kind of reaction is that? I think you're misunderstanding something. I'm not a petty thief. I'm a professional and honourable thief. You have no idea how many people wanted to hire me to steal something back in my worl- my hometown." Anom explained, as he felt that his work was good. There was no need to laugh, right?

"Tch! Honourable thief? Is that even a thing?" asked Crystal.

"That's how I work. No need to be astonished." He chuckled as he enjoyed his current position.

"Oow!" Soon, he felt a pain in his foot as he saw Crystal crushing his foot with hers as if she wanted to make a paste out of it.

"How long are you going to continue hugging me?" she fumed.

"Ahem!" Anom retracted his arms and coughed. He didn't mind getting some more hits if he could get a hug each time.

He even asked this to Crystal, which ended up in him being chased by Crystal with a stone in her hand.

They ended their short break in this manner before continuing on their way.

As Crystal was almost completely healed, they could now travel faster than before. It was for the best as they had to reach the city by tonight.

……

Meanwhile, inside a majestic mansion situated in the city which was Anom and Crystal's destination…

"Is it done?" a voice filled with might and authority asked.

"…They haven't returned yet. They didn't contact the messengers stationed near the forest border either." A hoarse but firm voice replied.

"So?"

"…It will be safe to assume that they are dead."

"…Were they discovered?" This time the mighty voice contained a bit of anger.

"No, sir. They were not. It was made sure that the servants following her were killed and no one else was following them."

"Looks like we have underestimated them." The voice turned silent before continuing, "Keep track of the people entering the city. Make sure she doesn't reach the city. And reduce the compensation we're going to offer for the deal. Let's push them into a more desperate situation."

"As you wish." The second voice expressed its understanding. Then it asked, "Should I inform the person on the inside? He can make sure that our plan will remain effective even if the target manages to enter the city."

"…Alright. Send him a portion of the new poison we have received. It'll be better if the fish is caught before it enters the city. But there are still some bothersome elements not under our control. These elements might make the net loose and let the fish escape. The poison will make sure our plan works even if she manages to return. Tell the traitor that he will get his reward only after the deal tomorrow is completed properly. He will get his 'reward' after that." The voice sounded disdainful at the mention of the traitor.

"Yes, sir." The second voice complied and a sound was heard as if someone had left.

"Soon." Only a low murmur was left echoing.

……