In the mansion that was where the governor of Jadistro lived, everyone was buzzing about at the arrival of several prominent individuals.

“Welcome Earl Tenneb. It is good to see you in fine health.” [Isacke]

One of them was Earl Tenneb, the man in charge of the territory that Jadistro was a part of. Isecke was smiling nervously as he greeted and welcomed him. His lord was, in one glance, a fat, jolly, middle-aged man that had grey hair and a trimmed moustache. He somehow managed to cover his body, belly and all, in fine clothes that made him look like an extravagant ball.

“Thank you, Isecke. You, on the other hand, seemed to have lost more weight again.” [Tenneb]

Tenneb directed a friendly gaze at Isecke and a smile that always graced his lips. As the two slowly walked down the mansion’s hallway while followed by several men in blue uniforms, the earl’s guests that travelled to Jadistro with him were being attended by the servants and guided to their rooms.

“It is the work. It is quite draining, if I were to be honest.” [Isecke]

“How is the work going then? Are there any problems?” [Tenneb]

“W-well, several of your subjects tried to leave the town again.” [Isecke]

“Is that it?” [Tenneb]

The round earl looked at Isecke as if he was dealing with a troubling pupil and sighed.

“I’ve told you before. Just threaten them with the soldiers from my personal army. If they really don’t learn their lesson, then kill them to make an example for others.” [Tenneb]

“Y-yes, my lord. I’m sorry for troubling you with my inadequacies.” [Isecke]

“No, no, I appointed you as governor of this town and you are doing good work. Speaking of which, how is the new product?” [Tenneb]

“She’s behaving and, like always, no one has harmed or touched her.” [Isecke]

“Good, good, good! If what you said about her beauty is true, then she’ll make a fine addition for my collection.” [Tenneb]

Tenneb clapped his hand together and smiled brightly.

“I trust that preparations for the auction are going well? I don’t want to keep my guests waiting.” [Tenneb]

“Yes, but, Earl Tenneb, we have this slight problem that needs to be dealt with.” [Isecke]

“A problem?” [Tenneb]

“Yes, well…” [Isecke]

Isecke, who was sweating, leaned in and whispered in his ear. The earl’s smile didn’t fade from his plump face, but his eyes slowly narrowed and a cruel glint surfaced in them.

“I see. That is a problem.” [Tenneb]

The earl nodded his head before clapping his hands twice.

“No matter, even if Bern is gone, I’ve brought people that can replace him.” [Tenneb]

Upon hearing his confident words, the thin, nervous governor looked behind him. Following them were three uniformed men in their late twenties that all had the same appearance. They were triplets that had blue hair, blue eyes and a grim face.

“Although three B ranks can’t exactly replace an A rank, I’ve got something quite useful from my ‘new friends’.” [Tenneb]

The one in the middle was bearded and had in his hands a long object that was wrapped in white cloth.

“Anyway, for tonight, we dine, drink and forget about our troubles! Then, tomorrow… Bring me that useless assassin that only has his looks going for him.” [Tenneb]

----------------------------------------

“It’s good to see you again, Edwin.” [Tenneb]

“… It is an honor to be in your presence, Earl Tenneb.” [Edwin]

When Edwin was summoned to the mansion, he was confronted by the earl of all people. It wasn’t exactly a hot day, but inside the office, his back was covered in cold sweat as he stood before his employer’s desk. Besides the two, there were also Governor Isecke and another soldier who stood behind the earl.

“How’s your sister doing?” [Tenneb]

“She’s doing fine, my lord.” [Edwin]

“That’s good to hear.” [Tenneb]

Tenneb’s smile deepened and he nodded his head.

“You seem to be doing fine too. When I hired you, you were sixteen. Had just become a man. But, now, you’ve grown splendidly and make me proud. No matter the mission, you always fulfilled it perfectly.” [Tenneb]

“Thank you for your kind words. I’m hono-.” [Edwin]

“But…” [Tenneb]

The fat noble’s voice lowered an octet and his eyes narrowed into slits. He held his chubby hands in front of his mouth.

“Why haven’t you dealt with our recent problem yet?” [Tenneb]

Edwin cursed in his mind, but didn’t show his real emotions on his smiling face. It was normal for the earl to know about him not having killed Ryner yet. His loyal dog, Governor Isecke, always reported everything to him.

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“I apologize for taking so much time, but I’m currently working on i-.” [Edwin]

“We know that you’ve been talking to him outside of Jadistro for the past couple of days.” [Tenneb]

The handsome, blonde-haired assassin didn’t even have time to give his excuse before Tenneb dropped a bombshell.

“We’ve had our men keep an eye on that place, so we know that the ‘problem’ always shows up there.” [Tenneb]

Edwin wondered how they found out. Maybe, after searching around Jadistro and finding nothing, they expanded their net to outside of town and found Ryner? Or, it might be that couple that he had scared off and they reported him at some point.

“It’s not how much time you need that worries me, but how you’ve been approaching him. Even though he often shows his back to you, you just talk and leave. Edwin, you’re not going to betray us, are you?” [Tenneb]

Still, it didn’t matter anymore since Edwin was currently in a predicament.

“No, my lord. It’s just that I need to get close to the problem to-.” [Edwin]

“Ah, yes, yes. You’re F rank, so you need to carefully resort to sneak attacks to win. We know. That’s why you’ve been left alone. It’s just that this problem managed to beat my captain, you see. He’s really strong, stronger than any problems we’ve had so far. So, I’m worried that you might get weird ideas. Do you understand?” [Tenneb]

“Yes, Earl Tenneb, but, that, that will never happen. I am eternally grateful to you and will always be at your service.” [Edwin]

“Ahhh, I guess you’re right. I should trust you more. Just…” [Tenneb]

Earl Tenneb pulled out a bottle of medicine from his desk’s drawer and lightly shook it as he showed it to Edwin.

“Don’t take too long or you won’t get paid.” [Tenneb]

“… Understood. I am sorry for worrying you, and thank you for your generosity.” [Edwin]

“Nonsense. You’re an important employee. Now, go out there and make me proud, young man. Here, because I’m worried, I’ll give you some help.” [Tenneb]

Tenneb sent Edwin off with a wide smile and the triplets that accompanied him when he travelled to Jadistro.

“I do not doubt your decision, my lord, but will it be fine?” [Isecke]

Isecke asked as he pulled out a silver case of cigars from his breast pocket and offered one to the fat noble.

“In the five years since we enlisted him, he hasn’t been the most… Loyal dog.” [Isecke]

“It’s fine. If a dog bites the hand that feeds him, then you simply need to train him. Honestly, it’s entertaining how he keeps struggling for his sister. Besides, we need said sister to keep helping us.” [Tenneb]

Tenneb showed him the bottle of pills in his hand while holding the cigar in the other.

“You see, my ‘new friends’ gave me wonderful gifts, and they expect wonderful gifts in return. They want my support, my money, my resources, even my collection! It’s a hard bargain!” [Tenneb]

Even though complaints left his mouth, he was chuckling as if he was having fun.

“They wish to have some products of their own?” [Isecke]

“Correct. Moreover, you just can’t go against them. It’ll shorten your own life. But, if you stay on their good side, you’ll get to see many interesting things. Take this for example.” [Tenneb]

Tenneb shook the bottle of medicine while smiling joyfully.

“A drug so powerful that it’ll turn anyone into a mindless puppet, or at least, that’s what they want to create. How’s his sister doing? Moneille, was it?” [Tenneb]

“Mireille, my lord. And she’s, um, according to reports, bedridden, but otherwise still healthy, except for the seizures that the drug is causing.” [Isecke]

“Now that’s a darn shame. Five years of ingestion and still not a puppet despite her dependency. We’ll need to send those reports to my ‘new friends’ so they can improve the drug’s effects. It’d go faster if we could test it on a large scale instead of going at it subtly.” [Tenneb]

The earl lit his cigar and took a deep puff.

“Now then, let’s get to that auction. I can’t wait to see that latest product.” [Tenneb]

He said joyfully as he got up to leave, but he then noticed, by pure luck, something stuck on the side of his desk.

“Is something the matter, Earl Tenneb?” [Isecke]

It was a small, black disk, barely a centimeter long and one side was adhesive.

“No, I just found some junk stuck on my desk.” [Tenneb]

Earl Tenneb threw it away, believing that it was trash.

----------------------------------------

Edwin looked behind him. Three blue-haired soldiers with the same face and expression followed him. The one in the middle had a beard and a long object wrapped in cloth. Edwin cursed internally, but it was to be expected since he didn’t report that he found Ryner and didn’t make any attempt to take his life. In short, they were even more suspicious of his loyalty and the triplets were most likely ordered to keep an eye on him.

As they walked down the streets, they came across the old man manning the fruit stand next to Bertra’s. When he made eye contact with Edwin, he lightly nodded his head. This wasn’t missed by the triplets and they went into action.

The bearded one unwrapped what he was holding, revealing a silver spear of great craftsmanship. Those who saw it knew that it wasn’t an ordinary weapon. They never looked like ordinary weapons.

It was an Artifact.

“Huh?” [Edwin]

Suddenly, the bearded soldier sprinted towards the old man and stabbed him from the other side of the stand. Screams of terror rose from the townspeople around them as they ran away in panic.

“NO!” [Edwin]

Edwin’s mind went blank when he saw the blade pierce the white-haired stand owner’s chest. Without thinking, he ran towards the assailant, but was easily stopped by one of the other soldiers that didn’t move. The punch bore into his stomach and made him fall to the ground, coughing and groaning in pain.

“Agh… Ah…” [Old man]

As for the old man, his eyes were wide open and his whole body was trembling. Moreover, no blood flowed from his chest. Instead, a cold air wafted around him as his skin went from pale, to blue and to purple. In seconds, a thin layer of frost covered his skin and soon, he stopped breathing.

“So this is this Artifact’s power.” [Spear triplet]

The killer, who was mesmerized for a moment, roughly pulled his spear out, causing the victim’s body to crumble into frozen pieces.

“You appeared to have known him.” [Spear triplet]

The bearded soldier emotionlessly said to Edwin who was picking himself off the ground while breathing hard.

“This was an order from Earl Tenneb. Consider it a warning. Carry out your mission faithfully and we will not hurt anyone you know, such as your little sister.” [Spear triplet]

When Edwin heard his threat, he felt something break. He saw the old man every time he met Bertra, but rarely spoke to him. They were barely acquaintances. Yet, just by knowing him, he died an unreasonable death.

He thought he could control the guilt and the anger. After all, for five years, he had assassinated many for his own sake.

However, the lid on his bottled emotions just popped off.

Before he knew it, he had a knife in his hand and lunged at the soldier that punched him and was standing right next to him. The sharp blade went straight for the heart, but didn’t pierce the body. In fact, it didn’t even pierce through the clothes.

Edwin quickly jumped back, but was hit by the blue-haired man who swung his arm down at him.

“Agh!” [Edwin]

He crashed into the ground again.

“We know how you fight, Edwin Tall.” [Spear triplet]

The spear-wielding man walked up to him.

“Since you’re E rank, you attack your foes before they can react or use magic. As such…” [Spear triplet]

He grabbed him by the throat and effortlessly lifted him up in the air with one hand.

“You can’t win against us magic users in a direct fight.” [Spear triplet]

As if he was a toy, the soldier easily threw him away. Edwin crashed into the old man’s stand and utterly obliterated it. Fruits and pieces of wood flew everywhere upon the crash.

“Obediently carry out your mission and no harm will befall Mireille Tall.” [Spear triplet]

“… Fine.” [Edwin]

Edwin somehow managed to groan a reply as he lied on the ground. He was reminded why he couldn’t go against the earl, the governor or any soldiers.

It wasn’t just to get more money and medicine. It would spell his and Mireille’s death if he opposed them.

He wasn’t strong enough to survive a noble’s wrath and his private army.

That’s why…

“*Cough cough* … I’ll eliminate the problem.” [Edwin]

He made his choice.