Chapter 60

'There are five rooms. The room with the light on, as seen from outside the window, is the fourth and third from the back.'

The room the assassin entered first was typically the one used by the homeowner as a bedroom.

Creak. The door opened very quietly.

As expected, this room had more furniture than the others.

Judging by the extravagantly red floral canopy, which was clearly to the old man's taste, it seemed he had come to the right place.

The assassin cautiously approached the bed and swiftly gathered the canopy that hung down like a curtain on the side.

Swish!

At that moment, a flash-like object shot out and struck his chest.

"Ugh!"

It was a devastating attack, blinding him.

The assassin urgently rolled backward and retreated toward the wall.

'What is it? A sword? Or a gun?'

He felt around his chest.

There was pain, but no sticky blood. It was unbelievable. It was clearly a savage blow as if slashing at the heart!

Rustle.

The assassin swallowed hard and drew a knife from his sleeve. Though short, this sharp knife was optimal for cutting off an opponent's breath.

'...It’s not here.'

But the one who attacked him was nowhere to be seen.

No, at that moment, an unfamiliar breathing sound came from behind him. The assassin instinctively turned around.

Facing the vague presence in the darkness, he raised his arms to shield his face. Only then could he block the opponent's...

"Huh."

He couldn't block the opponent's attack at all.

"Ugh!"

He was hit.

"Oof."

He was hit again.

"Grunt..."

Continuously.

"..."

Forever.

"No, stop! Stop it!"

At that moment, the fist that had been relentlessly targeting the assassin's face suddenly stopped.

Is this what they mean when they say the world turns yellow?

Lifting his head amidst the burning pain, he saw a very alien woman standing in the bluish darkness.

The woman's face, illuminated by the moonlight from behind, was pale.

Her vividly green eyes were colder than any warrior's he had ever seen.

The assassin instinctively realized:

'This is someone I can't possibly match.'

I can't escape from this woman.

At that realization, the assassin was about to use the <Merciful Bite> hidden in his mouth...

"Do you need this?"

The assassin looked at the small pill held between the woman's index finger and thumb. It was the <Merciful Bite>.

'Why is the pill that should be in my gums here...?'

His judgment was quick.

The assassin frantically searched his sleeve. He always kept a spare <Merciful Bite> in case of such a situation...

"Actually, I have two."

It was gone.

'Huh?'

He lifted his head.

The pill between the woman's fingers had doubled.

Ha ha. The woman, whose skin was covered in goosebumps from a dry and ruthless laugh, raised her right hand.

"Actually, I have four."

Four <Merciful Bites>.

That means...

"Here."

The woman walked to the back of the bed and, like a bale of hay, threw something that had fallen to the floor in front of the assassin.

"Ugh!"

A terrifying scream accompanied the familiar face that met his eyes.

It was the other assassin who had been on the Malicops kidnapping mission with him.

'When...?'

Despair washed over him.

When had he ever felt such a vivid sense of despair in the past?

The assassin prided himself on having faced many mad killers.

But the actions and words of this opponent, as seen through his eyes, were undoubtedly not those of an ordinary madman.

Those who usually try to show their strength either act very relaxed or, conversely, create a ruthless atmosphere. This is to suppress the enemy's morale.

But there was no such aura from the woman.

She was... ordinary.

An ordinary, frail woman living an ordinary day.

That's why she seemed even more insane.

'Especially those eyes!'

Look at those crazy eyes.

Eyes that felt no emotion toward an excellent assassin like himself. Originally, such vacant eyes were more dangerous.

His body trembled like a leaf.

Tap, tap. The woman, who had lightly clapped her hands, dragged a wooden chair and sat in front of them.

Then she said a very surprising name.

"Unexpected move. I didn't think <Clone> would reach this far."

How did she know?

The assassin glanced at his companion.

From the vigorous shaking of his head, it seemed this guy wasn't the one.

"How did you know?"

The woman, who asked this, grabbed the assassin's collar.

"You didn't ask?"

Those innocent eyes filled with genuine curiosity. The assassin instinctively opened his mouth.

"Grunt. How, how did you know?"

"I'm the top <Clone> hunter in Midwinter."

'...Midwinter?'

Instantly, the image of a notable figure in the region flashed through the assassin's mind.

Pale green eyes, brown hair, a small and round face, a vacant expression. Ah!

"Daisy Pagger!"

She's here? The guild's upper echelons, who were monitoring the Weatherwood mansion, didn't send any notification?

Daisy Pagger looked at him with a puzzled face.

'You just recognized me?' Her face seemed to ask. Then she nodded as if understanding.

"Oh, I see. You didn't come to target me. Then... did you come to target the owner of this mansion? Grandpa Malicops?"

"..."

"Is it Grandpa Malicops?"

"..."

"You're quite persistent."

I like persistent kids.

The moment those words reached his ears, his vision flashed.

A pain he had never experienced before pierced through the assassin's body.

After that, they were beaten to death again.

"Don't feel wronged. I'm not hitting you for fun. I'm using violence for peace. So, what's your purpose?"

The assassin sniffed and answered.

"Kidnapping Grandpa Malicops..."

"I can't hear you."

"Kidnapping Grandpa Malicops!"

"Map?"

"Excuse me?"

"Didn't you look for the map?"

"We... only received the kidnapping mission..."

"Without the map, just kidnapping."

Daisy Pagger, who had been listening quietly, turned to the assassin with a short exclamation.

"Oh, right. You received the mission to exterminate the Weatherwoods, didn't you?"

The companion, who was kneeling on the right, immediately shouted.

"I haven't heard of it!"

"..."

"You on the left, did you?"

He was an enemy, not a companion.

The assassin's face turned pale.

He recalled the memory of being beaten like dough by this crazy woman just two minutes ago. His tongue moved involuntarily.

"It was only mentioned briefly. The extermination mission was adjusted to a surveillance mission."

"Surveillance? You were monitoring the Weatherwood mansion? You didn't even know I was staying here."

"We didn't! That's why! We were surprised to see you, Miss Daisy!"

"That's right!"

Daisy Pagger's eyes fell into deep thought again.

After a while, she turned her gaze to the bed and asked.

"Mr. Lu. Did you take care of the kids who were monitoring?"

Talking to an empty space.

Just as the woman, who was already scary, was about to become even scarier, a low voice tickled his ear.

"Yeah."

A very tall man stood in front of the bed.

'When did he...?'

The man was very tall. His face was hidden in the dark shadow because his head was so high, and only his chin was vaguely visible.

The man, wearing a shiny black nightgown, continued leisurely.

"To avoid damaging the lawn."

He stroked his clean, beardless chin and muttered.

"Hmm. You said <Clone>? There was another one, I think."

"Who?"

"I didn't hear. He committed suicide right away. People these days are too stressed. Some can't even kill themselves and push them into someone else's house as a guard dog. Right?"

"You should have stopped him from committing suicide. Can't you do that, Mr. Lu?"

"Can't. Old age limits your judgment and actions."

After that, the bedroom became quiet.

Daisy Pagger seemed to murmur "Raphael..." while staring into space. But the silence didn't last long.

She stood up from the chair and faced the assassin.

"First,"

The moment the assassin's eyes met Daisy Pagger's green eyes,

"Go to sleep."

The world turned black, and the assassin's consciousness faded.

* * *

I tied up the unconscious assassins to the bedposts.

Then I brought in Leina and explained everything that happened today.

"Oh, the assassins were targeting Master? Goodness. What on earth is going on?"

"Any idea?"

"Any idea... Any idea is..."

Suddenly, Leina's face turned grim, and she burst into tears.

"What should we do? There are too many!"