Chapter 79

### Shadow Agent Freon (2)

In the capital of Saintea, Kelliaroad.

A man in a robe walked down a dark, deserted alley.

He soon stopped in his tracks upon discovering a faint symbol etched on the wall.

After a quick look around, he spoke.

"Come out."

Swoosh.

Behind the man, a black mist rose.

A tall woman, also in a robe, emerged silently from the darkness.

She looked up at the crescent moon in the night sky and smiled.

"It's been a very long time since I've taken a royal commission, Duke Sli'an."

Only after she spoke did the man, who had been startled, turn his head.

He clicked his tongue, his face showing displeasure.

Shadow Agent.

There were many and varied names by which the woman was known across the continent, but the most well-known was that.

A being as elusive as a shadow, impossible to catch, and vanishing without a trace in the darkness, just as her nickname suggested.

"So, what's this commission about? I still don't take assassination jobs, so if that's your goal, you can just turn around and leave."

The man was irritated by her nonchalant attitude but focused on the purpose of his journey.

"It concerns the Seven Lords of Caldric."

The woman narrowed her eyes.

"You want information. Whether you infiltrate the castle or not, you need to gather as much information about the Seven Lords as possible."

"Hmm, information, huh? And it's about the newly enthroned Lord...?"

She smiled.

"Quan was said to have died at his hands, and there are even rumors that he might be from Saintea."

The man's expression darkened.

There was no way such rumors could circulate. The fact that Quan died at the hands of the new Lord was only a guess known to the upper echelons of Saintea.

The woman was speaking with a casual air, knowing this.

She was the only person who, despite being an individual, possessed information-gathering capabilities on par with any large information organization.

"Ahaha, I'm sorry. Anyway, if it's such a commission, you'll have to pay a bit more this time. What did you bring?"

Without a word, the man took something from his robes and threw it to the woman. A money pouch.

Inside were over 100 platinum coins.

The woman whistled after checking the contents and tucked the pouch away.

An advance payment of such a massive amount would be suspicious if she were to run off without completing the commission.

But the man who handed over the money didn't care at all.

There was no way she would jeopardize the trust she had built up or turn against the royal family for such a small sum.

"Then I'll be off. I can't say how long it will take, but I'll bring good news within a year."

The woman rubbed the symbol on the wall with her finger, erasing it.

Swoosh.

Once again, the same black mist swirled, and the woman vanished without a trace.

The man, who had been watching the spot where she disappeared, soon moved and left the alley.

Thus, the secret rendezvous in a dark alley ended, leaving only the moon as a witness.

And some time later, in Caldric.

"Kate, grab some paper and a pen and come with me."

"Huh? Why do we need paper and a pen all of a sudden?"

"There's a knight exam today. The person in charge of recording, Mr. Leif, is bedridden with a fever, so we have to do it. No more talk, come on."

"Oh, I see. Got it!"

The woman responded with a cheerful smile, though she cursed inwardly.

'Damn, what a hassle.'

The woman, who had a completely different appearance from when she was seen in the alley, was none other than the Shadow Agent.

She had been in the castle of Enlock, the domain of the Seven Lords, for a few months.

Infiltrating the castle as an administrative officer was not a difficult task for someone with her many talents.

"Wow... the Lord himself is here?"

The training ground, where she followed her superior, was already filled with numerous knights, and even the Seven Lords were present.

Hearing her superior's muttered words, the woman glanced sideways at the dais where the Seven Lords were seated.

'Seven Lords...'

Despite spending a few months in the castle, she had not obtained any significant information about the Seven Lords.

This was because he spent far more time outside the castle than inside. It was as if he had a wanderlust.

She had only managed to gather basic information: his race, gender, physical characteristics, and a mild personality that didn't intimidate the castle's administrators.

Recently, a major event had occurred where he killed the Sixth Lord and convened an emergency meeting of the Lords, but even she had limits in delving deeper into the matter.

'How did he survive unscathed? I was sure he would die.'

So recently, she had been investigating the Leif siblings, whom she suspected were related to the reason the Seventh Lord killed the Sixth Lord.

Even more recently, Ashell, who was his bodyguard and a formidable warrior, had personally taken charge of teaching the siblings swordsmanship.

This meant the Seventh Lord was clearly paying attention to the siblings, and it was only natural to suspect there was something significant about them.

Now that there was nothing more to uncover in the castle, she planned to head to the capital of the Sixth Lord's domain to investigate the siblings' past.

The exam began, and she recorded the results while keeping an eye on the Seventh Lord.

Among the participants was Leif, who passed the exam with ease, displaying superior skills compared to the other apprentice knights.

As the exam was nearing its end, she felt a gaze.

Turning her head slightly, she saw the Seventh Lord staring intently at her.

'...?'

What is it?

A sense of unease and inexplicable foreboding rose, but she pretended to be startled and quickly bowed her head.

As she lowered her gaze, the surrounding commotion gradually subsided.

In the suffocating silence, she slowly raised her head again, only to find that everyone's eyes were on her.

"..."

Realizing something was seriously wrong, she looked at the Seventh Lord with a slightly stiff face.

He pointed at her and spoke.

"Spy. Capture her."

***

Clang!

The members of the Ironblood Knights immediately drew their swords at my command, and the other knights quickly followed suit.

Ashell and the Ironblood Knight Captain, standing on either side of me, also drew their swords and fixed their gaze on the woman.

Soon, all the knights in the training ground had their swords pointed at her.

"Wh-what? Huh!"

The other administrative officer standing next to her, who had been standing there in a daze, quickly backed away in shock.

The woman, looking completely at a loss, suddenly raised her hand.

"Wait."

She seemed to have something to say.

With a serious expression, she spoke.

"Does everyone know what I had for lunch today?"

"..."

But her next words were completely irrelevant and made no sense in the situation.

The knights looked at her with confusion, wondering what she was talking about.

I clicked my tongue.

'It's her, alright.'

It was just meaningless chatter to distract the knights for a moment.

And then...

Whoosh!

A thick fog suddenly erupted from her body, enveloping the area in an instant.

The fog was so dense that even the sun in the sky couldn't penetrate it.

"Spy is escaping! Capture her!"

Someone shouted, but the knights, surrounded by the fog, were just floundering around.

Ashell and the Ironblood Knight Captain immediately rushed into the training ground and swung their swords simultaneously.

Two massive sword winds sliced through the fog, clearing the view.

But the woman was nowhere to be seen.

Even Ashell, who couldn't sense her presence, was frowning and looking around.

I maximized my extrasensory perception, knowing her abilities well.

And I soon picked up on a faint presence moving away quickly.

'She's so fast.'

I immediately used spatial leap to move to one side of the training ground and cast a stasis field.

The woman, who had been hidden, appeared in the empty air and was blocked by my field, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Ugh..."

Her neck was pressed against a sword blade as she staggered, unable to regain her composure.

Ashell, who had caught up, looked down at her coldly.

The knights who had rushed in surrounded her, completely blocking any escape route.

The woman, with a slightly pale and submissive smile, slowly raised her hands.

"S-surrender. I surrender."

Landing on the ground, I sighed, seeing the situation was over.

I ignored the knights' awestruck gazes.

'Shadow Agent...'

So, what was this woman doing here?

***

After sorting out the situation, I brought the woman to my room with Ashell.

I sat across from her and remained silent.

She kept rolling her eyes, trying to gauge the situation, and I spoke.

"No matter what tricks you use, you can't escape, Shadow Agent."

"..."

"Using your concealment ability won't help. If you try to escape again, I'll cut off your head. Give up."

The reason Ashell couldn't catch her in the black fog was due to her concealment ability.

I could catch her using my extrasensory perception, but she seemed to realize her identity and abilities had been fully exposed, as she frowned and bowed her head.

"Caught by such a monster..."

It seemed she was now ready to talk.

I crossed my arms and asked first.

"Who sent you?"

Shadow Agent Freon.

If you were to name the most elusive person on the continent, she would definitely be one of the top choices.

She was the continent's top information gatherer and thief, and she often worked as a spy for others.

There were only a few forces that could command someone of her caliber, so I had a rough idea, but...

She asked, half resigned.

"Will you spare me if I tell you?"

"Just tell me."

"I can tell you everything if you want, but I want to know what you plan to do with me first. I won't say a word if you don't."

"Then you'll die. Ashell."

At my words, Ashell reached for the hilt of her sword.

Her mouth opened immediately.

"Saintea's royal family."