〇 〇 〇
At the center of a certain city, in an Adventurers’ Guild...
“The town was taken over by skeletons?!”
“No! It was a wanted assassin!”
“Is it true it was engulfed in flames?!”
“Damn it! My sister and her husband live there!”
“Send adventurers there to check the veracity of the intel! We need to rescue any survivors!”
The guild was in an uproar after learning what had happened to the nearby town. Staff and adventurers alike were overwhelmed by the situation.
“Excuse me.”
Suddenly, a woman wearing a light-blue dress entered the building. She had blonde hair that cascaded down her back, and her blue eyes were looking straight ahead as she walked into the boisterous guild. Behind her were a female knight and a young man who seemed to be an adventurer.
“Ah...” A guild staff member who had been busily running around reflexively stopped when she saw the woman moving as gracefully as a lily in bloom. Even though the staff member ought to have been working, the woman’s presence was impossible to ignore.
She must be a noble... But she doesn’t look like the lord’s daughter...
“Am I correct in assuming that you are the receptionist?” the woman asked.
“Huh? Ah, yes! What can I do for you?!” the receptionist rushed over to the woman. “I apologize, but the guild is currently very busy and we cannot—”
“Please look at this.” The woman presented something to the receptionist, not letting her finish her sentence.
The receptionist accepted the object dubiously, but she quickly widened her eyes in shock when she realized what it was. “Th-This is...!”
In her hand was a gold pocket watch inscribed with the Garnet Empire’s crest. The only people allowed to own such an item were members of the imperial family.
“I am Millicia Garnet, the first imperial princess of the Garnet Empire.”
“The princess?!” The receptionist was completely taken aback and almost dropped the pocket watch, hastily catching it before it could fall.
Noticing how strangely she was acting, the other staff members looked toward the reception counter.
“I am here to make a request as a member of the imperial family.”
“A-A request from the... Um, what is it...?” the receptionist asked, still overcome with surprise.
“I want you to spread what I am going to say to everyone in this city... No, to everyone in the nearby towns and villages as well.”
“Y-Yes...?”
“‘Millicia Garnet is currently at the top of Mount Garank in the southeast. She will neither hide nor escape, so go there if you want her head!’”
The receptionist was speechless. Naturally, Millicia’s words hadn’t been for her, but for the people who were after her head—assassins. Such was her plan: She would use herself as bait to gather their enemies in one place, which would allow Millicia’s companions to take care of them all at once. This was a very different strategy than what they had been doing before—now, they would stop fleeing and instead take on all comers.
The imperial request was immediately executed, and soon enough Millicia’s invitation was spread to all the villages and towns in the area.
In a certain town there stood a back-alley bar managed by a gang. It was a place where outlaws and denizens of the criminal underworld exchanged information and stratagems, and currently it was occupied by a certain group.
“Our dear Millicia sure has done it now...” said a woman in a red dress, sipping at her glass as she sat at a table surrounded by a dozen black-clad men. She was Mistress, the boss of the Company, a criminal organization. “Quite the drastic action. We should come if we want her head? She might look docile, but she’s got guts.”
“What should we do, Mistress?” asked one of her men.
The Company had tried to kill Millicia twice and failed both times. They had used guns and explosives, but it had all been a waste of resources—both money and people. Finishing the job of assassinating two members of the royal family would pay well enough to more than make up for their expenses, but...
“But for that, we need to succeed... Maybe we should consider cutting our losses here.” Mistress sighed alluringly, tracing the rim of her glass with her finger.
Generally, one ought to cut one’s losses when an investment failed or when gambling. By accepting a small loss, one might avoid further damage. In this case, stopping now would mean she’d lost those resources for nothing, but it would allow the Company to avoid the casualties that would come from continuing to try to assassinate Millicia.
“And no matter how you think about it, it’s got to be a trap. Only idiots would jump at a chance like this.”
The location Millicia had designated was a rocky mountain not far from here. It boasted an excellent view, making ambushes difficult and giving the advantage to Millicia and her companions. On the other hand, it also meant that there was nowhere for her to run, so it wasn’t a completely disadvantageous location for the assassins.
“From what the men spying on her have said, she is indeed heading toward the mountain—and it does not appear to be a body double,” reported one of the black-clad men.
“Hmm... What to do...”
“You hesitating, whore?” Someone interrupted Mistress’s thoughts. He was a large, dark-skinned man wearing tattered black clothes and a bandana on his head. His face and arms were riddled with scars.
“My, isn’t that Deed the Gravedigger? Are you also after Millicia?”
“I heard the old man died,” Deed ignored Mistress’s question. It was as though he was monologizing instead of speaking to someone. “I didn’t like him. Despite his age, he was foolish and hot-tempered. He looked down on the other assassins, and the way he killed was dull, showing no respect toward the lives he took. I considered offing him countless times.”
Mistress listened silently.
“Still, he was an acquaintance. So is it wrong to fight to honor his death despite all that? No. No, it’s not.”
“I see... You do know it’s likely a trap, right?”
“So what?” Deed actually replied to Mistress for the first time, turning his back to her. “You can just stay here, whore. The target is asking us to come assassinate her, and I have a motive to kill her. Do I have a reason to hesitate, then? No. No, I don’t.”
And with that, he left the bar.
Just after the door closed, a woman who had been sitting at the counter stood up.
“I shall go too.”
“Immortal Butterfly...”
The one who had stood up was a girl wearing a Gothic Lolita dress and sporting black-and-red pigtails. She looked no more than twelve or thirteen, but she had actually been an assassin far longer than the Bone-Eating General. Thus her name—the Immortal Butterfly.
“The one I seek is there as well, so this butterfly shall fly straight into the spiderweb,” said the girl, walking out of the bar, her heels clacking on the floor.
Seeing this, the other customers hurriedly stood up.
“The reward for killing a member of the imperial family is as good as ours!”
“We won’t lose to the veterans!”
“The Headhuntress and the Bone-Eating General have been defeated. It’s time to make our names known!”
“She’s really underestimating us, inviting us like that!”
While less renowned than Deed the Gravedigger and the Immortal Butterfly, these men were all up-and-coming assassins too. Money wasn’t their only objective—they wanted the fame from succeeding where the Headhuntress and the Bone-Eating General had failed.
“Notable figures such as the Golden Hammer, the Silver Flash, the Wild Bird, and the Hanging King seem to be joining in. If we do not act soon, we will fall behind,” said one of the black-clad men solemnly.
“I see... So that’s your aim, Millicia...” Mistress’s lips twisted into a sneer as she watched the assassins leave the bar one after another.
The job of killing members of the imperial family was first come, first served. In other words, they were all now competing to receive the reward. As such, Millicia’s guards weren’t Mistress’s only enemies—the other assassins were now her foes as well.
Everyone knew that Millicia’s invitation was a trap. Still, wanting not to be overtaken by their peers, they had no choice but to jump straight into it. After all, if they didn’t and someone else ended up killing their target, all their efforts up until now would be rendered meaningless.
“Oh well... This is a gamble with long odds, but I suppose we must bet on it nevertheless.” Mistress resolved to walk into the trap. After all, if she didn’t, her reputation in the underworld would be dragged through the mud. As its boss, she couldn’t afford to let trust in her organization be damaged too much. “We’re going. Make the preparations.”
“Yes, Mistress!” the black-clad men replied in unison.
Thus, the final stage was set at Mount Garank.
The decisive battle between Millicia and the assassins was approaching its climax.