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“Just think of it as the place within the castle with important facilities. If you go through the castle gates, you will see the entrance to the outer compound, which has two moats. The gate to the inner compound is inside of that. And the first inner compound is the deepest part.”

 

“So, they got pretty far into the castle then?”

“You can say that. It is the fault of the Left Hands who were supposed to protect the castle gardens. I imagine a number of people will lose their jobs for this.”

Lose their jobs… More like heads. Brutal.

 

“Alright, I understand that. But what is the other thing?”

 

“We found out the name that this infiltrator used. It is ‘Through.’”

“Through? Was it a ghost?”

 

“I don’t think so. This person called Through is a magician who belongs to the group, ‘Grass Snakes.’ We have since found out that reinforcements are being sent from their headquarters in Makoku.”

 

Reinforcements, huh? Things were moving fast.

An all-out mobilization of their spies.

 

“Could it be, that you want me to annihilate the Grass Snakes?”

 

“That would be asking too much. Besides, the ones in the city are just a local branch. If you killed them all, the Grass Snaked will just go underground. As long as they don’t take our information, we can tolerate their activities.”

 

They preferred to keep them active and in sight. That way, they could leak false information.

Having them under their control would mean they could be useful later on.

 

“So, Shadow Crosser, we want you to eliminate this ‘Through.’ We think this person has magic to evade detection barriers. Royal Right Hands were sent out, but all failed to make contact.”

 

“I thought Royal Right Hands were supposed to be brilliant. I guess I was wrong.”

 

“No, Foul Feeder, Beheader, and Thousand Needles are brilliant. And yet they couldn’t even find their target. We believe it’s because Through has some kind of magic that tells them they are being pursued.”

 

“I suppose it doesn’t matter how strong an assassin is if they cannot even find their target. But no one can use two types of magic, so this Through’s abilities are…”

 

“Knowing when someone is approaching, or something similar.”

“And so, you want me to do it.”

“Yes. If reinforcements arrive from Makoku, there is a danger that their activities will spread into the castle. And we currently have no way to stop it.”

 

“Of course, this Through is the only one who can easily go into the inner compound. And so you want me to eliminate them. I see.”

 

“Yes. It is an irregular request, but will you accept it?”

It was incredibly risky to work in an area that wasn’t your own territory.

 

“Fine. I’ll do it. I will assassinate this ‘Through.’”

 

I didn’t know anything about this person, and it would be dangerous working in this unfamiliar city.

However, I was now interested in Through. And so I accepted it.

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