/
“
So Kanaki, is that all there is to it for your visit today, really?”
Xenia spoke up again, despite Matthias having pointed this out earlier.
“And what do you mean?”
“Well, with all due respect to Eto, this house is in a poor location, plus it rained today. Why would Kanaki, who doesn’t carry an umbrella, come all the way here just to look at the wanted posters?”
“
Well, that’s true, but
”
Xenia didn’t seem to be watching others, but she was surprisingly acute in her scrutiny of others.
Sighing inwardly, “I didn’t want her to hear this,” I straightened my posture toward Matthias.
“What is it?”
“It’s a job request.”
―The atmosphere around us shifted.
Matthias’ eyes were narrowed, the edge of Xenia’s lips were visibly lifted, and Eto’s gaze was downcast.
“
Eto, you go back to your room.”
“No, that’s all right, Teacher. Please don’t mind me.”
Eto strained herself to smile, but the act of watching it simply made her cheeks hurt more I have always wondered why she would want to take over her father’s business in the future.
Eto generally maintained a soft-spoken demeanor, but it was universally acknowledged that she was stubborn to a fault.
I opted not to focus on Eto at this point.
“
So you’re requesting me huh? It’s been a long time.”
“
Well, this time it’s a bit exceptional. The target this time is not that strong, but the circumstances are a little complicated.”
“What is it? Did you decide which of the two you mentioned last week you’re going to choose!?”
As Xenia approached me with a gleam in her eye, I almost clicked my tongue.
The case this time was really irrelevant to Xenia. Every now and then she would pull off something preposterous on a caprice, and if possible, I wouldn’t want to create a factor that could become an operational irregularity in a spot like this

“Don’t give me such a blatantly annoyed look. No worries, I’ll only listen to what you have to say.”
“No, I don’t like that because you are not trustworthy.”
“
Kanaki. The conversation is not going anywhere. Let me hear the rest of it.”
Excuse me.
I continued the subject.
“Um, to begin with, the subject this time is a student at our school, but she is the ‘follower’ of the First Princess of Ortesia, who was admitted this year. Therefore, it is possible that the Princess herself may be caught in the middle of all this―”
“Eh, Kanaki, did you end up choosing the follower, Fina!?”
The discourse was definitely stagnating with this woman present.
When I shot her a look, Xenia winked at me and said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“
The princess of this country huh. If my memory serves me right, I’ve heard that she’s a prodigy magician.”
“Yes. She is a monster in reality. She is currently fifteen years old and already qualified as a semi-first-class magician, which means she can probably use the superlative magic as well.”
One of the requirements for a semi-first-class magician was to have mastered at least one superlative-class magic.
In the first place, there was lowest-class magic, also known as sorcery, followed by lower-class magic, intermediate-class magic, advanced-class magic, and superlative-class magic. On top of superlative-class magic, there was special-class magic that only those who were considered wizards could utilize.
The superlative-class magic was, so to speak, the finest magic that a magician could perform, and most of it consisted of one-of-a-kind magic that no two people had ever employed before.
“Even if the word ‘superlative-class magic’ is ambiguous, aren’t you aware that its potency varies widely? You don’t need to be that tense, simply because she can use, in my opinion.”
“From the point of view of Ms. Xenia, who is currently invoking the superlative-class magic, I suppose that would be true
”
For this person who was constantly activating superlative-class magic called “Perfect Undead,” it probably didn’t seem like such a big deal. Matthias did not seem that alarmed either. Oh, these people really annoyed me.
“Well, I understand what’s going on. So, are you saying that it’s the Princess’ follower that you’re going to kill?”
“Yes, her name is Fina Trinity. She’s a third-class magician herself, so I doubt she’ll be particularly difficult for Mr. Matthias to deal with
”
“
If that’s the extent of it, you can handle it all on your own. There must be a reason for it.”
“As you have mentioned.”
The fact that Matthias was so perceptive was even exhilarating as the conversation flowed along. I hoped the alchemy teacher next to me, with a question floating around in her head, would take a cue from this.
“Actually
 that student is the girl I am aiming at right now.”
“What!?”
“Kya! Eto!?”
“I-I am sorry! There’s something stuck in my windpipe
!”
Eto, who had burst out, hurriedly disappeared into the kitchen. Even Matthias looked incredulous at the sight of her.
“
Can we get back to the story?”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“No problem.”
Eto came back and started to wipe the table with a dishcloth. However, it was difficult to speak because it seemed as if she was listening attentively to what I had to say.
“
So, I am sorry to make this request, but I am planning that student’s escort will be done by me. In other words―”
“You want to show off your good side in front of that girl, right, Kanaki?”
“If you put it that straightforwardly, even I feel like ‘that’
 well, you’re not wrong.”
Xenia laughed wickedly. I scratched my head.
“Mr. Matthias, I am aware that you dislike requests of this nature. Please, nevertheless, do me a favor. If a half-hearted assassin can’t finish the job, they’ll merely wind up retaliating, and more than anything, even the slightest exposure will become a national-level issue, and she won’t be able to attend the school anymore.”
“If Mr. Matthias can’t help you, you can request me to do it, you know? Even when it comes to the Princess, I wouldn’t encounter any problems.”
“You would absolutely overdo and kill them both before me, Ms. Xenia. And then you would be saying something like you wanted to see the look of despair on my face.”
“Oh, my, you understand me perfectly.”
“I’ll kill you by then, too, Ms. Xenia.”
“Hahaha, you say that. ―You’re a third-class.”
“
Do it somewhere else if you two are planning on killing each other,” Matthias said, seemingly exasperated.
I turned to Matthias and lowered my head.
“Please do me a favor. I will pay you more. Will you accept my request?”
“
”
A long, silence descended on us. All eyes, those of Xenia, Eto, and myself, were glued to Matthias, who was gazing in wonderment.
Eventually, Matthias slowly opened his eyes, and his voice was as plain as ever.
“―There will be three magic crystals of your own creation. I will accept your request with these. However, there is a condition.”
“
What is it?”
“I don’t mind being part of your entertainment. However, I had a major job that came to my plate just the other day. It’s the largest job I’ve ever had in my life. You’ll have to lend a hand with it for me.”
“A large job?”
“Yeah. After finishing it, I am considering going into retirement.”
I rolled my eyes. Even Xenia looked at Matthias with an expression of disbelief. The job was so significant that it could be the last job before this ogre would retire. Furthermore, it was the first time he had ever asked us to cooperate with him on a job. We couldn’t be disinterested in this.
Eto had been lying face down since a few minutes ago. She must have known the contents of the job.
Suppressing my impulse, I asked Matthias.
“
What kind of work does that entail?”
“―Assassination of First Princess Karen Ortesia, and Rain Aldar, commander of the Security Forces ‘Kaguya’.”