CH 78.1

The capital of Santea, Kelia Road.

A man wearing a robe was walking down a deserted, dark alleyway.

The man soon noticed a faint pattern painted on the wall and stopped walking.

He looked around once and opened his mouth.

“Come out.”

Swoop.

Then, a black haze rose from behind the man.

The one who appeared out of the darkness without a trace was a tall woman wearing a robe, just like the man.

Looking up at the half moon floating in the night sky, the corner of her mouth drew an arc.

“It’s been a while since I’ve received a request from the imperial family.”

The man who noticed her presence only after she opened her mouth turned his head in surprise.

He clicked his tongue with a look of displeasure.

Shadow.

There were many and varied names the woman was called on the continent, but this was the most well-known name.

She was dark and elusive, like a shadow, and disappeared into the darkness with no one knowing. Just like her moniker.

“So, what is this request? Assassination requests are still not accepted, so if that’s your purpose, you can return as it is.

Her leisurely attitude annoyed the man, but he focused on the purpose of coming this far.

“It’s about the Seventh Lord of Calderic.”

The woman narrowed her eyes.

“What we want is information. Whether you infiltrate the castle of the Seventh Lord or not, you just need to collect as much information about him as possible.”

“Hmm, was it information gathering? It was also information about the newly enthroned Lord…”

She smiled.

“They said that the warrior died at his hands? There are even rumors that he might be a human from Santea.”

The man’s expression darkened again.

There’s no rumor going around like the woman implied. The fact that the warrior died at the hands of the new Seventh Lord was still only just a guess by the high-ranking officials of Santea.

The woman knew it, but she still made that statement.

If there was one person who, despite being an individual, possessed information power equal to that of any other large intelligence organization, it was her.

“Ahaha, I’m sorry. Anyway, if it’s a request like that, you’ll have to pay a little more. How much did you bring?”

Without answering, the man took something out of his bosom and threw it at the woman.

It was a purse containing over 10 platinum coins.

The woman who checked the contents whistled and put the money bag in her bosom.

A terrifying amount of advance payment that it wouldn’t be strange if she just picked it up and ran away with it without completing the request.

But the man who handed over the money didn’t care about that at all.

There was no way she would try to destroy the trust she had built until now and burn the bridge with the imperial family for just this measly amount.

“Then I’ll go first. I don’t know how long it will take, but I’ll see you with good news at least within a year.”

The woman erased the pattern drawn on the wall by rubbing it with her finger.

Squeak.

Once again, the same black haze as before shimmered, and the woman’s figure disappeared before his eyes as if evaporating without a trace.

The man, who had been staring at the spot where she had disappeared for a while, also moved on and left the alley.

Thus, the secret meeting in a dark alley ended with only the moon rising in the sky as a witness.

And after some time, Calderic.

“Kate, grab a pen and paper and follow me.”

“Yes? Paper and pen, why?”

“There’s a knight test today, right? Mr. Lefi, who was to record it, is sick and lying down, so you and I have to do it. Don’t talk nonsense and just hurry.”

“Oh, that’s right. I see!”

The woman responded to her superior’s command with a cheerful smile. She swore inwardly.

What a bother.

Her identity, which differed completely from the one seen in the alley before, was the Shadow.

It had been several months since she came to Enrock—the capital of the Seventh Lord’s territory—and entered the castle.

It was not that difficult for her to infiltrate the castle as an administrative officer.

“Ugh… Did the Lord come out himself?”

There were already many knights gathered in the arena where she followed her superior to, and even the Seventh Lord was there.

Listening to her superior’s muttering voice, the woman glanced sideways at the platform where the Seventh Lord was sitting.

Seventh Lord…

It had been several months since she had been living in the castle, but she had gotten no important information about the Seventh Lord yet.

Because he spent far more overwhelming time outside than in the castle. Did he have a wanderlust?

What she found out was just his race, gender, physical characteristics, and a personality that didn’t give unnecessary power to the castle’s officials.

And recently, there was a huge incident where he killed the Sixth Lord and was called for an emergency summon by the Overlord. But no matter how much she dug into it, there was a limit to what she could do.

How did he come back alive? I thought he was going to die.

So recently, she was investigating the human siblings, who were speculated to be related to the reason the Seventh Lord killed the Sixth Lord.

Even recently, Asher, who was supposed to be his escort and had a great skill, had been in charge of teaching swordsmanship to the siblings.

It meant that the Seventh Lord was clearly paying attention to the brother and sister, and of course she couldn’t help but smell something.

Now that there’s nothing more to dig up here, she planned to head to the capital of the Sixth Lord, eventually to learn more about the siblings’ past.

The trial began, and she recorded the results with her attention secretly on the Seventh Lord.

There was Reef among the knights. She passed the test with much better skills than the other apprentices did .

As the test ended, she felt a gaze.

When she turned her head slightly, the Seventh Lord was staring at her.

…?

What?

A sense of doubt and inexplicable ominousness rose for a moment, but she pretended it was nothing and quickly bowed her head.

As she lowered her gaze, the surrounding noise slowly subsided.

When she slowly raised her head again in the suffocating silence, all the surrounding eyes were focused in this direction.

“…”

Recognizing that something was firmly wrong, she looked at the Seventh Lord with a weakly stiff face.

He pointed this way and opened his mouth.

“She’s a spy. Catch her.”