***

'That was too close', I thought.

Although I was sure that Sylvia and Amelia recognized my identity in the Void realm, I wasn't worried about that.

Instead, I was worried by the fact that had I not met them, they would have most likely been trapped inside the Void realm for god knows how long.

The Rift facility wasn't even operational after all.

And the plotline getting accelerated by a year wasn't good, as it could lead to unexpected incident like today's.

'But... what could I do?'

All I could do was to pray that the plotline would go how it was supposed to from now, at least loosely.

Anyways, pausing my thoughts there, I glanced at Raun who was walking behind me.

'Why is he here?'

Have he perhaps seen through my disguise?

Or was he just captivated by Lyra's appearance?

Either way, him following me wasn't a good thing, considering that I was trying to get to the black market.

'I'll have to be quick'

After all, in the novel, as soon as the executive of the black market heard about Void rifts opening, they would close it down for months, for fear of a Rift appearing in the middle of the market.

'Hm?', I was startled by the distinct sensation of being the target of someone's bloodlust.

 I immediately analyzed the source of constant bloodlust directed towards me and Raun.

'4 presences... all of them are <E+> ranked...'

'To openly emit bloodlust like that... they're either amateurs or they're deliberately letting us know that we're being watched'

But, judging by how the bloodlust was... flickering, and sloppily hidden, it was safe to assume that they're amateur assassins.

"..."

"..."

"Excuse me...", Raun suddenly spoke up.

Giving him a polite smile, I answered. "Yes? How may I help you?"

Pausing for a moment, Raun continued. "You look familiar— I mean, this isn't a pickup line. But you look very similar to someone I know"

'What? Does Lyra have a relative?'

"Hm, how so?", I wanted him to elaborate.

"How do I put this...", Raun scratched the back of his head. "...You look like a person I know that tried to seduce the Saintess of Life"

'So it was about Lyran after all...'

However, him saying that I 'seduced' Amelia left a really bad taste in my mouth. 

"Ah! You mean Lyran Myrsky, my brother?"

"Huh, your brother?"

"His eyes and hair is like mine. He's a knight the Church of Life assigned to the Saintess so I don't think he's trying to seduce her. It's against the doctrine for the Saintess to be in a relationship before she completes her pilgrimage after all"

"I- Is that so?"

"Yes. If a Saint or Saintess is found to be in a romantic relationship with someone, the church would at best, excommunicate them, and at worst, execute them along with their lovers"

Of course, it's just bullshit that could easily be disproven once he asked Amelia. But considering that I most likely would never meet Raun in this appearance again, I wasn't against making him mentally suffer for a bit.

'This is what you get for insulting Lyran'

Seeing Raun getting visibly shaken up, I smirked inwardly. "Huh, are you okay? Why are you getting nervous?"

"I- It's n- nothing!"

"Hm?", I squinted my eyes. "Are you perhaps the Saintess' lover"

"N- No! I'm n— AH! What are you doing!"

I pushed Raun asides in the middle of his sentence.

WOOOOSH—!

A dagger flew through the air, aiming at where Raun's head was just mere moments ago.

"Thought you were going to hide forever", I said as 4 men in dark clothes appeared before me and Raun.

We were close to an entrance of the black market. Thus, the streets were desolate. Abandoned, even.

"Pretty lady", one of the men spoke up. "Our target is that guy behind you. Leave now and we will spare you"

In response, I merely picked up the dagger that they threw earlier and assumed a fighting stance.

<[III - Roteare style]: Absorb]>

"I guess you're tired of living. Jake! Finish it quick"

A man dashed towards me... in a straight line.

'So they really are amateurs'

Although I could use [Lightning spear] and end it right here, Raun would definitely find out about my identity if I did so.

Thus, I opted for close combat.

CLANG—! CLANG—! CLANG—!...

We met daggers, but of course, Jake - the man who was fighting me - was on the losing side.

I trained with the dagger under Irene Nightshade after all.

Although, I haven't used daggers that frequently as of late.

CLANG—!

Eventually, I managed to break his posture.

Using this opportunity, I dashed in and stabbed him in the heart.

Spurt—! THUD—!

As Jake's lifeless body fell to the ground, the remaining assassins shouted in anger.

"NO! JAKE! YOU BASTARD, I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"

They then all rushed at me

'What kind of 3rd rated villain shit is this?'

If they had simultaneously attacked me in the first place, maybe I would have been defeated since despite the assassins clearly being amateurs, they were still at <E+> rank, two whole minor ranks higher than me.

CLANG—! CLANG—! CLANG—! CLANG—!...

Fending the assassins off, I couldn't help but to curse at Raun's uselessness.

"HEY! ARE YOU GOING TO LIE ON THE GROUND FOREVER?"

CLANG—!

Raun was startled by my shout, and quickly got up. "Huh? Let me he—"

"Forget about it!"

CLANG—!

I couldn't emphasis this enough. The assassins were really sloppy, so much so that I could have a conversation with Raun while fighting them.

"Just go look for help!"

"But—"

"Just go!", I cut him off.

CLANG—!

"You're just deadweight! Go look for help instead!", I continued.

"A- Alright!", he then started to run away, presumably to look for help.

'I'd prefer it if he didn't though'

Seeing that Raun had gotten out of sight, I sighed in relief.

"Haaaah..."

"What are you sighing for? Have you already accepted your fate?", an assassin remarked.

"Are you really assassins if you're fighting in broad daylight like this?"

"I see what you did there, trying to rile us up huh?"

"..."

"So it's true! Hah! You really think you co—"

<[III - Roteare style]: Release>

BOOM—!

My dagger exploded, sending shrapnel made of pieces of the dagger's blade flying in every directions.

Using this opportunity, I dashed backwards to distance myself from the assassins.

An unlucky assassin, whose left eye was impaled by a shrapnel, screamed in pure rage and agony. "AHHHH! I'LL KILL YOU!"

In response, I pulled out a fistful of silver nails and screws from my pocket, and channeled Lightning mana through them. I then covered my hands with mana for protection.

<[Rail shotgun]>

bzzzzzt—!

The nails flew towards the assassins, just like a shotgun. Immediately after, 2 bodies fell to the ground.

"AHHHHH!", the remaining assassin screamed in pain, before passing out.

"So one managed to live, huh? Good..."

After all, I needed to find the one behind this. Although, I wasn't sure how effective interrogating a trained assassin would be.

'Was Max behind this?'

Other than him, I couldn't think of anyone else that had a reason to to this.

Surely, they weren't hired by one of Arthur's fangirls, right?

"Haaaah...". Sighing, I cancelled the illusion spell, stuffed the assassins' bodies in [Alternate storage] and took the remaining one to a nearby alleyway.
...

Smack—!

"Wake up"

Smack—!

"Wake up"

Smack—!

"Wake u—"

"Urghhhh!", the assassin groaned as he regained consciousness.

His eyes darted around, trying to assess the situation. He tried to move, only to find that his body was bound by study ropes.

Smirking at his pathetic figure, I spoke. "Be good and tell me who sent y—"

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU? WHERE'S THAT RED-EYED BITCH? I'LL KILL HER!"

Knitting my brows together, I glared at the assassin. "I recommend not interrupting me ag—"

"TAKE ME TO THAT BITCH RIGHT NOW! I'LL SKIN HER ALI—"

Although I didn't really care about what he was blabbering about. Being ignored by a mere insect like him irked me to no end.

"Shut up"

THUD—!

"APWHHHH"

I stuffed my foot in his mouth.

"Aw... Now my shoes are all dirty with your filthy saliva"

"MMPH!"

Ignoring his unintelligible muffled screams, I continued speaking.

"Hmm... This won't do. How about telling me about your employer as compensation for dirtying my shoes?"

I then removed my foot, allowing him to speak.

"YOU BRAT! I'LL KIL—"

"Ah... How stubborn... Guess we'll have to do it the hard way"

<[A - Authority of fear]: Torture>

I didn't know what kind of torture the assassin was seeing or feeling, but seeing his face contort in pain, agony and fear, I couldn't help but to grin.

'What a useful skill'

When I was little, and up until recently, I thought of this skill as nothing but a curse. Now, however, I could truly see the full potential of it.

Being able to induce fear in people without even lifting a finger, what an amazing ability it was.

"Mmm... it had been 2 minutes already. Let's see if he's ready to speak"

I then deactivated my skill and gave the assassin a chilling smile.

"Now, are you ready to tal—"

"I'LL TALK, I'LL TALK! PLEASE STOP PUTTING ME THROUGH THIS HELL!"

Although I was extremely annoyed that he cut me off again, I decided to hold my annoyance in.

At least, until he had given me all the information I needed.

"Speak", I commanded.

"Y- Yes! My employer goes by the name of 'Arlenoe' "

"..."

Seeing that I was still expecting more information, the assassin gulped his saliva and continued.

"H- He hired us to kill a kid named 'Raun Serus' "

"..."

"Arlenoe said that Raun needed to die because him being alive would 'ruin the timeline' "

My eyes quivered at the mention of a 'timeline'; But I didn't let it show on my face.

"..."

"..."

"Anything else?", I coldly said.

"I- I'm a member of the <Central Assassin guild>"

My brows knitted together as I heard this.

'Shit! I messed up!'

The <Central Assassin guild> is very protective of their members. If I didn't tread carefully from now on, they would send countless other assassins after me just for vengeance.

And making the <Central Assassin guild> spend their resources on chasing me instead of eliminating spies within their own guild was not my goal since the plotline would become even more fucked up than it already was if that was to happen.

Seeing my reaction, the assassin grinned. He must have been thinking that he now had an advantage over me.

Still, I wanted to gouge as much information out from him as possible, considering that it was most likely that a transmigrator was involved in this.

"Anything else I should know?"

"No. Now release me, kid. Lest you want to incur the wrath of the guild"

I furrowed my brows at the complete change in his attitude. But, I still had to endure him looking down on me.

"Alright... But tell me, what's your code number? I'll need it to contact the guild"

Smirking at me, the assassin spoke in an arrogant tone. "I'm Alex Tenved. But people of the guild refer to me as D-214"

"..."

"What are you standing there for? Release me right now! And I might spare you"

"Hahahaha! So you're just a Disposable", I laughed in relief because now, I wouldn't need to worry about the consequences of killing the assassin, as there would be none.

"The fuck are you talking about? Free me now!"

"And here I thought I was going to fuck the plotline up by killing you"

"Have you gone mad? Aren't you afraid of d—"

Ignoring the assassin's blabbers, I focused Wind mana and chanted.

<[Silence]>

The alleyway suddenly became eerily silent.

I slowly walked towards the man, but no footsteps could be heard. No, more accurately, nothing could be heard at all.

Not even the agonizing screams of a certain assassin.

...

'Well, that sure was a mess', I thought as I walked towards the location of the black market.

Although my clothes were bloodied, I didn't really mind it.

And the people I came across sure didn't mind it either. Quarrel often happens in this part of the Capital anyways.

Arriving at a large metal door, I knocked on it with a specific pattern.

Knock—! Knock—! Knock—!...

Klang—!

The door was suddenly swung open, revealing 3 individual in black suits.

Their strength was indeed worthy of being the gatekeepers to the black market, with two of them being <C> ranked, and the other was at <B> rank.

Or, at least, that was what I estimated their strength to be.

Not waiting for them to say anything, I spoke. "The disgusting worm is indeed squirming under your feet"

Raising his eyebrows in amusement, one of them spoke up. "Which one?"

"The one who lives under the delusion of freedom"

Nodding to each other, the men stepped aside to make way for me.

Although, one of them seemed to want to say something, but he ultimately decided against it.

Paying it no mind, I travelled deeper into the building, eventually coming across a Gate.

'Haaah... Let's hope I don't puke as soon as I enters it'

Telling another man in black suit a different secret code, I was finally granted entry to the black market.

Vuam—!
...

Rows of stalls arranged neatly as far as the eye could see, customers browsing goods while concealing their identities with cloaks or masks.

If it wasn't for the disgusting type of products that were in full display on the stalls, one could have mistaken this for a normal market.

However, upon looking at the market more closely, I sighed in realization.

'I didn't bring a mask... So that's what the gatekeeper wanted to tell me...'

But, it wasn't the end of the world. As long as I didn't offend anyone, I wouldn't need to wear a mask to conceal my identity.

Resisting the temptation to buy every shiny things that were sold here, I made my way towards the main reason why I had rushed to the black market in the first place.

'Ander's smithy... It's exactly like it was described in the novel...'

A broken down shop, which was an eyesore compared to other shops around it.

However, the owner of this dirty-looking smithy was a retired grandmaster blacksmith, one that provided Arthur and his harem high-quality weapons in the latter parts of the novel.

<[Alternate storage]>

Taking out a pale-red ore from my storage, and grinning at it, I walked into the smithy.
...

CLANG—! CLANG—! CLANG—!...

The sound of a hammer striking hot iron, much like the sound of swords meeting swords, was like music to my ears.

Glancing around the smithy, my gaze skimmed through the wide display of masterfully crafted weapons, before stopping on an old and sweaty dwarf immersing in his crafts.

Not wanting to disturb him, I quietly sat on a nearby chair and observed him, while fiddling with the pale-red ore on my hands.

Tsssssssssss—!

A distinct hissing sound could be heard as the dwarf grabbed the iron with a pair of tongs, dipping it into cold water and cooling it down.

Nodding his head in satisfaction at the blade in his hand, the dwarf put his tongs down and turned around, only to freeze upon seeing me.

"Hi", I said, almost failing to contain a laugh after seeing the dwarf's stupefied expression.

"Who are you?", he asked with wariness.

Sighing, I answered. "I'm here to order a weapon"

Hearing this, the dwarf lowered his vigilance a bit. He then inspected me carefully.

"Hm... You reeks of blood. Killed someone today, didn't you?"

'No shit, my clothes are literally drenched in blood'

Despite thinking that, however, I was worried.

What if he didn't want to make weapons for people who weren't 'pure' like Arthur? After all, Arthur was the only person I've seen him interacting with in the novel.

However, I suddenly recalled that this smithy was in fact, located in the black market - the kind of place where corrupted nobles and nefarious criminals alike visited.

And, to my relief, his next words confirmed that I was in the clear.

"Bahahahaha! No need to be all stiff like that. In fact, I'm happy to have people like you visiting my shop. After all, my weapons will surely be more useful in the hand of your kinds than some naive kid swinging a weapon around just for the sake of it"

He then clasped his hands together and looked at me expectantly. "I assume that you already know that you must provide me the materials. So, what did you bring?"

Smiling, I brought out the pale-red ore I was fiddling with earlier.

The dwarf's eyes sparkled at the mere sight of the ore, and his mouth was hung open in surprise.

'As expected of a grandmaster blacksmith, he knows the true value of this ore'

The ore was, in fact, native to the Void realm; And I just randomly stumbled upon it just a few hours ago.

'What an insane luck!'

In the novel, the ore was named Mythasium. It was a near-indestructible material that was coveted by everyone, even the Void fiends, as soon as its properties were discovered.

When used to make a weapon, it would be sharp beyond anyone's imagination.

And when used to make armors, it could protect its user from almost every attacks.

The amount of Mythasium I had right now was not enough to make armors, so I had to put defense aside for now.

Despite the fact that Mythasium was still unknown to everyone at this time, this Grandmaster blacksmith could immediately identify the true worth of it.

Snapping himself out of his stupor, the dwarf hurriedly closed the door to his smithy and urged me to sit on a chair.

Brewing me a cup of tea, he similarly sat down on a chair opposite of me, and began speaking.

"You know, when I was young, I made a foolish decision to venture out of the Empire"

'What the fuck is he talking about?', I wondered, but I still listened to him anyways, and occasionally nodded thoughtful so as not to offend him.

He was one of the few individuals who could work with Mythasium after all.
...

"...And thus, that's why creating the best weapon anyone has ever seen is my life-long dream"

"I see"

"And the ore you brought here might, no, it will let me achieve my dream!"

"Is that so?", I nodded fervently.

"That's right. Now, let's talk business", he rubbed his hands together like a greedy merchant.

I inwardly sighed in relief at the sight of this. 'Finally, no more boring stories'

The dwarf spoke while not taking his eyes off the ore. "So, what kind of weapon do you want?"

Not waiting for me to reply, he excitedly continued. "A sword? A spear? A halberd? Or if you're feeling more feisty, a pair of knuckles?"

Smiling, I gave him my answers. "A scabbard"

Instantly, the dwarf froze in confusion. "A scabbard? Oh, your pronunciation was a bit off, wasn't it? Don't worry, I can understand you perfectly. So, a sword, was it?"

Still giving him a smile, I reaffirmed my previous answer. "No, I want you to make me a scabbard for swords"

The dwarf stared at me in silence, trying to process what I had just said.

Before long, his expression contorted in pure rage and humiliation. "FUCK OFF! DID YOU COME HERE JUST TO MAKE FUN OF ME?"

Now, it was my turn to be confused. "Huh? But I really need a scabba—"

"OUT!"

"But—"

"OUT NOW! OUR I'LL PERSONALLY KICK YOUR ASS"

I wanted to see how an <F> ranked dwarf could 'kick my ass', but I decided against it. After all, I wouldn't gain anything out of angering a retired Grandmaster even further.

Clank—!

Walking out of the smithy, I couldn't help but to be confused.

'Why did he react that way?'

I was, in fact, very serious when I said that I wanted a scabbard.

At first, I considered making a sword out of the ore. But, after some heavy considerations, I decided that a scabbard would be more beneficial.

Why?

Well, my battle arts, specifically [III - Roteare style], focuses on absorbing and releasing forces.

Getting a sturdy sword would undoubtedly make this battle art much more useful. However, Mythanium was especially fragile on the inside.

Thus, it would crumble as soon as I used [Release]. No, scratch that. It would crumble instantly after I used [Absorb].

And, Mythanium had really bad Mana conductivity. Thus, attempting to use [V - World splitter] on a Mythanium sword would be utterly foolish.

As such, a scabbard that can store Spatial attribute mana, block mana detection from outside, while simultaneously doesn't interfere Mana concentration, would work better than a sword that's indestructible but slows the accumulation of Mana down to a near halt.

'...Guess I'll have to leave making the scabbard for later'

<[Alternate storage]>

I threw the ore back into the storage and decided to go around the black market for a while, and maybe buy some artifacts while I'm at it.
***

<<Dorm room F1 - 2>>

"Kasumi, so how did it go?"

"..."

"Kasumi?"

"..."

Seeing that Kasumi was unresponsive, and had a blank look on her face, Eleanor shouted.

"Kasumi!"

"AH!", Kasumi finally work up from her stupor.

Immediately, she bowed to Eleanor. "I'm sorry for my imprudence, your highness"

"No need to worry", Eleanor signaled Kasumi to stop bowing. "You seem to have a lot on your mind. How about slowly making your report over a game of chess?"

Kasumi complied, and sat down on a chair.

Clack—!

"..."

Clack—!

"Kasumi, you can't move the Bishop like that"

Clack—!

"I'm sorry, your highness"

"Jeez, stop apologizing like that. It's just a game of chess"

Clack—!

"..."

Clack—!

"So... What happened to the assassins?"

Clack—!

"Dead"

"Mhm... As expected..."

Clack—!

Eleanor frowned at Kasumi's unexpectedly smart move.

'Did she pretend to know nothing about chess earlier?', she thought.

Clack—!

Still devising a strategy to win, Eleanor urged Kasumi to continue with her report. "Can you go into more details?"

Clack—!

"Yes, your highness. He disposed of the assassins with relative ease, and managed to extract information on 'Arlenoe', just as you predicted"

"Can you elaborate?"

Clack—!

'Hm... smart move', Eleanor thought as Kasumi sacrificed her Knight to save her Queen.

"Yes, your highness"

Kasumi then recounted the conversation between the assassin and Theodore.

'Plotline?', Eleanor thought. 'What a strange way to say 'timeline'. Well, I guess it's expected of the grandson of a famous novelist'

Clack—!

'Ah, your King is cornered, what shall you do, Kasumi?'

Kasumi was about to sacrifice a Rook to save her King, but she suddenly violently shook in fright as she heard Eleanor's next words.

"So, what happened after their conversation?"

"T- That's..."

With shaking hands, Kasumi placed the Rook down with much more force than she intended to.

CLACK—! CRACK—! THUD—! THUD—! THUD—!...

The chessboard cracked into two halves, and the chess pieces all fell to the ground with a thud.

Realizing what she had done, Kasumi immediately bowed. "Y- Your highness! Please forgive m—"

"Stop, Kasumi". Eleanor spoke with a stern voice.

"Take your time to calm down, then continue reporting to me. The chessboard is not important"

After a while, Kasumi regained her composure, and continued her report.

It was on how Theodore mutilated, humiliated, and tortured the assassin afterwards.

The descriptions were so vivid that even the worst of serial killers would vomit out of disgust.

In response to this, however, Eleanor just merely nodded. After all—

'Sylvia did worse things than him'

—She had seen, and, regrettably, experienced much worse.

"Alright. Kasumi, you're dismissed for today. You can take tomorrow off too if you want to rest more"

Thinking over the report again, Eleanor couldn't help but to think that this was a fruitful day.

Her target, Theodore, most likely had a way to travel to the Void realm at will. Not just that, she also confirmed that his mentality was almost the exact same as hers on her late 2nd or early 3rd major regression.

And, looking at the capture crystals in her hands, Eleanor couldn't help but grin widely, as it contained footages of Theodore dragging the body of an assassin to a dark alleyway, and him entering the black market.

'Hahaha... I don't even know what to do with this many blackmail materials, Theodore'

Thinking for a while, Eleanor smiled. 'Perhaps, I'll soon have a chance to use them'