Ghislain looked at Lionel. The others silently watched for his reaction.

Lionel frantically waved his hands and blurted out,

"I-I don’t know! I really don’t know anything!"

He felt wronged. Yes, he had been reporting on the group, but he genuinely had no idea the Pope had planted people like this.

‘W-Why would His Holiness send agents? Does he not trust me?’

Lionel was bewildered. The Pope had clearly entrusted him with everything. But now, assigning people without so much as a word—it could only mean one thing: he didn’t trust Lionel.

Ghislain narrowed his eyes. Judging by Lionel’s confused expression, it didn’t look like he was lying.

He beckoned Lionel closer and asked,

"How far did your reports go?"

"The, the last thing I reported was when the Vallscrum incident ended."

"Hmm..."

That meant the information about acquiring the Dwarves’ Sacred Stone hadn’t yet reached the Pope. It was still too soon for that. But the report about securing the Sacred Stone from the Elven forest must have gone through.

Ghislain wasn’t particularly bothered that Lionel had reported their movements. He’d expected that from the moment Lionel joined them.

Turning to the masked woman again, he asked, 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Alright. We know the Pope has people planted on our side too, right? So you can’t really say you’re complete outsiders. Now explain who you are and why the Pope sent you."

The masked woman hesitated. Her expression was deeply troubled. But there was no room left to stall. Eventually, she let out a sigh and said,

"We're... part of a group called Crips that operates in the Empire."

"Crips?"

"Think of it as an organization specializing in assassination and espionage."

Ghislain glanced at Lionel. Lionel, seeming familiar with the name, responded quickly,

"Y-Yeah. That’s the kind of group they are. Mostly information brokers who snoop around different places. B-But the Holy See doesn’t use them much. It’s mostly nobles or merchants from the Empire who hire them."

Ghislain gave a small nod. There were countless assassins and thieves in the world. He couldn’t know every group. Still, if the Pope had hired them, then they must be quite capable.

"Keep talking."

"The task the Pope assigned us... was to guard and monitor you."

"...Guard?"

"...Yeah."

"And since when do bodyguards steal?"

"..."

The masked woman lowered her head silently, clearly at a loss for words.

Ghislain narrowed his eyes. He’d been wondering how to get her to talk—but this seemed like the opening.

"What’s your name?"

"...Marika."

She spoke the name with a resigned expression.

Ghislain didn’t rule out the possibility it was a fake and continued,

"Alright, Marika. Why would someone sent to guard us try to steal from us? What about the people waiting outside the village?"

"...You already knew, didn’t you?"

"Yeah. I’ve known for a while. I just didn’t act because I wasn’t sure you were enemies."

"The people outside the village... they’re probably another unit."

"Probably?"

"We move in separate teams. It’s a setup so we can respond quickly if anything happens to one of them."

"How many teams are there?"

"I don’t know exactly. But the number will keep increasing. We were just one of the advance teams sent out early."

"Hmm..."

Ghislain furrowed his brow. If Marika was telling the truth, that meant countless people were secretly tailing them. And they were doing it all in the name of “guarding” them?

He had a rough idea of what the Pope was thinking.

‘Well, we did succeed in getting the Sacred Stone. Of course he’s excited.’

The Pope was probably itching to seize the stone immediately. But with the chance to obtain even more of them, he likely didn’t want to move too soon and risk losing everything.

‘And he can’t exactly send Imperial troops to openly monitor and guard us either.’

If that had been viable, he would’ve sent a delegation to fetch the Sacred Stone himself already.

He must’ve judged that sending official forces could cause more interference than help. So leaving it to the Julien Mercenary Corps was the safer bet.

‘Still, he must’ve felt uneasy.’

From the Pope’s perspective, it made sense to have discreet agents following the Julien Mercenaries from afar. If he ever found out they’d also secured the Dwarves’ Sacred Stone, the Pope might just faint from joy.

Ghislain now had a rough grasp of the situation.

‘More eyes will definitely be on us now. At this rate, we’ll have the Empire’s army and their spies watching our every move.’

But one question still lingered. Why would Marika, who had received such an important mission, pull a stunt like this?

"You’re not done talking, are you? If what you’re saying is true, then you’ve disobeyed your orders."

"...Yeah."

"Why?"

Marika paused, thinking for a moment, and then began to speak slowly.

"Like I said earlier, we came in a hurry to locate and observe your group. The ones meant to properly guard and watch you haven’t arrived yet."

"And?"

"Soon, our commander and vice-commander... the key officers, will all be joining us."

Ghislain nodded. This was an order issued directly by the Pope. Knowing how serious that was, it was only natural the entire unit would mobilize.

At that moment, Marika bowed her head low and muttered softly,

"Before that happens... I wanted to pit you and our side against each other."

"...What?"

Everyone tilted their heads. She wanted to cause a fight out of nowhere? What was she talking about? The whole situation was getting increasingly unpredictable.

Ghislain calmly asked,

"Alright, just tell us everything. Be completely honest. I’m really curious."

Seeing Ghislain’s curiosity, Marika looked at him with desperate eyes.

"If I tell you... will you let me go?"

Now that she had touched the mission target, not just the Pope but even her commander wouldn’t let her off the hook. She had no options left—except death. If she wanted to live, she’d have to run far, and fast.

Ghislain nodded without hesitation.

"Yeah. If you’re honest, I’ll let you go."

"R-Really?"

"Of course. You haven’t done much damage, so why would I kill you? Haven’t you noticed I’ve been holding back this whole time?"

Marika nodded. She knew full well Ghislain had been letting her off lightly. That was the only reason she clung to this final hope.

After a deep breath, she finally said,

"I have a grudge against the commander."

"A grudge?"

"Yeah. He’s my mortal enemy."

"Hmm..."

"But that’s not really important now. At first, I thought you guys were just honored guests or something. But then I found out..."

While preparing for her mission, Marika had learned that the Julien Mercenaries had secured a Sacred Stone. Even if it was top secret, the fact that the Pope had sent a delegation had already spread. On top of that, word had spread that the Julien Mercenaries had stopped the Salvation Order’s invasion of the Elven forest.

Put those events together, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) and the conclusion was obvious:

—The Julien Mercenaries possessed a Sacred Stone.

That rumor was slowly but surely making its way across the continent. The Empire was trying to suppress the information, but many had already caught wind of it through the trade cities.

So Marika had decided to take advantage of this opportunity.

"...If I succeeded in stealing the Sacred Stone, the Pope wouldn’t stay quiet. That way, I thought I could get my revenge."

Ghislain nodded. Being tasked with guarding and watching them—then stealing the Sacred Stone? Even if Crips was a powerful organization, they would be utterly crushed under the Pope’s wrath.

But this was full of holes.

"You really thought we’d leave something that important in our luggage? You were just going to steal a bag and hope for the best?"

"No, of course I knew that. The plan was to steal something and lure you out."

"Lure us?"

"Yeah. I knew you were strong. I was hoping to split you up, then sneak up on that priest—Deneb."

"Why... were you so sure Deneb had the Sacred Stone?"

"...Because I was ordered to keep her under constant surveillance and protect her at all costs. In the worst case, I was told to recover the necklace no matter what. Isn’t it obvious then?"

"I see."

Ghislain nodded in understanding. If the Pope had been informed that Deneb obtained the necklace in the Elven forest, then she would naturally become his top priority.

Marika sighed and continued,

"No matter how strong you are, I thought that in a moment of chaos, stealing a few things from a junior priest wouldn’t be that hard."

"But you failed?"

"...I didn’t expect you to move so quickly."

"And after the failure?"

"..."

"You must’ve had a backup plan, right?"

Marika nodded silently. Of course, she hadn’t expected to succeed on the first try. In fact, she knew that with transcendents around, the chances of failure were high.

"If I’d managed to steal the Sacred Stone... Crips would’ve been destroyed for sure. The Pope wouldn’t let it slide... But if I failed, I had another plan ready."

"What was your backup plan?"

"I was going to leave behind traces as I fled. Enough for you to come after your stolen gear. That way, I’d pit you against another unit... and use the chaos to sneak up on that priest."

"To kill Deneb?"

"No, no. Just to steal the necklace. If that failed, I was only going to wound her a bit and escape. That alone would be enough to make sure the Pope lost it, no matter what kind of excuse the others came up with."

It wasn’t a bad plan. If an incident occurred, no excuse would protect Crips from the Pope’s wrath. The Julien Mercenary Corps would never trust the Pope again. That would be the end of Crips. Neither the Pope nor the Empire would let them live. In this age, eliminating a single assassination organization was a trivial task.

Marika’s goal had been to drive a wedge between the Julien Mercenaries and the Empire—bringing down Crips in the process.

Ghislain smiled faintly.

‘Good, good. I was wondering how I’d bring her in... and this explains a lot.’

Whether it was Crips or the Pope, Ghislain didn’t care who had a problem with it—he was siding with Marika. If she wanted, he was ready to crush both sides. As someone who knew the future, it was the only rational course of action.

He could move decisively because he understood what truly mattered.

But Marika had no idea Ghislain would take her side. She was still focused solely on escaping.

Ghislain lowered his sword and asked,

"Can you tell me what that grudge is?"

"It’s... nothing important. Just a personal vendetta. Anyway, I told you everything honestly, so let us go now."

"I’ll let you go once you tell me that too."

Marika bit her lip several times. Revealing her grudge to a stranger she’d just met was not easy. But she had no other option. Her voice came out sharp.

"The commander and officers of Crips killed my family. They don’t know I’m aware of it. That’s all you need, right?"

"Hmm..."

Ghislain stroked his chin. Marika’s eyes—there was no hesitation, no lie. Only blazing hatred.

He recognized that look all too well. It was the same emotion he had clung to countless times in his past life. An unforgettable fury. The color of vengeance.

That was why he felt a deeper pull toward her.

He wanted to know more, but that could wait. For now, this was enough.

Turning his head slightly, Ghislain asked,

"What are you going to do about the ones outside the village?"

They weren’t visible, but they were likely hiding nearby, watching them.

Marika also scanned the area and said,

"They're probably in shock right now. I doubt they ever thought I’d do something like this."

"They’ll come after you, right?"

"Not yet. Their top priority is still watching you. Once more teams arrive, that’s when they’ll send pursuit. That’s why I have to run now."

Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion. She held no grudge against the Julien Mercenaries. She had only tried to use them for her own revenge.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this. I never intended to kill any of you."

She spoke with genuine remorse, in a tone far too soft for an assassin.

Ghislain gave a few slow nods and then said plainly,

"Alright. A promise is a promise. Go on."

"...You’re really letting me go?"

"I said I would. I'm not the type to go back on my word."

Relief flooded Marika’s face as she slowly stepped backward.

‘Astion, huh? A pervert, but I guess his heart isn’t too bad.’

Ghislain would have been seriously offended had he known.

Marika had six subordinates. All of them had been raised and trained by her. They carefully scanned the surroundings as they retreated.

Just then, Ghislain casually said,

"I know a safer way than running."

Marika paused and asked,

"...What do you mean?"

"Why not come with us?"

"What?"

"If you run now, you’ll be running for the rest of your life. Can you really do that?"

"..."

"Your commander will never let you go. You already messed with us. The only way he avoids the Pope’s wrath is by killing you. Don’t you think?"

He wasn’t wrong. The Crips commander would never forgive Marika.

But she felt cornered. With a mocking smile, she asked,

"So what? What difference does staying here make? Isn’t it even more dangerous?"

Traveling with the Julien Mercenaries meant constantly being exposed to Crips' assassins. They would relentlessly pursue her like tireless hunters. It felt safer to disappear to a place where no one could find her.

Marika’s sharp response made Ghislain laugh, his shoulders bouncing. To her, the laugh sounded like ridicule, and she snapped back.

"What’s so funny?"

"Running from a powerful enemy isn’t a bad thing—if it means you get your revenge someday.

But if you run now, will you really get that chance?

This plan of yours... it was pretty sloppy. Your chances of success were slim."

Marika bit her lip silently. He was right. This had been her only real shot. And she had failed.

Now, she’d have to live the rest of her life on the run. Revenge? Practically impossible.

She admitted her plan was clumsy. But she hadn’t had any other choice.

That made her all the more annoyed at Ghislain, who seemed to mock her without knowing any of that. She turned away, unwilling to talk any longer. She just wanted to get out of there.

Then, she heard Ghislain’s voice again.

"I’ll help you."

"...?"

She slowly turned her head.

Ghislain continued, calm as ever,

"Get stronger. Take your revenge yourself."

"You... you think it’s that easy? Our commander is a transcendent, you know. There’s a reason I tried to use the Pope’s orders to my advantage."

"So what? You just become a transcendent too."

His answer was so casual, so absurd, she almost burst out.

But before she could speak, Ghislain raised both hands.

Whoooom...

Dozens of daggers scattered on the ground slowly began to rise.

Not just those—Marika’s own daggers, whose threads had been cut, also floated upward.

Soon, a multitude of blades circled Ghislain.

They moved like living shadows, then gradually filled with a soft blue glow.

Fwoooosh!

The daggers carved luminous arcs through the air, filling the space with radiant motion.

They danced in intricate patterns, never colliding, sometimes spinning in circles, sometimes shooting like comets in straight lines.

Like stars swimming through the void of space—it was breathtaking, dreamlike.

The movement was so beautiful it sent a shiver down the spine.

Marika stared, speechless, captivated.

Everyone watching held their breath, mesmerized by the dazzling spectacle.

Amid the orbiting blades, Ghislain spoke with a serene smile.

"I’ll make you... the strongest assassin on the continent."