A-ha.

I turned my head towards the pub’s door, asking a question.

“So they say.”

It was in a direction where no one was standing.

Shortly after the bartender questioned his eyes, the pub’s quiet door opened, revealing a person that hadn’t appeared yet.

Entering silently like a shadow, he was dressed in a long robe from head to toe.

“What is Berithlet?”

It was the butler-assassin, the assassin who’d turned over a new leaf.

It seemed like the robe he was wearing was one he’d fashioned himself from unused blackout curtains.

Considering the wearer’s expertise, it was a very plausible guess.

The butler-assassin kindly answered my question.

“It’s an information guild that grew rapidly in the aftermath of the Magic war. They are big, dangerous, and down-right cruel to get what they want.”

The unwavering voice did not contain an inch of dishonesty. I nodded.

This was exactly the role I hoped for and demanded from him.

Before coming to the pub, I visited the butler-assassin.

As a former assassin, he immediately recognized my presence, so he came out of the back door and asked what I was doing.

“Today isn’t the day we agreed upon. What happened?”

“You told me that you were going to find a new way of living.”

“And?”

“Let’s work together.”

The butler-assassin looked at the simple yet mildly aggressive twist with suspicious eyes.

“Why should I do that?”

“Because I have to look for it, just like you.”

“So what?”

“A way to live.”

You have to show your cards first to get the other party’s cooperation.

I explained to him, ‘I need to gather information to find what I need.’ and briefly told him of my future plans. He remained expressionless throughout, until he got tempted by the word ‘information.’

It was only natural.

Being chased by an assassination guild, it was important to keep Midwinterre in the palm of his hand in order to shake off potential pursuers.

Slowly taking control of the city, starting with the association of merchants dominating this neighborhood, would benefit both of us.

“It’s not a bad offer. …alright. But with regards to some of the merchants you mentioned, we’d better make some changes to the plan.”

“Why?”

“From what I hear, their expansion speed and systematic progression are unnecessarily good for just being neighborhood bullies. In these cases, there’s usually a backer. If you move recklessly, they can topple you.”

The butler-assassin asked to make our move after inspecting the backer. The judgement was based on the fact that it might be wise not to touch in depending on the background.

But my thoughts were a little different.

The reason is simple.

If the current merchant association continues, the old potato-seller will have to disappear from the alley.

‘It’s good we promised to back out if the backer was unusual.’

But I didn’t know a big guild was connected.

“<Berithlet> ? I’ve never heard of them before.”

“Because it’s a secret drug guild. Ordinary people do not know of it.”

“Ordinary people?”

Ah, that’s right. I’m a normal person now.

But what the butler-assassin said sounded terribly wrong anyway. I crumpled my brows at the thought.

“Of course, there are times when there’s not the case. Berithlet has connections spread throughout all the 13 countries of the Magic Alliance, centering on Penrotta Empire. Guild masters are people whose names, let alone faces, aren’t known to the public. They do everything to prevent being caught.

The butler assassin, who was explaining, looked at the bartender with suspicious eyes.

“But why would they join hands with these wicked bastards?”

The bartender hurriedly rummaged through the cabinet drawer. Soon a round, gold coin emerged in his hands.

“No! We are a federation protected by Berithlet! Here, take a look at this guild coin.”

A Guild Coin is a guarantee that proves cooperation and affiliation with a specific guild.

The assassin-butler, who inspected the coin’s shape and appearance, bowed his head with a serious expression.

“It’s real.”

“That’s right! You’ve made many mistakes here. See, this man knows the horrors of Berithlet very well…”

I snatched the gold coin from the hand of the bartender who seemed to be getting prouder and prouder.

“Really? Then this is mine from now on.”

The bartender gritted his teeth.

“Are you fearless or simply out of your mind? Didn’t you hear me?! If the fact that we were attacked reaches Berithlet…”

“That’s why you shouldn’t move your tongue lightly.”

I tapped the bartender’s lips with the guild coin and warned him.

“Be smart, bartender. Don’t you know the saying, ‘A cousin is farther than a neighbor.’? You don’t know? Well, what about ‘the law is far, but the fist is near’? Berithlet’s laws are far away, but me, your neighbor’s fist, is really close. Remember that your lives depend on the mood of the corner in my heart.”

The inside of the pub became quiet as if cold water had been poured on its occupants.

In the meantime, the assassin-butler, who’d been working his head hard, lifted his lips with his characteristic serious face.

“It’s too dangerous if the opponent is Berithlet, it’s no exaggeration to say they hit back twice as hard. Information guilds basically expand through trust and money. Even a small and unsightly place like this is a branch, so it’s better to not touch it.”

It seemed as if he was going to withdraw from today’s work. Considering the other party was a large, secret drug guild, it was an understandable attitude.

“Is it more dangerous than your master?”

But I need the assassin-butler.

This is because he is the right person to lead the new merchant association, considering he worked in a similar institution before.

In the first place, intelligence and assassination are inseparable.

The missions that assassins perform are on an equal-footing, or next-level of stealing or acquiring information.

“Those two are different. Master is an individual, and Berithlet is like a small country.”

“We don’t have to get caught. We just have to make our move without them knowing.”

I threw him a small glass bottle from the inside of my pocket.

“This is…”

“it’s the <Bite of Mercy> I took from you. It is the world’s most dangerous pill. It sends you to the grave with just one dose.”

“I didn’t know you were keeping it.”

“It’s a hard thing to get. I couldn’t just throw it away. And of course, the most important thing is…”

I tapped my earlobes and said,

“It’s a magic tool that binds an oath.”

The assassin-butler still had a magic device to bind an oath that he failed to use on me. We can use that thing to force their mouths shut.

The assassin-butler’s expression, who read my intentions, became even more serious.

In the meantime, I made eye contact with each and every member of the merchant association.

“Kill anyone who gets in the way with the <Bite of Mercy.> if none listen, just kill them all. Just like these thieves wish, Berithlet might take notice. Even if they noticed, though, they’d just have dead bodies to clean up.”

If you’re going to inform your superiors, let me know. If they find out, I’ll kill them too.

Without a trace.

The bartender’s complexion, who had been revitalized by the comfort of Berithlet’s protection suddenly darkened as if he’d read my will at once.

.

“…Did you really know how to speak that long?”

“I found out for the first time today, too.”

I waited leisurely for the assassin-butler’s decision. Fortunately, his thoughts didn’t trouble him for long.

“Okay. I’ll take care of this from now on. Instead, I have some conditions.”

“Go on.”

“This side will move my way. I accept your meddling only as far as I am convinced of its need. Do you agree?”

It’s rather good. I get rid of the hassle.

Instead of answering, I tossed Berithlet’s guild coin at him.

“Let’s carry out our first mission to commemorate the formation of the new merchant association.”

“Mission…? Ah, that thing you needed.”

I answered with a nod.

“We need to find Diancecht’s legacy that is currently hidden in Midwinterre.”

“…Diancecht’s legacy, the one passed down in urban legends… do you mean the eyes?”

“That’s right.”

For a moment, the butler-assassin’s eyes changed. If not mistaken, he looked as if he was in a brief agony. I thought he knew something, so I approached him and whispered quietly.

“Why?”

He, who was staring at the floor, soon answered, making eye contact with me.

“I think it’s just a coincidence. If my guess is correct, I think my master is also looking for the item.”