It was a busy morning at the castle, as the lords of the islands who had visited were about to leave. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get their banquet last night, which Takehiro was quite looking forward to. Still, not like he didn’t expect that it wouldn’t happen. He knew that having a delightful banquet would not be possible. Because after all, he knew what was going to happen.

  But it would have been quite nice to have a banquet to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Eat food, drink beer, and fuck women. But alas, he had to pretend to be sad about the tragedy that had happened to this great island. Perhaps when he returned to his island, he’d have a celebration, in secret of course.

  Knowing that everything went as he wanted, he smirked.

  He didn’t expect that Miyako would be able to escape, though. But that was fine. Whether she died or not, the damage was done. It would only be a matter of time before the two islands start fighting. And Takehiro would watch from afar, waiting for the right moment to step in and swoop in while both islands battle each other to the death. Thinking about it, he was feeling quite excited already.

  At the end of this debacle, he’d be the new shogun. Earliest, it would be in a couple of years. Takehiro was an impatient man, just like how he stole his position as the lord of his island by killing his father, he’d cause chaos as much as possible to become the shogun as quickly as possible. Life was short after all. A hundred years of life was too short to enjoy life itself. If he could have the chance, he would become immortal.

  Miyako might have done some unexpected things by surviving their initial attempt, but at least now things were going their proper route.

  He chuckled.

  “My lord, we are ready to move out.”

  His adviser walked up to him. At the moment, they were in their own chamber, preparing their luggage for their departure. Takehiro looked around before nodding. He glanced at his adviser — he was indeed a very competent man. How he managed to kill that young lord was surprising and impressive. He was well aware that Bakin was an incredibly skilled individual, that was why he made him his right hand. And quite obedient too, which was most important to a servant.

  Takehiro nodded. “Then it’s time to get the hell out of this hellhole.”

  And it would seem this is going to be the last Assembly of Lords. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

  He had been playing along with this assembly. Following their requests until the right time. And it was annoying. At least he was relieved of that absurdity now.

  With a light heart, Takehiro left the room along with his men.

  On the way ?outside, he came across Oboro, a fellow leader of an island. Oboro merely gave him a brief glance before looking away with her soulless expression. Seeing her, Takehiro just felt a bit disturbed. She did not look right at all. Like there was something creepy going on with her.

  “Getting the cold shoulder already, huh?” Takehiro casually remarked.

  Oboro paused in her tracks. “Do you expect a casual conversation before our departure?”

  “Maybe.” He shrugged.

  “I’m not interested. All I expect from you is to stay true to your word.”

  With that, she continued onward. Takehiro did not think much of it. He didn’t care about her, anyway.

  Upon arriving at the castle exit, Yoshio was already present to see them off. Takehiro changed his mood to one that expressed sadness, on the surface anyway. He could already sense how depressed the man was. Which was what he had been hoping for. Once a man is lost in his emotions, they tend to do something drastic, and often stupid. Whichever was fine with Takehiro.

  When Yoshio was done speaking with Oboro, Takehiro came in and formed a small, solemn smile.

  “Thank you very much for the warm reception, Mister Yoshio,” Takehiro said.

  “Thank you as well. Our discussion was very productive,” Yoshio said in a low voice, as if he was drained of energy.

  Takehiro found it quite amusing.

  “Indeed. My deepest condolences for what happened. It was an utter tragedy. I wish you would get that despicable person who killed your son very soon.”

  Yoshio nodded. “Thank you, Mister Takehiro. I wish you safe travels.”

  “Good luck.”

  They shook hands.

  As Takehiro walked over to his carriage, he resisted the urge to laugh. He entered his carriage, and he glanced at the castle, and at Yoshio once more.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  Let there be chaos, for you all.

  ***

  In preparation for tonight’s assassination, I had to ask Miyako about things that I had to inquire about. Like, for instance, the rough layout of the area, the placement of the guards, the various rooms inside, what enemies to expect, and most importantly, where the target could potentially be.

  But there was an issue. All that Miyako certainly knew was the location of the target’s office. His personal room, however, was unknown. Which would certainly make things more difficult for me. It would seem I had to get that essential information through some strenuous method.

  There were situations on past missions where we wouldn’t know where to find the target precisely. But in those times we had plenty of time to gather intelligence or use other methods. Infiltration here, like disguising myself as a servant, was not an option, considering my unique appearance and lack of time. I could search the place during the mission, the rooms, one by one, but that itself had some risks. Especially considering that the place was strictly guarded by people with magic.

  It was best to know where to expect the target, it saves time and could make for a clearer plan. It would be lucky if the target were in his office in the middle of the night, but that would be too fucking convenient. Which I would appreciate really, but unfortunately, that's not the way the world works.

  Having the need to finish this within twenty-four hours, and with this lack of crucial information was proving to be quite stressful. I really needed the information of where the target’s room could be. There was no way I’d search every single room. To make it harder, the enemy was supposed to be among the strongest on this island. Like damn, I might need to slash and stab him three times at least.

  “Some soldiers go home in the afternoon, right?”

  “... I would assume so,” Miyako answered.

  If this were Earth, we would have the blueprints of the building already. But now, I had to resort to gathering information the primitive way — the word of mouth. How dreadful, really inconvenient.

  “I need to know where the target’s bedroom is.”

  “... How will you do that?”

  “Find a soldier and interrogate him.”

  “Oh.”

  “And to do that, I might need to wait until their duty for the day is over.”

  ***

  I got some rest before I set out. It was late in the afternoon, around the time when some soldiers’ shifts would end. I brought Nira along with me, as she was available. I left Hartwin to watch over Miyako and Satomi.

  I stood on the road that led up to the castle. There should be soldiers coming in my direction as well. And I was right, there were soldiers leaving the castle to return to their homes, their job done for today. However, some were going out in groups. I would have to wait for someone who was alone.

  And eventually, there was.

  I followed him, while searching for a nice spot to lure him in. Eventually, we arrived at an area with fewer people. I ran ahead of him through the small alleys and lowered my hood. I stood in a small alleyway beside the street and leaned on the wall, putting my left foot on the wall, showing my pale, sexy thigh.

  It was then that he went by.

  “Hello there, mister,” I beckoned in a sweet voice.

  He turned towards me, curious about my call. And the moment he saw me, his eyes widened.

  “Want to have a good time?”

  His eyes shifted down, glancing at my legs. Taking a deep breath, he grinned. “S-Sure.”

  I smiled attractively. “Follow me.”

  I walked into the alleyway, and he followed.

  “H-How much though? You’re so pretty, you must be expensive.”

  I chuckled. “It depends on your performance. The more you please me, the more inclined I’ll be to make it affordable for you.”

  He chuckled weirdly. “For someone like you, I’ll do everything I can.”

  A moment later, we arrived at a secluded area, with no one around. I slowly turned towards him with a smile. “Will this place be enough?”

  “At this point, anywhere is all right!”

  I tilted my head. “Good.”

  Nira suddenly descended beside him and swung her hand, slamming him into a wall. Thankfully, in a place like this, a beatdown was not so strange.

  “Bwah, w-what, who are you?!”

  Nira grasped his neck, keeping him down on the wall.

  “H-How is this kid…?” He choked.

  I crouched beside Nira, directing a blank look at the man. “I would like to ask some questions. I hope you’ll cooperate.”

  “W-What the fuck do you want…?!”

  “First off, lower your voice.”

  “F—”

  With my blade, I stabbed his hand on the floor. He groaned in pain.

  “There are more spots I can stab you in. So, lower your voice.”

  He fell silent.

  “Good boy.” I left the dagger in for now. “I’d like to ask where I can find your Lord Yoshio tonight.”

  “L-Lord Yoshio?” He was puzzled. “Why would you want to know that?”

  “I want to meet him later tonight. Let’s start with where his bedroom is.”

  “W-Why the fuck would I even tell you?”

  “Because if you don’t, I will have her eat you.” I pointed at Nira.

  “Huh?”

  It was then that Nira’s hand bulged, morphing into a repulsive dark flesh. The soldier’s eyes widened in terror as the hand around his neck changed so suddenly into something monstrous.

  “A-A monster? But she looks human…!”

  “Do you really want to be monster meat? All I want is answers.”

  “He’s our lord, I will not give him away.”

  Nira stabbed her other hand into his right chest, but it was shallow, of course.

  “If you don’t cooperate, then I’ll have no choice but to torture you. Do you want that?”

  He gritted his teeth, glaring at me. “W-What… What do you want to do to him?”

  “As I said, I only want to meet him.”

  Nira shifted her claws inside his flesh. He moaned in pain.

  “There’s no need to make this harder for yourself. Tell me how to find your master tonight.”

  He took a deep breath, bearing the pain. “A-Alright… His bedroom is on the third floor, on the west side.”

  “Are you lying to me?”

  “I’m n-not.”

  “If I don’t find him on the third floor, west side, then I’ll be greatly displeased. I’ll kill you, but before that, I’ll make your family suffer.”

  “W-What…?”

  “I’ll cut off their limbs right in front of you as a start. Would you like that? Who do you have, a mother?”

  He writhed. “Don’t! Please!”

  “Then you'd better be honest.”

  He lowered his head with a strained face. “I was honest about his room. But…”

  “But?”

  “He might spend the night beside the young lord’s corpse.”

  I frowned. “Is that so?”

  That was troubling. If that was the case, then I might have to check three places.

  “Tell me more.”

  And thus, I asked more questions.

  And once I was done, I abruptly slashed his throat.

  “W-Why?” he managed to get out of his mouth with a gargling voice.

  Well, you’re not being fed to a monster.

  He dropped to the ground.

  “Goddess, what will we do now?”

  “Let’s return to the inn and wait until midnight.”

  Once it’s midnight, the assassination mission begins.