The Alkahad Northeastern Branch Chief’s Office.

Offense, disguised as Deirt, was there.

It was to take care of some basic tasks in place of Deirt, who had already become one of the dead.

Of course, he wasn’t here for a smooth transition of power within the Alkahad organization.

It was simply because it would be problematic if Deirt’s absence was discovered during the one week he was supposed to remain in the territory.

After finishing the work roughly assigned to him, Offense stood up, intending to go see Ariena.

That was when it happened.

Whiiing.

A bluish light flared from within his robes.

‘It must be Kaeld.’

Sure enough, when he pulled out the communication orb, a familiar voice rang out.

—Offense.

“Mr. Kaeld. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

—I just couldn’t resist. The report I heard this morning was far too interesting. You said you went to meet Mide, right? What kind of guy is he?

Offense scratched his head.

“He was a man who saw through my disguise at a glance.”

—……

“I met him while disguised as the Alkahad branch chief. But he challenged me to a bet. Said he would find Ariena within a week, and in return, asked that we postpone the war.”

—He figured you out? What do you mean?

“He didn’t say it outright. But he made a point of calling me ‘Deirt’ and stared straight into my eyes… You know how much I can read from a person’s expression.”

Kaeld didn’t doubt that in the slightest.

Ironically, despite his keen insight, Offense had failed to grasp the most important secret—that Kaeld was deceiving everyone on the continent.

—He’s a dangerous man.

“I agree. What should I do?”

—I’m not particularly fond of war, but I can’t just sit by and let someone who’ll get in my way grow unchecked.

“So, at the very least, we can’t let Mide find Ariena.”

—Mm.

“I’ll kill the woman right after this call.”

Kaeld was satisfied.

Unlike his two other companions, Offense was someone who understood these kinds of ‘grimy’ conversations without needing things spelled out.

That was precisely why Kaeld had sent him for this job.

—I’m counting on you. Just make sure the war breaks out, then return.

“Huh? Since you sent me this far, wouldn’t it be better to kill Mide too?”

—Mmh… That would be rational, yes… but that guy has the Witch of Carnage and the Vice Captain of the Holy Knights with him. Especially that Xenia, God’s Agent.

“They do have intimidating reputations. But if it’s an assassination, I’m confident.”

—I don’t doubt that. What I’m worried about is what comes after the assassination.

Offense understood what he meant.

“You mean there could be fallout.”

—Exactly. If Dame really does cherish his daughter like his own life, he would mobilize everything to find the culprit.

Even so, Offense didn’t believe he’d be discovered.

But as he had always felt, Kaeld was a very cautious man.

—Besides, I’ve started to need you again. It’s time we moved. We’ve stayed in the capital long enough.

“Understood.”

—Thanks as always.

Click.

The communication ended.

Offense smirked and put the orb away.

‘Guess I’ll kill her right away, then.’

He did feel a bit sorry for the woman named Ariena and her tragic fate, but being unfortunate didn’t mean you got to live.

That was when—

Knock knock.

Along with the knock, he heard voices outside.

“What’s the point of knocking? Just break it down.”

“Your violent tendencies really know no bounds.”

It was Mide and Neril’s voices.

Offense tensed, but soon covered it with calm and opened the door.

“What is it? I don’t recall making an appointment.”

“Greetings.”

“I was doing well until I saw you two. Sorry, but I’m busy. Please leave.”

Naturally, neither of them budged an inch.

Feeling a slight sense of urgency, Offense looked past them.

“How did you even get in here? Wasn’t anyone stopping you?”

“I put them to sleep.”

“…You?”

“I think we all know who each other is, so let’s skip the introductions.”

Offense hadn’t felt his hair stand on end like this in a long time.

‘Getting through these two head-on won’t be easy.’

Then maybe the window.

It was the third floor, but he could leap directly to the neighboring rooftop.

He let out a quiet sigh and turned.

Step, step.

The distance to the window looked miles long.

“Well, whatever this is, come in for now. At least let me offer some tea.”

He said this casually, as though he was just opening the window to let in air.

However—

Bzzzzzzt!

“Tch.”

Smoke rose from his hand.

For a brief moment, incomprehensible letters flickered in the air and vanished.

And then a new voice—one that hadn’t been there earlier—spoke.

“I’m a bit late. But not too late, right?”

“You do realize those two sentences contradict each other, yes?”

“Neril, you’re being unusually hostile today.”

“You did call me grandma earlier.”

“I told you I didn’t mean it like that…”

The new arrival was Xenia.

She had likely cast a divine spell—one of the ‘Prison’ types—which had burned his hand.

From the looks of it, it wasn’t just the window, but the entire building that had been turned into a prison.

At this point, Offense had no choice but to acknowledge he had been exposed.

Mide spoke.

“You’re not an easy man to get a conversation with. But I suppose to earn some time with someone like you, this much trouble is only fair.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Sure. Offense Dake. The man with the ludicrous alias ‘Bright Death,’ right?”

“I think it’s better than ‘Sword master of No Killing,’ at least.”

“……”

Mide shifted the topic.

“Anyway, since we know why you’re wearing Deirt’s face and what you’re plotting, let’s skip straight to business.”

“Hmph. Don’t get cocky. I’ll admit it’s impressive you saw through me, but there’s no way you could know my goal from just that…”

Offense had spoken confidently, but the next thing Mide said made him contort his face.

“Weren’t you hired by Kaeld?”

“Weren’t you hired by Kaeld?”

When I said that, Offense’s face twisted in a scowl.

The enemy’s fluster is my joy.

I was quietly enjoying that when Trail had to rain on my parade.

[You know, you’re kinda childish sometimes.]

‘I prefer to think of it as keeping my innocence intact.’

[That’s… a weird way to interpret that.]

I ignored him and focused.

I was recalling a memory from before the regression.

Specifically, a conversation I’d had with Offense when I was part of the Hero’s Party.

It was on the night we had just completed a major quest and were celebrating.

I was pretty drunk for once, drinking the beer, when Offense sat down in the empty seat across from me.

“Mide, even on a day like this, you’re still acting all cool and aloof.”

“I was just sitting comfortably. But then again, I am the kind of person who looks good doing nothing.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Can’t promise I’ll answer, but go ahead.”

“It’s about the Hero.”

Offense gestured with his chin. Kaeld was over there, scratching his head with an embarrassed smile as the party members praised him.

“You don’t seem to like Kaeld very much.”

“Yeah.”

“Not even trying to hide it, huh.”

“You don’t seem all that fond of him either. It’s like you’re only together because you have to be.”

“……”

“Like a guild master and a mercenary in a transaction. I’ve seen that look on a lot of faces.”

“You really are sharp as ever.”

Gulp.

Offense took a sip of his drink and spoke.

“But don’t get me wrong. Sure, that’s how it started, but now I genuinely trust and follow him.”

“Is that so.”

“Kaeld promised to defeat the Demon King, return to the Imperial Capital, and use his fame as a Hero to grant my wish.”

“Wish? You have one of those?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Offense’s smile turned a little bitter.

“Everyone wants to find their origin.”

“By origin, you mean…”

“I want to know what my parents looked like. What kind of people just tossed me in front of an assassin’s guild and vanished.”

“……With your skills, you should’ve been able to investigate that on your own.”

“You think I haven’t tried? But I guess they weren’t anyone notable. Nothing ever came up in the intel networks.”

I thought for a moment before replying.

“You’re planning to use the magic circle under the Imperial Capital, aren’t you.”

“Yeah. That ultra-wide-range search magic circle that can find out even the color of everyone’s underwear from last night. A masterpiece of Beyond Erenika.”

“Do you even have a mage capable of operating that thing?”

“Our dear witch said she would help out.”

At that, I thought of Neril, who wasn’t present.

She had bluntly said such gatherings made her uncomfortable and had already gone upstairs.

“How’d you convince her? She’s not exactly the type to grant favours easily.”

“I was surprised too. But she agreed almost instantly—as soon as she heard it was a magic circle made by Beyond.” This text is hosted at Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

“……”

“But none of this matters unless that stingy, fussy Emperor gives us access to the circle. Still, if it’s Kaeld, the Hero who defeated the Demon King, he might pull it off.”

By then, I had already lost interest in the conversation.

Before the regression, all I could think about was quickly dealing with the Demon King, disbanding this uncomfortable party, and enjoying retirement.

“Right. Good luck with that.”

“Kaeld’s a good guy. He accepted someone like me without judgment and is doing his best to fulfill my wish.”

“I get it.”

“So try to get along with him, would you? Why can’t you trust him?”

What did I say back then?

Ah, right.

“Because he looks like someone with a lot of sins.”

I stopped reminiscing.

Offense looked like he had ‘I’m nervous’ written across his forehead.

Still, he did his best to sound calm.

“Let’s go one by one. First—how did you know my true identity? My skills have nothing to do with magic or holy power.”

“Let’s just say I have a good eye.”

“That answer’s a little…”

“What, you discriminating now? You let Kaeld get away with the same thing, didn’t you?”

At that, Offense’s pupils dilated sharply.

“W–wait. You already knew Kaeld before all this?”

“Judging from your reaction, I was right. He figured out your skills too, didn’t he? But he didn’t say anything. What a Hero—can’t even be honest with his own comrades.”

Neril and Xenia both let out dry chuckles.

“Says the guy who’s worse about that.”

“Come to think of it, why haven’t we asked you anything yet? There’s plenty we should be questioning.”

“He’s so shameless, I don’t even feel like asking anymore.”

“True.”

Lately, those two had been agreeing with each other more often.

But only when they were mocking me, which gave me mixed feelings.

“I came here today with two requests.”

“Receiving requests from both the Witch of Carnage and the God’s Agent? How could I possibly say no.”

“Thanks. First—don’t report this conversation to Kaeld.”

“……”

“I don’t want him seeing me as a threat just yet.”

“And if I refuse?”

Almost as if she’d been waiting, Neril casually cracked her wrist.

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t possibly say no?”

The magic flaring from her hand was more than enough to kill Offense ten times over.

Sure, he probably had some hidden techniques left, but using them in front of us in time was a whole different matter.

“……And the second?”

“Don’t kill Lady Ariena.”

“……”

“You’re smart enough to know what I mean. It’s fine if you hide her well enough that I can’t find her. But don’t flip the whole table just because you think you’ll lose the bet. That, I won’t tolerate.”

“And if I refuse that one? Is Xenia going to crack her wrist this time?”

He sneered, but I shook my head.

“I’ll give you a reward instead.”

“Hah. Let’s hear it, then.”

“I’ll grant your wish.”

“……?”

“You look like someone with a wish.”

“Huh. That’s a new way to describe a face.”

At first, Offense seemed to think I was joking and let out a short laugh.

But when he saw how deadly serious my expression was, his face hardened.

He asked, cautiously.

“What do you know?”

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