I don't know what I did wrong, even thinking back now.
But I was in the business of business. I knew the risks. I knew it. I thought I knew it.

I was a fool, Heero thought absently, alone in the corner of his luxurious room.

Black and White had left the room with an escape plan that would never succeed against a Level 8. The look of pity and contempt they gave him at the end did not move his emotions.

I'm a scoundrel. He had been excluded even from the ranks of hunters, where most people were rough, and as a Red Hunter he had done all kinds of evil.
I've seen everything in the darkness of the Imperial City. Terrible things, ugly things, pathetic things, and-- things that should not be seen. Some of them had no regard for human life.

But that's not the case with the Thousand Transformations.

The first thing Hylo felt when he saw the Thousand Transformations was a sense of unease.

Of all the Red Hunters, Hi-iro was the one with the best eyesight. This is also the reason why Hi-ilo, who does not have such high physical abilities, has been able to survive and become somewhat famous as a Red.

The man did not have the energy of someone who had been through a rough patch. He lacked the shade characteristic of someone who had seen the darkness.
Above all, unlike the Zekage and Deep Black, the man showed no sign of blood.

Even if you're not a particularly vicious hunter like the Zekage, if you're a treasure hunter, the smell of blood will seep into your body to a greater or lesser degree. You can't wipe it off even if you wash it with expensive soap.

Not feeling it was a new experience for him. That's why I didn't know what I was doing and misbehaved at first.
There is no way that a level 8 hunter, and a man who leads the Zekage and other vicious hunters, is not involved in any rough trade.

In other words, that is the proof that the young man with the unmotivated atmosphere is a monster that is beyond the control of Hiiro.

Don't ever draw its attention. As far as Hi-ilo could see, there was no malice or ill will on the young man's face when he tried to cut off Hi-ilo and the others before the trip.
In other words, it shows that for him, the life of Hi-iro is as unimportant as a stone on the road. The Zekage had captured Hi-iro and the others, but even that fact was probably insignificant to the Thousand Transformations.

Black and the others were suspicious, but perhaps if they did nothing, Hi-iro and the others would be released.

He shrank back and kept silent, as if waiting for the disaster to pass.
Keep your mouth shut like a shell and pretend to be invisible. That was the most likely way for Hylo and the others to survive.
For him, the crimes committed by Hi-iro and the others are not enough of a crime, not enough of an interest to take any action.

He hugged his knees in the corner of the spacious Japanese-style room, feeling like a stone. I naturally focused my attention, but I didn't hear Black and the others scream.
Of course not. If anything were to happen, Black and the others would be defeated without a single scream.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, as if he had timed it just right.

'Mr. Black, Mr. White, are you there?

'Yes!

I thought my heart would jump out of my chest. For a moment, I thought I was hallucinating from desperation, but the sound and voice showed no sign of disappearing.
I hurriedly stood up. His knees felt as if they would shatter, but he managed to hold on and hurriedly unlocked the door.

The key to the door of this inn would be as good as gone before Level 8, and considering the name that the "Thousand Transformations" had called it, there was no choice but to open it.
Black and White went out to steal the key to the collar from the Thousand Transformations. I don't know how it turned out, but I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence that the Thousand Transformations called their names.
And the fact that it only called Black's and White's names meant that its voice was practically calling out to Hi-iro.

I open the door. The young man who appeared had a strange expression on his face when he saw Hi-ilo. As usual, his appearance is full of gaps, and his body shows no signs of violence.

Behind him, Citri Smart, who wore a dark, violent air that was the exact opposite of the young man's, was still looking at Hi-ilo with a chilling smile.

'Huh? What's wrong with Black-san and Shiro-san?

How can you say something so obvious?

There was nothing unnatural in his tone or expression. He looks as if he doesn't know anything at all, but there's no fooling his eyes now.

What's wrong with you? If something happened, it was either you or the "worst of the worst" staring back at me!

I wanted to yell at him, but my voice wouldn't come out. All that came out of Hailo's mouth was a weak, trembling voice.

His heart was beating like a fast bell. I'm sure that [Thousand Transformations] isn't interested in Hi-ilo, but even so, what's scary is scary.
I'm terrified that I don't know what he's going to say, what he's going to do, or anything at all.

'Oh, I stopped ...... Black and White from stealing the key from you...'

The more I think about it, the sloppier the plan. Black and White's plan involved a lot of wishful thinking, and luck was essential.
Normally, I would have laughed it off without even considering it. The fact that Black and White went ahead with it can only be described as a stroke of luck.

Or perhaps they too were hit by the man in front of them in a different way.

The black-haired young man, upon hearing Hiiro's words, blinked a few times with a curious expression and lifted the chain attached to his waist in a slow motion.
On the chain, among the countless pieces of jewelry, were two collars identical to the one that had been around Hiilo's neck.

Krei Andrich clapped his hands as if he had just understood. It was a gesture so obvious that it made me want to laugh, but there was a surprising lack of acting in it.
If Hailo had been a stranger, he might have immediately judged him as a helpless idiot.

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Unlike Senhenhenbanka , Citry's eyes are filled with a cold, horrifying emotion.

'Citry, I think I missed it. Is there a problem with ......?'

'No. ...... I don't think so. You haven't gotten very far yet. I'll have my sister come after you if you need a little help, but--'

'No, no, no. That's not what I meant. No, I don't need you to go all the way out there to get Liz when she's resting-- oh, yeah. It's just a change of plans. By the way, this is just out of curiosity--'

And Cry scratched his cheek, frowned, and looked at Hylo.
I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea. I'm not sure what to make of it.

And then the "thousand changes" said.

'Why aren't you running away, Mr. Hi-ilo?








You've failed. .......

Mr. Hi-ilo's words came out of the blue.
I didn't think Kuro and the others would be so forceful. I had already told them that I would give them the key, so there was no way they would assume that.

Well, I can only say that I'm an idiot who didn't notice the escape even when I found an unfamiliar collar in my locker, but I'll put my own stupidity aside for now. But I'll put it down to my being in a hurry because of the hot spring dragon fiasco.



But it's not a fatal mistake. It's just a little earlier than we had originally planned to release it.
Sitri said it was no problem and there was no need to go after him. If someone had stolen the treasure, I would have asked Liz to go after him, but fortunately, I brought all the treasure with me to the spa. I can only hope that stealing the key from me will be their last crime.

But what's the matter with Hailo, he hasn't escaped?

I couldn't help but spit out the question, and Mr. Hiichiro's eyes widened in shock.

Perhaps it had been too much for him to keep watch all the way here, but his eyes were sunken, his cheeks were thin, and his once fearless appearance was gone. His body must have remained the same size, but it was as if he had shrunk a size or two.
Her body staggered and collapsed, falling on her buttocks on the floor. It was just a pure question, but for some reason his face turned pale and his teeth were clicking.

Had I asked a bad question? I'm not aware of it, but if you think about it, stealing and escaping are bad things, and you might not want to be asked why you didn't do it.
Mr. Hiiro looked up at me with wide open eyes, his lips desperately shivering.

'Oh, I'm, I'm--'

'No, sorry, sorry, you don't have to answer. I'm just a little curious--'

I don't care if you run or not. It may be something that Hailo and the others can't get away with, but this is just a vacation for me.
He dropped the key in front of Mr. Hiichiro's eyes as if to reassure him and sighed heavily.

Well, I'm glad I'm not in trouble anymore.

'Actually, I'm going to a dragon party. You're still here, so why don't you come?

'Well, ...... it looks like you've got some left over, so - yeah, I don't think the quantity will be a problem.

But 'dragon party' is also a strange word. I smiled at him, and Citrie took my arm with her usual gentle smile.







As if the goddess of fortune had smiled upon them, Black and White's plan was going as smoothly as ever.
They were able to unlock the collar, leave the inn without being spotted by the innkeepers, and escape out of the city with the supplies they had hidden.

Now that he had reached this point, he was free to leave the country or return to the Imperial Capital and go into hiding. But we can't let our guard down yet.

We couldn't take out the carriage. We couldn't take out the carriage because it was too flashy and we wanted to reduce the number of reasons for pursuit.

We killed our footsteps and ran away from the road for more than ten minutes. When the town was out of sight, Black and the others stopped.
Despite the fact that they had escaped in the ideal way, they were not looking well.

They slurp down some water from their canteen and look in the direction of the town while breathing hard.

The last words that lingered in his mind were the last words of "Thousand Changes".

'Why, ......, why did that man let us go?

'...... I don't know. I don't care what a level 8 hunter thinks!

'There might be thieves out there. ......'

That voice was definitely directed at Black and the others.
It's a good idea to take a look at the website to see if there is anything you can do to help. Anyway, the fact that he was able to escape this far means that he was forgiven.

White asks with a pale face.

'...... Where do we run to? Outside the country? Back to the capital?'

Black and the others are from the Imperial City. The hideouts in the capital are still full of things and money. There's no shortage of places to hide out.
But the Thousand Transformations are hunters based in the Imperial City of Zebrudia. I don't know what'll happen if I go back.

Even if the Thousand Transformations forgave Black and the others, Zekage and the worst of the worst would not let them off the hook.

Black said with conviction.

'Out of the country, man. With them staring at us, Zebrudia is too dangerous.'

'Yeah, I know. ...... I was thinking the same thing.'

White replies, searching his surroundings hurriedly. It seems that White has had enough of this.
If you go out of the country and run far away, the Zekage won't come after you. I'm sure she's not that obsessed with Black and the others.

White pulls out a map of Zebrudia from his bag and unfolds it. It's a simple map, but it at least shows which direction is the shortest way out of the country.

Both Black and White are good hunters by nature.
Remembering that hellish march, they would be able to overcome any kind of crisis in the future. I felt that way.

White's eyes were glittering with vitality. He was hopeful and wanted to take the chance at any cost. Such eyes.
Black felt the same way. White asks briefly.

'...... How do we escape?

The town of Surus is surrounded by mountains on three sides. If we want to escape, we should take the same path Black and the others took on their way, but that also means it's easy to guess the escape route.

Which route is the most likely?

Just when he was about to worry, the incident in the carriage suddenly came back to his mind.

He checked the map seriously. There was a large area near Surus, just a stone's throw away.
The sword of the empire that fights off demons, phantoms, and invaders, with its territory near the borders of the Zebrudia Empire.

It's a land of mighty knights, where bribes are almost unheard of, and where those with bruises on their shins avoid staying.
And it's a place that the Thousand Transformations would never want to pass through.

Black made his decision in a dry voice.

'Count Gladys's domain ......, we're out of here. We're going over the mountains.