The heart of the cleat. In one of the bases of the Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox, Gaff nodded with satisfaction at the results of his men's battle.

His wild-looking face showed no small amount of weariness from the days' work, but only his eyes shone brightly.

'Well done. I'm sure the boss will be satisfied with this.

The boss has given me a special order. To neutralize multiple organizations.
It was a difficult mission to carry out in parallel with the original one. In the first place, some of the targets were organizations that were supposed to be used in the original mission.

The fox works in the shadows and never gets his hands dirty. They work with a minimum of manpower to keep their secrets.
Gaff was forced to change his carefully planned plan.

But he did it well. Even a criminal organization can't ignore a fox's suggestion.
We lured them in, sometimes we came in, and most of the major members of the major organizations fell into our hands.

Gaff doesn't know what kind of benefits will accrue to the organization by destroying them, but he probably has some kind of plan.

With this, Gaff, Seven Tails, and the "King of Thieves," Gaff Schoenfelder, are one step ahead of their peers.
I was surprised when the boss showed me his true face, but it's not so bad if you consider it a sign of trust.

He has accomplished many tasks in his life. He used to lead a large band of thieves, and scheming is one of his specialties.
But now, Gaff felt a stronger sense of accomplishment than ever before.

Until now, the unexpected had rarely occurred. That was something to be proud of, but it was also a testament to his skill that he was able to quickly contain the accident.
One of my subordinates. One of his men, the man who had worked hard as Gaff's right-hand man, said in a flat voice.

But, as expected of the boss, he's very skilled. I hope he doesn't go on that ...... rampage, though. ......'

'...... Manipulating outliers is also a skill. The strong have their own troubles, both small and large.'

I managed to follow up, but the people who were handed over to me as bosses were the worst I've ever seen, even though I've seen a lot of nasty people in my life.

It's no wonder they're all on their own. They slayed those whom they were instructed not to slay, left their posts, robbed criminals of their treasures when they found them, and did whatever they wanted.
The foxes were supposed to be a secret society, but their gestures showed no sign of secrecy. How could they keep it a secret?

As for the fox that looked like a lamp and the fox that looked like a thousand transformations, the fox that looked like a lamp only did what it was told to do, and its subordinates didn't listen to Gaff's orders and even tried to collect fees.
The fox that looked like a "thousand changes" even introduced himself in front of the enemy. Still, it's better that they don't go on a rampage. .......

Even those people are as strong as Gaff's excellent subordinates, so it's the end of the world.

'For better or worse, mana material strongly influences those with a strong will. ......'

That's why Gaff, who had opposed the nations with his charisma and strength, became stronger. That's why those ruffians were so strong.
A person with a strong will is a difficult person to deal with. I bow to the boss for bringing such a strong-minded group of people together without hesitation. If this case goes well, the mask should be handed over to Gaff, but I'm not sure I can keep those guys quiet.

Anyway, the fact that Gaff and the others were able to destroy the criminal organization so quickly this time was due to the power of the Boss's direct troops.
If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have had enough strength. We'd have had a leak.

It's an old habit of Gaff's to try to get by with the minimum number of men required.

Perhaps the boss had foreseen Gaff's weakness. He should make a plan so that he would be able to cope with unexpected missions.

'Plan X will be fine if we leave it to the other members. Don't skimp on Plan A, either. This is a large-scale, 'fox' operation.

'Yes, of course. We have no orders to abort.'

Gaff smiles deeply, and his men narrow their eyes at him.
Whenever a fox creates an incident, most of them end up with an unknown mastermind. But this plan is different.

Plan A is an unprecedentedly large operation, a fox operation. With this operation, the fox will make a name for itself.
We've built up our strength. It means the time for hiding in the basement is over.

It meant a new era was coming.

Suddenly, he remembered the companion he had once worked with, the "Stopwater" that boasted the same number of tails.
My thick arms and fingers trembled. This is not fear. This is-- a shiver.

Stopwater was a fearsome mage.
He had vast magical power and experience. He had social status and was unrivaled when it came to assassinating humans.

A powerful mage is a precious thing. That's why the quality of the mission was different even though Gaff and "Stop Water" had the same number of tails.
Gaff was also informed of the incident only after it happened, but it seems that the plan was originally supposed to start with the assassination of the Emperor by the Stopwater.

However, he was thwarted at the outset. The "stopwater" failed.

The details of what happened did not come down to Gaff.
Officially, it was said that the Thousand Transformations had prevented the assassination, but since the Thousand Transformations was an ally, that information must have been altered in some way.

But that doesn't matter.

'The water stoppage failed. But I'm not--'

The plan is going almost without a hitch. I even have the boss's help. If this fails, it means it's not worth it.

'Speaking of which, I heard they're planning to participate in the Emperor's Festival...'

'It's basic to have people on the inside, but to have them infiltrate the Martial Emperor Festival, how long have they been planning this?

It's frightening. In the past, Gaff, who was a member of the top ranks, had never heard of the Thousand Swords or the Knights of the Light being his friends.

But this time, he made a move. Trust is easily broken, and it's no exaggeration to say that this is our only chance. Failure is not an option.

And then, the subordinate who had been entrusted with the exchange of information came running in.

'Gaff, I got a call from headquarters. They want to know what happened to that thing in Plan A.'

Gaff frowned at the unexpected call.
Plan A is based on the power of a certain item. The item was kept in a museum in the empire, and its retrieval was phase one of the plan.

'An example ......? I thought I had informed you of the success of the operation ...... but I've already given it to the boss. You're behind on your information .......'

The fox, whose origins are in the intelligence community, puts a lot of effort into information. It is rare for information to be delayed for several days, let alone several hours.


It's not like the boss forgot to tell him...







Luke clenched his teeth tightly and said with a regretful expression.

'No. ...... cry. You can't charge it, no matter how many times you try.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for and what you're not looking for.

Luke is a genuine swordsman. He may be a swordsman, but that doesn't mean he has zero magic power.
He has experienced my entire collection of sword-shaped treasures. And unlike me, he doesn't rely on Lucia, so he has enough magic power to charge most of the sword-shaped treasures.

No, even if he doesn't have it at the time, he will acquire it through training. This is the man called Luke Sykor.

I took the sword that was presented to me and lightly looked through it.
It is shorter than most swords, and would be very difficult for a swordsman to use as his main weapon.

The Key of the Earth.
If it is the same treasure that was almost stolen from the museum, the power of the treasure is unknown.

The reason it is a national treasure is because there has never been a similar treasure before and because it was found in a high-level treasure house.
Basically, the power of a treasure tool is proportional to the concentration of mana and materials - the level of the treasure house. Since most treasure hunters don't need a treasure that has no known effect, it is common for treasure to be bought by museums for similar reasons.

'............ Key of the Earth, Key of the Earth...... hey?

But the name speaks for itself. If it was given such a name when its abilities are unknown, there must be a reason.
There was no detailed information in the newspaper, but the blood of a treasure maniac was boiling.

The straight blade, as if measured with a ruler, is also a model, and is very mysterious.

Luke clenched his fist and shouted as if to declare.

You can't even handle a ............ sword properly, I'm so immature. I'm not trained enough! But there's no one left to kill!

'No, it's a key. It's not a sword.

It's not a sword.

Luke looked like a pigeon who'd been hit by a peashooter.

I heard from the lights that you and Liz were on a rampage. The tournament is about to start, so please be quiet.

He straightened his posture, made firm eye contact with Luke, and with a serious expression, said something plausible and appropriate.

'Luke, do you know what is needed for the key? The answer is sometimes simpler than you think.

He's a top-notch swordsman, better than me in almost every way except common sense, but I know more about treasure than he does.
Luke paused to think, then said unsurely.

'What do you need for a key: ............ keyhole, huh?'

'............'

He said what I was about to say.

I sighed deeply and covered it up.

'I mean, ...... this is, yes. It's the key to the door to the future! If it falls into the wrong hands, it's going to be very bad.

'What ......? What's an evil hand? What do you mean 'evil hands'?

'That's ...... so ......? ............ yes, the enemy of the world.'

'The ...... enemy of the world! Where are you? Is it okay to cut them down?

Why do you seem to be having so much fun? ...... It's random. I'm just saying what I think you'll like.
Lucia, who had been quietly reading a book, looked at me in disgust.

I don't want Luke to take me seriously if I say too many random things. What should I say? .......

I pondered for a while, then answered fearfully.


'It's ............ something like, you know, a natural disaster.

'Natural ...... disasters, or .............'

'............But the strongest swordsman can slay a disaster!

'!

You're busy being disappointed and relieved, Luke.
It was a misunderstanding that led me to keep the treasure. I'll have to return it before I leave town.
But since I've been entrusted with the treasure, I'd like to try it out at least once before returning it.


I let out a small sigh and silently placed the Key of the Earth in front of Lucia.