My first assassination as a rogue is perfect.
　First of all, as requested by his client, he made sure that everyone would know that he had been murdered.
　This is what I call an example. The royals wanted to show that this is what happens when you do what you want to do.
　If there is evidence of their hand in the murder, it would be a big problem, but without the evidence, the reluctant nobles cannot blame the royals.
　They can deter other noblemen by implying that they are the cause of the problem. Then they will be frightened that they will be next, and the nobles will show some restraint.
　If they go too far, it will make them step into rebellion, but there is a section where the royals think that the moment they make that move, they should just turn the towahade over to the ringleader.

...However, if the crime is revealed to be committed by Touahade, they will not hesitate to declare it to be Touahade's sole act, and will punish him very severely so that the nobles will not suspect him.
　To prevent that from happening, they left no evidence behind.
　The substance created by magic will continue to remain by default, but it can be made to disappear by playing with the magic formula. A bullet lodged in a wall will be gone in ten seconds.
　In addition, they won't even identify how they were killed.
　Seeing the magician's head blown off with a flourish, you'd expect him to have been hit with high-level magic at close range.
　At any rate, there is no concept of a gun itself.

Weapons have not developed in this world thanks to the existence of magic.
　It's more like the ruling class has deliberately prevented the development of weapons.
　The aristocracy, which has overwhelming power due to its magical powers, protects its citizens from demons and invaders with its power.
　Because they are protected, the lords pay taxes and are not afraid of being ordered around.
　However, with guns with enough firepower, even ordinary people can kill demons and nobles. They would be able to defend themselves.
　If that happens, the aristocratic society itself could collapse.
　At any rate, there would be no need to rely on the aristocracy. They would be more willing to escape from exploitation.

That's why science and technology are not developed, and that's why magic using my knowledge of weapons can be a powerful weapon.
　In addition to guns, I have several other powerful weapons available.
　These are wonderfully powerful, but the best part is that they are unknown to my opponent.

''If only the brave men could be easily killed like this.

I mumbled to myself as I ran through the mountain roads.
　Then he added, "No way.
　If I was going to die from that, even the Goddess wouldn't have bothered to call me here.

Three days later, I experiment with the anti-brave magic formula on the uninhabited island that Maha found me on.
　It is a magic that, if unleashed with all my strength, can blow away a radius of several hundred meters. It can only be tested on an uninhabited island.

◇

To gather my thoughts, I lie on a hill with a great view. This is my favorite place to be.
　It had already been three months since my first assassination.
　During that time, I was busy training, developing magic, raising funds as Irg Balor, strengthening my information network, and I also performed two assassinations.

Three times in three months is unusual.
　This country is more corrupt from the inside than I thought.
　Basically, as long as the nobles pay a certain tax, they can do whatever they want with the rest. They can also decide on the laws in their territory and so on.
　The only other obligations are conscription, money and food if war occurs.
　That's why they have too much money and time to be ambitious.
　It's not that many of the nobles don't feel that they are serving the Kingdom of Alvan, but rather that each of them think of their territory as a small country, a king.
　........Unless something drastic is done to solve the problem, the same thing will be repeated. I don't think it's a good idea to rely on the assassination of Touahade. As a matter of fact, is serving this country in itself beneficial to Touahade?　What a thought that has even crossed my mind.

'Master Rouges, we won today against Mr. Ronaha!　That's two wins and one loss.

In a good mood, the tart speaks to me lying in the grass.
　In his hand was the folding spear I gave him for his birthday.

''Well, if you can beat Ronaha, you'll be able to beat the knights as well. Wasn't Ronaha sulking?
...for a moment. Then I have a message for Master Rouges. He wants you to train with him. Well, he said he's interested in training Master Lugue, who can make even a girl like me so strong.
'It must have been quite a shock for the proud Ronaha to ask me to teach her a lesson. But you did well.

My cousin Ronaha, even though he's a branch family, he's a magician with the name of Touahade and highly trained.
　Even two years ago, he was as good as the younger knights, but in the past two years, he had improved his skills even more.
　I thought that he and Tart were close in ability, so I had ordered him to challenge them to a mock battle.

There was too much of a difference in ability between me and Tart to make it a serious match.
　The first game was a defeat, the second was a hard-fought victory, and the third was won with quite a bit of room to spare as far as Tart was concerned now.
　The tart is definitely growing.

''I'm Rougu-sama's personal servant and assistant. I should be able to do this much!　...That's Mya.

Mya is a servant.
　That servant was coming over here at a run.

◇

Mya said her father told her to call me.
　That panic, it wasn't just a matter of time.
　I could smell the blood as we walked into the house. It had been wiped off, but it left a trail.
　No sign of a struggle, which leads me to believe he had a visitor who was seriously injured.
　By all accounts, it doesn't look like it would be a good idea.
　I go into the study as usual. When he's in work mode, his father is expressionless, but today his expression is much harder than usual.

'Lug, I was offered a job just now.
Is that out back?
Of course. You can refuse this request. It's a request I prefer not to accept. But I'll tell you what I will do. It's up to you, Lugues, to decide whether or not to accept. The job is to assassinate Día Vicone, the Countess of Suogel.

It's like being hit in the head with a blunt object, a shock.
　Dear, my magic master and friend. And someone I have a crush on.
　And you want me to kill it?
　Don't tell me my father brought me and her together to kill Diah someday?

Father, I have two questions. One, isn't it a bad idea to interfere in our neighboring countries?　Two, our Touahade believes in assassination only in the national interest. I do not believe that killing Diah is in the national interest.
"This assassination is not the right way for a Touahade. It's a personal matter. That's why it's up to the rogues to decide whether or not to accept it. This is not only not in the best interests of the Kingdom of Arvan, but it will be an international incident if our involvement is discovered.

That's right. If the murder of another country's nobleman becomes public knowledge, it could even lead to war.

''........Tell me the situation. Why do we have to kill Dia? Perhaps, I can imagine that it is due to Suoigel's civil war. Dia's father, Count Vicone, sided with the royal family and lost. But the Vicone family should have finished the post-war process, including the payment of reparations, without a hitch.

I know there is a civil war going on in Suoigel.
　I have the Balor Chamber of Commerce's information network. There's no way I wouldn't know about such a big event.
　Suoigel has the same problems as the Kingdom of Alvan, and the nobles continue to have ambition and power.
　And there is no Touahade in Suoigel.

As a result, the nobles continue to multiply, claiming that the royal family is incompetent and negligent, and that we are the ones who deserve to be the rulers of Suoigel, and some of the nobles team up and revolt... and they win.
　As soon as he heard that a civil war had broken out and the Countesses of Vicone had arrived on the side of the royalty and declared them defeated, he ran to Dia to make sure she was safe and told her that he was ready to use his power as Irg Balor to send her entire family into exile.
　At that point, Dia was fine. And he told her not to come until the commotion had died down.

How do you know so much? Then I'll just tell you the rest. Count Vicone was defeated and gave up most of his property and territory as he was told. ........But it didn't end there. Dia was spotted. She's a beautiful girl. It also has powerful magic power, and you can expect that her successor will be born with excellent magic power. ........A greedy nobleman would want to get his hands on it, wouldn't he?

There was no such thing as safety once the compensation was paid. He had underestimated human greed too much.
　There was something wrong with Dia back then.
　Didn't she know then that this was going to happen?
　If that's the case, then I....

'Count Vicone was just going to obey quietly. You'll be able to find out what's going on in the world. But the vassals couldn't allow it. Of all things, they cut down the messenger who had come for Dia and killed him. At the same time, all the vassals turned in their resignations and declared that they would act of their own free will, and moreover, a volunteer army was gathered from the people of the realm and formed an army, holed up in the castle, and imprisoned their master, Count Vicone, and Dia. Ostensibly, Count Vicone and his family had started a civil war. Already an army has been sent to them, and the battle has begun.

I'm speechless.
　It seems that Count Vicone and Dia are so well-liked.
　Traditionally, fiefdoms don't care who the nobles who rule them are. They don't care who the ruler is, they don't care about their lives.
　In fact, the nobles I assassinated have had nobles sent to their domains to replace the nobles they killed as puppets for the royalty, and even if the rulers change, there is no confusion among the people in their domains.

And yet, the Vicone lords took the fight to themselves. In order to protect Dia.

''So, in order to put down that civil war as soon as possible, you are going to expose the heads of Dia and her father and make the Vikone lords lose their will to fight.......?　Who the hell did you ask for that?　I don't think it's a request that we, the Touahade, should ever receive.
The client was Count Vicone himself. His loyal servant defied his life to come here, defying both friend and foe to deliver the word.
Why?
'Listen to me to the end, the request is for you to kidnap Dia's assassination under false pretenses. Even if we win the current battle, we will only receive reinforcements soon. There is no point in winning the immediate battle, and this is the only way to save Dear. And the only one who can do that is Touahade.

At last I understood.
　The death of the rebels was no longer inevitable, and no matter how they fought, neither Count Vicone nor Dea could be saved.
　Then there is no choice but to pretend that they were killed and get them somewhere else.

I understand the situation. But what I don't understand is why my father took the mission. I don't think my father would have perverted Touahade's beliefs.
'That's overbought. 'I have once bent my convictions. I owe a debt of gratitude to Count Vicone for this. As you may have suspected, Esri is Viscone's daughter. And Dea is your cousin. I have to repay Count Vikone for his debts. If he wants me to save at least one of them, I'll do it. I owe him that much.
If I say no...
'There is nothing I can do. I will go myself, but my feet will not be able to reach it in time. It will all be over by the time we reach it. It has to be a rogue. This is a personal affair that deviates from Touahade's beliefs and is only a request. So I told him he could say no.

The battle has already begun, as the vassal who came to tell the story was seriously injured.
　Although it is a neighboring country, it is roughly three hundred and twenty kilometers to the Vicone territory, and they have to cross two large mountains.
　Even though the magician can run faster than a horse by strengthening it with magic power, but if it was an ordinary magician, his magic power would run out before he could reach it.
　If it was my father, it would probably take two days with a break.
　But if it was me, it would only take half a day. Vicone's vassals would need three days to reach this place.
　If he can get there in half a day, it's not too late.
　...you shouldn't have done this.
　There is no cause, and while I am the blade of the Alvan Kingdom, I run the risk of damaging the national interest of the Alvan Kingdom.
　I laugh.
　You've decided that you're not going to repeat your first mistake.
　I'm not just a tool, I'm a person, and I'm going to make my own choices.
　Well, you ask my mind.

"Father I will take care of the assassination.
Let's hear why. Unlike me, you don't owe Count Vicorne anything, so let's see why Lugue is taking on this request.
There are three reasons. One, I owe Dia a debt of gratitude for teaching me magic. Two, I'm in love with her. Three, I promised Dear myself that I would be there for her when she asked for help. When she asked for help, I'd come running. I'm sure she's calling me.

I clutched the foul stone necklace that Dia gave me when he left Touahade.
　When she gave me this, Dia said.

'And I'm asking you now to do whatever you said you would do at that time. If I ever need to see you again, you must run to me.

I'm sure she's calling me. Now is the time to make good on that promise.
　I will follow my heart, for me, to the end of my days.

Well. ...For once in my life. Only once in my life did I bend my beliefs to wield the blade of Touahade for the sake of the Kingdom of Arvan alone. Do you know what that was for?
'No. I can't imagine your father doing that.
It's for Esri. I never thought my son would make the same choice. I thought he grew up without being like me, but I guess he's only grown up in the oddest of ways... good luck with that.

I nodded. And my heart burned.
　Well, my father had bent his beliefs for my mother, too. It was really similar. It was a family bonding experience.
　Then I left the room, listened to the man being treated in the next room, and departed.
　From now on, every minute counts.
　An assassination to keep Dia alive. I'm going to do it.