Her name was Casablanca, and she had a quiet, level voice. She spoke with a coldness similar to Yukari's, but she didn't seem to have the venomous tongue that Yukari had.

　As for her hair, I guess you could call it handsome short. She has trendy short-cut black hair, with a single earring in her left ear. It's a good thing that you're not an assassin.


''It's nice to meet you, I'm Seven,''

　At any rate, I returned the greeting and Casablanca bowed silently.


　Now, there's a lot of things I want to ask you. First of all, I guess so .......


''Were you at the Battle of the Shadow King?''

　When I asked, Casablanca glanced at Spica-san's face. Spica-san made a small movement of her head as if to say, 'Please be my guest.


''The Shadow King is me. The attempted assassination of King Castal was carried out by a shadow with His Highness Melson, who thought he had killed me, and took over for me. Lady Spica, who expected that--''

'No, it doesn't matter. The Battle of the Shadow King is whether or not you are competing in it yourself. That's what I'm asking.

!


　I'm not particularly interested in the conspiratorial allegory. All I care about is whether the woman in front of me is a real titleholder.


...... Yes, until two years ago.

Oh, yeah?

"I used to dress in black and pretend to be a man, but for two years I was replaced by someone else. When I met with King Castal, I used a changeling called a Wraith to change my appearance to one that was identical to that of a man.

Wraith!　Heh, so that's how you're changing your appearance many times over.

Yes, sir.


　I'm impressed. You're a real assassin. And you've always done everything you can to conceal your true identity.

　And now you're here and you know exactly who the Wraiths are. Well, if an assassin is an ogre, the Wraith must be a golden rod, so it's only natural that he knows.

　Ah, I see. The "needle inspection" of the Empire was an idea from Casablanca via Mr. Spica, right?


"Do you think that your current appearance is also transformed by the Wraith?

No, Master Spica sent me to reveal my true face, which is unmistakable.


　It's probably a lie called ....... I don't think a professional as thorough as she is would expose her true face to me.

　Or was this lunchtime moment worth it to expose the face of a professional assassin?


'By the way, that other one you said had been replaced for two years was strong too, right?　And yet they killed you?

''The shadows are very skillful. Even if they are as good as the Shadow King, they are vulnerable to being caught by surprise.

Oh, ...... yeah.


　I'm not exactly calling for a shadow king with the fragility to crumble at the slightest surprise.

　It's not much of a nod to say that the shadow is skilled. It's true that if you're caught by surprise, you can produce enough firepower to defeat Nato, but that's about the extent of what the titleholder says about you being a handful.

　...... and everything up to this point could be a bluff to get me to let my guard down. I guess I shouldn't take it too honestly.

　But I'm starting to get a little curious.


'Hey, how come you've been entrusting the Shadow King to someone else for two years now?　It's not just for your own safety, is it?　You were reigning as the Shadow King for so long, what did you want to prioritize by handing it over to someone else?

"The main reason for this is to protect you, Lady Spica. His Majesty asked me to be his personal fortune teller when he became the Emperor's personal fortune teller.


　Heh, you gave up the contents of the Shadow King for a bodyguard. In other words, it's a guard for 24 hours. That's amazing.


"And he's not a stranger to me. The Shadow King's body was my sister.

......!

　Your sister?


You were killed, weren't you ......?

Yes, sir.

Yes. ...... You're okay with that?

I knew it would come to that eventually.

You're ready. ......


　It seems that Ms. Spica is that important to Casablanca. So much so that she can't leave her sister's side even though she knows she will be killed.

　That's what you're saying?　You can't just be prepared for this.

　She's a strange woman. I don't think I'll ever know what that feels like.



"--Yes, it's over. This is my shadow's true identity. Isn't it great to have the Shadow King as a bodyguard?


　As I crossed my arms and snarled, Spica-san popped her hand and switched the conversation.

　At the same time, Casablanca was masked again and left without a sound.


'How awesome is that?'


　I can't help but react subtly. If I listen to Casablanca now, I can't help but feel that Spica-san's job of escorting her seems to be an obstacle to me. If it were me, I would leave the escorting to others and prioritize the title fight without even thinking about it.

　Seeing my reaction, Spica-san's boastful and proud expression changed to a disgusted one.


''Casablanca's true identity is something that no one knows about except His Majesty and I, you know?　Now that you know about it, don't you feel any better?

'No, well, I know it's great: ......

　I don't care if they say that, they just showed me one way.


...... Hey, so what do I have to do to make you trust me?


　When I muddled my response, Spica-san said that while leaning towards me with her damp eyes.


''Hey, hey, hey,''

Hey, hey, hey.


　If he came too close to me or touched me, there was a chance that the change would be released. I moved to a chair on the other side of the room to avoid getting caught in the middle. Then Spica-san caught up with me and I moved to the couch, and she went to the couch, too. When I went to the sofa, Spica-san went to the sofa, too. We continue to chase each other in circles like that for about three laps.

　Eventually, around the fourth lap, Spica-san puffs up her slightly reddened cheeks and gives up on approaching me. Apparently, she's a little drunk.


''Oh, yes!　I'll show you my collection. If you see one you like, you can take one with you.


　What the hell, you're not a busy guy.

　Spica-san stood up suddenly and brought a box of something from the back of the room and sat down on the couch next to me.


'Whoa!'

You know?　Right?　Isn't it great?　What do you want?


　Inside the box was a ring or something with insanely large jewels crammed into it.

　I wondered how much they were worth. This one box is likely to be enough for one mansion.


It's definitely amazing.

Yeah. Here, come on, choose what you want.

No, I don't want it.

...... Oh, yeah?

Yes, sir.

　I'm not interested in jewelry and I'm not hurting for money. Poof, I didn't have any equipment that I could use.


Eh ...... and...

　Mr. Spica closes the lid of the jewelry box with a slam and stands up and begins to fidget and wander around the room, looking around.

　What does she want me to see so badly?

　The homemade food, the identity of Casablanca, the jewelry collection, and now - the next step.


Oh, then, what's this?　Weapons!　Boys like this sort of thing, don't they?

!


　Weapons!　Yeah, I like it.

　As I stood up, Spica-san gave a small gut pose as if to say "Okay" and invited me to the back of the room.


''I've got some things here that His Majesty gave me and some things that Casablanca got for me. You can take whatever you want.


　A number of equipment placed in the corner of the room. It's a lot less cumbersome than jewelry, but a quick glance at this one shows that it's all pretty high quality stuff too.

　Hey, it looks like there's a bargain to be had, isn't it exciting? Can I get everything?　Oh, man, I'm so excited.


"Uh-huh. Take your time to look around.


　There's a lot of things! A lot of accessories, but there are also weapons and armor. Whoa, that's the Emerald Buckler that was ridiculed in Mevion for being "1 kilo per liter" or something. It's a d*mn fuel-efficient shield that's fragile but not strong at all, and requires a lot of emeralds every time it's repaired or something like that. Hoho, looking at it this way, there's a lot of stuff equipped.

　Oh, rumor has it it's a crescent sword. It's quite interesting because of the way it's handled, but I don't think I'd want to use it because the benefits are so small.

　Hmmm!　Diamond dagger!　Contrary to its strong name and cool appearance, it's a shitty weapon that is still more useful if you take it apart and use it as material. I was looking for a practical use for it, believing that someone who fell in love with its looks would be able to make it work, but after a few minutes, I began to realize that I wasn't aware of my lack of understanding, and after enough time, I remember leaving it to the blacksmith to dismantle it.

　However, if you think of it as a material or interior, it has some value, so the diamond dagger would be my first choice for the moment.


　............ No, wait. Think about it. What do you think I'm going to get for this?


　What am I supposed to do, just for the fun of it?

　Spica-san, it's obvious you're trying to get me to...



Yeah.

"Yikes!


　When I quickly turned around, Spica-san, who was approaching me with a drink on a tray, gave a short, surprised cry.

　Watch out. He almost took my back.


　...... No, I guess I'm overthinking it. She would have just brought me a drink.


'Excuse me, but I just remembered to run some errands. Maybe another time.

'What?　Eh, yeah ......, I can't blame you then. So come back then.

　I pick up one of the glasses from the tray Spica is holding, gulp it down in a gulp, and leave the room at a quick pace.


　She's trying to take advantage of me. There seems to be no doubt about that.

　But I can't quite figure out what she's trying to use me for.

　Perhaps she's scheming to get me to like her as a prelude to doing so.

　But the way she did it was ...... like a small child bragging about his or her possessions to attract the attention of others, which is a ludicrously childish thing to do.

　She is out of tune somehow. There are times when she shows her clever side, and other times, like this one, she's childish. Was it because she was drunk?　No, I sensed a trend even before that. There was a sort of desperation.

　Either way, it was interesting. Let's see what she's aiming for, let's call it a high point--.



　　* * * *



　The morning after.

'Increasingly ......'

　A maid, who had passed through the hallway in front of Seven's room first thing in the morning, muttered with a crease between her eyebrows.

　Lately, there have been a lot of suspicious people lying around in the hallway.

　Three days ago, there was only one person lying around.

　Two days ago, one person was lying in front of Seven's office, his colleague's maid had told him.

　Yesterday he had heard that three of them had been taken away by Nato from the Oval Office.

　And this morning, there were five of them lying around.


''What?''

　The number is gradually increasing.

　However, for some reason, there is no particular commotion in the Imperial Castle.

　While the maid tilted her head, she went to tell the guards as if she was used to it. Then, the unconscious assassins were collected in a few minutes.


''What in the world is this? Did they drink until morning and get drunk?　And all this in front of Seven-sama's room, of all places. Utterly, I hope you'll be able to keep it to yourself.


　The maid muttered in frustration. It's no exaggeration to say that this time of morning is a big event for her.

　Light is coming to visit Seven to have breakfast with her.

　For all intents and purposes, it usually has to be the other way around, but Seven's mornings are when she's either working all night or sleeping in. If he wanted to eat with her, he would have to make the first move and visit her himself. In other words, Light's visit to Seven's room was their cue to eat.

　And since the maids understood that such an unspoken understanding of them was precious from the level of their souls, they didn't want to let a suspicious person interrupt them. Then, humbly, stealthily, modestly, they would observe them and share them closely with the maids.

　Now, just as the maids were beginning their preparatory fantasies in the corridor, wondering what kind of wanker they would be able to eat dinner with today, and it was about time for Light to visit them, a ...... very unexpected guest appeared.


''--Seven?　Good morning. Is he up already?


　It was Spica Amrit.

　When Spica visited Seven's room alone, without her handmaidens, she knocked on the door and twisted the doorknob without hearing an answer.

　Naturally, it was locked. The door would not open.


'............ sorry,'

　Spica clatters a few times and twists the doorknob, then mutters a single word and leaves the hallway.


'Oh my goodness ...... the rumors seem to be true.

　It seems that the maids, who had been stealing the whole thing, have backed it up for an untimely period of time.

　Yesterday, a group of maids asked, "Isn't Spica-sama targeting Seven-sama ......? It was rumored that they had been talking about it.

　It was a speculation resulting from the testimony of a maid who had seen the two of them talking before their departure for Cissen Small Country, and an uncorroborated rumor that they had apparently shared a meal together at noon yesterday.

　Strangely enough, however, I can say that their expectations were not entirely wrong. In fact, Spica had already had her eye on Seven, to the extent that she had visited her in the morning.


''We have to tell everyone to be on alert.


　Apparently the prowler lying in the hallway wasn't the only thing standing in Wright and Seven's way.

　The maid gave a single sigh and went back to her work, preparing to greet Light, who would be visiting soon.



　　◇ ◇ ◇



Another failure?　For five people?　You're kidding me.　Tell me it's not true.

Unfortunately,


　Melson's deep, deep sigh echoed throughout the room.

　Nato mouthed the word sorry in front of her, but he didn't look sorry.


'Nato. You need to set that thing up quickly.

I've been looking for an opportunity since yesterday morning, and I haven't shown the slightest sign of a break.

Yes, .......


　This was true.

　The last cup of coffee yesterday morning had been the last time Nato had gone for a real trick against Seven. However, Seven hadn't shown any signs of slowing down. The assassination is about to reach its peak, and Seven has begun to get serious.

　Nato was impressed by Seven's resourcefulness and skillfulness, knowing where to relax and where to put their strength.


　Currently, Seven was only concerned about Bawi. Because Seven was unusually strong in assassinations.

　When you carry the too-famous title of world number one, playful penalties and the like show up almost every week. Therefore, although Seven is not aware of it, she was already used to being an assassin before she came to this world.

　In addition, the experience of being attacked by thieves has helped her to develop a set of countermeasures against attacks in her sleep.

　After all, it's not an exaggeration to say that the only way to assassinate Seven is with a suitable opponent (・・・・・・・).



"-- Reporting, sir.

　It was quiet between Melson and Nato for a while before Seram came to them out of nowhere.


'About that organization (...)?'

"Ha.

　When Melson asked, Seram nodded briefly and continued to speak.


'About the assassin organization Davast, sir.


　The Dabast, a secret organization of assassins that is touted to be the number one in the Empire - top-secret information learned only through the same profession led Salem to the Dabast's hideout in the forest north of the imperial capital Marmella.

　That's right, Melson had asked him to do so. Melson had no qualms about doing whatever it took to get rid of Seven, even if it meant doing whatever Nato suggested.

　This is why he sent Salem in secret to gain the cooperation of the Dabast, the most powerful assassin organization in the Empire, even among the top assassin's shadows.

　The idea was that if you hired a large number of assassins who were more powerful than the shadows, even Seven of the best assassins would be unable to compete with them.


''Well?　Have you gotten any cooperation?

Ha, that's ......

　However, Salem, who would have been in contact with Davast, let out a boiling sound.


'What?　I didn't think he'd run away and come back.

No, no, no. I've been to the Dabast hideout for sure.

So why does it stall?


I was crushed, and I was there. Without a trace: ......!

What--?


　Davast had been devastated.

　Not a shred of such rumors had been heard by the shadows. Such rumors of a peer organization flow faster than the wind. In other words, if the rumors weren't flowing, they were either ...... uprooted in such an instant or crushed by an existence so terrifying that everyone kept their mouths shut.


'Then what do you say happened to the assassin's cooperation!

Please wait. We haven't come back for free, sir.

!


　Melson's voice was hoarse from the frustration of not getting Davast's cooperation, but Selam replied calmly.

　Then he slowly opened his mouth.


''After a thorough inspection of the hiding place, we found body hair that was probably a dog with bloodstains on it. From the footprints in the vicinity, we have learned that the one who destroyed Dabast had moved on foot to the Imperial City of Marmela with the dog in his arms.

...... the dog ......?

'Yes. And after a focused investigation of the general stores in the Imperial City of Marmella, especially those that carry dog products, we have identified the man (...) who would have destroyed ...... dabast.

!


　An investigation, as Salem calls it, means something like torturing the owner of the store to get him to give up information.

　As a result, Salem had obtained information about a man with an injured dog.


The man left the store after purchasing a large quantity of dog collars, leashes and other dog products, plus household items that would have been his own. The shopkeeper, who felt a little uncomfortable with the man's manner of speaking, was concerned, and when he asked him where he was going when he left, he told him that he was living in a log cabin on the coast of the west of the Imperial City. Perhaps it was this man, no doubt.

"...... west coast log cabin, right? Well done. Any more information?

They say he's a tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed man with glasses.

Enough.


　When Melson heard that much, he stood up suddenly and said.


"Nato, get ready. We'll leave first thing this afternoon.


　Now, I have to meet him.

　I must meet the man who single-handedly destroyed the finest assassin organization in the Empire. I believe he is the one who can defeat the Seven.