Lloyd's training routine had been upgraded to include light running.
Henrik sat with Lucy beneath the shade of a tree beside the inn, watching Lloyd.
Lloyd would disappear down that alley, then show himself from this one some twenty minutes later, circling the village over and over.
[Lloyd]
[Level 2 : 199/200]
'When he comes back after one more lap, he'll be Level 3.'
Although today was the day to see the fruits of their work so far, Henrik carried a different air than usual.
Lloyd was too dazzled by the wooden swords and bow Henrik had brought to notice, but Lucy was not.
"Henrik."
"What?"
"Something's gone wrong, hasn't it?"
"Why do you look excited again?"
"If things go badly and, by good luck, you die early, it'll be a joyous occasion for me. Cackle!"
What an insufferable creature.
"I'll survive no matter what, so dream on."
Henrik smacked his lips as he looked at the wooden swords and bow propped against the tree.
'I was so flustered that I forgot to buy armor too.'
Two mentors in a row had gone and died.
Fortunately, Hess was fairly skilled with a bow as well. Even without a mentor, he would be able to teach Lloyd archery.
But he refused to live an exhausting life where he did everything just because he could.
'Damn it. My peaceful hideout life has been postponed a little longer.'
Unaware of any of this, Lucy lay on his side with an easygoing air, vigorously scratching his belly with a hind leg.
For some reason, the sight grated on Henrik.
"You're shedding fur, cat."
"I'm not used to this furry body either."
"Ah, right. You used to be bald."
"What are you talking about? I had two magnificent horns on my head."
"...Does that mean you weren't bald?"
"What do you know about demons?"
As they spoke, Ben came into view, waddling along.
"Have you arrived, Lord Henrik?"
"Ben, you look tired today."
He must not have slept properly after Hess's visit the previous night.
"I had unpleasant dreams, ha ha!"
"Did Margaret hit you while she was sleep-talking?"
"She doesn't have the strength for that. Margaret has decided to rest for the time being."
"Hm?"
"She's not feeling well."
The aftereffects of the shock treatment were greater than Henrik had thought.
"That industrious Margaret is taking time off because she's ill?"
"It's the first time I've seen it in years."
Ben spoke calmly. He must have understood that time was medicine.
"Lord Henrik, there's something I've always wondered."
"Please, speak freely."
"What does making Lloyd into a new person mean to you, Lord Henrik?"
Perhaps Ben had not been curious enough to commission a background check like Margaret, but he surely had wondered.
Of course, Hess had come the night before and answered that question for him.
*― "Henrik has talent, but he often helped people whose circumstances were unfortunate and who could not pursue their dreams. The beggar staying here can be understood for the same reason." ―*
Even so, did Ben want to hear it in Henrik's own words?
"Lloyd is a talented kid. But misfortune kept him from blooming. I only help him because I find that unfortunate."
"Lord Henrik, you're someone who makes dreams come true."
It was a little embarrassing, but
"Put simply, I suppose I am."
"People like Lloyd are everywhere, in truth. People with talent who never get to shine."
Why was this old man suddenly so serious?
"...Anyway, with that in mind! I'll be doing the cooking today!"
Lucy, who had been scratching his belly, stopped his hind leg.
***
Saya and Aike left the hideout in broad daylight.
Since leaving the hideout, they had not exchanged a single word.
Normally, Saya would have taken the lead. But today, since she was merely accompanying Aike's negotiation, she followed closely behind him.
'Why did Lord Hess order me to accompany him?'
She was usually the quickest to grasp Hess's intentions, but she found the current situation difficult to understand.
Unexpectedly, it was Aike who arrived at an answer first. He had not guessed Hess's intentions correctly, though.
'With Lady Saya coming along.... Lord Hess must have judged that negotiating would be difficult if I went alone.'
Just having the terrifying Lady Saya standing behind him, even in broad daylight, would intimidate the client.
But then, it would not be something he had accomplished on his own....
'...Lady Saya, who understands Lord Hess better than anyone, must naturally be thinking the same thing.'
As they spoke, the client's home came close enough to enter their view.
Only then did Saya find an answer of her own, but she too had failed to arrive at the right one.
'Could that be why Lord Hess made me accompany him...!'
Lord Hess had agreed to Aike negotiating the terms of the commission.
The key was the treasure that had been passed down through the client's family for generations.
That was because he thought the treasure would be worth more than the promised payment.
Therefore, this negotiation would only have meaning if the treasure was truly valuable.
And for a task like this, he had sent me, an assassin with no talent for negotiation....
'While Aike distracts them during the negotiation, I am to infiltrate the house and confirm the treasure's value...!'
Once the client's home drew near, Saya finally spoke.
"Aike, you understand Lord Hess's intentions, don't you?"
As expected, Lady Saya had caught on too.
"Of course."
As befitted someone as intelligent as Aike, he had perceived Lord Hess's deep intention.
The two looked at one another and nodded.
Then,
"All right, Aike. I'll leave it to you."
"...Pardon?"
"While I'm gone, do your part."
At those words, Aike felt emotion well up in his chest.
'Lady Saya.... She's giving me a chance to bring the negotiation to fruition alone, without her help!'
He had thought she must have been deeply disappointed while seeing that he had no combat aptitude. But instead, she had been worrying about him all along.
She was giving him this chance to build his pride.
"Understood. I will certainly conclude the negotiation...!"
"Then I'll see you shortly."
Leaving Aike to serve as bait, Saya immediately circled around to the back of the client's house and searched for a route inside.
The client lived alone, without any special guards. And Aike, who was good with words, was drawing their attention. It was the perfect situation.
'This is easier than eating cold porridge.'
Saya silently succeeded in infiltrating the house. Meanwhile, the negotiation between Aike and the client had begun.
"Y-you want my family's treasure as payment? That...."
"It does not matter if you refuse. We will cleanly erase every trace that we accepted the commission and treat it as though nothing happened."
"That isn't the issue...."
"Let me say it again. The man is always with security personnel. Therefore...."
As Aike's negotiation continued, Saya carefully studied the layout of the furniture in the house.
'If the treasure is hidden here....'
Before Hess had taken her in, Saya had survived as a petty thief since she was a little girl.
Her process of deducing where valuables were kept was faster than using most magic.
'Here.'
Saya tapped various places along the side of a massive chest of drawers.
'...The size of the spaces isn't consistent. There's a hidden compartment inside.'
Then, all of a sudden, the client raised their voice.
"Enough! Do as you please! Good grief, I was going to commission you to protect that treasure!"
The client immediately turned toward the inner part of the house, where Saya was.
'Aike! Distract them somehow, no matter what it takes!'
Saya panicked. But Aike was calm instead.
"Client, can you keep saying that after you see this?"
"...? What are you trying to say now?"
"This is a document containing detailed information about your family's treasure."
It was the document he had shown Hess.
"So? Are you threatening me to hand it over now? Is this how the Dark Order handles its business?"
"Aren't you curious where I got this document?"
"...?"
"I found it in the hideout of the moneylender you owe money to—the target you asked us to kill—and made a copy."
"...Is that true?"
Aike continued after nodding with a confident expression.
"There wasn't time to copy the other documents, but beside it, I found all kinds of personal information, including a floor plan of your house."
"That means...."
"Those bastards made you fall into debt from the beginning because they were after the treasure. The absurd excuses they used to increase your debt were also a scheme to make you hand it over."
"......."
"That's not all. Look at this."
The document Aike held out contained an investigation into how doggedly the man had forcibly taken the items he had targeted so far.
"That bastard always gets the item he sets his sights on."
The status of the armed personnel the moneylender could mobilize was also recorded in detail, and their numbers were larger than expected.
"...Was there no way out already?"
Meanwhile, Saya found the treasure in the hidden compartment.
Having handled more treasures than most appraisers, she quickly grasped the item's value.
'...The value of this treasure exceeds the payment they contracted for. There is no doubt that taking the treasure as payment is more profitable. Aike's information was correct.'
There was no way for the client, an ordinary commoner, to sell this treasure at its proper price.
They were also highly likely to meet someone who wanted to swindle them.
It would be better for both sides to hand it over to the Dark Order, which knew its value accurately.
"...There was no way for me to protect the treasure anyway...."
"Sadly, no. But in return, we can deliver justice worthy of the treasure's value—by cutting off those bastards' heads."
"...To think I have to hand over a family heirloom. I can't face my deceased parents."
"That isn't true. Isn't that treasure trying to protect you, its only remaining descendant?"
"...!"
Tears welled up in the client's eyes at those words.
"Your ancestors may have cherished and preserved this treasure for this very moment."
"Sob... Sob...!"
Saya erased every trace of her search through the house and slipped out with ease.
At the same time, Aike obtained the client's signature on a new contract changing the payment to the treasure.
"Every one of that bastard's security personnel must be eliminated as well. At this scale, you have no objection to paying us with the treasure, do you?"
"Y-yes.... Please."
"The Dark Order has accepted it."
"Thank you.... Please, deliver bloodstained justice...."
Aike left the client behind and headed back the way he had come.
A little later, Saya emerged from the bushes and naturally joined Aike.
"Aike, well done."
"Thank you."
Aike felt a swell of gratitude toward Saya, but he tried not to show it.
'I succeeded in the negotiation alone. Lady Saya.... She went against Lord Hess's orders to bolster my confidence... Hm? Wait a moment.'
At that moment, Aike realized something.
'No. This is Lady Saya. She would never disobey Lord Hess's orders. Then....'
The emotion he had barely kept in check became impossible to contain.
'...This was all Lord Hess's intention. Even Lady Saya's actions after she saw through that intention. It was the work of both of them.'
Lord Hess had deliberately made Lady Saya accompany him, then made her drop out at the crucial moment to create a situation that gave Aike his chance.
'I did not see through Lord Hess's intentions properly, but Lady Saya did.'
Aike squeezed his reddened eyes shut.
'I'll work harder too...!'
Saya, walking quietly beside him, was thinking of Hess as well.
'This operation would have been impossible without faith in Aike.'
The information about the treasure had been investigated by Aike. And he had managed to hold the client's attention too.
'Lord Hess told me to become a true leader.'
And Hess had wanted to tell her that it began with trust in one's subordinates.
'I will never forget that deep intention.'
Aike and Saya did not speak on the way back either.
But all the while, they walked while thinking of the same person.
***
"All right, that's enough."
"Haa.... I'm exhausted...."
[Lloyd]
[Level 3 : 9/300]
'Lloyd has taken another step forward. I can let him hold a wooden sword soon.'
Lloyd staggered over and collapsed beside Lucy.
Lucy, now accustomed to this situation, let out a green light as though he had been waiting for it.
"...Henrik, I'm hungry."
"I was waiting for you to come back. Let's go inside."
For the moment, Lloyd seemed too weak to get up. He only looked toward the inn while lying facedown.
Soon, the scent of food drifting out from the inn was drawn into his nostrils.
"Haa.... Maybe I'm so tired that the smell of food seems strange today."
"...It's probably not because of that."
"Hm?"
"The thing is, today's meal is...."
Lucy had already raised one front paw to cover his nose.
"...What's the point of telling you? You'll know once you eat. Let's go inside."
Henrik led the way toward the inn.
At first, it was so quiet that he wondered whether business was slow today.
But when he opened the door, the inn was full of guests who had come for dinner, as usual.
They had simply all lost the ability to speak.