Chapter 782

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Release schedule: 3 chapters per week

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Ghislain looked at Lionel. The others quietly observed his reaction.

Then Lionel flailed his hands and spoke in a flustered voice.

“I-I don’t know! I really don’t know anything!”

Lionel felt wronged. It was true that he had been reporting about the group, but he genuinely didn’t know the Pope had sent someone to follow them.

‘W-why would His Holiness assign people to us? Does he not trust me?’

Lionel was confused. The Pope had clearly entrusted everything to him.

Yet sending people without any prior notice—this could only mean he didn’t trust Lionel after all.

Ghislain narrowed his eyes. Judging by Lionel’s bewildered expression, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

He called Lionel closer and asked,

“How much did you report?”

“The l-last report I gave was after the matter in Valskrum was over.”

“Hmmm…”

If that was the case, then news of them acquiring the Dwarves’ Sacred Stones hadn’t yet reached the Pope. It was still too early for that.

However, the information about securing the Sacred Stones from the Elves’ forest must have been delivered by now.

Ghislain didn’t particularly mind the fact that Lionel had reported their movements.

After all, he had anticipated that ever since Lionel had joined them.

He turned back to the masked woman and asked,

“Alright. We now know that the Pope has people on our side as well. So, you can’t really call yourself an outsider. Explain who you are and why the Pope sent you.”

The masked woman hesitated slightly. Her expression looked extremely troubled.

But it wasn’t a situation where she could keep resisting. In the end, she let out a sigh and spoke.

“We’re… part of the ‘Crips,’ an organization that operates in the Holy Empire.”

“Crips?”

“Think of it as a group specialized in assassination and intelligence gathering.”

Ghislain glanced at Lionel.

Lionel, seemingly familiar with the organization, immediately responded.

“Y-yeah. That kind of group. They usually dig up information here and there. B-but the Papacy doesn’t use them much. Mostly it’s the Holy Empire’s nobles or merchants who hire them.”

Ghislain nodded.

There were countless assassins and thieves in the world. He couldn’t possibly know every group that existed.

Still, if the Pope had entrusted them with a task, their skills had to be at least somewhat formidable.

“Keep talking.”

“The task the Pope gave us… was to guard and monitor you.”

“…Guard?”

“…Yes.”

“So now guarding includes stealing?”

“…”

At those words, the masked woman lowered her head in silence, as if she had nothing to say.

Ghislain narrowed his eyes. He had been thinking about how to persuade the masked woman, and now it seemed like this was the opening he needed.

“What’s your name?”

“…Marika.”

Marika spoke with a look of resignation.

Ghislain didn’t dismiss the possibility that the name could be fake, and asked again.

“Alright, Marika. Why would someone tasked with guarding us try to steal our belongings? And who are the comrades waiting outside the village?”

“…You already knew everything, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I’ve known for a while. I just left you alone because I wasn’t sure if you were enemies.”

“The ones outside the village… they’re probably another team.”

“Probably?”

“We operate in separate teams. That way, even if something happens to one group, the others can respond.”

“How many such teams are there?”

“I don’t know exactly. But the number is probably increasing. We’re just one of the units that departed early.”

“Hmmm…”

Ghislain furrowed his brows. If what Marika said was true, it meant there were countless people secretly tailing them right now. And they claimed it was for ‘protection,’ no less.

He could guess why the Pope was doing this.

‘Since we succeeded in obtaining the Sacred Stones, it’s only natural he’d be excited.’

The Pope was probably itching to snatch the Sacred Stones as soon as possible.

But with the possibility of securing more Sacred Stoness, making a move too early could cost him something bigger.

‘And he can’t exactly send the Holy Empire’s army openly to guard and monitor us either.’

If that had been an option, a delegation would have long since retrieved the Sacred Stoness.

If he intervened rashly, he might only end up getting in the way. So the Pope must have judged that it was better to leave things to the Julien Mercenary Corps for now.

‘Still, he must have been anxious.’

From the Pope’s perspective, he needed people to monitor the Julien Mercenary Corps from afar. So he sent a covert group to shadow them.

If he found out they’d even obtained the Dwarves’ Sacred Stones, he might faint from joy.

Ghislain now roughly understood the situation.

‘More watchers will come. At this rate, even the Holy Empire’s army and intelligence units might be deployed soon to secure the surroundings.’

But one question still remained.

Why had Marika, who had been given such an important mission, done something like this?

“You should finish explaining. If what you said is true, then you’ve disobeyed orders.”

“…Yeah.”

“Why?”

Marika hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.

“Like I said in the beginning, we came here in a hurry to locate and observe your group. The ones truly assigned to monitor and guard you haven’t arrived yet.”

“And?”

“Soon our captain, Deputy Commander…and all the key officers will be here.”

Ghislain nodded.

It was a mission given directly by the Pope. Understanding its gravity, the entire organization would be mobilized.

At that moment, Marika lowered her head and mumbled quietly.

“While there was still time… I was planning to provoke a fight between your group and ours.”

“…Huh?”

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion. She suddenly wanted to instigate a fight? What was that supposed to mean?

The story was spiraling in an unpredictable direction.

Ghislain calmly asked,

“Alright, just tell us everything honestly, just the way it is. I’m really curious why you did that.”

As Ghislain showed interest, Marika looked at him with desperate eyes and asked,

“If I tell you… will you let me go?”

Having tampered with the subject of their mission, it wasn’t just the Pope—her captain wouldn’t let this slide either.

For her, there were no options left except ‘death.’

If she wanted to survive, she had to flee as far away as possible, starting now.

Ghislain nodded readily.

“If you speak honestly, I’ll let you go.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. It’s not like you caused any major harm. Why would I kill you? Haven’t you noticed how I’ve let things slide so far?”

Marika nodded. In truth, she knew that Ghislain had been showing her leniency—that’s why she was willing to bet on this final hope and speak up.

Soon, she took a deep breath and said,

“I have a grudge against our captain.”

“A grudge?”

“Yeah. He’s my mortal enemy.”

“Hmmm…”

“Well, that’s not really the point. At first, I thought you were just some VIPs. But when I looked into it…”

While preparing for her mission, Marika had discovered that the Julien Mercenary Corps had acquired a Sacred Stones.

No matter how top secret it was, the fact that the Pope had sent a delegation was common knowledge.

On top of that, news had spread that the Salvation Church invaded the Elves’ forest and that the Julien Mercenary Corps had stopped them.

Once all these incidents were connected, the conclusion was clear.

— The Julien Mercenary Corps possesses the Sacred Stones.

That rumor was quietly spreading throughout the continent.

Even though the Holy Empire was doing its best to contain the information, many people had already heard whispers in trade cities and were speculating.

So Marika had decided to seize this opportunity.

“…If I could successfully steal the Sacred Stones, the Pope wouldn’t sit still. I thought I could use that to get my revenge.”

Ghislain nodded.

They were entrusted with guarding and monitoring, yet she planned to steal the Sacred Stones?

Even if Crips were a powerful organization, they’d be swept away by the Pope’s wrath.

But this was a plan riddled with holes.

“You really thought such an important item would be in our luggage? You were just going to steal random bags?”

“No, I wasn’t that clueless. My original plan was to steal the bags and lure you out.”

“Lure us?”

“Yeah. I knew you were strong, so I figured I’d divide your forces, then sneak up on that priestess Deneb.”

“Why… were you so sure that Deneb had the Sacred Stones?”

“…Because we were ordered to prioritize monitoring and protecting that low-ranking priestess. And if things went south, we were told to recover her necklace at all costs. Isn’t it obvious then?”

“I see.”

Ghislain nodded as if he understood.

Since it had likely been reported that Deneb obtained the necklace in the Elves’ forest, it made sense that the Pope would consider her the highest priority.

Marika sighed and continued.

“No matter how strong you all are, I thought that in a chaotic moment, stealing a few items from a low-ranking priestess wouldn’t be too difficult.”

“But you failed.”

“…I didn’t expect you to react so fast.”

“What about after the failure?”

“…”

“You must’ve had a backup plan, right?”

Marika quietly nodded.

Of course, even she hadn’t expected to succeed on the first try.

In fact, because there was a Transcendent among them, failure was more likely.

“If I could just steal the Sacred Stones… I could completely ruin Crips. The Pope wouldn’t let it slide… But just in case I failed, I prepared a second move.”

“What kind of move?”

“I was going to leave a trail as I ran, so you’d come looking for your stolen bags. Then, I’d get another team involved in a fight with you… and use the chaos to slip in and get close to that priestess.”

“To kill Deneb?”

“No, no. Just to steal the necklace. If that didn’t work, I was planning to injure her a bit and then escape. Either way, even if another team made excuses, the Pope wouldn’t stay calm.”

It wasn’t a bad plan.

If the incident occurred, Crips would be unable to avoid the Pope’s wrath no matter the excuse.

And the Julien Mercenary Corps would no longer trust the Pope.

That would be the end of Crips. The Pope and the Holy Empire wouldn’t leave them alone. In this era, eliminating an assassin group was nothing for them.

Marika had planned to sabotage Crips by driving a wedge between the Julien Mercenary Corps and the Holy Empire.

Ghislain gave a faint smile.

‘Alright, alright. I was wondering how to bring her along, and she’s got a story like that?’

Crips or the Pope—it didn’t matter. Ghislain was on Marika’s side. If she wished, he was even prepared to crush both of them.

For Ghislain, who knew the future, it was the obvious course of action.

He knew what truly mattered, which allowed him to act so decisively.

But Marika couldn’t even imagine that Ghislain would take her side. Her thoughts were still consumed with how to escape from this place.

Ghislain sheathed his sword and spoke.

“Can you tell me what kind of grudge it is?”

“It’s just… nothing important. It’s a personal matter. Anyway, I told you everything honestly, so now let us go.”

“Tell me that too, and I’ll let you go.”

Marika bit her lips several times.

It wasn’t easy to reveal a personal grudge to someone she had just met.

But with no other option, she replied in a sharp voice.

“The captain and executives of Crips killed my family. They don’t know I’m aware of it. Is that enough?”

“Hmmm…”

Ghislain stroked his chin.

Marika’s gaze—there was neither hesitation nor deceit in it. It was only filled with a blazing hatred.

It was a look Ghislain knew all too well.

A feeling he had harbored countless times in his past life. An unforgettable color of vengeance.

That’s why he felt even more drawn to Marika.

He wanted to know more details, but that could wait. For now, this much was enough.

Ghislain casually turned his head and asked,

“What about the ones outside the village?”

Though they weren’t visible, they were surely hiding here and there, spying on them.

Marika also scanned the surroundings as she answered.

“The other team must be panicking right now. They probably never imagined I’d pull something like this.”

“They’ll probably chase after you, won’t they?”

“Not right away. Their priority is still to monitor you. They’ll only send a pursuit team once more squads arrive. That’s why I need to run now.”

Her gaze was clearly weary. Marika held no personal grudge against the Julien Mercenary Corps.

She simply tried to use them to settle her own vendetta.

“I’m sorry for getting you involved. But I never intended to kill any of you.”

She said it with sincere remorse—an unusually soft stance for an assassin.

Ghislain nodded a few times before speaking cheerfully.

“Alright, a promise is a promise. You can go now.”

“…You’re really letting us go?”

“Told you. I’m not that petty.”

With a relieved expression, Marika began to slowly step backward.

‘Astion, right? A pervert, but not a bad guy at heart.’

If Ghislain had heard that, he would’ve been very offended.

Marika’s subordinates numbered six. All of them were people she had taken in and raised.

As they scanned their surroundings and gradually retreated, Ghislain suddenly said offhandedly,

“I know a safer way than running.”

At those words, Marika stopped and asked,

“…What do you mean?”

“How about coming with us?”

“What?”

“If you run now, you’ll be on the run for the rest of your life. Can you live like that?”

“…”

“Your captain will never let you go. You already messed with us. The only way he can escape the Pope’s wrath is by killing you. Isn’t that right?”

He wasn’t wrong. The captain of Crips would never forgive Marika.

But Marika had no other choice. With a bitter, mocking smile, she asked,

“So what? What changes if I stay here? Doesn’t it just become even more dangerous?”

Staying with the Julien Mercenary Corps meant being constantly exposed to Crips’s assassins.

They would pursue her relentlessly, like tireless hunters, always aiming for her life.

It seemed safer to flee to a far-off place where she wouldn’t be seen again.

At her sharp retort, Ghislain chuckled, his shoulders even shaking with amusement.

To Marika, that laugh felt like mockery, and she pressed again.

“What’s so funny?”

“There’s nothing wrong with running from a strong enemy. As long as you can get your revenge one day. But if you run now, will you really ever get that chance? I mean, even this plan of yours was kind of sloppy. The odds of success were pretty low, don’t you think?”

Marika bit her lips in silence.

He was right. This had been her only real chance.

And the attempt had failed.

Now, she would live the rest of her life on the run. Her revenge had, in truth, become virtually impossible.

She admitted her strategy had been clumsy. But she had no other choice.

She resented Ghislain for laughing like that, as if he didn’t understand any of that.

Without intending to speak further, Marika turned away. She just wanted to leave now.

Then, from behind, she heard Ghislain’s voice again.

“I’ll help you.”

“…?”

Marika slowly turned her head.

Ghislain continued with a relaxed expression.

“Just become strong. Get revenge yourself.”

“You… you think that’s so easy? Our captain is a Transcendent. I didn’t try to use the Pope’s request for nothing, you know.”

“So what? You can become a Transcendent too.”

Marika was about to snap at how absurdly easy he made it sound—

—but Ghislain raised both hands lightly.

Guuuuuuuuung…

Dozens of daggers scattered on the ground began to rise slowly.

And not just those—Marika’s own daggers, whose strings had been severed, also floated up.

Soon, a swarm of daggers began to orbit around Ghislain.

They moved like black shadows, then gradually became imbued with blue mana, emitting a soft glow.

Paaaah!

The daggers traced glowing arcs through the air, dominating the space around them.

They formed precise circles without colliding, sometimes changing course in a straight line like comets.

It was as if a constellation was swimming through the dark cosmos—beautiful and dreamlike.

A movement so wondrous, it sent chills down one’s spine.

Marika, unable to close her mouth, stared in awe.

So did everyone else watching.

They had forgotten even to breathe, utterly entranced by the spectacle.

Amidst the luminous dance of daggers, Ghislain spoke again, still smiling.

“I’ll make you… the strongest assassin on the continent.”