The night was illuminated only by the faint light of the crescent moon.
In the deep darkness, shadows moved across the already blackened fields.
Rustle, Rustle.
The sound of something swiftly brushing past.
Among them, one particularly nimble shadow moved quickly along the edge of the field.
“Eek!”
A girl chasing after the shadow stumbled and fell.
If the man had not caught her, she would have been severely injured.
“Th-thank you, Village Chief.”
“There are not only vines but also farming tools in the field, so always be careful. Especially since it’s night.”
“I-I’ll be careful. What’s up with Lloyd? Does he have night vision or something?”
“Shh.”
Lloyd raised his hand to calm the surroundings.
He wanted to focus here.
He crouched down on the ground.
“Certainly dark.”
Dim light. The stalks visible beyond it were black.
It seemed that the blackness was affecting not just the potatoes but the entire plants.
When he cautiously touched the end, the leaves crumbled messily with a soft rustling.
It looked like a clear case of disease.
“No. The possibility of disease is low.”
Lloyd confidently dismissed that possibility.
He had a few reasons.
First, Zenya’s range of activity.
She said she had visited every guild related to potatoes in Easton, but she still couldn’t find anything.
Of course, it might be that the guilds in Easton are not capable.
“Actually, it’s unlikely she couldn’t find it because it was a disease.”
That seemed to be a bit more probable and reasonable. The villagers of this town should be experts when it comes to potatoes.
“Besides, it takes a long time for diseases to spread.”
As he was lost in thought, the village chief approached and asked.
“It takes a long time… It almost sounds like someone is intentionally making the potato field this way.”
Lloyd glanced back at him. Yulia and Zenya were sitting far off.
It would be fine to discuss this in a bit more depth.
“Please be honest. Have there been any recent threats targeting this village?”
The village chief slightly swallowed.
It seemed to be the right answer.
“… Why do you think so?”
“There are many reasons. Your extremely exclusive attitude. The traps installed all over the village. And most of all.”
Lloyd looked around.
An open field stretching as far as the distant hills.
“It seems there might be treasure buried here.”
“You.”
The village chief’s voice suddenly dropped.
Lloyd calmly raised both hands.
“Of course, I have no intention of stealing it. I’m here solely to fulfill a request.”
“How much do you know?”
“Actually, I don’t know anything. Just a guess that something important or valuable might be here.”
The village chief’s eyes gleamed even in the darkness.
He was indeed an extraordinary person.
Judging by his physique, he might be a reinforcement-type.
“Even if I knew, it’s not like I could steal it anyway, right?”
“… Hmph.”
With a deflated sound, the village chief clenched his fist.
He muttered quietly.
“When Zenya mentioned some damn research institute, I thought it was another scam. But it seems like you’ve brought some proper people this time.”
“Good judgment.”
“So, what are you curious about?”
“Are there any outsiders who visit here regularly?”
“No. Do you think I’d let them?”
“No. There would be. People who bring seeds, mail, or anything essential would naturally lower their guard without even realizing it.”
The village chief pondered for a moment.
Then he clasped his hands together.
“There’s a guild that has been trading steadily for a long time. Recently, they come two or three times a month to buy food. They were here just yesterday.”
“Yesterday.”
Lloyd muttered softly and looked around.
The faint light and the dim scenery.
And the soil that faintly sparkled in the moonlight.
“I’ve heard that really good farmers can taste the soil.”
“Suddenly, what’s that about… Well, there were old people in our village who did that sometimes. Nowadays, they don’t really do that. Besides, they use fertilizers, so it’s not exactly clean.”
“That makes sense, I guess?”
With a sly smile, Lloyd took a sample of the soil.
Sparkle.
A white powder glistened at the tip of his finger.
“What are you trying to do…!”
Before the village chief could stop him, Lloyd tasted the soil.
“Ugh. It’s awful.”
“Of course it is! Spit it out quickly!”
No.
There was no reason to.
Instead, Lloyd slowly savored the soil.
The taste of ordinary sand grains.
An unpleasant, bitter, and astringent taste he didn’t want to recognize.
And.
‘A taste that soothes the mind.’
It was a familiar taste.
The instability of his mind, which had been widened while sensing the surroundings, settled calmly.
Of course, the effect was not significant.
It was less than 1/1000th of the calming effect of the usual sedatives he took.
But it was certainly effective.
With a strange expression, the village chief, who had been observing Lloyd, asked urgently.
“Do you… feel anything?”
“Mm.”
Spit.
“It’s not tasty.”
Thud.
The village chief, almost losing his strength from the ridiculous answer, shouted.
“I told you not to eat it…!”
“And.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you know how to fight, Village Chief?”
“…?”
Sigh.
With a sly grin, Lloyd popped another sedative into his mouth and pointed ahead.
“Over there. Someone suspicious is watching us.”
– Pababababak!
The shadows Lloyd pointed to in the potato field began to flee.
◆
In the vast potato field.
One of the figures hiding in the darkness and scattering something on the field murmured.
“This mission is too easy.”
“I was a bit worried about the village chief, but it seems like his senses have dulled.”
“Tsk. The ones assigning such missions to the Seventh Death Squad are the ones whose senses are dull.”
The Seventh Death Squad.
A well-known organization in Easton, capable of performing any task from surveillance to assassination secretly. They are just expensive.
“Well, we’re just lying back and having a feast, so isn’t that nice?”
“Kukuku.”
As they carried out their mission calmly.
“There’s movement!”
“Hide. One is the village chief… and the other three… Hmm?”
Six, who was sensing the presence, frowned.
“What is it, Brother?”
“Nothing. Must have been a mistake.”
For a moment, an inexplicable chill ran down his spine.
He hadn’t felt such a chill since the time he briefly encountered the ruler of Easton, the Purple Commander.
‘It must be my imagination.’
There’s no reason someone of her caliber would come to such a remote place.
He figured he must be tired and hid his body in the ditch.
“How much more do we have to finish today?”
“Just that field ahead, and we’re done.”
“They wouldn’t come out to work at this time of night. Let’s wait a bit, then finish up and leave.”
“Yes.”
In the quiet night, the distant sound of the village chief and some boys and girls chatting could be heard.
Just as a simple yawn was about to escape.
“What is that kid doing?”
Seven frowned.
His gaze followed Six’s gesture.
Under the faint moonlight, a boy was eating dirt.
Unconsciously, Six tensed his legs.
An ancient instinct was warning him.
It would be best to run.
‘…But why?’
Six was bewildered by his instincts.
No matter how much he examined it, that child was just an ordinary boy with no special abilities, wasn’t he?
Having survived in this brutal world for decades, Six’s instincts were honed by the vast data he had accumulated over the years.
Yet, this time, he found it hard to trust those instincts.
To think that he was frightened by a mere boy.
How could that be possible?
Nevertheless…
“Prepare to run.”
“…What?”
Seven was taken aback.
But Six had experience on his side.
He knew that he had lived this long because he heeded his instincts’ warnings.
His instincts had warned him twice about this boy.
Whatever was in front of him, it was better to trust his instincts…
— Someone suspicious is watching us
The assassination squad, renowned not just in Easton but also in the Empire, was known for their extreme stealth techniques, so refined that even the Empire’s knights would struggle to detect them.
‘And yet, that boy noticed us?’
“Run!”
The third warning from his instincts aligned with his reasoning.
Six didn’t look back as he sprinted away.
Fortunately, he didn’t sense any manifestation of mana.
He had briefly considered the possibility that the boy might be a mage, but it seemed he was mistaken.
‘It’s embarrassing, but I’m alive.’
Survival.
That was more important than pride.
As they ran, Six spoke to Seven running beside him.
“Let’s keep running for another minute, then assess the situation.”
“Alright.”
“Did you notice anything unusual?”
“It tasted bitter.”
“…What?”
Six glanced to his side.
The boy was running right beside him.
“Ahhh!”
Six stumbled in shock.
This was a rare occurrence.
For someone as seasoned as him to stumble during a mission—especially one as simple as scattering substances in a field—was unheard of.
At the same time, it was also an act.
Feigning weakness, he threw a deadly shot.
Pretending to be terrified, he rolled on the ground, and from his fingertips, a dagger shot out.
It flew straight towards the boy’s vital point.
‘He won’t be able to dodge this.’
Hiding sharpness behind a facade of weakness…
That was how Six had survived for so long.
He trusted in his secret weapon.
‘I didn’t want to spill any unnecessary blood, but…’
He would have to charge a bit extra for this mission.
“Phew.”
Sighing in relief, Six lifted his head.
There, in the moonlit forest, the boy stood, backlit by the waning moon.
Snicker.
With a grin, the boy, holding the dagger between his teeth, whispered.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
