Extra Story: Farewell Black Ops!

“We are destroying the Black Ops.”

“What...?”

The old butler looked shocked by Mariel’s sudden statement. He had served this household since the previous generation and had sworn his absolute loyalty to Mariel. That was exactly why he worried for her safety and was determined to stop her from undertaking such a dangerous course of action.

And now, at this moment! Out of his desire to repay the kindness the previous head of the house had given him, he would stop the young mistress even if he had to put his own life on the line! As he resolved to do just that...

“Of course, I will have someone else take care of it, so I won’t be stepping outside of this manor.”

“...I-I see...”

He had gotten worked up for nothing...

“First, we will gather the troops.”

“I see...”

Mariel currently lived in the capital of Count Maslias’s domain, which was located near a mountainous region. Mariel had arrived there with her butler and guards, wearing a top that had been specially ordered for her. The top was made so the talons of birds of prey wouldn’t pierce through, with a protrusion sticking out of the shoulder area for them to perch on. And there perched a bird that wasn’t considered a bird of prey.

“Okay then, please take care of it.”

“Leave it to me, kaaaw!”

With that, the crow fluttered its wings energetically and flew away.

“And now, we wait.”

“I-I see...”

That was all the butler could say...

One hour later.

“I scouted all of them, kaaaw!”

Lined up next to the crow were a hawk, an eagle, a falcon, a robin, a pigeon, a hummingbird, a parakeet, and many others...

“Splendid work! Please look forward to your special reward!”

“You mean that, Missy?! Ohh... I’ll be able to let the little ones eat their fill for the first time in a while. Thanks, Missy... Kaaaw!”

Mariel cocked her head, wondering if the way the crow went out of its way to add “kaw” to the ends of its sentences was some sort of custom. She then left the crow to its emotional moment and went straight to talking about business. This was, of course, the discussion about the contracts of employment for the birds who had gathered there.

“...So, are we all in agreement regarding the terms? You will be getting food and treatment for injuries and illnesses for you and your families while in our employ. Regarding your treatment, we will do our best to accommodate your requests, but if it’s beyond our capabilities, we must ask that you forgive us...”

“That’s fine. Only a god can save one who is destined to die from their demise. If you will do what you can, and I can spend my final moments without hunger and in a warm place, that is more than I could ever hope for. To ask for more is arrogance, and disrespectful to the Goddess... Do you not agree?”

“Yes, I think so too.”

The hawk and eagle, which seemed to have the highest authority, or rather, were positioned at the top of the pecking order out of all the birds that had arrived, so the others all nodded in agreement. The falcon, which seemed to be the strongest after the top two, stayed silent during the exchange.

In any case, Mariel had come to an agreement with the representatives of the birds. Now, each of those representatives should spread the word to their friends and send any willing participants to the manor.

“Thank you for coming. I am Mariel, the mistress of these children.”

Mariel had returned to her villa and begun talking business to the stray dogs and pet dogs that her own canine soldiers had recruited. The terms of employment were pretty much the same as the birds, but some of the birds had an extra perk: they would get to send messages to their human friends who had taken care of them and fed them. Mariel had heard of this condition from her dogs after Kaoru had offered it to them.

Some of the dogs among them had participated in the impeachment of her uncle Aragorn, and thanks to them putting in a good word, the discussion went smoothly, without any issues.

“Yes, the preparations for vengeance are now complete! This time, we will have revenge, by our own hands, without troubling the Goddess for her help! We have already eliminated the mastermind behind the heinous crime, Aragorn. But I am not such a good person that I would be satisfied by his demise alone. Those who killed my father, mother, and brother for money... They still live without a care in the world. Did they really think I would turn a blind eye?”

Evil laughter.

Mariel had already finished crossing the river. The river that separated the innocent, cheerful, and bubbly aristocrat girl from the hardened, audacious seeker of revenge...

“These are the targets.”

With that, Mariel pointed at four men who stepped out of a tavern. She had gathered information through judicious use of her money and had thus finally tracked down the Black Ops contact men.

“Please find out where they live, trail any allies they come in contact with, and take care of the other requested tasks. Big achievements will be handsomely rewarded with bonuses on top of your normal pay. For the bird troops, I will provide materials for your nests and shiny, pretty objects. For the dog army: chicken breasts, potatoes, or anything else you request. ...And if you wish, I can take you in under our household’s exclusive employment.”

“Exclusive” in this case meant they would become her pet dogs. But being her pet didn’t mean they would be leashed on a short chain all day. They were basically allowed to run loose, and could spend their free time however they wanted, as long as they patrolled the manor during their shift. A stable life where food and a roof over their heads was guaranteed... For the dogs who didn’t have owners yet, this was a dream come true.

In fact, many of the dogs that already had owners were likely to switch over. After all, they would be able to communicate with their mistress if they moved in with Mariel. This meant they could tell her about their desires and troubles, and they would become kin to one who had received the love of the Goddess herself. Of course, this not only applied to the dogs, but the birds as well.

The groups of canine soldiers and bird troops let out cries of joy.

...As a side note, those were the names of the animal forces that Mariel had given them in order to differentiate them from House Raphael’s own military forces. Among them were names like Crow Battalion and Falcon Squad.

“Falcons look strong, so they will be combat units. They seem like they would win no matter what, so they are the Let’s Win Falcon Forces,” Mariel said happily as she saw the cool-and-reliable-looking falcons.

The dogs and birds were ecstatic at her words, but she pressed a finger to her lips and signaled for silence, then gave out her command with her sharp voice.

“Our enemy is a criminal organization that murdered my family, known as Black Ops. Your mission is to crush them completely. I look forward to your success... Begin Operation Trash Cleanup!!!”

And so, the dogs and birds began tracking the men from a distance. Since it would soon become dark, the nocturnal birds like owls, nightjars, night herons, and snipes took the lead. Surprisingly, there weren’t very many birds that couldn’t see in the dark (besides chickens), and the majority of them could see pretty well even at night. It was just that not many of them flew during the night...

But this was just like how not many woodcutters and farmers worked at night, and it wasn’t in any way strange for them to not do so. Who spread such a false rumor, anyway...? Regardless, it was best to let the specialists do what they were good at, so the nocturnal birds would take on the work at night.

One week later...

“The time has come...”

After trailing after the Black Ops members, the rest of their members and structure within the organization became clear, one after another. Normally, this would have been impossible. Everyone was cautious of people following them.

But who could have imagined this? The little birds resting on a tree branch and the dogs lying on the ground next to a shop were actually trailing their every step... They could slip through crowds, or escape through back doors, but it was impossible to shake off the birds watching from above or the dogs following their scent.

The members of Black Ops didn’t necessarily know everyone else in the organization, and most of them only knew who they directly worked with, like their superiors, subordinates, or a couple of colleagues, other than the contact men who coordinated things. Those who had normal lives outside of the organization tried to avoid direct contact with other Black Ops members, and only met with the contact men.

...And one day, the contact men disappeared. All at once. Their throats were ripped out by wild dogs. They were poisoned by birds that had slipped something into their food. Their eyes were clawed out by hawks.

They couldn’t reach their superiors. They couldn’t reach their subordinates. They gradually lost contact with the rest of the organization, too... And one day, they were suddenly attacked by dogs and birds.

“What the hell is going on?! Why can’t I reach my men?” shouted a man alone in his manor: The boss of Black Ops...or at least, he had been the boss.

He must have realized it too. He just didn’t want to admit it. Indeed, the organization known as Black Ops no longer existed...

Most of those who had died lived in the criminal underworld, and nobody seemed to care if they suddenly went missing or if their bodies turned up. Because of this, they were often left where they had died, or thrown into garbage dumps or rivers, and treated as missing otherwise. After all, they had all suddenly died of causes like “attacked by a dog or wolf, or some sort of monster of that type,” or “seemingly attacked by a bird-type monster.”

Nobody cared about the strange deaths of the dregs of society. If anyone was moved by them, it may have been out of happiness. But sometimes, their deaths were reported to someone in Black Ops. Therefore, the fact that they were dying one after another had been relayed to the upper levels of the organization...but by that time, it was already too late. And at this point, the man who used to be the boss of Black Ops seemed to realize something.

“Dog or wolf-type monsters. Bird-type monsters. Only Black Ops members are attacked and killed...”

Those three words appeared in his head.

“B-Bitch Viscount. B-Bird Aristocrat... The request to attack House Raphael... D-Don’t tell me...”

“...You wish to see me? No thank you, I have no desire to meet with a criminal...”

“...You resent being called a criminal when there’s no proof? Then I will do my best not to leave any evidence, so I surely won’t have to worry about being called a criminal myself.”

“...You want me to stop? What in the world do you mean? Are you calling me a criminal without proof?”

“...Do you have any reason to believe I would do something to you? You don’t? Then I obviously have no reason to do anything. Why did you come to me when you can’t think of any such reason?”

Each time an emissary came to deliver a message, she made them return with simple replies.

Mariel didn’t worry about the emissaries trying anything with her. No one could even think of laying a hand on her with dozens of dogs baring their fangs and dozens of birds of prey aiming to rip their eyes out.

And one day...

“Let us end this...”

The killer of her parents and brother had suffered long enough, living in constant fear of getting attacked at any moment.

“Tonight, we settle this.”

“Awooooooooo!!!”

“Scraaaaaaaaaw!!!”

That night, a single shadow stood in front of a certain criminal’s manor.

“Thank you, everyone. It’s now time for the final battle!”

“Woof, woof, woof! I’ll stop that nasty smell once and for all!”

“Craaaw!”

And so, the girl stepped into enemy territory. Surrounded by dozens of dogs and dozens of birds flying overhead...