Ch 20

The service worker, who had been with Cheldeg until the late night, felt a vibration on his wrist and looked at his watch.

"Ah!"

His expression hardened when he saw that one of the numbers engraved on his watch was blurred, as if it had been crushed. At the same time, he briefly saw the word ‘dog’ appear in the center of the watch before it disappeared.

"What's wrong?"

The service worker wiped sweat from his brow, troubled at Cheldeg's question.

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"I am sorry to say this, but… the assassination failed."

"What?"

The number that had disappeared from the service worker's watch was ‘7’. Seven primary assassination teams carried out assassination requests. The numbers on the watch were magically linked to the poison cases hidden in each team leader's molars, in order to alert all team leaders and the service company president if the cases were broken for any reason. The numbers disappearing could only mean that the team leader had died.

"We put our top specialists on a 'delivery' at the request of Mr. Cheldeg, our VVIP. However, it seems that we were taken out by the dog that you mentioned. I do not think it will be possible to continue with the request."

The word that had disappeared from the watch was the last word delivered by the team leader to his comrades. It was not difficult to realize that he was warning them about the dog, and that the dog had attacked him.

Cheldeg was furious at the service worker. "What is this nonsense!"

"As a company that values our human resources, we can't help it after suffering such a big loss. The penalty will be paid within fifteen days, as contracted."

"You think I'm angry about getting a penalty fee?!"

Even though Cheldeg was angry, the service worker continued to guide and reason with Cheldeg’s emotions.

"Our employees are confident that they cannot know the existence of the company and customers, even in the case of an emergency, because they are guarded against torture as well as various magical interrogations. We apologize for failing to honor your trust, and we will try to meet your expectations on your next request."

"What?! You think there's going to be another one after this!?" Cheldeg cried out.

The service worker sighed softly. “This might sound like just an excuse, but the time specified in the request was very short. The 'secret big deal' deliveries need at least three days notice. I only accepted it because it was a request from you, our special customer."

After speaking, the service worker got up from his seat with his luggage. "As the 'delivery attempt' has already failed, the intended recipient will be very wary. If you plan on leaving it to another company, or if you are going to do it yourself, please be careful." The service worker spoke firmly, bowed politely, and left.

"Hey! Where are you going?! You’re going to leave after handling business like this?! You’re the one that messed up, you should take responsibility until the end!"

Cheldeg ran after the service worker, but he was too out of shape to catch up to him.

"Urgh! I won't leave this matter alone!"

Cheldeg ground his teeth, determined to deal with the service company. He didn’t even need to get his hands dirty, as all the numbers on the service worker's wristwatch were destined to be erased soon.

"Tsk, a dog. I didn't want to use this method."

Cheldeg laughed bitterly as he looked at the consul's emergency approval agreement for a temporary sea blockade that he had received during the day. In order to approve a project as large as a sea blockade in such an emergency, approval letters from not only consuls but also senior members of congress were needed. Cheldeg noted down the name of the person who had requested the sea blockade.

* * *

I clicked my tongue as I looked at the deranged assassination team leader.

"Tch! You don't know much."

All the team leader knew was information related to the target. He had no idea who had requested the assassination, or why. The assassins were prepared for the worst; not only had they built a magical barrier in his mind, but it seemed they had told him nothing except the minimum information needed for the assassination. All I learned was that the service company to which the assassins belonged to was a company that handled various dirty jobs for politicians or influential people, and that the third team leader was usually the one that received requests from customers. I also learned about how they could communicate their life and death and last will through their wristwatches.

"That’s something interesting."

I loosened his watch and observed it slowly. Sixteen magic spells were densely engraved on its face, with the ‘7’ erased. I was in awe. It was not just that the magic was engraved. I admired the way the magic had been engraved according to the movement of the cogwheel in the clock. As expected, the world was wide and filled with many talented people. I also knew how to do magic engravings, but it would be impossible for me to produce something so delicate. It was probably impossible for even my teacher, Elder Mirpa, to produce such fine work. It could have easily been called a work of art.

"So the producer was Dumaion. I'd look for him if I had more time, but that would probably push things too close right now."

I didn’t even know if Dumaion was from the Republic or not in the first place.

Since Milion was a trading port, the watch was also likely to have been imported from abroad. The magic within the engravings was not actually very difficult, so in the end I figured I didn’t have to meet him. I swallowed my regret and tracked down another watch, via the link between them. The total number of watches, including the one in my hand, was twelve. Worn by the president and vice president of the ‘service company’, and their ten team leaders.

"What are you going to do, Master?" Tristan asked after dealing with the hidden assassins throughout the night market.

I laughed bitterly, “You and I will deal with them, fifty-fifty."

The others in my party weren’t cold-blooded enough. Of course, the main reason I did not involve them was that I didn't want to dirty my friends' hands. Even if I did, I would still be left with a dirty feeling from dealing with assassins who ate hidden poison and attempted suicide.

Tristan sighed as if nothing more could be done. "Phew, shouldn't you fix the other guys quickly?"

"I want to, but I don't have time. If I had the workshop, it would have been quick, but my workshop is in the capital.”

While traveling, I had considered getting a large wagon and building a simple mobile workshop, but it was still only an idea. Mobile workshops were too difficult. They could not use the vein of the land, so there were more than just a couple of things to pay attention to.

"First, stop them from swallowing the poison, then dig up information. If they swallow the poison, force them to vomit and then inject them with this. It’ll keep them alive for a few hours." I explained, passing him the syringe.

Tristan put it in his inside pocket. "Master, since there are eleven targets, why don't we make a bet on who takes out more? We should share the location of the watch though, to be fair."

"Bet what?"

Tristan pondered for a moment then smiled playfully. "How about doing one thing that the other person wants?"

"That sounds fun. How about we make it more like a game and have the service company workers count for one point per head, and the assassination client's head be four points? The goal is to deal with the assassination client, so the score for that one should be high."

A person with a watch could be located through another watch, but for the assassination client, we had no choice but to find someone who knew him and dig up information. The only people who knew about the client was the leader of the third team and likely the president of the service company, so luck was certainly a factor.

Tristan readily agreed to my proposal. "Sounds good! Just be ready to grant my wish, Master."

"I’ll make you regret proposing such a bet.”

Tristan and I both chuckled and ran around, looking for people wearing watches.

‘What should I order him to do if I win? Should I make him live with a cuckoo clock on his forehead for a month? Or should I make him shout, "The Anti-Magic Specialist's magic skills are the best in the world!"?’

* * *

Hermes tried to fix the door that Achilles had broken with some nails and a hammer. However, while trying to attach the hinges, they crumpled, and the hammer punched a hole in the wall. He tried to at least block the wind by propping the door up roughly, but somehow that caused the door to fall into three pieces onto the floor.

"Well, I should have just left it to a professional."

Looking at the wooden boards that were once a door, Hermes gave up on fixing it himself. Even if there was no front door, there was no thief bold enough to enter as long as there was a large sign on the gate that read ‘The temporary construction site of the Crow tribe’. After roughly cleaning up the front door, Hermes went back inside and tried to rest, but someone from the gate rang the doorbell and called for him.

"Are you there, Sir Hermes?!"

Hermes stuck his head out of the front door frame and saw a young man in a butler's uniform.

"Who are you?" Hermes asked.

The butler politely bowed and introduced himself. "I am a footman who also works as a coachman at Representative Cheldeg's house. Representative-nim said that he would like to meet the ambassador, and asked me to politely deliver the invitation. Could the ambassador see Representative-nim right now, by any chance?"

"Well, I'm Ambassador Hermes. You said Representative Cheldeg invited me?" Hermes thought for a moment, recalling a fairly large middle-aged man. Cheldeg was a middle-ranking politician who had planted his butt in congress for a whopping four terms, so he had been acquainted with Hermes in the past. However, it had only been a ceremonial meeting as an ambassador. Hermes, who was not very involved in Republican politics, couldn't understand why Cheldeg had suddenly invited him.

"Oh! I see! Representative-nim told me to deliver this as well."

Hermes opened the invitation right on the spot. Most of it was typical political rhetoric, but the key point was that he wanted to meet because only Cheldeg’s signature was needed for the sea blockade, which Hermes had asked the consul for three days ago, to take effect.

"Hmm, what does he want that he’s inviting me so grandly?"

Hermes was not involved in Republican politics because Anemone had advised that it would be troublesome to engage with political manners. It wasn’t that someone was forcing Hermes to stay out. Knowing that, the representatives of the Republic were close to Hermes, but kept a safe distance. They didn’t know what would happen if they ended up making a political deal with the Crow tribe, so they had to be careful. With all this in mind, Cheldeg's invitation was very unusual.

"Did you bring the carriage behind you for me to ride?" Hermes asked, looking at the burdensomely luxurious carriage behind him.

The footman nodded. "Yes! That is right!"

Hermes checked the time on his pocket watch and said, "Then let's go right away."

When Hermes climbed aboard the carriage, the footman scrambled to get on the horse and set off.

The sea blockade was the basic framework of Hestia's operation. As Cheldeg held the final signature, Hermes couldn’t have refused the invitation even if he wanted. If Cheldeg put forth absurd conditions for the sea blockade, he would have to deal with the anger of not only Hermes but also fifty elders of the Crow tribe. There was even a chance that it might not end with the life of one mid-level representative. The entire Republic could be held accountable. Cheldeg waited for Hermes in his mansion, unaware of the tightrope he was walking on.