[Raul's POV]
Several days have passed since my battle with the Holy Knight. The Temple Authority has now officially placed me on their most-wanted list. Everyone on the continent now knows that I am a Performer from the group known as The Masquerade.
Currently, I am on the outskirts of a village to perform a Soul Jump. A few minutes ago, the artifact ring given to me by Puppeteer glowed, signaling that Keeper wished to meet with me. After finding a suitable spot, I closed my eyes and activated the artifact. An intense dizziness washed over me. Not long after, I opened my eyes to find that everyone had already gathered.
I walked closer, the eyes of everyone present fixed upon me.
"What? Is there something strange on my face?" I asked them.
"Hey, Joker—how old are you really?" Tamer asked, looking curious.
"Eighteen. Why are you so curious about it?" It seemed he still couldn't believe someone as young as I could kill a Holy Knight.
"Bah, you must be lying! I wouldn't be surprised if there's an old man behind that mask!" Tamer barked, refusing to accept it.
"I confirmed it myself when I recruited him," Puppeteer interjected. "There is no mistake; he is a student of Grunbelt Academy."
Hearing this, I glared sharply at Puppeteer. Why are you spreading my private information, you Tsundere old man? I'll get you back for this.
"And aren't you a toy salesman in the City of Wisperia?" I retorted.
Hearing my words, Puppeteer looked shocked, unable to believe I knew where he had been living all this time.
"Tamer has a circus in the Greco Republic, Dancer is a performer in the Land of Kuwalid, Singer is a vocalist in the Kingdom of Britonia, while Painter is a professional artist in the Novgarad Federation—and finally, Keeper is a librarian in the Venetian Republic."
After I finished listing the origins and occupations of every Performer, they all stood there in stunned silence, their mouths agape. Everyone then turned their attention toward Keeper.
"No, I never told him anything regarding all of you personal information," Keeper said, shaking his head. "We had better end this and start the meeting immediately."
Keeper then explained the condition of the children from the La Nuevas orphanage. They had been moved to a hiding place within the Grand Duchy of Wiena.
"Puppeteer, Joker, I have a new mission for you both," Keeper said. "First, the assassination of an Archbishop, and second, to find a Cursed Child."
Keeper explained that this Archbishop was planning to sweep through all the orphanages in the Grand Duchy of Wiena; our task was to eliminate him so the operation would fail. Secondly, we had to find a Cursed Child who was to be auctioned on the black market. Keeper noted that the auction would take place at the end of the month.
After delivering the missions to the other Performers, Keeper concluded the meeting. Puppeteer and I agreed to carry out these tasks separately; he would handle the Archbishop while I would recruit the Cursed Child.
Opening my eyes, I saw the beauty of the blue sky and felt the cool breeze hitting my face. The weather looked incredibly calm and comfortable.
But I knew this was merely the Calm before the Storm.
Taking the watch from my pocket, I saw it was already four in the afternoon. It was time to return to the Fortress City of Cataluna and conclude our duties. I walked toward the village center where Ariel usually healed the residents, but she wasn't there. The villagers said she was with the children by the river on the outskirts of the village.
When I arrived, I saw Ariel sitting against a tree, surrounded by children. It seemed she was telling them a fairy tale. Without waiting for her to finish, I approached them.
"And when the Dragon kidnapped the Imperial Princess, this young man vowed—" Ariel's words stopped as she noticed my presence. "Raul? Is it four o'clock already?"
"Exactly. Let's hurry back to the city," I told her.
However, just as Ariel was about to stand up, a young boy stepped in front of me, spreading his arms wide.
"I won't let you take Sister Ariel from us!" the boy shouted. "Sister was telling us a story—why do you always come here to take her away!"
For some reason, this brat reminded me of the noisy Brian. I wondered if he would grow up to be the same kind of man. Ariel walked over and stroked the boy's hair, taming him instantly.
Cih, just because a beautiful woman petted you, you change immediately. No mistake—this kid will become Brian 2.0 someday.
"Raul, can't you wait a few more minutes?" Ariel asked, looking into my eyes. "At least until I finish telling this story to the children."
To be honest, I was doing this intentionally to make Ariel think I disliked these children.
"I can't, Ariel. If we don't reach the city before nightfall, it will be difficult for the horses to see the road," I replied.
Ariel could only sigh in resignation at my words. She then said goodbye to the children, promising to return in a few days. We walked toward the village gate where a cart filled with vegetables and fruits, covered by a tarp, was waiting. Ariel and I sat in the front seat, and I whipped the two horses to begin our journey home.
"Did the villagers ask you to bring their harvest?" Ariel asked me.
"That's right. They want to place this in a warehouse at the city market," I answered.
The two of us talked about our internship activities while enjoying the sunset on the horizon. Looking to my side, I saw Ariel also enjoying the beauty of the setting sun.
"Hey, Ariel," I called to her.
The platinum-haired woman turned toward me, looking at me with those beautiful pink eyes.
"What is it, Raul?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Don't get too close to the villagers, especially those children you teach," I said.
"Huh? Why?" Ariel asked, her expression and voice shifting to a hint of anger.
"If something happens to them, you will lose focus on the mission and take reckless actions."
In truth, what I was doing was Reverse Psychology. The more you forbid someone from doing what they enjoy, the more likely they are to do it more often. I needed Ariel to have a strong emotional connection with the villagers. The goal was to awaken her courage and mentality when a disaster struck.
"No—why are you trying to control me and make me do something I don't like? It's not your right to dictate who I associate with, is it?" Ariel said with a pout.
She then turned her back to me, seemingly intending to ignore me for the rest of the journey. Upon arriving in the city, I dropped Ariel off at the Temple area. She didn't even say goodbye as she usually did. Afterward, I took the cart to the city market warehouse.
Once my task was done, I went straight to Melissa's tavern. I saw several of my members drinking and talking with one another.
"Ah, Captain Raul? Just finished your shift?" Melissa asked as she noticed me sitting at the bar.
"A glass of Margarita, please, Melissa."
She didn't ask further and began mixing the liquids in the shaker. I watched her prepare my drink and thought. Siena di Reginossa has long black hair with orange eyes, while Melissa has maroon hair with green eyes.
According to Black's report, she frequently travels to a building on the outskirts of the city. He said not only does Melissa enter that building, but several mysterious people also do so routinely every three days. Most likely, Melissa is one of the agents under the command of Siena, who serves as the Head of Intelligence for the Venetian Republic within the Empire.
If my suspicion is correct, their purpose in this city is to spy on the conditions of the Margraviate of Cataluna, which borders the Republic's southeastern territory. Could they be planning a major operation for when war breaks out in this region?
Actually, I could expose and capture all the spies here, but I won't. My goal is to make them confident in the data they gather through this intelligence operation, only to counter them at the most unexpected moment. Catching them now would only make them wary and cause them to cancel their attack. I want to catch a much bigger fish when the war truly begins.
"Here, one glass of Margarita is ready," Melissa said, handing me the drink.
I took a sip, and the fatigue from my duties instantly vanished as my body felt refreshed.
"Melissa..." I called to her.
"Yes, Captain Raul?" she asked, curious as to why I suddenly called her name.
"Don't travel outside the city at night in the coming days," I said, taking another sip of the drink. "I have a bad feeling that a disaster is about to strike this region."
Melissa only nodded, looking confused by my words. I finished my drink and paid with a few silver coins.
The Vampires... they still haven't made a move since awakening that dragon in the City of Grenaut. In truth, I have spoken with Emilia about a follow-up attack by the Vampires and suggested an evacuation for the villagers.
However, she replied that it couldn't be done. The residents loathe being evacuated and leaving behind their homes, as well as their work in the gardens and farms. After the first evacuation, the Vampires didn't attack immediately. It seems they were waiting for a moment like this to strike. Without any proof, I cannot convince Marquis Fran to order an evacuation.
"I hope the casualties won't be too many."
***
[Noble Vampire Vilmore's POV]
Ah... what a beautiful full moon night...
In the world where the Demons currently reside, we would never find the beauty that exists in this world.
"Lord Vilmore."
I heard a voice calling from behind. Turning around, I saw a female Vampire kneeling before me.
"Nuna, have you gathered enough Magical Beasts and monsters?" I asked her.
Our current plan is to create massive chaos in this region. The goal is to lure the Hero into moving here. After a group of Heretics caused a commotion in the city, the Temple Authority has added much stronger security than usual. We would have difficulty attacking that city directly now. There would be too many strong individuals blocking our way.
"The preparations will be finished in a few days, My Lord. After that, we can carry out the plan," Nuna replied.
Nuna's task is to summon the Magical Beasts and monsters she has gathered to create chaos in this area, while my task is to find the Hero when he begins to move here. I must succeed this time; if not, the humans will be more vigilant than ever before.
There are two teams sent to this world: my team, tasked with killing the Hero, and another team tasked with ensuring the project we are building runs smoothly so that the Invasion of the Demon Race can take place in a few years.
Leading that other team is the daughter of the Demon King herself—Lilith ur Luciferus