Spire-like buildings stood behind a thick gray rampart.
The solid walls and sophisticated buildings belonged to Cameloon, one of the greatest merchant cities on the continent. It received over ten thousand visitors a day.
Raon and Dorian were looking at Cameloon’s walls from their horses just like when they visited it five years ago.
“This is already the fourth time we’ve come here. That’s so many.”
Dorian licked his lips. His hair was dyed brown.
“Indeed.”
Raon nodded. His hair and eye color had both been changed to black.
Since the public was told that they were going back to Zieghart, they changed their hair and eye colors to deceive the others, and they were also wearing windbreakers as clothes.
“Let’s go.”
Raon bobbed his chin at Dorian and started riding his horse towards Cameloon.
“It’s good for me because I can replenish my supplies, but why are we going to Cameloon?”
“We are sightseeing.”
“S-sightseeing, you say?”
“Yes. That’s why you should stop being so nervous.”
“Uuh…”
Dorian was confused, but Raon simply tapped his shoulder before showing his fake identity card to the guard at the gate.
You aren’t sightseeing at all!
Wrath sat on Raon’s shoulder and wrinkled his nose.
There’s no way someone as evil as you would come here for no reason. You must be plotting something. You have so many damn secrets despite being a mere weakling.
‘Hmm, I was planning to eat lots of delicious food today, but…’
R-really?
‘Yes.’
Wrath briskly stood up and Raon chuckled.
‘I’m planning to have some fun.’
Raon nodded and entered Cameloon.
“Welcome! The fruit is in a great state today!”
“You idiot! You are supposed to bring that over here!”
“Can’t you make it cheaper for me? We are both professionals here.”
“That price already leaves me with no profit!”
Cameloon was as lively as always. Their enthusiasm reached Raon’s skin, and he wanted to start swinging his sword to train right away.
“What are you waiting for?”
Dorian tilted his head once he passed inspection to enter the city.
“Wait a moment.”
Raon didn’t immediately start moving, unlike the last time. He looked around with a puzzled expression on his face, pretending it was his first time in Cameloon.
He rolled his eyes for about thirty seconds, and the sound of small approaching footsteps could be heard from the side.
“Hello.”
“Hmm?”
He looked to the side upon hearing the cheerful voice, and a girl with her blue hair tied into a ponytail was nodding at him.
“Is this your first time in Cameloon?”
“Yes.”
Raon spoke bluntly and nodded at the child.
“In that case, shall I guide you into the city? We are professional guides for the tourists called Blue Cloud.”
The girl pointed at her vest, which had a picture of a cloud on it.
“I can guide you to anywhere you want, including must-eat places, attractions, and even symbolic locations at a small cost of a silver coin!”
“What’s your name?”
Raon opened his mouth while meeting the girl’s clear eyes.
“My name is Pine.”
The girl smiled cheerfully and tilted her head slightly.
“I’ll try it out.”
“Thank you!”
Pine raised her hand with a smile on her face.
“Where do you want to visit first? We have an ongoing festival right now, and I recommend going there first!”
“A festival…”
Festival means food! And food means festival!
Wrath pulled Raon’s sleeve while telling him to go to the festival already.
“Alright, let’s start with the festival.”
“Yes! Please come this way!”
Raon nodded, and Pine pleasantly responded then started to move right away.
‘She looks just like Yua.’
Her clear voice and cheerful steps reminded him of Yua when she used to work in the pub.
“E-erm…”
Dorian came up next to him while Raon was following Pine.
“It’s not our first time coming here though. Why are we doing this even though it’s our fourth time…?”
He quietly whispered to ask for his reason.
“She needs to make a living.”
Raon pointed at the blue cloud symbol on Pine’s back.
“That emblem is a sign that she’s an orphan who makes her own money.”
“Ah! I-I didn’t know about that.”
Dorian scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
“Since we are going to be sightseeing anyway, it’s better to have a guide, don’t you think?”
“That’s true!”
Dorian smiled pleasantly and nodded. He must’ve liked the idea because it was a good deed.
That’s what happened…
Wrath wrinkled his mouth while looking at Pine.
Give her twice as much money as you are supposed to! She’s already working at her age, what a laudable girl!
‘Haa…’
Raon sighed. He couldn't understand how a demon king could be so softhearted.
Raon kept walking while talking with Dorian and Wrath, and he arrived at the festival in no time.
“This is the festival!”
Pine raised her hand and pointed at the festival. Almost four whole blocks were being used for it.
“This is a lot bigger than I thought!”
Dorian dropped his jaw.
“It’s because we are celebrating the founding of the city! That’s why we have so many people, events, and types of food here!”
“I see.”
Dorian patted Pine’s head and smiled.
The King of Essence can smell chicken skewers from the left. They are using salt and soy sauce as spices! The fragrance of grilled pork is spreading from the right! Center! There is ice cream at the center!
Wrath figured out which food was in which direction as if he were analyzing an enemy’s location and darted his tongue in and out. His ability to identify food was even better than a dog’s sense of smell.
‘Haa…’
Raon couldn’t see any wrath from him. He was just a demon king of gluttony by any measure.
“Where do you want to start?”
“Haa…”
Raon briefly sighed at Wrath before he raised his head.
“Let’s start with the food.”
“Yes!”
Pine smiled cheerfully and waved her hand.
“This way!”
* * *
Night fell over Cameloon.
The sky was getting darker and darker, but the darkness couldn’t reach the city because of the heated festival.
“I’m sorry.”
Pine lowered her head at the two travelers she guided.
“I can only work until six at night according to our facility’s rules. I have to go now.”
“Six at night?”
The brown-haired man with a round overall shape tilted his head. He was the one who’d been talking to her kindly.
“Yes. The director believes that kids should have enough sleep and rest. That’s why we aren’t allowed to work after the evening.”
“Your director must be a nice person.”
“Yes! She’s really kind to us!”
Pine smiled brightly while she nodded.
“Alright, thank you for your work.”
The tall man with black hair and black eyes gave her the guiding fee. But the number of silver coins in her hand was two instead of one.
“This is too much. You even treated me today…”
“It’s fine. You can have it.”
He said that he was giving her a tip because he was satisfied with her work.
“Goodbye.”
The brown-haired man waved his hand with a smile.
“Thank you!”
Pine smiled cheerfully and bowed. She wildly waved her hand at them before heading to the exit.
‘They are both nice people.’
Her two clients, who seemed to be travelers, were both polite and kind towards her even though she was just a child.
They bought extra food for her each time they bought something from the stalls, and she managed to fill her stomach, which hadn’t happened in a long time.
They even packaged some snacks for her friends, which was really encouraging.
‘I wish all the clients were like them…’
Pine left Cameloon and walked for a while, thinking about the happy day she had.
She walked for about an hour, and she finally stopped in front of an orphanage called the Cloud’s House.
“You are finally back.”
An old woman was sitting on a chair in front of the orphanage’s entrance with a lamp in her hand. Her gentle smile gave her a kindhearted appearance. She was the director of Cloud's House.
“How was your day today?”
“It was fun.”
Pine cheerfully responded. However, her eyes suddenly lost focus the moment she entered the Cloud’s House. Her eyes completely stopped, as if she had ceased being a human and became a doll instead.
“I see, I see. Good job.”
The director patted her back, and she started walking towards the orphanage with slightly trembling feet.
Her cheerful steps at Cameloon were nowhere to be found, and she was as stiff as a marionette.
‘Ah…’
Pine’s lips trembled.
‘It’s here again.’
She could never get used to that sensation even though she experienced it every day. She was getting goosebumps because it felt like someone else was controlling her body. In fact, it wasn’t just her body, since even her mind was being manipulated by someone else.
Pine entered the director’s room regardless of her own volition. She pressed a button on the wall to her right and a hole appeared under the desk. Pine entered the hole and walked downstairs without any hesitation.
A huge cavern could be found at the end of the long stairway, and children around Pine’s age who were wearing cloud vests were lined up inside. Their faces looked so sad—as if they could start crying at any moment.
Men wearing black clothes and masks were standing at the front and back of the children. And the one standing at the rear bobbed his finger at Pine.
“Number 45, come over here.”
“Yes.”
Pine quietly responded and walked up to him. Number 45. That was her real name, not Pine.
Clank.
Number 45 put down the money she earned from the guide work.
“Do you have anything else?”
She took out the snacks that the travelers gave her from her pocket.
Crack!
The man in black shattered the snack with his heel and looked at Number 45.
“Tell me about them.”
“Black hair, black eyes. 187 centimeters tall, 88 kilograms, right-handed, swordsman, lots of openings. Brown hair, blue eyes, 178 centimeters tall, 79 kilograms, right-handed, swordsman, no openings.”
Number 45 recited the information about the two travelers she met during the day. She didn’t investigate them nor tell him about them because she wanted to. She was simply doing so because she was educated to do so.
“Can you kill them?”
Number 45’s head automatically started the simulation upon hearing the man’s question.
“I should be able to eliminate them by guiding them to Gaviel’s pub with the steep stairs and attacking the brown-haired man from behind, then cutting the black-haired man’s
Achille’s tendon before he reacts.”
Number 45 responded with the result of her simulation.
“Good job.”
The masked man nodded, and Number 45 went to the center of the cavern and joined the other children. Even though she was so happy when she returned from work, her frowning face looked like she was about to cry.
Anyone could tell that sad things happened to her because of how natural her expression was.
“Number 2.”
The masked man at the front called Number 2, and the children suddenly curved their mouths into bright smiles even though they’d been crying until a moment ago.
It was the happy smile that Number 45 had shown during the guiding duty.
Number 45 swallowed nervously while maintaining her perfect smile.
‘How long do I have to live this way?’
Daytime was the only time she could be free, but it was impossible to run away.
Rather than that, she couldn’t even think about running away. Such an option didn’t exist to begin with.
‘I want to die…’
Number 45 wished for her death while smiling as brightly as the sun.
* * *
* * *
After expression training and assassination training, Number 45 finally returned to her room at daybreak. Even though it was called her room, it was an extremely small space with nothing but two old beds.
While she was sitting at the creaking bed, the door opened and a red-haired girl entered the room.
“Number 86.”
Number 45 quietly called out to the red-haired girl and bobbed her hand.
“What’s up?”
Number 86 staggered as she moved next to her.
Number 45 put her hand in her pocket without showing any emotion and took out a snack. She was keeping it separate to prevent the masked man from smashing it.
“You can have it.”
She divided the snack into half and gave it to Number 86.
“C-can I really have it?”
“Of course.”
Number 45 nodded. Number 86 took the snack with trembling hands and put it in her mouth.
“Hmm…”
Her expression didn’t change even though the sweetness was filling her mouth. It was because their emotions were being controlled, and they weren’t even allowed to smile freely.
“You can also have this.”
“But…”
“I don’t need it because I already ate a lot today.”
Number 45 also gave the other half to Number 86.
“It’s true. Take it.”
Number 86 had been using the same room as her from the first time she arrived at the orphanage, and they’d been comforting each other ever since. Number 45 wanted to give it to her because she wouldn’t have been able to put up with their life if it wasn’t for Number 86.
“Thank you.”
A tear rolled down her face from her fixated pupils.
The two girls hugged each other and fell asleep.
* * *
Raon licked his lips while looking at the orphanage below from a high hill.
‘They haven’t changed.’
He had already finished checking the underground facilities with his aura perception and the Evil Eye of Wrath. The Robert bastards were training the children even more cruelly than twenty years ago.
‘Haa… Damn you, Derus Robert.’
Watching them reminded him of his previous life, and his heart tightened.
They are sons of bitches!
Wrath shouted at the orphanage. A powerful wave of wrath was bursting from him.
Young devils are excused even in Devildom! How can they treat such young and weak things like that?!
‘That’s why I told you that the real villains are something else.’
Raon tapped on Wrath and clenched his back teeth.
“S-so that’s not actually an orphanage, and…”
Dorian bit his lip tightly while looking at the orphanage.
“Yes. It’s a farm to create young assassins.”
Since he couldn’t tell him that the facility belonged to Derus, he simply said that it was a facility to raise assassins.
“Huff.”
He exhaled violently. His face was filled with disbelief at the fact that the cute girl who guided them to the festival with a bright smile was actually being trained as an assassin.
“It wasn’t her own volition.”
“Wh-what else…?”
“They are controlling her through brainwashing. She’s made to observe people to practice her perception in the daytime, and they teach her assassination techniques at night. It’s such a nasty and dirty method.”
Raon’s smile was so cold that it almost felt frightening.
“B-by the way, how do you know all of that, vice squad leader?”
This guy is definitely not telling you. He has so many secrets.
Wrath twisted his mouth and frowned.
“You know I escorted Lady Encia to look for the Saint along with the Heavenly Blade division, don’t you?”
Raon sat on the ground and looked at the orphanage.
“Of course! I remember! That’s when people started calling you the Frostfire Sword of Valor.”
Dorian quickly nodded.
“And I killed Temas back then.”
Temas was the doctor and Derus Robert’s secret vassal. He followed Raon and attacked his party after he attempted to take over House Yonaan while pretending to cure Encia had failed.
“Ah!”
So that was when you heard about it!
“I got this information from him.”
He wasn’t lying. He did get the information about the new nest for assassins in Cameloon from torturing him back then.
‘And I finally got the chance.’
He wanted to save the children as soon as he heard about it, but he had to suppress his urge because he didn’t know Derus’s location.
‘However… I can do it now.’
Derus was heading towards Balkar with people from House Robert. It was the perfect opportunity to destroy the facility since he was far away, and he wouldn’t be able to easily make his move.
“If you go to the left room after entering the orphanage, there’s a spot that connects to the underground under the floor.”
Raon pointed at the director’s room where the stairs leading to the underground were located.
“You should go there and protect the children.”
“What about you, vice squad leader?”
“I’ll take out the trash from outside.”
The ones in charge of education were inside the building, and the ones in charge of protection were outside. Since there was a Master among the protectors, Raon had to take care of them.
“Only use the swordsmanship that anyone can learn so that they learn your identity.”
“Why? We are doing a good deed.”
Dorian tilted his head.
“Because we are currently hiding our identities. We might get attacked by one of the Five Demons once again if we get exposed.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
Dorian nodded while fiddling with his brown hair.
Raon examined the orphanage once again with the Evil Eye of Wrath.
‘There are even more children than I thought.’
Their number was too high despite their excellent ability to control their emotions and assassination skills. Raon could assume that they would be planning ‘that training’ soon enough.
‘It wouldn’t be surprising if they did it tomorrow.’
Once ‘that training’ was over, the children’s brains would be completely devoured by Derus Robert’s brainwashing. It was necessary to destroy the facility before that happened.
“When are we attacking?”
“In two days.”
Raon’s eyes turned darker.
‘I need more information.’
It was necessary to perfectly analyze how many people there were, how powerful they were, and what the best method to protect the children was before he made his move.
‘I also need to confirm Derus’s location.’
Derus was heading towards Balkar. He was supposed to reach Balkar in two days, and confirming his location would make the assault safer.
“Haa…”
Dorian sighed deeply. He seemed nervous about it.
“Thinking about saving the children from the assassins makes me so nervous.”
“You should return to the inn and rest in that case.”
“What? What about you, vice squad leader…?”
“I’ll watch them a bit longer before I return.”
“I-I’m also going to stay here.”
“No.”
Raon smiled faintly and shook his head.
“One person is enough for the job. You should return and rest. That would be more helpful.”
Raon shook his hand, telling him to go back and sleep.
“Ugh, please return before you overexert yourself.”
“Okay.”
Dorian nodded since he had no other choice, then returned to the inn.
Raon kept using the Evil Eye of Wrath and his aura perception to observe the orphanage after Dorian left.
‘The shift must be every twelve hours. It’s the same as before.’
It was a new facility, but it still operated the same way. The lookouts and the shifts were all happening according to Raon’s expectations.
‘Everything else is fine because there’s nothing unexpected about them. However… What should I do with the children?’
It was a relief that many of the children were alive because they hadn’t gone through ‘that training’ yet, but Raon had no idea who he should entrust them to after he got rid of the facility.
‘What should I do…? I can’t bring them with me.’
The children weren’t perfectly brainwashed yet. Since a bright future was lying ahead of them, he wanted to entrust them to a trustworthy person.
‘A trustworthy person… Those two are the only options right now.’
Raon made his decision and turned around.
“You are there, aren’t you?”
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the bush behind the hill.
“Merlin.”
“Yes!”
With a cheerful voice, a yellow rabbit that had a similar coloration as the ground jumped out of the bush.
“Haa…”
Raon covered his eyes and sighed. He was just wondering, but she was really there. He was the one who called her, but it still gave him the chills.
Uwah…
Wrath’s lips were shivering.
D-don’t tell me, are you planning to entrust the children to that mad woman?
‘No, I’m not.’
Raon shook his head and walked up to Merlin, who was twitching her nose.
“I have a request.”
