The day began quietly inside the Assassin Club.
A young woman wearing ordinary city clothes entered the building.
She was Miyuki Hanado.
Miyuki walked through the Assassin Club with her usual calm expression.
She looked tired.
"A normal and ordinary day."
She sighed.
"Huhhh..."
"I didn't sleep properly because I was drinking alcohol."
Miyuki continued walking until she reached the bar.
There, a familiar customer approached her.
His name was Egan Reptofill, one of Miyuki's regular customers.
"Oh, Miss Miyuki."
"How are you?"
Miyuki looked at him.
"I am well."
"So, these days..."
"How is your business going?"
Egan sighed.
"Not well."
"Why?"
"Because those little children rob me every day."
Miyuki raised an eyebrow.
"Huhh."
"So why didn't you hire any assassins?"
Egan hesitated.
"Huhhh..."
"I was scared to give that job to another assassin."
Miyuki looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because a cruel Dark Shade Rank Assassin already rejected my job."
"After that, I lost my courage to give the job to another assassin."
He continued explaining.
"You know that I always give my jobs to you."
"I never tried to give my jobs to other assassins."
"But when I finally tried to hire a Dark Shade Rank Assassin..."
"That assassin rejected me."
Miyuki nodded.
"Huhhh."
"I see."
She extended her hand.
"Okay."
"Now give me the photographs of those little robbers."
Then she added,
"And listen."
"Today I need ten gold coins."
Egan looked surprised.
"Ten?"
Miyuki nodded.
"You know that I usually need five gold coins from you."
"But today I need ten."
"Are you agreeing or not?"
Egan immediately nodded.
"I agree."
"Don't worry about the money, Miss Miyuki."
Miyuki nodded.
"Good."
Egan handed the photographs to her.
Miyuki looked at them.
A faint, unsettling smile appeared on her face.
"Okay."
Assassin Club Bar
Not far away, Julian Arkwright was sitting at the Assassin Club bar.
He held a glass of fruit juice in his hand.
His attention was directed toward Miyuki and Egan.
He watched them silently.
Celixsa's Home
Meanwhile, at another location, Celixsa Thornhart was dealing with an entirely different problem.
Her cousin, Logan Pangio, had come to complain about Julian.
Logan looked frustrated.
"Your boyfriend behaved terribly toward me!"
"He is a terrible person!"
"He broke the bones in my left hand!"
"You should say something to your boyfriend!"
Celixsa immediately became irritated.
"Shut up, Logan."
"How dare you say bad things about my boyfriend?"
"Julian already told me everything."
"Especially how you used Julian's big brother's name."
"Now please get lost."
"Go home."
Logan frowned.
"Hey!"
"Don't you understand?"
"Come on!"
"I'm your cousin!"
Celixsa looked at him coldly.
"Huhh."
"Your mother is waiting for you."
"So go home."
"She's worried about you."
Logan shrugged.
"Huhhh."
"I don't care."
"I'm an assassin, after all."
"My mother knows that I'm strong."
Celixsa's expression became even colder.
"Shut up."
"Remember, Logan."
"You and the Hougens were created by me."
"The members of Hougens believed that you could become a great captain."
"But your language, behavior, and actions have proven that you aren't capable of being a leader."
She sighed.
"Huhh."
"I think it was my mistake to give you the leadership position."
"Tomorrow, I'll destroy the Hougens."
"Just wait and watch."
Logan's expression changed.
"Hey!"
"Don't say that, please!"
Celixsa continued.
"Your mother was right."
"I made a big mistake by helping you enter the Assassin Club."
"Now get lost."
Logan lowered his head.
But inside, anger was building.
"This Celixsa..."
"She has always been the woman I hated most."
"If she remains alive, she'll remove me from the Assassin Club."
A dark thought crossed his mind.
"Then I should kill her."
"Even if she attacks me..."
"She'll hesitate because I'm her cousin."
Suddenly, Logan pulled out a knife and attacked Celixsa.
"Die!"
"You bastard!"
"I won't give you the chance to destroy my life!"
Celixsa easily moved aside.
The attack missed.
She looked at him with disappointment.
"How shameless are you?"
"You don't even know how to attack properly."
Logan continued attacking.
But Celixsa effortlessly avoided every strike.
Even while defending herself, she continued teaching him.
"Your knife-holding style is good."
"But your speed isn't good enough for an assassin."
"Hmm."
"You need more training."
She paused.
"But it's a pity..."
"You won't be getting any more training."
"The papers for you to quit your assassin job will arrive tomorrow."
Logan's eyes widened.
Before he could respond—
Celixsa kicked him.
BAM!
Logan crashed against the door.
Celixsa looked at him.
"Please get lost."
"Otherwise, I won't hesitate to kill you."
Logan immediately opened the door and ran away.
As he escaped, he thought,
"Ohh no..."
"I underestimated her."
"She's extremely strong."
"I couldn't even land a single strike on her."
Deep Jungle
Meanwhile, far away from the Assassin Club, Miyuki Hanado was walking through a deep jungle.
She was searching for the Little Robbers.
They were a group of children who survived by stealing things such as food, rings, and other items from people—including Egan.
Miyuki walked quietly between the trees.
"There's a high chance they're staying at their home."
"And I'm already close."
She suddenly noticed something.
A large tree stood in front of her.
At the top was a small tree house.
Miyuki looked upward.
"Huhh."
"I didn't think they made their home in a big tree."
She stared at the enormous trunk.
"So, to reach them..."
"I'll have to climb the tree."
Miyuki looked upward again.
"This tree is really huge."
Suddenly—
She sensed someone approaching.
Miyuki immediately hid herself inside some bushes.
A few moments later, several little robbers came out of the tree house.
Miyuki watched them carefully.
Then her expression brightened slightly.
She had found them.
"Good."
"This will save me time."
"I can deal with them easily."
Miyuki stepped out from the bushes.
"Little kids."
"How are you?"
"I'm really happy to see you."
The children immediately froze.
Their faces became frightened.
They knew exactly who Miyuki was.
In the past, Miyuki had already defeated several members of their group.
They knew that she was far stronger than them.
Previously, whenever the Little Robbers escaped, Miyuki didn't bother chasing all of them.
There was a reason.
Egan only paid her for the people shown in the photographs.
If she eliminated the entire group immediately, she would lose the opportunity to receive further payment from Egan.
Egan could only photograph four Little Robbers at a time.
Whenever he secretly tried to photograph them, they noticed him and ran away.
Because of that, Miyuki had previously dealt only with the four people Egan identified in his photographs.
But this time, Miyuki had made a different decision.
"Maybe I should eliminate all of the Little Robbers."
"If I do that..."
"I can demand more money from Egan."
Miyuki took another step forward.
The Little Robbers backed away nervously.
However—
Miyuki's plan would not go as smoothly as she expected.
Because before she could act...
A Traveller suddenly appeared.
And the Traveller stood between Miyuki and the Little Robbers.