One Year Before
Deep inside the jungle, the Little Robbers were having a surprisingly peaceful day.
The children had managed to steal some food.
They gathered together near their tree house, happily discussing what they would eat for dinner.
"We can make today's dinner with this!"
"Yeah!"
"There's enough food for everyone!"
The children laughed happily.
For them, surviving another day was already something worth celebrating.
But then—
A familiar presence appeared.
Miyuki Hanado walked toward them.
The children's smiles disappeared.
Miyuki looked at them calmly.
"Hey, kids."
"Today, I'll kill you all."
The Little Robbers froze.
Miyuki continued speaking in her usual calm voice.
"Because of this, I can demand more money from Egan."
"So..."
"Sorry to say."
"Play time is over."
She paused.
"Don't worry."
"I won't kill you all directly."
"If I did that, I wouldn't have any fun."
"First, I'll capture all of you."
"Then I'll hang you upside down from a tree."
The Little Robbers immediately tried to run.
They already knew they couldn't defeat Miyuki.
But their attempt was useless.
Miyuki moved.
Her speed was almost impossible for the children to follow.
One by one, she caught them.
Within a short time, all of them had been restrained and hung upside down from trees.
Miyuki looked at them.
"Ahh..."
"What a beautiful scenario."
"I love that."
Her voice remained calm.
Miyuki was normally a woman of few words.
But when she was in front of children, she deliberately tried to make things more entertaining for herself.
The Little Robbers desperately begged.
"Please!"
"Let us go!"
"Please don't kill us!"
Miyuki ignored their pleas.
She took out a chain and began striking them.
"Huhhh..."
"It's really fun to strike you."
She paused.
"Okay."
"Play time is over."
"Get ready for death."
Miyuki reached for her knife.
But before she could do anything—
BOOM!
A powerful flame ball suddenly flew toward her.
Miyuki's eyes widened.
She immediately moved aside.
The flame passed by her.
Miyuki had managed to dodge it, but she had needed to use considerable effort.
Then a woman wearing ordinary Traveller-style clothes appeared.
She looked at Miyuki with anger.
"How cruel are you?"
"You were torturing children!"
"Don't you have any shame?"
Miyuki looked at her calmly.
"I do my job."
"Who are you to interrupt me?"
The woman answered,
"I interrupted because..."
"I don't want to see this."
Miyuki narrowed her eyes.
"Huhh."
"A normal Traveller is challenging me?"
She studied the woman carefully.
"She's not normal."
"Travellers aren't supposed to be able to use magic."
"They're people who collect information and sell it."
Miyuki looked at her.
"Who are you?"
The woman answered,
"My name is Liriya."
"I come from Gargolos Village."
"I am a Traveller."
She looked toward the children.
"I warn you to leave now."
Miyuki didn't seem impressed.
"Huhh."
"I don't care about your warning."
Liriya pointed toward the Little Robbers.
"What are these kids doing?"
Miyuki answered simply,
"These kids are my targets."
"My customer wants them dead."
"Hope you understand."
"And now..."
"Go."
The Little Robbers began shouting.
"Please help us!"
"Please save us!"
Miyuki became irritated by their shouting.
She turned toward them.
"Stop shouting, you brats!"
Liriya immediately shouted,
"Hey!"
"Stop!"
"Release them!"
"Otherwise, I'll attack you with my fireballs!"
Miyuki looked at her.
"Huhh."
"I don't care."
"Try it."
Liriya's eyes narrowed.
"You are an Assassin."
"Am I right?"
Miyuki calmly answered,
"Yeah."
Liriya thought for a moment.
"Hmm."
"She's an Assassin."
"Not a normal Assassin."
Liriya lowered her voice.
"Hey..."
"Please stop striking them."
"Release them."
"I don't want to fight with you."
Miyuki stared at her.
"Huhh."
"I think I should finish you first."
In an instant, Miyuki rushed toward Liriya.
She attacked.
But Liriya dodged.
Miyuki's attack missed.
Liriya immediately moved backward to create distance.
Then she raised her hand.
"Ground Burn Flames!"
Suddenly—
The entire ground around them erupted with flames.
Fire spread across the jungle floor.
Miyuki tried to move away, but the ground was covered in flames.
She had no choice.
She jumped upward and landed on a tree.
Miyuki looked down.
"Hey."
"What are you doing?"
Liriya answered,
"I would save those kids anyway."
She raised her hand again.
Flames gathered around her.
Then—
A gigantic Fire Phoenix appeared.
The fiery creature spread its wings and rushed toward Miyuki.
Miyuki's expression changed.
"What?"
The Fire Phoenix crashed toward her.
Miyuki dodged with all her effort.
However, she couldn't completely avoid it.
The Phoenix's wings struck her.
Miyuki was injured by the impact.
She landed on the tree and steadied herself.
"You..."
Miyuki stared at Liriya.
"I didn't think she was this powerful."
"I thought she was around Warden level."
"But no..."
"She's powerful."
Before Miyuki could continue the battle, she suddenly heard something.
Footsteps.
Multiple people were approaching.
Miyuki recognized the sound.
An Adventurer group was coming toward their location.
Her expression became serious.
"This is bad."
There were already several problems.
First—
Liriya was attacking her.
Second—
The entire ground was covered with burning flames, meaning Miyuki couldn't simply land anywhere.
And third—
The biggest problem...
Adventurers were approaching.
Miyuki understood the danger.
Assassins concealed their identities.
They didn't openly reveal their faces or announce themselves as assassins.
Only in extremely critical situations could an Assassin risk exposing their identity.
This wasn't such a situation.
Miyuki didn't want the approaching Adventurers to see her face.
"I think I should skip this."
"Otherwise, I'll get trapped in this bad situation."
Miyuki looked toward Liriya.
"Huhh."
"I'm leaving for now."
"But..."
"When I see you again, I won't hesitate to kill you."
"Because of you, I failed my mission."
Liriya didn't react to the threat.
"Huhh."
"Okay."
"Try harder next time if you can."
Miyuki turned away.
Then she disappeared into the jungle.
After Miyuki Left
Once Miyuki was gone, Liriya immediately released the Little Robbers.
The children quickly gathered around her.
"Thank you so much!"
"You protected us!"
"You saved us from that woman!"
One of them hesitated before asking,
"If you want something from us..."
"We'll give it to you if we have it."
Liriya shook her head.
"No."
"I don't want anything."
"You are all children."
"You're only around ten or eleven years old."
"Why would I want something from you?"
She looked at them calmly.
"And I didn't save you to gain something."
"You can go now."
"And always be careful."
"Okay?"
"Bye."
The Little Robbers thanked her again before leaving.
Liriya didn't waste any more time.
She continued walking straight through the jungle.
She had somewhere else to go.
She was a Traveller.
And she had many things to do.
Information was waiting to be discovered.