* * *

After about five days of sailing, the Knight Order entered the Principality of Snivec. The Mountains of Silence were the border between the Principality of Snivec and the Dunkelhai Kingdom, so they planned to stop in the Principality of Snivec to stock up before crossing the mountains.

They stopped at an inn, booked some rooms, and decided to spend the next morning on their own. Cadel stretched out on his bed and planned to wake up to a good night’s sleep, but Garuel’s unexpected arrival interrupted his sweet plans.

“You can at least drink alcohol with other subordinates.”

“I asked, of course, but Sir Van gave me a blank stare, Sir Lumen gave me a disdainful glance, and Sir Lydon said…… Ah, if it weren’t for the regenerative ability, he would have been able to show me the traces of the enormous frostbite. Anyway, they all rejected me.”

Garuel, smiling broadly, corrected the position of the eye patch he wore in place of his mask. Garuel was a renowned holy knight, but not one whose face was known to the common folk of foreign lands. If anything, his hood and mask looked more suspicious, and unless he was collaborating with other knights, there was no reason to hide his identity in a place like this.

Garuel dragged Cadel into a tavern called the ‘Snowy Fields’ Kettle’. As befits a northern country, the drinks were all strong, and they also sold hot drinks. Cadel didn’t feel like drinking, but he was freezing on the walk, so he ordered a hot toddy.

While they waited for their drinks, Garuel struck up a conversation.

“When did you learn black magic?”

“I haven’t learned it, but I’m going to.”

“……Is that even possible?”

“I told you. I’m living a life with a fixed end. With such a special fate, something like this is possible.”

He couldn’t be bothered to come up with an excuse, so he said it plainly, and Garuel gave him a strange smile.

“I can’t figure out how much I should trust that.”

“I won’t lie to you. It would only be a hassle to make things up since both of us have revealed our utmost secrets.”

Cadel tapped his fingers on the table and followed the clerk as he bustled about. Garuel looked at Cadel and ran his tongue slowly across his lips.

“Usually, one has to make things up to be attractive to others. However, the more honest my Knight Commander is, the more he attracts me.”

[Knight ‘Garuel Monzasi’ ’s favorability has increased by 2.]

[Current favorability: 68/100]

Cadel let out a laugh as if he was truly amazed at the system window that suddenly appeared. If Garuel’s favorability rating went up every time he talked nonsense before, it was understandable that he showed a high rating as soon as he joined the team.

“……What a consistent man.”

“Don’t you like a consistent man? I heard it’s quite popular.”

Cadel didn’t know who Garuel heard it from, but he didn’t think it was meant to be this kind of consistency. It was obvious that even if he scolded Garuel, he wouldn’t be harmed at all, so Cadel could only shake his head in disbelief

The warmth of the liquor seemed to make him drunk faster. Cadel cleared his throat, feeling his body warming up. His gaze fell on Garuel, who had already emptied his fifth glass. Garuel hadn’t even touched the whole chicken they’d ordered for appetizers. The reasoning was that eating would dull the taste of the alcohol.

“Drink in moderation and get up. You haven’t forgotten where you’re going tomorrow, have you?”

“Well, don’t worry, I’ll wake up fresher than you tomorrow, Knight Commander.”

“……Is it rude to be envious?”

“You might get angry and storm out.”

Garuel raised an eyebrow and gave him a stern look, and Cadel laughed, making a snorting sound. He leaned back in his seat, pushing his nearly finished drink forward. He didn’t have a drink to cure his hangover, so he’d have to save it for tomorrow.

While he was waiting for his subordinate to finish drinking heavily, he heard an unexpectedly interesting story.

“They say he’s back in Dunkelhai.”

“He?”

“I’m talking about the ‘Shadow Envoy’. I think a few people are already dead. The aristocrats who deserve to be tried can’t sleep at night. They seem to be attracting people from all over the place to be their escorts.”

“Hmph, if it’s really the Shadow Envoy, they’ll die even with the Shadow Knight Order as their escorts.”

The Shadow Envoy. Cadel’s half-closed eyes opened wide at the familiar ringing.

‘As for the Shadow Envoy, I remember it was Yozen’s alias……? It seems like he wasn’t in Dunkelhai from the beginning. I need to hurry.’

Yozen was born in Dunkelhai, but he was not a man of one place. Assassins by nature rarely put down roots in one place.

As Cadel listened to the story, he pursed his lips at a sudden memory.

“I don’t need your money, but I’ll remember your face.”

What did it mean to remember one’s face? After all, Cadel already knew Yozen’s face, so that made both of them even. If it had been someone else, he had unilaterally made his face known.

The strangely uncomfortable question was resolved with the help of an unexpected person.

“He’s famous, the Shadow Envoy. I’ve heard him a few times too.”

Cadel didn’t know how long he had been listening, but Garuel naturally started talking. He smiled softly at Cadel, who was looking at him.

“Is he famous?”

“That’s right. Isn’t he an assassin whose face no one has seen yet? I don’t know if he killed everyone he saw, or if he really didn’t show his face to anyone.”

“……Is that so?”

If so, it would be because he killed everyone who saw his face. That was probably what he meant when Yozen told Cadel not to open his eyes until the end. Even though it happened in the past, it gave Cadel goosebumps.

“He’s a great guy. Amazingly, he could assassinate so many nobles, even royalty, and still maintain his reputation. He may have had the backing of those who commissioned him, but the fact that he managed to evade their relentless pursuit is remarkable enough.”

“Are you saying he only selects nobles and kills them?”

“Strictly speaking, he kills trashy nobles, but only he knows the criteria, and I’ve heard he’s quite popular among the commoners, as he usually targets the lesser nobles.”

Is he like Robin Hood? Cadel, who had no interest in anything other than performance, shook his head at the new information from Yozen. However, Garuel’s next words were enough to make Cadel’s heart fall into the abyss.

“They say that a hand without a trace, like a shadow, touches their faces.”

“……Huh?”

“They look around and see no one, only the feel of the hand that touched their faces remains. It is said that this is a kind of stigma that he leaves behind, that those whose faces he remembers can die at his hands anytime, no matter where they are.”

“…….”

“Quite a tempting stigma, isn’t it? This is someone I would like to meet at least once.”

Garuel laughed in amusement, but Cadel couldn’t laugh at all. He felt a chill run down his spine as if a chill was coming from somewhere. The drunkenness that had been swirling around him was long gone.

‘Was there…… a setting like that……?’

That strange touch on his face was actually a death stigma, a threat to come and kill him at any moment. Cadel sincerely began to hesitate about recruiting Yozen.

‘Aren’t I going to get noticed for no reason and then die suddenly? Giving up now…….’

After a moment’s thought, Cadel ruffled his hair roughly.

‘No. If that’s the case, I’d rather have him on my side as an ally. He won’t kill me if he’s on my side.’

……He won’t kill me, right?

Finally, unable to control his rising anxiety, Cadel snatched Garuel’s drink and shoved it down his throat. He didn’t think he could bear it when staying sober.