Chapter 134 : Assassination - 2
Chapter 134: Assassination - 2
<Year 327, January 10.
-I survived until the final Game.
But ‘only I’ survived.
My Companions who had been with me until the Eighth Quest all died without even facing the Ninth Quest.
……Died? No, that wasn’t it.
They were murdered.
By Edgar Tyler. That damned bastard.
Edgar had stolen the first-place reward Invisibility Cloak from Kaid Bel.
It wasn’t merely something that hid one’s appearance—it was a fraudulent item that erased one’s very existence from the world.
With it, he leisurely came to the house of our Companions and assassinated them all.
The reason he didn’t kill me was so he could watch me suffer the next morning.
He even kindly left behind a letter.
-Your precious ones were all taken care of by me last night. Will you be alright for the next Quest?
From that day on, I no longer participated in the Quests for my own survival.
I participated solely to take revenge on Edgar.
And in the Twelfth Quest, I finally succeeded in sending that bastard to Hell.
But what remained for me?
All I had left was one Wish Ticket.
I used that Wish Ticket to beg for the revival of my Companions, but it was useless.
Magireta said this.
-This generation will be the end of your human world. I cannot grant a Wish Ticket request to revive individuals of a species that is destined for extinction.
Right. That was why Helena had asked not to revive Karin, but to let her be reincarnated as a human instead.
What should I wish for?
Should I reincarnate one of my Companions like Helena did?
Would there even be any meaning in that?
Everything ended in vain.
Everything…….>
I let out a deep sigh.
“Stupid Kaid bastard.”
“Yes? Why him?”
“It seems Kaid will have the Invisibility Cloak taken by Edgar. Edgar will use that Invisibility Cloak to assassinate us.”
At my words, my Companions’ mouths fell open.
Aina said,
“No, why on earth? How?”
“…….”
“The Invisibility Cloak is something that disappears from the world. To the point where even the needle I threw sliced through empty air.”
That was right.
That was why I had also tried to steal the cloak at the end of the previous Quest, but failed.
So I had never even imagined that someone else could take it away.
That was why I changed my thinking—rather than that, I should leave a good impression on Kaid and make sure he never became hostile toward us.
‘Just how did Edgar take it?’
Armelia said,
“There’s no way he really just dropped it on the street, right?”
“Puhaha. No matter what, that’s impossible. He’s not Aina.”
“I’ve already shed the idiot title, you know? Thanks to you.”
“Can’t you shut up?”
“In any case, we should go find him at once. Kaid Bel.”
I wanted to do the same.
I gripped the Compass and called up the map.
I searched for Kaid, but no red dot appeared.
On the off chance, I touched the Teleportation bead, but there was no reaction either.
After thinking for a moment, I spoke.
“As expected, it doesn’t work. Just as Magireta said, if he’s wearing the Invisibility Cloak, we can’t find him with the Compass or the Teleportation bead.”
“Hmm. That’s troublesome. If this continues, just as in the future you saw, we’ll all be assassinated…….”
“No. It’s not necessarily so.”
I shook my head.
Then I rummaged through my luggage and pulled something out.
My Companions’ eyes widened.
“T-That’s?”
“Yes. Shoes.”
The first-place reward I had once stolen from Edgar. Shoes.
A vicious item that permanently blocked the function of another first-place reward.
Until now, since we had monopolized most of the first-place rewards, there had been no occasion to use it.
Clap.
Aina clapped her hands and said,
“What? Then there’s nothing to be so serious about.”
“…….”
“If you stomp your foot while wearing those, you can permanently block it, right? The Invisibility Cloak’s function.”
“Yes. Though in that case, Kaid would be dragged to Hell.”
“What do we care about his circumstances? He’s the one who walked away from us of his own accord.”
That was true.
Of course, I didn’t dislike Kaid.
But as I always said, my top priority was always my Companions.
If I had to choose between my Companions and Kaid, I would choose the former without hesitation.
Silently, I put on the Shoes.
Then I stood up and muttered,
“I want to block the function of the first-place reward Invisibility Cloak.”
And I lifted my foot to stomp the ground.
But at the very last moment—
I stopped.
My Companions looked puzzled, but only Armelia seemed to realize something and nodded.
“I think I understand your anguish, Mason.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re someone full of affection, who treats others’ affairs as if they were your own.”
“No, that’s not it…….”
“If the Invisibility Cloak loses its function, Kaid will be dragged before the MVP and suffer humiliation. You can’t bear to watch that happen.”
“Not at all.”
Armelia’s eyes widened.
Karin burst out laughing and said,
“She gets a bit stupid whenever it’s something related to Mason.”
“Not as much as you.”
“Ah, come on.”
“Your Highness the Princess, get a grip too. Mason always puts us first.”
After saying that, Aina seemed to grow embarrassed herself and her face flushed red.
Armelia also lightly cleared her throat, looking awkward.
Benjamin asked,
“Then why did you stop?”
“I just realized how Edgar managed to take the Invisibility Cloak.”
“Hmm?”
Everyone’s gaze focused on me.
Lowering my foot, I continued,
“He must have used the same method I’m about to use.”
“What do you mean?”
“He used the first-place reward Shoes to block Kaid’s Invisibility Cloak function. Once the Invisibility Cloak’s function disappeared, he could move beside Kaid using the Teleportation bead he possessed.”
“…….”
“After stealing the Invisibility Cloak like that, he would commit suicide while still wearing the Shoes. Then, at that very moment, the function would return to its original item.”
And then, after putting on the restored Invisibility Cloak…… he assassinated my Companions.
Everyone nodded as if they understood.
But soon, Sienne sharply asked,
“But Edgar doesn’t have the most important thing—the Shoes. We took them.”
“He must have pulled them through a Credit Right again.”
“What? He already pulled it once……. Can one person pull the same first-place reward multiple times?”
“No. I don’t think that would be possible. But he has an accomplice, doesn’t he?”
“Ah. Louis!”
Yes.
Edgar would probably ask Louis, ‘Please pull in the shoes reward for me as well.’
Since Louis was deeply infatuated with Edgar, she would grant that request.
Tap. Tap.
Armelia tapped the table with her index finger and said,
“I see. That certainly seems to be the correct line of thought.”
“…….”
“Then all the more reason for us to seize the function first, shouldn’t we? And then immediately move to Kaid once he reveals himself and retrieve the cloak……”
“That would normally be correct.”
I continued with a crooked smile.
“But I came up with a better idea.”
“Hm?”
“Think about it. Just by committing suicide while wearing the shoes, Edgar can repeatedly take away or return the function of the First-place reward he desires.”
“But that’s impossible for us.”
“Yes. Because we are not immortal. In other words, our shoes are single-use, whereas his shoes are a reward that can be used infinitely.”
Aina tilted her head.
“So?”
“So…… since the shoes can only be used once, we might as well use them in a far more useful way.”
“And how exactly?”
“Listen.”
I lowered my voice and explained the plan.
The mouths of my Companions fell open as they listened.
Soon, their faces grew somewhat excited as they spoke.
“As expected of you.”
“With that crafty brain.”
“If this works well, we might even finish Edgar off right here. There’ll be no need to wait until the Twelfth Quest.”
“I’m in favor. There’s some risk involved, but it’s worth trying.”
“I agree as well.”
“Yes. Let’s completely finish that bastard off while we’re at it. I never liked him from the start.”
It seemed they all thought it was worth a try.
I was relieved that we were of one mind.
At that moment, the voice of the Diary Book was heard.
[You have established your strategy.]
‘Yes.’
[Then please take a look at this.]
The Diary Book flipped swiftly.
<Sudden Quest. Ensure the survival of Armelia Kerr Dneroum from ‘Assassination’.>
<Sudden Quest. Ensure the survival of Aina Noel from ‘Assassination’.>
<Sudden Quest. Ensure the survival of Berseum Ferux from ‘Assassination’.>
<Sudden Quest. Ensure the survival of Sienne Katrin from ‘Assassination’.>
<Sudden Quest. Ensure the survival of Benjamin Noel from ‘Assassination’.>
<Sudden Quest. Ensure the survival of Karin Oblang from ‘Assassination’.>
An Assassination Quest, huh.
‘Does it mean we are to prevent an assassination? Or…….’
Does it mean we are to assassinate Edgar?
I grinned and rubbed my palms together.
“Then shall we wait? For Edgar to fall into our trap.”
Edgar’s scheme matched exactly what Mason had predicted.
He first spoke to Louis.
“It truly pains me to make such a request of you, but…….”
“Just say it.”
“Could you perhaps pull in the future First-place reward, the shoes?”
Louis gave a faint smile.
For some reason, she had expected that kind of request.
“So you want to block the First-place reward function of that fellow called Kaid.”
“Yes. I’ve been trying to move using the Teleportation bead since earlier, but it wouldn’t work. It seems the First-place reward he obtained this time conceals him so that he cannot be found even with the Teleportation bead.”
“So first you block the function with the shoes…….”
“And then fly straight to Kaid’s side.”
Edgar had thought it would take considerable persuasion.
If she failed to win First place in the Quest for which she pulled in a reward using a Credit Right, she would become Magireta’s eternal plaything.
For Louis, who had once fallen into Hell, that meaning would weigh even more heavily.
Yet unexpectedly, she nodded without hesitation.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
“Yes? Are you truly okay with that?”
“Well…… ahem.”
She slightly turned her head and continued.
“Husband and wife are supposed to help each other, aren’t they?”
“…….”
“To begin with, it bothered me that you were the only one taking on the risk. In fact, this makes me feel relieved.”
Edgar’s eyes flickered.
Louis assumed he was moved.
But.
‘This person seems even more foolish than when he was living with me.’
Or was this actually for the better?
As expected, the act of playing the prince on a white horse had been worthwhile.
Louis immediately summoned Magireta and requested that she pull in the shoes reward.
Magireta stared at Louis for quite some time without responding.
With an expression that clearly said she found her utterly pathetic.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Lady Magireta?”
“You……. Huu. Never mind. What could I possibly say.”
“……?”
“Here. The shoes.”
She tossed the shoes with a flick.
Louis caught them and immediately held them out to Edgar.
“You’re giving them to me?”
“I think you’ll make far better use of them than I would.”
“Thank you very much. As expected, you are a wonderful wife.”
“Oh, stop it.”
Edgar let out a faint snicker as he put on the shoes.
Then he asked Magireta,
“By the way, Sister. What is the name of the First-place reward that Kaid obtained in the previous Quest?”
“As if I would tell you that…….”
“Louis. Would it be possible to request a trade? Wagering your height.”
Once again, he casually made the request to Louis.
And once again, she nodded.
“Yes. I still have plenty of height left. Would about twenty meters do?”
“That should be more than sufficient.”
“Alright. Lady Magireta, I’ll give you twenty meters of my height, so please tell us the name of that First-place reward.”
Magireta pressed her forehead and waved her hand dismissively.
After taking the height from Louis, she answered,
“It’s called the Invisibility Cloak.”
“Edgar, you heard that, right?”
“Of course.”
After setting the target as the Invisibility Cloak, he was about to stomp his foot.
But at the last moment,
his intuition suddenly stirred.
‘Would Mason not know?’
That I would make this move.