Chapter 161 : Chapter 161
Chapter 161. A Telegram from the Dice Shop
It was an afternoon no different from any other.
KREEEE!
A griffin’s cry echoed across the peaceful sky of Raviedel.
Although it was a dangerous monster, not a single territory resident was afraid. Instead, they looked up at the sky with delight.
“Wow, it’s the Prince!”
“Looks like he’s checking this side today!”
In any other territory, it would have been an emergency, but in Raviedel, the appearance of a griffin was an ordinary occurrence.
More precisely, the presence of their lord riding a griffin had become part of everyday life.
“Let’s go to the opposite side today.”
After circling the territory, Radel spoke to the griffin and changed direction. Today, he planned to visit the valley beyond the lake.
It was a place he had always climbed with meat slung over his shoulder in order to tame the griffin, but he had never checked what lay beyond it.
KREEK!
As Radel headed toward its territory, the griffin suddenly snorted, then spread its wings confidently.
FLAP!
Since it always patrolled this area, it seemed far more confident in its flight.
The griffin crossed the sky at a much faster speed than before.
After passing the flat land between the valleys where Radel used to grill meat for the griffin, and following the winding stream upward, a massive waterfall came into view in the distance.
‘Just as I expected.’
Ever since he had discovered the griffin here, Radel had assumed there must be a waterfall somewhere in Raviedel.
Still, he had not expected how it would feel when his guess proved correct.
A real Secret Training Ground actually existed, and it was inside his own territory.
Feeling a quiet sense of awe, Radel flew toward the waterfall with the griffin.
ROOOOAR!
The Secret Training Ground he had used most often at the 8th Prince’s Palace.
The waterfall that concealed it stood right before Radel’s eyes.
Because he had always looked from the inside out, he had never realized how enormous it was.
Seen from the outside, the waterfall was far more magnificent than he had imagined. Spray from the falling water turned the surroundings hazy like mist.
Green moss grew on every rock, adding to its mysterious atmosphere.
KREEEE!
The griffin stretched its neck and cried out loudly, as if it wanted to say something.
“You remember too? This is where we first met.”
KREEK!
Seeing the griffin’s intense reaction, Radel realized it was not reminiscing about their first meeting.
“Ah, you’re telling me to hurry up and grill the meat.”
KREEK!
This time, it seemed he had understood correctly.
ROOOOAR!
With Radel on its back, the griffin carried him to the cave hidden behind the waterfall.
It was the spot where the griffin always received grilled meat from Radel at the Secret Training Ground.
“Even if you nag, I don’t have any meat on me right now.”
Radel was telling the truth.
Jerky was one thing, but how could he possibly carry raw meat around?
That was when it happened.
DING.
[An unknown magic interferes with the user’s perception.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
“Huh?”
[Condition: Secret Training Ground user]
[A hidden space is revealed.]
[The Secret Training Ground reveals itself!]
Radel muttered in surprise at the unexpected situation.
“You can enter from here too?”
It seemed the Secret Training Ground could be accessed not only from the 8th Prince’s Palace, but also from the waterfall.
Fortunately, judging by the conditions, it was not something just anyone could enter.
“Well, then I can’t exactly refuse to give you meat.”
Jumping down from the griffin’s back, Radel went inside the waterfall. The magic circle drawn on the cave floor and the wooden sword he had used for training were all still there.
Radel passed through the secret passage and arrived at the 8th Prince’s Palace.
He planned to briefly stop by the kitchen and quietly take some meat.
“Your Highness?”
That plan would have worked, if not for the Chief Attendant appearing in the corridor he thought would be empty.
“I thought you were in the territory. When did you return?”
As the Chief Attendant approached in surprise, Radel gave a vague excuse.
“I had something to check, so I stopped by briefly.”
“Actually, I was just about to send a telegram to Your Highness. I suppose this is why you came.”
The Chief Attendant handed Radel the telegram he was holding.
Radel checked it while pretending to remain calm.
The telegram was from the Dice Shop in Marcellent.
Something happened at the shop. Please come as soon as possible. - Tunia Fiore
If Tunia had phrased it like this, something serious must have occurred.
In any case, the start of the term was not far off.
Radel decided to return to Marcellent a little earlier.
“Is the floor over there finished?”
“Yeah. What about inventory?”
“Just finished.”
After closing for the day, the Dice Shop employees were cleaning up the store.
Jake, the large-built one, wrung out the mop he had used to clean the floor and put it away, while the quick-moving Sam finished organizing the inventory and closed the storage room.
Hailey, the leader of the employees, was recording the day’s sales and purchases in the ledger.
The other employees were also handling the shop’s work smoothly and efficiently.
After finishing cleaning the second floor and coming downstairs, Tunia spoke to her younger siblings.
“If the ledgers are done, let’s head out.”
As usual, they worked together to finish closing and stepped outside.
Just as Tunia finished locking up the shop and turned around—
WHOOSH!
SWISH!
PING!
Suddenly, various hidden weapons flew out of the darkness.
Although they had changed professions from assassins to Dice Shop employees, all of them still retained the sharp instincts they had honed during their time in Black Fang.
As the employees tried to pull out their own concealed weapons, Tunia stopped them with a raised hand.
“I’ll handle this.”
Holding her siblings back, Tunia deflected every incoming weapon with just a single dagger.
CLANG!
BANG!
After blocking the attack in an instant, Tunia spun her dagger and hurled it into the darkness.
THUD!
“Ghk!”
A sharp intake of breath came from a hidden attacker.
Was it over?
Tunia’s eyes pierced the darkness.
Behind the masked attacker’s face, she saw the dagger she had thrown embedded in the wall, trembling.
But it was too soon to relax.
There were enemies behind as well.
PING!
Tunia flicked away an incoming poison needle with her dagger.
There was more than one attacker hiding in the darkness. Realizing this, Tunia let out a short breath, and at that moment, more hidden weapons rained down.
A coordinated assault by the masked attackers.
Although they concealed themselves, every strike was razor-sharp.
CLANG!
While blocking the assault, Tunia eventually lost her grip on the dagger.
After hesitating for a moment, instead of drawing another weapon, she spoke.
“That’s enough.”
Amazingly, all attacks stopped at once.
It was as if they had been waiting for her words.
Tunia stared into the darkness and asked,
“I’ve seen your skills. What do you want?”
One by one, the masked figures emerged from the shadows.
Appearing without a sound, true to their nature as assassins, they knelt on one knee before Tunia.
“Please accept us. We want to work at the Dice Shop.”
Seeing this, the Dice Shop employees groaned.
“Again?”
“How many days has it been already…….”
In truth, this was not the first time the employees had faced such a situation.
Masked figures would appear from the darkness, demonstrate their skills, and then ask to work here. It had happened repeatedly.
Tunia pressed her fingers to her temple.
“Haa…….”
As the acting president, it was nothing but a headache.
Seeing her reaction, the employees gripped their hidden weapons and asked,
“Big Sis, should we just get rid of them?”
“Sis, we’ll take care of it.”
Tunia replied coldly.
“Watch your mouths and put those away. How long has it been since we washed our hands? Don’t say things like that so lightly.”
At her words, the former Black Fang siblings quietly tucked their weapons back onto their bodies. Anyone could tell they were far from ordinary.
Feeling the headache worsen, Tunia spoke to the masked figures.
She needed to sort this situation out at least a little before Radel arrived.
“I’ve contacted the boss, so he’ll be here soon. But before that, you need to be prepared as well.”
Prepared?
The masked figures, still kneeling, focused their attention on her.
Tunia set her expression with resolve.
“If you really want to work here that badly…… there’s a condition.”
Radel arrived in Marcellent one week before the start of the term.
After rushing there without pause, the first thing he did was head straight to the Dice Shop.
Tunia and the employees greeted him as if they had been waiting.
“Boss, you’re here!”
“You have no idea how long we’ve been waiting.”
“It’s been a while, Boss.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while, everyone.”
Radel nodded and looked over the employees.
Since they were all former assassins, he had assumed nothing would faze them, but everyone looked exhausted.
Even Tunia, once a top-class assassin, could not hide her fatigue. The slight furrow in her brow was proof.
The employees eagerly explained the recent events to Radel.
“……So you’re saying our shop has become famous among assassins?”
“That’s right.”
Tunia nodded.
Radel found it hard to believe, but it did not seem like they were making things up.
“People who want to wash their hands clean want to work here?”
“Yes. When you grow up doing this kind of work, even if you want to live a normal life, you don’t know how. Then they found us.”
At that, several employees standing behind raised their hands.
“Boss, this is probably because of us. While working extra shifts, we must have caught the attention of people in the same line of work. We should have been more careful. We really have no excuse.”
They explained that while working with the information guild, they had crossed paths with assassins they recognized from the past.
Radel’s eyes gleamed at that.
‘That means they’re skilled enough to recognize them even in disguise.’
They were certainly tempting talents. It was also true that the shop was short on hands.
Although apprentice priests and Holy Knights helped with work at the House of the Undead, the growing number of customers meant there was always a labor shortage.
“But we can’t just take in anyone. What do you think, Tunia? Among those who came, was there anyone usable?”
He trusted Tunia’s judgment as someone who had spent a long time as an assassin.
After a brief pause, Tunia slowly spoke.
“Honestly, I thought things would get complicated, so I set a condition. I was buying time until you arrived.”
“A condition?”
When Radel asked, Tunia nodded.
“I told them that if they wanted to live a new life, they had to settle everything properly before coming.”
“Settle what? Don’t tell me……?”
As far as Radel knew, assassins working for an assassin’s guild were usually bound to the guild by contracts that held their lives.
The only ways out were death, or somehow terminating the contract.
That had been the case for Pirenzo, and for Tunia as well.
With a cold expression, Tunia said,
“It’s only natural. Without that level of resolve, they can’t work here.”
Radel found himself taken aback.
The condition was far heavier than he had expected.
Wasn’t that basically telling them to dismantle an entire guild before coming……?