Does the Assassin Girl Dream of the Mana Doll?

By the time the sun had fully set, they had reached the outskirts of the forest.

There they began with setting up the camp in the shade of trees, just enough to hide themselves from the road.

“Sorry, Miss Letty… If it weren’t for me, you could have gotten here faster by leaping.”

“…No, it’s dangerous to teleport back now… and I can’t leave Ellie behind,” Letty responded.

Despite Ellie’s quiet protest, Letty couldn’t help but feel something wasn’t right.

This was the second time the two of them had camped together, so they quickly finished preparing and divided their duties.

They took turns sleeping under the same blanket again….

—

The next morning, they set out early and continued heading east along the road.

They took a break near a river around noon, lightly washing their hands and feet.

Just that small act lifted their spirits, a thought that crossed Letty’s mind once again.

By evening, they arrived at a city surrounded by walls. It was the central city of the Tandram Duchy, positioned as if it were guarding the royal capital. One could even call it the capital of the duchy.

The strict expressions and upright postures of the gate guards reflected the high level of discipline.

As they approached the gate, Letty pulled out a small card and presented it to the guards.

It seemed to be some sort of identification, as the guard nodded approvingly.

“And her?” one guard asked.

“She’s the subject of a protective escort. I’m taking her to her fiancé’s house in the royal capital,” Letty replied as planned. Ellie smiled brightly as if to confirm the statement.

The guard, now smiling in return, allowed the two of them to pass into the city without question.

After walking through the streets for a while, Ellie broke the silence.

“That’s really convenient, isn’t it? That card from the Adventurer’s Guild, right?”

“Yes. Didn’t they have these in your time?”

“No, back then, we had enough soldiers and firepower that such things weren’t necessary… actually, it was overkill.”

In the age of ancient magical civilizations, monsters were no longer a significant threat.

However, with the sudden collapse and disappearance of the Kalshbana Empire, Humanity found itself on the brink of extinction.

Then Humanity somehow banded together, using what little magical knowledge remained to defend against the monsters, forming settlements that gradually grew into villages and eventually countries.

During this process, armies were formed, but before they were fully organized and trained, these forces were turned against each other in human conflicts. This led to new problems: monsters once again began attacking villages and towns, forcing the citizens to defend themselves.

After sometime groups of volunteers started forming to hunt monsters for rewards.

These individuals became known as adventurers.

The Adventurer’s Guild was established as a mutual aid organization for these adventurers, managing requests and rewards. With proper procedures and screenings, one could obtain the status of an adventurer, which allowed them to enter most cities simply by showing their guild card.

“Well, it is quite handy… especially for someone like me.”

People became adventurers for various reasons: to seek fame, money, righteous justice, personal growth, and more.

Among them were people like Letty, from the underworld, who obtained the status as a cover for their true activities. These people rarely engaged in actual adventuring. Those in the know would often warn others to stay away from anyone who seemed too skilled to be a newcomer but was rarely seen around the guild.

“Wouldn’t it be useful for me to have one as well?” Ellie asked.

Of course, Ellie, who had been a weapon over 1,500 years ago, had no form of identification. It was something Letty knew would eventually be necessary.

“Yeah… About that let’s think about it once things somewhat settle down.”

For now, Letty wasn’t sure if she could use the contacts in the Assassin’s Guild to help.

For now, she decided to focus on the road ahead.

—

They moved off the main road and into an alley, going further into a rundown area. It wasn’t quite a slum yet, but it was a significantly neglected part of town. Eventually, they reached a shabby house. Letty deliberately made her footsteps loud as she approached the door.

She knocked twice near the top, then once harder near the bottom. She turned the knob once to the right, then to the left, then to the right again before slowly opening the door.

“… Old Bob, you in?” Letty called out.

“Ghost!! You’re safe! Well, I knew you’d be fine!” An elderly man in his 60s greeted them with a wide grin from behind the counter.

Old Bob, who was also a pawnbroker, was also one of the guild’s informants. Since Letty had opened the door following the prearranged procedure, indicating she was a guild member, the atmosphere inside was relaxed.

Letty gave him a slight nod and approached the counter, with Ellie following behind.

“Hm? And who’s this young lady?”

“Oh, well… it’s work-related, so I’m not sure how much to explain…”

Considering the future, Letty wanted Ellie to stay, but she doubted Bob would discuss anything sensitive in front of an outsider. She didn’t want to reveal too much about Ellie’s existence but, reluctantly, decided to explain the situation.

“Wow… something like that happened… Even seeing it with my own eyes, it’s hard to believe, but you’re not one to joke,” Old Bob said, looking astonished at Ellie before nodding in understanding. He offered them both chairs.

“If you’re safe, does that mean… did they come here too?” Letty asked Old Bob

“Yeah, two of them barged in… I had to deal with them.”

Despite his age, Old Bob was still muscular and sharp, hardly looking like a man who had passed his prime.

“Two, huh… sounds like they underestimated you as well.”

“What’s that mean?” Bob asked.

“…They only sent three bandits with swords after me as well.”

“That’s it? They really underestimated you. If they were serious about taking you down, they should’ve sent at least five or six with ranged weapons.”

“What?”

Ellie was stunned by the casual conversation between two people, as if it was normal for both of them to fend off multiple enemies on their own

“Oh, don’t be fooled by Bob’s appearance—he was once the best around… now he claims to be the second-best.” Letty explained to Ellie

“That ‘claim’ part was unnecessary. You’re the only one I wouldn’t stand a chance against.”

“Oh man, these two are scary” Ellie mumbled, retreating slightly.

Bob laughed heartily but soon grew serious.

“By the way, what happened to Ted?”

“…Ted… didn’t make it…”

“…I see…”

Bob muttered quietly, looking up at the ceiling. Silence filled the room for a while.

“I should’ve taught him more…”

“Yeah… but at least we talked a bit before the end.”

Letty then relayed her conversation with Ted, as well as the information she had gathered from interrogating one of the men.

“They had such detailed knowledge of the job and even knew where our hideouts were. And, if they have ties to the Thieves’ Guild but aren’t being taken seriously, that narrows it down…”

“Do you have any information, Bob?”

“Yeah, the one who ordered the job is in the royal capital. He spent quite a bit of mithril silver, though most of it was pocketed by the local thug boss.”

Bob sighed heavily. Letty furrowed her brow.

“…Hans?”

“Probably. The thug boss is a guy named Gordo. Hans used to be his lackey, and it looks like that still hasn’t changed.”

Silence fell again. Ellie, who didn’t know who Hans was, was left feeling anxious.

“It’s been six days since I left the city… I should’ve been gone longer. It’s been a while since I’ve been away for this long…”

“They must’ve timed it perfectly…”

Bob stared at the ceiling, and Letty looked down at the counter. Realizing what they were thinking, Ellie fell silent too.

“Greg’s probably a lost cause by now…”

**Next time: Requiem for a Villain**