319 Chapter 319: Let Everyone Down

"Eh…"

I hesitated for a moment, and then frowned.

"Um…you do realize that the national tournament is about to begin, right? Is this mission extremely urgent? Can't it wait until after the tournament?"

Kureha leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. A Machiavellian smile formed coldly over his pretty face, as if she had decided to take on the role of the bad person today. What the hell? Seriously? Why did she need to do that?

"Actually…no, it can't. I'm very sorry for doing this to your team, but we'll need you to pull out of the tournament."

"Then I'll convey my apologies as well. I'll have to reject the mission."

"Even though people's lives are at risk?" Kureha countered. She stared at me, but I returned her gaze evenly. "You are friends with the late Troy King, aren't you? Then you of all people should know how important it is to stop these fanatics, and the murderers they employ. To prevent the further loss of innocent lives."

"Miss Kureha, there is no need to play the guilt card or hero card on me. I'm not stupid. If I don't take the mission, you'll offer it to someone else. And I'll be frank, I know that you won't be entrusting a mission of utmost importance to a student like me, especially if it involves so many lives. At best, I'll just be a volunteer helping out the other people that you have already hired or plan to hire, but even if I do not participate, my absence will not make a lot of difference. Especially since you'll find other people to fill the gap eventually."

Cecilia giggled and patted Kureha's bare shoulder.

"I told you that Richard's a smart guy. It won't be easy to trick him."

"Aw…" Kureha moaned in defeat. "And here I thought I could appeal to his sense of justice!"

"I also have a sense of responsibility toward my teammates. I can't just ditch them right at the beginning of a tournament and run off for a mission by myself."

"You…are certainly different from Troy," Kureha agreed, nodding her head. "If it was Troy, he wouldn't have hesitated…especially if the mission concerned his brother, Tyrant King."

"Troy will be missed." Cecilia sighed. "He was a legend…a one of a kind, whose strength and bravery are unparalleled among those in our generation. To lose such a prodigy in such a fashion will be a huge blow to the Federation."

"If you're asking me to take Troy's place, or to replace him, then I'll tell you frankly that I can't," I said bluntly. "I am not Troy. I am nowhere as talented or powerful as him. No one can ever take his place. Especially not someone like me."

"Brother Richard, you think too poorly of yourself!" Adrian protested. I shook my head.

"No, I'm just being realistic. Besides, I will do the things that I can do…and I hope I'll be able to help in ways that Troy wouldn't be able to accomplish. I am not Troy, I will never replace him…but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit around and do nothing. I will help out in my own way."

I narrowed my eyes determinedly.

"And one of those ways is to ensure that my team does well in the tournaments…and to make sure I don't let down my teammates by abandoning them."

"Good answer." Cecilia nodded in approval. She cast an annoyed glance at Kureha. "And don't worry about it. Kureha is just pulling a prank on you. We don't need you to actually pull out of the tournaments. In fact, we actually need you to stay in the tournament for as long as possible…in other words, we also require you to ensure that you don't get eliminated. Make sure your team gets past the qualifiers and do well in the knockout stages."

"…huh?"

Now this was an entire 180 degree. While I was gaping at Cecilia, Kureha burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that she ended up tumbling off the couch and rolling on the carpeted floor clutching her stomach and hammering the ground.

I held up both hands and held my head, looking as confused as Jackie Chan when he was trying to comprehend some foreign Internet meme.

"Someone, please explain to me what's happening? And no jokes, please. No more pranks. I want the truth."

"Sorry…" Kureha gasped. "I just couldn't help it. I needed to rip off Divian."

"Who the hell is Divian?!"

"You ought to know her. She's from Battle Frenzy." Of all people, it was Cecilia who gave the reply.

I groaned and massaged my forehead. "Okay, okay. Enough of that Battle Frenzy nonsense. So what exactly is this mission? I thought you said it has something to do with the Assassins Guild. So why do I need to remain in the tournament for as long as possible?"

"We heard that the Dark Church might make their move during the national tournament. With so many teams from so many academies from all over the Federation congregating in one place, it's the ideal situation for the Dark Church to commit a terrorist act and inflict maximum casualties to ruin the Federation. They will definitely take this chance to act. And from our intelligence agents, the Assassins Guild is still under their employ."

"So they plan to attack the participants in the tournament." I scratched my head and nodded in understanding. "I'm guessing that you want me to help keep an eye out for them and thwart their plans if necessary."

"That's right." Cecilia smiled, pleased that I comprehended her intent so quickly. "Since you've fought them before, you're probably the one in our generation most familiar with their modus operandi. That's why we felt that we can count on you."

I rubbed my forehead, feeling a knot of tension building up behind it. That was some pressure there. "…I understand. I'll do my best."

"Thank you. That's all we expect, really."

"Knowing Brother Richard, he may take this chance to wipe out the Assassins Guild!"

I glared at Adrian. The kid expected too much of me. He reminded me of Harvey Deng, though I prayed that the two would never meet. I shuddered to think what would happen – it was entirely possible the both of them would start up a fan club.

"I can't do that. But I will do my best to stop and apprehend whatever Assassins I encounter." By stopping, I meant I would kill them in self-defense, as I did those Assassins who tried to kill me. Honestly, I would have killed Anastasia if she forced my hand, but it was more through sheer dumb luck that I knocked her out instead of outright killing her, and Feng Hai showed up opportunely to take her off my hands.

"Excellent. Then the contract is as good as signed." Cecilia nodded in approval. While she gave me the stuff to sign, she continued to brief me. Conjuring a holographic screen, she called my attention to a huge map that displayed the Global Federation.

I watched the floating, holographic map, fascinated.

"Uh, this is…?"

"I've highlighted the cities where the qualifiers are supposed to take place," Cecilia explained. Indeed, there were several cities that were tinged in weird colors. "Sadly, even my intelligence network doesn't know which city you will be assigned to for your qualifier match, but suffice to say, this portion will emphasize on teamwork. Instead of individual battles, you will be tasked to accomplish a goal together. That's all we know for sure. I'll send you a copy, but suffice to say, I'll leave you in charge of the city you're assigned to."

I cocked my eyebrow and pushed my glasses up as I studied the colored cities. "You don't seriously expect me to watch an entire city by myself, do you?"

"No," Cecilia admitted. "Just do the best you can and watch over your team…"

"Just hand it to him straight," Kureha interrupted and turned to me, her expression hard and ruthless. "I'll be blunt, Richard. I'm sure you'll figure it out anyway. Your team…you and your friends are bait. The Assassins Guild recognize you as a threat because of your multiple run-ins with them, and they will most likely target you. Furthermore, most of your friends in that team have also fought Assassins before. If I'm not mistaken, you and your friends survived against the Umbra Assassin Rei and his disciples. The Assassins Guild will see this as an affront, an embellishment on their honor. They will seize this opportunity to correct it…and target your team."

I rose to my feet with a scowl. "If that's the case, you shouldn't be telling just me about this. You should have invited the whole team and let them know."

"Hold on." Cecilia raised a hand, looking concerned. She glanced around, as if to confirm something, and then nodded. "Don't forget, this is the Assassins Guild we're talking about. They have eyes and ears everywhere. It was already risky contacting you in this manner. I'm sorry, but I request that you keep this to yourself, at least until the qualifier match itself. We can't afford to have any leaks."

"If the Assassins Guild know that your team knows, and they are prepared for an ambush, they will likely change targets and attack the other teams in the qualifiers instead," Kureha explained, her ruthless façade disappearing and being replaced by an apologetic expression. She then gestured all around us. "This place is secure, we had our teams sweep the place to ensure there are no bugs or nobody listening in. the walls are warded with silence enchantments, and even the hotel staff can't hear the details of our conversation."

"It would have looked extremely suspicious if your whole team showed up here," Cecilia agreed. "And when you return, take care not to leak this out unless you have no choice. Let your team know once the qualifiers begin, and when your team is deep within the…location they choose to place you."

From the way they were speaking, they seemed aware that we wouldn't be conducting urban warfare, or the Assassins would definitely overhear if I told my teammates the moment the qualifiers began. Then…the qualifiers were most likely taking place in the wilderness outside the cities, huh? That made sense. Any fighting inside the city would disrupt civilian life and cause trouble for the poor residents.

Furthermore, I recalled how Feng Hai conducted that special intensive training camp where he basically threw us out in the forest to complete missions. You know, the one where my friends and I had to fight Crimson Spiders in their nest? Don't tell me Feng Hai and his trainers had already foreseen this, and were aware of what kind of qualifiers this year's tournament would hold?!

Either that, or the leader of the Silver Wolves was a visionary with uncanny precognitive abilities.

"I understand."

As much as I hated this, I had no choice but to accede to their request. No wonder they approached me directly and went through the trouble of having me meet them here, in Stuart Hotel. They didn't want this getting out. They informed me because they trusted that I would prepare the appropriate countermeasures and lead my team preemptively against the Assassins – especially since I was the one with the most experience against them.

"The Federation will employ mercenaries to keep watch over the students," Cecilia continued. "But as you will be the Assassins' most likely target, we thought we should inform you, and you can prepare. I know it will be harsh on you, to not be able to tell your friends, but given that you are the vice-captain of your team, you should know their abilities very well, and devise a strategy that will allow them to quickly adapt to the situation and adjust accordingly. Just don't leak that strategy until the qualifiers themselves."

"…I'll do my best."

Heaving a sigh, I nodded reluctantly. It still irked me that I had to keep this from my friends for now, but I at least understood the reasoning. Yue Chu, in particular, would blabber this out, and Craig was too direct and touchy – he would give us away eventually. Only Harrison could particularly be trusted to keep this a secret, but…as Cecilia and Kureha pointed out, the Assassins had eyes and ears in this city. Even if the Assassins weren't present themselves, they most likely had support staff and intelligence agents to gather information for the actual Assassins to make the strike.

"Speaking of which…we are under the pretense of something in order to arrange this meeting without looking too suspicious." Kureha grinned mischievously, glancing at Cecilia, who sighed heavily. The Sword Saint, on the other hand, looked as if she was enjoying this too much. "Go on, Cecile, tell him."

"I will if you don't want to!" Adrian piped up, but Kureha glared at him.

"You keep quiet!"

"…all right." Adrian fell silent sullenly. Cecilia gave him a sympathetic glance, but she made no move to help him. Instead, she looked squarely at me.

"We're making use of certain dumb rumors to camouflage our meeting."

"…dumb rumors?" I repeated, unsure of where this was heading. Cecilia gave me an apologetic expression, before looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Um, well…apparently, there are rumors that I wish to engage in a romantic relationship with you."

"That scoundrel, Hei Gui, certainly thinks so!" Kureha giggled, only to fall into silence when Cecilia glared at her. "Well…you don't have to worry about him. He's currently warded in a psychiatric institution."

"At least we're not going along with those stupid clichés of young arrogant masters from powerful and rich clans sending Assassins after the protagonist just because," I muttered under my breath.

"Well, Hei Gui might be one extreme example, but he's…just one of many rich and powerful young masters who are interested in wooing Cecile." Kureha glanced at her good friend, who was clutching her head in dismay.

"They can try, but they won't succeed."

"They all want to marry into the Stuart family, or in the case of the other Great Families, establish a connection to form some sort of alliance." Kureha then pointed at me dramatically. "So this is where you come into play."

"Oh, come on…" I groaned when I realized what she was hinting at. However, before I could protest, Cecilia smacked Kureha in the back of her head before turning apologetically toward me.

"Don't worry. It's not what you're thinking at all." She rolled her eyes. "This isn't a manga or an anime. I'm not going to use that as a ridiculous pretext to request that you masquerade as my fiancé or fake boyfriend to get all those horny guys off my back. That's cliché as hell, and highly impractical. If anything, it would only cause you too much trouble, and idiots like Hei Gui will really start trying to cause uh, 'accidents' or find some sort of way to eliminate you. And no, it won't be as anything as blatant as hiring Assassins. They will dig up some dirt on you to smear your reputation, frame you for a crime you didn't commit, or all sorts of things."

This was how the real world worked. Assassinations were just a myth, a lazy cliché that most Chinese webnovelists resorted to when they came up with obstacles for their main characters. However, in reality, the rich didn't do anything as blatant as that, because such drastic measures could often be traced back to them, and only an idiot wouldn't be suspicious if someone died all of a sudden from unnatural causes. Their weapons were not of poison and daggers, but the law and money. It was much more effective and safer to just sue and slander the target, destroy him socially and financially, and wreck his reputation.

"Plus I'm not selfish and self-centered enough to drag a completely unrelated person into my own problems." Cecilia shot an irritated glare at a disappointed Kureha, who was wishing for some romantic comedy manga moment to happen in real life. "I'll reject each and every one of them myself, and I will handle my own personal problems on my own. Not resort to stupid manga or webnovel clichés that wouldn't work in real life."

"Uh, okay…" I wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"That said…" Cecilia sighed and lowered her head. "I must apologize in advance, because for this particular case, we're making use of those rumors to camouflage the true reason for our meeting. Don't worry, I won't expect you to play along or do anything concrete with regards to my…personal situation. But for now, just put up with the rumors. That will throw the Assassins' inteliigence off our backs for now."

"Gotcha." Now I understood why Cecilia opened up the discussion by first apologizing about Hei Gui's attempt, even though I had never heard about that. Standing up, partly because I was aware that the time to Southampton's match against Manchester United was drawing ever closer and I needed to leave soon in order to make it, I bowed. "I'll begin planning for this…mission, as soon as possible."

"We're counting on you." Cecilia stood up and offered me a hand and a smile. "Make sure you kick those Assassins' asses."

"Oh…" I smiled grimly, a plan already formulating inside my mind. "I'll do much more than kick their sorry asses, you can be sure of that."