CH 64

“This place hasn’t changed at all, huh?”

Mira murmured while looking at the buildings in the Empire she was visiting, which was quite far from the Kingdom where Kanata lived.

In this world, the Kingdom had spread its development to various fields, the Principality developed focusing on magic tools, and the Empire focused on the military industry. Everyone would probably consider the Empire the most developed country in the world.

“I wonder if Kanata-sama would like to come with me?”

Although there was an event where he received a direct message from the Empire’s Prime Minister during his stream, Kanata had no current intention of going to the Empire. As Mira’s own place of residence is where Kanata is, there isn’t much of a longing to visit home with him, but she still wants Kanata to experience the wonderful aspects of the Empire where she was born and raised.

“What should I get as a souvenir?”

Many stalls were lined up, and just like in the capital, high-end shops patronized by nobles could be seen everywhere. However, the Empire had a thicker wall between nobles and commoners than the Kingdom or Principality, and discrimination based on social status was deeply rooted.

“Without my cover as the Raven, I’m just a commoner… Fufu, but I’m really fulfilled now. I guess it’s all thanks to Kanata-sama.”

Maybe because she was alone now, Mira wasn’t using her usual polite language towards Kanata. Her true personality was more like this, and if she interacted with Kanata like this, he would probably find her even cuter than she already was, which was a shame.

Well, it was already impossible, as the polite language had already become ingrained in her.

“I am a fan of Haishin-sama, and even more than that, I am Kanata-sama’s sword and shadow… Ah, I’m really glad to be alive. From now on, I will live for Kanata-sama, no matter what.”

Mira murmured while exuding a gloomy atmosphere.

She also has faint feelings towards Kanata, but more than that, the emotion that defines her as Mira is a heart of subservience.

To live for him, to exist for him, and to die for him.

Although Kanata would definitely tell her not to live like that, Mira’s feelings were so strong that he wouldn’t be able to convince her.

“Hey there, miss! I’ve got some great fruit here. Want to try it?”

“Oh, please show me!”

Mira, a food-loving girl, was still going strong even in the Empire.

As she was a little excited about returning home after a long time, her wallet had become a little lighter, but it was within her acceptable range.

“Mmm, delicious!”

She had been mostly eating from street vendors, and her stomach was visibly full.

But in the midst of her satisfaction, she happened to see something that caught her eye.

“What is this…?”

Mira murmured in surprise as she looked at a bulletin board prominently displaying an article about Raven in the Empire’s timekeeping section.

“Raven is back! The jet-black assassin has descended onto the stage once again.”

“…”

This was completely unfamiliar to her. Mira was Raven, the guise of an assassin she had inherited.

“Well, even if it’s not me, if someone claims to be Raven, then they are Raven, but…”

Since she had already retired as Raven, the title of Assassin didn’t matter anymore. The problem was if someone did evil deeds claiming to be Raven, they would get in trouble, especially if they didn’t have skills like Mira. They would get caught and executed immediately.

“It’s a hassle to have someone take my name. They don’t know my goal. I have this side of me that’s also Raven, so if someone claims to be me, it’s going to be a problem, right?”

Mira remembered what Kanata had said to her. She had heard the story about how his name had been used falsely before, which led to that conversation.

“I see. If someone moves around as Raven without my permission and information about it spreads all the way to the capital, it might trouble Kanata-sama’s feelings. He’s so kind, so he might worry even more if it’s me.”

She was sure that it would turn out that way.

“Should I erase it…?”

With just that, Mira muttered and disappeared into the shadows.

*****

The existence of Raven, not Mira, appeared recently. Its true identity is someone who, like Mira, makes a living as an assassin, but unlike her, Raven is male.

“Hehe, just by calling myself Raven, I’m getting so much work.” 

The man couldn’t contain his laughter. He had taken on assassination jobs, but with the existence of Raven, only low-paying jobs came his way. In the Empire, if you want to request an assassination, you go to Raven. That was an unshakable reputation.

“He’s not here anymore. From now on, I am Raven.” 

It was foolish to steal someone’s name, but he had some power to back it up. Although his skills were inferior to Raven, he was smart enough to adjust the difficulty of requests he could take based on his own abilities. Unlike Raven, the man used a small sickle and magic in battle so he could use a variety of killing methods.

“…?”

As an assassin, the man was sensitive to any signs of danger. He was staying in a high-class inn, but he felt a strange presence outside his room. 

“… Who’s there?” 

There was no answer to his question. 

With his sickle in hand, the man slowly approached the door.

“…”

He felt a clear, abnormal atmosphere, but this inn was managed by nobles in the name of luxury, so the enemy would make them an enemy if they caused trouble. It was a place a wise person would never cause any problems. 

“… Alright.” 

The moment the man touched the door, he heard the sound of glass opening behind him. As he turned his body around quickly, he felt something grab his neck, and his body floated up. 

“What!?” 

As he felt the pressure on his neck disappear, he realized that his surroundings had changed, and he was now outside, far away from the inn where he had been. 

“Cough… Cough!!” 

He no longer felt the constriction on his neck and could breathe normally again. He thought it was more important to calm himself down than to be surprised by the sudden event, so he focused on regulating his breathing while remaining vigilant.

“Are you the one who goes by the name Raven? I don’t need you to nod. I brought you here because I was sure it was you.” 

The voice was hard to distinguish as male or female.

The man looked ahead and saw a person dressed in black clothing… he knew that figure well.

“Raven!?”

“Yes, exactly. I’m supposed to have retired already, but it seems some idiot is using my name.”

“You b*****d!”

The man was sure that this was the real Raven.

At that moment, he slammed a smoke bomb to the ground to create cover.

“Foolish. Even if you run, it’s useless.” 

He could hear their plain voice, but the man didn’t pay attention and moved his feet.

He jumped from building to building, making use of his well-trained legs to achieve supersonic movement.

The man was a truly skilled assassin… but his opponent was an overwhelmingly bad match.

“Pretty fast. But compared to me, you’re slow.”

“What did you say!?” 

Before he knew it, Raven was running next to him.

Suddenly, something shone, and the man was blown away, hitting a pile of rubble, immobilized.

“What the…!”

It was strange. It was his own leg.

He had no time to stop, he had to escape, but his legs wouldn’t move.

“My… my leg…!”

His leg had been cut off.

The cut was so clean their flesh and bone were severed smooth.

“Now, you can’t escape.”

“Don’t underestimate me!!!”

He activated a spell and tried to hit Raven with intermediate-level magic.

A swirling vortex of flames was formed from the magic circle on his arm, and just as it had activated, the man’s arm was severed with a sharp sound.

“Hey, are you kidding me?”

It was such a skillful move that he didn’t even feel the pain.

The sword Raven held in her hand embodied jet-blackness, and it shone like a gem under the moonlight.

Furthermore, the red blood sticking to the sword was also beautiful, and if he didn’t remember that it was his own blood, he would have been captivated by it.

“I did consider eliminating you at first, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to just abandon my name. However, the more I investigated the new person claiming to be ‘Raven,’ the more I realized an undeniable truth that I couldn’t overlook.”

“…”

The distance between the man and Raven was supposed to be twenty meters. However, before he knew it, Raven was right beside him, and their sword had already been placed against the man’s neck, causing a wound to his artery.

“… Ah.”

Blood sprayed out from the corner of the man’s vision.

Feeling his consciousness sinking into darkness, the man heard Raven’s final words.

“You… accepted the assassination of Haishin-sama under the name of Raven. Even if it was just for a down payment, even if you couldn’t execute it, that alone is enough for you to deserve death.”

And thus, the man’s life came to an end.

Although the location where the man took his last breath was in the shadows of a building, it was still a place that would easily be noticed during the day.

“Well, that’s perfect. If you wanted to be called Raven so badly, it’s fitting that you die as Raven.”

Everything about Raven ended in that place, that day… and Mira… She left. 

“Job’s done. Now, I have to listen to Kanata-sama’s live stream!”

And with that, Mira’s appearance as Raven was never seen again. 

She switched from her role as an assassin to that of a girl, put on her treasured earphones, and listened to Kanata’s voice while letting out screams of joy.