I blinked in surprise, what she wanted me to do was quite unexpected. Especially coming from her. I mean, that was the last thing ?I expected she would tell me today. Even Satomi was shocked at what her lady had just asked me to do.

  “Assassinate the lord of Hokunoa?” I echoed. That was quite a big deal, a very big deal. “Seriously?”

  “I’m serious.”

  “Wait, m-milady? Getting back to the castle is hard enough, killing their lord is impossible. Besides, what brought this on?”

  Miyako sat down on the edge of her bed with a sad look. “With what transpired, I have no choice but to do what is necessary. Yoshio will eventually order to invade Nishinoa. Taking him out is the only way to stop it, or delay it.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Once you kill him, what result are you expecting?”

  “With no heir to the throne, the clans will fight amongst themselves. That will give us time to prepare. Or better yet, the next leader would be different, and wouldn’t attack Nishinoa in the future. They might even be more open to the idea of unity.”

  So what she wanted was basically causing chaos on this island. I was not familiar with the political structure of this island, but I knew there were different clans. And seeing the way of life on this island, it wouldn’t be strange if they pursued an empty throne to fill it.

  Furthermore, their conflict would damage the economy, especially the capital city. With the leaders busy fighting amongst themselves, who knows what kind of damage that might incur. Even worse, knowing that this capital was already growing, all that the former leadership built might crumble apart.

  I didn’t think that Miyako could do something… absolutely drastic. Quite interesting.

  “But, m-milady, they might trace it to us.”

  “Maybe, but they’d be too busy fighting amongst themselves to go after us. They might even thank us for giving them the opportunity.”

  “...” Satomi had nothing to say. Miyako wanted to spare her island from war after all. And if killing Hokunoa’s lord was a way to save it, then it must be done.

  Except, she was asking me to do it. “Killing the most valuable person on this island is crazy, and hard. He might as well be the most protected person here.”

  “That’s why I’m asking you.”

  It was flattering to know she thought highly of me, that I could pull something like that off. However…

  “I really have no stake in this, Miyako. I’ll be putting myself at risk.”

  “I know I’m asking you a heavy thing. But I need your strength.”

  I sighed and shook my head. There was no need for me to do this, but I had a feeling that she was going to be persistent. The life of her people was on the line, after all. She would do everything in her power just to convince me to do it. Which would be quite annoying to deal with. Especially that we would go to Nishinoa together.

  “I recall your story about you taking up a job of assassinating a bandit leader.”

  “... So?”

  Miyako stood up, placing a hand on her chest. “Let me hire you for this job. The job of assassinating Yoshio Naganori, the Lord of Hokunoa.”

  “...”

  An official assassination mission, huh?

  For some reason, I felt quite nostalgic. It really made me recall the past. Of the simpler times. However, killing heads of state had always been difficult, and wouldn’t be cheap. Typically, rich millionaires or billionaires, or even other states put up a job like this with the amount of cost it had.

  “How will you pay for it?”

  “When we return to Nishinoa, I will give you your just payment.”

  I slowly paced around, contemplating. Unlike in the old world, killing heads of state here would mean potentially facing basically superpowered humans. However, direct confrontations had never been my first option. Disguising myself with the limited amount of resources, and my remarkable appearance would be nigh impossible. This could mean that I would have to directly infiltrate the castle.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “When would you want this done?” I asked.

  “Within twenty-four hours.”

  “Huh.” Quite a tight schedule, but it should be fine. We were planning to get out of here as soon as possible anyway. “If this happens, you better be ready for the repercussions. Whatever it may be, I will have nothing to do with it whatsoever.”

  Just like in the past. We’d have nothing to do with the consequences. After we kill the target, then that’s that. No crawling to me for help whatsoever.

  “I know. I will face all the consequences.”

  “Hm.”

  “Will you take it?”

  “... I will need to consult with my crew. I can’t casually take a job like this without their input. Best I let them know.”

  ***

  After speaking with Miyako about the job she wanted me to do, I called for my team to discuss the matter. Except for Hartwin. Miyako and Satomi were also present. We were all in my room. Yeah, yeah, I know I said it bothered me. But fuck, I think I just got used to it now. It had become a routine.

  I told them about Miyako’s goal and about assassinating the head of state.

  “You’re still gonna go about it?” Taneva asked Miyako about her pursuit of unity.

  “Yes.” That was all that she answered. But she was full of conviction.

  Seeing that impressed Taneva. “Personally, I don’t mind that happening. Well, not like I’m personally involved.”

  As I expected, Taneva had no qualms about basically ruining this nation. And despite that, it may make things more difficult for us. But then again, he wouldn’t be doing the work, I would. As for Velar, I already knew he would follow my whims, whatever they may be.

  “Are you taking the request, princess?” Velar asked.

  “If it’s fine with you. We may or may not suffer the consequences of ?killing the head of state.”

  “If it prevents Hokunoa from invading Lady Miyako’s land, then I don’t see any reason not to do it. My worry is about your safety. Will you do it alone?”

  “If I do it, I will have to do it alone.”

  Assassinating Yoshio would be under a time constraint. Therefore, I would have no choice but to go straightforwardly with this. In another scenario, I might have to be more careful and slow. But time was the least of my concerns. My appearance was another. I was the most beautiful and unique in the world, but that also meant I was also very noteworthy. It would be hard to disguise myself and infiltrate. This has been my worry for a long time now. Basically nerfing my capabilities as an assassin. Who else in the fucking world has skin as pale as me, and hair as white as snow, hm? No one.

  My beauty had also become my bane. But I’d take it. I would prefer beauty above all else. But not like it really brought that much of a problem and change, anyway.

  The good part was that magic was a thing. So that would help me greatly.

  Velar seemed pretty concerned. Well, he was supposed to protect my life, after all. But he didn’t have to worry much about me. I’d just go in, kill the guy, and out. Easy.

  I’m pretty good at sneaking around.

  “Estelia, you better not forget about the ninjas,” Taneva said. “There are a lot here. They have the same skill set as you.”

  “Hm. How many ninjas are in the castle, anyway?” I asked Miyako.

  “So many. When we were there, their eyes were everywhere. And they’re very good. Furthermore, from what I know, there is a school of ninjas somewhere around the castle.”

  “A school of ninjas…? Interesting.”

  Maybe I should burn it down while I’m there.

  However, I should focus on the mission. Should not get sidetracked.

  “They are their defenses against other ninjas, against assassination attempts. It would be hard to sneak around.”

  “I’ll be careful.”

  “I should also warn you that their teacher is one of the strongest on the archipelago.”

  “Some kind of master ninja or something?”

  “Yes. He is a very dangerous and lethal old man. From what I heard, you can’t even see him attack. He is a master of stealth and killing humans.”

  Pfft, so am I.

  “Well, surely he won’t be that big of a problem as long as I avoid him.”

  “He is a man with veteran experience. I fear that if you face him, it would be incredibly dangerous for you.”

  “That’s right, Estelia,” Taneva chuckled. “If he is an old man, he certainly has more experience than you. Skill more refined.”

  I raised an eyebrow. I supposed that was an expected opinion of me. For them, I wasn’t someone who had a lot of experience and training based on my age. There was no way someone as young as I could beat an old man in a profession where others died young. And true, he may have more experience than I ever had if we also count my Earthly days.

  But I refuse to accept that a fucking ninja could easily beat me.

  “Let’s hope I don’t have to face him. If I do… well, I doubt he’ll let me run away.”

  But I’m gonna be humble.

  I am a very humble person, just so you know. Don’t believe me? Well, I am only being honest. Since when did I ever, ever lie?

  Seriously though, one should focus only on killing the target. If someone was strong enough that it would be annoying to deal with, then it was best to hope you wouldn’t get to face them. Nothing was more important than fulfilling the mission.

  Focus on the objective.

  “So, are you going to take it?” Taneva asked.

  “... Well, if you’re fine with it, I shall.” I noticed Miyako sighing in relief. “I shall do it tonight. We have limited time, so there’s no time to waste.”

  “Will you need backup? Just in case?” Velar asked.

  “Only I can do this. But to be sure, you can watch over the castle from a distance. Just don’t intervene unless I call for it.” I nodded. “Alright… Before tonight, I want you and Taneva to look into the criminal organization that will help us. Don’t do anything yet, just look into it. When my job is over, I want to go straight to settling that matter.”

  “Understood.” Velar nodded.

  “You can go now.” I turned to Miyako. “I will need to ask you for more information. Particularly about the castle and the people in them.”

  “Ask anything you need.”