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Ryu's POV
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"What did you find out from him?" (Ryu)

"Who?" (Captain)

"The trader." (Ryu)

"Ah, him. He claimed he didn't know anything, but we didn't have time to verify, considering he died before we could punch him." (Captain)

"He died? How?" (Ryu)

The Captain seems to think back to the view he had on the body before answering.

"There was a small, thin needle sticking out of the back of his neck, no more than a couple inches long." (Captain)

I open my mouth to say something, but my words get caught in my throat.

A thin needle?

"Almost like an assassination?" (Ryu)

The Captain simply nods his head as he continues walking.

I follow him absentmindedly, my thoughts focused on something else.

A thin needle that killed someone, almost as if it was an assassination.

I know only one person who could do something like that.

"Asa..." (Ryu)

Hearing a name muttered from my mouth, the Captain stops walking and turns to me.

"What was that?" (Captain)

His words pull me from my thoughts.

"Huh? Asa?" (Ryu)

"Yes, that." (Captain)

"Oh, no, it's just a name from someone who used the same technique." (Ryu)

I finish speaking and could see the Captain becoming more intrigued by what I said.

"What else is there?" (Captain)

"Well..." (Ryu)

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"I see. So she might be involved with this town." (Captain)

"I think so." (Ryu)

The Captain takes a moment to think before speaking again.

"Well, it doesn't change our mission, so let's meet up with the rest of the squad." (Captain)

"Ah, about that. We started searching for the mage who fired down that [Violet Strike]." (Ryu)

"A mage? I met a dead one in one of the streets I was passing through." (Captain)

"What were they wearing?" (Ryu)

"A black cape I believe, it was dyed red with blood though." (Captain)

"What were the wounds like?" (Ryu)

"There weren't any." (Captain)

The Captain's words take me by surprise and I'm unable to reply.

The mage died, probably from blood loss, yet there weren't any wounds that could have caused it.

Could it have been a magic misfire? Were they trying to fire a higher tiered spell?

"Do you have any idea about how it happened?" (Ryu)

"Hmmm. I'm not very good with magic, but I suspect that they died after an impact with the ground." (Captain)

Surprised by his theory, I try to press further.

"What do you mean?" (Ryu)

"Well, the body was sprawled out, as if they had been falling, and the ground beneath had small cracks that an object would get if hit by a heavy object." (Captain)

"Then, how did the cape get covered in blood?" (Ryu)

The Captain shrugged his shoulders at my question.

"Well, what do we do now?" (Ryu)

As if answering my question, the Captain pulls a cylinder out of his pack and throws it in the air.

It seems to float for a few seconds before it explodes in a cloud of orange smoke.

"Come on, we're regrouping." (Captain)

Ready to leave me behind, the Captain starts walking, and I have to run to catch up to him.

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In a few minutes, we reach the Inn we stayed at, the thick wooden smell inviting us further in.

We seem to have made it to the regroup spot first, considering there was little to no one in the bar inside.

We take a seat at one of the many tables in the room, the chairs creaking under our weight.

"Do they even know where we are supposed to regroup?" (Ryu)

"For our missions, we usually stay for much longer than a day, so we use the previous night's resting point as a rendezvous spot." (Captain)

"I see..." (Ryu)

The level of organisation the squad has surprises me, considering the outlaws were very reliant on natural instinct, so we usually regrouped where we felt would be a common spot to see others in.

As I work more and more with these knights, I'm reminded again and again how different our lives are.

Several minutes pass as we sit at the table before Knight, Healer, Archer and the Vice-Captain enter.

They see us straight away and start heading towards us, grabbing chairs from nearby tables to seat us all.

"So, what's up?" (Astrid)

"One of Ryu's former colleagues seems to be intertwined with our job here. Goes by the name Asa." (Captain)

A look of shock appears in all their faces, but intrique seems to burn in their eyes.

"From what I know, she's skilled in assassination, and uses thin needles to the neck to kill instantly." (Captain)

"Sounds like a skill for an assassin." (Kana)

"Well, that's why I regrouped us. With this information, going out separately has become increasingly more dangerous than before, but based on our situation, it might be inevitable." (Captain)

Looking at the Captain, we all nod in agreement.

"Also, concerning the mage." (Captain)

"Did you find him~?" (Astrid)

"I did. He's dead, either from blood loss, or from an impact to the ground." (Captain)

Disappointment seems to cross Healer's face as she hears the fate of the mage.

"So? What do we do now?" (Kana)

"Who knows? The other trader is dead, the mage is dead, and the group got away." (Ryu)

Silence washes over us as we contemplate our next move.

"How about we ask the information broker from before? The one who told us Albrio's name." (Airi)

"We could, but I don't know where to find him." (Kana)

"Well, it's a start, so I suppose we should just go to the Inn we met him at." (Airi)

No one else replies, showing our approval of Knight's plan.

In confirmation of the start of our new objective, we all stand up from the table and leave the Inn, heading to the place the three met the broker at before.

—————–———————————————

We reach the Inn around 15 minutes after we left.

It looks no different from the other inns on the outside, but on the inside, it is decorated with many expensive decorations, showing the wealth of the Inn.

We skip past the reception desk and instead enter the bar.

I take a quick glance before my eyes land on a man seated on his own.

"Ah, you're back are you? Did you find this 'Albrio' guy?" (???)

"We did, thanks to your information." (Airi)

"Don't sweat it, come have a seat, I'm sure you'll want more." (???)

Despite the squad accepting his offer, I stay standing, my body frozen in place.

The man matches his gaze with mine.

"Now, now, Ryu. You need to take people up on their generosity." (???)

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Author Notes
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Wow, it feels like ages since I've written one of these.

I've found it really hard to find the motivation to write, but once I started, the words kind of just started flowing out, so I suppose that's good.

But like I've said so many times, I really need to start planning.