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“El… El…!”

Flash!

“Uh, what!?”

“Why are you just spacing out when someone keeps calling you without answering? Is something wrong?”

At Anne’s sudden shout, my closed eyes flew open.

Even so, I couldn’t grasp the situation yet, so I looked around to gather my thoughts.

“If you’re tired, should we postpone today’s appointment and just head inside?”

“Yeah. You look a bit unwell, right? It’d be better to go in and rest.”

Thanks to Anne and Yuli’s concern, I could recall the appointment we had today.

While blocking Anne’s great sword, my usual weapon had broken under the impact, so we all came out to order a new one.

“No way. The tournament is just around the corner, and I need to get used to the new sword as soon as possible. Let’s go quickly.”

Saying that, I pulled out the half-broken sword that was hanging at my waist.

Due to the poor state of the Assassin Guild, getting this sword made required quite a bit of money.

If it wasn’t for the excuse of needing a weapon, there wouldn’t have been such a large expenditure.

Of course, even though it was expensive, it was just expensive from the perspective of the cash-strapped Assassin Guild—it wasn’t particularly good.

In fact, it was a miracle that I had managed to hold on until now.

“By the way, is Selian really not going to participate in the tournament?”

“I wanted to participate too… but it seems that’s how it turned out. It can’t be helped. I’ll cheer for you two from the stands.”

“I’ll cheer too, so you both can’t miss out on winning, okay?”

“…Whether or not you can win is another matter, but to begin with, there’s only one winner, so how can both of you win?”

“That’s to encourage you to do your best. Right, Anne?”

“Yeah! I’ll definitely win!”

Anne’s confident voice.

Of course, I also entered aiming for victory. But the rumors about the other competitors were no joke.

Since anyone could participate regardless of year or department, I couldn’t confidently say I would win with my current skills.

There were even rumors that the tournament winner would receive blessings from the Saint…

“Speaking of which, Selian met with the Saint a few days ago, right? How was it? Is she really as pretty as the rumors say?”

“…You know, El really acts like a boy in moments like this.”

Oops, there goes my inner thoughts.

But Selian, who had no reason to doubt I was a boy over just such a slip of the tongue, continued speaking.

“Well, with the Celestial Festival approaching, I did have a meeting with the Saint as a Hero.”

Seeing the Saint’s face is incredibly difficult unless you’re someone who is already acquainted with her.

However, Selian is a Hero.

It’s only natural for the Hero, who is the goddess’s sword and shield, to meet with the Saint, the goddess’s representative.

Thus, Selian was also looking forward to meeting the Saint she had only heard about through rumors.

But for some reason, Selian’s expression when thinking of the Saint was more of a complicated one than a happy one.

“Um, how should I put it… She’s pretty, but the shock of being forcefully sold holy water is quite significant.”

“Huh?”

Forcefully sold holy water? For a moment, I thought I heard wrong.

“They said it was a super cheap price, that they’d give a special discount because I’m a Hero, and when I finally got my senses back, I found a few bottles of holy water in my hands.”

…Am I talking about the same Saint here?

But the image of the Saint in my mind and the image of a money-grubbing salesperson that Selian is describing are far too different.

Bump!

In the situation where we were all walking together, I got so tangled up in my thoughts about the Saint that I failed to avoid a person approaching from ahead and bumped shoulders.

“I’m sorry…”

As I immediately bowed my head to apologize, a note suddenly appeared in my hand, hidden from my friends’ sight.

In the moment of confusion due to the unexpected situation, the man I bumped into had already vanished into the distance.

“That guy really… For someone who bumped into me and should at least have said sorry, he just walks away…”

“…Don’t worry about it too much. People can be in a hurry sometimes.”

Selian was angry on my behalf, but I just let out an awkward smile and brushed it off.

“Since we’re already at the weapon shop, do you guys want to go ahead? I realized I forgot something. I need to step away for a moment.”

“Then I’ll come with you…”

“No! It’s a personal matter, and it’ll be just a moment. You go ahead, I’ll catch up soon.”

After convincing them several times that I would go on my own, I immediately moved away.

I headed for the shaded back alley noted on the piece of paper I was holding.

The man I bumped into earlier was already driving away the thugs that had been loitering in the alley.

“…What’s going on?”

I cautiously walked deeper into the alley, trying not to be seen, and asked the man.

“Once your body becomes a woman’s, your actions really do become quite girly.”

“Cut the nonsense and get to the point. We can’t afford to be suspected.”

“Hmm. I wonder if not being suspected is really just about the mission? I saw you laughing like a hyena earlier, and I can’t tell if it was an act or not.”

“…I could easily stab you with this half-broken sword, so shut up and get to what you need to say and scram.”

As I pulled out the half-broken sword from my waist to threaten him, the second member raised his hands in an exaggerated surrender.

“Whoa! Our Third is quite angry. Then let’s get right to it. This is a message from the Master.”

I had a feeling this would be the case.

“They won’t hold you accountable for failing to eliminate your target within the time frame. Instead, make sure to eliminate the Hero now. This is your last chance.”

Originally, the assassination request was to take out Selian before she became a Hero.

But recently, the goddess had chosen Selian as the Hero, and I had failed my mission.

Normally, I would have had to return to the guild immediately for punishment, but I ignored that and was still stuck in the Academy.

Then, the second member had come to me like this.

“Fascinating, isn’t it? To fail the mission and instead of punishment, they give you another chance, you must really be favored by the Master.”

After delivering the Master’s words, the second member reverted to a mocking attitude.

“But remember, this is your last chance. There won’t be another. If you fail again, your life will likely be taken personally by the Master.”

I am bound to the Guild Master by the Master-Servant Mark. Regardless of my skills, if the Master decides to take my life, I have no way to stop it.

“Ah! Who knows? Maybe the body of a woman has plenty of useful purposes, so perhaps you’ll be spared.”

“Shut up and leave if you’ve said what you needed to say. Before I really kill you.”

“Yes, yes. Where would our junior live, being afraid of you?”

The second member turned and vanished from the alley, but I stood quietly in the dark alley for a while.

*

“Why are you so late! Here, while you were waiting, I found a decent sword for El!”

“Ahahaha… Sorry. It took longer than I thought. Did you wait long?”

After finally calming my complicated feelings, I rushed back to the weapon shop where my friends were.

The friends must have grown tired of waiting because they handed me the sword they had looked at before I arrived.

As I accepted the sword that Anne offered and examined it, I noticed it had a size and appearance similar to my usual weapon.

“So? Does it feel off?”

They had chosen one that was as similar as possible to my previous sword, both in appearance and in the balance when held. It was so good that I could use it in actual combat without issue.

In fact, it seemed sharper than my previous sword.

Since they are three friends who know and understand me well, they could pick such a sword.

“It’s a bit pricey, but don’t worry about that. It’s a gift from the three of us to you.”

Once again, they brought gifts for me like they did on ‘Elysia’s’ birthday, ensuring I wouldn’t feel burdened by the costs, giving me the sword as a present.

Their kindness reminded me once more of the Master’s message.

This is the last chance.

To kill Selian, who has become a Hero, and struggle to maintain my own life, or to throw away my life tied to a short bond of just about half a year.

Perhaps there’s a punishment waiting for me worse than death, as the second member said.

One life of another and my own life.

Unless I’m a fool, it’s not even a question to choose between them.

Even a stray dog knows the value of its life.

Thus, my contemplation was brief, and I made my choice.

“No. I’ll choose another sword.”

I set down the sword they had selected for me and picked up a random sword that had caught my eye right in front of me.

Everything about it—the appearance, the balance, the size—was different from my usual sword, and holding it felt awkward.

It would take quite a bit of time to get used to this sword as much as my previous one.

Unless I’m a fool, there’s no reason to do such a thing.

But it doesn’t matter.

Because I’m a fool.