The Strategy to Become Good at Magic Chapter 84

Chapter 84 – Going on a journey

There was a similar problem with both debt collection and seeking citizens.h.i.+p. Her current status as a citizen was still unclear……

Even though she was considered as an Elf, she did not have resolution to stay behind and teach the new Elves. In addition to that, when she counted the blackie-bro’s extended claws she guessed the new Elves would be born only three years later.

There was only a single crop of Elves in the entire forest, so the magical beasts naturally saw these Elves of unknown gender to be really important. If something was to happen they would certainly swarm out like angry bees.

No matter how skilled she was, she was just a kid who was arguably under the law’s protection. There was really no need to follow the beasts and sacrifice her whole life to protect the new elves……

“You intend to go to the capital?!” The four a.s.sa.s.sins followed Sue as they set up tents outside the giant tree’s area. They felt much safer because she knew the monster boss. She had a particularly good skill where she could make friends with anyone, even beasts!

“Why are you surprised that I want to go to the capital?!” Sue looked down on the four of them while she made soup, then sighed: “Just think about it. I’m just a weak little girl, how is it possible for me to keep on living in such a dangerous place……”

“……” The four a.s.sa.s.sins looked at the neatly piled bones with marinated meat. These were all done by this weak girl, from the hunting to the cooking…… They offered their help to hunt them because they were embarra.s.sed to get a free meal, but after a while she disliked their inexperienced skills, along with their clumsy hands and various other reasons, so she finally stopped them from partic.i.p.ating……

“But there might be problems if you want to go to the capital.” The team leader said after a moment of hesitation: “You don’t have any ident.i.ty papers to show where you are born, or that you have a guardian to prove your ident.i.ty…… Even orphans require letters of introduction from rural villages or else you can’t even enter an inn. Furthermore, the place you want to go to is the capital, their checks would be even stricter…..”

After hearing the situation was more serious than she thought, her hand that was stirring the pot froze a little, before she smiled: “…… I see, thanks for the explanation.”

She turned backwards to puke out blood……

[F@#$! The novels are all filled with lies. All them parallel world travel characters getting to cities easily by lying they are from some remote village and gaining their trust, lies! These stupid novels treated citizens like NPCs where they could easily get information, my a$$! These d.a.m.ned authors should come here to try flipping the citizens’ drawers and see what happens to them!]

As long as there was a kingdom with laws, no matter how backwards a place might be, there would still be identification papers. The reason was simple. If you did not get the population right, you would not know how many people to tax. Some day if a war was to break out, then you would not know how many conscripted soldiers you could get.

(TL: Ident.i.ty thefts/ in medieval Europe were really common, and even pa.s.sports with everything done right can be distrusted by the authority. Letters of introduction by renowned people were important.)

“Of course it wouldn’t be a problem to get you a letter of introduction and identification papers.” When Sue was agonizing over this issue, it looked like it was about to solve itself. The team leader coughed awkwardly: “But it is going to require a little time….. If I get my family to arrange it, it will take about three or four days.”

The letter could be forged on the day itself, but the journey to deliver the letter took the majority of the time needed.

“I can’t actually tell whether you’re a professional villain or not.” Sue’s eyes lit up and praised him. Really, it was praise from the heart.

“Cough! Cough! Cough!” The team leader felt even more awkward: “No, it’s also because some of my family members needed to hide their ident.i.ties and bring along children from time to time……”

a.s.sa.s.sins sometimes took sidejobs like kidnapping, with the motto of ‘The customer is king!’.

With the most difficult problem solved, Sue happily distributed soup to the four of them, along with stewed meat and warm bread. The four of them were shocked to receive VIP treatment for the first time and they could not refuse what was offered. All of them carelessly ate till they were full.

After an hour worth of talking and playing cards, with the team leader trying to resist sleep by reading his p.o.r.nography book for another hour, the four of them finally dozed off in awkward positions. Sue smiled and threw away the stick she used for poking the firewood. She petted Xiao Bai as she walked past it, then moved to the four men and started searching their bodies.

Her sleeping potion was guaranteed to work as a Grandmaster alchemist……

“Xiao Bai, search that one on the outer side, he’s the cleanest….. These three are mine. Remember not to tear their clothes and be gentle, otherwise it will be hard to explain things tomorrow.”

[Tsk! You make it sound like it is a natural thing to make fake ident.i.ties, then your ‘home’ must be a ridiculous organization. It might be true that creating a fake ident.i.ty is simple and wouldn’t get you into much trouble, but doing it and daring to do it are two things entirely. This idiot’s att.i.tude makes it obvious that a crime like this is a piece of cake for him. Either it’s an underground organization with all sorts of villains in them, or a ma.s.sive organization that creates fake identifications to allow anyone to go anywhere.]

The four a.s.sa.s.sins were literally fat lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of the Grandmaster Thief Sue. If she aimed for it, she might even be able to steal their pants in front of them without them realizing it.

She poured out a little Mana from her fingertips, and formed it into a thin line that bypa.s.sed all their rings’ defensive systems, then poured out everything from it — p.o.r.n books, cards, storybooks about legendary figures, jerky, candies, fis.h.i.+ng rod, chairs, etc……

Sue found herself becoming increasingly speechless as she dug out more items. Did they come for a vaction or what?!

When she was looking through them gloomily, the little white tiger brought over a lambskin scroll over, laid it onto the ground, and meowed twice to get praised.

“Hmm?!” Sue stopped her search and opened the scroll to look at it. After a while she finally realized their ident.i.ties: “So we’re in the same profession.”

[It’s actually the order from the a.s.sa.s.sins’ guild, hmmmm— With their level of skill they dared to enter the Magical Beast Forest to kill the chibi?! Do they look down on me or really believe they are that good?! ……. Then again, they really didn’t get any detailed information…… The prince pretty much stayed at the giant tree all the time and the only ones that know the truth are the Merfolk and the Demon races.]

“Whatever, I’ll just put these things back. It’s a rule not to mess with the meal ticket from people of the same profession. Honestly, if they can really kill that brat with their level, the ones protecting them will need to commit suicide from the shame!”

Sue sighed as she finally solved the riddle and put everything back one by one. She crawled back to sleep with down-hearted feelings — If these people could become a.s.sa.s.sins, then this world was easier than she thought……

These three or four days could be said to be lonely or time-wasting, but most of all it was boring.

The Magical Beast Forest was tightly guarded by the beasts. Sue still had an easy time, but the four a.s.sa.s.sins immediately felt that it was inconvenient to move about. If they were beside the little girl it was fine, but once they moved twenty meters away from her, there would be groups of magical beasts baring their fangs at them.

They had to put the matter of their mission aside because of that. They even had to check their surroundings when they wanted to relieve themselves, otherwise they would find pairs of eyes staring at them from the bushes…… This was too much of a stimulation for their hearts, and they might pee more than usual.

Finally after communicating through the magic mirror, their fathers felt it was unnecessary to continue with this mission after a.n.a.lyzing the facts. The four a.s.sa.s.sins had trouble moving about and there was an unusual change in the forest. It was a huge possibility that the little prince was already gone and there would be no meaning to carry on searching, so they suggested to the four of them to temporarily cancel their mission, return home to wait for the guild to gather information on the little prince’s new location and send them out again……

Since there was no mission now, the four of them calmed down to find ways to pa.s.s the time, while waiting for their family to deliver the letter of introduction to the little girl before going back together.

The days were long and the four a.s.sa.s.sins were bored just like Sue. Hunting for leisure?! That was not possible. A large group of Magical Beasts following them was just too terrifying.

Cards?! No money to gamble with. p.o.r.n books to use for a particular exercise?! An innocent (?!) girl was watching them, and n.o.body could do it. Sleeping?! …… Life was too monotonous. In the end they chatted with the little girl. But after exchanging stories, the four a.s.sa.s.sins quickly wors.h.i.+ped her.

That was simply because all the fables and bards’ tales were repeated all the time in the continent, while the girl told them stories that were fresh, especially the G.o.ds in greek mythology, which inspired the four a.s.sa.s.sins with their colorful lives. They were satisfied even though they did not have the chance to read the p.o.r.n books, and agreed that gossiping about rumors about the G.o.ds was the best activity! (TL: I don’t really get this portion very well because I never did read about Zeus/Hera’s quarrels or their mythology.)

Three days pa.s.sed by quickly, and the person delivering the identification papers had finally arrived in the nearby town. Sue packed up her things and went along with the four a.s.sa.s.sins to meet up with the person and get her ident.i.ty.

After she reached the town, she courteously left the four a.s.sa.s.sins alone so they could report on their current mission. She went around the town for an hour to replenish the daily essentials and food before returning. The person who delivered the papers was already gone, while the four men were packing up their luggage again……

“We’re leaving now?!” Sue knocked on the door, entered the room and glanced at the four men while asking them.

“Yes. Do you have anything else you want to bring?!”

“Nope…… So you’re not doing your mission anymore?!”

“Mission?!” The team leader looked confused before he suddenly remembered that they registered with the Adventurer Guild and quickly covered things up: “Oh, haha. We’re going to cancel our mission when we go back. It’s fine. With the situation in the Lost Forest, it’s not suitable to carry on with the mission.”

“Oh.” Sue poured a cup of fruit juice, drank two gulps of it before asking again: “Then about the a.s.sa.s.sination of the little prince?!”

“We can’t find him, so…… Coughcoughcoughcough!” The team leader choked on his own saliva and kept coughing furiously, while the other three other men were shocked out of their senses, turning their heads and looking at her like she was a magical beast: “You……”

“What are you talking about?” Their laughters were hollow.

What did the little girl know?! Did they make any mistake?! Or was it the report to their dads through the magic mirror that exposed them?! Or, or…… Should they kill her…… to protect the mission?!

Their intention to kill quickly subsided in an instant. That thought was not realistic. After a few days of interaction, they got to know at least part of her strength. She was not some random idol amongst the magical beast; this person was a top cla.s.s fighter who was really skilled. Killing her?! What a joke, getting away without being killed was the best outcome for them.

Everyone looked at each other before one of them suddenly had a crazy thought: “Little miss, are you actually an a.s.sa.s.sin from another organization?!”

That was a pretty good a.s.sumption, and four pairs of eyes brightened up — Yeah! This was quite a possibility.

She was definitely stronger than them and her ident.i.ty was mysterious. Even if their identification papers were in order, her age was far more advantageous. Common sense would first suspect the four adults before suspecting the little girl, no matter how friendly or innocent they appeared to be.

She was also strong enough to kill a magical beast so she definitely had the capabilities to finish this mission alone. There would not be a problem if she got near the target.

It was not as if there was only one a.s.sa.s.sination Guild in the Tobias kingdom, other races and kingdoms more or less had similar factions and organizations. No matter where it was, there would be people operating in the light and dark side of society…… The girl hid her abilities when they first met her. The team leader thought he was on to a certain truth.

[What are they thinking about…..] Sue was speechless. Even though she knew that imagination had no limits, but she really did not prepare for it to be at this level.

She sighed and shook her head, then grabbed a small crystal from her dimensional bracelet to activate it. After a series of Mana shockwaves that made the four a.s.sa.s.sins jump, a handsome man with half his body was displayed onto thin air:

“Did you missed me, Sue?!” The demon general answered.

“A little. I just want to ask where you are right now?!”

“Hahaha….. Of course we’re moving really fast with our special mounts pulling the carriages, .” He paused to make the effect more dramatic: “We will reach the capital right about tomorrow!”

“……” She quietly sent a middle finger in her mind: “You already spent a few days and you still haven’t reach the capital. You might as well buy some pigs to pull the carriage.”

(TL: Horse pulling a carriage can travel up to 100 km per day, but Sue is bringing up a chinese phrase where the best horse travels like 400 km in a day, and then looking down on the animals here in the raws.)

The demon general shook his head with a sigh: “Sue, I just wanted to give our little friends a chance to challenge themselves….. Do you know how sad the a.s.sa.s.sin guilds would be if little Fedrus returns to the palace too quickly?”

The four a.s.sa.s.sins were reflecting on how disappointed they were and nodded…… Before realizing what this situation was and getting conflicted over it.

“That someone over there.” Sue did not bother with the demon general any longer and turned her head to the four a.s.sa.s.sins: “Do you want to know where the prince is now?!”

“Yeah.” Of course they wanted to…… This girl was indeed in the same profession. So was the man with the demon race traits also in the same profession?!

“Bring you-know-who over,”  Sue turned back to the image display: “I’m tired of seeing your face.”

The demon general laughed and retreated. The portrait disappeared with ripples, and after a moment later the little prince’s face appeared with delight: “SueSueSueSue! I missed you, did you miss me…….”

She had not spoken but the four of them were going crazy. They really thought she was in the same profession but it looked like she was acquainted with their target.

“Sue, do you know how many people we caught on the way?! Let me tell you……” Fedrus announced the names to her without realizing there were people beside Sue: “Uncle is really delighted, he said he could scam my father king for loads of money thanks to the help of the demon and merfolk race…… Eh, I can’t speak of this?!”

He turned around like someone was talking to him.

That was the weakness of communicating by this special crystal. It only had the capability to accept only one voice and image at a time, and when it ran out of mana it would automatically destroy itself.

THe four a.s.sa.s.sins were sweating with tears in their eyes. Some of these names were famous in the trade, seemingly the top ones in the other a.s.sa.s.sin guilds. That chibi actually had the merfolk and demon races on his side……

Sue soothed the little prince: “Don’t worry, I didn’t hear anything about what your uncle told you.”

“…….” Slane resisted bravely as he wiped off the sweat from his forehead. She was telling him that she wanted a portion of that honeyed money.

Ever since the interaction with her, he was absolutely certain that the little girl was not a good person. In fact he was like a saint compared to her. But the most hated thing was how she corrupted his nephew. But at least these dark days would not last…… They would never see her again once they reached the capital…… Slane comforted himself.

“Sue, is there a reason you’re looking for me?” Fedrus finally thought about the real reason why she contacted him.

“No. It’s just that I met four good friends who would bring me to the capital. So I’ll visit the palace later.” And get her deserved rewards.

The four good friends turned their heads to knock on the wall with much pain in their hearts.

“…..” Slane was going somewhere else to puke out blood.

“!!!” The demons were stunned.

“Uhhhh…..” The merfolks had complicated expressions…….

“Really?!” The only one who was delighted at this news was the prince: “When are you coming over?! I’ll save my pocket money up for you.”

Sue was touched over this obedient little kid, while she pushed away his offer gently: “That’s fine. You can let your dad pay for the bill.”

“Oh……”

After a long discussion until the magic crystal finally shattered itself, Sue turned around and asked the four men sincerely: “Do you feel satisfied that your target is still alive?!”

“…….” No matter how stupid the four a.s.sa.s.sins were, they knew the situation was bad. The team leader wiped off his cold perspiration and stood up: “What do you want exactly?!”

“Nothing really. I just don’t want to see you ruin your youth…… Let it go. This mission is impossible for you youngsters. They are going to reach his home tomorrow. Of course, if you try and inform your family they might be able to stop him from reaching the palace, but I’m not sure if they can do it in front of the royal army and the top elites in the merfolk and demon races……” Sue helped them out earnestly with the possible outcomes: “Hmm, I do personally think that the difficulty would be a little too high.”

“……” It was not a little, but huge.

The four men were crying. They were a.s.sa.s.sins, not rebels. If they did it openly were they not going against the country?

“I strongly suggest you to double cross instead…… The little prince also wants to know who wanted his life. If you’re able to investigate who the mastermind is, your mission is as good as done and you don’t even need to worry about killing the mastermind.”

“It’s fine if we just find out the mastermind’s ident.i.ty?!” The four a.s.sa.s.sins looked at each other: “We have never heard of a request like that.”

“This is just simple information selling…… Tsk! Just how inexperienced are you lot? Bring out your mirror and contact your family.”

There was no need to hide anymore since their ident.i.ties were completely revealed. They quickly contacted the guild leader and explained everything. The guild leader was also flabbergasted over the situation as he looked at the four guilty and uneasy men. He finally swallowed a small mouthful of blood after his expressions changed many times.

“Give the mirror to her.” He said with clenched teeth.

“h.e.l.lo~” Sue politely waved at the mirror as she was respectful to the elders: “I greet you, lord.”

“……” The guild leader was shocked over her actions: “You can call me Guild Leader just like the others.”

“Oh, where are my manners if I do that…..” Sue continued her polite actions for about a second longer before she went back to her old ways and sighed: “Lord Guild Leader, the situation is just like how your son described it to you, do you wish to accept this mission……?”

“……” The guild leader swallowed another mouthful of blood and barely managed to break a smile: “I must first admit that I really wonder if I’m seeing things. I really can’t believe a little kid like you would be so amazing at your age.”

“I personally think that has nothing to do with what we’re talking about?!” Sue was quietly criticizing his bad habit of changing the topic.

“…… Right!” The guild leader took a moment to himself before he continued: “Very well, perhaps I shouldn’t treat you like a normal child…… Then little miss, tell me what conditions are you offering to convince me to accept your request?! You must know that that the a.s.sa.s.sin Guilds have to maintain their reputation. We cannot betray our customers’ requests as this is not part of our policies.”

“First of all, my request is more advantageous to you. The possiblity of killing the prince is next to impossible. If it’s destined to fail, why not choose a road that’s better for you?!” Sue smiled. “Furthermore, this isn’t betraying the customer. You merely failed in your mission, and I’m requesting a new mission to target that particular person who requested to a.s.sa.s.sinate the prince…… That is it. Do you mean to say that you had never receive requests to kill a prior person who made a request? Please stop being stupid, the a.s.sa.s.sin Guild does not need honor. No customer of yours would really believe in you being honorable. What you need are money and the chance to succeed in your missions.”

The guild leader really felt ticked off when a little girl called him stupid right in front of his face, but he somehow felt really naive and stupid. Even though her words had something wrong somewhere, why was he unable to refute her?!

It was true that there was no rule where their employers could not be killed once they requested for a mission. They were a.s.sa.s.sins and not personal guards…….

“Next, your son and his companions’ ident.i.ties have been exposed.” Sue continued to pick at the guild leader: “Even though I don’t really understand how your guild operates, but I think your a.s.sa.s.sins are not people who are supposed to let others know of their ident.i.ties. It’s easy to get targeted in this profession….. A guild leader like yourself who had to receive business personally is because you retired from active a.s.sa.s.sination right?!”

“Uhh…..” Completely right. The guild leader discretely wiped off his sweat: “So what if his ident.i.ty is revealed?! He can become a person to be used as a contact point and not receive any missions…….”

“Are you serious?! A little a.s.sa.s.sin without any experience and used as a runner might have trouble receiving the guild leader’s position…… Besides, your son is discovered by me. Do you really think that I can’t get information from him? Are you not afraid that your secrets are going to be outed?! Just take this for example, he bragged that your guild has 331 a.s.sa.s.sins, and your number one a.s.sa.s.sin seems to be a beautiful girl……”

“Bulls#@$! Our guild has 246 a.s.sa.s.sins and our number one a.s.sa.s.sin is male. He’s old and ugly, why would he resemble a beautiful girl?!” The team leader grabbed the mirror in anger.

“Haha……” Sue laughed.

“H-ha, haha……” The guild leader laughed dryly. This stupid son of his!

The three men were sobbing as they pulled back the team leader. Once the youth cleared his mind he realized he made a mistake and blushed: “That, I, didn’t mean to……” To divulge information…..

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Sue poured a cup of fruit juice to soothe the youth: “Drink something to calm down, you did well.”

The team leader was so ashamed that he did not dare to look at his dad’s gaze who looked like he was out to kill him. He quickly lowered his head to drink the juice and pretended to be an ostrich….. Hmm? Why was this fruit juice so refres.h.i.+ng?! It was sweet and sour, and made him a little giddy……

The team leader fell to the ground with a ‘clonk’, while the other three men held him up with shocked faces. The guild leader looked like he was on fire, but Sue shrugged with her hands up in the air: “Andddd look at that. Your son isn’t really suited for a.s.sa.s.sination, but more suited to be a.s.sa.s.sinated…… Do you really mean to let a sweet little kid like him to become a murderer and arsonist?! Don’t worry, he’s just going to sleep for a little while…… We really do need to be on our way, and time really isn’t on our side, why not save time and take my request now?!”

“……” This little devil….. The guild leader gritted his teeth with a steely face as tears poured down from it: “Let’s talk about money!”

Sue made an audacious high offer with the Tobias kingdom as her s.h.i.+eld to make the guild leader stumble onto the ground. She did not believe that the queen would not be willing to dig her reserves. Her son was on the chopping board, after all.

Becoming their companion to an enemy and to an employer, the four a.s.sa.s.sins was greatly pressured  mentally, especially the team leader who woke up. They agreed that this mission was too stimulating…… With such a psychological scar in their first mission, these four men would have trouble continuing to be bad guys, especially when they were not suited to be bad in the first place.

These depressing feelings continued to last all the way to the capital……

…….

“Your highness, Prince Fedrus would be arriving in the capital tomorrow. Our hired men have failed…..”

“All of them?!”

“…… No, there is one a.s.sa.s.sin Guild who have no news even till now, perhaps there might be good news till then?”

A sigh of lamentation came: “No, the queen has requested to the king to send out the royal cavalry in the name of an exercise. The demon race is also next to that prince….. Hmph! A descendent of the Elven king has actually fallen so far to collude with the evil demon race?!”

“Then that a.s.sa.s.sin guild…..”

“With so many failures, another wouldn’t make any difference…… There’s no need to be concerned about that guild’s success any longer. Even if he returns there’s no way he could be a threat to the older prince with his weakened body.”

“Yes, we believe his highness is the most suited person to become the next king.”

“I thank you all for your ever loyalty.” Another sigh came: “You are dismissed….. Hold on, what about that little girl on the report?!”

The person who was about to leave turned back: “She is just a little girl. There is no need to worry about her, your highness. According to the adventurers’ news that we had gotten, they came together with the duke to collect herb samples and witnessed her abilities to communicate with the magical beasts. It seems to be because of her interaction with the beastmen race….. Still, how powerful would a little girl be? Furthermore, the magical beasts that she can communicate with can’t enter the capital….”

“Is that so?! It seems like I’m worrying too much.”

“Please don’t worry, your highness.”

“Very well, you can go.”

There were many people who could not sleep at night in the Tobias palace.