Harem System In A fantasy World

"We have been sitting here for hours, Vivian. Since this morning," he said. "I know I might be repeating myself, but are you certain the old man has not gone senile?"

Vivian sighed for perhaps the tenth time.

"Stop asking stupid questions, Cain. The master’s divinations are almost never wrong."

Vivian gave him an irritated look.

"Almost? We missed him in Grimholt the other day, and after that incident, it would be foolish of him to return there. Regardless of the fact that the duke has been called to answer for his crimes in Grimholt by more than a few enraged families and the royal family, he will probably receive nothing more than a slap on the wrist before going right back to searching for Elion. And you do not think we risk angering the duke by recruiting him?"

Vivian shrugged.

"If it comes to that, it is merely a matter of giving him one of our highly effective disguise methods. Besides, the organization is far more unfathomable than you realize."

She leaned back slightly in her seat.

"Now that you are a High Mage, you will have access to more restricted information and resources. Soon, you will learn that our Assassins Guild possesses a reach so vast that a mere duke cannot threaten it."

Her expression remained calm.

"If the master wished it, you might hear that Duke Dawncrest is no longer of this world by tomorrow."

Cain smiled proudly.

Receiving praise from this uptight woman was a rare occurrence, but he was even prouder of the fact that he had finally become a High Mage.

Still, he was far more curious about what she had meant. Before he could ask, Vivian raised her palm, silencing him once again.

"Do not ask me about sensitive information while we are in public. There are ears everywhere."

"But we have a sound-isolation formation active."

"And you think that works on everyone?"

Cain opened his mouth, but Vivian’s raised brow was enough to make him reconsider whatever response he had been about to give.

He leaned back in his chair and took another long puff from his cigar instead.

"Fine," he muttered. "No more sensitive questions."

Vivian gave him a doubtful look.

"You said the same thing less than an hour ago."

Cain ignored her and looked out towards the busy street.

Silvergrove was far livelier than it had been that morning.

Several people of different races moved between the shops and inns lining the road, many of them wearing the insignias of various academies, guilds and families.

With the Legacy World’s opening drawing closer, the city, like every other city in the kingdom, had become a gathering point for young talents and the organizations hoping to recruit them.

It was the perfect place for someone like Elion to appear.

It was also the perfect place for him to disappear among the crowds before Cain and Vivian ever noticed him.

Cain tapped ash from the end of his cigar.

"You never explained how we are supposed to recognize him if he is using a disguise of his own."

"The master said we would recognize him."

"That is not an explanation."

"It is all the explanation I was given."

Cain scoffed. "So we are sitting here based on another one of the old man’s vague riddles once again."

Vivian’s gaze sharpened.

"You should respect; what is so hard to believe? Most of the things he says unfold exactly as he says they will."

"I respect him plenty. That does not make his instructions any less annoying."

"He brought you into the organization."

"And I have been risking my life for it ever since."

"That is the nature of our work."

Cain grunted and raised his cup, only to discover that it was empty. He looked towards the innkeeper and lifted two fingers, signaling for another drink.

Vivian remained silent, though her eyes continued scanning every person passing through the street.

Unlike Cain, she had complete faith in their master’s divinations.

The old man had told them that Elion would arrive in Silvergrove today and that they would find him somewhere near the Triad Alliance’s headquarters.

He had provided no precise time, no route, and no explanation for how Elion would reach the city after vanishing from Grimholt.

But he had warned them not to approach too hastily. That part concerned her more than anything else.

Elion had already been unusually powerful when they first met him, yet their master’s wording suggested that something had changed since then.

Vivian quietly recalled the final thing he had told her before sending them away.

Do not trust what your eyes tell you when you see him again.

At the time, she had assumed he meant Elion would be using some kind of disguise, but was that really all there was to it?

Cain’s replacement drink soon arrived, and after wetting his parched throat, he began to speak again.

"All we gave him the last time we met was a vague message that he should consider visiting Haven if he was ever in need of allies. What are we offering him this time?" Cain asked. "I am assuming we truly intend to recruit him now."

Vivian gave him a look.

"More questions, I see." She sighed but answered anyway, since the information was not particularly sensitive.

"The usual. A place in the guild, a high starting rank, a few benefits, and an opportunity to meet with the master."

Cain narrowed his eyes.

He had only ever met the mysterious leader of the Assassins Guild once, and even then, he was ashamed to admit that he had no memory of the encounter.

Vivian had told him that it was simply the nature of the master’s power.

All he could remember was that the mysterious figure known simply as the master was quite elderly and unimaginably powerful, but Cain found it difficult to revere someone he knew nothing about apart from a memory he had already lost.

The guild’s affairs and countless branches were mostly handled by the twenty highest-ranked assassins within the organization, collectively known as Death’s Blades.

Each of them was impossibly powerful, and they were ranked according to strength: Well, not exactly.

To be counted among their ranks, one had to challenge and kill a current member using whatever methods they had at their disposal. So long as they provided sufficient proof of the kill, they would inherit the victim’s rank.

Actual combat strength did not matter nearly as much as the result. Poison, traps, betrayal, or any other underhanded method was acceptable so long as it led to victory.

Such was the nature of the Assassins Guild.

"And what are we supposed to do about the bounty the duke placed on his head?" Cain asked, raising a brow.

Vivian took a small sip from her drink.

"Nothing."

Cain stared at her.

"Nothing?"

"The contract has been suspended."

"Since when?"

"Since the master decided that Elion was worth more alive than dead."

Cain leaned back in his chair, his expression becoming thoughtful.

The Assassins Guild rarely abandoned a contract once it had been accepted. Their reputation depended upon their reliability, and clients paid exorbitant prices precisely because they trusted the guild to complete whatever task it was given.

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