The inside of the inn was dirty as expected.
Squeak! Squeeeak!
Broken plates were scattered on the floor, tables were covered in dust, and rats scurried in and out of holes in the walls.
Fortunately, the smell itself wasn't too bad, making it somewhat bearable.
Probably because there were so few guests that there weren't many opportunities for smells to develop.
Inn odors are mostly caused by guests too lazy to wash, drunkards making pizzas on the floor, and couples focused on making babies.
"Two-person room... one bed... room with a window. Second floor, second room. Twenty copper coins."
At least the room rate was cheap. In this area, 20 copper for one night was almost free.
Perhaps because it was an inn that provided neither meals, drinks, nor even baths? Though honestly, considering that, it wasn't that cheap either.
Well, since we'd be abandoning the inn after meeting with organization members anyway, it didn't matter to me.
I climbed the second-floor corridor and opened the door to the second room from the left.
Creeeak.
Unlike the visibly worn corridor, the room was surprisingly clean. Though befitting a cheap inn, it contained just a single straw bed sitting there.
"Haah, they call that a bed... If we end up staying here for days, we should look for another inn. Don't you think so too, Friede?"
"Let's do that! An inn should at least have a bathroom!"
I wasn't sure how long this job would take, but if it wouldn't be finished in a day or two, we should probably sleep somewhere else.
In a proper inn with heating, meals, and soft beds.
Of course, even this kind of inn is better than sleeping outside in the dew... but we're not short on money, so why should we live so poorly?
Just the travel expenses Lady Verloren provided were enough to rest comfortably for a week in an inn with soft wool beds and private bathrooms, with money to spare.
Though I didn't plan on such luxury, if we had to stay for several days, I wanted to stay at a better inn than this one at least.
...Well anyway, that's not what's important right now.
"Let's rest for now. And prepare for battle too."
"Will we fight today?"
"Well, we'll have to meet Argentir's subordinate first to know that."
As instructed beforehand, I stuck the feather decoration in the window frame and waited for the Shadow organization member to make contact while laying out and maintaining weapons and armor.
While I was doing that, Friede checked the consumables she had packed in her bag one by one beside me. Things like potions, bandages, emergency rations, and daggers.
Whether due to her experience in the hero's party or her life as an adventurer, she looked cute checking the consumables with such precise movements.
○
Night fell.
Around when I was starting to regret not buying that lake pig meat earlier, perhaps because we had a meager dinner.
Tap tap.
A man covered head to toe in a black cloak gently tapped on the window, gesturing to be let in while showing a Black Eagle ring on his other hand.
Finally here.
Though his face couldn't be seen due to both hood and mask, the ring proved he was definitely a member of the Black Eagle's Shadow.
Still, should stay alert just in case. There's always the possibility that he killed an organization member and is disguised as one.
"Friede."
I gave Friede a quick glance to signal her to stay on guard, then approached the window and unlocked it.
"Excuse me, Lady Kriemhilde."
As I opened the window and stepped back a couple paces, the man who slid inside bowed with one arm across his chest.
Seems he already knows my identity. Did Argentir tell him? If he knows that much, there's no need for unnecessary elaborate code words.
"And your name is?"
"Um... you can call me Edgar."
Obviously an alias.
Well, mine is an alias too. Only a madman would use their real name doing this kind of work.
"Um, I'm Siegfriede!"
...No, Friede. If you say that, what does that make me? I've unintentionally made the hero look like a madman.
"Uh... um, yes. Nice to meet you, Lady Siegfriede."
See that? Even Edgar is looking at her like 'what's with this person?' That look is saying 'read the room'.
"Haah... Friede, come here."
I let out a light sigh and gestured for Friede to come to my side.
Friede nodded and walked over from the corner of the room to stop beside me. Her right hand behind her back firmly gripping the handle of her black steel greatsword.
It was a message that she would split him from crown to crotch at the slightest suspicious movement.
"Let's skip the time-wasting and get to the point. I came here as instructed, so what do I do now?"
"Yes, first this... it's orders from His Highness."
Edgar pulled a letter from his breast pocket and handed it to me.
"He really likes letters, doesn't he? Seems like speaking would be enough."
I received it with my gauntleted hand and checked the contents in the moonlight.
"Let's see...
'My beloved Harold, when will our next meeting be? Whenever the moonlight is bright like today, my body heats up remembering that night...'
...Wait, what is this? Some kind of code?"
"Ack?! Ah, that, that was a mistake! The orders are this one...!"
Edgar frantically searched his clothes and pulled out another letter.
So that's why it seemed strange - it wasn't a code but just a personal letter. Getting love letters too, living quite the life aren't we? Good times, good times indeed.
I received the new letter Edgar held out and quickly read it.
Rustle.
Oh, this isn't one but two pages.
I thought it was one when receiving it, but after checking I found two letters overlapped.
Let's see, so...
/ Harold! Why have you been so out of touch lately? Surely you're not thinking of leaving irresponsibly after taking my first time? /
...What is this? This also seems far from being orders.
The handwriting is even different from the previous letter.
"...This also appears to be a personal letter."
I folded up the letter threatening to send soldiers to find him if he doesn't contact her, and returned it to Edgar.
Edgar's pupils shook as if an earthquake had struck as he received the letter back. He had the look of a female employee whose boss discovered her lewd selfie account.
Of course, Edgar wasn't a woman but a man.
And quite the player too, two-timing two women under a false identity despite being an assassin. One of them apparently even being a noblewoman.
"Must be nice being so popular."
Really living life to the fullest there. Is that okay for a secret organization's assassin? Rather than envious, I just found it ridiculous.
"I... I'm terribly sorry..."
Edgar hung his head low. Though I wasn't particularly criticizing him, he seemed to take it as criticism.
Well, considering he just had his scandalous private life exposed in front of an executive, it must be quite mortifying. Though it's none of my business.
What do I care if an assassin I'll only meet once two-times or eight-times people?
Friede, who had peeked at the letters, was looking at Edgar like he was trash, but I really couldn't care less.
Reading the last letter was a hundred times more important than that stuff.
This should be the real orders from Argentir.
Of course, if this too turned out to be a love letter, I would probably end up looking at Edgar the same way Friede was. Thinking 'is this guy really an idiot?'
/ Has contact been made, Kriemhilde? Though I've left the subjugation operation to those on site, there's information you should know before carrying out the operation. /
Fortunately, the final letter was indeed orders from Argentir.
No, perhaps it should be called a personal letter rather than orders?
The contents weren't detailed instructions about this operation, but rather information meant for me personally.
Information like Gunther returning to Burgundy, follow-up on matters I had requested, things like that.
According to the letter's contents, the Exorcism Reversal Society's plan that I had sold to him ended in complete failure.
The Rhine Kingdom army didn't even go near the border as they were busy tracking the 'fake Brunhilde' he had created, and the Abyss Priests, realizing things had gone wrong, dispersed to wait for the next opportunity.
They apparently didn't even disperse quietly - based on traces left at the scene, they might have fought among themselves over responsibility for the operation's failure.
What a mess, really. Though they were people without any sense of camaraderie to begin with.
Anyway, among the Abyss Priests returning to their respective hideouts after dispersing like that, the third finger Ganagl unfortunately encountered Heid's party and got crushed.
He managed to survive and escape somehow, but because he fled and hid so hastily, he left traces and was discovered by the Black Eagle's Shadow.
Though Heid is also heading toward Svinaland following his trail, apparently some accident occurred and it will take time for him to arrive.
So deal with Ganagl and get out before Heid arrives. I was glad I hurried here.
A situation where we need to finish the job within roughly three days even though we came by horse. If we had walked here leisurely, we might have been too late.
○
Ah, about the fake Brunhilde mentioned in the letter - apparently they used and then killed a somewhat skilled woman disguised as me.
They picked a prisoner and used her with the condition of pardoning her.
Anyway, this fake Brunhilde apparently lured the Rhine Kingdom army near a cliff and met her death there.
They say she activated what Argentir had given her as an "escape tool" but was actually a self-destruct magic tool that blew off everything above her waist. How cruel.
Thanks to that, the Rhine Kingdom currently believes I'm dead and has completely removed my name from the wanted list.
I'm not sure whether to be grateful for this or say it's too extreme.
/ Just in case, I informed my acquaintance at the Magic Tower about your survival. It would be troublesome if they started acting up seeking revenge. /
He really is thorough though.
Seeing how he informed Amy about my survival because a magic tower mage holding a grudge could become troublesome someday.