Luluvi lay sprawled across the bed in a starfish position, staring blankly at the ceiling.
So many kids... when did she suddenly end up having to look after this many children?
This city was enormous.
Though, surprisingly, the housing prices werenât that highâwell within what she could easily afford.
Then again... she really did have Kanzaki Rei to thank for that. Farming Tier 6 monsters to her heartâs content without needing to search for Tier 6 dungeons everywhere meant her wealth far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Still... Atlante City truly was peaceful.
At least, on the surface.
Kanzaki Rei and Kiyomi returned.
Now, Luluvi found it increasingly difficult to track Kanzaki Reiâs presence. He was like a ghostâwhen her perception swept over him, it felt like there was nothing there at all.
She had no idea what kind of method he was using to block detection.
Meanwhile, Kiyomi and Kanzaki Rei seemed to be chatting excitedly.
...What were they even talking about?
Kiyomi spoke with clear enthusiasm:
"A kid should still have a kidâs weaknesses, right? Like liking sweets or something. The poison doesnât have to take effect immediately eitherâif we can get him to consume some kind of slow-acting chronic toxin over a long period, the results might actually be better."
Kanzaki Rei nodded.
"Yeah... that makes sense."
Kiyomi continued, growing even more animated:
"Of course, thatâs still a lower-tier method. If you can make the target willingly choose death themselves, thatâs the perfect assassination. Or maybe we could ruin his reputation completely first..."
...What?
What are these two even talking about?
They went out for one trip and suddenly theyâre discussing how to kill a child?
Isnât that going way too far?
By now, the two had already reached the front of their residence.
Since they hadnât planned to stay long in Misilru, the three of them had only purchased a slightly luxurious villaânothing excessive.
Still, it had more than enough rooms for four people to live together comfortably.
It also made things more convenient.
After all, this was an unfamiliar continent. If something unexpected happened, being scattered across different locations would make support difficult.
"Oh, Luluvi! Youâre still up?"
As soon as he opened the door and saw her standing there, Kanzaki Rei greeted her with a smile.
But Luluvi looked unusually serious.
"Kiyomi... can you tell me why youâre trying to kill a child?"
Kiyomi tilted her head upward to look at her.
From this angle, she couldnât even see Luluviâs faceâher view was completely blocked.
She was already shorter than Kanzaki Rei, and Kanzaki Reiâs height happened to line up roughly with Luluviâs chest.
"Oh, Kanzaki Rei asked me to help him kill that person."
Kanzaki Rei sighed helplessly.
"Luluvi, the one I want to kill... is harder to kill than I am."
"Do you really think heâs an ordinary child?"
Luluvi fell silent for a moment.
"...Alright. Tell me everything."
Kanzaki Rei smiled faintly.
"Mm. I was planning to talk to you anyway."
â
The three of them sat on the sofa in their new home.
Kanzaki Rei explained the entire situationâwell, a fabricated version of it. Though, in truth, it wasnât too far from reality.
The main things he concealed were his own abilities.
For example... his ability to simulate the future.
"So what youâre saying is," Luluvi summarized, "you two are in a kill-or-be-killed relationship. If he lives, you might die."
"And once he finds you, heâll keep hunting you relentlessly."
Kanzaki Rei nodded.
"Yeah."
"And I canât just ignore him either. Even though something seems to have gone wrong and he doesnât remember who I am right now... thereâs no guarantee he wonât remember someday."
"And as long as heâs alive, some of the opportunities I encounter in the future might very well be traps heâs set."
"If heâs this determined to kill me... then I have to respond in kind."
Luluvi exhaled softly.
"...Alright. What do you need me to do?"
Just moments ago, she had been thinking about how peaceful this city was.
And now, Kanzaki Rei was already planning to kill a figure of considerable fame across the Moonsea... a Reincarnator.
The name "Seiya," the Reincarnator, wasnât exactly obscure.
Hidden away?
Luluvi glanced at the "child" in question in her mind.
Hidden away... where exactly?
He showed up and immediately started causing trouble.
"...Nothing particularly urgent," Kanzaki Rei replied.
"Just keep an eye on him when you can."
Although using perception could attract attention, Kanzaki Reiâs own perceptionâenhanced by Unsolvable Mysteryâcould not be detected by others.
But Luluviâs perception...
...did carry a slight risk of being noticed.
However, Kanzaki Rei had already tested that risk during previous simulations. Before the final confrontation with Seiya, he had confirmed that the latter could not detect it.
During the daytime, the streets were packed with peopleâhundreds of thousands moving about.
Any class-holder who had reached Level 3 could release perception.
As a result, the entire city was filled with overlapping waves of perception.
Luluviâs perception was merely one among countless othersâcompletely inconspicuous.
That was also why, in such a bustling environment, it was difficult to single out any one individual.
Just like how Kanzaki Rei himself hadnât noticed Seiyaâs presence in that same environment.
...Which also meant there might be other valuable things he had overlooked.
The three of them discussed assassination strategies late into the night.
Kiyomi was especially happy.
This was the first time anyone had sat down with her to seriously talk about killing someoneâdiscussing methods, strategies, possibilities.
To her, this was pure joy.
She didnât really have any other hobbies.
Practicing the creed of an assassinâfinding targets and killing themâwas her greatest passion.
But her upbringing had also taught her that she couldnât kill indiscriminately. Only those who deserved death could be killed.
So most of the time, she hunted bandits and criminals.
In Loren, she could already be considered a force for punishing evil.
Yet even now, she had never encountered an opponent truly worth killing.
Kanzaki Rei, Iz, Kumironiâyes, they were strong.
Killing them would be extremely difficult.
But she had never seriously considered it.
At most, she treated them as sparring partners.
As for other powerful enemies...
They were usually dealt with by Kanzaki Rei and the others before she ever had the chance.
Which meant that from the moment she was born until now...
Kiyomi had never encountered a target that truly needed to be killed.
And nowâ
Sitting together, discussing how to eliminate a difficult target...
It felt like she had discovered an entirely new world.
â
March 26.
Kanzaki Rei kept constant watch on Seiya.
At the same time, he also gathered information about the relic that granted access to the "Ascending Realm."
After investigating more closely, he learned that the relic wouldnât open until April.
No rush, then.
Better deal with Seiya first.
In the final minutes of the day, Kanzaki Rei conducted another assassination simulation.
The result... was still failure.
Direct assaults simply didnât work.
With so many life-saving items, surviving wasnât difficult for Seiya.
Especially certain special items that could grant near-invincibility for a brief instant.
Similar to Kanzaki Reiâs own ability to phase into nothingness.
Even if it lasted only a moment, it was more than enough time for Seiya to activate teleportation and escape.
...Which meantâ
He really did need to make Seiya gradually lower his guard.
If he could lure him into a location where teleportation was restricted...
Kanzaki Rei recalled that certain dungeons possessed spatial sealing effects.
If he could draw Seiya into such a placeâ
Then escape would no longer be an option.