But now that she had escaped the mansion, Ainola had to think about how to escape Clear Spring Town.
The town was currently under a lockdown even stricter than Hail City’s had been. Maybe because the place was smaller, escaping Clear Spring Town now seemed nearly impossible.
However, after thinking for a long time, Ainola couldn’t come up with a solution.
“This is too hard,”
Ainola sighed.
“This place is unfamiliar, and I can’t even find a helper.”
“No choice. You should be grateful that Random Teleportation Scroll didn’t send you into the deep sea.”
Spark shrugged, indicating she couldn’t help.
Ainola had no choice but to take things one step at a time.
She couldn’t stay by Anderson’s side because she didn’t know how long this mercy of hers would last. If the day ever came when she could truly bring herself to kill, Anderson would definitely be in trouble.
The hatred of a destroyed kingdom and a lost family wasn’t something that could be easily erased.
For Ainola, not taking revenge on Anderson was already a huge concession.
She didn’t want to raise her blade against a former friend.
So, Ainola chose to run away.
These past few nights when she slept, she kept dreaming of that overwhelming fire from her childhood. It had burned away everything she had, leaving her alone and adrift in the world.
All the people who had been kind to her had also died in that fire.
Because of this, Ainola hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep these past few days.
“By the way,”
Spark thought of something and said,
“what do you plan to do after you escape?”
“Me…?”
Hearing this question, Ainola began to examine her future.
To be honest, when she came for revenge, she hadn’t planned on leaving the Glory Empire alive.
From the very beginning, she had come to Hail City to investigate with a mindset of mutual destruction.
She just never expected fate to play such a trick—that the incredibly kind person she’d lived with for a year, who had provided her meals for a year, would turn out to be the prince of the Glory Empire.
‘If I hadn’t spent that year with Anderson, he’d probably be dead by now, right?’
Ainola sighed inwardly, then spoke.
“As for the future… I plan to keep being an assassin, muddling through the rest of my life. If I ever fail a mission and get caught, I’ll bite down on the poison capsule in my molar and kill myself.”
“Wow… you’re so pessimistic.”
Spark pursed her lips.
“There are still many beautiful things in this world, is it really that bad?”
“All those beautiful things belong to other people, don’t they? What do they have to do with me?”
Ainola looked indifferently at the town’s clock tower.
She stood up and said,
“Let’s not dawdle here. Let’s go.”
The girl didn’t know where to go. She just returned to that temporary assassin’s hideout.
They say the most dangerous place is the safest.
Normally, Anderson probably wouldn’t expect Ainola to return to this place.
“Let’s wait a few days. Once this commotion dies down, I should be able to leave.”
“You’re thinking too wishfully. The guards here won’t rest until they’ve turned this place upside down.”
Just then, a cold voice sounded behind Ainola. The only assassin who could appear behind her without her noticing was one person.
“Contact?”
Ainola looked at the other person in surprise, momentarily unsure how he had gotten here.
“How did you get to this godforsaken place?”
Facing Ainola’s question, the Contact just laughed coldly.
“You used a Random Teleportation Scroll, so I came to check on you. I didn’t expect you to bring the prince along with you.”
The Contact’s voice carried a hint of mockery.
But Ainola was used to his personality and said dismissively,
“What could I do? I had no choice.”
Ainola never would have guessed that Anderson would jump after her without a second thought.
Was he really not afraid of death?
“So, can you get me out of here?”
The Contact said coldly,
“I came here precisely to get you out of this place.”
“Maybe you came to treat me to a meal?”
Ainola made a small joke, then said seriously,
“Even though you can get me out of here, I imagine it must come at a price, right?”
“I like talking to smart people.”
The Contact nodded.
“When the Ross Kingdom was destroyed, a great deal of treasure was plundered and its whereabouts remain unknown to this day. Among it is something I’ve always wanted—a key called the Eye of Wite. I need you to help me find it.”
Hearing this, Ainola was stunned for a moment.
The Ross Kingdom was her own little, broken country. The war of invasion had caused many valuable treasures from the kingdom to scatter across the world.
Ainola had tried to collect these things, but the information she could find was ultimately very limited.
She never expected to find a clue she wanted from the Contact.
Even though she didn’t know what this “Eye of Wite” he wanted was, a task he needed to commission her for definitely wouldn’t be something simple.
Seeing that Ainola seemed hesitant, the Contact continued.
“I have nobles backing me. After you escape, I’ll naturally arrange a new identity for you. Once you change your appearance, you won’t have to worry about Anderson finding you, right?”
“…Fine.”
After hearing his proposal, Ainola finally nodded and agreed to his request.
“Straightforward.”
The Contact’s hoarse voice was unpleasant to hear.
He opened the door and said to Ainola,
“The Fengting Association has hidden a Magic Formation in Clear Spring Town. I came through that formation and will leave through it as well. Follow my steps and don’t fall behind.”
The Contact walked ahead of Ainola.
The girl sized up this assassin.
The reason she always called him “Contact” was simple—that was his codename.
“I didn’t expect you to survive Anderson’s hands.”
The Contact said mockingly.
“He’s a Judgment Knight. As a knight who fights evil, his tracking ability is not to be underestimated. He might have already locked onto our location and is now gradually tightening the encirclement.”
Anderson’s own abilities were formidable, and with the help of the White Wizard, he had basically never failed in capturing someone.
That’s why the Contact was surprised Ainola was still alive.
“Then let’s run faster. What else can we do?”
Ainola shrugged, indicating there was no other way.
Soon, the two arrived at a winery on the outskirts of town.
But before they could approach, the Contact stopped.
He clicked his tongue and said,
“Trouble. The Temple Knights seem to have already set an ambush here.”
“What do we do now?”
Just as Ainola was about to suggest sneaking in, she saw the Contact pull out a heavy sword from behind his back and say,
“We fight our way in.”