Everything happened too suddenly.
The passerby squatting nearby and smoking was sprayed in the face with blood, staring in utter shock.
“Kill! Murder!”
The girls across the street were even more surprised, quickly running downstairs and rushing over.
“Zero!” Celes called out.
No more words were needed.
The Assassin Girl swiftly chased after the cloaked figure.
The target was thin, not tall, and moved with remarkable agility, darting up and down the alleyways.
In no time, he had vanished without a trace.
At the gate, Celes stepped forward to take a look.
The little fishman’s throat had stopped moving, with only blood and water continuously gushing out.
“Miss Leah, can you save it?”
“I can’t.”
Saintess shook her head.
“The Blessing of Light is useless on other races and heretics—in fact, it can even cause harm.”
That was the truth.
The little fishman quickly breathed his last, his dead fish eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.
“We were just about to get some information, and then it was killed to silence it.”
Leah tried to analyze.
“Could it have been targeting us?”
Vina pouted.
“Unlikely. For this kind of little Siren, you could just grab any at the Fish Market entrance. If secrecy was the concern, killing it wouldn’t make sense.”
Celes didn’t jump to conclusions.
Instead, she turned to the pink-haired, well-endowed girl.
“Ella, what do you think?”
Ah, do I have to answer too?
Ella hesitated about whether to speak up, since the matter was quite serious.
After thinking it over, she said, “Well~, maybe we should go back and ask the Governor. If this has happened before, we can rule out the suspicion that it’s aimed at us.”
Half joking, half serious—a mix of softness and wit.
Meanwhile, in the alley behind the Workshop, the earlier chase had left some commotion, but now that the killer had escaped, everything fell silent again.
Only Zero was still searching for traces under the curious gaze of the passersby. She touched the brick wall by the road, but found nothing.
The way the killer disappeared without a trace, and the assassination technique of a single fatal strike—everything was so professional, yet strangely familiar.
After a few minutes, Zero returned to the Workshop entrance and looked at her companions.
“I lost them. The killer was very agile, and there was probably more than one—someone helped him cover his tracks…”
“Hey, you there! What are you all doing standing around!”
People from the Market Administration Office had arrived to investigate the Murder Case.
Seeing a group of girls gathered around the corpse, they wanted to step forward and detain them.
Just then, Dory hurried over from behind.
“Stop right there, you idiots! These ladies are honored guests from the Royal Capital of Humanity, special guests of the Governor.”
The Market Administration Office staff instantly broke out in a cold sweat, bowing repeatedly in apology.
“Ladies,” Dory approached and asked, “do you have any guidance regarding this Murder Case?”
“Nothing much. We were on the other side of the street and only saw someone in a cloak make the move.”
Celes gave the corpse one last glance, then turned her head.
“Take us to the Governor’s Mansion. We have some business with the Governor.”
“Understood.”
The Market Administration Office had arrived aggressively, but in the end, they only questioned witnesses, made a record, disposed of the body, and then left.
A lowly fishman without even a name—no one cared.
The Governor’s Mansion was at the northernmost part of the city, a ways from the Market.
By the time they arrived, Kru Lalai had already received a report from his subordinates about the incident at the Workshop entrance.
“Sorry to have made a spectacle of ourselves,” he said gravely.
“Such a heinous act of murder in broad daylight in a busy district is a failure on our part as managers. We must address it seriously and handle it properly.”
His face was indeed stern, but everything he said was just empty official talk.
Celes remembered Ella’s suggestion and took the initiative to ask, “Has this sort of thing happened before? Has that cloaked Assassin appeared previously?”
Kru Lalai’s expression didn’t change.
After thinking for a moment, he nodded.
“Yes, and it has gone on for a long time. They are not just one or two people, but an organization.”
“An organization?”
The girls immediately perked up, sensing there was something behind all this.
Even Ella quietly became more serious.
So, apart from the conservative Management Faction, the reckless Sirens, and their own scheming selves, there were still some mysterious folks in Harbor City?
“Yes, they’ve been around for a long time. Similar assassinations are not uncommon, and they’re almost always aimed at Sirens. So we suspect it’s some kind of revenge.”
Kru Lalai rubbed his neck and continued, “They’ve been rooted here for ages, and with Harbor City being difficult to manage, we haven’t found a good way to deal with them. If you ladies could lend a hand, that would be most helpful.”
Celes immediately and politely declined.
“Sorry, we have our own work to do.”
She knew her priorities.
The diplomatic mission hadn’t even started, so how could they spare people to investigate a murder case?
Since it was clear the Assassin wasn’t targeting them, she decided to set it aside for now.
The plan couldn’t be disrupted.
They’d look for information again tomorrow.
As Vina said, little fishmen like that could be found by the handful at the Market entrance.
After bidding farewell to the Governor, the girls returned to their inn to rest.
Although there was an accident today, their strategy of “getting to know the other party” was correct, and they had achieved some results.
Celes was very confident, deciding to get a good night’s sleep and recharge.
Ella was also confident in her failure, secretly snickering to herself while lying in bed.
Kukuku, it’s good to be confident, but you foolish Human Race girl, you’re facing the Sea Demon Tribe—a bunch of tough old hands who’ve crawled out of the mud.
Back then, I too tried to build a partnership with sincerity, but ended up losing face in a big way.
What makes you think you can outdo this Demon King…
“Ella~”
Oh crap—!
Ella shuddered all over, even her little butt tensing up.
She felt the second smallest softness in the team pressing against her back, but honestly, she didn’t even need to feel it to know who it was.
Who else but the sunlit Assassin Girl could appear behind her so silently?
Back in the forest battle, she was always the one stabbing from behind!
“Zero, you…”
Ella tried to sound calm.
“Next time, can you make a little noise before you approach?”
Luckily, this time it was only a bit of cold sweat—she hadn’t embarrassed the Demon King too badly.
“But,” Zero whispered, “if Ella is asleep, wouldn’t making noise wake you up?”
“…”
Well, that… actually makes sense… Not!
If you’re worried about waking me, then don’t climb into my bed in the middle of the night!
“It’d still be better if you made some noise. Did you come to me for something?”
“Mm. It’s about what happened today.”
Zero took a light breath, her presence making Ella feel at ease.
Then she slowly said, “The Assassin who killed today—the way they killed, the way they escaped, and some other things I can’t quite explain—it all felt really familiar. So, I want to try to find them.”
After she finished, she looked at Ella hesitantly.
“Do you agree?”
Ella sighed, feeling conflicted.
“Zero, for this, you need to ask Celes.”
She’s the leader.
Why are you asking me if I agree or not?
Do I look like the type to just agree to anything?
“Ah, sorry!”
Zero realized she’d made a small blunder, apologized, and climbed off Ella’s bed, preparing to return to her own room.
At the door, she couldn’t help but look back.
“Ella.”
“Mm?”
“You still smell really nice, but… why do you have a bit of Miss Leah’s scent on you?”