Ghost of the Divine Tree (5)
Eunhyeon thus explained to Eira the tasks she needed to perform as the 'bait.'
As she walked down the road, describing her duties to Eunhyeon, the two of them had already arrived at the adventurer guild building.
Eira glanced sideways at Eunhyeon beside her, then let out a deep sigh, visibly tense.
Whether it was a deep breath to steady herself or not, she composed her mind and pushed open the door to the adventurer guild.
Creeeak.
The moment the door opened, the rusty hinges squealed, revealing the bustling interior of the adventurer guild filled with raucous chatter.
Some adventurers pondered over request notices posted on the board, choosing quests to earn their daily bread. Others argued heatedly about expedition plans. Still more proposed party formations to fellow adventurers. The atmosphere was a chaotic mix of voices, yet everyone treated it as just another day—no one paid it any mind.
A few adventurers glanced at Eira as she entered, but she stiffened slightly under their gazes before marching straight to the reception counter with steady steps.
Her striking beauty, the high-quality clothes too fine for a commoner, and the lack of any equipment marked her as a noble lady here to post a request. The adventurers figured as much and quickly lost interest.
Eira strode up to the counter and took a seat in the chair provided.
The uniformed receptionist, a woman, greeted her from across the desk.
"Hello. Welcome to the Fernin branch of the Adventurer Guild. I'm receptionist Trisha. How may I assist you?"
"I've come to post a request."
"A request?"
"Yes. It's been four days since my friend went missing. I'm so worried—I want to find her no matter what, and this is the only place I can turn to."
"I see. May I have the name of the person you're looking for?"
Trisha, the receptionist, didn't mention that missing persons searches were typically handled by the knights or guards. As long as the request wasn't tied to a crime, prying into the details violated guild rules.
"Erin Hersha."
Trisha's hand froze as she reached for the request form to note down the missing person's name.
"Hersha...?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
Trisha set down her pen and pondered deeply for a long moment.
"I'm sorry, miss, but we can't issue this request on behalf of the guild."
"...Why not?"
"Well, it's just..."
Trisha hesitated, glancing around at the onlookers.
Eira, seeing her reaction, spoke up as if she'd been waiting for it.
"Could I borrow a meeting room?"
"Pardon? Oh, yes, of course."
Trisha was puzzled by the noble lady's sudden request—she had no idea what prompted it—but it wasn't a bad idea. She planned to explain in private why they couldn't accept the request.
They climbed the stairs to an empty meeting room on the upper floor, where Eira sat under Trisha's guidance.
"Miss, that friend of yours, Erin Hersha..."
"I know."
"Pardon?"
"I know what you're getting at."
The investigation into the Hersha family, including Erin Hersha, was being handled by Artia under orders from the royal family and court nobles.
This scandalous affair—involving a low-level kingdom official and nothing short of a national disgrace—was tangled in complex circumstances, intertwined with the kingdom's political issues.
The royals and nobles didn't want adventurers meddling for any reason. It reeked of 'We'll handle our own affairs.' That political entanglement was precisely why the guild couldn't issue a search request for Erin Hersha.
And yet, this noble lady had brought it up knowing full well? Trisha was thoroughly flustered.
"Pardon? Then why..."
Trisha stared at the composed Eira in bewilderment.
"I have one favor to ask. No—this is the real request."
"A favor?"
"I'd like you to spread a rumor."
"What kind?"
"That a girl claiming to be Erin Hersha's friend is asking around about her whereabouts."
"That's..."
It wasn't a difficult task. The intent behind deliberately spreading such a rumor was baffling, but compared to the earlier request, it raised no issues.
"Please make it spread as quickly and widely as possible."
"Of course. Is this request targeted at the guild's adventurers? How would you like to handle payment?"
"Here's two gold coins upfront."
"P-Pardon?"
"I'll come back tomorrow or the day after once it's done and pay another two."
"Wait, hold on... You're offering that much? Even for this, it's way too generous..."
Two gold coins exceeded a month's pay for a newbie guild receptionist.
"It doesn't matter. Forget the request form. If that's all..."
Eira said her piece curtly, stood with a polite bow, and left the meeting room.
"Whoa..."
Trisha sat there dazed, stunned that spreading a single rumor had netted her a full month's rookie salary in one go.
Eira exited the guild and rendezvoused with Eunhyeon, who waited outside. She reported that she'd carried out his instructions to the letter.
"Is this really going to work?"
"Yeah. Now we just wait until nightfall."
"Still, two gold coins just to spread a rumor...?"
The Olivion marquisate, Eira's family, was wealthy enough. But under her mother Terezia's strict oversight and frugal allowances, Eira's personal spending money was stingier than most noble children's.
Even so, for a marquis's daughter to balk at this sum—it caught Eunhyeon off guard.
"It's too much. Isn't it excessive for the job?"
"Sure, it's a bit generous. But the more you pay, the harder they'll push the rumor."
"You'll pay me when it's done, right?"
She hadn't been keen at first, but Eira didn't hate money. She was starting to feel a thrill and curiosity about the mission.
"Of course. Can't skimp on expensive bait like you."
Eira narrowed her eyes at being called 'bait,' shooting Eunhyeon a look.
He chuckled and led her out onto the main street, strolling through the shopping district.
Eunhyeon and Eira killed time snacking from street vendors and shops. Before long, the evening sunset faded into dark night.
As the awaited hour arrived, they parted ways per Eunhyeon's plan.
Alone now, Eira deliberately took a dimly lit alley with few passersby under the night sky.
Eunhyeon trailed her from afar, suppressing his presence completely. He didn't slack on 'detection' to scan the surroundings.
It wasn't hard to spot the dark shadows pursuing Eira just like him.
The bait's been taken.
A satisfied smile crossed his lips as he watched the fish snap up the lure he'd dangled.
To avoid detection by Eira's stalkers, Eunhyeon shadowed them carefully, counting their numbers while staying hidden.
Two hiding and tailing Eira on foot.
Two leaping across rooftops, scouting and guarding the perimeter.
Two on the ground, probing ahead and watching for anyone who'd spotted them.
Six in total, divided into roles with disciplined precision. Their black attire and face masks screamed professionals—not amateurs. Eunhyeon clicked his tongue.
Two for the kill, four to eliminate witnesses and traces. That method... Hmm.
Not lone wolves, but a team. Eunhyeon knew one group that operated this way, and he tsked again.
Hiring such meticulous killers—who erased traces and witnesses, not just the target—meant the mastermind behind this was hypersensitive about the incident.
Of course, Eunhyeon had goaded them by overspreading the rumor to lure an attack on Eira.
Eira quickened her pace—perhaps sensing the unnatural quiet, the chill wind, or the assassins' gazes. Eunhyeon slipped away to avoid their eyes, scaling the wall of a rooftop building vertically where an assassin stood watch.
His footsteps were utterly silent; the two rooftop sentries noticed nothing.
The moment he reached the roof, Eunhyeon struck one assassin's nape with a knife-hand, knocking him out cold.
"Guhk!"
"...!"
The short groan and crumpling body alerted the other, who leaped back in shock to create distance.
He pursed his lips to whistle a warning, but Eunhyeon—who'd already felled one—was gone.
What the—!
The moment he'd heard the groan, he'd backed away to assess. But his partner lay sprawled alone, and something slammed into his back.
No time to process—he twisted forward to escape, but Eunhyeon's left arm snaked around his neck, locking in a chokehold with both arms.
"Grkkk!"
His airway crushed, he clawed desperately at Eunhyeon's iron grip, but it didn't budge.
As consciousness faded, he yanked a dagger from his leg holster and stabbed wildly at Eunhyeon's left side.
Something was off. He thrust with all his might into the arm choking him from behind—yet the blade met no flesh, blocked like a steel wall.
No chance to look; this desperate counter drew on his last reserves.
Ultimately, the chokehold won. His arms went limp, body slumping.
Eunhyeon released, and the assassin flopped to the ground like a ragdoll.
In under ten seconds, both were out. Eunhyeon pondered their disposal but prioritized watching Eira.
He worried they might wake and flee mid-chase, but resolved to wrap it up before then.
Hoisting both over his shoulders, he pursued Eira. Even burdened, his movements were feather-light and wind-swift, vaulting rooftops effortlessly.
He soon spotted her.
Trapped in a dead-end alley with nowhere to run, Eira wasn't trembling in terror.
No sword in hand, no combat experience—tension etched her face, but the seasoned killers sensed the subtle difference: no paralyzing fear.
Eunhyeon watched as two assassins faced off against her in the alley.
He located the other pair—the ground sentries ensuring no traces or witnesses.
Eira stood cornered, confronting two figures cloaked head-to-toe in black masks and garb, radiating danger. One's dagger blade gleamed coldly under the moonlight.
The dagger-wielder charged, thrusting at her abdomen.
Clang!
Metal rang out as the blade met the mana barrier enveloping Eira.
"...!"
Both the attacker and his watching partner froze in shock at the unexpected defense. The assailant swung again to shatter it, but the blade bounced harmlessly off.
Safe inside the sturdy barrier, Eira exhaled the breath she'd held, clutching her racing heart to calm it.
"Haaa..."
Within the shield that had blocked the strike, she felt her lifespan shorten from the strain.
Slumping against the wall, she gripped her chest, watching the assassin batter futilely at the barrier.
It protected her, but ignorant of the artifact's full capabilities from Eunhyeon, she feared it might shatter anytime.
As the pair fixated on breaking it...
"Argh!"
A scream from behind made them halt, bodies tensing.
They turned slowly.
Four comrades lay sprawled on the ground. A silver-haired man stood over them, eyeing the pair.
Tension gripped the assassins.
Silence fell between the silver-haired man—Eunhyeon—and them.
Deploying a six-man team for one underage girl stemmed from the client's insistence on clean work—no loose ends—and double pay.
But to the assassins, it was overkill.
Yet four were down without a sound.
This 'variable,' Eunhyeon, hadn't been anticipated. How had they missed this intel?
The girl's barrier artifact.
The guard who silently dispatched their team.
He subdued rather than killed.
And his speed—unnatural.
The assassin realized.
Were we... lured?