Chapter 10

After having walked enough, and just as the sun was starting to set, I returned and went to the school store in order to buy lunch.

It was like a small mobile shop.

The person running it seemed like they had been employed only recently, and it was a little awkward.

Apparently, they would only be here until school started again.

As for what they sold, it was bread with meat and vegetables inside.

Sandwiches like these were popular because you could take them with you.

Perhaps eating here wouldn’t be so bad after all.

While there wasn’t much variety now, I was told that it would change once our lessons started.

As it was a hassle to go out and eat, I decided I would eat here for lunch from now on.

The caretaker had also talked about preserved food. This ended up being a kind of hard bread that was shaped like a stick. It was eaten by Dragon Masters and soldiers while on the move.

It was even sold in town sometimes, and was known as the food ‘Dragon Masters ate.’

You could just keep it under your belt and pull it out when you were hungry. Still, it did make you thirsty.

It was made of highly nutritious powder and expanded in your stomach even if you’ve only eaten a few bites of it.

But as someone who didn’t like overly dry food, it wasn’t my favorite.

We wouldn’t sell such a thing at our bakery.

Besides, it was time-consuming.

As a baker’s son, I was not enthusiastic about eating bread that didn’t even taste good.

That night.

I waited for the others to fall asleep, and then I got out of bed.

“She would have known that the carriage arrived today. And so I might as well get this over with quickly.”

It was not a good idea to keep Her Majesty waiting.

But, there was one problem.

Unlike Right Foots who made regular reports, I was not recognized by the guards there.

I had not made an appointment. Would I really be able to see her?

The Queen’s Shadows protected her.

Among them, there was a group called the ‘Left Hands’ which were known to be incredibly loyal.

A sudden visit might be seen as an assassination attempt.

“Well, I am an assassin…”

They’d have my occupation right, at least.

“If it comes to it, I’ll just make an appointment and then leave.”

The important thing wasn’t to see her. It was to have tried.

I think…

Anyway, I had finished eating dinner, so I might as well go now.

But what if I was attacked?

I would have to fight back.

It would be best not to kill anyone. But I couldn’t hold back unless there was a great difference in skill.

If it came to it, they would have to die, unfortunately.

And so I changed into the black clothes that I had brought from home.

As I was in my room, no one would see me.

“I will have to be careful here on out.”

I thought as I melted into the shadows of the night.

As the Queen’s Right Hand, I generally took on assassinations, but also received orders to infiltrate, investigate, and gather information.

What made this possible was my magic, which was called ‘Shadow Crossing.’

It allowed me to dive into shadows and teleport to a connected shadow.

There weren’t many opportunities to make use of this power during the day, but I was near unbeatable at night.

After all, the night made the world my playground and I could go anywhere.

“…I see. So there is an underground waterway here.”

It was a byroad in the capital that my father had told me about.

Under the vast city, there were manmade waterways.

Father had once been very active in the royal capital as the Queen’s Left Hand.

This had been well before I was born, and father rarely talked about it.

The young Queen Savane had just ascended to the throne, and the Left Hands were reorganized.

This was because there was no telling if the Left Hands who were loyal to the previous ruler would be loyal to her as well.

Father wasn’t just good at being a Left Hand, he took care of other kinds of trouble in the city as well.

According to him, the people he dealt with were generally ‘no longer alive.’

And it was during such work that he became familiar with the city’s underground waterways.

Father was a Right Hand in Sol by the time he got married.

In other words, he had left the royal capital and retired as a Left Hand.

As for this underground waterway, it was made to take in the water from sewers and rainfall. And they existed all around the city.

Of course, there was an entrance near the dormitory as well.

As the Queen’s Left Hand, father was quite familiar with this one as well.
He must have used it often.

He had drawn me a map and explained it to me a little before I left.

“I can probably use it to travel during the day.”

While he didn’t underestimate my skill with Shadow Crossing, he wanted to give me information that would be to my advantage once it was decided that I would be leaving.

And so I might as well make use of it.

Still, I was careful as I moved through the underground waterway.

While I was probably alone, I did not want to bump into someone in the same line of work.

“I must be under the training grounds now.”

Considering the direction and distance I had moved.

It was possible that I would be using this waterway every day.

And so it would be a good thing to compare it with the surface and understand my position.

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone up ahead either. No one is here. I can move faster then.”

After all, I was much faster than any horse when Shadow Crossing.