Chloe had been born into an assassination syndicate.
She had long believed she had already tasted every hardship life could offer.
The older sister who had always cared for her, she later learned, had actually been her mother—and that mother had died during one of their assassination missions.
After that, Chloe completed the task a god had assigned to her and left the syndicate behind.
But once she was out, she discovered she had no other useful skills. Still just a child, she had no choice but to keep working as an assassin.
That was also why she had joined Shadow Garden: because she had finally found a home far better than the life of a killer.
And perhaps because of that past, the first thing she had imagined after being defeated by Filvis was the most miserable ending possible.
It was the most horrifying sight Chloe had ever witnessed in all her years as an assassin.
Now, however, Chloe knew she had been wrong.
Compared to her current life, being locked in a basement and forced to bear children hardly counted as suffering at all.
"Boss, Shadow Garden isn't supposed to be this brutal, nyah..." Chloe sobbed miserably. "Why did you let Alfia become our instructor?"
Before answering, Cid first corrected her on one point.
"Alfia isn't actually a member of Shadow Garden."
He remembered that clearly enough. Alfia had never formally joined.
She had simply kept moving alongside Shadow Garden, and over time that gradually turned into the sort of relationship where everyone just treated her like one of them.
Not that she was always acting together with them now. And thanks to her considerable self-control—and the fact that she still had not defeated Shadow—she still did not know Cid's true identity.
Although, to be fair, Cid was no longer making any special effort to hide it from her. She would probably find out sooner or later.
"Eh? Then Mama Alfia isn't part of Shadow Garden?" little Bell blurted out, more shocked than anyone.
She had always assumed Alfia was Lord Shadow's right hand.
So the two of them were outsiders?
"Wait a second—if she's not one of us, then what right does she have to train us?" Lunoa exclaimed, and for the first time there was real joy on her face.
Filvis shot her a deathly glare.
"Lunoa, what was that? With our current strength, we're of no help to Lord Shadow at all. If there's a way to improve quickly, why would you oppose it?"
It was the sort of stare Kobe Bryant might once have given a teammate during his most cutthroat years.
Lunoa went silent instantly. Chloe swallowed back whatever she had been about to say.
Compared to Alfia, who only enjoyed breaking them physically, the two girls were actually more afraid of Filvis.
After all, when they had first come to assassinate Lord Shadow, it had been Filvis who had beaten them down.
And the look she had given them back then had left a scar on their hearts.
It was not murderous intent.
It was worse than that.
It was the look of someone regarding them as irredeemable trash.
They had not even recognized Lord Shadow's greatness, had actually dared to try to assassinate him, and therefore were not even worth killing. Creatures like them were simply a waste of air.
The only reason Filvis had not killed them outright was because Lord Shadow himself had been merciful.
Seeing the two of them cowed into silence, Cid secretly shook his head.
He really did not approve of that kind of Spartan training.
Nor would he ever force it on anyone.
If they had asked for help, he would have been willing to step in.
But under the pressure of Filvis's gaze, neither girl dared appeal to him.
And from what he had seen, they did genuinely want to become stronger. They complained constantly, yes, but they had never slacked on their assigned goals.
Otherwise Alfia would never have remained so patient with them.
With her pride as one of the mighty, she could tolerate someone failing once and respond with ten biting remarks.
Fail ten times?
Then in her eyes, you were just scrap.
And Alfia did not waste much time on scrap metal.
It was one willing striker and two willing punching bags. That was all there was to it.
"Filvis, are you ready?"
Cid had only come this time to remind her.
The slime he had placed on the Dis sisters had sent him a reaction. The pair were rushing toward Orario at incredible speed.
In the end, they really had honored their contract.
Once Filvis killed them, she would not only complete her revenge, but also finally accumulate the feat necessary to reach Level 6.
"Yes, Lord Shadow. Everything has already been negotiated with the Guild, and Shadow Garden has expanded to one hundred and sixteen members. Your plan can begin at any time. Please punish me!"
Filvis delivered her report respectfully, shame written all over her face.
After all her tireless effort over the last several months, she had finally completed the preparations.
Yet because of her, Lord Shadow's great plan had been delayed for so long.
Filvis felt she deserved death for such a failure.
"...How many members?"
For a moment, Cid wondered whether he had heard wrong.
More than a hundred?
His own recruitment standards for Shadow Garden had never been particularly strict.
Filvis's, on the other hand, were absurdly high.
Unless someone possessed some special talent, they needed to be at least Level 3 before she would even consider letting them in.
And for whatever reason, she had also developed a clear preference for recruiting women.
With conditions like that, Shadow Garden had still managed to gather over a hundred members in just half a year?
"I'm truly sorry. I'm simply too incompetent."
Filvis lowered her head in shame.
Of course. She had still failed. She could not even manage something as simple as running Shadow Garden properly, and had let Lord Shadow down.
"No. You've done more than enough."
Cid somehow managed not to let the shock show on his face.
Filvis really was alarmingly capable.
That was more than he had expected.
Still, it was hardly bad news. He was more than happy to remain a hands-off boss.
"As for the Guild... how exactly did you convince them?"
As he remembered it, once he had taken control of the remnants of the dark faction and occupied the man-made labyrinth, the Guild had more or less become his enemy.
They had only refrained from publicly issuing a bounty on him and Shadow Garden because they feared his strength.
So why would that same Guild now permit Shadow Garden to use the round arena?
Cid had thought he would need to beat Orario into submission first before putting the plan into action.
"I simply explained your upcoming plan to Guild Chairman Royman," Filvis said. "Then I told him we were willing to pay taxes."
"...That's all?"
"Yes. He cares too much about money. Paying taxes was enough."
A faint trace of disdain crossed Filvis's face.
Though her body had become that of a monster, she still thought of herself inwardly as an elf.
As such, she could not help looking down on Royman—the sort of "elf" who only looked the part on the outside and had become a merchant through and through.
"Taxes..."
Cid suddenly did not know what to say.
Could Shadow Garden really end up getting whitewashed for such a ridiculous reason?
At that same moment, inside Guild Headquarters—
Several guild advisors had surrounded Chairman Royman, all of them looking panicked and uncertain.
"Chairman Royman, are we really going to agree to Shadow Garden's outrageous demands?"
Royman wore a pained expression.
"I know. To the adventurers, this will be unacceptable. It's no different from trampling their pride underfoot. But there is no other choice. You've all seen Orario's accounts lately, haven't you?"
Royman was not a corrupt official, but even so, Orario was hemorrhaging money.
Why had he ended up at odds with the Njord Familia?
Why had he almost fallen out completely with the School District?
Why had he been forcing the two great Familias to keep launching expeditions deep into the Dungeon?
Because of money.
The shallowest thing in the world was making money.
The hardest thing in the world was deciding how to distribute it.
As Guild Chairman, earning it and allocating it were his duties. Everything else came second.
The pain on his face faded, replaced by absolute resolve.
"Let the adventurers suffer a little more," Royman declared. "I'll bear the infamy."
....
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