The assassin slowly opened his eyes.
"...Ugh..."
His head throbbed.
He blinked several times before his vision cleared.
He was sitting on a wooden chair.
His hands were tied behind his back.
The room was small.
A single lantern hung from the ceiling.
A wooden table stood in front of him.
He looked around carefully.
"...Where am I?"
The door creaked open.
Creak...
Rin casually walked inside carrying two cups.
"Hey there."
He placed one cup on the table.
"Want a drink?"
The assassin glanced at it.
"...No."
Rin shrugged.
"Okay."
He picked the cup back up and drank the entire thing himself.
Gulp...
"...Ah."
"Refreshing."
The assassin stared at him.
"..."
Rin pulled up a chair and sat down.
"So..."
"Who paid you to kill us?"
The assassin leaned back as much as the ropes allowed.
"...Should I tell you?"
"And if I do..."
"...what do I get?"
Rin thought for a moment.
"You get to keep your life."
He smiled.
"And maybe..."
"You can go chase your dream."
"I don't know..."
"Become a Noctarion or something."
The assassin chuckled.
"Heh."
"I'm not from that organization."
Rin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"I see."
The assassin continued.
"We're from another assassin company."
"The Noctarion Company is different."
"There are many assassin companies across the world."
"They compete."
"They take contracts."
"They build reputations."
He looked directly at Rin.
"But..."
"If one of us earns the Noctarions' recognition..."
"...our name spreads."
Rin rested his chin on his hand.
"So..."
"You just want to be famous."
The assassin smiled.
"...Who doesn't?"
Rin couldn't help but laugh.
"...You've got a point there."
For a brief moment, the room felt less like an interrogation and more like two men casually talking—though both knew that the real questions had yet to begin.
Rin leaned back in his chair.
He let out a quiet sigh.
"Look..."
"I don't want to waste your time."
"...Or mine."
"So how about you just tell us what we need to know?"
The assassin slowly shook his head.
"...No."
Rin scratched the back of his head.
"You'd better decide quickly."
"My captain will be here soon."
The assassin smirked.
"...Then bring him."
"I'd rather talk to Blue Scarf."
Rin stood up.
"Fine."
"Suit yourself."
A few moments later...
The door opened again.
Saito stepped inside.
He quietly closed the door behind him.
The assassin smiled the moment he saw him.
"...Blue Scarf."
"So..."
"Why let your subordinate interrogate me?"
He leaned forward as much as the ropes allowed.
"Are you scared of me?"
"Scared enough..."
"...to hide behind your people?"
Saito stared at him for a second.
Then chuckled.
"...Wow."
"You sure talk a lot."
He pulled a chair over and sat opposite the assassin.
"First..."
"They're not my subordinates."
"They're my friends."
He folded his arms.
"Second..."
"I've got a proposal for you."
The assassin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Saito's expression became serious.
"I need to save my friend."
The assassin laughed softly.
"You mean..."
"The Eighth Noctarion?"
"He'll be in a better place."
He shrugged.
"Though..."
"That does mean we've got one less competitor."
Saito immediately shook his head.
"...No."
"He doesn't belong there anymore."
"He wanted to stay with us."
"He only went back..."
"...to save our lives."
The assassin stared at Saito.
Then smiled again.
"...Tell me something."
"You trust your crew that much?"
"Don't you think..."
"...one day..."
"...they'll betray you?"
Saito answered without hesitation.
"...No."
"I know they won't."
The assassin slowly shook his head.
"...How naive."
Saito didn't look offended.
Instead, he smiled faintly.
"Maybe."
"But trusting them..."
"...is a choice I made."
"And it's one..."
"...I'll never regret."
The assassin laughed.
"Heh..."
"You don't even know who you're dealing with."
He leaned forward.
"That crew you've got..."
"They'll all be slaughtered by my leader."
Saito remained calm.
"...Oh?"
"So you do have a leader."
He rested his elbow on the table.
"That saves us some time."
"So..."
"Where is he?"
The assassin burst into laughter.
"In space, probably!"
"Hahaha!"
Saito stared at him for a moment.
Then stood up.
"...I'm done."
He turned toward the door.
"Alya."
The door opened immediately.
Alya walked in carrying a small metal case.
"You called?"
Saito nodded.
"Show him what you just made."
Alya smiled.
"Okay."
She opened the case and removed a syringe filled with a completely transparent liquid.
The assassin's smile faded.
"...What are you doing?"
Alya calmly walked toward him.
He tried to pull away.
"Hey!"
"Get your hands off me!"
Alya gently held his arm.
"Just stay still."
"What I'm about to use..."
"...works better that way."
The assassin struggled against the ropes.
"What is that?"
Alya didn't answer.
She carefully inserted the needle into his arm.
Click.
The transparent serum slowly flowed into his bloodstream.
The assassin gritted his teeth.
"...What..."
"...did you inject into me?"
Alya removed the syringe and stepped back.
She looked at Saito.
"Done."
Saito folded his arms.
"Now..."
"We wait."
The assassin glared at Alya.
"...What is this?"
"A truth serum?"
He laughed confidently.
"Hah."
"It won't work on me."
Alya calmly shook her head.
"No."
"It's better than that."
The assassin frowned.
"...Wait."
"...What?"
Before anyone could say another word—
A faint purple smoke began to rise from his body.
Puff...
The smoke quickly grew thicker.
The ropes suddenly became loose.
The assassin's eyes widened.
"W-What's happening?!"
The purple smoke burst outward.
Poof!
A moment later—
The chair was no longer occupied by a grown man.
Instead—
A tiny orange fox sat in the middle of the ropes.
It blinked several times.
Its fluffy tail twitched behind it.
Silence filled the room.
Saito stared at the little fox.
Then smiled.
"...Aww."
"Cute."
The fox immediately stood on its tiny paws.
"What the—"
Its voice was still exactly the same.
"How dare you!"
It looked down at itself.
"My body!"
"My hands!"
"My glorious body!"
Saito crouched in front of it.
"What?"
"You weren't going to tell us anything."
"So..."
"We had to be a little clever."
The fox bared its tiny teeth.
"You monsters!"
Alya smiled proudly.
"The transformation serum works perfectly."
Rin peeked through the doorway.
"...Captain."
"Can we keep him?"
The little fox immediately shouted.
"Absolutely not!"
The tiny fox jumped angrily on the table.
"Turn me back, you idiot!"
Saito looked at him calmly.
"No."
The fox froze.
"...What?"
"No information."
"You stay like that."
The fox's ears dropped.
"You can't be serious."
Saito crossed his arms.
"You weren't willing to talk before."
"So now..."
"You have to cooperate."
The fox stared at him for a few seconds.
Then sighed.
"...Fine."
"You want information?"
"Here it is."
Saito leaned closer.
The fox looked at him seriously.
"My company received a target."
"Someone hired us to kill the Blue Scarf crew."
Saito's expression sharpened.
"Who gave the order?"
The fox hesitated.
"...The Noctarion."
Saito's eyes narrowed.
"Which one?"
The fox shook his head.
"We don't know."
"They only gave the information through a middle channel."
Saito went silent.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
"Then..."
"Where is your leader?"
The fox looked suspicious.
"If I tell you..."
"You change me back?"
Saito nodded.
"Yes."
The fox sighed.
"Fine."
"He's staying uphill from this village."
"Near the old watch area."
Saito stood up.
"Good."
He turned around and walked toward the door.
The fox stared at him.
"..."
"Wait."
"That's it?"
Saito stopped.
"Aren't you going to turn me back?"
For a moment, Saito froze.
Then he chuckled.
"Oh."
"Almost forgot about that."
He looked at Alya.
"Alya."
She nodded.
"On it."
Alya walked toward the fox with another syringe.
The fox looked nervous.
"Wait..."
"What is this one?"
Alya smiled awkwardly.
"Don't worry."
"It should work."
The fox immediately became suspicious.
"...Should?"
Before he could move—
Click.
The serum entered his body.
Purple smoke immediately surrounded him.
Puff!
The fox disappeared.
A figure appeared in its place.
Everyone froze.
The assassin was no longer a fox.
Nor a man.
A woman stood there, staring at her changed appearance.
Alya blinked at her device.
"...Wait."
"This isn't supposed to happen."
The woman looked down at herself.
Then covered her face.
"Great."
"Now you blew my cover."
Saito stared.
"...Wait."
"You were a woman this whole time?"
The assassin looked at him.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"I was just using a disguise."
"I'm pretty good at pretending to be a man."
Saito scratched his head.
"...Well."
"Your disguise was definitely clever."
The woman narrowed her eyes.
"That doesn't make me feel better."
Rin, standing by the door, quietly looked at Bomb.
"...I did not see that coming."
Bomb nodded.
"Same."