71: Who wants to kill me?

The clues in Ronan's mind instantly connected.

The madam said the star performer had only been missing for a few days, but her room's doors and windows were tightly shut, and the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust.

That room was prepared specifically for them.

At the time, Ronan had a faint feeling something was wrong, so he had specifically scanned the room back and forth several times with his Spiritual Power, fearing a trap.

He had never been able to figure out how that small box had suddenly appeared.

Although Spiritual Power couldn't penetrate the small box, the box itself could be sensed.

It turned out that Little Mustache had brought the small box in.

He must have hidden it in a storage device on his person, which was why Ronan's Spiritual Power hadn't detected it.

No wonder these three acted like they had no intention of finding anyone; it turns out I was their target all along... "Who are 'they' that you mentioned? Why do they want to deal with me?"

Ronan stepped on Little Mustache's stomach, dangerous energy surging from his fingertips as he pointed them straight at the man's head.

"I don't know. It was the person who treated us to dinner; he went to the Academy to find the three of us, saying there was a high-paying private mission and asking if we'd take it..."

"He gave us your portrait and specifically instructed us to use another excuse to lure you in..."

Seeing Ronan's expression grow increasingly grim, Little Mustache's voice gradually trailed off.

A sudden wave of unease washed over Ronan.

He slightly regretted letting the Employer escape; had he known, he would have stalled him to the end, at least Pelly could have finished him off.

If what Little Mustache said was true,

then he hadn't accidentally stumbled into some trap of a private mission and coincidentally become a target for organ harvesting.

Instead, from the very beginning, the opponent's target had been him alone.

Who wants to kill me?

Ronan went through everyone he had offended or might have offended, even considering characters like Viscount Roland, but he still couldn't find a clue.

He was currently wearing the face of a young man in his twenties, and the number of people who knew him didn't exceed... Wait.

Could it be a problem with this face?

"The Employer gave you my portrait; did he mention my code name?"

Ronan kicked Little Mustache in the stomach, causing him to arch his back in pain.

"I—I forgot..." Little Mustache blubbered, his face full of grievance.

You're the one feeling aggrieved?

Ronan glared and kicked him again. "Do you realize you're harming people?"

"The fact that I didn't kill you on the spot makes me practically a saint."

"I was wrong, please don't kill me..." the Halfling wailed on the ground.

"Shut up!" Ronan feigned another kick, scaring the other man into immediate silence.

Ronan's mind was in turmoil, a thousand thoughts racing through it.

From the looks of it, the most likely scenario was that the original owner of this face had left behind quite a mess, causing his enemies to become Ronan's own.

This is such a scam!

Adventurers Guild, look at what you've given me!

Are you really going to force me to use that other female soul and transform into a woman?

No, no, no, how could I have such a dangerous thought?

The mask of truth wasn't like the previous disguise masks; it could do more than just use two faces.

As long as he could absorb new souls, he could transform into anyone.

It seemed he would have to be more careful when going out in the future and try to stay within the Academy as much as possible.

"Hurry up and wake your Orc teammate. We're leaving."

Pelly was the first to step out of the cell door.

"What about that guy you mentioned at the third-floor entrance who was supposedly quite strong?"

Ronan asked, "Is he still there?"

"Right at your feet." Pelly pointed to one of the thugs' corpses.

"Then his strength was pretty average," Ronan commented.

"Stop talking nonsense and move fast!" Pelly urged.

If she hadn't been unsure of the situation above, she would have wanted to run out herself to call for help from the Count.

"Please... don't kill me," the Halfling pleaded again, foaming at the mouth.

"I had no choice. That person later said I knew too much and that if I didn't act, he'd come after the three of us..."

Ronan didn't bother with him, focusing all his effort on controlling his Spiritual Power to form a shockwave, which he then carefully directed toward Savage Stone.

Perhaps because he was exceptionally careful this time, Savage Stone showed no other adverse symptoms after opening his eyes upon the impact.

At this moment, his consciousness was slowly returning.

"I—I don't know what that small box is for either; they just told me to open it..."

Little Mustache was still making excuses for himself. "I even tested this small box before opening it; there was no danger at all. Really, look..."

Fearing Ronan wouldn't believe him, he pulled the small box from before out of his robes.

"Why is that small box still on you?" Ronan immediately sensed something was wrong.

He saw Little Mustache give a sinister smile as he suddenly cracked the box open a sliver and hurled it at Ronan.

"Prepared for you just in case, of course!"

The opening of the small box widened against the wind as it flew through the air.

In an instant, the small box erupted with the exact same shockwave as before.

Ronan was startled.

But then, a green-skinned figure blocked his path.

The newly awakened Savage Stone prepared to take the frontal damage for him.

With Savage Stone's robust physique, it was enough to block this wave of physical impact, something a "Magic Shield" couldn't compare to.

Since that was the case... Ronan once again used a shockwave, directing his Spiritual Power around Savage Stone and hurling it all at the opened box in the air.

Bang.

The two invisible forces of Spiritual Power collided; instead of canceling each other out, they fell into a brief stalemate.

Realizing this, Ronan immediately increased his Spiritual Power output,

making his shockwave surge like a wave, pushing the box's shockwave backward.

The effect was instantaneous.

The box's shockwave changed direction, becoming part of Ronan's own shockwave instead.

The two merged and surged powerfully toward the three Halflings.

Before Little Mustache could even speak, his soul was instantly obliterated under the impact of the combined Spiritual Powers.

The same happened to the other two Halflings on the ground; all three became soulless husks, completely silent.

"What happened?" Pelly noticed the commotion and immediately returned to check.

"Nothing, just a backstab from a teammate."

Ronan finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I'm quite familiar with those."

...The three of them sprinted toward the upper floors, ready for battle at any moment.

Ronan noticed that Parker, who had been seriously injured earlier, had vanished, and he didn't see anyone on the first or second floors either.

He didn't know if these floors were originally empty or if everyone had fled due to the Employer's situation.

It wasn't until the three of them returned to the main shop of the Ruby Dream Hall and still didn't see a single person

that they realized this might be related to the Employer.

"Uncle, thanks to you this time." Pelly nodded in gratitude. "I'm going to the Counts Manor right now to find Uncle Barnes."

Her eyes burned with the flames of battle. "This time, I'm going to bring people to flatten this place and rescue everyone!"

"Uncle, coming with me?" Pelly invited.

"No, I need to get back to the Arcane Arts Society quickly." Ronan shook his head.

He now felt that the outside world was full of danger, constantly feeling like someone was watching him from the shadows.

"Then how can I find you later?" Pelly asked.

"Just look for me at the Arcane Arts Society; my code name is Black Day." Ronan paused.

"But I'm very busy, so I'll try not to leave the Academy as much as possible."

He deliberately emphasized the word "try," intending to become the Academy's number one shut-in.

In truth, he was mostly afraid that someone outside had ill intentions toward him; it was much safer in the Academy where no one knew him.

After waving goodbye to Pelly, Ronan finally returned to the Arcane Arts Society.

As soon as he stepped through the Academy's gates, a sense of security washed over him.

But at that moment, New Lord in the hall saw him and suddenly rushed forward, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him incessantly.

"Is it you? Is it really you?!"