The town was abuzz with anticipation ahead of the Martial Emperor Festival. One of the Fox's bases located in Crito.
In a room deep underground, the Seven Tails, Gafu Shenfelder, checked the list he had received and let out a groan.
"………………This is going to be a massive fight."
The "Fox" was an organization of extraordinarily outsized quality and scale. It harbored numerous subordinate organizations, and its influence reached the upper echelons of various nations, but thanks to its thorough secrecy and information control, almost no one accurately understood its true scope.
As a high-ranking member holding the rank of Seven Tails, Gafu had carried out numerous operations and had some grasp of the organization's power, but even he could hardly claim to know everything.
The names on the list delivered by the Boss ranged from large organizations to small outfits operating in handfuls, covering a wide spectrum.
Remarkably, the list even included groups that could be called subordinate organizations of the Fox.
It was unnatural. The names on the list were almost exclusively criminal organizations and secret societies generally classified as "evil." They were competitors of the Fox, and while some could be crushed depending on the operation, they weren't necessarily enemies.
What the Fox typically fought were Treasure Hunters, knight orders, trading companies, and nobles—those with significant influence in the public sphere.
The operation Gafu had been assigned this time was no exception. The names on the new list were all names that had nothing to do with the original mission objective.
"This isn't something we can crush with one hand tied behind our backs. Is the Boss... asking us to turn the town into a sea of fire?"
Normally, the Martial Emperor Festival already saw bloody conflicts break out everywhere. All organizations entering Crito during this period were on their guard.
Combined with the first operation, this meant annihilating everything—good and bad alike.
The subordinates Gafu had brought along this time were all elites, but that was solely for the purpose of completing the first mission they'd been given.
He had faithfully followed the organization's orders all the way up to Seven Tails. If this operation succeeded, even higher ranks would be within reach.
"Investigation isn't our job. But... this is beyond what we can handle."
But orders were absolute. No matter how unnatural they were, there was no room to question them.
If the purpose hadn't been disclosed, that meant it wasn't something Gafu needed to know.
Depending on the scale, wiping out a few organizations shouldn't be a problem. Just kill everyone.
But in the meantime, other organizations would inevitably notice something was off. The sharper ones would figure out the Fox was going around crushing organizations. Once vigilance went up, the time needed to crush them would increase. There was no way to finish within the duration of the Martial Emperor Festival.
A companion who excelled as a covert operative—one of those who had retrieved the list from the Boss—spoke up.
"Likely, this order was never meant to be issued to us. But the Boss has high expectations."
He knew that already...
Even an organization like the Fox had a chain of command. If Gafu and his team hadn't gone to retrieve the list, the order would likely have been passed down through official channels to another operational unit.
That was precisely why this was a chance. The organization was always seeking capable members.
He furrowed his brow for a while, thinking through the plan, but the pieces Gafu had at his disposal were far from sufficient.
If he didn't wipe them out in lightning strikes, they'd be discovered—but he didn't have enough people to annihilate everyone in a short time.
"...Not enough forces. But... that's right... we are the Fox. If we don't have the numbers, we find a way."
He had carried out numerous difficult missions before. If he started wailing at something like this, he would never have made it to Seven Tails.
The risk was high, but this was a direct order from the Boss, who bore the organization's symbol. It was worth the attempt. Gafu let a deep smile cross his face and issued new orders to his subordinates.
§ § § "Let's go find some strong fighters—!"
"Yeah!"
Luke and Liliz's excitement was through the roof. Not that I trusted the Fox Mask Appreciation Society to handle things, but I couldn't just let those two hotheads out on their own.
The whole party headed out into the town together in high spirits. The Martial Emperor Festival hadn't started yet, but the town of Crito was boiling over with excitement.
I didn't know how lively this town usually was, but with so many street vendors out and about, the foot traffic was incredible.
Quite a few people were armed, though it was unlikely all of them were participants. For warriors, competing in the Martial Emperor Festival was an honor. There were surely people like me who had come just to cheer on their companions. Where the strong gathered, the strong would be drawn—this was exactly that.
Citry looked up at my face and smiled warmly.
"You're not wearing that fox mask today?"
"Right."
I stroked my own cheek with my palm.
I wanted to hide my face as much as possible, so ideally I'd wear the mask—but apparently, whenever I wore that particular mask, members of the Fox Mask Appreciation Society would swarm in.
They even followed me to my room. If I wore it in a crowd, who knew how many would show up?
So far they'd been harmless, but I was learning too. Among them there were surely some who'd be blinded by greed and try to snatch the mask.
The whole point of hiding my face was to avoid danger. If the mask itself became the cause of danger, that would be putting the cart before the horse.
I was impressed by my own judgment.
Walking through the town under Luke and the others' protection. I wasn't going to wander up to a Chocolate Dragon street stall this time.
Straining my ears, I could catch bits of whispered conversations.
Everyone seemed thoroughly fascinated by the Martial Emperor Festival and the question of who was strongest. The participants hadn't been officially announced yet, but people were already buzzing about who would win.
Some were even mentioning names like Luke and Anthem, who were well known in Zebuldia. As their friend, I felt a faint twinge of pride.
And then my ear caught a particular name.
"'Thousand Heavens Ten Thousand Flowers'... Sounds like they're famous. I'd better put some real effort into cheering for this one."
According to Citry, the epithet was self-proclaimed, but the fact that it was circulating in rumors meant the day of its official recognition was probably near.
He was really looking forward to seeing what kind of fighting style Klye Andrich employed.
Then, hearing my cheerful words, Liliz pouted her lips.
"Aww, I'm cheering for Klye!"
"Yep, sure."
It was nice to hear, but I wasn't competing, after all.
And of course, goes without saying, the person I was cheering for most of all was Liliz and the others.
Still, since the other competitors were probably all formidable, actually winning was pretty doubtful—but if Liliz managed to place, I'd be incredibly proud as her childhood friend.
In the past, walking through crowds often meant getting picked fights with, but this time no one approached.
Liliz looked disappointed, but between the tournament and their important battles, no one would pick a fight with people who clearly looked tough—especially Anthem.
After wandering for a while, Luke clicked his tongue loudly.
"This is boring. Let's hit a bar!"
"Hell yeah!"
Liliz looked inappropriately excited. She was clearly planning to go pick fights rather than drink.
Citry and Lucia wore exasperated expressions.
Well, the two of them were creatures of mood. Once they started drinking, the urge to fight would probably evaporate. If by some off chance they did start something, they could just be stopped.
As it happened, I was getting hungry too.
I headed into a random bar with Luke and the others.
The town was already wrapped in heat, but the bar packed with people combined that with alcohol fumes, making his head spin just from being inside.
In the dim, cramped interior, hard-faced men who were probably of a similar sort gathered, drinking in silence.
It was considerably more subdued than bars in the Imperial Capital—perhaps because in this town where strong fighters were converging, picking a fight could end very badly.
"So then, who should we go for?"
The moment he stepped inside, Luke's eyes started gleaming as he scanned the bar.
……It seemed he wasn't just looking to pick fights—he was looking to sell them. I opened my mouth to rein him in when Luke's eyes went wide.
"Huh... Hey, isn't that the Lantern Knights?"
Following Luke's gaze. In one corner of the bar sat a group clad in distinctive reddish-brown armor.
It wasn't uncommon for hunters to wear matching equipment—Sven's Black Gold Cross, for instance, also outfitted themselves in black and gold gear.
But this group—there were far too many of them.
Hard-faced individuals in distinctive matching armor—clearly more than ten. Once you gathered that many, it could no longer be called a party.
A mercenary company. War professionals. The most combat-oriented of the Beginning Footprint's members—not exploring the Treasure Hall, but roaming the land hunting monsters and bounties for a living.
The Lantern Knight Order.
I had heard from Eva that the commander, Lantern, would be participating in the Martial Emperor Festival—but I hadn't expected to run into them here.
It had been a while since I'd seen them. It might even be years since I'd seen them all together (though I didn't actually know how many there were).
At that moment, the black-haired woman at the center of the group—the commander, Lantern—happened to look our way.
Her reaction was dramatic. She slammed the glass in her hand onto the table, sprang to her feet, and called out in a voice that carried far.
"All personnel, stand!"
It was a bizarre sight. Despite the sudden command, the members who had been sitting around amicably moments before all rose to their feet as one.
Every gaze turned toward us. Other patrons in the bar looked over to see what was happening.
"Salute our valued customer!"