Immortal Era's Crafting Master 74 The First Long Term Mission: Divergence

Early the following morning, Kirou woke up feeling a bit refreshed. This lasted all but a few seconds as his mind registered something that caused him to form a wry smile on his face. The reason for this is that once again, he was being straddled by a woman with two knives at his throat. Kirou could only look up at the naked form of the woman straddling with the wry smile on his face as he spoke, "I don't mind this kind of play, Ms. Shiva. The view is quite breathtaking after all. That being said, don't you think that it's a bit too early for this?"

The woman towering over him had a sweet smile on her face as she saw Kirou's eyes greedily taking in the view of her sizeable peaks. The smile on her face got much bigger as she spoke, "Not at all, Mr. Kirou. I believe this is something that can be done at any time during the day. In fact, I feel that it's a great way to start the day like this."

Kirou could only helplessly lift his hands in surrender while taking in a few more unmasked glances at the woman's towering peaks. The events from the previous night had left him drained and he wasn't going to try and take her on without being in top form. Following this, the woman got off of him and made her way towards a chair where her clothes from the previous night had been tossed on. Whether it be intentional or not, Kirou's eyes were transfixed on the swaying hips of the woman as she made her way to the chair. It was only after she retrieved her clothes and went to the bathroom to change that Kirou's mind had awoken from its stupor and he let out a dry chuckle after thinking back on what he had just seen.

"It seems like I should do my best to familiarize myself with the female a bit more, otherwise this woman will be able to take advantage of me in the future like this." Kirou had a wry smile on his face as he said this under his breath. Shaking his head free of thoughts, Kirou too got out of bed and started getting dressed.

By the time that Kirou had managed to finish getting dressed, the woman now identified as 'Ms. Shiva' walked out of the bathroom in a dark blue dress. Seeing this, Kirou now had an idea as to how she was able to find time to change her clothes and still be able to track him during the previous night.

Upon seeing Kirou's eyes on her after leaving the bathroom, it took Shiva a minute to figure out the reason behind Kirou's stare. After releasing a light chuckle, Shiva promptly raised an eyebrow before speaking, "Ara ara. What's this? Could it be that you don't own a storage tool yet?" As she said this, Shiva showed off a jade ring on her finger with a few carvings on it.

Kirou could only let out a dry chuckle and form a wry smile on his face as he spoke, "Unfortunately not one as small as yours. Those things aren't exactly easy to make, nor are they cheap enough that just anyone can afford one. And even if you factor those two, it's not easy to find one on the market either." As he said this, Kirou glanced towards a traveling case, prompting Shiva to take a look and more or less figure out what it is.

After giving Kirou a smirk, Shiva spoke up, "Ufufu. Don't worry about it. It's just my luck that this ring was a part of the reward for a previous mission that I was on." Saying her peace, Shiva walked out of the room, leaving Kirou to follow after he after locking up.

When both made it to the entrance of the inn, Kirou turned towards Shiva and asked, "So, Ms. Shiva. How do you want to play this?"

Shiva took a moment to sort out her thoughts on the matter before responding, "For now, do as you've been doing before and blend in with the city's population. We've got a few months before my target enters the city so I'll spend this time getting on friendly terms with members of the upper cla.s.s so that I'll have an easier time getting to the target when it's time to execute the mission. You'll be in charge of getting me out then so do your best." Having said her piece, Shiva walked away from the inn, leaving Kirou staring at her departing silhouette.

It was only after Shiva had already disappeared into the crowd that Kirou retracted his gaze and the smile on his face was replaced with an indifferent expression. Kirou then walked in the other direction and disappeared in the crowd as well. As he did so, he kept thinking about his own mission details.

'I can already picture how this is going to end. I should do my best to prepare for the fallout from now.' Kirou released a sad sigh as those thoughts went through his mind. Now that he's slept with her, Kirou couldn't stop himself from feeling like a b.a.s.t.a.r.d for what he's going to do. That being said, his master tasked him with a mission to kill Shiva's handler and Kirou has no intention of failing this mission. He could only console himself for the moment with the knowledge that Shiva too was making use of him just as much as he was doing so with her.

*******

A few blocks away from Kirou, Shiva was currently walking through an alleyway when a voice entered her ears, "So how was he, Shiva?"

Shiva pretended to adopt a thinking expression before responding, "Hmm, who might you be talking about, Andy?"

Silence followed her question for a few moments before a figure emerged from the shadows of the alley, standing before Shiva. The figure was that of a man with a height of 5 feet 10 inches and had blonde hair. After he appeared before her for a few moments, the man grabbed Shiva by the waist and brought her close as they both shared a deep kiss. This lasted for a few minutes before the two finally separated.

Taking a step back, the man gazed at Shiva with a profound look before once again asking his question, "How was Ghost Fiend's apprentice, Shiva?"

This time, Shiva didn't bother with her previous shenanigans and directly informed the man she called Andy of her observations of Kirou. By the end of her speech, Shiva concluded with, "All in all, I don't consider him much of a threat to us Andy. He could barely take me on with his fighting skills and only managed to get me to agree as I had walked into his trap. Should the situation come up once again or he acts suspiciously, with both of us here he won't be a threat."

Andy spent some time in silence, a.n.a.lyzing all the information Shiva had just given him before he spoke up, "Keep an eye on him for now. If he does or tries to make any suspicious moves, let me know so that I can take him out immediately. I don't know what goal that b.a.s.t.a.r.d old man had in mind when he sent his student to aid us but we need to be careful around him. I get the feeling that there is more to him that we aren't seeing. Take care of yourself, Shiva." Following this, the man disappeared into the shadows once more, leaving only Shiva visible in the alleyway.

Shiva kept quiet for a moment before she spoke up under her breath, "I don't care what plan you have in mind, Kirou. If you get in me and Andy's way, I won't mind sending you off to the afterlife early." Shiva walked out of the alleyways, this time in a completely different set of clothing before she once again disappeared into the crowd.

While the two were having their private moment and information exchange, both failed to notice that roughly three hundred meters away, in a building with the windows open, there was a pair of eyes at the back of the room watching their interaction. Although he was too far away to hear anything, with a pair of binoculars to aid his sight, the person was able to roughly pick up what they said through reading their lips. After the pair had split up, he too vanished from the room, all the while leaving behind one word, "Interesting."

********

Like that, both groups spent the next few months doing their own thing. Just as she said, Shiva got in close with the city's upper cla.s.s and Kirou kept a low profile. After the beating he had given to Jackson Briggs, he had eventually made a trip to the Briggs household, where both sides came to an agreement. Though it was an agreement, it was more along the lines of Kirou taking temporary control of the Briggs household and its contacts in exchange for Kirou not killing off all heirs and their mothers within a single night.

That being said, though Kirou took control of them like this, he didn't forget to do them a favor in the process. During Kirou's entire stay as the temporary master, he made sure to remove a few of the 'annoyances' that have been plaguing the Briggs Family for years in the city and made them know that he won't be staying longer than four months. Though many persons had an issue with this originally, they all came around after seeing Kirou's methods first hand.

As for Shiva's mysterious handler, Andy, he hasn't made much of an appearance during this period of time. That isn't to say that he isn't in the city. No, it was more along the lines of Kirou being unable to find any trace of him without blowing his cover or making it known that he was Kirou's target. That being said, Kirou didn't get discouraged over being unable to find the man in pa.s.sing as he already predicted this to some extent. Instead, Kirou was making sure to remain even more low profile so as to get the jump on his target and finish him off in one swift motion the moment the opportunity presented itself.

And like that, it was now the night for the execution of the plan. A minister from a neighboring city just so happened to be attending a party being held by the mayor of Lockrim City. Many of the city's n.o.ble families have been invited to this party and each was allowed to bring a guest of their own. This was what Shiva was aiming for in becoming friends with a few upper-cla.s.s families and her perseverance had paid off since she was now being escorted into the party by a young man belonging to one of the n.o.ble houses of Lockrim City.
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As for Kirou, he too joined in the festivities as a guest of the Briggs Family. With his average appearance and a seemingly low sense of presence, many people wondered why the Briggs Family had invited him but that was all they did as they knew that they can't openly question the Briggs Family, especially now due to how they have been operating during recent months.

As for Andy, he too managed to sneak into the party. Unlike the two from before that entered as guests, he had entered as a member of the staff. It seems that Andy hadn't been missing for months without a reason. As the trio roamed around the party floor, they each took a glance at the others on their own times and without drawing any attention to themselves.

While both Andy and Shiva were busy communicating via eye contact, Kirou glanced at the duo, mainly Andy, noting their actions before looking away and enjoying his gla.s.s of champagne. Maybe it was due to the timing of it or Kirou's natural ability to blend in, but neither Andy nor Shiva were even remotely aware that he was paying attention to them from the corner of his eyes.

The night continued like this for quite a while before Shiva eventually got a chance to make her move. The minister had just slipped out of the ballroom and made his way to the balcony when Shiva decided to approach him. Since the minister had slipped out quietly, no one, including his security guards, had seen him gone out and Shiva took advantage of this.

Being a woman, Shiva didn't have to come up with any complicated schemes in order to get close to the minister. After downing her drink and acting slightly tipsy, Shiva had managed to stumble over towards the minister while seemingly going out to get some fresh air. As soon as the minister approached her and tried to support her up, she pulled out a needle from somewhere and lightly stuck him with it. In the minister's hurry to support Shiva, he never felt the small pinp.r.i.c.k, nor did he have any idea that he was just infected with a slow-acting poison. After taking a look at her and checking to see if she was alright, the minister escorted Shiva back to the ballroom where he could get someone to take her home.

While that was taking place on the balcony, Kirou and his entourage from the Briggs Family had managed to occupy the area before the door to the balcony, preventing anyone from seeing something they shouldn't. After making sure that Shiva had managed to accomplish her job, Kirou was one of the first persons to rush to the minister's aid when he returned with the 'tipsy' Shiva, along with Andy dressed as a waiter.

As both of them had pa.s.sed by each other, just like what Shiva had done to the minister, Kirou had managed to stick Andy with a small needle as well, except he was acutely aware of it. As soon as Andy turned to face Kirou with a frosty glint pa.s.sing through his eyes, he noticed that there was a loose gem on Kirou's hand. Looking at the location of the gem, Andy attributed it to him brushing his hand on that gem and no longer paid Kirou any attention as he went over to the minister and Shiva.

After the minister had explained the situation to both Kirou and Andy and entrusted her to them, he resumed his usual persona and returned to the party. Following the minister's departure, the 'tipsy' Shiva immediately sobered up and spoke, "The job is done. It's time for us to leave."

Following this, Andy escorted Shiva to the group she had entered with and informed them that he would escort her home while they enjoyed the rest of the party. As for Kirou, he spoke a few quiet words to the members of the Briggs Family he came with before he too left the party. Both sides had left the party at different times but Shiva had already informed Kirou about where and when they should meet up so this didn't matter to them. Roughly half an hour later, the healthy-looking minister had suddenly collapsed, causing panic to take place at the party. The mayor instantly had security lock the place down to prevent anyone from leaving both all three perpetrators were already long gone.

********

Roughly a kilometer west of Lockrim City finds both Andy and Shiva currently waiting on Kirou to make his appearance. Both had already changed out of their waiter garb and fancy dress and were now in their skintight suits. It seems like they were prepared to leave immediately after they had concluded their business here.

As the two waited, neither Andy nor Shiva could shake the feeling that something was wrong. This went on for another ten minutes before Andy spoke up, "Are you sure that this is the meeting point you told him about Shiva?"

Shiva had her eyebrows furrowed and a frown on her face as she responded, "I'm positive. I wouldn't make such a basic mistake as that. I even told him to meet us here half an hour later so that we could get here before him and set up."

"Then why isn't he here yet. Could it be that he noticed something and decided not to show?" queried Andy out loud with his eyebrows furrowed as well.

Shiva could only release a helpless sigh as she spoke, "I don't know and I don't like this."

Andy had to do all that he could to resist punching a tree as he spoke, "Let's do this then. We'll give him another ten minutes. If he's not here by then, we'll leave. It's not our problem if he collects the payment from us or the client."

Shiva could only gnash her teeth before speaking up, "Agreed. And to think, we could have finished two jobs today if that b.a.s.t.a.r.d had just shown up on time."

Andy couldn't help but chuckle as he heard this. He then approached Shiva and wrapped her in a hug before speaking softly into her ears, "Don't be greedy. Some things can only happen by chance and not be planned for. If he really doesn't show, then that means he's an extremely cautious person."

Shiva returned the hug with a chuckle and spoke up as well, "I know, love. But he managed to catch me in a trap and I'd very much like to return the favor."

"Don't worry, my dear. If we can't catch him today, there will be other chances in the future." As Andy said this, he gave Shiva a shallow kiss which she returned, causing the two to be lost in their own little world.

Maybe it was due to them being overconfident in her senses or complacent in the fact that it was they who chose the area, neither of the two realized that within a tree roughly one hundred and fifty meters away was a pair of eyes staring lovers. Kirou watched on impa.s.sively as the two were in each others arms as he recalled the bit of information he had obtained a few days prior from the Briggs Family.

'It seems like it was a good idea for me to have them do routine checks in the surrounding areas of the city. It's due to that why I was able to find these two's so-called 'meetup' area ahead of time and prepare for the traps they have in place. Why don't I give these two another minute or two together since this is their final chance to be in each other's arms.' As these thoughts pa.s.sed through Kirou's mind, the smiling facade he usually maintained while within Lockrim City was replaced with his indifference expression as he stared at the couple with a frosty gaze. Kirou would consider this his gift to them for what he was about to do.