章 3: Mission 2: Locate a Wife
The hallway of the hotel was silent and empty, the woman's own footsteps the only sounds ringing through the place, but even those were practically silent. Most of the hallway had been rented out for the night, although a few of the rooms were planned to be used.
Privacy was important when handling sensitive business, they didn't want to attract unneeded attention. Unfortunately, when that business was treason, they wound up just painting a target on their back.
To make matters worse for them, that target was now in the sights of an organization few could stand against and that even fewer knew about. The organization was only known as 'Garden,' and its members were expert assassins, each one expertly trained in the art of slaughtering those deemed a threat to peace. They didn't ask questions, they simply received their targets, or rather, clients, and acted.
The woman continued her silent stroll down the hallway, soon finding herself standing before two men. Each was fairly muscular and both were armed, albeit subtly tucked into pockets and folds. The woman's well-trained eye spotted it immediately, but it was hardly a cause for concern.
Neither of these two were a threat.
The men seemed a bit confused but nonchalantly explained, "Miss, the whole floor's been rented out tonight. Head on down to some other floor."
The woman's face remained firm and unmoving, her crimson red eyes piercing through the strands of black hair that partially blocked them. "I'm afraid my business is on this floor, sir."
The first guard turned to his partner, silently whispering, "Did someone call for a woman? It's a bit early for that, don't ya' think?"
The woman shook her head and subtly reached to where two stiletto needles were kept hidden in her clothes as she muttered, "You misunderstand me. I heard there was an infestation up here… I came to clean up the mess."
The men's confusion was silenced by two stilettos piercing through their necks, stabbing into their windpipes and simultaneously silencing any screams. A pair of loud thud noises echoed as their bodies fell to the ground.
The woman continued walking as if nothing had happened, but the guards were alerted, many running around the corner as quickly as they could, where all they were greeted with were two men dead and bleeding out on the ground, and a woman stained with their blood approaching them at a modest pace.
The two guards that had turned the corner were startled, but quickly raised their silenced pistols, firing two bullets at the female, both aimed at her head. She raised her arm, both bullets merely bouncing against it faintly glowed. The two soldiers stood in shock at her apparent superhuman durability, their minds realizing that they were dealing with a person with magic.
Before the guards could gather their resolve and continue their attacks, the woman dashed forward, the stilettos in her hands beginning to faintly glow as she swiftly stabbed the one in her left hand into the front of the first guard's neck. Swiftly rotating her body in a circle, the woman dodged another bullet as her right hand stabbed her other stiletto into the side of the other guard's neck, killing him as well within seconds.
The woman now turned and glanced down the hallway, several guards panicked at the situation yet quickly sprung to action. Unfortunately for them, they were hardly quick enough. There was a faint glimpse of a glow around the woman's legs as she dashed at the guards, the two guards in front almost immediately gushing out blood as she slashed them both inwards with a single motion of both her weapons.
As her arms crossed, she returned them back to her sides, slapping the last guard with her backhand as she did so, launching him through the door to where her target was.
The blood of the guard began to puddle on the carpet of the hotel room, her target immediately cowering behind a couch, shaking in fear. Pathetic, as expected from a traitor.
As soon as she entered the room, the six guards inside all fired at her. She sighed; she was confident she could block bullets from a single or a few points, but from so many angles at once… She had no choice but to use it, but it meant she would need to get out of there quickly.
As the bullets neared her, they were stopped several inches short, bouncing off of a thin glowing wall of magic. Unfortunately, such an action left a magical trace. If anyone had a magical tracking device nearby, she would be spotted. Best if she wrapped this up before it caused more trouble.
One of the guards in the front takes a step back, wide-eyed, "The damned bitch is a mage! St-" His shout was cut off by blood filling his throat, a stiletto having been thrown from the woman, piercing his throat. To the guard's right was his comrade, who met a similar fate.
There's no reason to hold back… My magical signature was already left by the barrier, might as well just use everything I have… Well, everything that's not overkill, that is.
She extended her hands as small gems on the bottom of each of her stilettos began to glow. A millisecond later, the two stilettos launched from the bodies they were stabbed into and flew toward her, both smoothly landing in her hands.
Another guard foolishly tried to rush her, brandishing a knife as she swiftly sliced his wrist with her left stiletto, blood gushing out as she stepped to the side, piercing his throat with a single thrust of the stiletto in her right, leaving the guard dead as he collapsed onto the floor.
The guard left immediately in front of her raised his pistol, hand shaking in fear as she threw her stiletto again, throwing it through the pistol, breaking it as it lodged itself through his right arm from the sheer force behind it. Before he could react, her other stiletto had already been thrown straight through his skull.
There were only two guards remaining now, both were firing at her relentlessly. Her barrier kept them off, but the sounds of their pistols, even if silenced, were still likely to attract unwanted attention.
Not bothering to grab her weapons, she dashed at both of them, a single fist slamming both of their stomachs each. However, it wasn't the fists that killed them, but a glowing blade that seemingly extended from each, piercing straight through their hearts.
They both fell to the floor, staining the carpet with a fresh red paint as she pulled her stilettos back towards her as she slowly approached the target, sitting in a personal puddle of his own making as he looked up with terror.
"S-Surely we can make a deal… W-What do you want? M-Money?! I-I-Influence?! I-I can do that! I-I can give you whatever you want!"
The woman stared down at him with an unwavering expression. "Then I want your life."
A stiletto pierced through his neck, and then another through his chest, stabbing through his heart. There was no doubt now, the target was dead.
The woman sighed and let out a groan, "Argh, this was the only good dress I had! Now it's torn and I still have that party on Saturday… I don't even have a date after I told my brother I'd bring one…"
The woman looked down at her dress, torn towards the bottom and stained in a few places by blood. The black color of the dress made the blood hard to spot, but still, it would need to be cleaned. That much she was good at on her own, at least. But she had a party to go to with some coworkers later in the week, so fixing up the dress was essential.
There was also the prospect of bringing a date to the party. She had promised both her coworkers and her brother that she'd bring someone. She'd make her brother worry if she didn't bring anyone at all.
She then glanced down at the mess she had made. She didn't feel any remorse for killing them, nor did she really even think about it. It was just another day for her, and the biggest inconvenience of the night was the torn dress she now had to fix. It would take time and money to fix it, but that was it.
There was of course the fact that she had let out a magical signature and thus didn't have time to risk cleaning up the mess, but Garden was pretty good at shoving her messier missions under the rug. That wasn't to mention that with the entire floor rented out, there were basically no witnesses that could even get close to see the murder scene, much less the murder itself.
With her job done for now, the woman had a life to get back to now that her work was concluded. Although she was the 'Thorn Princess,' a feared assassin known only by the magical signature they left behind, in her everyday life she was just Yor Briar, and what that meant for her was making sure her brother Yuri didn't worry too much about her.
Yor groaned again, who knew assassinations would be easier than attending a party?
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Tanya sat reading yet another book on recent history. She had gotten Loid to take her to the library a few times recently, and although he was insistent she study, she made clear immediately that her need to study was largely non-existent.
There was also the strangeness of the 'study guide' that Loid had however, namely the fact it was an exact copy of the entry exam that she had to take just a few days ago now.
Tanya had her doubts that said 'guide' was legitimately gotten, but she both didn't need it and didn't care. The test was pretty easy for a college graduate like her, but she could easily see how a six-year-old would struggle against material like this.
The level at which she was being quizzed upon ranged from things one would likely learn in elementary all the way up to middle school, which for first graders was pretty absurd to expect. Of course, only a measly 30% was needed to pass the test, so Tanya assumed it was more just to gauge what level their students were at.
If that was the case, there was a good chance she and Anya would soon be separated based on the speed at which they 'learned.' This was mostly because while Tanya managed to pass with a perfect score, Anya barely passed with a minimal one.
Tanya almost felt bad for Anya, after all, she clearly didn't enjoy studying all that much. Tanya considered a few methods to get her to study, but she couldn't really think of anything, and half of her ideas were things Loid was already trying. And the rest were more oriented for wartime pressures with adults who knew that if they didn't learn today, they could be six feet under the next. Namely, at gunpoint.
She was out of ideas to help her sister, she would just need to improvise to help make sure she at least passed going forward. Of course, she had no obligation to help her at all, and in fact, it may have been smarter to distance herself from Anya socially. However, something about that felt wrong to Tanya; best to raise her up rather than kick her down.
The immediate focus now was on the second step of joining Eden Academy; the interview. As she probably should've expected from an elitist school like Eden Academy, the families that wish to apply needed to go through an interview process to get in. It was clear they valued the parents fitting the image they desired as much as they desired the children to.
The main problem with the interview was the apparent need for both parents to be present for it. That was an issue when her entire family was basically just made up a week ago. As such, it was made up of just Loid, Tanya, and Anya. Without a mother, the entire plan was jeopardized.
But that wasn't a problem she could solve. Loid seemed to be handling it himself, after all, it was his wife that he needed to find, and in only about two weeks no less. There wasn't much a single little girl could do to help Loid create a fake marriage in such a short time. It might be smarter to wait it out and start in Eden Academy next year and just lie about their ages, but it seemed Loid was insistent on them going this year.
As Tanya tried to focus on her book, she found her attention focusing on Anya who sat feet away from the television, watching some spy cartoon that seemed to be some cartoon/comic alternative to her original world's James Bond. It was apparently quite popular, but Tanya had no real interest in it.
Tanya's attention was on Anya herself. They had been sisters for only a few days, but they would have to deal with each other for far longer. Anya seemed to have no problem with it, having eagerly shown off all her toys and stuffed animals to Tanya the first day they met, not that she had particularly many.
Whether she liked it or not, Tanya had to figure out how to be a good older sister. Developing resentment and rivalry with Anya would only prove to be a detriment to her growth and success, not to mention it could lead to her home life being miserable for the prospective future.
Anya was clearly sociable, and it partially made Tanya feel bad for her that her adoptive family was basically a fake one. Tanya felt as though someone like Anya might enjoy a more loving family who wanted nothing more than to spoil and have fun with their child, as opposed to making them handle a small mountain of studying to get into some elite school originally designed for nobility.
Tanya herself hadn't been too social with Anya either, so she was also partially to blame. Tanya cared more about her own studies and research into the world she was in as opposed to worrying about pretending to mentally be a six-year-old girl to play with Anya. Of course, if things went the way they were, Anya could start to build resentment for her family, or so Tanya assumed.
Frankly, Tanya had no idea how children worked. They were an enigma that simply could not be deciphered. Their brains didn't run on logic or reason, they ran on instinct at best and random chaos at worst. This was especially true for their earlier years, a fact that made Tanya already begin to dread dealing with during her first few years at school.
Of course, before she could hope to tackle the children at school, she needed to learn how to deal with the child at home; Anya. By this point, Anya had turned around and was now staring at Tanya curiously. Sometimes, it felt like Anya had a way of staring right into people, as if she was peering into your mind and soul. It freaked Tanya out somewhat, but that's just what children do sometimes, she assumed.
Before Tanya could decide to push the problem away for later, Anya began to pat the ground next to her aggressively, "Tanya! Tanya! Tanya!"
Tanya lowered her book onto her lap, tilting her head slightly as she asked, "What is it?"
"Come watch TV with me!" Anya requested, continuing to pat the floor next to where she sat.
Tanya looked at her book and then back at Anya, "I was hoping to finis-"
Anya's eyes widened as she made her best puppy-eyed face at Tanya. For all it was worth, Anya was certainly adorable, and although the adorableness factor held little influence over Tanya, she still let out a sigh and mumbled, "Fine… Only for a bit…"
Tanya slowly got out of her chair and joined Anya on the floor in front of the TV, muttering "This is probably bad for my eyes…"
Anya made a cheerful smile and returned to focusing on her Spy Wars cartoon, clearly far too immersed in the experience.
'Heh, sister is too easy to manipulate…' Anya thought as she eagerly enjoyed watching television with her sister, even if every thought she read from Tanya's mind criticized the show from major plot holes, actions that would've solved the problem sooner, flaws in realism, and countless other things that slowly made Anya's cheerful face turn into a blank stare at Tanya.
"You're making this boring," Anya muttered as Tanya turned and leaped back in shock at Anya's deadpan face.
Tanya just stared at Anya with a confused expression of shock on her face as all she could think was 'I haven't even done anything!'
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Franky slammed a massive stack of papers onto the table as he groaned in pain, stretching his back immediately afterwards. "You know you live on the fourth floor, right?! Do you know how hard it is to carry this shit up here? There's a paper on every single unmarried woman in this city, it's pretty damned heavy!"
"Yes, I appreciate it Franky, but lower your voice, the children are sleeping," Loid muttered silently. Truth be told, he was pretty confident he could talk in front of Anya about spy things so long as she was focused on the TV, but he wasn't sure about Tanya. Tanya was smart and observant, even when she didn't seem to be and was caught buried in a book. If she wasn't a child, Loid would've recommended that WISE recruit her.
Still, it was best if Tanya didn't know he was a spy, it was impossible to predict how she'd react. On one hand, it was possible she wouldn't care, but on the other hand, the girl was probably smart enough to understand what blackmail was. He wasn't an expert parent by any means, heck he wasn't even really a good one, but even he could tell that a child having blackmail on a parent was a recipe for disaster, let alone an intelligent one.
"That Tanya kid got perfect scores on her test, didn't she? She must be good at memorization…" Franky muttered, starting to look through the documents himself, "When you're done with these I'll take them back, I might be able to use them to locate a girlfriend for once."
Loid looked over several documents himself, quickly memorizing and analyzing them at a rapid pace. As he did so he muttered, "Tanya didn't use the entry exam answers you snagged much. She studied for a short bit, but then stopped. When I tried to make her study again she simply proved that she didn't need to any further."
Franky looked up from some of the papers and gazed at Loid, "Are you sure you didn't make her on some mission a few years ago? I wouldn't put it past you to do something like that for the sake of a mission."
Loid stared back at Franky, blinking. "Are you implying that she's related to me?"
"I mean… Lack of documents, blonde hair, crystal blue eyes that seem like they're willing to murder you at any moment…" Franky muttered.
Loid raised an eyebrow. "What was that last one?"
"N-Nothing…" Franky muttered, "Moving on, I managed to procure two mana testing devices. They both worked fine when I tested myself, but I got you a second just in case something happens to the first."
Franky placed two identical devices on the table, studying them. The devices at first glance appeared to be breathalyzers meant for checking alcohol levels, but the labels on the device quickly clarified what they truly were. Mana detectors had come a long way since before the Great War. Originally bulky devices that tested for mana by trying to stimulate and activate it, modern mana detectors could scan how much mana someone has with a single breath, so calling it a breathalyzer for magic wasn't an incorrect description. Power was intoxicating after all.
In the modern day, mages were scanned using a newly defined numerical scale designed during the Second East-West War. The lowest one could get was 0.00, which meant that the amount of mana in the tester was so little that it couldn't even be detected. At a rating of 1.00 or higher, individuals had enough mana in their bodies to actually cast magic, although at a lower proficiency. Each number above that was another tier of magical casting higher until you reached 5.00. People with a proficiency of 5.00 or higher were among the most proficient mages in the world. If Loid remembered correctly, the documented world record was somewhere around 5.50, although that didn't account for anything during or before the Great War.
Loid took the two detectors and placed them in a nearby cabinet. "Thank you, I'll test them soon. For now though I need to handle the immediate problem."
Franky shrugged. "If you can find some angel to marry you when you already have two kids I'd like to meet her. We might have to resort to blackmail."
"I'd like to avoid any complications. Blackmail should be a last resort," Loid muttered.
Franky sighed, "Well at the very least, while you worry about this you should probably get those kids looking nicer. Neither of them look all that like Eden material."
Loid rubbed his chin, "You're right, but it's getting late now, you should probably head back, I'll look over these documents for a bit and take them to the tailors to get more outfits tomorrow."
"I'm still going to charge you extra for making me carry all that up four floors again!" Franky shouted as he began to walk out the door.
"Fine, fine, but lower your voice at least…" Loid muttered, returning to the stack of papers on his desk.
This was going to take a while.
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The difference between Loid's two new children couldn't be more night and day when it came to getting more clothes. Anya was eager and excited while Tanya seemed more annoyed than anything. While Loid was initially surprised to see how much Tanya seemed to lament going to the tailors, he soon remembered how Tanya was far from a standard child. Actually, neither of them were standard children by any stretch of the imagination, but Tanya was just plain weird.
Or perhaps all children are this outlandish and different… Maybe this is standard…
Loid didn't really know how to handle it, but fortunately for him, even if Tanya didn't want to buy more formal clothing, she was still an obedient child who wouldn't refuse a request even if she didn't want to do it. That old lady at Tanya's orphanage must've been a harsh disciplinarian, or Tanya was purposely playing the obedient child in an attempt to gain his trust since she evidently knew how to play the psychological cards.
Luckily, the closest tailor store was nearby their residence, with it conveniently also being one that manages Eden Academy's uniforms. It was partially why he chose an apartment here of all places, it was close to many important facilities, not to mention his fake workplace and WISE's secret HQ in Berlint. The essentials were always close by when he needed them.
All that was left was for the children to get their measurements taken and have some clothes adjusted or bought for them depending on the sizes the store had in stock already.
He could already hear Tanya complaining, looking over as Loid saw her with folded arms explaining, "No skirts or dresses! I want nothing of the sort!"
The tailor lady gave a concerned face. "What little girl doesn't like dresses? C'mon, let's see if I can't change your mind…"
"No! Father, help!" Tanya was already being dragged away by the lady as Loid could only stand and watch, letting out a hefty sigh.
Whether she liked it or not, she would probably need to wear a dress to the interview at least, and that wasn't even mentioning the school uniform having a skirt as well. Eden Academy valued traditional roles above all else, meaning if Tanya came dressed like a boy, it would harm their score. It was also possible that it wasn't that big of a deal, but Loid was nothing if not cautious in his line of work.
As Tanya and Anya were dragged away, Tanya more forcibly than Anya, although something told Loid that Tanya probably could've brute forced her way out of the situation if she really wanted to, Loid once more scanned the room for his main objective; he still needed to find a wife, even a temporary one.
There were a few unmarried women he had seen in the store already, but most either had trouble in their past that he didn't want to risk dealing with or were too old to work realistically. He would probably need to go out on his own after this to locate a suitable partner.
Without Loid's notice, he heard a woman speaking behind him, "Pardon me, I was hoping to get my dress fixed."
The woman walked up to the counter, placing a dress onto it as an older lady who worked the counter happily took it, "Of course, Yor, you're one of our regulars. I'll get this done as soon as I can."
A woman coming up to the counter wasn't anything special, what startled Loid was the fact that she had gone completely undetected by him as she did it. He was a spy, he was meant to be constantly aware of his surroundings. For her to sneak up behind him without his notice, he must really be out of his game.
'Taking care of these children is starting to stress me out… I need to keep my focus.'
But now the question came: who was she? More specifically, was she a potential candidate? He skimmed through his memory, using the woman at the counter calling her 'Yor' to narrow down his search.
The name was uncommon in Ostania, the name was Eastern Europan in origin, so the amount of people in the city with the name was low. No, he remembered now, it was one. Or at least, only one was unmarried.
'Yor Briar. Age 27. Parents are both deceased, only left with a younger brother far younger than her. There was no other record beyond that, no marriages or divorces, and she's a civil servant with a clean record, same with her brother it seems.'
He glanced back at her, confirming that this was the same person, which it certainly was. Black hair and red eyes as her photo showed. She might be a good candidate, but would a woman like that be interested in such a relationship? He might need to find someone more desperate, a young unmarried woman like her probably isn't.
Yor turned to him, staring at him with slight confusion, "Uhm excuse me, sir… you've been staring at me since I walked in. Can I help you?"
'She could even sense my gaze? How obvious was I staring at her? I really need to focus more…'
Loid turned and nervously muttered, "Er, no, I'm sorry… I just thought you were pretty…"
Yor's eyes lit up slightly as she stepped closer, "Does that mean you have a positive reception to my physical appearance?"
"W-Well er… Yes…" 'That's what 'pretty' means, after all…'
Yor immediately took interest, she needed someone to be her boyfriend at the party, after all. She couldn't worry her brother. Even if it was only for one night, this might be her chance! "Uhm-"
"Papa! Me and Tanya got massing dresses!" Anya cheerfully explained, dashing out of the nearby dressing room. She was now wearing a simple blue and white dress with a red tie under the collar of the shirt. Tanya followed out shortly afterwards with a disheveled look on their face.
Under her breath, Tanya muttered, "This is worse than the propaganda shoot… Curse this adorable body of mine! I don't even have malnutrition to make me less adorable anymore!"
Anya turned and saw Yor there who swiftly turned away. 'He has kids! I was about to make a move on someone's husband! There's been stories about wives killing people who try to seduce their husbands. Of course, if that happens I'd just kill them first, but then it'd be revealed that I'm an assassin…' Yor thought to herself as Anya's face turned from curiosity to shock.
'A-Assassin!' Anya's shocked face turned to Loid, 'Spy!' She then turned to the still-miserable Tanya, 'Mage!'
Anya, ever desiring more entertainment, knew she had to get the two together. Quickly taking a step back she crossed her arms and began to pretend to be sad, "Oh, I'm so sad without a mama!"
Tanya's face, still devoid of life, just gazed at her and silently muttered, "What the hell are you doing?"
Yor's curiosity returned again as she turned back and asked, "Is your wife not with you?"
"Oh, I actually lost my wife about two years ago, so I'm raising those two on my own now," Loid responded as Anya eagerly nodded nearby, simply waiting and hoping that it worked out.
"U-Uhm well… Could you help me out with something then..?" Yor asked nervously.
"Hm?"
"W-Well I lied to my younger brother about having a boyfriend and that I'd bring him to a party this Saturday… I was hoping that if it's not too much trouble, you could pretend to be my boyfriend and accompany me to the party? I-I don't mean to do any harm, I-I just want to put my brother's mind at ease…"
"I see… I accept, but under one condition. My later wife hoped for her children to enter a good school, however, the school that I've been hoping to get them into requires two parents to be present at the interview. If you wouldn't mind, I was hoping you could pretend to be my wife during the interview. "
"I-If you think I'll fit the role, I'll do it!" Yor exclaimed eagerly, a giant strain being lifted from her back as her date problem was solved easily.
Tanya, still groaning about being in a dress, looked up with confusion at the two, 'Wait, he's already gotten a wife?! It's only been a day!' Tanya looked at Anya who had a wide grin on her face, grumbling in her own head, 'What's she so smug about?'
And of course, the shop receptionist knew all the better to stay quiet, since gossip was the one way to get on Yor's bad side. And nobody wanted to lose a reliable customer.
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Dr. Rx - At least it's only a skirt. Could've been a full-blown dress as expected from the nobility.
Fish Tank - "Ah shit, here we go again." - Tanya, probably
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