Several weeks passed.

During that time, Najin wasted his days without taking on any particular commissions. More precisely, he behaved in a way that made others think he was wasting them.

A coward afraid of attackers who might come at any moment.

Najin acted so that those who knew the circumstances would see him that way. Yet he did not squander those weeks spent pretending. Turning over his conversations with Karon, Roselin, and Merlin, he reflected on his inner self and his mental image.

Over nearly half a year, Najin had undergone drastic changes. A single incident had turned his entire life upside down. With his own hands, he had shattered the rules he had lived by for eighteen long years, then left his old nest and taken flight.

His body had kept pace with those drastic changes.

His soul had not.

The rift between soul and body was holding him back, and it was what he needed to overcome. What had caused that rift? After weeks of agonizing over it, Najin had finally managed to reach an answer.

Its rough outline had taken shape.

It felt as though he could grasp it if he reached out.

At the same time, however, Najin knew that answers and revelations did not come so easily. One could not obtain an answer simply by sitting cross-legged in a secluded room and meditating. Human growth always required a dramatic situation.

["I'll only be the beginning."]

["The order has plenty of hounds at its disposal. A great many."]

["They'll keep trying to kill you without ever tiring."]

As it happened, an excellent opportunity lay before him. It might have been a crisis until recently, but Najin was certain it had now become an opportunity like no other.

"Najin."

Najin opened his eyes.

"Are you ready?"

A girl with golden eyes sat before him. Dieta. Her lips formed a gentle curve as she asked, and Najin nodded.

"My preparations are complete."

Kaufman Theosis had said that no one knew who would become the hunter and who would become the prey. Najin wholeheartedly agreed with those words he had left behind.

His preparations were complete.

Now it was time for hunter and prey to trade places.

2.

"One: Jerold Oton."

Dieta raised a finger.

"A demon hunter originally active in the land of demons. Retired from the battlefield for reasons unknown. His whereabouts after retirement were unclear, but I've confirmed he's working as a bounty hunter."

Four documents lay on the office table. Each bore a portrait and a brief description, and Dieta pointed to them as she spoke.

"His rank is Sword Seeker. His weapon is a greatsword."

She raised a second finger.

"Two: Klaus Aten. Former commander of a cavalry unit in the Kingdom of Prolea, but disappeared after the unit was disbanded. His weapon is a lance roughly three meters long. Sword Seeker level."

A third finger.

"Three: Basaus Malek. A soldier who served on the front lines bordering the Demon Realm. His weapons are twin swords. Sword Seeker level."

Finally, the fourth.

"Four: Tyler Berkaniman. Head of the Dismantlement Unit, a unit created to execute military deserters. His weapon is a greatbow. Sword Seeker level."

Having finished her brief introduction of the four, Dieta let out a short breath. She continued, tapping the documents on the table with a finger.

"That's roughly everyone I've identified so far. There are another fifteen or so people making suspicious moves, but they're not Sword Seeker level. Anyone who reaches the Sword Seeker realm must report their rank and personal information to the Empire... and I found no corresponding records."

She handed Najin another document. It bore a portrait of someone with a robe's hood pulled low.

"This is the only other person worth watching, but I have no information on them. Both identity and rank are unknown."

Dieta let out a long sigh as she spoke, looking incredulous.

"At least four Sword Seekers and ten Sword Experts? Most noble houses could mobilize their entire knight order and still field less than that. The ducal House Arbenia has three Sword Seekers, and this is just..."

She gave a hollow laugh.

"They're absolutely determined to kill you. I didn't expect them to go to such extremes."

Dieta shook her head. Watching her marvel at what she had discovered, as though the investigation had shocked her considerably, Najin felt surprised as well. His surprise, however, was directed somewhat differently from hers.

"... How did you find all of this?"

How had she found it all?

Najin had detected suspicious movements and watching eyes during that time, but only a few Experts and perhaps one Sword Seeker. Even that had been possible only because of his superhuman senses.

Yet Dieta had managed to hook more people than he had, and identify them more accurately, despite not possessing keen senses like his.

"I told you. This is my territory."

Dieta merely treated his surprise as nothing remarkable.

"My trading company wields the greatest influence in Cambria. The gold coins I scatter can make a full circuit of the city in a single night and still have time to spare. It took me five years to build that distribution network and take control of this city's supplies."

The net spread by the Snake That Swallows Gold.

"I gather rumors, cast bait, gather information brokers, then give them more gold to create rumors. Repeat that a few times, and you can sift them out. More or less."

She rolled a platinum coin across her palm.

"They may be Sword Seekers, but in this case they're individuals who don't belong to an organization. Even if they have a way to communicate with the order, it must be limited. No matter how capable they are..."

Dieta grinned.

She tapped her eyes and ears.

"They only have one pair of eyes and ears, don't they? How many information brokers do you think serve as mine? And those people probably don't even realize they're information brokers."

The entire city was her eyes and ears.

That was what Dieta was saying. Having heard something of how she had hooked them, Najin could only marvel.

-Najin.

'Yes, Merlin?'

-You know I don't say things like this often, right? But you really shouldn't make an enemy of the girl sitting in front of you.

'I agree.'

Najin shared Merlin's sentiment.

He could not help thinking how fortunate he was that Dieta was an ally—and his first friend. He was certain that making an enemy of her would bring all sorts of troublesome, frightening things down on him.

"I'm really glad you're my friend, Dieta."

"Out of nowhere?"

"Yes, out of nowhere."

Dieta chuckled.

"Well, anyway... once they're hooked, gathering the rest of the information is simple. Finding information on Sword Seekers is much easier than you'd think."

"What do you mean, easy?"

"Sword Seekers are powerful enough to pose a threat. Even if a state doesn't keep them under strict control, it needs to at least know about them. A Sword Seeker bent on wreaking havoc can ruin an entire territory in no time."

"So they try to give them some sort of official position and keep them under supervision, whether as a knight commander or a military commander." Dieta shrugged as she spoke.

"By the time someone reaches Sword Seeker level, records of their activities, identity, and personal details are plastered everywhere. Dig into their past just a little, and it all comes pouring out. The Empire's Royal Guard, the special operations units on the front lines, and Rangers are exceptions, but..."

Dieta spoke matter-of-factly.

"Even they aren't exceptions once they retire. All of Kaufman Theosis's information was made public as soon as he retired, wasn't it? It's also a sort of check on them. A warning not to get any funny ideas. And active Royal Guards and special operations personnel... are beyond the order's reach, no matter what it tries."

She explained that placing the fishhook had taken a long time, but everything afterward had been wrapped up quickly.

"So what are you going to do?"

"..."

"Even if you become a Sword Seeker, you're facing at least four Sword Seekers and fifteen or so Experts. They're extremely difficult enemies to take on alone."

He had to admit it. The order had sent more people than he expected, and he could not fight them all.

"That's why we made plans, isn't it?"

"Exactly. If you'd said you were going to face them alone, I was ready to grab you by the collar."

Najin smiled wryly.

Around the time Dieta had cast her fishhook and begun fishing, Najin had drawn up several plans with her. Which of those plans was best for this situation?

The two looked at each other and smiled, certain they were thinking of the same thing.

"Of course, even this doesn't change how dangerous it is. In the end, it all depends on what you do."

She flicked the platinum coin she had been rolling across her palm.

"Still, isn't it a gamble worth taking?"

Najin caught the coin she had tossed.

"Honestly."

Dieta looked at him and shook her head as though he were incorrigible. In the end, the fact that Najin would have to stake his life remained unchanged. All she could do was improve his odds, however slightly.

Dieta and Najin rose from their seats.

It was time to act as they had agreed. Before they did, Dieta took a step toward him. She straightened his disheveled clothing, then pressed the back of her hand firmly against his chest.

"Try not to get hurt, all right?"

"Considering who I'm facing, I think that will be difficult."

"Ah, how did I ever end up with someone like..."

Dieta grumbled. Letting out a long breath, she looked up at Najin and spoke.

"Don't die. You can promise me that, can't you?"

"I think I can promise that."

"Then that's enough."

Dieta stepped back.

"Off you go. And don't forget to come see me when you're back."

3.

"He's on the move."

The order's hounds who had infiltrated the city whispered. Scattered throughout the city, they moved along its outskirts gathering information.

There were twenty people acting as the order's hounds, but they never all gathered in one place. Instead, they met in groups of two or three to exchange information, then passed it down the chain.

Five powerful figures led the hounds.

A hierarchy had formed naturally, with those who held command at its top.

Those commanders had amassed considerable experience on their respective battlefields and knew well how ambushes and assassinations should be carried out. Thus, they waited in secret for their chance.

"The date is the night of the twelfth. The target will head north along Ahmeti Road. We believe he's carrying out a commission. Other adventurers will accompany him, but they won't interfere."

They had obtained the list of participants in the commission. None of the names posed a threat.

"We'll attack at this location. We must allow no unexpected factors. The order warned us: he possesses something that can overturn a disparity in strength."

A greenhorn who had not even reached Sword Seeker.

Five people of Sword Seeker level had been deployed just to catch that greenhorn. Yet none of the five distrusted the order's judgment. Whether their ties to him were hostile or of some other nature... they knew very well how ruthless High Priest Orlan was.

If that was his judgment, there must be a reason for it.

They cross-checked the information they had obtained and, above all, watched carefully for any involvement by the Dieta Trading Company. According to the information the order had provided, their target was on friendly terms with its head.

"Nothing."

"Same here."

But they found no sign of the trading company's involvement. The commission had been issued by the Central Guild, and the young man named Najin was leaving the city to fulfill the minimum number of commissions required to retain his Red rank.

A commission he had no choice but to accept. Moreover, inquiries into Najin's movements during that time had revealed no contact with the company's head.

Though they could not approach the city center, Najin was famous in this city, so learning his movements was not difficult. Information about him poured in from all sorts of places, and they collected it.

Of course, they could not place too much trust in that flood of information. They therefore met periodically to cross-check and verify what they had gathered. Once they confirmed that all twenty had obtained the same information, they finished preparing to act.

The prey had emerged from its nest.

Now it was time for the hunters to move.

They considered themselves hunters and never fundamentally questioned that belief. They were not careless, but they believed they held the advantage.

And so, they did not know.

That all of that information had been fabricated.

That they were being swept along in a current someone had created.

That a golden fishhook had pierced their throats.

And that, as a result, hunter and prey had traded places.