"Roswaal arranged it. He told me to find a girl in the Slums. Golden hair, makes a living stealing."
Roswaal had sent her to find Felt?
Gojo's brow creased. What was the angle here? Hiring Elsa to hire someone else? Maybe his own identity was too conspicuous for that part of the capital, so he'd used a middleman to avoid drawing attention. That tracked well enough.
But why did it have to be Felt specifically? And from the sound of it, Roswaal hadn't even known her name. He'd given Elsa nothing more than a physical description and told her to search.
That was strange. If he already had a target in mind, why be so vague about it?
"He didn't order you to kill anyone?"
"No. The client wanted the insignia. Everything else was at my discretion."
Gojo tilted his chin toward Meili. "And this time?"
"We were to attack the people around Emilia, and the villagers, separately."
Elsa spoke without hesitation. She'd already committed to this path. No point holding back now.
"Wouldn't it have been easier if you'd handled it yourself?"
"Roswaal had conditions. There had to be enough time for people to react. So I had Meili use Curses instead."
A question mark the size of a billboard materialized in Gojo's mind.
What was the point of that? Ordering an attack was one thing. Deliberately building in a window for the targets to respond was another entirely. If the goal was to kill, no one would issue that kind of restriction.
And the targets weren't even Emilia herself. They were the people around her.
The more he turned it over, the less sense it made. Roswaal didn't seem to want Emilia dead. Back in the Royal Capital, Elsa had only escalated to lethal force because of Gojo's interference. Yet Roswaal kept engineering these incidents, probing, testing something through Emilia's surroundings without ever striking at her directly.
The man was wrapped in too many layers of mystery. Trying to pin down his intentions was like grasping smoke.
"Anything else you can tell me about him?"
"Nothing." Elsa shook her head. "I've met him twice. Beyond those meetings, there's been no contact."
Gojo considered for a moment, then turned to Meili.
"Has Roswaal ever met Meili?"
"No. He only dealt with me."
"Does he know the details of your plan?"
"No. How to carry out the job was left entirely to me."
A picture was forming. "I think I've got the general idea."
"So, mister, does that mean you'll let us go?" Meili clasped her hands together, eyes wide and shimmering. "We failed our mission, so we won't be coming back. You have my word..."
"You're cute, kid, but the helpless act doesn't work on me."
Gojo pinched both her cheeks and stretched them apart, grinning at the exaggerated pout she was trying to sell.
"Mithter... you're bweaking your pwomise..."
Her words came out garbled through the stretched skin, like someone talking with a mouthful of water.
"Wrong. I keep every promise I make. And I promised I'd give you a proper lesson, remember?" He released her cheeks and looked at Elsa. "This one stays with me."
Something cold flickered across Elsa's face. Then Gojo continued, and the coldness gave way to something more complicated.
"You too."
"Oh?" She pointed at herself, one eyebrow raised.
"If I used my slightly melodramatic companion's words, I'd say I'm 'gathering allies.' We could use some extra hands for the things ahead."
His lips curved. It wasn't exactly noble, using a child as leverage against a dangerous and beautiful assassin. But compared to death, it was a considerably better offer. And pragmatically, he needed the help. Outside of himself and Beatrice, his group consisted of Subaru and Felt, neither of whom brought much to a fight. Adding someone with real combat ability would make a difference.
"And just to be clear, I'm not asking for your consent. I'm informing you."
He patted Meili's head and fixed his gaze on Elsa.
Meili stole a glance at the assassin but said nothing.
"What an unexpected turn of events." Elsa's lips curled, though amusement and something sharper coexisted in her expression. "Are you sure about this? If I recall correctly, your relationship with Roswaal is rather... involved."
"Doesn't matter. As long as you stay out of sight, there's no problem. He doesn't know this kid's face anyway."
Elsa looked at Meili. The calculus was transparent. As long as the girl remained in Gojo's hands, Elsa couldn't act against his wishes. The child was collateral, plain and simple.
She didn't agonize over it. Gojo was right. She had no choice. Not unless she was willing to abandon Meili entirely.
And that wasn't something she could do.
"It's not as though I have any options, is it?"
She answered with his own logic, and the two of them reached an understanding.
"Um... what about Mother?"
Meili raised her hand, voice small and tentative.
Truthfully, who she worked for didn't matter much to her. As long as she could stay with Elsa, she'd go along with anything. Elsa felt the same. They were assassins. Serving different employers was the nature of the job. Their so-called Mother was, at the end of the day, someone stronger than them who held power over their lives. No different from Gojo in that respect.
The reason they'd stayed with the organization this long came down to two things: the Sin Archbishop of Lust's implicit threat, and the fact that Elsa enjoyed combat. She thrived on it. She loved the thrill of battle, the intimacy of spilling a target's innards. The assassin's trade kept her supplied with interesting prey.
Elsa turned to Gojo, a meaningful smile playing on her lips. "I imagine that's not our problem to worry about. Isn't that right?"
He understood perfectly. If he wanted their service, the baggage that came with it was his to shoulder. A Sin Archbishop, equivalent in standing to the original Witches, would be a formidable enemy by any measure.
"Of course." His smile didn't waver. If anything, it brightened.
But then again, when has that ever not been the interesting part?
"Very well. Everything as you wish."
Elsa rose and dusted herself off.
"When you need to reach me, Meili knows how..."
"Hold on." He waved a hand, stopping her mid-departure. "I'm not that heartless. Letting you leave looking like that would weigh on even my conscience."
He pointed at her shredded clothes.
He brought the two of them back toward the village. Near the outskirts, he sent Meili to find Subaru and had him procure a set of women's clothing.
Gojo tossed the outfit to Elsa. "There. That should do."
"Though don't expect me to pay for it. I'm drowning in debt as it is. An assassin like you shouldn't be hurting for coin."
"Goodbye."
Elsa pulled on the clothes without ceremony, gave him a nod, and turned to leave.
Watching her walk away, Gojo scratched his head with mild disappointment and glanced at Meili.
"I was sort of hoping she'd offer some money to help with my debts."
Meili peeked up at him, then poked her index fingers together. "I don't have any either. Elsa keeps all the job money."
"Unbelievable. Using child labor and not even paying wages..."
They returned to the village together. The villagers still didn't know the full story. All they'd gathered was that some children had wandered into the forest and gotten lost. Seeing the last missing child brought back safely, relief washed over every face.
When the parents learned it was Gojo who'd rescued them, gratitude came pouring out from every direction.
"Oh, it's nothing, really. Hardly worth mentioning. But if you insist on showing your appreciation, I wouldn't say no to a few Holy Gold Coins or anything like that. Ma'am, is the butt-patting thing a local custom around here?"
By the time he escaped the onslaught of village hospitality, he was spent.
"They're certainly enthusiastic."
"Yeah, everyone in the village is great."
Subaru nodded, knowing exactly what he meant.
"Subaru. Betty." Gojo's tone shifted. "What happened today, especially the parts about Elsa and Meili, stays between us. Not a word to anyone. Not Roswaal, not Emilia, not Ram or Rem. At least until I've taken care of a few things, I need you both to keep this secret."
"Betty can't be bothered with your tedious schemes." Arms crossed, nose in the air.
"Leave it to me! My lips are sealed tighter than titanium!"
Subaru thumped his chest. He understood the stakes. As fellow otherworlders sharing the same goal, Gojo was the most trustworthy ally he could ask for. Without him, Subaru didn't want to imagine how many more deaths it would have taken to untangle this mess. If Gojo said secrecy was necessary, then there was a reason. All Subaru had to do was trust him.
"Good. That puts my mind at ease." Gojo's smile returned. "Now, about Meili, the three of us need to get our story straight..."
The afternoon evaporated in the village, mostly because the villagers wouldn't stop showering them with food and gratitude. By the time the group made it back to the mansion that evening, they were too stuffed from village cooking to touch the dinner Rem had prepared.
Subaru's party had vanished for an entire afternoon and returned with a strange little girl in tow. Emilia and the others were understandably curious. Gojo delivered the explanation he and Subaru had rehearsed.
The gist: Beatrice had discovered a Curse on Subaru, traced it back to what he remembered as a dog bite from the village. Mabeasts had infiltrated the area, the situation was urgent, so the three of them had gone to handle it. Meili was a village girl who'd been so impressed during the ordeal that she wanted to follow Gojo.
Simple enough. Nothing that invited deeper questions.
"Please allow me to express my gratitude. As the lord of these lands, the fact that my people faced danger without my knowledge is a failing on my part..."
Roswaal offered his thanks in that peculiar, lilting cadence of his once he'd heard the account.
"Come on, Roswaal, no need to be so formal. We're living under your roof, after all."
Gojo waved it off with a laugh.
"Actually, I've been thinking things over the past couple of days, and there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"By all means. Whatever is within my power, I won't refuse."
"I might need a small assist from Emilia as well."
"Me?" She blinked, caught off guard by the mention of her name.
"That's right. I'd like to borrow your insignia for a bit. Just while Roswaal and I talk. I'll give it right back."
"The insignia?"
She hesitated. Ever since it had been stolen, she'd been protective of it. But after a moment's thought, she nodded. Gojo had saved her life, and in the time they'd spent together, a degree of trust had formed. Besides, Roswaal was right there. As her supporter, he wouldn't allow anything untoward even if Gojo had ulterior motives.
She drew the insignia from where she kept it close to her body and placed it in his hand.
Gojo turned to Roswaal. "If you don't mind, I'll come find you in the study later... oh, wait. The study still hasn't been repaired, has it? The parlor, then."
"I shall be waiting."
Roswaal nodded, and the matter was settled.
After leaving the dining room, Gojo pulled Subaru along and headed straight for Felt's room.
"Okay, what's going on? Where did this come from all of a sudden?" Felt stared at him, baffled. "You were acting all mysterious before, and now you're marching off to negotiate with Roswaal?"
"The timing's right. That's all."
He stretched, loose and unhurried.
Elsa's information had confirmed what he'd suspected. Roswaal wasn't wholeheartedly devoted to Emilia's cause.
...
Get early access to 40 chapters ahead on my Patreon!
patreon.com/fawkess