Whoosh!

The assassin’s body soared over the wall far faster than I had expected. Honestly, I had only wanted her to toss it over gently. Instead, she launched it as hard as she could.

A second later, a distant thud echoed from the other side.

Thump!

.

.

.

"Did you throw him too hard?" I asked.

"I don’t know." Somehow, her answer didn’t assure me. Fortunately, there were no screams, explosions, or angry voices from the other side of the wall.

"Good enough."

After confirming that no immediate disaster had occurred, I turned around and headed back toward the villa.

The corpse was gone. Unfortunately, the evidence wasn’t. The balcony still looked like the scene of a murder.

Blood stained the floorboards, and fragments of a shattered teacup were scattered everywhere. Moreover, there were cracks in the wooden table and several places where Viora’s blood had dripped during the fight.

So, without wasting time, I immediately started cleaning. First, I gathered the broken pieces of the teacup and threw them away in a dustbin.

Afterward, I carried a bucket of water upstairs and began scrubbing the bloodstains. The process was much harder than expected. Blood didn’t simply disappear after being splashed with water.

It stubbornly clung to the wood.

Several times, I found myself kneeling on the floor while furiously rubbing stains that refused to vanish. Meanwhile, Viora sat nearby quietly.

For once, she wasn’t following me around. She simply listened to my movements while occasionally tilting her head whenever I muttered complaints under my breath.

She had offered to help with the cleanup, but I rejected her. Because as she is now, it would only make things harder.

After nearly an hour of cleaning, the balcony finally looked normal again. Well... mostly normal. The cracked table remained alongside the broken chair.

And technically, there was still an assassin somewhere beyond the wall. But compared to before, the place looked significantly less suspicious.

Finally satisfied, I dropped the cleaning cloth into the bucket and stretched my sore back.

"Done," I let out, and Viora immediately stood up and took a few steps forward as she began, "Can I help now?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because everything is already finished."

She looked disappointed and frustrated that she couldn’t do anything to help with the cleanup. And honestly, it was almost impressive how eager she seemed to participate in illegal activities.

....

After taking care of the balcony, I moved on to the next step, which was a really important matter. I went downstairs and entered the kitchen. As soon as I went in, my attention immediately shifted toward a small cabinet near the corner.

Inside were several bundles of magical healing herbs. Earlier, I had used them to help my own injuries recover faster. Now, Viora needed them more than I did.

The wounds on her arm, thigh, and cheek had stopped bleeding, but they definitely hadn’t healed completely.

And while she pretended they didn’t hurt, I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that.

After taking several herbs from the cabinet, I began preparing tea, and the familiar scent quickly filled the kitchen.

Soon, steam rose from the kettle while the herbs dissolved into the hot water. Several minutes later, it was ready. Then I poured a cup and turned around as I held it in front of me.

The girl who was refusing to leave me alone even for a moment just stood there without moving until I told her to have it.

"Tea. Drink it."

Without questioning me, she raised her hand and I helped her grab the cup. Almost immediately after taking a sip, her eyebrows rose slightly.

"It’s bitter," she said.

"It is medicine."

"Oh."

That single response somehow contained a surprising amount of disappointment. She must not have expected it to be bitter. Yet, she continued drinking.

I watched quietly as she finished the entire cup. The effects didn’t appear instantly. However, after a few minutes, a faint warmth began spreading through her body.

The cuts on her arm started shrinking. The wound on her cheek gradually closed. Even the injury on her thigh improved significantly.

Still, none of them healed completely. But compared to before, the difference was obvious. The herbs were working, and seeing that, I finally relaxed.

At least I wouldn’t need to worry about infection or blood loss.

"How do you feel?"

"Better," she replied as she touched the wound on her arm.

"Any pain?"

"A little."

That answer alone was enough to tell me the herbs had helped tremendously. Before, she should have been in extreme pain. However, now only a little pain remained.

"I will be back."

After making sure she was stable, I went away for a bit. But I kept looking behind me to see if Viora was following me, and for once she wasn’t.

....

A few minutes later, I returned carrying fresh clothes. Her current outfit was a disaster now. There were tears everywhere and bloodstains covered large portions of the fabric.

"Here." I placed the folded clothes beside her. "Change into these."

Viora reached forward and touched the fabric, then tilted her head.

"Now?"

"Yes. Now."

For some time, she remained silent, and then she grabbed the clothes.

"I will change."

"Good."

Satisfied, I led her to one of the rooms downstairs and closed the door after sending her in.

Phew~

After that, I stepped out into the hallway and let out a heavy breath.

The villa was quiet just like always. Normally, I would have appreciated that. Today, however, my thoughts refused to settle.

Subconsciously, my hand moved toward my pocket. The coin was still there. I pulled it out and stared at it again. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The symbol seemed even more ominous now.

A black eye surrounded by cracks.

And Black Faction.

Just remembering the name made my expression darken. That wasn’t some random criminal organization. This was one of the strongest evil guilds in the entire world.

A guild powerful enough to influence nations. And now one of their assassins had appeared inside Elena’s villa.

The more I thought about it, the less I liked it.

I leaned against the hallway wall and stared at the coin’s engraving.

Fear should have appeared in me. After all, Black Faction wasn’t an enemy someone like me should challenge.

One simple mistake could result in death. Not only for me but for Viora too. Yet strangely... I wasn’t afraid.

This surprised even me. Maybe it was because I had nearly died again inside the Gate, or maybe it was because of what happened this morning.

One thing was clear. Whether I liked it or not, I was changing alongside my surroundings.

Gradually, my eyes drifted toward the room where Viora was changing, and the image of her standing between me and the assassin resurfaced in my mind.

The assassin hadn’t just attacked me. He had made Viora bleed. That fact irritated me far more than the attempt on my own life.

"I don’t care if they are Elena’s enemies." My voice was barely above a whisper. "I don’t care how strong they are."

Slowly, I closed my fingers around the coin.

"They made Viora get hurt."

A cold feeling settled inside my chest. It wasn’t fear but determination. For the first time since arriving in this world, I felt something very clearly.

I didn’t want to simply survive anymore. I needed strength. Not for fame. Not for money. Not for power.

But because the moment I became too weak to protect what mattered... someone would take it away.

And I wanted to make Viora not only strong... But the strongest person on this planet.