"I see, you've met someone like that...... Thank you so much. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

After listening to the details of the mission between the two (mainly Alex), Partridge pinched his chin and bowed slightly. After a moment's silence, he sighed again.

"But in this case, it was a wise decision to choose to give you this task in the first place."

Of course, while Hill is the trump card of Kiss of Death, it's not like there are no other people in the organization who can use it except him. Among the stalwarts that make up the current combatants of Kiss of Death, there are four people who are above level 30. Although they are all middle-aged men in their forties, and their mobility and reflexes have correspondingly entered a period of decline with their bodies, the experience accumulated over the years and the decisiveness in the event of an event should not be underestimated - but they are not in the station at this time.

In addition, the strength of the younger generation is mostly in the second tier. In the case of Sofer and Codo, who have played before, they are considered to be the best of the 20 to 30-year-old members, with ratings of 16 and 18 respectively. The strength of these two men is enough to support them to complete most of the core tasks skillfully, and if the timing is clever enough, even a target who has reached level 20 can be successfully assassinated. But it's hard to say whether they can complete the task that Hill and Alex solved.

Basically, although the mission sent by Kiss of Death can be described as a "crusade against a certain villain", the "crusade" here is closer to a summary of the purpose of the operation, and when the actual mission is actually carried out, of course, it is still mostly in the form of assassination. Finding the castle where Anderson is hiding is not a difficult task for most of the members of Kiss of Death, but no one can guarantee whether they will be able to infiltrate the investigation and successfully complete the assassination. If something goes wrong at any point, Alex's description of the "twenty-meter-tall, flying, dangerous beam metal golem" would be enough to crush their hopes of success.

This was a difficult task for the other members, but it was completed by Ciel and Alex. This sentence contained Partridge's approval of the two-person team in front of him, and this meaning was successfully grasped by Alex.

"Hmph, isn't that a matter of course?" Alex said proudly, "If there are any difficult tasks in the future, you can leave them to us with confidence?" ”

“…… Miss Alex seems to have completely identified herself as a member of Kiss of Death. ”

Salom, who was standing quietly at the table, spoke.

"It doesn't make a difference, does it?" Alex met her gaze: "Anyway, after I team up with Ciel, we will act together, and the task given to Ciel is actually the same as the two of us." ”

That's what she said. What about the president? What do you think? ”

Salom turned her head to look at Partridge.

Kiss of Death is an organization that strictly prohibits the inclusion of female members, and this ordinance was created because of some of Partridge's past experiences in the organization. Allowing Alex to participate in the mission that Kiss of Death sends to the insider, that is, Ciel, is a rather vague, side-of-the-road approach. Although it literally did not violate the rules, it still contradicted its spirit. Because of this consideration, Salom looked inquiringly at the top decision-maker who made the rules.

"Ask me what I think...... The camaraderie that sprouts between young people of equal caliber is truly dazzling. Partridge nodded and sighed, and then looked up to show a nostalgic look: "It's embarrassing, the old man also had a sparkling time and moon ...... back then."

"The president has a boring past mixed with self-consciousness and over-glorification, please forgive us for being insensitive." Salom interrupted him in a cold tone, "Do you know, President? The older the old man, the more he likes to remember and show off his glorious past. Could it be that the president has finally reached this age? ”

"Haha, what are you talking about, Miss Salom. I'm just casually mentioning it, old age or something is really nonsense. Partridge chuckled dryly, swallowing back into his stomach the glorious history he was about to show off.

"More than that, I would say, is it really good to have Miss Alex on our mission? Or is it better to temporarily stop sending missions to His Highness Ciel, considering that His Highness Hill is already in the state of receiving a commission from Miss Alex? ”

Hearing Salom's words, Partridge groaned for a moment.

"As is customary, since Hill has already taken over Miss Alex's assignment, he should not be distracted by other assignments......" Glancing at Alex in front of the table with an unacceptable look on his face, and Ciel, who was still expressionless, Partridge continued, "However, this time the situation is more special. At present, it seems that Miss Alex's commission cannot be completed in a matter of moments, and if Hill is excluded from the combat power during this time, the operation of the organization may be greatly affected. ”

"So ......"

"Reduce the amount of missions assigned to Hill to a certain extent, but if necessary, he will still need to act."

“…… Indeed, if you send too many missions to Her Highness Ciel, it may affect the process entrusted by Miss Alex. Salom nodded in agreement: "But is it okay?" In this case, Miss Alex will inevitably be contaminated with the blood of this world, right? ”

"Well, I don't think I've got a problem, huh?"

Alex said tentatively, holding up a hand.

Ignoring Alex's assertions, Partridge looked at Shalom and said.

"I think it's okay. As it stands, Miss Alex is far stronger than we think, and ......" Partridge said and looked at Alex, "I'm not worried that she'll become paranoid because of the blood on her hands - I remember you reported that Miss Alex is not capable of attacking. ”

"Ahh Salom nodded with a look of sudden remembrance, then turned to look at Alex, "I'm so sorry, Miss Alex. I accidentally forgot about your out-of-spec scrap physique. ”

“…… It's the first time I've seen this kind of apology. ”

Alex glared at her dissatisfied. That being said, what Salom said was true, and Alex couldn't refute it.

"Well, since Ciel and I have passed the test, can you talk more about my commission......

"I remember that Miss Alex's previous request was to find someone who could accompany you in your revenge - that is, His Highness Ciel; Also, with the help of Kiss of Death's intelligence ability, it will help you investigate the murderer...... That's pretty much it. ”

"Absolutely!" Alex nodded affirmatively: "What I want to talk about now is the one in the back...... It may be a bit cheeky to say that, but I hope that Kiss of Death will help me find out the identity of the murderer of my people soon. In return, I went on other missions with Hill during the time of the investigation......"

"You can rest assured, Miss Alex. The investigation is already underway, and the results are expected soon. ”

"Huh?" Alex blinked dumbfounded, "But, I don't seem to have told you anything......"

"If you have to wait for Miss Alex to tell you everything before you can start investigating, Kiss of Death's intelligence skills are too low." Salom said calmly. Her breezy attitude successfully aroused Alex's inner amazement and admiration, and won a lot of points for the impression of the kiss of death in the girl's heart.

"But where exactly did you start investigating?" Alex tilted her head in confusion: "I didn't even have time to tell you where my own people live, that is, you shouldn't even know where the crime happened......"

"The Kingdom of Nome, south of the Tria Mountains, about seventy miles southeast of this town." Then Partridge suddenly spoke, and as he spoke, he took out a file from the drawer and looked at Alex, "Miss Alex, am I right?" ”

“.…..”

Alex fell silent.

In fact, the detailed location is not very clear to the girl herself. It was an isolated village that lived deep in the mountains. Alex, who had been living inside, couldn't have known exactly where it was. But looking back on the path he traveled when he came, Partridge is generally not wrong.

But how exactly did he know?

Without waiting for Alex to recover from her surprise, Partridge slowly flipped through the papers in his hand.

The images and text descriptions in it made him sigh, Partridge was over sixty years old, and the ups and downs of his early years and the various information he had seen and heard after establishing the Kiss of Death now, ordinary things had hardly made his mood fluctuate greatly, but when he saw the pictures in the document again, he couldn't help but feel pity for the girl in front of the table.

"Miss Alex." He turned the document in his hand in the direction so that the girl and Ciel could see the pattern on it: "So many graves...... Did you do it all by yourself? ”

When the picture unfolded in front of Alex, the girl seemed to go back seven months ago, when she was alone and picking up the corpses of her people. It was not an easy task, some of the corpses had been burned to charcoal, and it was impossible to distinguish their original identities; There were also amputated limbs mixed together, and there was no way to find out who its owner was. It's a huge undertaking, and Alex has to figure out who the bodies are, bury them one by one in a deep pit that has been dug up, and then bury them in the earth and insert wooden signs with their names written on them.

In the process, the girl inevitably confirmed all kinds of tragic conditions, burn marks, and severed wounds. Ordinary people with all kinds of faces, all kinds of personalities, and all kinds of impressions corresponded to these cold, silent corpses lying on the ground one by one. The contrast is enough to drive people crazy.

This was repeated three hundred and seven times by Alex, and it took a month. Now, the picture facing her shows the image - three hundred and seven mounds with wooden plaques showing their identities and names are densely packed together, giving anyone who sees the scene an indescribable impact.

Looking at the girl who was speechless for a while, Salom could only stare at her in silence.

She had already seen the document before Ciel and Alex arrived, and it had been sent by Thorfer, who had walked out of the building before.

Partridge had always had some suspicions about Alex's identity, and after the girl and Ciel had left for the Pingkina Hills yesterday, the president had sent Thorfer to investigate where he remembered. Thorfer, who has one of the best foot powers in the Kiss of Death, found Alex's village at around eight o'clock last night, and at the same time, Ciel and Alex were preparing to enter the castle.

When he entered the village and saw the graves lined up in a row, Sofer's inner feelings need not be repeated. The style and timing of the mounds apparently indicate that they were completed by the same person, undoubtedly Alex. It was already morning when Thorfer returned to town, and he didn't rest and went straight to Partridge's office.

It was Shalom who listened to Sofer's narration and wrote them down into the words on the paper. That plain language illustrates what kind of feelings are intertwined in Shalom's heart, no one knows.

Alex was basking in the sudden emotions of the past, and her right hand was suddenly gently grasped. Turning her head, she saw Ciel's usual expressionless face.

"Huh? What, what's wrong Hill? The boy's sudden attack made Alex blush a little, although she had been trained in the princess hug before, but basically, the girl was not good at such intimate physical contact.

"It's okay." After thinking for a while, Ciel said softly. It was the first time he knew what happened to Alex, and until then, he didn't know anything about why the girl wanted revenge.

In such a scenario, Hill's experience is undoubtedly zero. It seemed that the single sentence "It's okay" was too pale, and the young man tilted his head and thought for a while.

“…… In short, it doesn't matter. ”

――It seems that it is still in vain.

"That, Ciel...... Are you comforting me? Alex asked tentatively, tilting her head sideways.

The doll-like expressionless teenager nodded slightly.

"Poof-" Alex couldn't help laughing, "You idiot, where is there a way to comfort someone who tells me 'I'm comforting you'!" ”

She laughed as if she had been poked in the spot, and after a while, the girl stopped and looked at Ciel.

"Well, it's a little difficult for Hill, the Sanwu, to comfort others. But......" she nodded knowingly, and smiled a little more energetically, "I don't need to be comforted at all, but thank you, Ciel." ”

"Hmm."

Hill nodded lightly with a blank expression.

It was Partridge who coughed lightly.

"Miss Alex, did you really finish all these graves alone?"

"Hmm...... I mean, there's no one else but me. ”

"Really?" Partridge nodded in admiration, and looked at Alex again with a serious face, "Miss Alex, although I understand that you want your people to settle down. But if you do so, there's a good chance you'll be exposing your presence to the killers who are hiding in the shadows, which will put you at great risk......"

"I don't care about that!" Eric interrupted Partridge without hesitation: "I can't ask for any risk, I'm worried that I won't be able to find a clue to the murderer." ”

“…… Is it? ”

Partridge understood the girl's feelings, so he said no more. Wanting such a girl with blood hatred to think more about Taoguang and keep quiet is fundamentally inconsistent with Alex's character.

"Speaking of which, Mr. President. Can you tell me how the hell you got that spot? Alex couldn't help but ask Partridge.

“…… Until then, Miss Alex. For some reason, Salom smiled dangerously at Alex, "You and His Highness Hill have been holding hands for too long, can you let go of them quickly?" ”

Otherwise, I don't know what I'd be doing - there was such a dangerous meaning in her smile.

Alex blushed and let go of the hand she had been holding, for it was so natural that she almost forgot about it for a moment.

“…… The reason for finding the location of your village is simple - by chance, I know a guy from you named Paroma. I also have some understanding of your situation there, so when I heard your previous account, I had a vague suspicion. ”

"Ahh The one you're talking about is our training instructor! Alex exclaimed.

"yes, I met him about 20 years ago, and he was already close to 30 by then. But I just saw that this document seems to have his name in it......"

Such a person would be killed together, and the identity and strength of the murderer are worrying. Partridge had previously said that "at present, Miss Alex's commission cannot be completed in a moment", and that Palome's death and some details in the documents were the basis for his judgment.

"Hmm...... The instructor's body was also buried with my own hands. Alex was a little down. The instructor who had high hopes for her in the entire group was one of the elders who were most dear to her.

After a while, the girl looked up and stared at Partridge's face.

"That...... Now that you know about us, do you know why we live in such isolated and remote places? ”

"Well...... I did hear about it a little. Partridge bowed slightly.

"Really!?" Alex looked surprised: "Please tell me anyway!"

This is the knot in the girl's heart, since the people were slaughtered, the girl has cut off the possibility of knowing the purpose of her race. No one hides in an isolated place for no reason, and the girl hopes to get an answer.

Even if it was a cruel reality that would crush her earnestness, the girl must be the one in the know—Alex had already established such an awareness.

Of course, enlightenment is one thing, and mood is another. If she suddenly learns that her own race is a dark organization that is plotting to destroy the world, and because of this, she will still be destroyed, and the girl will still be hit.

All the feelings came together, and Alex waited carefully for Partridge's reply.

Partridge saw the girl's concern, and under Alex's nervous gaze, he slowly spoke with a smile -

"Rest assured, your cause is just."