"Shiana?"
A female voice sounded from the side. Aleshia turned her head and saw a big-breasted female wearing a dark cloak. She was also one of the assassins working in the Lanika Branch of the Blood Flower Assassin Organization. She was a friend that Aleshia has met here.
"Hereth."
They were both calling each other using pseudonyms. It was forbidden for the assassins to call each other with their real names. After all, if a spy entered their ranks, that spy would be easily able to identify all of them. Even Aleshia herself doesn't know what's the real name of this woman.
Aleshia could investigate her background since she knows her face, but it would be violating a rule of the assassin organization. Since technically, only spies would do something like that.
Hereth was a beautiful woman. She may not be as beautiful as Aleshia but her looks are not to be looked down upon. It was one of her assets in her missions. Compared to Aleshia who only kills silently and decisively, Hereth lures her target before killing them swiftly. It was the reason why she was such a successful assassin.
"What's with the maid uniform?"
She noticed the maid uniform that Aleshia was wearing. Aleshia had nowhere to change her clothes. It was not a big deal anyway if others see the insignia of the Horiel family on her. It might arouse some suspicions about her, but they would just think that she was doing a mission in the Horiel mansion.
"I can explain later. Anyways, why did you let that receptionist named Jane investigate my background?"
Aleshia brushed her off. She didn't want to talk about it. It was a good uniform but it was still quite embarrassing when she was seen by someone she knew. Instead, she was more curious about something else.
"Ah, that bitch? She is very powerful. Even I'm not a match for her."
Hereth shrugged her shoulders. If she was too strong then, of course, she couldn't have done anything. Aleshia was just asking the impossible.
"Besides, I don't excel in dealing with women."
Hereth added. For someone like her who uses her charms to seduce her targets, using them against other women is just useless. She was not beautiful to the point that other women would be willing to spend the night with her.
"Did she reveal everything?"
Hereth asked with a concerned look on her face.
"No, but she revealed everything about my real identity to my target!"
Aleshia gritted her teeth in anger. Just remembering about it makes her mad. The receptionist laid out all of her weaknesses to Lawrend and Lawrend used it all to his advantage.
"That sucks. Do you need some help?"
Hereth sighed. The only thing she could do to console Aleshia was to offer her help. After all, it already happened.
"No. I don't need any help with this mission."
Aleshia shook her head. She doesn't want anyone to interfere with her battle against Lawrend. She had already betted that he could be trusted by agreeing to his deal earlier. If he dies now, it would be her loss.
"Whatever."
Hereth shrugged her shoulders at Aleshia. If she doesn't want her help then she's not obligated to force her.
"Anyways, what are you doing here? Especially in that outfit. Haha!"
Hereth looked at Aleshia up and down. Now that she looked at Aleshia wearing the maid uniform again, she noticed that it actually suited Aleshia. She looked very cute and professional wearing it.
"Mou! Don't laugh at me! I knew it. I should have returned home and changed first."
Aleshia pouted at Hereth. It was already embarrassing for her to wear this maid uniform and having Hereth laugh at her makes it only more embarrassing. She felt like hiding under a rock right now.
"You even predicted this from happening already. Why didn't you change? Are you a masochist?"
Hereth mocked Aleshia. It was one thing to be laughed at, but it was one thing not avoiding to be laughed at. It was like she was looking for trouble herself.
"I'm in a hurry."
Aleshia glared at Hereth. For someone like her who was still in her teens, being teased like this makes her more conscious of herself.
"You going somewhere? And you still met up with me."
Hereth asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. I didn't go here to meet you though. I came here to buy some poison and some armor plus extra daggers."
Aleshia explained to her with a displeased expression. Hereth was much older than Aleshia and she was particularly fond of teasing Aleshia once in a while. It even reached the point one time that Aleshia became her stress relief after her arduous missions. It was not a fun memory for Aleshia.
"You're that prepared? What the? Are you participating in a Special Mission?"
Hereth opened her eyes wide in disbelief. Special Missions are missions that are towards high-value targets. They were very special missions that had to be successfully executed no matter what.
"No. No. No. That's crazy. I'm only accompanying my target to another city."
Aleshia immediately shook her head. There's no way she would ever accept a special mission. It was very risky. If she dies, her little sister would be very lonely.
"Hmm. I won't take your time then."
Hereth moved away from Aleshia and Aleshia continued on her way towards the counter. There was a masked man wearing a black cloak standing behind it.
"What do you want?"
The man spoke in a hoarse voice coldly. It sounded like an old man dying of dehydration, but Aleshia knows all too well that this was just intentional on the man's part. His identity as one of the receptionists of the Blood Flower Assassin Organization would make him an important target for law enforcements.
"I would like to have these."
Aleshia grabbed a pencil from the side of the counter and wrote on a paper before passing it to him. The masked man took it and squinted his eyes before looking back at Aleshia in a calm manner.
"When do you need these?"
The masked man asked her.
"If possible, tomorrow."
Aleshia replied uneasily. Being in the presence of this man always unsettles her. There was something about him that makes her worried.