Despite the crowd already filling the courtyard, an even larger group had gathered around the student council stall. From what I could gather, the student council handles school events and affairs. I can’t imagine why so many people would want to be involved in that.

As I moved closer to the crowd, the truth became obvious. They weren’t interested in the student council itself or its duties. Almost every pair of eyes was locked on the girl behind the stall, handing out pamphlets.

Her hair, a rich shade of wine red, fell just below her shoulders in subtle waves. The front split to the left, with strands curving outward like delicate crescent moons. It was elegant, and the color made it even more striking.

She greeted everyone who approached her with a warm smile. Her sharp hazel eyes softened as they met each person’s gaze. But even with that welcoming expression... I sensed that something was off.

"Hello," she said to me. "Are you also interested in running for student council?"

I paused for a moment. "...Huh...?"

I then turned around and noticed that I had somehow moved from the back of the crowd to the front. Did they push me all the way up here or something? How did I fail to notice?

"Hm? Are you okay?" the girl asked.

"Yes, sir— I mean... Yeah."

"Would you like a pamphlet? You don't have to run. Just think about it. Who knows? Maybe you'll land a seat."

"Uh... Sure."

She reached her hand out with the pamphlet to which I took it, but not without looking further into her eyes. Now that I'm seeing her up close, she is pretty like they say. But... I noticed something off.

"Are you alright?" I subconsciously asked.

"...What?"

It was only after the moment that I realized I had said that out loud. She raised her eyebrows and stared at me, seemingly startled.

"S-sorry. It's nothing."

I quickly dashed away before I could further embarrass myself. God, I'm so freaking dumb.

As an assassin who has read many facial expressions, it wasn't hard to tell that there was a hint of melancholy beneath the welcoming smile. I wonder why she feels like that. Everyone seems to think highly of her.

Oh well. It's none of my business. But why in the world did I ask that question? I bet I looked like a total creep.

I let out regretful sigh. There goes any chance of a good first impression.

I unrolled the pamphlet that the girl gave me and read its contents. Like every other pamphlet, it details basic information about the club and the people who run it. There was also a nice picture of that girl printed at the bottom.

"Taiyori Ayaka," I read it out loud.

She's one of the second-year officers who ran toward the beginning of the first term and won by a landslide. They even put 'Belle' on the pamphlet.

That's a bit too much, in my opinion—but hey. What do I know? Could just be what they do in the normal world. Besides, it's a term of admiration used by the students, isn't it? I can't imagine she'd be anything less than fine.

Although... That look in her eyes was rather strange. I'm sure it's nothing, though.

After spending the rest of the day wandering around, checking out the different stalls, I finally headed back to my dorm. It was probably the most pointless journey I've ever made. I knew it—nothing here interests me.

Honestly, I wouldn't even be at this school if Watcher hadn’t forced me. One day, he just started spouting off about how I should try doing what normal kids my age do.

How does he expect me to do that? I’m an assassin. He trained me to be a killer. I’ve walked the dark side of the world for as long as I can remember.

I sat down on my bed, raising my hands to look at them. These hands are stained with the blood of those sent too early to the afterlife. Someone like me... shouldn’t be allowed to move on and pretend to be normal. It’s just not right.

Suddenly, my phone began to ring. The text on the screen said 'unknown caller,' but I knew very well who it was.

"Ran, are you there?" Watcher said when I picked up.

"I'm here, sir."

"How's the mission going?"

"Well... It's certainly going, sir."

"Don't tell me you haven't found any clubs to join yet."

"That's exactly what I was going to tell you, sir."

An audible sigh of disappointment could be heard through the phone. I don't know what he expects. Does he think it's easy for someone with my mentality to find interest in trivial things such as school clubs? Or even school itself, for that matter.

"I gave you till the end of the week, so I'm expecting results by then, at the very least," he said.

"It will be difficult, sir."

"Yeah, yeah. As if going on an actual mission of life or death isn't difficult. Speaking of which, a situation came up. One of our boys got captured and killed while trying to take down a high-value target. He's got some connections in the underworld."

"Yakuza, sir?"

"Seems like it. According to the reports, this guy is a loose screw. He and his gang beat up the son of a guy running for a seat in the Cabinet and left him naked in a bar downtown."

"I thought the yakuza were tilting away from doing things like that, sir."

"You would think, huh? It's easy to just say it was the yakuza, but it runs deeper than that. Nowadays, anyone can hop in and declare themselves as the yakuza. Gives them some credibility and a reason to do all the bad shit."

"Are you insinuating that it's a fraud, sir?"

"I ain't insinuating nothing, son. I know he's a fraud, and part of our job is snipping them off. This guy is one of them. What do you think? You up for it?"

I quickly slipped on my nightly attire. It's just a simple black jacket, some sweatpants, a cap, and a mask. Makes it easy to move around, and it covers my face pretty well.

After grabbing my silenced pistol and dagger from the drawer, I opened the doors to my balcony and faced the moonlight.

"I will answer to the Hunt."