“Miss Karin! Miss Karin!” Caro kept pounding on Karin’s door until Karin finally stood before her, fully dressed.

Caro hesitated over whether to put on a pitiful act and throw her arms around Karin while she had the chance. With a figure like Karin’s, that would feel amazing.

But using her identity as a girl to take advantage of another girl was a little shameless. Sometimes, a person still had to care about appearances. So, in the end, Caro activated her own “Acting” skill.

It was an extremely unique skill among Caro’s abilities. It didn’t seem to have a level.

To put it in Caro’s own words, it was… well, a skill that depended heavily on her condition.

Of course, the panel might simply have been bugged. This world looked like a game world, yet every sensation felt so real.

Still, this was hardly the time to calmly consider such things.

She put on a pitiful expression. “Miss Karin, please save me~”

Karin tilted her head. Her face was filled with confusion, as if asking, “You’re asking me for help?”

She seemed unable to understand it.

Caro nodded repeatedly, making it clear that she really was seeking Karin’s help. “Yes, yes, it’s the Demonhunt Squad!” Caro immediately named the source of the danger. “Arnold has already started fighting Miss Cassipero. There might be other squad members too, so he told me to come find you.”

He told her to come find Karin?

Beneath his gentle exterior, Arnold could be truly cruel at times. He was making Karin protect someone she was jealous of—someone who could even awaken murderous intent in her.

How could he…

Karin’s hand twitched. She nearly seized the short sword at her waist.

But before deciding what to do, she still asked, “He told you to seek my protection? He’s got some nerve. But how did you dare come here?”

“Hm? Didn’t Arnold say that you and Miss Karin had feelings for each other?”

Karin, the ice-cold beauty, let out a mocking laugh. “I remember that yesterday, when I was exhausted, you suggested that he finish me off and bury me. Do you have an explanation for that?”

Caro suddenly grew awkward. Her eyes darted left and right as she clearly began inventing a lie.

“Well, that was just a joke~ Why would I ever do something like that? Look at me. I’m just a frail Bard. My strongest skill is summoning the dead, and it’s only Lv. 1. Besides, you know Arnold wouldn’t do something like that… right?”

“He’d better not.”

What was going on? Didn’t this woman like Arnold? Why was she being so cold?

In theory, this was the perfect chance to raise Arnold’s favorability with her. Arnold must have gone too far yesterday and hurt her pride.

Caro knew exactly what to do now.

She coughed lightly twice. “Ahem. Miss Karin, you… like Arnold, don’t you?”

“…I don’t.”

You hesitated for that long. It’s no different from admitting it!

An ice-cold beauty with a tsundere side wasn’t good at all. At times like this, she should’ve blushed and nodded shyly. Karin really didn’t understand anything!

Caro had only just given another one of Arnold’s admirers, a white-stocking girl named Mistie, some advice that morning. But…

Sorry, Mistie! Staying alive comes first! I’ll give you plenty of advice later!

To be perfectly honest, using Arnold’s harem was pretty shameless. But Caro found this development amusing too.

Giving both sides advice, then watching two girls fight over the same man… That was the finest entertainment in the world.

Caro played hard to get. She put on a mysterious air and said, “I have a little advice about that. I wonder if you’d be willing to hear it.”

Let’s see if the fish bites.

Karin hesitated for a long while. “You… you should come inside first.”

It bit! Hooray~

Caro gave a slight nod. “Thank you, Miss Karin.”

“Don’t misunderstand. This has nothing to do with you or Arnold. I won’t allow the Demonhunt Squad to cause trouble in this city. As a former member, that would damage my reputation.”

Girl, you’re really cute when you make excuses.

What a pity Arnold didn’t know how to appreciate it. A girl like Karin seemed pretty easy to win over. If only Caro were still her old self—

Caro bitterly hated the fact that she wasn’t a man anymore. Otherwise, she could’ve taken advantage of this opening and applauded for love tonight.

Arnold didn’t like this one, anyway.

“What about the other squad members? They won’t come attack us, will they?” That was what concerned Caro most.

Karin shook her head. “Cassipero can’t deal with Arnold alone. The Demonhunt Squad doesn’t actually have anyone to spare for attacking us. He sent you here for protection because he was worried the Ancient Spirit Tree might take advantage of the situation.”

Caro frowned. “That doesn’t make sense… Isn’t Cassipero known as a Demon Hunter, just like Arnold? Shouldn’t their strength be about equal?”

The assassin picked up a teacup, poured two cups, and handed one to Caro. Her expression had softened considerably.

“I used to think so too. As the last member to join the squad, I assumed Arnold and Cassipero were equally strong—until last night.”

“You mean Arnold never used his full strength when he was with your squad?”

Karin shook her head. “No. The enemies we fought back then simply didn’t require Arnold to use his full strength. Arnold often left the squad to do other things… I suppose that was his training.”

Caro was a little surprised by that explanation. “Then what about Miss Cassipero…?”

“I heard this from Miss Helen. Cassipero must have deliberately kept it from everyone. Helen told me on the day I was dismissed. Perhaps she wanted me to accept the fact that I’d been expelled.”

Helen, the Demon Purifier? The Demonhunt Squad’s priest?

“After Arnold killed a dragon and bathed in its blood, he became even stronger than before. Cassipero also killed the chief of the Wind Demon Clan, an enemy on the same level as a dragon. But she suffered severe injuries that never fully healed, so her strength declined.”

There was something like that?

So choosing the right enemy really mattered too!

Caro wore an expression of enlightenment.

“So, Cassipero isn’t Arnold’s match anymore?”

Karin nodded. “That might be one of the reasons Arnold was dismissed. Cassipero is a very proud person. But I don’t understand what happened between her and Arnold. They were childhood friends.”

Caro’s curiosity began to itch.

If that was true, then Arnold and Cassipero must be having a wonderful fight. Just imagining the scene made her want to laugh.

“Enough about that. What was the advice you mentioned?”

A mischievous smile spread across Caro’s face.

An ice beauty who claimed she didn’t like Arnold? What a stubborn mouth!

She lifted her teacup and took a small sip. “Have you ever heard this saying?”

“What saying?”

“Bigger is better. Bigger is justice.”

Karin froze completely. She had no idea what Caro was talking about. “What do you mean, bigger is better?”

Caro’s gaze stopped rudely on the ice beauty’s impressive peaks.

“…”

Karin finally couldn’t hold out any longer. She covered her chest with one hand, but her slender arm couldn’t conceal all that fullness.

The woman rarely showed such panic. She looked completely flustered.

“Th-this…”

“Don’t panic, Miss Karin.” Caro calmly sipped her tea. “You’re an assassin, so I don’t think this will be hard for you to understand. In battle, you search for your opponent’s weakness, then land one critical hit and take them down. No problem with that, right?”

Why had she suddenly brought this up?

Still, she was right. That was exactly how assassins operated.

“Then setting aside Arnold’s weakness, what is a man’s weakness?”

“A man’s… weakness?”

Caro put down her teacup and began her passionate speech.

“Beauty, of course! They say a gentle embrace can become a hero’s grave! But what makes that embrace a grave worthy of the Dragon Slayer Arnold?!”

“…”

Karin listened, utterly stunned.

“So it has to be big! Bigger is gentler! Bigger is better!”

Caro pointed at her own chest. “Look. This is what you call barren. If you pressed your head against me, all you’d feel would be my ribs! Where’s the beauty? Where’s the tenderness?”

Then she pointed at Karin’s proud fullness.

“But you’re different! Hidden within those enormous weapons is elasticity, fullness, and the symbol of motherhood. It’s the ultimate tenderness—the one thing capable of burying every man’s ideals!”

After hearing her put it that way, Karin’s mind had already descended into chaos.

“You possess the ultimate weapon, and you know a man’s weakness. As an assassin, what should you do?! Tell me, Blade Dancer Karin! What should you do?!”

“I… I should… land a critical hit…”

“Exactly! A critical hit! Keep hitting him with critical hits! The moment an opening appears, you can take Arnold down in one burst! Make him so addicted to your body that he can’t pull himself away!”

Caro’s voice grew more fervent.

“Just imagine it! Arnold returns exhausted, and you pull him into your arms. He feels safe, then falls deeply asleep in your embrace. Wouldn’t that make you happy?!”

Karin’s mind was already hazy. Under Caro’s guidance, she imagined that very scene.

She genuinely felt a sense of happiness.

“I-I should… What should I do?!”

Snapping awake from that happiness, Karin hurried in front of Caro and seized her shoulders.

“Please! Please teach me how to do it, Teacher!”

Heh heh~ Just a little girl, after all. Trying to play mind games with me? And now you’re not acting like an ice beauty anymore?

Caro was bursting with pride. She deliberately struck a pose.

“I’m a little thirsty.”

“Teacher, have some tea!”

“The simplest way to land a critical hit is closing the distance. Use those impressive weapons of yours to touch him. Understand?”

“Put your pride aside and hug his arm the moment you meet him. Is that really so difficult? Hug his back whenever you get the chance. Do I really need to teach you something like that?”

“But… wouldn’t that be… shameless?”

“Foolish!” Caro shouted.

“This is love! Love is war! War knows no rules! If you retreat because of shame at a moment like this, all you’ll ever see is Arnold laughing happily with another woman!”

Her voice rang out like a declaration.

“When that happens, will you still have the luxury of worrying about shame?!”

In a daze, Karin seemed to see her first teacher back at the family estate—the teacher who had initially taught her the art of assassination.

“You’re right! You’re absolutely right!”

Target acquired.jpg