This chapter is brought to you by Red Moon by Kim Woo Seok.

---

Nine believed he was seeing a pattern here.

They were running like hell hounds were nipping at their heel and it was the absolute worst.

He so very wanted to turn back and take them out, but Venus had explicitly stated he could not.

They couldn't leave evidence of ever being there, and injured or dead men did not portray the best picture of innocence.

That, and because Nine was told last minute that the mission had actually turned into an infiltration and intelligence-gathering assignment rather than an assassination.

He remembered the conversation in Lord Eartha's office.

The man presented Mercury before him like some sort of half-heartedly wrapped present and said, "Please keep him safe. He has a gift in espionage."

And so his unit had been reduced to glorified bodyguards and babysitters.

The mission had gone well.

So why exactly were they running?

How did they manage to fuck up such a simple and easy mission?

It all started about five hours ago...

---

[Five Hours Ago]

Nine put on the common sellsword clothes of some rogue mercenary guild and noticed there were secret pockets all over the brown jacket that perfectly hid all his knives and daggers.

For the sake of the mission, he, Belwyn, and Otto disguised themselves as hired men while Mercury pretended to be the third son of a small lord out in the country.

Their assignment was to infiltrate an illegal beast auction disguised as a charity auction for an orphanage.

"You are to find the list of names of all those who are participating in the beast trade and report it back to me. Do not engage in combat. Cat, I'm looking at you. If you are caught, you are to immediately evacuate as soon as possible."

Nine wanted to ask about whether or not the orphanage actually existed but was quickly shut down by Lord Eartha.

"Do not bring back any more children. Leave them where you find them, Cat. Vesna is not the city of lost children."

So here they were, Mercury dressed to the fives because no self-respecting third son of a county bumpkin lord would ever have the budget to afford silk and velvet. Normal cotton and wool were what they settled on, and rough leather and normal animal pelts were worn by Nine and the rest.

"Stop itching," Nine admonished.

Mercury scowled at him and kept toying with his collar, "How could common lords bear to wear such shoddy textile? My skin is killing me."

How he became Lord Eartha's most promising heir, Nine had no idea.

He suddenly felt the familiar sting of the communication implant before Venus' voice appeared in his head.

"Cat, Peacemaker, Siamese, can you hear me?"

The three of them, having heard their codenames being called, answered with a quick yes.

"Hey, what about me?" Mercury demanded, offended that his brother did not acknowledge him.

"And you."

"Call me by my codename."

Nine could hear Venus grinding his teeth on the other side of the communication implant. "I'm not saying it."

There was a whisper coming from somewhere, to which Venus answered, "It's embarrassing!"

Another whisper, and then something about protocol, and finally, Venus heaved a sigh and begrudgingly said, "Dreamer."

Nine didn't judge one's codename, having heard several within the ranks of Vesna's agents. His own was nearly Mouser before someone suggested Cat, and then it stuck, and he didn't really care despite being aware of the biggest joke within the Calypto Estate.

Why did Mercury choose Dreamer?

As if Nine was really going to waste time and energy trying to figure that out.

His reaction was exactly the same as when Belwyne chose Peacemaker, and that was already a cliche in the making, knowing what his epithet was in the original story of Rumeo and Joliet.

Again, Nine really didn't care. They were literal children and puppies in his eyes, though Mercury was more along the lines of a Star like Pluto and Venus.

Star just didn't fit as adorably as kittens and puppies, though.

Curse Lord Eartha and his naming senses.

At some point, they left their horses in the promised extraction site a few miles from the auction house and exchanged them with a donkey and horse buggy that just so happened to be coincidentally abandoned near the trees.

Nine did not give Mercury any time to complain, seeing as they were on a time crunch. The moment he saw the buggy, he promptly pushed him inside and took the donkey by the reigns.

The slow pace they traveled at was common for civilians and inexperienced, but cheap, sellswords.

It was enough to get them to the auction house by sunset.

---

Mercury knew he could be mouthy, and he was very obviously testing Tobus' patience, but Tobus made it so easy.

Of course, he wasn't surprised when he got shoved into the buggy a second after seeing it, a little affronted, perhaps, but not surprised.

The rest of the journey to the auction house only took about an hour, and he was thankfully let out of his prison once they were in front of the building.

The people overseeing the guests' invitations donned masks over their eyes.

Masks were one of the dress codes for the auction. Mercury brought a silver one, courtesy of his uncle, but Tobus and the others simply cut out some eye holes from a few pieces of black ribbon before pulling it around their eyes.

They really did look the part of sellswords.

Mercury handed his invitation to a woman at the entrance.

She looked at it for a moment, before giving it back to him. "What of those three?" She pointed at the rest of their group.

Mercury made a show of grimacing, before saying with a hint of exasperation, "Papa got a little worried I couldn't take care of myself. He hired a few men from the nearby village to dress up like bodyguards so I wouldn't get mugged on the road. They're no harm, and the swords are for show. Not even sharp enough to kill, I swear."

Tobus came up from behind him and dropped the fake sword he was carrying into the woman's awaiting hands without a word.

She inspected it. Finally, she huffed at the clever ruse and shook her head at the sight of a ceremonial blade.

"Come to the front after the auction. The swords will be returned once you leave," she instructed.

Bel and Otto followed Tobus' lead and gave her their swords. The woman did not waver at the weight of the blades.

Mercury laughed bashfully and nodded, taking her hand and kissing it for a good measure as he wiggled his brow obnoxiously.

The woman snorted, perhaps believing he was just a simple boy who liked to cause mischief, and allowed them in.

Alright, the first part of the mission was over.

---

When Bel was told to leave his claymore at the extraction site and exchange it for shoddy swords worth pennies, he did not have time to be upset.

He was too busy watching Tobus lose his patience with Mercury's cheek before shoving him into the buggy.

It wasn't like espionage of this level required his sword, anyway, though Bel wondered why he was even doing here in the first place if his skills weren't being used to their fullest potential.

He could tell Tobus felt the same.

No killing, no combat--

Okay, perhaps he was sounding a bit like Tobus in that sense.

Not a killing machine. Not a killing machine. Not a killing machine.

But still, infiltration was so very boring. He supported Mercury and admired his skills, but did it really need an entire team to steal classified information?

He was thankful that his second favored weapon was a short sword. He had hidden it in the back of his jacket, which surprisingly had many secret pockets and compartments within the layers of leather.

They had managed to sneak into the auction house successfully.

Tobus made a secret gesture for them to disperse once Mercury caused a scene.

It took only half an hour as guests mingled. The auction was soon to begin, and many of the patrons were gathered near the entrance hall to take advantage of the free drinks and snacks being provided.

Bel watched from the corner of his eye as Mercury guzzled down a few cups of wine before wandering toward a large group of men and women in a drunkish-clownish way.

The poor group had no time to react as Mercury threw himself at them like jumping into his own bed, arms spread and all.

Wine and appetizers were spilled all over, expensive dresses and jackets were ruined, and injuries were given out without prejudice.

The commotion drew noise and eyes, and that was when Bel and the others all went into action.

They pulled Mercury up by his arms, and Tobus came up to the group and apologized profusely for the mistake of their charge.

He threw several bags of coins at them, and then, as if they were embarrassed and ashamed by Mercury's actions, hauled him away faster than anyone could blink.

The second part of the mission was a success.

Soon, the auction began. The attention would soon turn to the beasts, and not to the backrooms where confidential paperwork would be sorted.

---

Otto liked to think everything was going well, and it was. It really was.

The unit scattered at Tobus' signal.

They all changed back into their uniforms and followed Venus' orders to where each of them should go.

The documents Otto was looking for were hidden in another wing. The auction house was surprisingly large from the inside. Many stairs. Way too many stairs.

There were still some guards patrolling the area, but Otto snuck past them. The beams on the ceiling were thin, but he learned from the best, and he could walk on them easily.

Otto threw a stone near the stairs to distract the guards before he snuck into the room.

"The guards will be coming back soon. The papers are in the desk drawer," Venus instructed.

"Not even under lock and key?"

"Oh please, they're too stupid to understand security."

Otto took out the documents and read through them quickly. He took out the mana-scanning device, a new invention courtesy of the Tower's magic department, and made duplicates of the list of names written on the records.

"Records received. Don't forget the signatures."

Otto scanned the signatures of approval for the purchase of illegal beasts, and Venus confirmed he had gotten those as well.

Phase three was complete. Easy-peasy--

"Watch out!"

Venus' warning came too late as the door flew open and an arrow nearly pierced him in the shoulder.

Otto snapped into action and didn't even look back, adrenaline coursing through his veins as instincts overtook him.

He dodged a flurry of arrows and men trying to tackle him as he ran for the window.

Not even bothering to open it, he kicked through the glass and winced when he felt cuts on his arms and legs. The pain didn't matter as much when a fireball shot a bit too close to his head and he forced himself to duck.

It soon became apparent to him that performing self-defenestration from a five-story height could kill him, but they didn't give him much of an option, did he?

Also, performing amazing feats of acrobatic maneuvers was definitely out of the question since his attackers were still hurtling fireballs and pointing things at him, just to rub it in.

Childhood instincts took his senses and Otto found himself squeezing his eyes close and yelling at the top of his lungs, "TOBYYYYY!"

He was promptly tackled, and the world was suddenly spinning and spinning so fast that he almost threw up.

The next thing Otto knew, he was being carried under Toby's arm like a flopping log as they made their escape.

---

[The Present]

As they ran for their lives, Bel signed to Tobus, 'Why are we running?'

Tobus discreetly pointed at Mercury with a blank face.

It was then that Bel noticed something wiggling underneath Mercury's shirt.

He nearly screamed when he saw a creature's head pop out, and almost slammed into a tree.

They eventually lost their pursuers after a lap around the woods to tire them out and made their way to the extraction site.

Their horses awaited them and Tobus finally let go of Otto, who had been carried in the most undignified fashion for the last two hours.

Bel was a bit envious.

Otto didn't have to run.

Their group tiredly got onto their horses.

"Congratulations. You somehow successfully accomplished the mission," Venus said.

Never again, Bel thought.

Never. Again.

---

Eartha stared at the group in silence.

They stared back.

"I said no children."

"But uncle, I've already named him. Say hi to Grandpa, Luna."

The Chimera pup breathed smoke into Eartha's face.

Eartha closed his eyes.

"Get out."

The group made to leave.

"Except you, Cat. You can stay."

At least Lord Arcadia could give a proper report. He might bring back children occasionally, but he didn't bring home a chimera.

---

[Two Years Ago]

Nine was eighteen, and therefore, old enough to visit the local brothel.

Lark and Raven brought him to the Peony Garden.

Let it be clear that Nine did not know what a brothel was.

He met the women, he drank some wine, and they danced for him and sang some songs.

What else was he supposed to do but clap whenever they were done?

Lark and Raven kept looking at him strangely, but he was supposed to be learning the importance of this "major milestone" from them. He saw they were doing nothing but sitting there, so he did the same.

And then the women started to undress and Nine took that as his cue to leave.

"Wait, come back. We paid for the night," Raven said.

So Nine politely told the women to get dressed and then kicked them out, leaving Lark, Raven, and him in the lavishly decorated room.

"Good night," Nine said, before pulling the sheets over his head.

The next day, everyone was staring at him weirdly, and Nine had no idea as to why.

Belwyn confronted him about it, and Nine recounted his experience at the brothel plainly.

No one ever brought up the topic again.

Nine went back to the Peony Garden once a week to watch the women dance and sing. He dragged Lark and Raven with him often.

Studying their dance and singing could help in future assassinations, especially since he was now old enough for seduction.

---

The author has something to say:

Wow, everyone is so sassy in this chapter. Also, I have come to the conclusion that this story will not be finished by November 30 because we have not even reached the main storyline of the original story yet and there are 10 days left of Nanowrimo orz. Welp, that just means I get to extend my daily update of this story for a while longer. To all you readers of TRVYMGTH, fret not. I will make sure the new chapter is updated at the beginning of December.