Chapter 896: Ch 895: The Hot Commodity

Standing before Ryo, who was seriously beginning to question whether he'd somehow lost track of the date, was a woman with white hair and red eyes.

A pair of exquisite little horns, white as jade, stood from her forehead. She wore a gorgeous, deep-red outfit that resembled a kimono, though the details were distinctly different. It was fancy enough that she could have walked into a festival and fit right in.

At the moment, the girl was sitting there eating Kurousagi's sandwiches one bite at a time.

"I don't know either! Mother suddenly issued this mission just now, and honestly, I'm rather troubled by it myself!"

The current Asura Queen, the four-digit demigod who had inherited the name Asura, was seriously questioning her life choices.

"If it weren't for the fact that Mother is using my joining Ouroboros as leverage…" She muttered under her breath, then picked up another sandwich made by Kurousagi.

After taking a bite, she looked at Ryo. "Well, for various reasons, I thought about it carefully. Of all the people I know, you're the only one who might possibly be a Trickster!"

"I'm not. I didn't. Don't make things up!"

Ryo immediately gave her a full triple denial.

How could he possibly be a member of Trickster?

He was obviously a member of Arcadia.

The two had absolutely nothing to do with each other!

"Oh… you're not?" Asura looked genuinely surprised, as though she had actually believed him. "Then does that mean my mission is going nowhere?"

"Speaking of which, why did Lady Sachi suddenly…" Ryo gave Asura a strange look.

Why had she suddenly given this little airhead a mission?

And hey, stop eating! There are six sandwiches, you've already eaten three, and I haven't even finished one!

"It's probably another intelligence-gathering mission." Asura continued eating her sandwich while washing it down with milk, grumbling all the while. "Last time, she had me join the Heavenly Army. The time before that, she sent me to work odd jobs for a community called "Tea Party." Mother is always sending me off to do weird things. And then she insists it's all "training"!

'So she successfully failed as a double agent…'

Ryo complained silently.

Of course, that was just a joke.

In reality, Ryo knew perfectly well what Sachi was doing. She was laying the groundwork for her daughter, helping her build up connections.

The Heavenly Army was, after all, an enforcement organization packed with powerful figures.

As for "Tea Party" that Community might not have much of a reputation, but it had been jointly established by Queen Halloween and the Greek goddess Hestia. Its members were spread throughout both the upper and lower layers, and even the lowest entrance requirement was an elite four-digit powerhouse at the legendary stage.

It was practically a club for powerful women.

Anyone could figure out what Sachi was thinking by sending Asura into those two organizations.

But…

'Why would she send Asura to join Trickster? And why openly tell me that it's for intelligence gathering?'

Ryo's mind started turning.

"I'm not a member of Ouroboros either, but I do happen to know a few members. I can introduce you to one of them."

The moment Ryo finished speaking, Asura looked surprised. "Wouldn't it be troublesome to bother Lady Algol over something this trivial?"

'Why do you know it's Algol?'

Ryo forcibly swallowed the urge to complain but kept his serious expression as he replied, "It's not Algol."

"Oh?" Asura thought about it for a moment before tilting her head. "How much should I pay for the introduction fee?"

The more, the better…

Ryo opened his mouth. "It's fine. We're practically family, aren't we?"

"Huh?"

Asura froze.

Then she hurriedly stuffed the half-eaten sandwich into her mouth and took a step backward. "Let me make one thing clear first. I'm not selling myself! I'm a woman who respects herself!"

Looking at the solemn expression on Asura's face as she explained herself, the corner of Ryo's mouth twitched. "…For the fee, I'll discuss it with Lady Sachi."

"Mother!" Asura suddenly understood. Then she helpfully reminded Ryo, "You can ask for a little more."

Ryo was surprised by the suggestion.

Why was she encouraging him to charge more?

But before he could ask, Asura added, "The Heavenly Army will reimburse it."

'So the Heavenly Army is the one sending an undercover agent into the Tricksters?'

Ryo raised an eyebrow.

Still, he didn't ask a single question.

"It's settled then. I'll wait for your news." Asura waved her hand and stood up to leave.

Then she sat back down.

Ryo was wondering what was going on when he saw her hesitate for a moment.

Of the two remaining sandwiches, she picked the larger one.

Then she simply took it.

She continued eating as she waved goodbye to Ryo.

Seeing this, Ryo was both amused and speechless.

He then sighed, picked up the last sandwich, and took a bite.

He was still chewing when he received a communication.

Opening the communication Gift, Ryo saw Shirayasha's image appear before him.

He raised an eyebrow. "You're using an encrypted channel? Did something happen?"

"You certainly had quite the adventure in outer space," Shirayasha said with a bright smile.

Hearing her mention what had happened yesterday, Ryo rolled his eyes. "Is the Heavenly Army's intelligence system made of Swiss cheese? How did you find out it was me?"

Only a handful of people knew that he'd disguised himself as Kalki.

And apparently, Ouroboros was the only one among them that could actually be trusted to keep his secret.

Honestly, what was with these people?

"The Heavenly Army has no secrets. Otherwise, why do you think Indra has such a hard time?" Shirayasha rolled her eyes, then grinned. "He got himself into the situation where he had to hide his true body in Sanzen precisely because the Heavenly Army can't be trusted!"

More accurately, everyone in the Heavenly Army except the Twelve Devas was untrustworthy.

That included the people handling operations, the personnel processing intelligence, and even the mounts of the Twelve Devas. There were spies planted by other factions everywhere.

After all… the Heavenly Army was the only official violent enforcement organization in all of Little Garden.

A position that high and conspicuous naturally meant that everyone wanted to plant a few people of their own inside.

And the end result was the current state of the Heavenly Army.

Even Indra, the organization's supreme leader, could only carry out his grand plans by recalling the heads of the spies he'd planted in other factions, such as Shiva.

What else could he do? Indra was genuinely helpless.

Ryo couldn't help feeling a little sympathy for the poor man.

Then he looked at Shirayasha. "Okay, enough small talk. Tell me what you actually want."

Shirayasha immediately became serious. "I want you to arrange for someone to join the Tricksters."

She paused. "Mm. The real Tricksters."

Again?

Why have the Tricksters suddenly become such a hot commodity?

Ryo stared at Shirayasha in disbelief. "Can you tell me what exactly happened?"

Shirayasha didn't explain.

Instead, she continued, "Work something out and get Shirayuki to join Trickster. Make her an official member, and then…"

"And then what?" Ryo looked puzzled.

Shirayasha grinned. "Then go personally report her to Ouroboros and sell Shirayuki out. You can get an Authority just for doing that!"

For one brief moment, Ryo's heart skipped a beat.

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