"Now then, let's start. Tell me what each of you know right now." Keiko said seriously while sitting in her chair. Both s.h.i.+ro and Lisandra stood beside her and looked at the members gathered in the room.

From what s.h.i.+ro could tell, they were a little cautious about her but since Keiko was the one that brought her, they weren't too bothered.

"Me and my teams investigated most of the shrines that are located towards the northern area. Most of them are anchor points for a much bigger summoning circle. Worst part is that they're also constructed of tiny summoning circles so when it's activated, an entire army could be brought into Tokyo at a moment's notice. As for what kind of monster is being sp.a.w.ned, we have no idea." One of the staff reported.

"Is that the same for everyone else?" Keiko asked.

There were a few staff members that nodded heads in agreement but three people raised their hands.

"Speak."

"The spells that we discovered were a little different. We detected traces of what seems to be rare material that are found in special dungeons. These materials are very hard to extract as they evaporate upon leaving the dungeon barrier. However, they're being used as part of the magic circle. As to what kind of effect they have, we don't know yet since we haven't done any experiment similar to this."

"Hmm… Nytri here has informed me that with the formations created by the Black Monarchy, should you be the one that breaks them, you cannot help out in the fight as anything you do will empower the enemies instead of pus.h.i.+ng them back. So for the sake of having reinforcements available, we'll need to get some of the lower level members and have them break the spell. Either that or we can have just one person doing the job that way we have more manpower on hand." Keiko furrowed her brows.

"Depending on what happens, there's a chance for the spell to be activated anyways, so we should try to get rid of as many of them as we can." One of the staff suggested.

While the staff were discussing amongst themselves, Keiko stayed silent and had a serious expression.

"You thinking of something?" s.h.i.+ro whispered next to her ear.

"Mn. The main thing with Black Monarchy is that they never use the same thing twice. That's why they're so troublesome. We don't know how but each time we've encountered them, they've always used different tactics/spells. I want to think that they might run out of ideas but reality proves otherwise so I'm just wondering about what kind of spell they made this time." Keiko replied with a shake of her head.

"In that case then why don't we examine it? Maybe make a makes.h.i.+ft lab near the shrines and conduct research. Have some talented mages decipher all of the magic circles drawn onto the shrine." s.h.i.+ro suggested.

"It's not that I haven't thought of it. But the more hints we show of us deciphering the magic circles, the higher chance of Black Monarchy pulling the rug from under us. So far, we're only doing the lockdown procedure as usual so there's not much to be worried about since it's normal. What I am worried about is how many members of Black Monarchy are near us and who they are. If there are spies and the such, without knowing this, any movement we do is too risky." Keiko shook her head.

"In that case then why don't you let me handle it. I'm pretty proficient in moving around undetected." s.h.i.+ro chuckled.

"Really? I mean… you're a mage aren't you?" Keiko tilted her head.

"Indeed. But I'm a special kind of mage right now. My speciality is mixed martial arts. I can fight physically and magically. a.s.sa.s.sination is also one of my talents right now."

"You know, it's not that I doubt you but that's very hard if not impossible to accomplish. Fighters can't cast high level spells and mages can't move like fighters. Should either try to accomplish both, they'll just become half a.s.sed and become a waste. There have been people older in age that succeeded despite the odds so it's not entirely impossible." Keiko shook her head.

"Hmm… Well perhaps a demonstration would be good?" s.h.i.+ro smiled.

"Oh? What kind?" Keiko raised her eyebrow in curiosity. She wanted to know what her current cousin could do.

"Give me something to take from the bodies of everyone in this room. I'll do it without being discovered." s.h.i.+ro suggested.

"Sure. In that case then take their ID badge pinned on their s.h.i.+rts." Keiko smiled jokingly.

"In that case then give me a moment." s.h.i.+ro grinned.

Flexing her finger, nan.o.bots started to materialise and formed itself into a bracelet on her wrist. Suppressing any further mana fluctuations through absorbing them, s.h.i.+ro activated her Fae illusion skill without anyone realising except for Keiko.

Since Keiko was in close proximity, she could naturally detect the fluctuation but was confused as to why it was gone so suddenly.

'Strange… could it be s.h.i.+ro's skill?' She wondered to herself.

With her illusion double standing next to Keiko, s.h.i.+ro's real body walked through the room while activating all of her stealth skills along with a second bracelet that had all of the current compatible stealth skills on the skill chip.

Stacking all of her stealth skills together, it would be hard to detect her even without the illusion.

However, there was one problem and that is should she come into contact with the target's, they'll notice her touch and immediately detect her.

But there was a way for her to bypa.s.s this. Her nan.o.bots after upgrading were able to form without being in direct contact with her.

All she had to do was attach some nan.o.bots to the ID badges and have it duplicate the badge. At the same time, the real one will be removed and placed in her hands.

Such action needed precise coordinates hence why she walked around the room to observe where all the badges are.

Meanwhile, Keiko was a little confused as to why s.h.i.+ro continued to smile and said nothing else.

"Please wait for a moment. Mum's in the middle of her work." Lisandra reminded with a smile.

Nodding her head, Keiko waited patiently while the rest of the people in the meeting room discussed potential strategies.

After a short few minutes, s.h.i.+ro's double moved and leaned down to Keiko's ear.

"I'm done. Look at my hand." She whispered.

Glancing down, Keiko was shocked to see that s.h.i.+ro had all of the ID badges in her hands.

Looking back up, she realised that no one had noticed.

"d.a.m.n, I'm starting to think that you might make a better a.s.sa.s.sin hero than me." Keiko replied with a chuckle.

"Not quite. My kill potential isn't as lethal as yours." s.h.i.+ro replied.

"In that case then would it be ok for me to trouble you with this task cousin?" Keiko asked as she felt a little embarra.s.sed to have a level 100 do this task despite the number of high-level people in the room.

"Of course, think of it as payment for the lotus." s.h.i.+ro nodded.

As the meeting continued, they eventually settled with keeping things on lockdown for now while they observed the magic circles briefly. This would make it so that they get a general understanding without diving too deep or else things may be sped up. During this, s.h.i.+ro returned the badges without anyone noticing. 

Returning to her office, Keiko immediately prepared a few items for s.h.i.+ro so that she's safer during her quest.

"Here's a transmitter for you to contact me with a press of a b.u.t.ton. Two potions of invisibility, a cloak of enhanced stealth and some doppelganger talismans. Make sure you stay safe out there." Keiko said while handing her all the items.

"Of course. For now, Lisandra will stay here with you. She can help out with anything you need but she'll generally be interested in things to do with fighting since she's that much of a tomboy." s.h.i.+ro joked.

However, seeing Keiko's worried face, s.h.i.+ro dropped the jokes and became serious.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on dying." She smiled.

"Mn…" Nodding her head, Keiko hugged s.h.i.+ro tightly.

"Just… don't return with amnesia again. You don't know how worried I got when I realised that you were missing for a while. If you were to die, there'll be no one else left that I'm close to." Keiko said as her voice seemed to be strained.

"Don't you have Keomi and the other's?" s.h.i.+ro asked with a soft smile.

"They can't compare to you. When mum and dad died and left only me, you were the only one to always stay with me even when you're busy. I don't want to lose you. Despite me being a so-called hero, I wish I was a healer or paladin instead. That way I can at least have the power to protect you instead of just being good at killing and running away." Keiko replied.

Seeing this, s.h.i.+ro didn't know what to say and could only pat her head slowly.

Despite having a cla.s.s that millions would kill to obtain, the girl in front of her had actually wanted to be a healer or paladin so that she could keep her close ones safe.

'I'm sorry…' s.h.i.+ro thought sadly since Kuromi was no longer here in person. All that remained was the fragment of a ghost and that's the sad truth. Life is unfair.