A Perfect Crime

"I'll tell you his skill, but first we need to get somewhere private," Toshio said flatly, setting his linen napkin onto the table.

He stood up, the velvet folds of his high-class noblewoman’s gown brushing against the wooden floorboards as he turned back toward the basement hideout.

Zale followed him in complete silence. The traveling musician was completely paralyzed by the sheer, calculated madness he had just witnessed.

"We need to hurry," Toshio commanded, picking up his pace.

They rushed back down the narrow alleyway just as the other members of the party came running from the opposite ends of the corridor. The moment they met in the dim cellar, Zale slammed the heavy wooden hatch shut and bolted the iron locks.

*FZZZZ*

Suddenly, a massive burst of colorful clouds erupted from their bodies, rapidly filling the tight storage room with thick smoke. The heavy air smelled intensely of sweet candy and floral soap. The twenty-four-hour illusion potion had served its purpose.

As the mist vanished, Toshio and his party stood revealed in their true forms.

Zale’s black eyes widened as he witnessed the transformation. Any remaining doubts he harbored had been completely gone by the plaza stunt, but watching the magic dissolve confirmed everything.

Kara and Luck were panting heavily, their muscles trembling from running non-stop through the frozen streets all night. Exhausted, they collapsed onto a corner of torn bedding to catch their breath.

Stacy and Lily, back to their original statures, immediately went to clean the charcoal dust off themselves and rest.

Only Toshio and Zale remained standing in the center of the cellar. The yellow candles were luminating them softly.

The salaryman stretched his shoulders, feeling an immense sense of relief to be back inside his crisp, modern corporate trousers and tailored suit jacket. He sat down on a wooden crate, looking across at the speechless bard.

"You must be dying to know everything," Toshio murmured, a rare spark of humor in his tone.

Zale caught the joke, a sudden wave of tension breaking as he let out a healthy, breathless laugh.

Dying?! What a bold choice. Zale couldn't help but chuckle at the clever pun.

Splendid. Happy to see you opening up, if only a bit, Toshio thought.

"So, this is what we did all night long yesterday."

Toshio unclipped his leather pouch and placed several gleaming silver pieces onto a barrel, recalling the events of the previous evening.

He had divided his party into two perfect teams.

The first had Kara, the deadly armored knight, and Lily, acting as the old grandfather. The second had consisted of Luck, the hot-headed adventurer, and the young apprentice Stacy.

The order was precise : they were to roam the back alleys and underworld information sources to gather data. Toshio had issued a strict, non-negotiable instruction - never mention the name of the Perfect Prince.

The first team met with people who dealt in illegal arms and magic, asked them to deliver the magic bombs made by the witch's apprentice. Stacy had made them just in case for emergencies.

Everything was paid up front. The black market people only had to deliver an item to whoever says a specific phrase, no questions asked.

The second team found with multiple hired mercenaries, very bad people. They were given an order to kill, alongside the location of the item they were required to use. Again paid upfront.

Stacy had designed the mana-stone bombs with a strict expiration rune. If the mana energy wasn't detonated within a single day's time, the magic would safely leak out, making the stone useless.

Total of five mana-stone bombs were made. Ten separate criminals were engaged in the scheme. Five to deliver the payloads, and five to receive the assassination request.

"Wait, wait," Zale interrupted, his voice cracking as he leaned forward.

"There was only one person captured with a bomb at the plaza though?"

Toshio smiled, his spectacles catching the dim lantern light.

"There were five different people hired with bombs across the square. Why five? If all of them executed the contract, the result would be best. In the worst-case scenario where only a single asset followed through, our objective would still be secured."

A violent chill ran straight down Zale’s spine. His hands began to shake as he realized the truth.

"We... we were surrounded by five deadly magical explosives?!"

"Precisely," Toshio continued calmly.

"So your people worked the entire night making sure no one could track who ordered the hit or who sourced the mana bombs," Zale muttered, sweating.

"But why? Why target yourselves? Why not just target the Perfect Prince directly?"

"Because our opponent is exceptionally cunning," Toshio explained, adjusting his tie.

Ah I missed you so much, Toshio said to his tie.  

"I wanted to create maximum chaos into his information network. And by ensuring we were the primary targets of the blast, the Perfect Prince's mind would never flag us as hostiles. He will forever remember us as innocent victims."

What a frighteningly cold mind, Zale thought, his heart hammering against his ribs.

"So... what happened after that?"

"As planned, one of the hired attackers initiated the detonation," Toshio stated, his voice completely devoid of emotion.

"The explosive triggered perfectly, vaporizing us and claiming a massive portion of the central plaza."

"Vaporized?!" Zale was confused, gripping his hair.

"But..but we are sitting right here! We are alive!"

"Yes. But we also died," Toshio countered, his gaze turning sharp.

"Did you notice anything unusual right before the guards captured our guy?"

Zale’s eyes snapped wide as the memory replayed in his mind.

"Yes...! How could I forget? Suzuki violently flinched right before he stood up from his lunch table!"

"Correct," Toshio said, nodding like a proud instructor evaluating a talented student.

"I am one hundred percent certain the Perfect Prince died right alongside us too."

"No way..." Zale whispered, his voice trembling as the pieces of the terrifying puzzle locked into place.

"I had my suspicions about his information network, but... you mean..."

"Go ahead. Say it aloud," Toshio commanded softly.

"You mean... he can travel back in time!" Zale was stunned.

"More precisely, his innate skill triggers automatically upon his death," Toshio finally revealed, exposing one of the most heavily guarded secrets of the empire.

"He dies, and his consciousness is forcefully reverted back to a prior point in time."

The cellar fell into a dead silence. Zale was completely speechless, his mind reeling from the sheer magnitude of the revelation.

The absolute security of the Perfect Town wasn't based on perfect planning. No, it was built on an endless loop of gruesome trial and error.

"So... what now?" Zale finally managed to ask, his hands shaking.

"What will you do next?"

Toshio leaned forward, the shadows of the cellar wrapping around his sharp corporate suit. A terrifying, intensely predatory smile crawled across the businessman's face.

"Oh, I'll do nothing. You have to do everything alone from now on," Toshio said pointing his tired party.

"We can't even get out of this basement until you have taken him down."

"All alone?! Impossible!" Zale was shaking with fear. The skill was on par with a god's power.

"Knowing he can just go back in time with his memories... we won't even remember if we fail. Even if we fail just once."

"Then you better not make a single mistake, my friend," Toshio said as he stood up, his tone locking in the absolute gravity of the situation.

"Our opponent can retry as many times as he needs, but you only have to fail once, and we will lose."

*Gulp*

Zale stood completely frozen, feeling the crushing weight of the entire operation suddenly resting on his shoulders.