Free and Unfettered 120 Elder Chow

Matthew cautiously gathered all the information that his Master wanted, burning the midnight oil. In the end, he was tired but happy. Somehow, being of service to his Master felt good. It felt better than when he finished a mission.

Previously, he thought that nothing would trump that feeling, but once Helce got her hands on him, even that euphoric feeling had faded somewhat for him. The knowledge that he was doing someone else's bidding instead of his own had taken its toll on his mentality.

Knowing that what he was doing now aligned with his own interests was very reassuring. Although Master never said anything of the sort, he always looked at him briefly as if sizing up his reactions after asking.

It was little things like this that made the assassin feel reassured that he had chosen the right Master. Time had only increased his feelings. He had not made the wrong choice that day.

Instead of the usual hard copies that people liked to use to present information in this world, Matthew used a more secure method that he had picked up because of the secrecy that was involved whenever he picked up a mission. That was to say, through memory transmission.

Like voice transmission where someone sent a voice message from a short range directly into someone's else's head like they were talking aloud, memory transmission worked in the same way where you had to be within a certain distance before receiving the information. It played back in the form of images, unlike voice transmission, which was a voice.

Nine looked over the information received from Matthew and nodded in satisfaction. Quickly, she ruled out several people since they did not fit the profile she was looking for.

The person she was looking for would be ambitious, someone in a relatively high position, someone who was dissatisfied with corruption, and most importantly, it had to be someone who was kind. Not the sort of kind that was only presented on the surface, but a kindness that went deep down into their very bones.

The sort of kindness where 'the ends justify the means' sort of person.

Within ten minutes, Nine had successfully sorted out the list, ruling out everyone and only leaving a small handful of people left on the list.

"Amongst these, who is the one that everyone looks up to the most?"

Matthew paused as he thought about it. "Well, it's quite relative, but I have to say that Elder Mildred and Elder Chow are possibly at the top of that list."

"Elder Chow," Nine said, as if tasting the name. She said it like the name contained all of the answers. Her eyes were hooded, causing Matthew to have no idea what his Master was thinking at all.

"Elder Chow is Justin's father. Since I very well couldn't have him compile his own profile, I did it for his."

Nine nodded slowly, having already seen that in the difference in presentation of the information. Whilst Elder Chow's information was detailed and precise, Matthew's style of information was instead short and quick, reflecting the efficiency that he carried in real life.

"Then, let us go to Elder Chow's residence. We have to send Justin back, don't we?"

Matthew paused, feeling like something was off, inwardly shocked. Could it be that Justin's father was the one who was behind all of this? Was that why Justin was mercifully untouched? Matthew had always thought that it was because he got his disciple out in time, but was it because the traitor was actually Elder Chow?

"Let me wake them up," Matthew said, heading towards the three sleeping figures.

Justin looked at peace for the first time in a long time, with how he snuggled up to Valerie and Andrew. Matthew hadn't seen him look so light since the time he first brought his disciple out of the tribe.

Something in Matthew ached at the thought. The fact that his father might be a traitor made him feel terrible. Could it be that this young boy was going to lose his father when he had already lost his mother? Swallowing, Matthew compartmentalized the feelings that were close to overwhelming him at the moment, opting to deal with it later.

Matthew reached out to gently shake his disciple's shoulder, waking him in the process the moment he made contact. The young Wererabbit's eyes snapped open, a sure product of his training.

"Master?" he said, rubbing his eyes. The young boy stretched, his ears perking up as he fully woke.

Beside him, Andrew and Valerie also stirred, waking from the restful sleep they experienced. The air here in the Hopcaper tribe was so much clearer and lighter as compared to back in Cosmos City, with how pure the air felt. Since hordes of undead swarmed to their city each night, the calm air in Cosmos City had eventually been replaced with the familiar scent of death and darkness particles.

"Come on, let's get you home," Matthew told his disciple, quirking a smile at him.

Justin hopped up before pausing as he stared at his Master's face. "Master, is there something wrong?"

Matthew controlled his twitch. "Nothing," he said, shortly but succinctly.

Justin looked at his Master doubtfully, but eventually nodded. He would eventually dig out what had happened to make his Master look… regretful? Upset?

The group of five headed towards Justin's house, where the boy unlocked his front door and hopped in, cheerful.

"Dad, I'm home!" he called out loudly.

"Hey," Justin's dad replied, popping his head out of the kitchen. His happy expression shuttered somewhat when he caught sight of Matthew, as well as his guests, Nine, Andrew and Valerie before coming back in full.

"Who've you got with you?" Chow questioned his exuberant son.

Justin happily introduced him. "Well, this is Nine, Andrew, and that idiot Valerie."

Valerie silently locked the young preteen in a headlock, smiling widely at Chow. "Nice to meet you!"

Justin flailed, shaking his head and whacking Valerie in the face with his ears rapidly.

Valerie gave the poor teen a noogie. "That's not how you're supposed to use those ears!"

Chow nodded at the trio. "Nice to meet you pyon."

"…Pyon?" Andrew said in disbelief.

Justin silently buried his face in his hands. "Apparently humans get disappointed if Wererabbits don't end their sentence with 'pyon'. I'm sorry! I completely forgot!"

Matthew unashamedly eyed the couple, as if saying there was no way in hell those words were ever going to leave his mouth whether or not they were disappointed.

Nine shook slightly, concealing her laughter. God. The first human they ever met was probably someone who had transmigrated from Japan or something.

…But it was pretty funny, so she wasn't going to say anything.

The time passed by light-heartedly before Matthew, Andrew, Valerie and Nine left, leaving Justin to his father. By the time they left, the sky was already dark, and the undead had yet again paid another visit to the tribe.

Moving silently in the dark, the foursome crept into the house they just left swiftly without alerting anyone else. In the darkness, the four waited in Matthew's bedroom.

The moment Matthew's door opened; he got the shock of his life when he saw four sets of menacingly glowing eyes.

Before he could make a sound to shout or call for help, a hand enveloped his mouth as someone else cast a Silence spell on him, so no sounds left his mouth. Shaking, the Elder tried to back out of the room, but was forced to stop by one of the intruders who had slipped behind him.

As if on cue, the door shut behind them and a small, dim light was lit in his room, casting a glow over the intruders in his room.

Chow's mouth opened in shock as the fear bled out of his eyes.

Chapter end