Where is that scumbag?

"You were a tremendous help, Mr. Karen. Not a single student was hurt." Henry pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose, a flicker of relief passing through his eyes.

Thank goodness there were no casualties.

"Since I'm a teacher now, it's my duty. No need to thank me. I'm just a legend." Karen flamboyantly swept his hair upward with one hand, every carefully styled strand distinct in the sunlight.

Henry noticed the stick in his hand. Its grain and color looked familiar. "Mr. Karen, isn't that one of the supports for the two big trees at the entrance?" A breeze blew from the end of the corridor, carrying a few dead leaves.

Karen waved a hand, a mischievous glint flashing in his eyes. "Of course not. What kind of teacher would pull out a support at the entrance? That would ruin the scenery." He deliberately lowered his voice, his tone rising at the end.

Henry breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to praise him when Karen leisurely added another remark.

"I took the support from the tree outside the dormitory!" Karen whistled, a wicked grin curling his lips.

"That is utterly inelegant, Mr. Karen!" Henry's mustache trembled with anger, his chest heaving beneath his suit.

He had been relieved too soon.

"Never mind. I should go prepare for the interviews. Patrol outside and see whether any of the parents need help," Henry said helplessly before turning and entering the building.

Be patient, Henry. He's still young, and he's a top assassin. Don't argue with him.

"All right." Karen smiled as he said goodbye to Henry, but the smile vanished the instant the door closed completely.

With Henry gone, his expression immediately darkened.

"Now, time to find that scumbag." A glimmer of red appeared in Karen's eyes. He hated people who took their own misery out on others, especially children.

Why not examine your own shortcomings when you fail? Have you even worked hard?

The wind wailed.

"Next, Mr. Forger."

The summons came from the end of the corridor, accompanied by the rustle of turning pages.

"Yes." The Forger family entered the room, their nerves stretched taut.

This was the most critical part of Operation Strix. Only by getting into the school would they have a chance to meet Ostania's prime minister.

Honestly, Twilight was unbearably nervous. Neither infiltrating a vicious criminal organization nor stopping a nuclear missile about to launch had ever left him feeling this suffocated...

This was the terror of pinning his hopes on someone else. In the past, he had always been the one others relied on...

Fortunately, he had planted a recorder in the interview room ahead of time, so he had a general idea of what questions they would ask.

"At last, Forger."

Henry's voice carried a cool, businesslike detachment.

"Please, sit down." Walter gestured toward the sofa opposite him, his tone gentle.

The enemies Twilight faced were House Three's housemaster, Henry Henderson, House Five's housemaster, Walter Evans, and the man Karen despised most of all, House Two's housemaster, Murdoch Swan.

Karen had wanted to eliminate him for a long time, but he was the only person at the school capable of killing a teacher without leaving a trace. It would have been too obvious.

Walter, the housemaster of House Five, was mild-mannered. His questions were all straightforward, focusing more on the family's emotional bonds.

The Forger family answered his questions with ease.

Henry placed greater emphasis on elegance and asked very detailed questions. But Anya read Twilight's mind to find the answers, and they made it through with a few scares but no real trouble.

Now, their interview was already nearing its end?

Walter was very satisfied with the bond between the Forgers and their daughter. He asked his final question. "If you could give them a score, how many points would you give your current papa and mama?"

"One hundred, full marks," Anya said without hesitation. "Papa and Mama are both really fun. I love them most of all. I want us to stay together forever."

Her eyes sparkled. She truly loved her life now.

As she spoke, something seemed to tug at Yor's and Twilight's hearts beside her.

It was a feeling called happiness.

Seeing how happy the Forger family was, Murdoch Swan thought of his own family, which was on the verge of falling apart, and nearly ground his back teeth to pieces.

His thick fingers gripped his pen, dragging it hard across the paper.

Nothing disgusted him more than a devoted couple made up of a handsome man and a beautiful woman.

He absolutely refused to let people like this pass. He would make this family feel despair too.

He snorted coldly, struck by a good idea.

His gaze turned cold and sinister as he looked at Anya. "Then who would you give a higher score, your current mama or your previous mama?"

The malice behind that question was obvious. Everyone in the room sensed it.

"Mr. Swan, that question..." Walter said anxiously beside him. Outside, the wind suddenly picked up, battering the windows with loud bangs.

Murdoch Swan looked at Walter impatiently. "What? The interviewers decide what questions to ask."

He leaned back against the sofa, his bulky body nearly filling half of it.

Twilight's expression grew grave. Though he did not know why Anya had ended up in an orphanage, that outcome suggested her parents might already have been killed.

That question was like plunging a knife straight into Anya's heart.

"Please ask a different question." Twilight's voice was low, carrying suppressed fury.

"No. If she doesn't answer, I'll deduct points." Watching the Forger family's faces gradually turn grim filled Murdoch Swan with delight.

Tears rolled down Anya's cheeks.

"...Mama..."

"Anya..." Twilight reached out to wipe away her tears.

Murdoch Swan enjoyed the sight even more and continued from the sidelines. "So your previous mother really was better, wasn't she?" The fat on his face jiggled as he spoke.

"Our school has plenty of boarding students who chose to leave their parents and live here. If you cry over something this trivial, you aren't qualified to attend."

"That's horrible. How could you call this trivial?" Yor could no longer contain her murderous intent, and her fingers were already cracking. The lively, cheerful, adorable little Anya she knew had been reduced to tears by the fat scumbag before her.

Ah, I want to kill him.

Twilight said nothing, but his anger was no less intense. He clenched his fists, his nails nearly digging into his palms. Over and over, he reminded himself to stay calm. Staying calm was a fundamental requirement for a spy.

He... couldn't hold back anymore.

Bang-

"What a vile scumbag... I can't listen to another damn word." Karen kicked the door off its hinges and stormed inside. The door slammed onto the floor with a deafening crash.

The moment he entered, he set his sights on the fat bastard sitting between the other interviewers and strode toward him.

His leather shoes clicked against the floor.

"Listening to you outside had my blood boiling, you fat bastard!" Veins bulged on Karen's forehead.

Murdoch Swan watched Karen advance on him in a rage, entirely unperturbed.

He straightened his collar and flashed a smug smile.

His father had wielded tremendous influence at the school. Though that had been a generation ago, no one here dared lay a hand on him.

"Who do you think you're insulting?"

"And who are you, you brat? Do you have any idea what happens when you barge into... urgh, aaah..."

Before Murdoch Swan could finish, Karen clamped a hand around his throat and hauled him off the sofa. Though Karen was somewhat taller than Murdoch Swan, he looked much slimmer, weighing perhaps a little over seventy-five kilograms.

It was hard to imagine him lifting a hundred-kilogram fat man with just one hand.

"Who am I? I'm your goddamn ancestor-" Karen had expected to be angry. After all, this scene had infuriated him when he watched the anime.

But he had been in this world for over twenty years and had spent a long time as an assassin. He had thought he had thoroughly tempered his composure, yet the fury in his heart was still impossible to contain.

No wonder even Twilight, a top-tier agent, had been unable to restrain his anger afterward.

This fat bastard really deserved to die!!