Chapter 48: First Task

"About that, my Lord..." Jack reached inside his coat and pulled out several neatly folded documents that he had carefully kept when he learned what Caelan wanted to do.

"What is that?" Caelan immediately became interested when he saw the papers.

"I have already prepared a list of requests for you to review. After hearing about your intentions from Theo, I personally went through our current assignments and selected several that I believe would be suitable for you."

"Really? That’s great!" Caelan smiled widely. He didn’t expect Jack to prepare everything so quickly.

"Of course, and I made sure to exclude any requests involving kills or the direct elimination of targets."

"Good, good." Caelan nodded approvingly. "That’s exactly what I wanted."

"These are the requests I believe would be most appropriate for someone of your position, my Lord." Jack placed the documents on the table before stepping aside.

"Alright. Let me see." Caelan eagerly picked up the first document and began reading through it. He was already imagining himself completing a few simple tasks, earning some EXP, and finally reaching Level 10.

However, the moment he read the first few lines of the first request, his smile slowly disappeared.

[Request: Retrieval of a Confidential Ledger]

[Objective: Steal a confidential financial ledger from the private office of a wealthy merchant in the capital.]

[Additional Information: The ledger is kept inside a heavily guarded estate. The client requests that the theft remain undetected and that no evidence be left behind.]

"..." Caelan stared at the request document with an unreadable expression on his face.

Stealing? And not just stealing from some ordinary shop either. In this mission, he was supposed to sneak into a wealthy merchant’s private estate and steal something without anyone noticing.

Wasn’t that basically asking him to commit a crime? He slowly looked up at Jack before glancing back at the paper.

Well, maybe this was just one of the more difficult requests. He thought for a moment before placing the document aside.

[Request: Acquisition of a Rare Treasure]

[Objective: Obtain the Moonlight Pearl, a rare treasure currently held in the private collection of a wealthy collector.]

[Additional Information: The treasure is not available for public purchase, so you may do anything you can to get it. The collector has repeatedly refused offers to sell it. The client is willing to pay a substantial reward for its acquisition.]

"..." Caelan’s expression became even more difficult to describe.

Another one? And this one doesn’t sound too simple since they want the treasure at any cost. Caelan silently placed the second document aside.

He picked up the third document and saw the title of it.

[Request: Information Gathering]

"Oh?"

[Objective: Gather detailed information regarding the eldest daughter of the Renswort ducal family.]

[Additional Information: The client requests information regarding Lady Renswort’s recent return to the capital, her activities during her stay in the mountains, and her current condition. The investigation must remain confidential.]

Renswort? Caelan’s forehead creased when he heard that. He immediately leaned forward and read the document again.

Wasn’t that the same family that had just purchased his Gem of Solaris? And more importantly, wasn’t their eldest daughter the woman those people were gossiping about yesterday?

What a coincidence. Caelan couldn’t help but become curious about it.

He had only just heard about this noble family, and now one of the Night’s requests was directly related to them.

It made him especially curious, since why would someone pay a secret organization to investigate a sick noblewoman?

"Jack."

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Who’s the client for this one?"

Jack glanced at the document in Caelan’s hand as if he remembered something.

"Ah, that request. Unfortunately, the client wished to remain anonymous. The payment was arranged through an intermediary."

"An anonymous client?"

"Yes.. It is not uncommon for clients to conceal their identities, especially when requesting information about noble families."

"I see..." Caelan nodded slowly.

That made sense, he supposed. No noble family would probably want to tie their names in these kinds of requests after all.

"Hmm... Caelan slowly raised his head. "Um, Jack."

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Do you guys have anything... simpler?"

"Simpler?"

"Yeah." Caelan scratched his cheek. "Maybe something like finding a lost item or maybe gathering information about an ordinary person... You know, normal stuff."

Jack paused for a moment, trying to think of it. "Oh, we also do receive requests of that nature." ℯℯ𝑙.

"Oh! Really?" Caelan’s eyes immediately brightened as if a light flickered on.

"However, those requests are generally assigned to our newer members as part of their training. I don’t think they would be appropriate for someone of your standing." Jack immediately destroyed the last hope of Caelan.

"..." Caelan unsurely smiled at that.

That’s exactly what I want, though! He didn’t care about his standing at all!

But looking at Jack’s serious expression, Caelan suddenly found it a little difficult to explain that. After all, the man had personally gone through the trouble of selecting these requests for him. And judging from his expression, he genuinely believed he had done a good job.

Caelan looked at the documents before his eyes stopped on the third request. He let out a small sigh.

The Renswort family’s eldest daughter...

Out of the three, gathering information still sounded like the least troublesome option. After thinking about it for another moment, Caelan finally made his decision.

"Alright, Jack. I’ll choose this one." He placed the third document on the table and pushed it toward Jack.

"The information-gathering request concerning Lady Renswort, my Lord?" Jack glanced at the paper before looking back at him.

"Yup." Caelan nodded. "I think I’ll start with this one."

"Understood. I shall immediately arrange for the request to be assigned to you."

"Good."

[Ding!]

[The Host has accepted an official request from the Night.]

[Current Request: Information Gathering]

[Target: Eldest Daughter of the Renswort Ducal Family]

[Objective: Gather the requested information regarding the target’s recent activities and current condition.]

[Request Status: In Progress]

[Completion Reward: +100 EXP]