A top-tier mercenary.

Mercenary hunters were people who did all sorts of things by taking on a client's request.

Assassination, information collection, illegal buying and selling of dungeon byproducts but, mostly they were hired to work for big traders and businessmen ; so they could obtain raw materials for their goods from certain dungeons.

'The mercenary queen'.

This title was given to Shirley Deross.

It was so because she was the leader of all mercenary hunters in the Western continent.

Her influence was not only limited to the Aswalt Empire but to almost all of the continent.

She was steadily working towards increasing her power and influence over the other side of the world, the Eastern continent as well.

In the novel <The Villain climbs his way to the Top> she was introduced a few years later.

She would be hired by someone, a person of high importance in the Western continent; a devout follower of 'The almighty lord' of heaven's hand to assassinate Frore.

But unfortunately for them, after her failed assassination attempt; she decides to betray the clients who had hired her.

Shirley ends up giving Frore all of their information, including their weaknesses and all the data that she had collected over the years on the cult in exchange for him sparing her organisation and her life.

She is both a top-tier assassin as it is her class and also a mercenary.

She will stop at nothing to complete her mission.

Seduction, manipulation, blackmailing and abduction these types of skills come to her naturally.

And now that same woman was in front of Blaze, telling him that she was auditioning for his guild out of 'personal interest'.

How could he believe such an obvious lie?

Then she openly threatens his siblings' lives, Blaze was glaring at her while contemplating whether he should just deal with her before she becomes an even bigger problem or should be just let her be, so she could collect and deliver important information on their enemies to them on the future?

At that moment however, Shirley sighed.

"Don't glare at me like that, kid. I am not such a fool that I would do the same thing as Maragmus Lee did, just to fail pathetically."

Her lips curved up into a smile, as she continued in a plain voice.

"I am just reminding you to be aware of your situation and surroundings. You have quite a lot of enemies."

As Blaze's expression relaxed and his murderous intent disappeared, Shirley's hair and eye colour changed into black and dark brown respectively.

"It was fun, meeting you as I expected Blaze Ignis. Though, my cover has never been blown before."

She chuckled as she slowly turned invisible starting from her feet.

"I will be keeping an eye on you."

"..."

Blaze didn't respond to her and just watched as she turned completely invisible and her presence disappeared.

{...so what did she want in the end? Was this supposed to be some sort of test? And 'keep an eye'? You don't need to tell me that. I already know that your eyes and ears are everywhere.}

Blaze breathed out and the side door opened.

Frore walked in with his usual nonchalant expression.

He walked up to the chair of sleeping Aakriti and casually asked.

"Where's the audition candidate?"

"Oh..she just left. I was just about to call in the next person."

The mercenary queen's words really made him feel uneasy.

However, he felt at ease, when Frore walked in safe and unharmed.

"Just stay here, it will be the last person for today. Let's go back together."

Frore liked being with Blaze, anyway. So he happily say down on his seat.

Blaze was mentally exhausted by everything that had happened today and just wanted to get it over with.

He called out to the main door of the hall without much energy.

"Next, please."

But, he was confused as soon as the door opened and the next 'person' came in.

It was so because, instead of a single person; two people had entered the hall.

Twins, they were both tall men with a muscular build.

They simultaneously greeted Blaze.

"Hello, sir."

Instead of replying to their greeting, Blaze asked them a question with a raised eyebrow.

"Why are there two of you?"

"Sir, we had registered as a single person because our abilities are incomplete without each other."

"Oh? This is my first time hearing about such a thing."

Blaze then heard the quiet Frore's voice in his head.

[Blaze. They are...]

{Yeah. I know.}

Blaze closed his eyes for a moment and opened them back to make eye contact with the twins and spoke with a serious tone in his voice.

"I would have been interested to know the details of how that works. However, I cannot accept you both into my guild. You can leave."

The bulky twins were shocked by that statement.

They looked dumbfounded and after a few minutes they started speaking at the same time.

"Why..? Why sir...? Why wouldn't you even give us a chance to show our abilities?"

Blaze snorted after hearing that question. He was annoyed.

*Hmph*

{They even want me to explain it to them?}