When the blade made contact with the mask, Ramin thought that it was harder than she had expected.0

She realized that the masks worn by the Fang Agents weren’t just simple decorations but rather quite useful protective gear. Regardless, the Empire’s blades were sharp enough to cut through the masks, but a swordsman always swung their sword according to the material they were going to cut, which gave the red-masked Fang agent a moment to step back before their face could be pierced.0

Half of the red mask fell to the ground along with the shattered glass pieces. Ramin looked at the face revealed, or more precisely, the mouth.0

"...A Lizardman?"0

The Lizardman beneath the diagonally cut mask glared at Ramin.1

"...Is there anything to be surprised about?"2

Ramin wasn’t only surprised because they were a Lizardman, as there were many Lizardmen in the Union Kingdom too. However, this Lizardman had black scales. Of course, there could be other Lizardmen with black scales who weren’t from the Empire, but all the ones Ramin knew of were from the Empire.0

Del, the black-scaled Lizardman, drew a dagger from a sheath on their chest. Ramin considered it a reasonable choice. While...0