Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill

William went to the house of that young lady who worked in the night house. She had just arrived home after a hard day of work, yet someone was already knocking on her door.

At first, she didn't answer it. She stood in front of the door but didn't open it. William knew she was there, and he was direct.

"Open it. We need to talk. If not, then endure the consequences."

The girl didn't know if William was a dangerous man or if he was just lying to get her to open the door, but she didn't want to take the risk.

She opened the door. "What do you want? My shift is over; if you want some time with me, come back during the night."

William shook his head. "That is not why I am here. Can I come in? This is important; if you give me the answers I need, I'll pay you."

He had a decent amount of cash, so he was more than willing to pay her if she provided the answers he wanted.

After hearing about money, the girl decided to let William inside. He didn't appear to be a dangerous man. Also, she could always scream and ask for help.

William looked at the couch she had, which looked a little…dirty. He decided to avoid sitting there.

"So, I've heard you work for the night house to bring in customers during the night," William said.

"That is correct."

"You were working during the late hours last night, right?" William asked.

She had no idea where that conversation was going, but she answered what William wanted to know.

"Did you see someone strange enter the town? Like, another outsider like me? This person could have entered through the front gate or through any of the other entrances. Did you see something strange?"

The girl thought for a moment, and then she said, "Strange how?"

William brightened up. If she was asking that, then perhaps she had actually seen something.

"Anything. This person that might have entered the city is probably using something to hide his face, maybe using magic to easily enter the city?"

"I don't know if that's considered strange, but something was off with one of the guards."

"What do you mean?"

One of the guards? It wasn't as if the city had many guards, to begin with.

"There's one guard that always talks to me when I am working, not because of what you think. He's just a friend of mine. Yesterday I saw him, but he didn't talk to me. I waved and said hi, but he only answered as if he didn't know me at all."

Well, that was indeed strange. William stood there with his hand on his chin, thinking about what that could possibly mean.

"Can you tell me who this friend of yours is?"

*

She not only told him who the guard was and how he looked but also where he lived.

William went there to check on him after searching through the city and not seeing him anywhere.

He knocked on the door. No one answered. William looked down and realized that the door was already opened.

William looked to both sides and around him. After seeing that no one was looking at him, he entered.

The house was a simple one entirely made of wood with little to no furniture inside. A guard in such a small town did not make a lot of money. Still, at least he had a comfortable and peaceful life away from the chaos of the capital or the bigger cities.

Anyway, William didn't see anyone inside. Where the hell was that guard? He wasn't in the city, and he wasn't inside his house, so where was he?

William moved to the bedroom, and then he saw the man lying on the ground. It was the same man the lady talked about.

The man wasn't sleeping but unconscious.

William checked the man's pulse to see if he was alive. He was. Then, all William could do was wait until the man woke up.

After two hours of waiting, the man woke up. He looked confused, especially when he saw William inside his house.

"Who are you?" he said.

"Calm down, your friend from the night house sent me."

The guard instantly knew who William was referring to, so he calmed down. He drank some water. William waited.

"So tell me, what happened?" William asked.

"I honestly don't know. The last thing I remember was that I was eating my dinner before going to work and nothing else."

"What? So you were eating dinner and then woke up now? That's all you remember? No working or seeing your friend in front of the night house?"

"No, nothing like that… Why? Why are you asking me this?"

William explained what happened.

"No, there's no way that's me. "I don't sleepwalk," the man said. "Are you sure she saw me or someone similar to me?" You know, she might have drunk something."

The situation was unusual, but William was somewhat understanding of what was happening. A hired assassin usually knew stealth spells, as it was something that would make his work way easier.

So, the mysterious assassin coming after him could use his magic to blend in and turn into someone else. He probably attacked the guard and took over his identity.

However, it was just an appearance, so no memories or other things like that. That's why the girl in the night house realized the guard was strange and not acting like himself.

William left the guard's house. He was paranoid. The killer could be anyone, and it was already inside the town, looking for the best opportunity to attack him.

William looked around, staring at all the people that were on the streets that morning. He tried to spot anything different or strange, but how could he?

He never went to that town; he never spoke with any of those people. How would he find out who the killer was?

"It's not like I can enter in their homes either… Damn it," William thought.