Chapter 115

Deep in the woods, SSS Director Wilker calls on the Shopkeeper at his mansion carrying a briefcase of job files, most originating with Ostania's prime minister. A request tied to the prime minister's left-right power struggle gets refused, as does a scheme to field Garden members on Ostania's soccer team for the coming East-West games. The third file changes the mood: poachers are hunting Miteran elk in the country's southwest. The Shopkeeper takes it, explaining that the region was once Imperial territory Garden has long watched, and that portions of its forests form demilitarized zones where trouble could ignite friction between East and West. When Wilker presses him to reconsider the rejected files, the Shopkeeper reminds him that Garden serves the nation rather than any politician. Departing, Wilker mutters that the organization's loyalty belongs to a dead empire.

Elsewhere on the grounds, Yor and Matthew admire the garden's flowers, and Yor considers recommending a sleep-inducing bloom to Melinda. A ladybug settling on her hand draws a throwing knife from Hemlock, a bug-hating fellow assassin arriving to report a completed mission. Yor snatches the blade from the air. Another Garden killer, Gympie, shows up to deliver her own report, and Hemlock needles Yor about her light workload lately, radiating hostility that she can feel despite Matthew's explanation that assignments come from the Shopkeeper. Their employer's arrival defuses the moment, and he gathers everyone at the gazebo.

The Shopkeeper lays out the elk-protection assignment: poaching now bankrolls organized crime syndicates that also trade with the West, and while individual poachers pose little threat, their numbers are large, corrupt border control officers may back them, and the wilderness itself endangers even trained killers. Expecting the work to span several missions, he gives the first to Yor and Matthew, and Hemlock volunteers as the third member. Matthew plans cover arrangements at city hall in case the job runs long, while Yor's innocent worry about bugs rankles Hemlock enough that Gympie has to urge the pair to cooperate.

The Shopkeeper accepts the Miteran elk poaching case while rejecting two politically motivated requests, restating that Garden answers to the nation itself. Yor, Matthew, and the volunteering Hemlock are assigned the first mission of the operation. Hemlock and Gympie debut as Garden assassins, with tension already sparking between Hemlock and Yor. Wilker's surname is spoken for the first time.

Beyond revealing the SSS director's name, the chapter confirms that Belle, the seal from Chapter 103, has made it back to the ocean. A third Garden member, Thistle, earns a first mention without appearing. The chapter runs 15 pages within the Poacher Hunting Arc, released April 28, 2025, and is collected in Volume 16.