The Assassin's Blunder
"..."
Even if Sakura seemed suspicious, it was still just my gut feeling.
It's probably just my prejudice.
There was that incident with Dan not too long ago. Maybe I was just feeling on edge and projecting my bad mood onto her.
Anyway.
It seemed everyone else already knew Sakura, so the introductions wrapped up quickly.
And then...
"Whoa..."
Next up was the pre-raid meeting with the Chinese team.
A total of five Chinese hunters were participating in this special floor raid. Say what you want about them, but they were all big shots in Asia.
In particular, China's number one hunter, Jang Wonryong, enjoyed massive support back home. Despite his young age, he had already earned the grand title of the 'Yellow Dragon.'
Although his world ranking was only eighth, that was still an incredible feat.
Word on the street was that the Chinese side expected Jang Wonryong to climb to sixth in the world rankings if this special floor raid succeeded.
Well, not that it had anything to do with me.
Nothing much happened during the pre-meeting. Especially for me, since I was the newest of the newbies. I just chatted occasionally with Ban Haeyeong and Han Sion, looking around at the scenery.
On our way out after the meeting, Sakura suddenly approached me.
"Mr. Taepyeong, this is your first time on a special floor... right?"
"Yes. It's my first time."
"I heard you're only level 25..."
"That's correct."
"Ah, is it rude of me to ask things like this?"
"Not really. I don't mind."
When I gave her a half-hearted reply, Sakura looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"You... don't mind?"
"Yes."
"Why is that...?"
"Well, it hasn't even been a year since I awakened."
Sakura's eyes sparkled at my response.
"But you're already participating in a special floor raid! That's truly amazing!"
"I was just lucky."
"And so humble, too...!"
No, I was seriously just lucky. From Choi Muryeong picking me, to meeting Nairin on the random floor, and even killing the Lich King on the 30th floor. It was all pure luck. Honestly, I sometimes wondered if my trait was actually Luck.
Anyway...
This woman is being way too forward.
I was giving her dry, basic responses, but she kept trying to strike up a conversation.
Normally, if someone wanted to network, they would target Choi Muryeong or Jang Wonryong. Why was she focusing on me, someone who had barely just become a hunter?
"..."
"Is something wrong?"
My single-for-twenty-five-years loser radar began to blare a loud warning.
...She's sketchy as hell.
Sakura was flustered.
Contrary to her expectations, Lee Taepyeong showed absolutely no signs of falling for her, no matter what she tried.
When she showered him with compliments about how cool he was, he just gave a half-hearted, "Ah, right."
When she tried to build rapport using pre-gathered information, saying, "Actually, my parents..." he cut her off like a psychopath: "It's pretty common for kids to grow up without parents."
When she openly flirted, saying, "I can't believe you don't have a girlfriend," he replied with nonsense: "I don't have a boyfriend either."
Her plan to naturally win his favor and make him lower his guard had completely gone down the drain.
He was a brick wall. No, he was a mithril wall. This was incredibly troublesome.
She absolutely had to win Lee Taepyeong's favor, make him lower his guard, retrieve Dan, and ultimately... render him a cripple at best, or dead at worst. That was her true objective.
—We cannot allow another irregular like Choi Muryeong to emerge in South Korea.
—Therefore, you must eliminate Lee Taepyeong at all costs.
The Japanese government already had their eyes on Lee Taepyeong. It wasn't just because of the incident involving Dan, but because of his track record of quietly clearing floors in record time.
Japan had also caught wind of the fact that Choi Muryeong had demanded Jeol from the Chinese side for this special floor raid.
Not only were they letting a mere level 25 hunter participate in a special floor raid, but Choi Muryeong himself was demanding a weapon specifically for that hunter? And to top it off, that weapon was the counterpart to the S-grade weapon, Dan, which Japan used to own?
From Japan's perspective, it was enough to drive them mad.
Originally, Japan had handed over Dan because they believed China would never part with Jeol under any circumstances. Without Jeol, Dan was useless. That was why they had traded Dan for information on the Wrath of the Sun map...
But then a special floor opened in China, and South Korea was about to obtain Jeol as a condition for participating? If Dan and Jeol were brought together and combined into a single SS-grade weapon, Japan would look like absolute fools.
Ultimately, the Tower was a war. Even if the nations seemed to cooperate now, it would eventually turn into a war between the tower-climbing countries. That was the Japanese government's prediction.
Otherwise, why would the Tower be divided by nationality? If all of this was truly for the survival of humanity, why would there be required contribution points for each nation?
In the end, it would become a war between nations—a sort of World War IV. To prepare for that time, weakening other nations was just as important as strengthening one's own.
That was why Japan had been working behind the scenes, either persuading hunters from neighboring countries to naturalize as Japanese citizens, or crushing those who refused before they could grow any further.
Lee Taepyeong fell into the latter category. The first button had already been misbuttoned during the Dan incident. Although they had managed to cut ties and play dumb about trying to harm him with Dan, it was already too late to establish a friendly relationship.
So the Japanese government dispatched Sakura. On the surface, she was Japan's top healer. In reality, she was a ninja of sorts, tasked with carrying out various assassinations.
Was it because of her class as a healer, or was it just her natural talent? Her assassination success rate so far was a perfect one hundred percent.
Because of this, the Japanese government had volunteered to send their top healer to the special floor in China. They would obtain the rewards of the special floor while eliminating the thorn in their side, Lee Taepyeong. It was killing two birds with one stone. Thus, a heavy responsibility lay on Sakura's shoulders.
But...
It's not working at all...
Sakura was already wearing various items that boosted favorability. The seemingly ordinary earrings, rings, and necklaces she wore were actually Tower items.
Yet, for some reason, they had absolutely no effect on Lee Taepyeong. He didn't blush or stammer when looking at her. If anything, he just looked slightly annoyed.
Why on earth...?!
Sakura had no way of knowing that the Quiet Eira Forest's Earring worn by Lee Taepyeong was completely neutralizing the effects of her items.
It was only natural. After all, who would expect a human to possess an S-class elven artifact?
...Should I change plans?
If the items weren't working, clinging to him any further would only arouse suspicion.
"Ah...!"
So, Sakura came up with a clever idea.
Thud.
She collapsed.
"Are you okay?"
"I-I pushed myself too hard in the Tower yesterday..."
It was a common symptom for overworked healers, as most of them neglected physical training.
"Oh dear..."
Now, hurry up and support me!
Sakura closed her eyes, pretending to be dizzy.
"This is exactly why healers need to do physical training too."
"...!!!"
"You'll be in big trouble if you neglect your physical conditioning just because you're a healer."
Lecturing her at a time like this?!
Sakura felt her hands tremble with sheer absurdity and rage.
What is wrong with this guy?!
Fortunately, she managed to play it off as a sudden bout of anemia.
"Should I get you some water?"
His voice still sounded judgmental, but this was her chance to be alone with Lee Taepyeong.
"I-If you could just help me to my room..."
Sakura stood up, leaning on Lee Taepyeong for support.
Stumble!
She swayed as if about to fall again, and—
Grab!
Lee Taepyeong caught her. But something felt off.
"Geez, are you alright?"
"...Yes."
He wasn't holding her up; he was practically hoisting her by the collar.
This bastard...
Dangling from Lee Taepyeong's grip, Sakura finally made it back to her quarters.
I need to kill him as soon as possible...
Once the decision was made, the execution would be simple.
"C-Could you get me some water...?"
"Sure."
While Lee Taepyeong, who had escorted her to her room, went to fetch some water, Sakura discreetly retrieved an item from her inventory.
It was a poison needle coated with the deadly venom of a basilisk, procured by the Japanese government from the black market. With this, even the strongest hunter would have their limbs paralyzed in an instant.
Of course, the basilisk needle wasn't a perfect weapon. But it would buy her enough time. Once she killed Lee Taepyeong, she could take his corpse into the Babel Tower and dispose of it there. No one would ever find his body, and no evidence would remain to link her to his death.
All Sakura had to do was testify that she had told Lee Taepyeong about the special floor and that he had gotten scared and run off. That would easily clear her of suspicion.
After that, everyone else would fabricate their own explanations. It would start with rumors of him fleeing in fear and escalate to theories of a Chinese government conspiracy. Once it became a political dispute between South Korea and China, Japan could simply sit back and reap the benefits.
Shlick!
Sakura carefully concealed the basilisk needle inside her sleeve.
And then...
"Here's your water."
Lee Taepyeong approached, completely oblivious.
Sitting on the sofa, Sakura stood up and took the cup from him.
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.
After slowly drinking the water, she called out to him just as he turned to leave.
"Well, I'll be on my way then."
"Wait a moment, Mr. Taepyeong."
And the moment Lee Taepyeong turned back to face her—
Thrust!
Aiming precisely for the space between his eyes, she drove the basilisk needle forward.
Whoosh!
In that instant, Lee Taepyeong's face turned pitch black.
Had the basilisk venom worked? Sakura couldn't help but let out a silent smirk.
However...
"...What do you think you're doing?"
Breaking the silence, it was none other than Lee Taepyeong's voice.
Slither...
The pitch-black color on Lee Taepyeong's face vanished in an instant, melting away like a receding shadow.
Clack!
The basilisk needle fell uselessly to the floor.
"Huh? Wh-What?"
Sakura stared at Lee Taepyeong with a dumbfounded expression. His face was cold and expressionless.
"Hey."
"...!"
"I asked what the hell you're doing."
Sakura instinctively took a step back.
"Th-This can't be..."
How could the basilisk needle fail? She had never failed a single assassination before!
"H-How...?!"
There was no one to answer her question.
There was only the cold voice of the man standing before her.
"Are you going to answer me or not?"