The Assassin and the Squinty-Eyed Man

Public security in Arien was considered among the best ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the entire continent. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Of course, even the best could never be perfect. Shadows existed even in Arien, and some of the underworld residents hidden within those shadows made a living out of illicit deeds.

Rendal. He was a resident of Arien's underworld. Covert operations, torturing key figures, and assassination—that was his primary trade. Ever since his name had been etched into the minds of certain underworld kingpins as a "highly skilled expert," Rendal had never failed a single mission.

Yet right now, he was fleeing from an assassination site, having just botched an opportunity he had painstakingly secured after tailing his target for a very long time.

Damn it, that girl. Who the hell is she?

A third party had intervened. The woman, possessing monstrous skill, had not only thwarted Rendal's assassination attempt but was now actively pursuing him. To shake her off, Rendal was fleeing through the most deserted and labyrinthine alleys he could find.

That was when he ran into a pedestrian in an alleyway. It was a man with squinty eyes, a goofy expression, and an incredibly frivolous aura. Just like his airy demeanor, the man looked like he would have a loose tongue. It was all too easy to picture him eagerly blabbering about Rendal to anyone who would listen.

Rendal decided that rather than ignoring him, it would be wiser to invest a tiny bit of time and effort into silencing him permanently.

"My, the weather is just lovely today~"

As the man walked away, completely defenseless with his back turned, Rendal threw a dagger at his vital point. Since a pursuer was hot on his heels, he took extra care to ensure a clean kill. It was thrown from the man's blind spot. Rendal had completely erased his killing intent so his target wouldn't sense any danger.

Yet, the dagger missed.

He dodged it...?

It didn't seem like the man had done it on purpose. At the exact moment the dagger flew toward him, he had conveniently tripped and fallen forward.

"O-Of course I had to dodge! Throwing something like that... were you trying to kill me?!"

On top of that, look at his pathetic, panicked state. It was hard to believe the man had dodged the attack through sheer skill. He had simply been lucky.

But why did he feel this lingering sense of unease? It must be my imagination. Rendal shook off the stray thoughts. The formidable expert who had thwarted his assassination was still pursuing him. There was no time to waste. This time, he would make it certain.

Shring. Rendal drew his sword and advanced toward the man.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...! W-What is this?! Why are you coming closer?! Stay back!"

The man scrambled backward in a panic. It was a futile struggle. Rendal's footwork was that of a seasoned assassin. He saw no special movements from the man that could possibly allow him to escape.

"I told you to stay back?!"

"..."

Yet, something was strange. The distance between Rendal and the man showed no signs of closing. Rendal was executing the precise footwork of an assassin, while the man was merely stumbling backward in a clumsy, haphazard manner.

"Stop right there," Rendal spat out, irritation creeping into his voice.

"You're the one who needs to stop! Please! Why on earth are you doing this to me?! What did I even do?!"

Once again, the response was utterly pathetic. It was a downright ridiculous sight. Realizing this, Rendal felt a surge of extreme annoyance. At this rate, it felt as though he was being toyed with by this half-wit.

"You insignificant piece of—"

Ultimately, Rendal kicked off the ground and lunged at him. The distance finally closed. First, he would do something about that infuriating face—that squinty-eyed face that looked as if it was constantly smirking and mocking him.

Swish! Closing in, Rendal's sword drew a clean diagonal line toward the man's face. It was a hit. Rendal was certain of it. At this distance, from that posture, there was absolutely no way to dodge.

"Hieek!"

Yet, no sensation of impact traveled up his hand. Sure enough, scrambling in a completely absurd, nonsensical posture, the man narrowly avoided the slash and shrieked.

"...!"

"Hieeeek!"

"Damn it!"

"Aaaagh!!!"

"Damn it!!!"

Rendal swung his sword in a frenzy of rage. Every single time, the man dodged the slashes by a hair's breadth in the most ridiculous postures imaginable. This sequence repeated several times. It was no longer anything resembling an assassin's one-sided slaughter of a civilian. It looked like a human throwing a tantrum over an annoying bug, and a bug struggling desperately to survive. In fact, at a glance, the one who seemed to be struggling desperately was actually Rendal.

"...!"

Right then, Rendal's posture broke. He had lost his balance while trying to force his blade to follow the man's absurd, nonsensical evasive maneuvers.

"H-Help me!!!"

The man seized the opportunity to hastily widen the distance.

"Phew...! Man, I really thought I was a goner...!"

"..."

Rendal couldn't comprehend the situation. Did my posture just break because I couldn't keep up with the movements of a bug like him? Because of those childish, play-like movements? As Rendal stood there in utter confusion, the man took the opportunity to keep talking.

"By the way—seriously! Why are you doing this to me?! What on earth did I do to make you so hell-bent on killing me? Besides, weren't you on your way somewhere in a hurry?! Is it really okay for you to waste your time like this over someone completely unrelated like me?!"

The man was right. Rendal had failed his ambush on his target due to a third party's intervention. And that woman, an incredibly skilled fighter, was currently pursuing him.

"I might not look it, but I can keep a secret, you know?! If you just let me go, I won't tell a soul that I saw you—so can we just call it a day?"

To avoid a troublesome situation as originally intended, the right move would be to abandon this man and flee immediately.

"Like I give a damn."

But Rendal no longer cared. The reason he had abandoned the assassination and fled wasn't because the woman who interfered was an opponent he couldn't handle. It was simply a matter of profit. The commission fee was far too low to justify fighting an expert of her caliber.

As an assassin, Rendal had always thought in terms of cold, hard calculations. But now, his mindset had shifted.

"I'm going to kill you, and then I'm going to kill that bitch too."

Fleeing from a woman who disrupted his work, only to end up playing a stupid game of tag with a fly-like bastard who crossed his path—this succession of humiliations had severely bruised the assassin's pride. Having lost his composure, the assassin stopped concealing his bloodlust and instead let it erupt in all directions.

"..."

Was he terrified by the bloodlust? The squinty-eyed man stared blankly into the air. However, the focus of his gaze was slightly off. He wasn't looking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at Rendal, but rather at something floating in the corner of his vision.

Soon, he opened his mouth.

"By any chance, is the name of the 'bitch' you just said you'd kill... Drin Libringer?"

"What?"

Rendal didn't actually know the name of the woman pursuing him. But seeing the man's reaction, he drew his own conclusions.

"Ah. I see. You're that bitch's accomplice. No wonder. You were acting like an idiot to buy time until she got here. Yes. That was it."

Connecting the dots in his own mind based on the man's reaction, Rendal's eyes gleamed with a sinister light.

"Did you think the two of you could take me once she arrived? Amusing. I wouldn't mind playing along with a two-on-one fight just like you wanted—but something much more entertaining just crossed my mind. How about I sever the tendons in your limbs right now and wait for her to arrive? Then, right before your helpless eyes, I'll play with her to my heart's content before torturing her. I'll keep going until both of you are begging me to kill you. Well? How does that sound?"

The infuriating smirk that had seemed permanently etched onto the man's face finally faded, if only slightly. Rendal smiled with deep satisfaction. He felt as though he had finally broken free from the feeling of being dragged around by this pathetic bastard.

"To be completely honest... she and I actually have no relationship whatsoever."

"No relationship whatsoever—pfft, of course you'd say that."

"Yes, we really don't. But... I don't think I can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just stand by and let you harm her."

"Oh? No relationship, yet you won't—...Huh?"

Just then, the man let out a deep sigh.

"I told you to just go when you had the chance."

Flustered, Rendal stared at the man. It felt as though he had suddenly transformed into an entirely different person. Was it just his imagination? No. It definitely wasn't.

Right now. The man opened his eyes.

Hidden behind those squinted lids, golden pupils as sharp as arrowheads revealed themselves and locked onto Rendal.

In an instant, Rendal felt as though a colossal serpent was coiling around his body, baring its fangs. Simply by opening his eyes, the man's incredibly lighthearted atmosphere had turned suffocatingly heavy. It felt ominous. To Rendal, he had become a completely different person in a split second. The man spoke:

"She's the main character, you see."

"The main character...?"

"Yes. The main character. The moment you said you'd harm her, a quest popped up. It tells me to stop you."

The man babbled words that made absolutely no sense to Rendal.

"Ah, just to be clear, don't hold a grudge against me for this, okay? I really tried my best to just walk away."

The man let out a bitter smile. When his eyes had been squinted, it might have looked submissive, but now that they were open, it looked as if he was mocking his opponent.

Step. The distance between them closed. This time, it was the man who advanced toward Rendal. Rendal unconsciously took a step back.

"Haha, well. I guess I'm 'it' this time."

That was the end of the conversation.