Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Assassin Family Raven (3)
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Exiting the tavern street, I headed toward the city gate where Roman had carried me on his back.
The guards didn't bother with any special checks for those leaving. They never grabbed anyone on the way out.
"Hey, you planning to head out bare-handed?"
I wasn't the one they stopped, though.
The guards held me back, and now I noticed the others who had left first were all armed.
They had longswords or at least daggers for self-defense as they passed through the gate. Me? Empty-handed.
If weapons were mandatory, that meant dangers lurked beyond the walls. And yet I'd survived this far with my abilities sealed.
Now that I thought about it, my disheveled clothes probably didn't scream "normal person" either.
"I have the skills to protect myself. Thank you for your concern."
I couldn't use Shadow Craft here, so I responded politely.
From the reactions in the temple square, the Crow family name didn't carry much weight anyway. Flashing my ID felt off.
"Fine. 'We don't stop those leaving' is the rule anyway."
Another guard pulled back the one blocking me and waved me through with a hand gesture.
I bowed to both guards, then retraced the path Roman had carried me along, slowly making my way back.
I barely remembered the journey here. Had I really come all the way from the Holy Kingdom with just my ID?
Recalling how Roman had piggybacked me, I ventured into the empty woods where no one could be seen.
The possession had begun here, but Sian Raven's memories didn't surface right away.
Unlike my first possession, where I'd simply become Lee Sian himself, this body had lived a far more tangled life.
A foggy haze clouded my mind. It felt like the quest needed to be cleared before any memories would unlock.
I gave up trying to recall and crouched down to check if I'd dropped anything else. Nothing.
Even a single gold coin would have been nice.
'The Raven family always minimizes possessions when heading out to assassinate. It's their principle.'
Shadow-based attacks made it perfect for ambushes.
A dagger crafted with my Shadow Craft could pierce a target's heart and vanish without a trace.
That's why he'd developed the Black Shadow Assassin's Blade technique, creating a shadow sword.
Hide a blade made of shadow within shadows to slay the target.
The issue was escaping afterward, and Sian Raven had been lacking there.
A true Raven could use Shadow Master to slip into shadows and vanish from the scene effortlessly. But Sian could only cloak himself at best.
'That's why "that guy" got the drop on him.'
Anger kept building toward this "main family" figure. Once I got there, cleared the possession return in five days, I could kill him and head back.
"Oh, Sian? Did you come back to look for something you dropped?"
Just then, Roman emerged from deeper in the woods, basket overflowing with herbs.
His brown hair had a few leaves stuck from pushing through the brush. He shook them off as soon as he reached the clearing.
"Yeah. Looks like I didn't drop anything after all."
"Ah... Have your memories come back a bit? Are you really sure you have business with the Raven family?"
"It's not an assassination commission, so no need to worry. What about Yui?"
"Huff... huff... Don't leave me behind!"
Yui burst through the woods, panting hard, and smacked Roman's back with her palm.
Reminded me of Seo-yeon's handiwork.
"I carried all the luggage too. You just had to keep up, but your stamina's seriously lacking."
"I know... Sian, it's dangerous wandering around unarmed. Want us to come with? Or help search for your lost stuff?"
Exhausted from the trek, yet offering to help anyway?
Goddess believers really were good people, it seemed.
"No, someone probably already picked it up. Let's head back to the village together one more time. Roman, want me to carry your basket?"
I'd gleaned most of the memories I could here. Better to return and rest.
"No way. You're the patient, Sian. This is nothing for me!"
He lifted and lowered the herb-filled basket to prove it.
This time, I walked through the gate without a piggyback.
Since I'd left and returned so soon, the guard who'd stopped me earlier gave me a strange look.
Worried for nothing, maybe?
"We have to deliver to the guild. Want to wait at the temple first?"
"No, I'm fine. Luckily, I ran into some acquaintances. Thanks again for all your help today."
"Ah, sure. See you."
Parting ways with Roman and Yui once more, I wandered the village.
I'd assumed a world full of magic tools, but they were rarer on the streets than expected.
Maybe only branch families like the Crows carried communication devices or the like?
Strolling around, I spotted a decent clothing shop and bought some clean, wearable clothes with the money from Terry Crow, changing on the spot.
Observing this world firsthand slowly raised my synchronization rate, but memories still wouldn't surface.
True growth from quest completion would come after returning to the Raven family. After a quick tour, I headed back to the safehouse before the tavern district got rowdy.
"Back already?"
Returning to the safehouse, Terry Crow looked genuinely surprised at my early return.
"Nothing much to do? I won't be a bother if I stay till morning, right?"
"No, that's fine."
He had to find me inconvenient, but with my body not fully recovered, sticking to a safe spot made sense.
Entering the master bedroom and lying on the bed, a woman's pleasant scent wafted over me.
"If Combat Sleep is available... did it unlock?"
Skill: Survival Rules (A)
[1. Composure] [2. Insight] [3. Combat Sleep]
Focused solely on surpassing 250 combat power and expanding possession slots upon quest completion, I'd missed the extra unlock of Survival Rules.
Slots expanded, I'd lain in the dorm bed and used Lower World Possession, constantly scouting bodies.
So, if I'd just slept it off right after collapsing in the woods post-possession, I'd have recovered stamina and eased the poisoning. No wonder the quest rewards didn't include healing.
Meaning a quick nap now would further alleviate the symptoms.
I closed my eyes on Terry's surprisingly soft bed, her scent lingering.
*
A short sleep later, moving felt much easier.
Gaining combat power just from sleeping? Incredible.
Already over 200.
Leveling Shadow Master would spike it more, but that could wait till tomorrow's warp gate to the Raven family.
Waking hungry, I stepped out for a snack and spotted Terry dozing in a chair.
'Am I really that uncomfortable for Terry Crow?'
A rural intel agent versus a combat operative on a high priest assassination in the Holy Kingdom.
And I held Raven Castle access, far above her station.
Terry swayed, glanced around, spotted me watching, and bowed her head.
"Sorry. Didn't want to wake you. Shall I prepare food? Or night service now?"
"Night service?"
That odd phrase in her words forced a double-take.
"Yes. Main family members never refuse overnight stays at safehouses with opposite-gender crows. It's a request for night service..."
That was its meaning? Hearing about night service bumped my synchronization a notch.
Sure enough, an assassin's overnight safehouse stay was code for demanding night duties from intel agents.
Ravens lived ready to die any moment, trading lives for kills. They were free with sex to leave heirs.
Branch families yearned to bear main bloodline children.
"D-Do I not appeal to you...?"
Terry pressed her index fingers together chest-high, forming and breaking a peak, clearly hoping for night service.
The preparations I'd overheard before leaving? Grooming for this.
"Food first."
"Yes. I'll heat something up. Or cook fresh?"
"Heated's fine."
No need for extra work. We reheated her earlier dinner before I woke.
Not much different from lunch, but reheated leftovers tasted off.
Honestly, Terry's eager anticipation dulled my appetite more.
Sian Raven had indulged in such services before, without loving anyone.
As Yoo Sian, my latest was Seo-yeon yesterday, orally.
That should suffice, but I'd seized initiative from her for moments like this.
And she couldn't know what I did during Lower World Possession.
"I'll wash first and wait."
"Ah, yes. I'll hurry."
This world's showers were old-school: scooping water with a ladle to clean up.
As I finished and emerged, Terry, having cleared dishes, slipped into the bathroom. Sitting in the master room, she entered cautiously, towel-wrapped.
"You know I'm branch family. Not main blood."
"That's fine. Branches summoned to the main are superior anyway."
Terry's face hardened with resolve as she let the towel drop.