Chapter 55
Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Assassin Family Raven (13)
[First, survive.]
[The assassin is Sian Raven, arrives in 5 days]
[Must acquire the founding patriarch's seal]
[Ring embedded with a red gemstone - failed]
[Topic intriguing enough - Crow Family?]
[Should I mention the hero and the demon king?]
[Must become an intelligence agent for Roman's hero party to save her]
This was the note I discovered while taking off the coat, a symbol of the Raven Family that also aids in using Shadow Mastery.
Lowe Travis's survival plan failed. I killed him.
The founding patriarch's seal—a ring embedded with a red gemstone. Does it even matter now?
The Crow Family had quieted down a bit, but who knows what state they're in.
It seemed like they planned to fully absorb us into Raven, but the patriarch would handle that.
The next bit of useful info was about the hero and the demon king, and how Rose would die if things proceeded "as originally planned." But the patriarch's rampage had already thrown everything into chaos.
'Did I kill him for nothing?'
I'd sensed he was sitting on info I didn't know, trying to manipulate me for his own gain, so I took him out early. I probably should've left just enough to kill him anytime.
If Shadow Mastery had grown significantly, that would be one thing, but its current growth was ambiguous.
"Sian."
I stood up at the sound of my name.
"Princess Rosetta."
Princess Rosetta had dyed her original golden hair orange, which made her feel like a completely different person.
She was dressed in comfortable traveler's clothes that looked practical and unrestricted—worthy of full marks.
"What's that?"
Princess Rosetta asked about the paper I was holding.
"It's nothing."
I crumpled it slightly and set it ablaze with a candle flame.
"If it's nothing, why burn it? Isn't it some kind of secret document?"
"It's a document with future prophecies, but the patriarch's rampage twisted everything, so it's meaningless now."
"Future prophecies? What was written on it?"
She's smart, so if I shared the info, she might infer something useful.
"I'll tell you on the road. It should make for good conversation to stave off boredom."
I packed the black coat and dagger at the bottom of the bag from the Crow Family, filling the rest with travel essentials.
I only took one longsword as a weapon— that would suffice.
Our destination was Teive Village, where Roman and Yui had saved my life.
We could warp there directly via gate, but after returning to the family via warp gate, everything had gone to hell, so we decided to walk to the neighboring village.
From there, we'd take the warp gate to Teive Village.
"I don't know what it'll be like next time we meet, but once Terrance Raven, the family head, calms down, please take good care of him."
With that, I bid farewell to the members of both the Raven and Crow Families and set out.
As we moved away from the path of vengeance, the first topic to bring up seemed fitting: how to address each other.
"Princess Rosetta, how should we address each other for the time being?"
"Our names should be enough, right? Look at our hair colors now."
Both Rosetta and I had orange hair now, making it hard to link us to our original identities by name alone.
Mine was a darker orange, hers brighter, giving us a familial resemblance—perfect for casual speech.
"Then I'll call you by name. Rosetta, is your stamina holding up?"
She made a strange face when I used her name but answered.
"Yes, Sian. The imperial family... trained us in basic stamina building at home. Without it, I'd have collapsed during work several times. But didn't you exert yourself this morning, Sian?"
"I'm fine with that much."
"Sian, your speech is still so stiff."
"I'll work on it gradually."
Princess Rosetta smiled faintly at my response.
"By the way, that paper earlier—you said it was about the future? What was on it?"
"It said the Raven and Crow Families would fight, with the Crows taking control."
"I sensed it heading that way too. The Ravens avenged us with their lives, but they ended up economically dependent on the Crows."
Everything we were using now had come via the Crows' help.
They'd supported a family of mad assassins this whole time.
"But that part's already changed?"
"Definitely. The moment I told the patriarch, it shifted."
"So, is it really future prophecy? Or just one possible path? Anything else?"
"A few more things, but nothing majorly helpful. The patriarch's actions changed everything."
Stories like the hero and demon king might still play out, but I wasn't sure about the rest.
The ring shared between the founding patriarchs of Raven and Crow? That could be somewhat useful.
As we walked a forest path rarely traveled by many, Princess Rosetta looked around the woods in wonder.
Thinking about it, she'd grown up in the imperial capital and only later come to the Raven Family to decide life and death— the imperial bloodline led truly twisted lives.
The lineage of the empire's greatest power, yet denied freedom?
Better than worrying about every meal, but royalty was still too high up.
What if it were Lowe Travis without issues? As the youngest son of a thriving merchant guild, he'd live comfortably.
"Sian, are there monsters around here?"
"Probably. Warp gates made people avoid roads between small villages."
From Sian Raven's memories, roads from gate hubs like Baltir Village to small villages were well-maintained for merchants.
Roads between small villages saw less use—mostly herbalists or adventurers—so they were poorly kept.
That's what allowed adventurer monster hunters to make a living.
"Rosetta, do you have any way to defend yourself?"
Right now, Princess Rosetta carried a traveler's bag and a versatile dagger, just like me.
I'd never checked her combat ability before, but now was a good time.
"I can use basic magic. But it won't help you much, Sian."
"Basic magic should be plenty helpful."
She paused at my words, concentrating.
Preparing magic? A light arrow materialized before her and shot toward a nearby tree.
"Light Arrow. The imperial family specializes in light magic, so our synergy isn't great. It requires focus to fire, so activation is slow."
Indeed, hurling a shadow-crafted dagger with Shadow Craft was much faster.
But shadow daggers dissipated over distance, so for range, her magic was better.
"I'm hiding Shadow Craft for now, so feel free to use light magic as much as you want."
I could fight with Shadow Armor under my clothes anyway.
Even as the final stage of Shadow Mastery, the Shadow Craft I'd first learned had its subtleties.
Compared to piercing and twisting foes with shadow magic, its lethality was lacking.
Its strength lay in countering all kinds of power?
'Wait... a sword made of a mana-like substance?'
Only sword experts at a high realm could manifest something like sword aura.
Shadow Armor was akin to protective aura.
Suddenly, it made sense why Shadow Mastery hadn't grown rapidly from E-rank.
I couldn't even handle sword aura, yet I'd gained a variant.
rustle
Lost in thoughts of skills as we walked, an unnatural sound from the forest made me reach out and stop Princess Rosetta.
"Something there?"
She whispered softly. I nodded faintly and focused.
Looking toward the sound, a white rabbit burst from the woods.
It glanced at us, then darted across the road into the opposite forest.
"Just a rabbit."
"Yeah."
We watched it go, then resumed walking.
"If the village was farther, we might've caught it for food."
"Do you know how to skin animals or cook, Sian?"
"I can kill them, but no knowledge there. If needed, I'd learn on the fly."
Yoo Sian, Lee Sian, Sian Raven—none had ever butchered wild game for food.
All three had lived far from cooking, so no need to learn butchery. But to survive this world—or a zombie apocalypse later—wild game might be necessary.
Food could run out anytime there, so best to learn.
Na-eun might find it weird, but after all my oddities, butchery would be minor.
If Seo-yeon asked, I'd just drop a hint.
After the rabbit, we reached the village without further interruption.
It felt close, yet I'd never been here before. Upon arrival, a quest appeared.
Slay 3 Hobgoblins
📍 Completion: Shadow Mastery (E+) Enhancement
'3 Hobgoblins?'
A sizable goblin pack must lurk near this village.
Shall I assassinate them tonight?