A Visit
Contrary to my expectations, Stanasila Urtega had no ties whatsoever to the assassin guild.
At least, that was the case if his words were to be believed.
"Why are you suddenly searching for an assassin guild? Do you intend to have someone killed?"
I shook my head at Urtega's dry inquiry.
"I just have a bit of business to handle. Ahem... Could you perhaps introduce me to another noble who might have a connection with them?"
"Haaah..."
Urtega let out a deep, heavy sigh that bordered on a groan, massaging his temples with a furrowed brow.
"Alzen. You do realize assassins are treated on virtually the same level as warlocks, do you not?"
"I know."
"And that the very act of resorting to assassination is a wretched disgrace and an insult to nobility?"
"I'm well aware."
"It is a relief you understand. Which is precisely why, even if a noble maintains contact with an assassin guild, they would never bring it into the light of day. It is treated no differently from colluding with practitioners of dark magic."
"Hmm, but don't aristocrats broker contacts with assassin guilds in secret all the time? Out of necessity, that is."
"......"
Urtega stared at me for a moment, his gaze turning distinctly peculiar.
"You seem remarkably well informed."
"Well, I've heard my fair share of stories here and there."
"From whom? And precisely what stories did you hear?"
"......"
I was struck utterly dumb.
In the first place, that information had come from NPCs in the game. Searching through Alzen's memories yielded not a single recollection of mingling with anyone of sufficient stature to have connections with an underworld guild. When all was said and done, this worthless bastard Alzen truly was of no help at all.
Urtega regarded me as though looking at something thoroughly pathetic. He exhaled a thick breath, then shook his head.
"In any event, I have never once received a covert contact from an assassin guild. Nor have I ever acted as an intermediary."
"Is that so? Hmmm..."
A faint grimace crossed my face.
Honestly, I had expected making contact to be simple. Hitting a wall right from the opening move left me feeling stranded. What should I do now? Go seek out Pitora?
...Frankly, I didn't want to. I recoiled at the very thought.
She was someone who likely knew my true identity, and I had no desire to give her any room or pretext to act. Given how obsessively she adored her family, there was no telling what extremes she might resort to.
"Can't you help me out somehow?"
"Are you telling me to go snooping around for an assassin guild on your behalf?"
"If you looked into it, Father, it would yield results far faster and more easily than if I tried."
"Perhaps so. But why should I?"
His cold murmur was accompanied by a gaze as rigid and uncompromising as an appraiser weighing an object's worth. Far from being intimidated, however, I let out a dry chuckle, a sneer curling onto my lips.
"Heh, there's a limit to how thick-skinned a man can be. You really shouldn't be saying that, Father. I helped you ascend to a higher realm, I protected the ducal house, I set up your fight with a Demon King, and I even scouted a monstrous talent like Vivian for the family's future... At this point, haven't I basically done everything for you?"
"......"
Now it was Urtega's turn to be struck speechless.
Watching him press his lips into a tight line, the corners of my mouth hitched upward. I gave a light shrug and casually swung the liquor bottle in my hand.
"So you see, the ducal house—and you, Lord Patriarch—owe me a debt. A rather massive one, at that. Surely a man of your standing wouldn't pretend none of that ever happened, would you?"
"Haaah... So your proposition is that you will wipe that debt clean if I uncover an assassin guild for you. Is that it?"
"Yes."
"...Under the entire heavens."
Spitting the words through his teeth, he rubbed his eyelids with a heavy sigh, glaring at me with scorching intensity.
"There exists no greater unfilial wretch than you."
"Hahaha! Why bring that up now of all times? Aren't we both cut from the same cloth anyway!"
I laughed with deliberate exaggeration while closely scrutinizing his face and reactions, trying to decipher whether the faint anger bleeding into his expression and eyes was merely an act.
"......"
Yet, no matter how hard I looked, it didn't seem like acting at all.
Could it be that Urtega truly hadn't realized my identity yet?
I was taken aback, having assumed such a possibility was virtually nonexistent. According to the game's lore, the higher one's realm climbed, the more their senses and insight transcended ordinary human limits. Which meant that if his senses and discernment matched the lore, it wouldn't have been strange in the slightest had he seen right through me long ago.
Was he playing dumb, or was he genuinely oblivious? Regrettably, lacking that caliber of superhuman perception, I had no way of knowing for sure.
"......"
What a colossal nuisance.
"...Very well, Stanasila Alzen. I accept your proposal."
"Oh, thank you, Your Grace. You truly are generous."
"However, there is one thing I must know. What in the world do you intend to do once you make contact with an assassin guild?"
"...Do you really have to know? It's a bit awkward to say."
"Speak. Otherwise, the deal is off."
"Well... The truth is, there's a fellow I can't stand. I'm thinking of quietly getting rid of him."
"A lie."
"......"
So his Demi-God senses and insight are working just fine, aren't they?
"Speak the truth, Stanasila Alzen."
"Phew..."
After wrestling with the thought for a moment, I had no choice but to confess the real motive behind seeking out the guild. Of course, since it was inherently tied to the fact that I had transmigrated into this body, I took a detour and subtly laced the truth with fabrications.
Fortunately, he did not doubt my carefully blended blend of fact and fiction. Or perhaps he was simply playing along once more... Am I growing overly paranoid? Not knowing who might see through my disguise was turning me into a suspicious wreck around the entire family.
Well, maybe not all of them. There were two who weren't truly part of the bloodline... which was at least a small mercy.
Regardless, having heard my entire explanation, he offered only a single remark.
"You lunatic."
"To receive such high praise from the continent's strongest warrior, I hardly know what to do with myself. Well, I'll take my leave now."
I offered a perfunctory bow. But in that brief fraction of a second, I caught sight of a dark, suffocating torment clouding his features.
"...!?"
It was so fleeting that it could easily have been dismissed as an illusion, yet my body froze on pure reflex, my thoughts snapping instantly to the Absolute Ring Set.
"......"
"......"
Silence settled heavy over the office, a hushed, bizarre tension coiling through the air. The mysterious turmoil that had gripped his face had already vanished without a trace. Even so, the cold sweat trickling down my spine showed no signs of stopping.
"...Get out."
"...Understood. Excuse me."
Right up until the moment I turned my back and stepped through the door, the cold sweat never ceased.
"Inhale, exhwaaaah..."
The second I returned to my quarters, I buried myself deep into the sofa and let out the long-held breath trapped in my chest.
"...Muriel. What do you think?"
"I cannot say for certain. However, I believe the probability that he has noticed is high."
Muriel, who had materialized from the shadows the instant I asked, offered her assessment, and I nodded in agreement.
"I figured as much... I don't think it'll be an immediate problem, though..."
"I agree that there should be no issue for now. You remain a tremendous asset to the ducal house, and as of yet, no one is raising doubts or whispering about the identity of 'Stanasila Alzen.'"
"Hmm... So it all hinges on profit and prestige. Meaning the moment a justifiable cause arises, I could very well be torn to shreds."
"Yes. Most likely."
"Man, what a cold-blooded bastard. Don't you think?"
"......"
"Heh. Look at you, clamping your mouth shut. Refusing to speak ill of Urtega even if it kills you, huh?"
"Please do not misunderstand. I am on your side, Lord Han-gil. I belong to you, and I am your pillar of support."
"Oh, really? Since when?"
She smoothly bypassed my retort and continued without missing a beat.
"However, that is entirely separate from the respect I hold for Lord Urtega. To me, he is the man who granted me strength and aided in my vengeance."
"Fair enough. I can understand that."
"Are you hurt?"
"No, not at all."
"Please be hurt."
"...What kind of nonsense is that now?"
"If you feel hurt, I will pay the penance. Primarily with my body."
"......"
As I stared at her in utter disbelief, she gave a tiny, deadpan nod.
"It seems that was a bit too forward. I shall have to seduce you through different avenues in the future. I will exercise restraint regarding such approaches."
"What on earth are you even doing...? I'm the one getting embarrassed just watching you. Though it's entertaining enough, I suppose."
"......"
Seeing her sheepishly avert her eyes—a rare sight indeed—drew a hollow laugh from me.
"...Setting that aside. Lord Han-gil."
"What?"
"Was that truly the reason you were searching for an assassin guild?"
"......"
Ah, crap. Of course she had overheard.
This time, it was my turn to look away.
"Lord Han-gil..."
Taking my chin in her hand, she turned my face toward hers, a sorrowful shadow falling over her expression.
"Did I not tell you that I would protect you? Must you truly go that far?"
"Like I told you before, I hate pain. Try to understand. If I don't have something like that prepared, I'll lose my mind."
"...If I were to object, would you listen?"
"No. Never."
"I knew you would say that. Lord Han-gil, you truly... you make my heart ache."
Her features contorting in pained anguish, she let out a soft sigh, caressed my cheek once, and stepped back.
"...Ugh?"
Right at that moment, without the slightest warning, an intense ringing began to vibrate directly in the center of my skull.
"Lord Han-gil? What is the matter? Are you in pain?"
As I clutched my head and curled forward, Muriel rushed to my side, her face tight with concern as she checked my condition.
"No. It's... just a call waiting tone."
"...Pardon?"
Her head tilted, utterly bewildered by the unfamiliar concept.
Spitting a silent curse at the Demon King, I swung wide the inner door that was rattling under her relentless knocking, granting permission.
The instant I did, an eye and a pair of lips forced their way out through the tight bindings of the Silk of Atonement wrapped around my left arm.
—Hehehe. Kang Han-gil. To unilaterally sever your connection with me was profoundly rude, you know. Still, I shall forgive you. Being ignored in such a fashion is a first for me, making it quite novel.
"...Your timing is a little too perfect. Don't tell me you were watching the whole time?"
—Of course! I have no desire to miss a single second of my dear friend!
"You crazy stalker bitch, give me a break... And weren't you unable to see unless I gave permission?"
—Hmm? Ah! You misunderstand! I did not see or hear through that left arm! I used my authority to read the future!
"You burned through a divine authority just to peep on me?"
A laugh of sheer absurdity slipped past my lips.
"...I'll be blunt, Rubias. I have zero interest in talking to you."
—Is that so? How tragic. And yet, I wish to converse with you. With my one and only soulmate. If you refuse me... even I cannot say what terrible things I might do.
"Muriel. Look here, someone just like you."
"...Please do not lump me together with that. My threats are positively adorable by comparison."
—Hahaha! Muriel, servant of Stanasila Alzen! Your threats are not the least bit adorable! You merely look like a venomous viper preparing to devour a tiny, helpless prey!
"......"
Muriel's eyes narrowed into razor-sharp slits, glaring murderously at the eyeball and mouth protruding from my arm.
"Haaah... You're loud. And annoying. Rubias, my head is pounding, so stop yelling inside my skull. Drop the forced cheerfulness while you're at it."
—...Hmm, you dislike this persona? In that case...
"Just speak the way you normally do. That quiet, calm tone of yours is at least somewhat tolerable."
—You speak as if you already know my true nature... Heh, heheheh...! Fascinating, as always. Conversing with you never fails to thrill me.
In an instant, the atmosphere plummeted.
Though the phrasing remained largely unchanged, the voice grew sullen and weighty, dripping with ancient dignity and unshakeable ennui.
—Will this suffice?
"Yeah. It's way better. Sigh... Not that it changes the fact that I still don't want to talk to you."
—How cruel... Monsters and demonkin would consider catching even a glimpse of this visage the supreme honor of their entire lives.
"I'm human."
—Heh. Are you truly?
My brow knit tightly at her loaded remark.
"You aren't scheming something, are you?"
—Who can say? What do you think? Are you worried? Or perhaps anxious?
"...You're just an exhausting pain in the ass, you crazy bitch."
Knock, knock, knock!
The moment that curse left my mouth, someone knocked politely on the chamber door.
—Ah, wait—!
Ignoring the Demon King's frantic plea, I severed the mental link and signaled Muriel to open the door.
The first person to come into view was a butler whose name I didn't know.
"Lord Stanasila Alzen, you have visitors."
The butler bowed respectfully and stepped aside, revealing the figures standing in the hallway behind him.
"...I didn't expect you to show up this quickly."
"I dislike letting promises gather dust. I'm quite impatient by nature."
"Is a Saintess even allowed to be like that?"
"That is mere prejudice. What does my temperament have to do with being a Saintess? Honestly... Well, truth be told, I only tagged along for the ride."
"Huh?"
"Wendy mentioned she had business with you, Sir Alzen."
"...?"
Puzzled, I looked toward Wendy, the Saintess's bodyguard and a Knight of the Dawn.
Her short blue hair swayed gently as her blue eyes locked onto mine. Moving with rigid, businesslike precision, she bent at the waist in a formal bow.
"Lord Stanasila Alzen. As promised, I have come to treat you to a meal."
"A meal? Dropping by out of nowhere to say... Ah."
The memory suddenly flashed through my mind.
Back in the heat of the battle against the Demon King, when she had offered her tearful gratitude, I had flippantly told her that if she was truly thankful, she could buy me a meal sometime.