The Self-Proclaimed Assassin, Elijah

"Hold on. You earned it by killing what, exactly?"

The mage asked again, as if she couldn't possibly have heard me right.

Judging by the look in her eyes, she'd wandered off into some very strange misunderstanding. Did I really come across as the sort of lunatic who'd call human beings insects?

This time I spelled it out plainly, so there could be no mistaking it.

"Insects. You know—those little critters with a head, a thorax, an abdomen, and six legs."

"Insects? Not even monsters? …Remarkable."

All I'd done was swat a few phorid flies, and yet the mage sounded genuinely awestruck.

I was about to ask whether killing bugs really warranted that kind of admiration, but the mage's mouth moved first.

"Assassin Coins are a far more precious commodity than you'd imagine."

"What are the criteria for earning one?"

"There are many ways, but… the most representative would be an assassination flawless enough for the System itself to acknowledge."

What was that supposed to mean?

I stared at her blankly, hoping my look conveyed elaborate, please, and the mage laughed.

"It seems the System keeps internal evaluation criteria that the likes of us can't see. Meet those criteria, and the System supposedly hands you an Assassin Coin~ That's the conclusion those of us doing the research—myself included—have managed to reach."

Hm. In short: the System hands them out however it pleases.

And in the System's eyes, my bloodless, tearless phorid-fly assassinations had met its precious standards?

"Well, aren't you something? You even ponder things like this."

"It's really nothing…."

It was only because I couldn't bring myself to hurt a person or an animal. I meant it, sincerely—but to the mage it apparently registered as mere false modesty.

"Modesty aside, what's truly astonishing is your skill. You were acknowledged by the System itself, were you not? You ought to be proud. That fellow the System judges with brutal strictness."

A-hem.

If she kept inflating my ego like this, a person might actually get the wrong idea. Embarrassing as it was, the fact that I secretly felt wonderful remained a fact.

"…Is it really that impressive?"

"Of course. Even among everyone I know, only two beings are capable of such a miracle."

"Who?"

The mage pointed her index finger at me. "You."

Then she pointed at herself. "And me."

Oh, honestly. She was just having fun at my expense.

If this went on, I'd be tangled in her wordplay forever, so I decided to drag the conversation elsewhere by force.

"A little while ago, you said that among Assassin Coins, some are clean and some are dirty, right?"

"Mm, that's right."

"What's the criterion?"

"Intent."

The mage's winding explanation followed. To summarize it briefly: anything earned through personal grudges, petty self-interest, or the kind of scheme that makes you go ugh, THIS scumbag the instant you hear about it—all dirty coins.

My impression, having listened to all that: "That seems way too subjective, don't you think?"

"Your criticism is fair, but… what can you do? The world was never fair to begin with. The System even less so."

"Then what would you have done if my coin had turned out to be a dirty one?"

"What could I have done? Even with a soured mood, the job is the job. I was simply, purely curious. After all, it's no small thing for a tiny, fragile child like you to hold coins like these."

Was it just my imagination? Something faintly shadowed in the mage's words made me study her face. But her expression remained exactly as it had been when we'd first met.

Come to think of it, we hadn't even exchanged names yet. Belatedly, I extended my hand.

"I'm Ban Jisu."

The mage smiled, caught my fingers lightly, and lifted my hand upward. Then she pressed her lips to the back of it.

ItwasmortifyinglyembarrassingbutIfiguredthatwasjusthowgreetingsworkedinotherworldssoIletitslidebecauseIamanadultafterall.

Having finished the kiss, the mage placed her right hand over her chest.

"Call me Elijah, honored Assassin of this world."

Introductions complete, an awkward silence stretched between us for a moment.

…So. What now?

It was a question roughly as bright as an orangutan with two bandages stuck on its head, but mercifully, Mage Elijah opened her mouth first.

"So then—what business does our dear Assassin have in summoning me? I did notice every condition on the summons was left blank…"

Ah. Crap.

I'd left every field blank in my effort to scrimp and save Assassin Coins, and apparently that had included the client field too. What happens when you do that?

"…How far does that go, exactly?"

At my question, Elijah—mage of another dimension—curled her lips into a wicked little smile.

I knew exactly what she was thinking. I would have preferred she not. I only realized what I'd implied after the words had left my mouth, you see.

"Anything? As long as it pleases me."

Hearing that answer, I began forcibly cranking my less-than-reliable brain.

What should I do? How could I put a mage summoned with a single Assassin Coin to such thriftily brilliant use that word would spread of what a bargain-hunter I am…?

After all that agonizing, one idea came to me.

"Then how about being my bodyguard for one day? I happen to have some business outside today. It wouldn't be a bad deal for you either, Miss Mage, would it?"

"So Banji sees to her errands, and I get to sightsee through this unfamiliar dimension while guarding you? A fine thought—we both profit~"

Elijah clapped her hands with a sharp smack.

"…It's Jisu. My name is Jisu."

"Right—Jisu. Then I accept your request."

Elijah took hold of the staff she'd propped up beside her.

An instant later, a truly extraordinary presence began to bloom around her.

So this was… mana? I couldn't see anything, and yet I could unmistakably feel something immense. No—now I could see it. The crimson motes of light rising around her body.

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…Huh? Did I mishear that? Your heart gets torn to ribbons over what, exactly?

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While I floundered at Elijah's incantation suddenly slamming into full throttle, the oath finished without me.

By the time Elijah was back to normal, she wore precisely the same unflappable composure as when we'd first met. If anything, it made me the more nervous one.

"Um… Miss Elijah?"

"Eonni is fine, you know. Elijah Eonni."

Ah, that's a bit much. No matter how I look on the outside, I was a man, first and foremost.

"Th-then… Elijah noona?"

"Eonni."

Ah.

"…Elijah Eonni?"

"Yes?"

"Th-the oath you just took… about that…"

"Oh, that? What about it?"

"Do you really need to have your heart torn to ribbons?"

"It's nothing. For a mercenary contract, this much is standard."

"…Really?"

Astonishing. Even so, people can fail, can't they? Did a simple errand really require staking your own life?

"Sometimes a client will make you their slave. Or even hold your soul in pawn."

"That's way too extreme!"

"What? Would you like me to do that as well?"

"No, no! There's truly no need! Honestly."

What is she planning! A person should know how precious her own body is.

We'd known each other for barely an hour, and already I was starting to regret, just slightly, entrusting a request to an Elijah who seemed somehow… off…

Oh, right. Something I'd forgotten while we were busy talking.

"So why is Elijah Eonni an assassin, anyway? Anyone with eyes can see you're a mage."

"What is an assassination? If you leave no witnesses behind, that's an assassination."

Complete lunacy came back as the answer.

Around one in the afternoon, Elijah and I had come up to Seoul for my Awakener registration.

We'd settled lunch at a place we happened to pass called the Delicious Gimbap Shop. And no, that wasn't me lisping—the shop's actual registered name really was "Delicious Gimbap Shop."

I ate half a roll of ham gimbap—seaweed-wrapped rice rolls—while Elijah ordered rabokki, ramyeon noodles stir-fried with spicy rice cakes. Wow. Half a roll of gimbap and I was full. The me who could once put away a full roll of gimbap plus a pack of ramyeon in a single meal couldn't even finish one roll now.

But another shock was waiting for me.

I tried a bite of Elijah's rabokki when she offered it, and one mouthful in, the heat had me hiccupping. "Hic!"

"Ahahaha! So Jisu can't handle spicy food, can she?"

"N-no, I've always eaten it like a champion… what's wrong with me…"

And then I was floored by how much spice Elijah could handle. That rabokki was objectively on the hot side. It wasn't just my hiccup-rattled tongue, either—the couple at the next table said it was spicy too. As it turned out, Elijah's palate was built for heat from the ground up. Which was why the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spicy-sweet rabokki suited her so perfectly.

"The seasonings of this world are astonishing. Can humans truly push technology this far without a shred of magic?"

"Pretty impressive, right?"

"Mm. Genuinely."

Once we'd finished eating, I walked along energetically supplying agreeing noises to whatever observations Elijah tossed my way, and before I knew it, we were standing at the entrance of the Awakener Association.

The Association was packed with people from the entrance onward. It threw me off. I'd never once imagined I'd have to wait in line at the Awakener Association of all places.

"What do we do? I think we came too late."

"Too late? For what?"

"Everyone here seems to have come to the Association on business. If we just wait, it'll probably clear out…"

"Why?"

"Well, because the Association clocks out at five…?"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Elijah glanced around, and a moment later, as though she'd spotted something, she tapped me lightly on the shoulder.

"What's that over there? Hardly anyone's on that side."

The place Elijah pointed to bore a sign reading "Awakener-Exclusive Counter."

Apart from the occasional figure in dazzling robes or flashy weaponry drifting through, the Awakener-Exclusive Counter looked deserted at a glance.

"Why don't we just go there?"

"I'd rather not. That's the Awakener-Exclusive Counter…"

"What's an Awakener?"

"Um… people like me?"

"Ah~ then you're an Awakener too, aren't you, Jisu?"

"That's right."

I am an SSS-rank Assassin, though.

"Then there's nothing stopping us from going there."

That was technically true… but I had my reasons. All of them.

"It's way too conspicuous. There's no need to go around broadcasting I just awakened my powers~ if I don't have to."

I might be a creature hopelessly parched for other people's attention, but I wasn't about to buy attention I didn't actually need.

"Hmmm."

Apparently my answer hadn't satisfied her—Elijah gave a small nasal hum, wagging her index finger and shaking her head as though I understood absolutely nothing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at all.

"Jisu, you simply don't know yet. A girl's debut comes but once in her life—it deserves to be staged as radiantly as can be. So, straight ahead we go."

"Ah, wait just a moment!"

As if she'd cast some kind of flash-step, Elijah had somehow already reached the counter. I scrambled after her, too late, trying to stop her.