Chapter 142: Nameless (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 142: Nameless (1)
September 4, 1796.
Jin sat in the carriage, watching the landscape roll by as he traveled toward Samil. Three days had passed since he left Tikan, and the southern region of the Con Principality, where Samil was located, was in the full bloom of autumn.
A breeze, thick with a refreshing, seasonal chill, lightly ruffled Jin’s hair as he leaned against the window frame.
The atmosphere was so peaceful that it was hard to believe he was on his way to the holy land of assassins. Perhaps that was why Jin found himself recalling Gilly’s troubled face.
—Your birthday is coming up soon, Young Master. It’s such a shame I won’t be able to look after you if you leave now. You’ve been racking up an incredible record as a reserve flagbearer lately, but please, try to find some time to just enjoy yourself.
Those were the words Gilly had spoken right before he departed for Samil. Lately, seeing the relationship between Luna and Taimun had made him think about her more often.
I should treat Gilly better. Come to think of it, there’s so much I don’t know about her…
It was different from the situation with Luna and Taimun. Taimun hadn’t spoken of her past because Luna lacked curiosity, but with Gilly, it was the opposite. From his previous life until now, whenever Jin had asked about her history, she would dodge the question or feign ignorance.
I’ve only heard rumors that she was the greatest genius in the history of the McLoran family, but I don’t even know the reason why she became my nanny.
McLoran.
One of the loyalist families of Runcandel and a renowned martial house within the Huphester Alliance. Gilly was their youngest daughter. Why on earth would someone like her end up in such a position? It was a question that had persisted since his past life. At times, he had considered hiring someone to investigate the full story, but Jin knew well that doing so would be disrespectful to her.
She’ll tell me herself one day. There just wasn’t an opportunity in my last life. Maybe when I get back this time, we should all go on a trip together.
Rattle, rattle, rattle—.
Having organized his thoughts, Jin looked past the interior window at the back of the coachman.
He’s too young for a coachman, and his lower body muscles are far too developed.
A typical coachman would have refused the trip to Samil no matter how much money was offered. Before choosing this man, Jin had been rejected more than five times. Yet, this man had accepted the job readily. Because of that, Jin had suspected him of being a Nameless cadet for a while now.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, guest!”
“How much longer?”
“About two more hours to go.”
“Is this the right way?”
“Yes, it is. Don’t you worry and get some sleep. Samil is a place where people live, too, so even coachmen like me have to go to the entrance every now and then.”
Jin nodded, his suspicions confirmed.
He’s definitely a cadet. If he were a real assassin of Nameless, he wouldn’t use such a clumsy method.
Even if every resident of the city was an assassin or an assassination cadet, not all of them were the top-tier killers people usually imagined when they thought of ‘Nameless.’ Naturally, among the cadets, there were bound to be more pebbles than gems.
The real monsters are the ones I’ll have to deal with after entering Samil. And the coachman won’t attack until we arrive. Probably.
As expected, nothing unusual happened during those two hours. It was around two in the afternoon when Jin arrived at the entrance of Samil.
On the surface, it doesn’t look much different from an ordinary city.
At least, the entrance didn’t. A moderately wide access road stretched out, and two gatekeepers stood by a gate set into a low wall. If there was anything slightly different from the other cities Jin had passed through, it was that the gatekeepers wore light, milky-white cloth garments and carried no visible weapons.
There was no need for an intimidating exterior. No one in the world would dare enter Samil recklessly. Milky-white was the symbol of Nameless. Everyone inside the city, from the cadets to the highest-ranking killers, wore milky-white clothing—everyone except for visitors.
“Stop the carriage.”
As the gatekeeper spoke in a low voice, the coachman pulled the reins. Stepping out of the carriage, Jin immediately pulled the Nameless Pass from his robe and showed it. The gatekeepers looked at it for a moment, exchanging glances.
“State your purpose for visiting Samil.”
They didn’t ask who Jin was or where he came from. Nor was the question asked in an overbearing manner.
“Just here for the experience.”
“It will be an interesting experience, then. Enter. You may reclaim your Nameless Pass when you leave.”
“Before I step into the city, I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“Does the law of Nameless apply to visitors the moment you receive the pass, or after I step inside the city?”
“That would be—”
Swish!
Just as the gatekeeper was about to answer, a dagger flew toward Jin’s back. Jin, who had been keeping his senses sharp, quickly spun his body.
It was the coachman, without a doubt.
Using the momentum of his spin, Jin threw himself backward and kicked the thigh of the coachman, who was just pulling out another dagger.
Crack!
The sound of something breaking echoed from the coachman’s thigh where Jin’s heel struck. Jin followed up immediately, swinging his elbow into the man’s jaw. As the coachman collapsed, Jin shook his head.
“I suppose it was the former. Are you two going to jump in as well?”
The gatekeepers hid their widened eyes and shook their heads.
“No. We study assassination, not martial arts. The moment you struck first, we had already failed. Enter in peace.”
“I appreciate that. And this fellow will likely be expelled, won’t he? Since he attempted an assassination without wearing the milky-white robes and failed.”
“You know our order well.”
“It’s not exactly a grand secret. Tell him not to be too discouraged. Seeing how clumsy he was from the moment he brought me here, it might be better for him to find a different career path. Like becoming an actual coachman.”
Ting.
Jin flicked a gold coin from his pocket toward the unconscious coachman. The man would likely be devastated when he woke up, but Jin felt he had actually saved the man’s life. If someone so unrefined continued to stay in Samil, their only end would be a dog’s death.
“Tell him that’s the fare for the carriage.”
As Jin strode past the entrance and into the city, the gatekeepers watched his retreating back. A strange and merciful boy has arrived, they thought.
And Jin, having entered the city, couldn't help but immediately suppress a gasp of admiration.
Oh…
Before he left, the Seven-Colored Bird had given him various pieces of information about Samil. They had said that, contrary to public perception, Samil was a city of serene beauty. The streets were so clean that not a single speck of filth could be found, and the buildings, laid out in a precise grid, were as neat as if they had all been newly built. The people passing by in their milky-white robes were as quiet as ascetics, and they didn't even spare a glance at the new visitor.
Everything glowed with a soft, milky-white radiance under the bright afternoon sun.
It’s even more beautiful than I imagined, but…
Goosebumps rose on the back of his neck.
This beauty hid blood. The reason the symbol of Nameless was milky-white stemmed from their confidence that they could wear white and never leave a bloodstain. Only the cadets who could achieve assassination results over a long period in such a tidy and quiet city, without being detected by anyone, could become killers of the "Nameless Hall" that towered in the distance.
Visitors are just targets for special training; these people kill each other every day.
The cadets on the street ranged from middle-aged men who looked over forty to young adults, boys Jin’s age, and even children who looked four or five years younger than him. While there were clear gaps in skill among them, it was extremely rare for the strong to show mercy to the weak. Regardless of age, experience, or origin, the superior cadet simply killed their opponent and moved toward the Nameless Hall.
In some ways, it’s a more horrific place than Runcandel.
Watching the young cadets walking through this cruel city, Jin couldn't help but think of his sister, Yona Runcandel, whom he barely remembered.
I heard Sister Yona was sent here when she was around twelve…
Having recognized Yona’s talent early on, Cyron had agonized for a long time over whether to send her to the Secret Palace or to Samil. Both the Secret Palace and Nameless remained outside the control of the Great Powers for similar reasons, and for those same reasons, they were coveted lands. While the Secret Palace was naturally more desirable, Cyron had ultimately sent his youngest daughter to Nameless for one reason.
The Secret Palace already had an official successor designated in Siris, but Nameless had yet to produce a standout figure. Even now, with Yona being twenty-three. Because of that, even including his past life, the days Jin had actually seen Yona could be counted on one hand.
In my past life, Sister Yona eventually returned to the main house and became a killer solely for the family.
It was a life far removed from being an ‘honorable flagbearer’ of Runcandel. She was an unofficial flagbearer of the family who had to be thoroughly hidden from the outside world. Though her freedom was guaranteed at least within the Garden of Swords, Yona usually lived in hiding, erasing her own presence. The reason was unknown—whether it was her natural personality or because she felt her circumstances were miserable.
And watching Yona, Jin had felt a strange sense of kinship for a while. Though the Yona of his past life likely never knew.
It was probably because I, too, was always tucked away in a corner, holding my breath. Even though the way we were treated was very different.
If there was something he wanted to say to her, or something he wanted to hear, he could just say it to her face when they met. Along with the somewhat brazen request for the Ten Thousand Poison Liquor.
Jin moved his feet with a bittersweet smile. First, he had to find a room to stay in. Samil was a mid-sized city. Because there were few visitors, there were fewer inns than in other cities of its size, but they weren't non-existent. However, Jin had no intention of using an inn this time.
Inns have too much exposure to assassination threats. If I have to worry about the innkeeper, the staff, and even the other guests every single moment of every day, I won’t last a few days.
He had already experienced how exhausting that was at the Arena of Cosmos. Back then, he had almost reached his limit even though he was being attacked by pirates who hadn't received assassination training.
It’s better to pick one of the decent cadets and rent a room from them.
That way, small fries like the coachman from earlier wouldn't dare mess with him out of fear of the homeowner. Instead, Jin would have his life threatened by the cadet landlord at all times.
I have to choose carefully. Someone who mistakenly thinks they can kill me at any time, but is actually at a level where they stand no chance against me.
*
Meanwhile, at a pier in the central part of the Con Principality.
Veradin and Dante had been tracking Jin ever since the banquet ended.
“Hey, you. Yeah, you. Can you help me for a second? Have you seen someone who looks like this?”
“Ahem, have you seen a man who looks like this? If you have, I shall reward you handsomely. Very handsomely.”
Using the power of the Hairan family, they had scoured all recent teleport gate records in Viment and the principalities, finding forty-five people with the name ‘Jin Gray.’ They had already met more than ten of them. If they mobilized all the resources of Hairan and Zipple, the search would be much easier, but they decided that would ruin the point of a secret trip and might permanently lose them the chance for the three of them to gather.
That was their judgment.
“It is certain that a Jin Gray came this way as well… but what if the Jin Gray in the Con Principality isn't our friend either?”
“What else? We go to the next town! One of those forty-five has to be him, for sure. If not, we start the search all over again!”
It was a level of obsession not usually found in ordinary people.