What Might Happen If I Wake Up
Hollow Slash
I drew my sword and swung with Hollow Slash, and the air itself split. The sounds of the world cut off completely for a hundred meters.
At the same time, seven clones of Zere mi were halved in an instant.
“……!”
Zere mi’s body twitched, but Hollow Slash’s stun effect kept him from moving.
“Haha, everyone has at least one ultimate skill, don’t they?”
I ignored the churning in my stomach and smiled as I spoke.
“Boom!”
“Ouch, that must’ve hurt.”
Zere mi fell to the ground with no resistance at all.
“Kkuk, you damn bastard……”
I suppressed him on the floor with Tao Power and pressed my sword to his neck.
“……Kill me.”
The situation ended right there.
“Hmm, well, in the original scenario, it would be correct to kill the assassin who came to kill you right after to erase any aftereffects…… but……”
I toyed with the sword, then sheathed it and continued.
“I don’t have the hobby of chopping the neck of an innocent person.”
“……What?”
“First, let’s take off those masks and talk.”
I crouched down and peeled the black mask off Zere mi’s face.
“……Your real face looks far better.”
The face I had seen countless times before was now the one who had stepped into the path of darkness.
My chest felt strangely heavy.
Thanks to my trait Deceiver, I kept my expression calm and continued.
“As I said earlier, you were never destined to walk the path of an assassin. You were meant to become something far more noble—a light for countless people.”
“……So, how do you know that for certain?”
“That’s something you should ask your own heart. Every time you accepted a contract and took the life of an innocent person, you felt like your soul was being eaten away.”
Zere mi’s eyes trembled for a moment.
But he soon regained his composure and spoke.
“Stop beating around the bush and cut to the chase.”
“From now on, you will serve me. As far as I know, you haven’t been serving anyone—you’re a freelancer, right?”
“I refuse. I can’t serve a lighthearted fool who throws around useless jokes.”
“You were beaten to a pulp by that same lighthearted fool who throws useless jokes today, and now you’re saying that? It’s almost like a comedy.”
“……”
Honestly, if I had been a normal 1-Star character, even after dying and respawning, I wouldn’t have been able to suppress Zere mi.
I had completely analyzed his attack style and strategy, and my ability had directly devoured the greatest strength he possessed—his stealth.
No Nature Realm? Then I honestly didn’t have the confidence to beat him today.
“Today is……”
“Yes, yes. Today’s condition is bad~ I got careless~ I know exactly what you’re going to say. But, you know better than anyone that those are just excuses, don’t you?”
“……”
“Hmm, you still don’t look satisfied. Oh, what if this is it?”
I smiled brightly, dodging the sword.
“I’ll give you one more chance.”
“……What chance?”
“A chance to assassinate me. Try it once more, and if you fail, then from that day on, you’ll truly serve me. How about it?”
Zere mi furrowed his brow slightly at my proposal.
“Are you sane? Giving an assassin another chance to assassinate you after you just failed? It’s basically saying you want to die.”
“Well, I think I’m pretty capable. Just look at today—you didn’t even leave a single wound on me.”
Thanks to the effect of the title Malignant Casanova, a vein bulged on Zere mi’s forehead.
“……You will regret your choice today.”
“Haha, I’ve regretted enough for a lifetime. I don’t want any more regrets.”
◈ 200 points purchased
I bought the Intermediate Recovery Potion from the Achievement Store, popped the lid, and said,
“Open your mouth.”
Zere mi hesitated for a moment, then sighed deeply and obediently opened it.
I poured the potion into his mouth and muttered,
“I knew someday I’d have to feed someone… but I never imagined the person who would eat it would be the assassin sent to kill me……”
“Keuk……!”
Zere mi’s eyes widened and he started coughing, as if the contract had activated.
“Hey, if you spill it, that’s a shame. It’s expensive.”
“Cough… Can’t you shut that mouth already?”
“Haha, there’s even a disease that kills you from an itchy mouth if you don’t stay quiet. Please forgive me.”
Still, I could see Zere mi’s complexion improving after he drank some of the potion.
“It’s time to let you go. If a patrol somehow discovers this secret meeting, it’ll be a disaster for both of us.”
I recovered the Tao Power that had been suppressing him and stood up.
Before long, Zere mi also rose, brushed the dust off his clothes, and spoke to me.
“First, I’ll tell the client I’m withdrawing the request. The condition was that I kill you within a month…… but even a month isn’t enough to gain the strength to kill you.”
“Oh, so for the next month, I can just relax and live freely?”
“……Really, you interpret things however you want. Do as you please. Prepare yourself. When I come for you next time, that will be your last day.”
Zere mi glared at me, then slowly began to melt into the shadows.
After Zere mi disappeared, I wiped the cold sweat and sighed…
“……There’s one more thing I want to ask.”
“Ah, what now? You’re not leaving yet? My heart almost stopped.”
“Even if that guy who knew everything about my every move says that, it just sounds like another lie to me.”
Zere mi, half-buried in shadow, glared at me sharply before looking straight into my eyes and asking,
“……I was clearly an assassin sent to kill you. We’ve never even met before. But why are you giving me kindness?”
Zere mi’s eyes trembled.
Why I was giving him kindness.
“……I guess you could call it atonement. Well, there is such a thing.”
Because your life fell into ruin because of me, it’s only right that I pull you back up.
“I still don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“That’s normal. And…… if there’s a reason, there’s one more.”
I smiled gently at him and said,
“If you have the will to change, I believe everyone in this world can change. And today, I saw a little bit of that will in you. That’s all.”
“……”
Zere mi fell silent after hearing my answer, then completely melted into the shadow and vanished.
“Ah, he left the mask behind……”
That sudden encounter with Zere mi had finally come to an end.
***
“Haa, what a day full of many things.”
I had planned to head to the tteokbokki stall, but I immediately dropped that. Even if it was just to use Hollow Slash, my stomach was too upset to eat.
I couldn’t eat with a stomach like this…… Today, I should just sleep peacefully.
“…..Ugh. Today is Wednesday, right?”
I jumped out of bed after only ten seconds.
Today was Wednesday—the day the newspaper was published.
I would have loved to just go back to bed right now, but I didn’t want to regret putting off reading the newspaper later. Ah, my fate.
I walked to the mail slot in my dormitory and yawned once, pulled out the newspaper…… Eh? What’s this?
“This…… is a letter?”
Next to the newspaper was a small letter, wrapped in an exceptionally luxurious packaging.
“Hmm…… First, let’s quickly look at the newspaper.”
I set the letter aside and quickly read the newspaper. My main purpose was to look for any sign of Chaos.
“Still, I don’t see a single hair of his.”
Unluckily, this newspaper was also empty. There wasn’t a single incident I suspected involved Chaos.
No luck again today. I clicked my tongue and folded the newspaper……
“Wait.”
On the last page of the newspaper was quite shocking news.
“Three students have gone missing from Luin Academy. Aside from the fact that all victims were commoners, there are no common points.”
It was strange. In the main episode I remembered, there was no such thing as students disappearing.
Or rather, there was, but only much later. At least, it wasn’t an episode that happened at this time.
“……Or perhaps there’s a behind-the-scenes story I don’t know about.”
The thought that something was happening somewhere I didn’t know filled me with unease.
“Hmm, it’s ambiguous.”
Right now, I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I would have to watch the situation more closely.
I folded the read newspaper neatly and tossed it onto my desk, then picked up the letter.
“The person who would send me a letter…… doesn’t come to mind at all.”
Who knew what was written in this letter.
“……Could it be a love letter?”
I took a deep breath and slowly opened the letter.