The Assassin
The assassin. One who makes a living out of the act of humans killing humans. I've lived a long time, yet I've never once killed a person for personal reasons. Even so, when I look at these bloodstained hands, a question suddenly comes to mind. Whose original sin do these memories belong to?
Quest Complete
A pair of bright, sparkling blue eyes that didn't match his thick double chin. His hefty belly jiggled as if resentful of its owner.
“Wh-who are you!”
The pig-like man stumbled backward. The second son of the Lord of Anhol. Married. One son, three years old.
“Y-you're an assassin, right? I'll pay more. Wh-which bitch was it? Juliet? Frama? They couldn't have paid you much. Come work for me. I'm a victim too. Those women seduced me first.”
He'd stamped his own certificate of trash certification with a bang. In that case, there was no need to weigh him any further.
Schluck—
A blade, in some ways, resembles a key. If you slip it gently into a tightly sealed chest, it swings wide open to reveal everything inside. Though there's no need to show it with the mouth as well.
The pig, blood pouring from him, made a gurgling sound as he staggered along the wall, trying to flee. If he got any farther, it would just become a hassle, so I had to stop him. I hooked my foot around the leg of the man painting a red line across the wall, and with a wet thud, he collapsed and never got up again.
Graffiti like that was still two thousand years too early. I'd heard orcs made sounds like kweeeek. What was the difference between them and this guy? If it was just a matter of skin color, wouldn't that be the racism of this era?
I grabbed the fallen man's hair, yanked his head up, sliced off a handful of it, rolled it up, and tucked it into my coat. Swish— I gave my blade a light flick to shake off the blood, scattering droplets across the floor. The pure white marble, reflecting the moonlight, mercilessly illuminated the scene.
Quest Complete
Looks like you're a slave to the bone! For someone like you, here's a reward!
Reward: Shylock's Trust.
Tsk. This notification window seems to be acting up more after the tutorial ended. It's annoying, but at least the job's done. This was more of a sloppy murder than an assassination. Assassinations are better when they're clean, but sometimes a bit of noise is necessary. Not that I'm deriving some base pleasure from making scum like him suffer.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
Sometimes the client wants it that way. Probably some kind of show to highlight how hard they're trying to catch the culprit.
“To the walls! Strengthen the wall patrols first!”
The lord's castle in the dead of night instantly fell into chaos. I quickly moved before people could swarm the area. I slid silently through the shadows cast across the corridor and ran. Grabbing the rope I'd already tied to the stair railing, I used the momentum to launch myself and land neatly on the third floor. At the same time, I swiftly retrieved the rope and stood before a door.
The second room on the left of the third floor—the maid's quarters. If I waited here, an escape route would open up.
As an assassin, ghostly movements and flawless disguises are all useful skills. But the best is always cooperation with an inside informant. If things go well, you can slip away with almost no risk.
Technique is something you use only in the worst situations. Had the owner of this room gone on vacation? I'd just hide inside for a bit and wait for him to come.
This was supposedly my first assassination in this game, yet my movements felt as natural as if I'd done it a thousand times. The anomaly's memory erosion ability sent a chill down my spine.
“Who are you?”
A figure in the middle of the bed turned around with a puzzled look. I was told the room would be empty!
I didn't show any agitation and acted swiftly. I pressed a dagger to her throat and covered her mouth.
“Shh. Stay quiet if you don't want to die.”
Please! I'm not the kind of person who shouts 'no witnesses, no assassination'!
According to my big data, knocking her out here was the best option. The woman lightly tapped the arm I was using to restrain her head. Her eyes looked calm. Was she the cooperative type?
I loosened my grip slightly, and a clear voice came through.
“Is that you, Lee Han?”
Wh-what? How does she know my name? Even within the guild, only a few people know it.
I looked at the woman's face more carefully. Her small face had a delicate jawline that sharpened her features. Above it, between skin as white as snow, only her lips drew a red arc. Her eyes, holding the deep blue of a forest, shone with a warm emerald light. Her golden hair, sparkling brilliantly even under the faint lamplight, was as beautiful as a wheat field ripe for harvest, glowing with golden hue.
There was no way I could forget a woman this striking…
Get a grip.
“You… who are you?”
“Me? Are you asking for my name?”
“No. How do you know my name?”
My name isn't something common like Tom or Max. There's no point in playing dumb here.
“Ahaha, Lee Han. How could I not recognize you?”
“…Explain yourself so I can understand.”
“Hmm… shouldn't you put that knife away first? I might get cut by accident.”
Her slightly raised eyes looked like she was protesting in anger. An unidentified, suspicious woman. The blade was the bare minimum insurance here. But…
I obediently sheathed the sword inside my coat.
“Now talk.”
“Hmm… even if you say that, what am I supposed to say when I know what I know?”
“At the very least, tell me how you learned my name.”
“You told me.”
“That doesn't make any—!”
“Hahaha, Lee Han. Aren't you curious about anything else?”
This woman made no sense at all.
“What's your name?”
“Name? Hmm… call me Sun. Just Sun.”
“Calling you Sun means your name isn't actually Sun, right?”
“It's like a nickname.”
“What exactly can you tell me?”
“I know you, but you don't know me. It's rude to try and dig up a lady's personal information for free like that.”
My insides boiled with frustration. She had such a kind-looking face, yet her personality was twisted—she enjoyed toying with people. Was this how everyone got a taste for 'no witnesses, no assassination'?
I don't engage in unnecessary killing. I try to live by a moral line. But leaving this woman who recognized me alive was extremely dangerous. It wasn't just my own safety—Rebecca's life was on the line too.
Even as I fiddled with the dagger in my coat, something kept me from going through with it. It had to be the intuition I felt from this woman. Her kind impression. Her warm aura… And, though hard to understand, the goodwill I sensed directed toward me.
“You look like you have a lot to say.”
“You're not going to answer me anyway.”
“Then let's meet tomorrow at noon in front of the fountain in the square.”
With those words, the woman vanished. Literally, with a poof.
Was it a dream? I stood there in a daze when the door opened again.
“What is this? They said they were sending the best, but you're this defenseless? I at least expected you to show some courtesy by hiding… Tsk tsk. The guild's reputation must be hollow after all.”
He seemed slightly out of breath, probably because the assassin hunt show had been entertaining. The eldest son of the Lord of Anhol. He wasn't particularly well-regarded, but he hadn't committed any notably evil deeds either. That would change today with the added crime of instigating his brother's murder.
Right now, though, I had no energy to waste on arguing with someone like him.
“I've stationed only trustworthy men at the back gate for the next ten minutes. Get out quickly.”
The escape route today was an easy one. It was fortunate, since I'd been pretty out of it.
Unlike the modern world where the number of night owls only increases with time, midnight in Eclipse was quite late into the night. Anyone still wide awake at this hour was, in one way or another, unlikely to have a clear conscience.
Creak—
“Oh! Finished the job? Shylock's dog?”
“Don't call me that.”
“Kekeke, then why don't you tell me your name?”
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary inn. But this place was actually the Anhol branch of the information guild. The frivolous man with his feet up on the desk was named Philip. Among those in the guild, he wasn't a bad sort, so I occasionally stopped by to report mission completions.
“That's not happening.”
“But I can't keep calling you boy like before, can I? You've grown so much.”
Compared to nine years ago when I first started assassination work, I'd grown quite a bit.
“Want me to give you a nickname? Pick one. First Sword of the Shadows, Formless Killing Blade, Crimson-Eyed Ghost Sword. No Trace.”
…Did someone scatter wuxia novels in this world? This uncle used to be normal when he was younger, but he's getting stranger with age. I have to make sure I don't end up like this with Rebecca.
“Sigh, forget it. Just don't bring up that damn Shylock in front of me.”
“Then should I just call you dog?”
This guy…
“Stop playing word games. There's a bounty on the guy I killed today, right?”
“There is.”
“Take everything except what that eldest son paid.”
“Whoa, you're going again?”
“Just shut up and do it.”
Philip let out a deep sigh and brought out fifty gold.
“Here. That's all of it.”
“You're sure?”
“Hey, you punk, I even filled in the fifty silver myself. Because of you, I tried to skim a little in the middle but ended up taking a loss instead. Damn it.”
“Thanks as always.”
“Next time you want to make requests like this, go somewhere else.”
“I'll be back.”
“Tsk tsk. Get lost.”
Haha, even as he ages, I like that childish side of him. In a world where being childish gets you killed early.
A night lit only by the moon. A night where only sleepless stray cats cry out meow, meow. I ran through it all and arrived at a shabby cabin, knocking on the door.
“Who is it?”
“I'm from the guild.”
“…!”
A maiden in worn-out clothes opened the door. In the corner of the cramped cabin, a man who looked like he had difficulty moving forced himself to stand.
“Lise, the guild? Did you say someone from the guild came?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Ah, then… then does that mean the request has been completed? That devil bastard who drove our Frama to her death—is he dead?”
“Yes.”
I took out the lock of hair I'd cut earlier and handed it over.
“You'll probably hear about it through rumors soon.”
“Ah… sister…”
“Ugh… Frama. Your poor father is sorry. I'm so worthless that I could only avenge you now. If only I'd known a little sooner… Thank you. Thank you so much, guild representative.”
The old man staggered over, trying to grab my hand tightly. Feeling the disgust, I pretended to pull away while firmly pressing money into his palm.
“It's nothing. And here is the advance payment you gave for the request.”
“What? This is… the money we paid. Why are you returning it…?”
“There was an error on our side, so we're returning it. However, you must never speak of this matter to anyone outside.”
The moonlight in the night sky on the way back felt cold. Was tonight a full moon?
Frama had hanged herself from a tree two weeks ago. Her incompetent father, upon seeing it, fell into despair, and the guild had approached him. They promised revenge. The money they'd squeezed out of him was probably the man's entire fortune. Consumed by vengeance, he hadn't spared a thought for his other daughter's future.
What a fool.
Memories—whether mine or not, but which felt like mine—filled me completely. Like wandering through a distant yet near dream of confusion. My life back in Eclipse had become far more desolate.