Chapter 82: Failed Acquisition
“Zoe.”
“Yes.”
“Take the beggar to safety. He’s just exhausted over there, so let him rest and get some good food.”
“I understand.”
Zoe nodded, helped the fallen beggar up, propped him up, and walked out of the alleyway.
And there was only me, Kate, and the remaining assassin guy.
Immediately after, a throwing knife stabbed the slumped man in the back with a thud.
“Aaah!”
Kate screamed.
“M-Master! The knife!”
“Yeah.”
“…… Eh?”
Kate, on the contrary, became calm since I was calm.
“You’re …… not surprised?”
“I expected the other party to keep an insurance policy. That’s how you shut their mouths. That one would probably be closer to the ringleaders, so I let it happen.”
“Really!?”
“Yeah.”
I nod and start walking.
It took me less than a minute to reach the direction from which the throwing knife had come.
I find a man lying further down the alleyway.
He was dressed in black, with only his eyes showing.
He was shaking and struggling to getaway.
“See”
“Was this Master’s doing?”
“Yeah, the moment the knife flew in, I figured out its firing point and took the guy down.”
“Amazing, Master! How did you do it? It looked like you didn’t do anything.”
“I’ll tell you later.”
I said this and approached the man in black.
The man tried to turn around, but his body was so paralyzed that he could not even turn his head.
I kicked him lightly and turned him from face down to face up.
“Talk now, who ordered you to do this?”
“K-Kill me…….”
“Speak now and I won’t make it worse.”
“…….”
The man did not answer, instead, his larynx moved.
He seemed to swallow something.
The man closed his eyes.
I didn’t do anything and waited for a while.
Nothing happened.
Since nothing happened, the man opened his eyes again and looked at me with astonishment.[TN: Apophis can control poison so it didn’t work, for those who forgot or didn’t know.]
“W-Why ……?”
“I let you go this far, there’s no way I wouldn’t have expected you to commit suicide if you failed. I dealt with it.”
“Wa–“
“Master is amazing……”
“You won’t get to harm yourself. Now, talk.”
“……”
“What’s wrong, you don’t want to talk?”
“Kill me. …… kill me, please.”
“Hmm?”
I creased my eyebrows and tilted my head.
I didn’t expect this reaction.
Kill me! I did expect it would pop up but, kill me, please! It wasn’t something I had anticipated at all.
When I looked at the person’s face, there was a pleading look there, just as said.
“What do you mean? pleading to kill you?”
“If I fail, I must die swiftly or my family …… my daughter!”
“…… I see.”
I get the story.
It was a story that was so easy to figure out that it made me nauseous.
They took this person’s daughter hostage, and there was nothing he could do to stop them.
Moreover, if they fail, they have to commit suicide, with no choice for them.
” ……Fuuu”
Sighing, I waved my hand.
A purple liquid oozed out of my bracelet and shot out like an arrow.
The poison arrow struck the man’s body in a straight line.
“Tha-nk-you…….”
With white eyes and foaming from his mouth, he said this before he collapsed with his last ounce of strength.
Kate, on the other hand, saw this and looked somewhere between surprised and frightened.
‘”I-Is he dead?”
“If you check, you’ll understand.”
Kate nodded and fearfully went over to the lying man, putting her hands on his neck and the tip of his nose.
“He’s dead. ……”
She muttered.
☆
“Um, hmm ……”
The man woke up on his bed, in a room with the windows closed, moaning.
“You’re conscious huh”
“Eh …… th-this place!”
The man jumped up and looked around the room.
“Rest assured, it’s not the afterlife.”
“You–I’m …… alive!”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you killed me!?”
He shouted at me as if he was about to grab me.
“Don’t worry about that either, you’re properly pronounced dead.”
“Eh?”
I held out my hand and extended my index finger.
A drop of purple liquid dripped from my fingertip onto the floor.
It was the poison I had injected into the man’s body earlier.
“It’s a poison that puts people in a state of temporary death. Someone has confirmed that you are dead.”
“Put into a state of temporary death …… t-there’s no way it’s possible……”
“You want to try it again? I wouldn’t recommend it because it’s toxic to your body in its own way.”
“……”
The guy still looked incredulous when I told him.
“Rather, look around yourself.”
“What’s …… around my body ……? It’s like burnt skin.”
The man picked up something on the bed that looked literally like charred skin.
The skin had a human shape around the body as if the man had shed his skin.
“You were cremated once. I managed to get my hands in it, and it only burned one layer of skin.”
The numbing and temporary death poisons used on the man were from Apophis, and the one used at the cremation was controlled by Bahamut.
The Bahamut possession made the fire ineffective, and the skin burned by the Armor Ring on top of it cheated the subsequent confirmation.
There are grades of cremation.
In a cremation like that of an unrelated person, they are appropriately burned and disposed of properly.
Only when there is someone who will take care of the body is it burned to ashes.
“A-amazing …….”
The man looked at me as if his eyelids were about to split open as he said this.
“I didn’t know you could do that. ……”
“……”
“Who the hell …… are you?”
“More importantly, here.”
I tossed the leather bag to the guy.
It was a bag containing 100 reens worth of silver coins.
“W-What’s this?”
“Just for the time being, you’ll have to go away until this matter is settled. Otherwise, your family will be in trouble, right?”
“……, but…”
“Don’t worry about it, just leave.”
“……”
The man hesitated, still holding the bag of silver coins in his hand.
He hesitated for a moment, then looked up as if he had made up his mind and opened his mouth.
“I was made to do—“
“No.”
“—-eh?”
“Don’t say anything.”
“But…”
“If I get information from you, there’s a chance they’ll find out you’re the source. And if that happens, your family will be in danger.”
“……”
“It’s not just about your life. You tried to tell me something. That fact alone is enough.”
The man looked at me with gritted teeth but impressed eyes.
“T-Then… Just one thing.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s about their next move. They always try to bribe someone close to the person they are dealing with.”
“I see. That’s enough information for you to share.”
“I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
“I told him not to worry about it.”
The man bit his lower lip more and more and looked frustrated.
He must be a righteous man by nature.[TN: …….]
If it weren’t for encounters like this, I would have taken him in and made him my subordinate.
Knock-knock, there was a knock at the door.
The man was startled.
“Come in.”
By the presence, I already know it’s Zoe.
Zoe entered, having done her job.
“Master.”
“Hmm, what is it?”
“Here …….”
Zoe turned to me and held out a leather bag.
“What is it?”
“Looks like gold about 3,000 reens.”
“3000 huh.”
“With this, I am to tell them about Master’s identity and any future updates I may have.”
“That was quick.”
I giggled.
Meanwhile, the guy who saw the exchange between me and Zoe was astonished.
“Eh …… you weren’t bought ……? Even with 3000 reens ……?”
I chuckled and smiled.
It was nostalgic, I thought.
It was nearly ten years ago.
The people who tried to assassinate me tried to bribe Zoe, but instead, she let me know about it and offered me the money as she got it.
It was the exact same scene as now, and I felt nostalgic.
“When I get back, you can have 30,000. Keep the 3,000.”[TN: Dang Zoe, you are already richer than most of the population]
“Thank you very much.”
This exchange is exactly the same as last time.
“3-30,000 ……! Wh-What do you ……?”
The man was still astonished and did not come back.
Chapter 82: Failed Acquisition
“Zoe.”
“Yes.”
“Take the beggar to safety. He’s just exhausted over there, so let him rest and get some good food.”
“I understand.”
Zoe nodded, helped the fallen beggar up, propped him up, and walked out of the alleyway.
And there was only me, Kate, and the remaining assassin guy.
Immediately after, a throwing knife stabbed the slumped man in the back with a thud.
“Aaah!”
Kate screamed.
“M-Master! The knife!”
“Yeah.”
“…… Eh?”
Kate, on the contrary, became calm since I was calm.
“You’re …… not surprised?”
“I expected the other party to keep an insurance policy. That’s how you shut their mouths. That one would probably be closer to the ringleaders, so I let it happen.”
“Really!?”
“Yeah.”
I nod and start walking.
It took me less than a minute to reach the direction from which the throwing knife had come.
I find a man lying further down the alleyway.
He was dressed in black, with only his eyes showing.
He was shaking and struggling to getaway.
“See”
“Was this Master’s doing?”
“Yeah, the moment the knife flew in, I figured out its firing point and took the guy down.”
“Amazing, Master! How did you do it? It looked like you didn’t do anything.”
“I’ll tell you later.”
I said this and approached the man in black.
The man tried to turn around, but his body was so paralyzed that he could not even turn his head.
I kicked him lightly and turned him from face down to face up.
“Talk now, who ordered you to do this?”
“K-Kill me…….”
“Speak now and I won’t make it worse.”
“…….”
The man did not answer, instead, his larynx moved.
He seemed to swallow something.
The man closed his eyes.
I didn’t do anything and waited for a while.
Nothing happened.
Since nothing happened, the man opened his eyes again and looked at me with astonishment.[TN: Apophis can control poison so it didn’t work, for those who forgot or didn’t know.]
“W-Why ……?”
“I let you go this far, there’s no way I wouldn’t have expected you to commit suicide if you failed. I dealt with it.”
“Wa–“
“Master is amazing……”
“You won’t get to harm yourself. Now, talk.”
“……”
“What’s wrong, you don’t want to talk?”
“Kill me. …… kill me, please.”
“Hmm?”
I creased my eyebrows and tilted my head.
I didn’t expect this reaction.
Kill me! I did expect it would pop up but, kill me, please! It wasn’t something I had anticipated at all.
When I looked at the person’s face, there was a pleading look there, just as said.
“What do you mean? pleading to kill you?”
“If I fail, I must die swiftly or my family …… my daughter!”
“…… I see.”
I get the story.
It was a story that was so easy to figure out that it made me nauseous.
They took this person’s daughter hostage, and there was nothing he could do to stop them.
Moreover, if they fail, they have to commit suicide, with no choice for them.
” ……Fuuu”
Sighing, I waved my hand.
A purple liquid oozed out of my bracelet and shot out like an arrow.
The poison arrow struck the man’s body in a straight line.
“Tha-nk-you…….”
With white eyes and foaming from his mouth, he said this before he collapsed with his last ounce of strength.
Kate, on the other hand, saw this and looked somewhere between surprised and frightened.
‘”I-Is he dead?”
“If you check, you’ll understand.”
Kate nodded and fearfully went over to the lying man, putting her hands on his neck and the tip of his nose.
“He’s dead. ……”
She muttered.
☆
“Um, hmm ……”
The man woke up on his bed, in a room with the windows closed, moaning.
“You’re conscious huh”
“Eh …… th-this place!”
The man jumped up and looked around the room.
“Rest assured, it’s not the afterlife.”
“You–I’m …… alive!”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you killed me!?”
He shouted at me as if he was about to grab me.
“Don’t worry about that either, you’re properly pronounced dead.”
“Eh?”
I held out my hand and extended my index finger.
A drop of purple liquid dripped from my fingertip onto the floor.
It was the poison I had injected into the man’s body earlier.
“It’s a poison that puts people in a state of temporary death. Someone has confirmed that you are dead.”
“Put into a state of temporary death …… t-there’s no way it’s possible……”
“You want to try it again? I wouldn’t recommend it because it’s toxic to your body in its own way.”
“……”
The guy still looked incredulous when I told him.
“Rather, look around yourself.”
“What’s …… around my body ……? It’s like burnt skin.”
The man picked up something on the bed that looked literally like charred skin.
The skin had a human shape around the body as if the man had shed his skin.
“You were cremated once. I managed to get my hands in it, and it only burned one layer of skin.”
The numbing and temporary death poisons used on the man were from Apophis, and the one used at the cremation was controlled by Bahamut.
The Bahamut possession made the fire ineffective, and the skin burned by the Armor Ring on top of it cheated the subsequent confirmation.
There are grades of cremation.
In a cremation like that of an unrelated person, they are appropriately burned and disposed of properly.
Only when there is someone who will take care of the body is it burned to ashes.
“A-amazing …….”
The man looked at me as if his eyelids were about to split open as he said this.
“I didn’t know you could do that. ……”
“……”
“Who the hell …… are you?”
“More importantly, here.”
I tossed the leather bag to the guy.
It was a bag containing 100 reens worth of silver coins.
“W-What’s this?”
“Just for the time being, you’ll have to go away until this matter is settled. Otherwise, your family will be in trouble, right?”
“……, but…”
“Don’t worry about it, just leave.”
“……”
The man hesitated, still holding the bag of silver coins in his hand.
He hesitated for a moment, then looked up as if he had made up his mind and opened his mouth.
“I was made to do—“
“No.”
“—-eh?”
“Don’t say anything.”
“But…”
“If I get information from you, there’s a chance they’ll find out you’re the source. And if that happens, your family will be in danger.”
“……”
“It’s not just about your life. You tried to tell me something. That fact alone is enough.”
The man looked at me with gritted teeth but impressed eyes.
“T-Then… Just one thing.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s about their next move. They always try to bribe someone close to the person they are dealing with.”
“I see. That’s enough information for you to share.”
“I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
“I told him not to worry about it.”
The man bit his lower lip more and more and looked frustrated.
He must be a righteous man by nature.[TN: …….]
If it weren’t for encounters like this, I would have taken him in and made him my subordinate.
Knock-knock, there was a knock at the door.
The man was startled.
“Come in.”
By the presence, I already know it’s Zoe.
Zoe entered, having done her job.
“Master.”
“Hmm, what is it?”
“Here …….”
Zoe turned to me and held out a leather bag.
“What is it?”
“Looks like gold about 3,000 reens.”
“3000 huh.”
“With this, I am to tell them about Master’s identity and any future updates I may have.”
“That was quick.”
I giggled.
Meanwhile, the guy who saw the exchange between me and Zoe was astonished.
“Eh …… you weren’t bought ……? Even with 3000 reens ……?”
I chuckled and smiled.
It was nostalgic, I thought.
It was nearly ten years ago.
The people who tried to assassinate me tried to bribe Zoe, but instead, she let me know about it and offered me the money as she got it.
It was the exact same scene as now, and I felt nostalgic.
“When I get back, you can have 30,000. Keep the 3,000.”[TN: Dang Zoe, you are already richer than most of the population]
“Thank you very much.”
This exchange is exactly the same as last time.
“3-30,000 ……! Wh-What do you ……?”
The man was still astonished and did not come back.
