Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Pretending to Be Human: Episode 016

“Of course, perfect loyalty is impossible with my abilities. At best, I can make it so you cannot lie before the Princess and prevent information leaks through suggestion, but….”

“That much is sufficient.”

Still, I felt resistance to having someone other than Ruslara, a descendant of my subordinate, or the kind-hearted Liribel at my side.

Especially when that subordinate was the Assassin who had tried to kill me.

‘If this were when I was Asmodina, I would have killed him without even speaking.’

But now I was human.

It was right to act with the mindset of a human, not a Demon.

‘Even if he betrays me, I can use him as merely an information source without suffering great losses. He doesn’t know my true identity, and humans cannot break the Baban Si’s suggestion anyway. Rather, after taking him as a subordinate, I could slowly persuade him and extract information about whoever is behind this….’

My thoughts grew increasingly complicated.

I crossed my arms and let out a sigh.

“…I apologize, Princess. If I overstepped, please forget what I said….”

“No, Ruslara. Don’t apologize. I know you said it for my sake.”

He deserved praise instead. If it were me, I would have handled it with the sensibilities I had as a Demon.

‘I can think of him as a subordinate I hired like a mercenary for money.’

Though I felt resistance to using people as tools without giving them affection, it was a necessary mindset to survive as a member of the Imperial Family.

‘If he can even deceive the Empress, he’ll certainly be useful.’

Having made my decision, I asked Ruslara a question.

“But Ruslara, you know there are conditions to your ability, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

Baban Si’s abilities were formidable, yet there existed a reason why the Demon Realm dismissed her as a feeble fairy.

To activate her power, she had to engage in a fair duel and shatter her opponent’s will to fight.

The conditions of the duel mattered little, but it was crucial that her opponent truly felt defeated.

In the Demon Realm, where combat was the very fabric of existence, this was an arduous condition for Baban Si, whose battle prowess was lacking.

‘If anything, it’s closer to seduction than brainwashing.’

“If you lose, this request becomes void. And if things grow truly dangerous, I’ll intervene.”

“Of course. Should that happen, I will trouble the Princess no further.”

‘That’s not what I meant at all.’

What did it matter if she lost to the Assassin? She could simply train harder and grow stronger afterward.

Yet the grim determination I sensed from Ruslara was remarkable. It seemed wrong to interfere, so I stepped back.

“You there, Assassin.”

“What?”

“I’ll hear out your request. But there are conditions.”

Hope kindled in the Intruder’s eyes—a glimmer of survival.

“Name them!”

“First, you will engage in the duel with genuine intent. Second, if you lose, you will accept your fate without complaint.”

“That’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“Third, if you lose, you will divulge every piece of information you possess.”

“….”

The Intruder clamped his mouth shut, his eyes burning with the resolve to remain silent even unto death. I added reassuringly that he need not worry.

“I’m not asking you to reveal information about your client. I mean information about you—your name, age, things like that.”

“…Why would that be necessary?”

“I don’t like working with someone whose name I don’t even know.”

Of course, it was a lie.

This was my method of getting Ruslara to lower her guard, to open her heart so she could better harness her abilities.

The Intruder pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement.

‘He guards his client’s information like it’s worth more than his life, yet he reveals his own so readily.’

That was something I could respect.

Even an Assassin has his own professional code of ethics, it seems.

“Then prepare yourself. We’ll begin immediately.”

“Understood.”

I positioned myself at a distance to observe the duel. Just before it began, I spoke to Ruslara.

“Ruslara, one final piece of advice. Don’t forget the difference between a swordmaster and an Assassin.”

“I understand.”

She seemed not to grasp my meaning, but she nodded, committing my words to memory nonetheless.

The two of them faced each other, gripping their respective weapons.

Naturally, both blades were real steel. The Intruder wielded his own weapon, while Ruslara held the Soldier’s sword I had procured for her earlier.

“Well then—”

I raised my hand and called out.

“Begin.”

Their blades clashed simultaneously.

* * *

Ruslara struggled to parry the Intruder’s relentless barrage of strikes, her mind racing with grim calculations.

‘This Assassin is far more formidable than I anticipated.’

Deina had claimed the gap in their abilities was negligible. Yet as Ruslara fought, she recognized this as a kind lie meant to bolster her confidence.

The chasm between her and the Intruder was truly immeasurable.

“Ugh…!”

“Weak! And you dare call yourself a swordmaster?”

The Intruder taunted her mockingly as she was driven steadily backward.

He was formidable enough that it would take two of her to match him. Her only advantage lay in the superior strength granted by her demonic power.

Though she lagged in speed, whenever their blades met, she could prevent serious injury through sheer force.

Yet at this rate, her defeat was inevitable.

As she desperately sought a path to victory, Ruslara’s gaze caught the Princess in her peripheral vision.

Deina’s eyes held absolute certainty—unwavering faith in her triumph.

‘The Princess believes in me.’

When was the last time anyone had placed such trust in her?

Among the Baobhan sith, Ruslara had always been the weakest. Born in the Human Realm rather than the Demon Realm, her ancestors were formidable warriors hardened by ancient conflicts.

So when humans seized the Abandoned Mine, her family had spoken these words to her.

‘Go. You are the most human among us. Alone, you could survive even beneath the sun.’

It was a tender banishment—an exhortation to abandon her Baobhan sith heritage and forge her own path. Yet for Ruslara, it had been nothing but a wound.

As if she already knew she would fail, her family had never placed even the slightest hope in her.

‘I know. It’s because I was weak.’

But I wanted to hear words of belief.

That you alone believed in me. That I could do it if it were you.

I wanted someone to push me forward.

When I left the Abandoned Mine, my family had even recommended I flee. They suggested it would be better to abandon my name and my race, to live as a citizen of the Empire in the Capital.

They were people who had sacrificed their lives for their race’s freedom, yet they only urged flight upon their weak child.

Ruslara resented that.

I regretted being the one who forced my family to speak such words.

‘So this time… I have to live up to their expectations.’

To shed this cynical despair and be recognized as a true Baobhan sith, I had to defeat the Assassin before me.

‘The Baobhan sith I know don’t give up. They don’t bow their heads to enemies trying to drive them out. They are magnificent warriors.’

So I wouldn’t disappoint Deina, who had pulled me from the abyss of despair.

So I could change myself, one step at a time, beyond this history of defeat.

“Haaah!”

“Ugh…!”

Ruslara’s strength grew steadily stronger. I was beginning to grow accustomed to wielding power through demonic energy.

The Intruder, startled by the sudden shift in momentum, took a step back.

“This… this can’t be!”

But the Intruder was not one to simply endure. Just as Ruslara had compelling reasons to win, the Intruder had reasons he must become Deina’s subordinate.

‘Being at the side of that Imperial Family member would surely elevate Black Hand’s standing.’

Of course, life itself was precious, but the organization’s revival was an equally vital mission.

Black Hand was an organization that had once perished in the distant past, only to be barely resurrected.

Because of this, unlike other assassins and intelligence organizations, it possessed only reputation while remaining small in scale and negligible in power.

Unlike the boasts I had made to Deina, without the Intruder, even the future seemed uncertain.

The contracts we received were the type where the risks far outweighed the rewards. If things continued this way, Black Hand would inevitably fade into history once more.

That was why he needed a wise master.

A ruler with charisma, formidable strength, and the ability to govern Black Hand efficiently.

‘If someone was meant to die, I should have thought of myself as being on the battlefield from that moment on.’

The moment the Intruder saw her eyes and witnessed her pronounce death like a battlefield commander, he became certain.

‘The other Imperial Family members are worthless, but this Princess is different.’

Deina would become someone who stirred up storms.

And he was certain that only by standing at her side could he ride this tempest.

‘My instincts have never been wrong!’

So he had to win this duel. To prove his usefulness to Deina, to shed the stigma of a disreputable profession, and to rebuild Black Hand.

“This is the end!”

Dozens, hundreds of exchanges. It was the Intruder who found composure in the final moment.

As Ruslara created an opening by driving his sword down too forcefully in a moment of carelessness, the Intruder pulled his arm back to swing his blade.

The Intruder’s sword was shorter than Ruslara’s. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have reached—but…

‘Because my specialty isn’t swordsmanship!’

The Intruder didn’t swing his blade—he hurled it toward Ruslara.

His true mastery lay in throwing. The same lethal precision he’d aimed at Deina now unfurled toward Ruslara.

Ruslara instinctively knew his sword couldn’t parry this attack.

In that moment.

‘One final lesson: never forget the difference between a swordmaster and an Assassin.’

A swordmaster who refuses to abandon his blade.

An Assassin accustomed to throwing his weapons.

‘Of course—she is my Deity.’

Deina’s counsel flashed through my mind.

For those diligent enough to heed wisdom, opportunity inevitably arrives.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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