The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 336

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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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Chapter 336

Behind the thick gray Castle Wall, buildings rose like Spires into the sky.
Sturdy fortifications and towering yet refined structures—this was Camelrun, one of the Continent’s most prominent commercial cities, where over ten thousand people passed through daily.

Raon and Dorian sat mounted on their horses, gazing at Camelrun’s Castle Wall just as they had five years ago when they first visited.

“This is already our fourth time here. We’ve come quite often.”

Dorian, whose hair was dyed brown, smacked his lips.

“Indeed.”

I nodded, having changed both my hair and eye color to black.

Since we were known to be returning to Zigheart, we had altered our hair and eye color to deceive others, and wore plain windbreakers like ordinary travelers.

“Let’s go.”

I gestured to Dorian with my chin and urged my horse toward Camelrun.

“I don’t mind restocking supplies here, but why are we going to Camelrun?”
“Sightseeing.”
“S-sightseeing?”
“Yeah. Let’s relax a bit.”
“Uh, well…”

I tapped Dorian’s bewildered shoulder and handed forged identification to the gate guard.

-Sightseeing, my foot!

Wrath settled onto my shoulder, his nose wrinkling.

-A dark-hearted wretch like you wouldn’t just come here for nothing. You must have some hidden agenda. That weakling harbors far too many secrets.
‘Hmm, I was hoping to eat plenty of delicious food today…’
-You’re really serious about this?
‘Yeah.’

I chuckled softly as I watched Wrath spring to his feet with reflexive speed.

‘If you’re going to enjoy it.’

I nodded and stepped into Camelrun.

“Welcome! Our fruits are especially fresh today!”
“You idiot! That should go over here!”
“Give me a discount. Why are you like this with a fellow competitor?”
“At that price, there’s no profit left!”

Camelrun was always vibrant. The energy of the people was so palpable against my skin that I immediately wanted to draw my blade and begin training.

“Aren’t you going?”

Dorian, who had passed through the checkpoint and entered, tilted his head in confusion.

“Just a moment.”

Unlike my previous visits, I didn’t move immediately. I surveyed my surroundings with the bewildered expression of someone arriving in Camelrun for the first time.

About thirty seconds into my observation, I heard small footsteps approaching from beside me.

“Hello there.”
“Hmm?”

At the bright voice, I glanced over to see a girl with blue hair tied back like a ponytail bowing her head respectfully.

“Is this your first time visiting Camelrun?”
“Yes.”

I nodded curtly at the girl.

“Then would you like me to guide you around the city? Our Blue Cloud specializes in providing professional guidance to travelers.”

The girl pointed to the cloud-embroidered vest she was wearing.

“For just one silver coin, I can show you all the best restaurants, sights, and landmarks of Camelrun!”
“What’s your name?”

I met the child’s clear eyes and opened my mouth.

“It’s Fine.”

The child smiled brightly and tilted her head slightly.

“Give it a try.”
“Thank you!”

Fine smiled and raised her hand.

“So where would you like to go first? There’s a festival happening right now, so it’d be best to start there!”
“A festival….”
-Festivals mean food! Food means festivals, doesn’t it!

Wrath tugged at my sleeve, insisting we go to the festival first.

“Fine then. Let’s start with the festival.”
“Yes! This way, please!”

As I nodded, Fine answered brightly and immediately set off.

‘She reminds me of Yua.’

Her clear voice and cheerful gait were just like Yua when she worked at the tavern.

“Um, um….”

As I followed behind Fine, Dorian approached from the side.

“This isn’t our first time here. It’s our fourth visit, so why….”

He whispered quietly, as if asking what I was thinking.

“That child has to eat and live too.”

I pointed to the blue cloud pattern on Fine’s back.

“That mark is a sign that orphans are earning money by working for themselves.”
“Ah! I, I didn’t know that.”

Dorian scratched his cheek with an embarrassed expression.

“Besides, it’s nice to have a guide when you’re sightseeing, right?”
“That’s true!”

Perhaps because he was doing a good deed, Dorian nodded with a cheerful laugh.

-Such work….

Wrath’s lips twisted as he looked at Fine.

-Give that child double the money later! Working at such a young age—isn’t that admirable!
‘Sigh….’

I exhaled softly. I couldn’t understand why the Demon King was so soft-hearted.

As I walked while conversing with Dorian and Wrath, the festival grounds soon came into view.

“Here it is!”

Fine pointed toward the festival venue with her hand raised. Nearly four entire blocks were being used as festival space.

“It’s much bigger than I expected!”

Dorian’s jaw dropped.

“It’s the city’s founding day festival! There are lots of people, lots of events, and lots of food!”

Fine laughed while waving her hands up and down excitedly. It was the innocent smile only that age could display.

“I see.”

Dorian smiled as he gently patted Fine’s head.

-From the left comes the aroma of grilled chicken skewers—both salted and sauced! From the right, the fragrance of roasted whole pork spreads forth! The center! Ice cream in the center!

Wrath identified the enemy’s position in an instant, his senses sweeping across the space to catalog every dish and its location, his tongue flicking out eagerly. To perceive both the variety and placement of food simultaneously—he surpassed even a hound’s sense of smell.

‘Good grief….’

Wrath, the demon lord of appetite. No matter how I looked at it, that’s all he was.

“Where would you like to start?”
“Hm….”

I exhaled a short sigh while regarding Wrath, then lifted my gaze.

“Let’s begin with the food.”
“Of course!”

Fine smiled brightly and gestured.

“This way!”

*

*

*

Evening descended upon Camelrun.
Though the sky gradually darkened, the festival’s fervent energy kept the city ablaze with light.

“I apologize.”

Fine bowed to the two travelers she had guided throughout the day.

“Our facility can only operate until six o’clock. I’m afraid we must close now.”
“Six o’clock?”

The round-faced man with chestnut hair, who had spoken so warmly, tilted his head in curiosity.

“Yes. Our director believes children must rest well and sleep properly. We cannot operate in the evenings.”
“That’s admirable.”
“Indeed! You have no idea how wonderful he is to us!”

Fine nodded with a bright smile.

“Understood. You worked hard today.”

A tall man with black hair and black eyes handed over the payment. Not one silver coin, but two rested in his palm.

“This is too much. You even bought me dinner today….”
“It’s fine, take it.”

He said he was giving her a little extra because she did her work well.

“Take care.”

The brown-haired man waved with a smile.

“Thank you so much!”

Fine smiled brightly and bowed deeply. She waved enthusiastically at both men before heading toward the exit.

‘Such kind people.’

The two guests, who appeared to be travelers, had been kind to her despite her youth and treated her with courtesy.
Every time she bought food from the street vendors, they purchased one for her, allowing her to fill her belly for the first time in a long while.
They even wrapped up sweets for her to give to a friend, warming her heart.

‘If only all customers were like them….’

Fine left Camelrun thinking of the pleasant events of the day and walked for quite some time.
After about an hour of walking, her steps came to a halt before an orphanage called Cloud House.

“You’re back.”

An elderly man holding a lantern sat in a chair at the entrance of the orphanage. This kind-faced old man with a gentle smile was the Orphanage Director of Cloud House.

“How was your day?”
“It was fun.”

Fine answered brightly, but the moment she stepped inside Cloud House, her eyes went vacant. Her pupils froze in place as if she had become a doll rather than a living person.

“Yes. Yes. You’ve done well.”

As the Orphanage Director patted my back, Fine’s feet trembled slightly as she walked toward the orphanage building.
The cheerful gait she’d displayed in Camelrun vanished, replaced by stiff, jerky movements like a puppet on strings.

‘Ah….’

Fine’s lips quivered.

‘It’s happening again.’

A sensation I felt every day but never grew accustomed to. The feeling of someone else puppeteering my body sent chills down my spine. No—it wasn’t just my body. My very mind was being kneaded and shaped by another’s will.

Fine entered the Orphanage Director’s office against her own volition. When I pressed the button on the right wall, a hole opened beneath the desk, and I descended into it without hesitation.

Beneath the deep staircase lay a vast cavern, where children Fine’s age, dressed in cloud vests, stood in perfect formation. Their faces hung heavy with sorrow, as though tears might spill at any moment.

Before and behind the children stood figures in black robes wearing black masks. The man standing at the rear beckoned to Fine with a finger.

“Agent 45. Come here.”
“Yes.”

Fine answered in a low voice and approached him. Agent 45. Not Fine—Agent 45 was her true name.

Clink.

Agent 45 placed the money earned from guiding travelers today before the man.

“Is there nothing else?”

I retrieved the sweets received from the travelers and laid them out.

Crunch!

The man in black robes crushed the sweets beneath his boot heel and fixed his gaze on Agent 45.

“Report.”
“Black hair, black eyes. Height 187, weight 88, right-handed, swordsman, multiple openings. Brown hair, blue eyes. Height 178, weight 79, right-handed, swordsman, no openings.”

Agent 45 recited the information about the two travelers she had met today without omission. She wasn’t speaking because she wanted to or investigating because she desired to. She was simply reporting what she had observed, as she had been trained to do.

“Can you eliminate them?”

At the man’s question, Agent 45’s head turned naturally toward him.

“If I guide the brown-haired man to Gabriel’s Tavern with its high steps, ambush him from behind before he can react, and sever the black-haired man’s Achilles tendon, I believe they can be eliminated.”

Agent 45 answered after running through a simulation in her mind.

“Well done.”

As the Masked Man nodded, Agent 45 moved to the center and stood with the other children, just like them. Despite having completed her task with joy, her face contorted into an expression of sadness.
It was such a natural expression that anyone observing would immediately recognize she had experienced something sorrowful.

“Number 2.”

When the Masked Man in front called out “Number 2,” all the children who had been crying moments before lifted the corners of their mouths into bright smiles.
It was the same happy smile Agent 45 had consistently displayed while guiding them throughout the day.

Agent 45 swallowed dryly, her laughter unwavering and composed.

‘How much longer must I live like this?’

My only freedom is during the day, yet even then, I cannot escape.
No—the very thought of escape never even occurred to me. Such a choice didn’t exist for me.

‘I want to die…’

Agent 45 smiled as brightly as sunlight while wishing for her own life to end.

*

*

*

Agent 45 entered her room only after dawn, having completed both her expression training and assassination training. The room was tiny, containing only two worn beds.

I was sitting on a creaking bed when the door opened and a red-haired girl entered.

“Agent 86.”

Agent 45 called out softly to the red-haired girl and gestured for her to come closer.

“What is it?”

Agent 86 approached unsteadily, her gait wavering.

Agent 45 placed her hand on her waist without expression and withdrew a pastry—one she had secretly hidden away before the Masked Man could destroy it.

“Eat this.”

She broke the pastry in half and offered it to Agent 86.

“R-really? I can eat it?”
“Of course.”

Agent 45 nodded. Agent 86 accepted the pastry with trembling hands and placed it in her mouth.

“Mm…”

Though the sweet pastry filled her mouth, Agent 86’s expression remained unchanged. The emotional suppression imposed upon her prevented her from smiling properly, even alone.

“Have this too.”
“But…”
“I ate plenty today, so I’m fine.”

Agent 45 offered the remaining half to Agent 86.

“I mean it. Take it.”

Agent 86 and I had shared the same room since arriving here, offering each other solace. Without her, I could never have endured this life.

“Thank you.”

A single tear fell from Agent 86’s vacant, unblinking eyes.

The two children fell asleep clinging to each other.

*

*

*

I stood atop a high hill overlooking the orphanage and smacked my lips.

‘Nothing’s changed.’

Using the Demon Eyes of Perception and Wrath, I confirmed every facility in the underground. The Robert Family was subjecting the children to even more brutal training than twenty years ago.

‘Damn it….’

Cursed Derus Robert.

Just seeing it brought memories of my past life flooding back, my heart clenching tight.

-Those bastards!

Wrath barked at the orphanage, his fury blazing intensely.

-Even in the Demon Realm, we spare young demons! How can they treat such small, weak things like that!
‘That’s why I told you. The real villains are elsewhere.’

I patted Wrath reassuringly while grinding my teeth.

“S-so that’s not really an orphanage, but….”

Dorian bit his lip hard, staring at the orphanage.

“That’s right. It’s a breeding ground for child assassins.”

I couldn’t call it Derus’s facility, so I simply referred to it as an assassin cultivation center.

“Ugh….”

He exhaled roughly. The bright-faced child who had guided me through the festival appeared to be undergoing assassin training—it seemed unbelievable.

“It’s not the child’s will.”
“Then… what do you mean?”
“They brainwash and control them. During the day, they develop their eye for observing people; at night, they teach assassination techniques. It’s a vile and filthy method.”

I smiled with an eerily cold expression.

“B-but how did you know about that, Master?”
-This secretive bastard will never tell you.

Wrath twisted his mouth and furrowed his brow.

“Do you remember when we went with the Heavenly Sword Squad to find the Saint while attending to Encia?”

I sat down on the ground and looked at the orphanage.

“Of course I remember! That’s when you earned the alias Legend Sword Association Master!”

Dorian nodded quickly.

“We captured Themurs back then.”

Themurs was a physician who had been secretly following Derus Robert. After his plan to devour the Yonan Family while pretending to treat Encia failed, he had pursued me and even launched a surprise attack.

“Ah!”
-That’s when it was!
“The information came from that bastard.”

This wasn’t a lie. I had tortured him back then and learned that there was a new cradle of assassins in this place.

‘Now the opportunity has come.’

From the moment I heard that story, I wanted to save the children, but I had endured until now because I couldn’t locate Derus.

‘But now….’

Now I can.

Derus Robert was currently heading toward Valcar with the members of the Robert Family. The distance was considerable, and we couldn’t move recklessly, so now was the time to destroy this place.

“There’s a space connected to the Underground beneath the room on the left side of the Orphanage entrance.”

I pointed to the Orphanage Director’s office, where the stairs leading down to the Underground were located.

“You go down there and protect the children.”
“What about you, Lord Raon?”
“I need to clean up the trash outside.”

Inside, there was someone handling education; outside, there was someone handling protection. Since there was a Master-class fighter on the protection side, I had to deal with them myself.

“Use only swordplay that anyone would know. Don’t expose your identity.”
“Why? It’s a good deed anyway.”

Dorian tilted his head in confusion.

“We’re keeping our identities hidden right now. If we move openly, we might get attacked by another Oma.”
“Ah. That makes sense.”

Dorian nodded while touching his brown hair.

I activated Wrath’s Eyes of Wrath once more and surveyed the Orphanage.

‘There are more children than I expected.’

The number of children was greater than their exceptional emotional control and assassination skills would suggest. From the situation, it seemed they were preparing to conduct “that training” soon.

‘It might even happen tomorrow.’

Once “that training” was complete, Derus Robert’s brainwashing would completely consume the children’s minds. I had to destroy this place before that happened.

“When will you strike?”
“In two days.”

I lowered my gaze.

‘I need to gather information.’

I needed to move with a clear understanding of how many people were in this place, the level of strength they possessed, and what methods could safely protect the children.

‘I also need to confirm Derus Robert’s location.’

Derus Robert was moving toward Valcar. In two days, he would definitely reach Valcar, and then I could strike that place from a position of safety.

“Sigh….”

Dorian exhaled deeply, clearly tense.

“Having to rescue the children from those assassins is making me incredibly nervous.”
“Then go back to the Dormitory and rest.”
“Pardon? But then, Lord….”
“I’ll look around a bit more.”
“I, I’ll stay too.”
“No.”

I smiled faintly and shook my head.

“One person is enough to stay. You going to rest is how you can help.”

I waved my hand dismissively, telling him to go to sleep.

“Please don’t overexert yourself and come back safely.”
“I will.”

Dorian nodded reluctantly and headed back to the Dormitory.

After Dorian left, I continued observing the Orphanage by spreading my Wrath’s Magic Eye and aura sensing.

‘The shifts change every twelve hours, it seems. Just like before.’

It’s a newly established place, but the way it operates hasn’t changed. The patrol times, shift changes, and movements all proceeded as predicted.

‘Everything else is going according to plan. Except….’

What should I do about the children?

It was fortunate that many children survived because that ‘training’ hadn’t been completed, but I had no idea where to send them after I dealt with this place.

‘What should I do about this…’

I couldn’t take them with me.

These children hadn’t been completely brainwashed yet. Since they had bright futures ahead of them, I needed to entrust them to someone I could trust.

‘Someone I can trust, then…’

There were only two such people here.

I made my decision and turned around.

“You’re there, aren’t you?”

I narrowed my eyes and gazed toward the thicket behind the Low Hill.

“Merlin.”
“Yes!”

With a cheerful voice, a pale yellow rabbit the color of the ground bounded out.

“Sigh….”

I covered my eyes and exhaled. I had suspected as much, but she was really there. Even though I had called her myself, goosebumps rose on my skin.

-Ugh….

Wrath’s lips trembled.

-No, surely you’re not planning to entrust the children to that madwoman?
‘That’s not it.’

I shook my head and approached Merlin, whose nose twitched.

“I have a favor to ask.”

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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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