The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 358

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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 358

“Please spare us! I’ll do anything! I beg you!”

Palen wrung her hands desperately, her voice breaking with desperation.

“I’ll be your servant! Your slave! Just let me stay by your side!”

Mark Goeten pressed his forehead to the ground, his voice trembling with urgency.

-Hmm….

Wrath scratched his chin thoughtfully, his expression contemplative.

-I don’t understand what you did to these two. What exactly happened?
‘I didn’t do anything except hit them yesterday.’

Palen hadn’t even been beaten—she’d simply lost consciousness on her own.

I furrowed my brow slightly as I observed Palen and Mark Goeten kneeling and pleading before me.

-But why are they acting like this?
‘I have no idea.’
-Are they trying to lower your guard so they can strike?
‘That’s possible, but the likelihood is low.’

From what I’d observed of Palen so far, she was a woman whose pride exceeded her abilities. Even if she were plotting against me, she wouldn’t be the type to kneel and beg.

‘And….’

I narrowed my eyes as I studied Palen’s face more carefully.

‘That’s the face of someone consumed by terror.’

She must have experienced something terrifying after regaining consciousness. There was no other way she could wear such an expression.

“Both of you, come inside.”

I stopped in my tracks and turned back to re-enter the room.

“Th-thank you!”
“Thank you!”

Palen and Mark Goeten crawled into the room on their knees, bowing deeply.

“Sigh…”

I exhaled softly, closed the door, and settled onto the edge of the bed.

“Please, stand up and sit in a chair.”

I pulled out chairs and gestured for them to sit.

“N-no, we’re fine.”
“This is more comfortable for us.”

Palen and Mark Goeten shook their heads without rising, remaining on their knees.

“What in the…”

I rubbed my temples as I observed the unusual gleam in their eyes.

‘I don’t understand this.’
-You’re not the only one who doesn’t understand.
‘What do you mean?’
-Why are you suddenly speaking so formally? Yesterday you were spitting out casual speech left and right.

Wrath scowled, his consciousness manifesting before me.

‘They’re being respectful, so I’m returning the courtesy.’
-So you’re using formal speech because they are? But you used casual speech yesterday?
‘Yes.’
-From the True Demon King’s perspective, you’re not exactly normal either. You’re tilted about forty-five degrees off center.

He drifted through the air like cigarette smoke, lamenting how difficult it was to understand humans.

‘Even people struggle to understand each other, so it’s only natural.’

I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them to observe Mark Goeten. Within those eyes that had been filled with emptiness and despair, a small and subtle glimmer of light now dwelled.

‘This will be easier to discuss.’

It seemed better to speak with Mark Goeten first rather than with Palen, who was crushed beneath the weight of fear.

“Mark Goeten.”
“Yes!”
“What do you mean by asking to be taken as a servant?”
“Exactly what I said.”

Mark Goeten struck his left chest where his heart lay with his fist.

“I wish to follow you even as a servant! Please accept me as your lord!”

His voice carried a strength that made it hard to believe this was the same person I had seen yesterday.

“Why are you suddenly saying this?”

I exhaled a short sigh and rested my arm on my knee. The absurdity of it drained the strength from my body.

“If you’re trying to stand behind me for revenge, you’ve come to the wrong person. I don’t trust you.”
“That’s not it.”
“Then is it because I belong to Zigheart….”
“That’s not it either! When I woke up, I didn’t even know you were Raon Zigheart.”

Mark Goeten shook his head vehemently.

“When I regained consciousness, the pain in my heart was worse than the blow to my jaw or the wounds from the blade. The words you spoke before striking my jaw became an awl, piercing through my chest.”

He struck his left chest once more.

“You were right, Raon. When I was young, I grew intoxicated by my talent and neglected effort. As I aged, I convinced myself it was already too late, so I postponed the training I should have done and only pursued the training I wanted.”

Mark Goeten pressed his clenched fist against the ground.

“I told myself I was working hard, that I was doing my best, and I wielded my blade with that self-deception. But within it, there was no foundation, no technique, no will.”
“Mm….”

He continued speaking, his face flushed with embarrassment.

“Thanks to you, Raon, I’ve finally come to my senses, however late. If you’ll have me, I’ll become your slave. I want to assist you and seize this final opportunity.”

He finished speaking and drove his forehead into the floor with such force that the room echoed.

‘He seems sincere…’

I rubbed the back of my neck and gave Wrath a meaningful look.

‘What’s your assessment?’
-His pupils, which were twisted like those of a drug addict, have straightened out completely like pressed fabric. That suggests sincerity.
‘What if he’s been brainwashed?’
-Such brainwashing in a single day is impossible. There’s no lingering scent of magic either. But I can’t be certain. He could have used an artifact.

As Wrath said, he seemed sincere, but I couldn’t be certain.
It was a good opportunity to gain a Lower Master as a subordinate, but the risk of unforeseen consequences meant I couldn’t make a hasty decision.

“I understand why you’ve come, but I can’t trust you unconditionally.”
“I understand.”

Mark Goeten lowered his head. He seemed like a completely different person from the one I’d seen yesterday—so transformed that it actually made him harder to trust.

“I’ll think it over. You should leave.”
“Very well.”

Mark Goeten nodded and headed toward the door, crawling on his knees as he had when entering.

“Just walk!”
“Yes!”

Only after telling him to walk did he get to his feet and leave the room.

“Sigh…”

I shook my head and looked at Palen. She was still biting her dry lips as if gripped by fear.

“Palen Sepia. Why have you come?”
“I… I came to beg your forgiveness.”
“Forgiveness for what?”
“For acting so arrogantly and disrespectfully yesterday, not knowing my place… and…”

Palen’s words trailed off as she swallowed hard. Her eyes trembled violently, suggesting she was wrestling with something, but ultimately her lips parted once more. It seemed she couldn’t overcome the terror gripping her.

“F-for attempting to have you assassinated…”
“Assassinated?”

My jaw clenched involuntarily.

‘What?’

What was she thinking?

I had anticipated that Palen might hire an assassination group, but I never imagined she would actually confess to attempting my murder. Bringing up assassination was tantamount to laying bare all her secrets.

“You tried to assassinate me?”
“Y-yes…”

Palen lowered her gaze and nodded, tears pooling in her eyes.

“Why would you reveal that? If you’d kept it hidden, I would never have known.”
“B-because I don’t want to die.”
“You don’t want to die?”
“No. If I don’t confess everything to you, I’ll die. Or rather, something worse than death will come…”
“Who’s going to kill you?”
“S-someone with a crimson cross in their eyes… w-who was it?”

Palen’s vacant gaze drifted upward into empty space.

‘Who was that?’

The terror and agony were so overwhelming I wanted to bite my own tongue and die, yet all I could remember was the crimson cross etched in those eyes.
An unbearable chill ran through my entire body, every hair standing on end.

But one thing was certain.
What I experienced throughout the night was no dream. If I didn’t confess everything to Raon and seek his forgiveness, I might be condemned to feel that terror and agony for the rest of my life.

“T-That’s not the point! Please! Please forgive me!”

Palen didn’t seem to care as she begged for forgiveness again, pressing her forehead to the ground and wringing her hands desperately.

“Hmm….”

I tilted my chin slightly as I observed Palen.

-There’s a scent.
‘Indeed.’

Unlike Mark Goeten, who seemed to have reached his realization on his own, there appeared to be external interference in Palen’s case.

‘Two possibilities, then….’

There were two places suspected of orchestrating this affair.
Either the assassination organization had pressured her in reverse when she tried to place the contract, or… the second possibility was one I honestly didn’t want to imagine.

“Where were you planning to place the assassination contract?”
“I-It was a place called Black Death.”
“Black Death….”

My eyes hardened upon hearing the name.

‘This name appears here?’

Black Death was one of the external names used by Shadow, the assassination organization that Derus had cultivated in the shadows.

‘That rat bastard.’

So he was trying to meddle here as well.

It seemed Derus had also been positioning himself in the succession struggle of the Sepia Trading Company.
After Yonan and the Northern Region, now Sepia. That vermin was extending his reach across the entire Continent.

“Ah, the contract probably hasn’t been submitted yet! He only told me to confirm the connection. I can cancel it right away….”
“No.”

I shook my head slowly, cutting off Palen’s words.

“Execute that request.”
“Yes. Yes?”

Palen Sepia’s eyes widened in shock as she lifted her head, her pupils dilating as if they might burst from their sockets.

“You were planning to assassinate Dorian and the other brothers as well, weren’t you?”
“That is….”
“Cancel the rest. Leave only me and Dorian.”
“Why on earth would you do such a thing….”
“You don’t need to know.”

I rose to my feet and approached Palen Sepia, grasping her chin and meeting her gaze directly.

“You said you’d do anything, didn’t you?”
“Ah….”

Palen Sepia’s lips trembled. The moment she beheld my eyes burning crimson brighter than the sun itself, the terror that had crushed her the previous night surged back to life.
No—a deeper darkness seemed to press down upon her entire being, and cold sweat cascaded down her skin in waves.

“I look forward to it.”
“Yes….”

Those words, as binding as a slave’s collar, left her with nothing but the ability to nod in compliance.

*

*

*

After sending the terrified Palen Sepia away, I made my way to the Training Ground where I had sparred the day before. Since it was breakfast time, no one was present.

-No, the True Demon King doesn’t want to go! Go alone!

Wrath, having discerned whom I was about to meet, clung to the Training Ground door and whimpered in protest.

‘I don’t want to go either, but there’s no choice.’

To fully understand what was happening, I had to meet with that person.

Raon went beneath the tree where he had sensed a faint presence yesterday and unfurled his aura barrier. After sealing it to prevent sound from escaping, he lifted his gaze.

“You’re here?”
“Yep!”

A flying squirrel burst forth from a branch obscured by leaves, accompanied by a voice so bright it rang with crystalline clarity.

-Kyaaaagh!

Wrath let out a piercing shriek upon seeing Merlin in her flying squirrel form.

-The Mad Woman! It was the Mad Woman all along!

He trembled, unable to distinguish her from an ordinary animal.

“This was your doing?”
“Yep!”

Her response came with such absurdly cheerful abandon that she made no attempt to hide it.

“Sigh….”

Raon pressed his palm to his forehead and exhaled a long breath.

‘So it was Merlin after all.’

My suspicion had proven correct—the flying squirrel I’d glimpsed yesterday and Palen’s terrified expression today aligned perfectly.

“Don’t worry. I controlled it so no harm would come to you. No one will ever know I was involved, no matter what happens.”

Merlin fidgeted with her hands, swaying her body side to side. Now that I listened closely, her voice carried a weariness that hadn’t been there before.

‘Did you not sense Merlin’s presence yesterday?’
-Not at all! If I had, I would’ve woken you immediately and told you to flee!

Wrath cowered behind my shoulder, muttering that she truly was the Mad Woman incarnate.

“How did you get in here?”
“Who would suspect a cute little squirrel?”

Merlin rubbed her head with a soft chuckle, her animal form expressing emotions far too vividly. I noticed it every time.

“I’ll grant you that much, but the Mansion has protective enchantments, doesn’t it?”

The Headquarters building was layered with multiple protective enchantments. They grew even thicker at night, yet I couldn’t fathom how she’d penetrated them.

“I knew you were coming, so I mapped out every path in advance. The larger the building, the more gaps it has.”
“G-gaps….”

I touched my temple with my fingertip. The notion that she’d already charted every route terrified me.

“Even if there are gaps, the protective enchantments….”
“Protective enchantments detect the mana sleeping deep within a target’s body. This child has only the faintest trace of mana, so detection is impossible.”

Merlin continued speaking gently, like a teacher instructing a student.

“Then how did you instill fear in Palen?”

I’d heard from Wrath yesterday about Merlin’s magic, and the question lingered.

“I cast it exactly as I described.”
-Impossible!

Wrath burst over my shoulder, shaking his head frantically.

-You just said the mana was scarce, so how could you use magic at all!

He was right. With scarce mana, she’d evaded detection—yet somehow cast magic. I couldn’t reconcile it.

“You see, right here.”

Merlin pointed to the flying squirrel’s chest.

“Y-you don’t mean….”
“Yes. Life force. I infused all the children I controlled with my own life force, and I used it without reclaiming it. You’re quite interested in my work. Doesn’t that feel nice?”

As her laughter flowed from those words, my fur bristled in horror. My lips trembled as I looked at Wrath.

“-It is possible. Converting lifeforce into mana isn’t exclusive to warriors. But lifeforce is….”
‘It’s her lifespan.’

My heart clenched painfully.
Just as Matio, whom I’d fought before arriving here, could draw out aura using lifeforce, a mage could create highly pure mana from lifeforce.
That mad woman had shaved away her own lifespan to accomplish this.

“Are you actually insane?”

I cried out, gripping my head in my hands.

“Oh my! You’re worried about me?”

Merlin leaped down from the tree. She glided lightly and landed on my trembling hand.

“I’m so happy….”

She touched my fingers with her small flying squirrel hands, her cheeks flushing crimson.

“Don’t worry. For you, I could burn away everything I have.”
“Enough. How much of your lifespan did you burn?”
“Not much. Thanks to you shattering that child’s mental barrier, we took the fortress without bloodshed.”

Merlin waved her hand, saying it was less than a month.

“Don’t do that again. I might need your help, but I won’t allow you to burn your lifespan.”

It wasn’t because I disliked Merlin. It was because I felt that if I continued using her this way, I might become like Derus, who had toyed with my past self.
Even if Merlin had done it of her own will, I didn’t want to do something similar to what Derus had done.

“So you’re thinking of me now.”

Merlin’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled happily.

“If you say it like that, I have to listen. I understand….”

She nodded, a deep smile playing across her face.

“This is driving me crazy.”

I looked up at the sky and let out a sigh.

-This is hopeless. That one’s already gone around twice….

Wrath now seemed to be experiencing fear, peeking out only his trembling eyes.

“What did you do to Mark Goeten?”
“I didn’t do anything to him?”
“What?”
“There wasn’t time.”

Merlin shrugged, insisting she was telling the truth.

‘Then that means….’

She was being genuine.

It seemed she truly wanted to follow me of her own volition.

“Did I help?”

Merlin smiled brightly, her hand resting on her waist.

….

I closed my eyes as I looked at Merlin.

‘She did help.’

I had cut off Palen before she could employ her schemes, and I’d gained an opportunity to reduce Shadow’s forces. It was certainly helpful. But it was absolutely not something that should be done at the cost of one’s own lifespan.

“Yes. But you didn’t need to go this far. Don’t do something like this again.”
“Okay. But….”
“What is it this time?”
“Because you’re worried about me. I got so excited that the connection is starting to break. I think I pushed myself too hard yesterday.”

The flush on Merlin’s face deepened, and her voice began to stutter and break.

“This child has been through quite a lot. So….”
“I knew this was coming. What is it this time?”

I smiled as I looked at the flying squirrel. I had brought various foods in my spatial pouch, so I was confident this time.

“It wants to eat bird eggs and rotten meat.”
“….”
“You heard me? Bird eggs and rotten meat. And it doesn’t like chicken eggs.”
“D-do squirrels really eat things like that?”
“Squirrels are omnivores, and their preferences change with the seasons. So I’m counting on you.”

She left those words behind and vanished. The moisture that had glistened in the squirrel’s eyes disappeared in an instant.

“Squeak!”

The flying squirrel reached out its paws, demanding food quickly.

“Ah, um, uh….”

I checked my spatial pouch. Naturally, there were no eggs or rotten meat inside.

“Q-quite the peculiar taste you have.”
“Squeak!”

The flying squirrel tapped its palms insistently, demanding faster service.

“So, uh….”
“Master Raon!”

As I was pondering what to do, the Training Ground door opened and Dorian entered.

“Father has invited you to dinner this evening! It seems to be about the test you mentioned before….”
“That’s not important right now.”

I shook my head and gestured to Dorian.

“Do you happen to have any bird eggs? Small ones?”
“For that creature?”

Dorian gazed at the flying squirrel resting in his palm and reached into his bag. A moment later, two small, delicate bird eggs emerged in his hand.

“Chirp!”

The flying squirrel bounced excitedly on his palm, delighted.

“Do you perhaps have any rotten meat…?”
“You eat that sort of thing? How peculiar.”

Dorian let out a dry laugh as he watched the flying squirrel.

“You wouldn’t carry something like that around, would you?”

I nodded in agreement. It was only natural. No matter how much space remained, who would carry rotten meat?

“What kind of rotten meat do you need? Beef? Pork? Chicken? I even have duck.”

Dorian pulled out several plastic-wrapped cuts of meat from his bag in succession.

“You… have it?”
“Of course I do. It’s an essential item.”
“Why would that be…?”
-This is driving me insane…

Wrath alternated his gaze between Dorian and the flying squirrel, shaking his head in disbelief.

-Why does he carry rotten meat around!

He clutched his head and let out a cry of exasperation.

-Why are there so many insane people in this era!

*

*

*

I attended the evening banquet that Adis Sepia had invited us to alongside Dorian. Despite arriving twenty minutes before the appointed time, most of the long rectangular table was already occupied.

‘Are these the subordinates of the successor candidates?’

Just as I had followed Dorian, one or two subordinates were positioned beside each of the other successor candidates. Judging by their sharp, intelligent eyes, they all seemed to be skilled individuals.

“The man at the far end is our eldest brother.”

Dorian stepped closer and whispered.

A well-built middle-aged man who appeared to be from the Beast Clan sat in the seat to the right of the head table. With his beard and hair neatly groomed, despite his imposing frame, he didn’t appear dull—instead, he exuded a cold, sharp impression.

‘I naturally know about him.’

Jeseor Sepia.

While Palen and Dialun had not mastered any martial arts or magic, Jeseor was famous not only in merchant circles but also among martial artists. He wasn’t an exceptional genius, but rather an unusual case—someone who had become a master through the application of wealth.

‘He’s consumed every elixir imaginable, or so I’ve heard.’

Adis Sepia’s legitimate wife had raised him with extraordinary care, so Jeseor had consumed every rare elixir available and received martial arts instruction from Master-level experts repeatedly. Because of this, the aura emanating from his body was formidable.

“….”

Jeseor glanced in my direction and turned his head away as if uninterested.

‘Just as Dorian said.’

Unlike Palen and Dialun, who had been troublesome, Jeseor completely ignored my very existence. Seeing how he treated his younger brother who had returned after nine years, it was clear he still didn’t regard me as family.

‘However….’

His power is genuine.

Not only his individual martial prowess, but the forces and capital he possessed were incomparable to the others. He was the highest-ranked and most dangerous contender in the succession competition.

“Ah, welcome.”

Palen rose from her seat and bowed her head. Her expression was distinctly awkward.

“You’ve arrived as expected. We welcome you.”

Dialun bowed his head with eyes as cold as ice, contrary to his words of welcome.

“Ah, hello.”

Dorian stood at the center of the table and bowed.

“….”
“Yes.”
“Mm….”

Jeseor didn’t react at all, Dialun gave a small nod, and Palen’s shoulders trembled.

“Let’s go.”

I took my seat at the end of the table, guided by Dorian.

“Phew….”

Dorian wiped the sweat trickling down his forehead and exhaled a sigh.

“I’m a bit nervous.”
“It’ll be fine.”

I chuckled softly and leaned back against the chair.

-The aroma of the finest dishes is vibrating through the air!

Wrath caught the scent of food wafting from somewhere and stuck his tongue out like a puppy.

-Tell them to bring it quickly! It seems to have everything from land, sea, and sky!
‘It’ll come out on its own. Just be patient.’

As I pressed down on Wrath’s head and forcibly pushed him back into the bracelet, the Dining Hall door swung wide open.

Boom!

Adis Sepia and five merchants following him entered. Despite not having learned martial arts, their presence was so immense it seemed to touch the ceiling.

Thud, thud, thud!

Everyone seated at the table rose and bowed deeply to Adis Sepia.

“We greet the Merchant Guild Master!”
“Thank you for accepting my invitation. Please, be seated.”

Adis Sepia settled into the seat of honor with measured composure and nodded.

“Yes.”
“Thank you!”

The successor candidates and their retainers all took their places.

Clap!

At Adis Sepia’s signal, the Dining Hall doors opened once more, and servants entered bearing steaming dishes that released wisps of fragrant steam.

-Ooh!

Wrath drew a sharp breath and chuckled with delight.

-It seems he intends to dine first before discussing matters!
‘Indeed.’

Judging by how he summoned the food first, it appeared he meant to conduct the meal before broaching the main topic.

-A truly fitting choice for the True Demon King’s subordinate!

Wrath’s eyes gleamed with ravenous desire as he gazed upon the dishes being arranged on the table.

-Begin with the truffle consommé over there. Warm your belly with the delicate broth, then we shall engage in proper combat….
“I shall explain why I summoned you all while the food is being prepared.”

Just as Wrath eagerly began planning the order in which to savor the dishes, Adis Sepia’s calm voice resonated through the Dining Hall.

“I intend to present each of you with a trial.”

At his coolly measured words, the faint murmur that had filled the Dining Hall fell silent.

‘At this moment?’

He had a talent for easing tension only to thrust everyone back into a state of heightened alertness—clearly no ordinary man.

‘How entertaining.’

I gazed at Adis Sepia with eyes gleaming with intrigue.

-Ah….

Wrath hunched his shoulders like a shrimp, unable to tear his gaze from the food.

-B-but the rice is getting cold….

—————
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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