The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 517

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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 517

“The Aris Zigheart?”

Aris Zigheart fixed me with a fierce glare.

“What exactly did you hear about me that made you say ‘the Aris Zigheart’ like that?”

She furrowed her brow and twisted her lips into a sneer—the kind of expression a back alley thug might wear while shaking down a child for their lunch money.

“Well…”

I narrowed my eyes as I studied her face.

‘She really is Mother’s older sister.’

The harmony of her features was remarkably similar.

Though Aris’s features were sharper and more defined than Sylvia’s, the overall atmosphere of her face bore a striking resemblance.
Judging by her appearance—she looked to be in her early thirties—I imagined that without her sun-darkened skin, the resemblance would have been even more striking.

“Hey, answer me.”

Aris stepped close enough that I could feel her breath and waggled her finger. Her crude tone made it sound almost like a threat.

“What did those damned fools in the family say about me?”
“Since I was born, I’ve never met you in person, so I wondered if you were even a real person.”
“Is that so? Nothing else from anyone?”
“Nothing. I’ve only heard that you were once a remarkable person.”

I nodded calmly.

“Those bastards wouldn’t dare open their mouths about me unless they had a death wish.”

Aris Zigheart let out a carefree laugh and brushed her hands together.

‘She’s quite free-spirited.’

Her refreshing demeanor extended far beyond her appearance—her cheerful personality seemed almost incongruous for someone bearing the Zigheart name.

-Huh?

Wrath scratched his chin as he studied Aris Zigheart.

-She’s your mother’s older sister?
‘Not my mother, remember.’
-The temperament is definitely similar though.

He ignored my correction and examined Aris Zigheart’s face from every angle.

-But why is she here?
‘I have no idea either.’

I shook my head slowly and looked back at Aris Zigheart’s face.

“Aris Zigheart.”
“What?”
“Why am I here?”
“I told you. I kidnapped you.”

Aris Zigheart waved her hand dismissively, her expression suggesting she found my repeated question tedious.

“Were you serious about that?”
“Yeah. You were dying in the back alley, so I just brought you along.”
“Ah….”

A low sound escaped me.

‘So it wasn’t a kidnapping—she saved me.’

Now I understood what had happened. It seemed she had discovered me unconscious in the back alley because of Wrath and had treated my wounds.

I bowed my head and thanked Aris Zigheart.

Still, several questions remained unanswered.

“May I ask why you were in the Back Alley at that hour?”
“That’s my doing.”

This time, it wasn’t Aris who stepped forward, but Kuberard.

“I stopped by my old workshop to gather some equipment, and it got late. This one sensed something strange and dragged me along without asking.”

Kuberard let out a hollow laugh, saying he hadn’t expected me to be there.

“I see.”

Hearing that explanation, I understood how we’d crossed paths. Wrath had vanished with a massive surge of mana, and it seemed Aris had sensed it.

‘Nothing strange about that.’

Aris was a swordmaster who had transcended. She would certainly have detected that level of mana disturbance from a considerable distance.

“But why am I here?”
“That’s the third time you’ve asked. I kidnapped you!”
“No, but why—”

Third question or not, I had to ask. If it were just an injury, they could have left me at the Owen Kingdom’s Healing Center, but I couldn’t fathom why they’d put me on a ship.

“I was bored.”

Aris answered casually while cleaning her ear with her pinky finger.

“What…?”

I exhaled in disbelief at the absurdity of it all.

“You were bored?”
“Yes. Bored.”

Deep dimples formed in Aris’s cheeks. She seemed to be enjoying this situation.

“I… ”
“The older she gets, the more childish she becomes. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Kuberard sighed and tossed the two swords he held toward me.

“Ah!”

I caught the two blades and offered a faint smile. The Heavenly Sword and the Soul Reaper Sword. They gleamed from hilt to sheath—clearly maintained with care.

“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”

Kuberard’s nature remained unchanged. He waved his hand dismissively as though it were nothing and leaned his back against the cabin door.

“That woman didn’t bring you here for any special reason. She said you had an injury to your mind that needed urgent treatment.”

At those words, the hole that had formed in my Mental World came to mind. The blue mana that had sealed the breach to prevent it from spreading further resembled Aris’s aura standing before me.

-That is correct.

Wrath nodded as he looked at Aris.

-That woman prevented the hole in your mind from expanding further.
‘Yes. I felt it too.’

I exhaled softly and bowed my head to Aris.

“Thank you, Aris.”
“Is repeating the same words your hobby?”

Aris narrowed her eyes, asking how many times I needed to say thank you before I felt satisfied.

“Besides, I received my payment.”
“Pardon?”
“I ate the food that was where you collapsed. It was all delicious.”

She laughed, remarking that I certainly had good taste in provisions.

-Grrrraaah!

Wrath sprang up and lunged at Aris.

-Damn it all!

His blue eyes swirled wildly, consumed entirely by madness.

-You dared steal all of the True Demon King’s food? I will never forgive you for this!

Wrath gnashed his teeth, swearing he would remember this for ten thousand years.

“If I’d left it, it would have been thrown away. I’m grateful you at least ate it.”

I ignored the flushed Wrath and smiled faintly.

-Grateful? GRATEFUL?! The True Demon King is not grateful, so why are you acting like everything’s fine?!

Wrath furrowed his brows deeply, telling me to stop spouting nonsense.

“Well, there was one thing I didn’t care for. That strange ice cream with chocolate chips on a green background. That one wasn’t very good.”

Aris shook her head, saying the mint chocolate was terrible.

“Exactly. That one was awful.”

I laughed, saying she had excellent taste.

-You ate it for free and now you’re criticizing the True Demon King’s preferences? You’ve truly lost your mind! You’ve abandoned all fear! Manifest me right now! Let me teach this tasteless fool the true flavor of mint chocolate….

Wrath thrashed about, his fury rising to a fever pitch.

‘Hmm….’

I swallowed a groan, my fingertips trembling.

‘This has changed too.’

As I absorbed a massive surge of Wrath’s anger and he threw his tantrum, my heart ached with a strange, bittersweet sensation.
It felt like returning to my childhood, competing with Wrath.

A deep, resonant hum echoed forth.

Only after activating the Ring of Fire did the turbulence in my chest finally subside.

‘Just wait a moment.’

I pushed aside Wrath, who was bursting with indignation, and looked toward Aris Zigheart.

“May I ask just one more question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Is it possible that…”

I gazed at Aris Zigheart on the deck, the sailors going about their duties, and the fluttering sails as I continued.

“Were you the Pirate King, Lady Aris?”

The transcendent power, the slightly adorable skull emblem drawn on the sails, and the appearance of the crew—only one person came to mind.

The Pirate King of the Divine Continent Five Regions. No one else could command such a force. Though I phrased it as a question, I was certain.

“No.”

But Aris Zigheart shook her head with absolute conviction. She raised a finger and pointed to the right.

“The Pirate King is that one.”

I followed her slender finger—as graceful as Sylvia’s—and turned my gaze to the right.
A completely bald head, an eye patch over his left eye, a beard grown down to his neck, and an enormous sword—the middle-aged man who looked every bit the pirate flinched and shuddered his shoulders.

“What?”

My mouth fell open.

‘That man is the Pirate King?’

His appearance certainly fit the part of a pirate king, and his power seemed to be at the threshold of Grand Master rank.
An impressive level, but it was impossible to claim a position among the Divine Continent Five Regions with such power alone.

“That’s the Pirate King. Tell him about yourself.”

Aris Zigheart tossed a candy from her pocket as if to say “do your best,” then climbed into the hammock strung between the masts.

“Well, um….”

I fidgeted with the candy as I averted my gaze.

“I am indeed the Pirate King. It’s a name I was forced to take on, but….”

The man who had become the so-called Pirate King introduced himself carefully.

“My name is Rabawin.”
“Were you perhaps with Zigheart?”

His manner of speech didn’t sound masculine. I wondered if he had come from Zigheart like Aris.

“Yes, I was. I was the commander of the Blue Division under Sungmujeon.”

Sungmujeon was a division that no longer existed—the place where Aris had served as its leader.

“Then please drop the formality. Since I’m your junior….”
“You are Miss Aris’s nephew, are you not? I find this more comfortable.”

Rabawin maintained his respectful tone with a serene smile. He seemed to speak formally even to me out of his deep reverence for Aris. He was a kind person, one who didn’t match the title of Pirate King at all.

“But why did you become the Pirate King, Rabawin?”
“To protect the surrounding regions.”
“The surrounding regions, you say….”
“Even after we sailed the seas dealing with actual pirates and the Nambuk Alliance, small-time troublemakers kept appearing to harass the coastal cities and villages. I’ve been protecting those areas under the name of Pirate King.”
“I see….”

I glanced back and forth between Rabawin and Aris, then smacked my lips.

‘Now it makes sense.’

The first time I heard about the Pirate King was from Judith’s intelligence.
I had thought it strange that there was a man calling himself the Pirate King, but that man was Rabawin. He had spread the name of Pirate King to protect the coastal villages.

‘And Heekyuk Je never referred to the Pirate King as male.’

When Heekyuk Je spoke of the Pirate King, he used neutral terms like “that one” or simply “the Pirate King,” never using masculine or feminine pronouns.

She clearly knew that the true Pirate King wasn’t Rabawin, but Aris Zigheart.

‘So that’s how it all came together.’

Through my conversation with Rabawin, I grasped how the situation had unfolded.
It seemed Aris Zigheart hadn’t stopped at merely driving out the pirates and the Nambuk Alliance—she’d decided to protect the surrounding regions as well.

“Now it makes sense. But why doesn’t Aris Zigheart take the title of Pirate King herself….”
“She said it was too bothersome.”
“Ah, I see.”

I smiled faintly as I watched the gently swaying hammock. Now I was beginning to understand what kind of person Aris Zigheart truly was.

“That must have been difficult for you.”
“I appreciate your understanding. Actually….”

Rabawin sighed and lifted his eye patch. His left eye was perfectly intact in its socket.

“This is all part of the concept. She insisted that a Pirate King must be one-eyed.”
“Hah….”

I exhaled softly and glanced at the gently swaying hammock.

I needed to take back what I’d just thought. I still had no idea what kind of person Aris Zigheart really was.

“What about your hair, then….”
“Ah, that….”

Rabawin didn’t answer.

*

*

*

Sylvia swallowed hard and lifted her gaze. The iron gate of the Audience Chamber loomed so high it made her throat ache. She steadied her breathing as she looked upon that terrifying door, which never failed to quicken her heart whenever she beheld it.

Though she didn’t want to knock on that door, this was no time for such hesitations.

Knock, knock!

After rapping loudly on the door and waiting, it swung open with a heavy creak, and Roen stepped outside.

“Lady Sylvia, I presume.”

He offered a faint smile and bowed his head respectfully.

“I wish to see the Head of House.”

Sylvia returned his greeting and requested an audience.

“Understood.”

Roen opened the door immediately, as if he had already received Glen’s permission.

Sylvia closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and stepped forward.
Sunlight announcing the noon hour streamed through the windows, casting golden radiance that filled the Audience Chamber. She walked through a space that seemed to embody grandeur itself before kneeling.

“I greet the Head of House.”
“Rise.”

Glen commanded her to stand the moment she knelt.

“Yes.”

Sylvia straightened her spine and lifted her gaze. Her eyes trembled slightly, yet they held a quiet confidence as she looked upon Glen seated upon the Jade Throne.
His eyes were as they always were—or were they? Today felt different. A hollowness flickered within his pupils, trembling faintly.

‘What troubles him?’

As she pondered this strangeness, Glen’s lips moved.

“What brings you here?”
“I…”

Sylvia clenched her fists tightly and leaned her upper body forward.

“It’s about Raon. I need to know where he is. Why he hasn’t returned.”
“Didn’t I tell you? He’s receiving treatment in the Owen Kingdom with the other members of the Gwangpung Corps.”
“I’m not a fool to sit idle in the Family Estate. I know Raon isn’t there.”

Sylvia’s voice wasn’t particularly loud, but it carried a peculiar force behind it.

“Hmm….”

Glen narrowed his eyes and tapped the armrest of the Jade Throne heavily.

“I am that child’s mother. Tell me what state Raon is in now and where he is!”
“He was injured, but he’s fine now. And he’ll return soon.”
“You said that before! What I want is something precise….”
“Aris.”

At the name Aris, Sylvia’s movements ceased.

“That girl took Raon with her.”
“What? What do you mean….”
“The meeting was coincidental, but she treated Raon’s wounds. I received word that it happened today, so he should return before long.”
“I see….”

Sylvia smoothed the tips of her fingers.

‘Sister Aris?’

There was a significant age gap between me and Aris, and since we were both often away on missions, we hadn’t met very frequently. Our relationship was ambiguous—neither dismissive nor close.

Yet whenever we happened to cross paths, she would flick my head once and give me sweet treats like cookies or candy. It felt strange that such a sister had saved Raon.

“She said she’d return him after finishing his treatment, so don’t worry. Yes. It will be fine.”

Glen’s words didn’t seem directed at Sylvia so much as an attempt to convince himself. It appeared he too was concerned about Raon.

“Hmm….”

Sylvia exhaled softly as she watched Glen.

‘Is it really going to be all right?’

*

*

*

I followed Kuberard into his workshop.
Unlike his smithy in the back alley of Camelun Crafting District, this space overflowed with well-worn equipment bearing the marks of countless hands.

“Thank you for maintaining my swords.”

I tapped the scabbards of the Heavenly Sword and Soul Reaper Sword that Kuberard had returned to me and bowed respectfully.

“You’re too courteous. It was nothing much.”

Kuberard waved his hand dismissively, claiming he’d merely wiped away the blood. But the swords told a different story—he’d struck them repeatedly to tune them, performing a full maintenance. Such gratitude was hardly excessive.

“But why are you aboard this ship, Kuberard?”

This wasn’t an ordinary vessel, and it was a pirate ship at that. I couldn’t fathom why a retired Continental Master Craftsman would be here.

“I’m helping that girl with her affairs for a time.”
“That girl—you mean Aris Zigheart?”
“Yes. She pestered me so relentlessly that I had no choice but to come.

Kuberard sighed and collapsed into a weathered chair.

I narrowed my eyes as I surveyed the metal weapons arranged throughout the workshop.

‘No choice, he says…’

Yet despite his words, every weapon in Kuberard’s workshop was a masterpiece.
However, the weapons weren’t sized for human use. Massive harpoons and hooks—the kind meant for colossal monsters—lined the shelves in neat rows.

‘Is he hunting monsters?’

A craftsman of Kuberard’s temperament wouldn’t have been dragged here without purpose. There had to be something more to this.

“How is your body feeling?”

I was about to ask what had happened when Kuberard spoke first.

“Thanks to your concern, I’m doing well.”
“It wasn’t me.”

Kuberard waved his hand dismissively.

“That Aris girl kept fussing over your head every time. For someone so reckless, she showed quite a bit of care.”

He narrowed his brow, remarking that it was strange even for family to show such concern.

“I’m aware.”

I nodded in acknowledgment.

“I should properly express my gratitude to her.”

Thanks to Aris, the scope of the opening I needed to pierce through the Mental World had narrowed considerably. It was a debt I would need to repay for a lifetime.

“Is that so?”

As I pondered how best to repay her, a rough voice echoed from outside the workshop.

CRASH!

The workshop door burst open with violent force, and Aris strode in with her hands planted on her hips.

“Did you really mean that?”
“Pardon?”

I blinked as I looked at Aris.

“You said you’d properly thank me? Then help me with something.”

Aris snapped her fingers, saying there was no room for refusal.

“I’m afraid I have no interest in pirate life, and I have other matters to attend to at the moment….”

I offered a diplomatic refusal.

‘I’d like to help with anything, but there are pressing matters I need to handle first.’

I needed to find out what had happened to the Gwangpung Corps, whether Glen’s battle had ended well, and I had to destroy Derus’s factory where he bred assassins using corpses.

“The Gwangpung Corps members? They’re all safe. I’ve already reported to the Family Estate that you’ve awakened.”

Aris Zigheart smiled as if she knew exactly what I was thinking and continued speaking.

“Besides, this matter will benefit you too.”

Aris Zigheart tapped near her temple with her finger.

“The treatment for your misaligned dantian could accelerate.”
“May I ask what this matter is, then?”

Aris Zigheart nodded with a faint smile.

“We’re going to catch a lizard. A mad young light dragon.”

Her eyes gleamed with an eerie light. At the same moment, Wrath jumped up.

-Dragon roasted whole?

—————
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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