The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 58

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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 58

“Those… those children were hostages held by bandits?”

Burren’s blue eyes bulged as if they might pop from his skull.

“If you rescued hostages, that means you found the bandits! Don’t lie to us!”

Martha thrust her face forward, insisting they speak sense.

The two of them—no, every trainee at the outpost stood frozen in disbelief, their eyes glazed over at the revelation that Raon and Lunan Slion had rescued children from the bandits.

“Believe what you wish.”

Raon chuckled softly and led the children toward the campfire.

“Rest here for now.”

I seated the children before the flames and handed them the dried meat that Sylvia and Helen had prepared.

“Fill your bellies with this.”

“Th-thank you.”

“Thank you.”

As the boy lowered his head, the girl mimicked his gesture with an identical bow.

The two children stared blankly before beginning to chew on the dried meat. Sorrow washed over them, and tears pooled at the corners of their eyes.

“Dorian.”

“Huh? Yes!”

“Do you have a blanket? A clean one?”

“Of course I do.”

“Thank you.”

Dorian retrieved a long green blanket from his satchel and draped it over the shoulders of both children.

“Have some of this too.”

Lunan Slion knelt down to meet the children’s eyes. She pulled the lid of an ice cream box from her bag and offered it to them.

Only two marble ice creams remained—and only her favorite flavor at that—yet her gesture held no hesitation.

“What is this?”

The girl tilted her head curiously.

“It’s ice cream.”

Lunan Slion told her it was cool and delicious, wiped the child’s hand clean, and handed her the ice cream.

“Ouch!”

The Girl touched the ice cream with her tongue and let out a delighted shriek. She began eating the ice cream, her small tongue licking at it like a kitten’s.

“Mmm!”

The Boy took a bite of ice cream and his eyes widened. But rather than continue eating, he handed the remaining ice cream to his younger sister, who was savoring every lick.

I watched the two children and felt a bitter taste on my tongue.

‘He has grown up.’

Whether it was with the bandits or now with the ice cream, the boy who had lost his parents was already a man. He prioritized his sister’s needs before his own desires.

Compared to my past self, who merely followed Derus Robert’s orders, this boy seemed far superior. I gently patted his shoulder.

-Heh, even I was tempted by ice cream’s allure, yet this one resisted it. He will become great. Recruit him. I like him.

Wrath muttered that he wanted the boy as his subordinate.

“Sniff!”

At the sound of sniffling, I lifted my head. Dorian was gazing at the children with tears glistening in his eyes.

“Eat all of this!”

He pulled out all the snacks he usually kept in his belly pouch and stacked them in front of the children. He had a kind heart.

“We’ve rescued the children, but we still need to deal with the remaining bandits. Once they confirm the hostages are freed, they’ll definitely try to escape.”

“Right. Where are those bastards? I’ll snap the necks of every last one of those human garbage.”

As I watched the children eating their sweets, Burren approached with fiery determination in his eyes, and Martha with barely contained rage. They tapped their sword hilts, urging me to lead them to the bandits.

“It’s fine.”

“Fine? We need to finish the mission properly—”

“What’s going on here?”

Just as Burren was about to protest, Rimer and the instructors burst out from the mountain brush. Only three instructors remained out of sight, cleaning up traces of the bandits.

“Where did these children come from?”

He and the instructors tilted their heads as if they knew nothing.

‘As if you didn’t know all along.’

I grimaced slightly. Though my aura was still too weak to pinpoint Rimer’s exact location, he was definitely watching me.

“You know exactly what I mean.”

“Do I?”

Rimer shrugged with a poker face, feigning complete ignorance.

“We rescued them along with Raon.”

Lunan Slion approached Rimer and nodded.

“You rescued these children?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Didn’t you hear from the other instructors?”

“Ah, now that I think about it, three people are missing. Where did they go?”

“Sigh, I’ll explain.”

I exhaled deeply and rose to my feet. From Rimer’s expression, it seemed he wanted me to speak in front of everyone.

“We discovered traces of bandits in the forest within the Low Hill, and began tracking them. Though the trail was barely visible, we pursued it relentlessly until we finally found the bandits deep within the forest.”

I explained everything that had happened during today’s pursuit, step by step.

“…After we killed the Seolho Bandit Leader that way, we returned with the children.”

Silence fell over the clearing as they listened to my account.

“That’s… impossible….”

Burren Zigheart swallowed hard.

‘While I was wasting time, he finished the entire mission….’

Apparently, while she squandered her efforts, Raon had rescued the hostages and slaughtered every last bandit. It seemed unbelievable, yet the circumstances left no room for doubt.

“Damn it!”

She had sworn to outperform Raon in actual missions, even if she couldn’t match him in training or sparring. Yet she had failed again.

No—failure didn’t even begin to describe it. She hadn’t even been in the same league. The shame of her own arrogance was unbearable.

“Blast it all! Curse it!”

Martha spun around and drove her fist into a tree. The bark split and crumbled to the ground.

‘That wasn’t a lie.’

From everything she had witnessed, Raon was not the type to deceive. He had truly rescued the hostages with Lunan Slion and eliminated all the bandits before returning.

‘Idiot!’

Learning that while she engaged in childish bickering with Burren, Raon and Lunan Slion had risked their lives in combat filled her with a fury that brought tears to her eyes.

‘I was going to end it this time.’

She had intended to complete this mission flawlessly and nullify her promise to follow Raon, but she had suffered a crushing defeat. There was no excuse to be made.

“Haaah….”

Martha exhaled deeply, her breath carrying the scent of defeat as she acknowledged her loss to me.

“Wait, you single-handedly slaughtered all the bandits?”

“And you tracked them down yourself and rescued the hostages too….”

“What exactly is this guy?”

The trainees’ jaws trembled with astonishment. All of them stared at me and Lunan Slion in disbelief.

“Is that true?”

One of the instructors approached me, his expression genuinely bewildered. He appeared to be the instructor who had been watching the other children.

“The Seolho Bandit Leader’s combat strength is intermediate-level among sword users. How did you win? Are you certain you didn’t misread the situation?”

“I’m certain.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“See for yourself.”

I gestured toward the cloth bundle that could be called my spoils of war.

“Mm.”

The instructor nodded and unfurled the cloth bundle.

‘Red hair with a large scar near the eyes.’

It matched the description of the Seolho Bandit Leader that had been provided when I received the mission. His pupils trembled violently as he turned to look at me.

“…Confirmed.”

The instructor swallowed dryly and approached me.

“Well, that was just a verification for the mission. I hope you weren’t offended.”

“Of course not.”

As I nodded, the instructor bowed respectfully and turned back to Rimer.

‘Rimer must have arranged this.’

I could tell from the playful glint in Rimer’s eyes that he had orchestrated it. It seemed he wanted to provide confirmation for those who doubted or were skeptical.

Thanks to that, the trainees’ eyes held both admiration and astonishment as they looked at Lunan Slion and me.

‘Why is that?’

Rimer treated me better than a simple instructor-trainee relationship would warrant. He was so different from the instructors I’d met in my past life that I honestly didn’t understand what it meant.

“So the mission is complete?”

“But we didn’t do anything….”

“Hmm, is it really okay to end things like this….”

The trainees were pleased at the thought of returning home and sleeping comfortably, yet their faces were shadowed by the disappointment of having accomplished nothing.

“Why are you all so disappointed?”

Rimer chuckled softly as he observed the awkwardly standing trainees.

“It’s rare for anyone to showcase their abilities or accomplish much on their first mission. The instructors here also made countless mistakes on their first missions or did nothing at all.”

The instructors nodded in agreement.

“Then what about Raon and Lunan?”

“Right. Those two completed everything.”

“Well, there are occasionally monsters out there, you know. If you’ve already grown accustomed to them, why complain? Actually, I did accomplish things on my first mission too. It was quite the spectacle. I charged into enemy territory with just a single sword….”

Rimer began recounting his exploits from his first mission with a self-satisfied chuckle.

-That fool’s story is hardly impressive. When I was in the Demon Realm, freezing an entire fortress in my first battle became a legend passed down throughout the entire Demon Realm….

“Sigh….”

I shook my head in exasperation. Listening to these two chatterboxes was beginning to give me a headache.

*

*

*

Rimer declared the mission complete and announced he would return to the family tomorrow.

The trainees quickly prepared a meal, and Lunan Slion had already grown close to the children, eating together with them.

While I sat apart, eating what could only be described as either gruel or stew, Rimer approached.

“You did well.”

He plopped down beside me, holding a bowl overflowing with chunks of ingredients.

“It was a mission, after all.”

“There are mountains of swordsmen who earn their qualifications yet fail to complete their missions. You’re exceptional, though you did show some shortcomings.”

Rimer took a spoonful of gruel, muttered that it tasted awful, and set the bowl aside.

“Bandits aren’t the easy prey you read about in stories. They exploit the mountains with elf-like skill and possess cunning that rivals orcs. Those affiliated with the North-South Alliance—or those targeting it—are even worse.”

“Yes.”

I nodded quietly.

“Your improvisation in rescuing the children was certainly impressive, but if there had been an Expert-rank warrior or higher there, you and Lunan Slion would have died.”

“So you were watching after all.”

“Well, it just happened that way.”

Rimer chuckled and continued speaking.

“You did well today. However, from now on, assess the enemy’s strength, their numbers, and whether hostages are present—and if so, their condition. Only then decide whether to act alone or call for reinforcements. You’re the senior here. It would be wise to cultivate that judgment going forward.”

He wasn’t wrong. I’d killed countless times before, but this was my first hostage rescue. There were gaps in my execution.

At Zigheart, I’d work alongside comrades far more often than alone, so I needed to sharpen my tactical judgment accordingly.

“There’s no need to harden your expression. You and Lunan Slion demonstrated optimal coordination. You’ll go far.”

“Thank you.”

Rimer raised his thumb in approval. I closed my eyes quietly and accepted his praise.

“Ah, and I believe we’ll be taking those children back to the family. They said their entire family is dead and they have nowhere else to go.”

“I see….”

I scratched the ground with my hand. Strangely, my chest ached—an unfamiliar sensation.

“Since they’ve grown quite close to Lunan Slion, I’m thinking of asking the Slion Family to take them in.”

“That sounds like a good arrangement.”

The children followed Lunan Slion well. If it happened that way, it wouldn’t be a bad outcome.

“Raon Zigheart.”

As I tried to calm my restless chest by eating some porridge, Burren Zigheart finished his meal and approached me, opening his protruding lips.

“I admit it. Today was a complete defeat. While I was out of sync like a broken clock, you and Lunan Slion finished the mission. But!”

He raised his trembling fist.

“I won’t give up. Even if I discard thousands of training flowers, I’ll catch up to you!”

“Uh….”

Burren Zigheart didn’t wait for my response and turned away, heading back to where the Branch Family trainees were gathered.

“What was that?”

Training flowers? What did he mean?

Confused by his words, I picked up a spoon to eat, when a snorting sound came from the wooden pillar on my right. It was Martha. She stood with her arms crossed, her expression cold.

“Pathetic.”

She didn’t specify who she was addressing and simply walked deeper into the forest.

“You certainly live a troublesome life.”

Rimer chuckled and set down his soup bowl. Despite saying it was tasteless, the bowl was completely empty.

“And whose fault is that?”

Raon furrowed his brow. He had deliberately provoked the trainees through the instructor, yet now he feigned innocence with casual remarks.

“And whose fault is that?”

Rimer chuckled softly, posing the question back to him.

“At your age, it’s natural to grow well when you have rivals. Later on, they’ll become comrades you can trust more than anyone else, so get along with them.”

With those words, he vanished in a gust of emerald wind.

-Rivals, huh….

The moment Rimer departed, Wrath burst forth from the bracelet.

-This King once had six rivals. Of course, this King was the strongest among them, but those fools had their own merits….”

“….”

Raon exhaled a weary sigh and stacked the empty bowls together.

Why are there so many eccentric people surrounding me?

*

*

*

Raon and the trainees returned to the family after a week. While some trainees worried about their lack of contribution during the mission, most wore smiles on their faces at the thought of being able to rest comfortably.

Creak, creak, creak!

The grand Zigheart Main Gate, constructed like overlapping iron towers, swung open majestically. As the gatekeeper stepped aside, a massive man over two meters tall emerged from within. It was Iliun, the External Administrator.

“Lunan Slion, Raon Zigheart.”

He called out to Raon and Lunan, who stood at the very back, his eyes gleaming with intensity.

“The Patriarch has summoned you both. Prepare yourselves to enter the Patriarch’s Hall immediately.”

“Summoned?”

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at Lunan, who held the hands of the two children. Lunan tilted her head in confusion, equally uncertain of the reason.

“There’s no need to be alarmed.”

External Administrator Iliun smiled refreshingly.

“It is a tradition of Zigheart to bestow rewards upon the trainees who performed most brilliantly in their first mission.”

“Right. He’s calling you to praise you, so there’s no need to be nervous.”

Rimer nodded with a slightly excited expression, muttering that it was nothing special.

However, there was something neither Rimer nor Iliun had said.

It was true that trainees who performed exceptionally well on their first mission were praised, but summoning such a trainee to the Patriarch’s Hall was unprecedented.

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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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