Chapter 115: Assassination Order (5)

“Ugh…. Keuk……! My, my name is……! Mirage……!”

He gave his name as Mirage. Fortunately, his limbs were intact. Sophia laid him on the sofa, then placed her hands on his head and rubbed it as if she were cleaning a plate. Every time Sophia applied pressure with her fingers, Mirage trembled as if electrocuted, letting out strange noises.

“Ughh…! Euhok……!”

“There, there, good boy. How many are there?”

Sophia asked him in a gentle, motherly voice, like one handling a child. Mirage grinned with an innocence unbecoming of his age, drooling slightly. He spoke, his eyes rolled back white, curving into crescent moons.

“4 people……! There are 4 people……! Hehehe……!”

“Okay, four people. So, where are those four people now?”

“One person……! Said they were infiltrating the warehouse…… then went silent……! The other two…… are planning……!”

“I see. And where is their hideout?”

“Uh, the hideout’s location is……!”

Mirage hesitated for a moment, frowning. Noticing he seemed to be regaining consciousness, Sophia jabbed his temple hard with her finger.

“Ah, ahhh! Ah, uh, the hideout’s location……! That is……! Ahhh!”

Mirage’s back arched like a bow. His legs shot up into the air, fluttering like flags. The violent shaking of his entire body caused the sofa to scrape against the floor. I sat in a chair in the drawing-room, sipping tea and watching the scene unfold.

“The location! The location! In the forest…… on the way to the village! A cave! There are two rocks on the mountainside, so it’s hard to spot……! Ahhhhhh!”

“Evan. What should we have for dinner tonight?”

Elena came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands. She glanced briefly at Mirage trembling, then looked back at me as if this were a familiar sight, and asked. I turned my head and asked Isabel.

“Isabel. What do you want to eat today?”

“Ahhh! Ahhh!”

Isabel, who had been browsing a book, ran her finger along its thick leather cover and asked Jidyeop.

“How about we eat what our caretaker likes today? We haven’t even had a welcome party since you arrived….”

“Unghooo! Ihihihihihik!”

Jidyeop, sitting in the corner, blinked and said with a perplexed expression.

“Ah, uh, I eat anything just fine.”

“Kkiyoooo! Ohhoook!”

“Still, don’t you have anything you particularly like? Our Elena is an amazing cook.”

“Aghhh…! Kkeureureuk…! Keuk…!”

“Ah, then please make whatever you cook best, Ms. Elena.”

“Kkeuk……! Keok……! Heok……!”

Elena met Jidyeop’s eyes, full of anticipation. Elena scratched her cheek and said.

“Ah, saying it like that makes me nervous…… If Madam says it like that, I’ll get so tense I won’t be able to perform at my best.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it. Elena.”

Elena rolled up her sleeves as if she had no choice, and Sophia was staring intently at us. Mirage lay sprawled on the sofa, his tongue sticking out. Both Isabel and Jidyeop looked at Sophia. Sophia rolled her eyes and tapped Mirage’s head. Mirage’s head swayed side to side like a metronome. I picked up my tea again and said.

“What’s wrong? Continue what you were doing.”

“Master. He’s dead? It’s been a while, so I guess I misjudged the strength.”

I looked at Mirage’s face. Having died amidst excessive pleasure, he was staring into space with a happier expression than anyone else.

“We sent another person to heaven. We really are angels, aren’t we?”

I smiled with satisfaction and closed Mirage’s eyes. His limp, withered body looked like it hadn’t been involved with a woman for a long time. Perhaps he suffered from erectile dysfunction, or maybe he had trauma about his appearance. Giving such an unfortunate person the dream of dying in the arms of a beautiful woman, one could say I performed a good deed today as well. Sophia’s face was also full of pride for her good deed.

“Right? Master. What should we do with his body?”

“The body…… hang on a second.”

I was about to just bury Mirage’s body, but then I changed my mind. Since we had to deal with the assassins anyway, wouldn’t it be better to use this corpse instead of burying it? Everything in the world should be recycled.

I dragged Mirage’s corpse to the backyard and threw it there. Then, scooping up Sophia with one arm, who was looking expectant, I said.

“Let’s eat and then have a meeting.”

Because the delicious smell of stew was wafting through the air.

The combination of bubbling chicken stew and bread that melted in the mouth was truly fantastic. Perhaps the meal tasted even better because we had finished a rewarding day’s work. Jidyeop was also shoveling food into her mouth with sparkling eyes. Her eyes twinkled as if shooting starlight, and her hands moved frantically, as if someone might steal her food.

I knew exactly how she felt. Although I had learned some table manners, I used to eat like that too when I was lucky enough to get something delicious all to myself. Looking beside me, Sophia was also gazing at Jidyeop with her own kind of affectionate look.

Isabel said.

“So, what are you going to do about the other assassins? Couldn’t even scarier assassins come later?”

Isabel asked nonchalantly, but anxiety flickered in her eyes. The fear that they might have to fight an endless stream of assassins like this. And the worry that I might die meaninglessly someday.

Even without her saying it, I could read her feelings perfectly. Because I harbored the exact same feelings. But I was the head of the family. If I showed fear, even solvable problems could be misjudged. I always had to stand firm for this family, like a sturdy old tree.

I said nonchalantly.

“Well, we’ll have to think about that when the time comes.”

Pretending I had a plan, pretending the Thieves Guild was nothing.

When I said that, Isabel seemed to truly believe I had the power to resolve the situation, nodding with a slightly relieved expression. Sophia asked me.

“Master. By the way, what are you going to do with that corpse?”

Elena frowned slightly when the topic of the corpse came up during dinner, but she didn’t scold Sophia. I patted Sophia’s head and said.

“First, Elena. After eating, go straight to Lumia and tell her that devil worshippers are hiding in their hideout. That…… where did she say the hideout was?”

“She said it was a cave in the forest on the way to the village. And that there were two rocks on the mountainside.”

“Right. Tell her those devil worshipper bastards are hiding there.”

“Is that all? Aren’t we going to catch them ourselves?”

I asked Elena back in response to her question.

“Why should we?”

Hound and Bear Trap faced each other with slightly anxious expressions. This was because, although the outline of their perfect plan was taking shape, they had expected Mirage to return after killing Evan. Seeing his confident demeanor and perfect disguise skills firsthand, any hope of his failure had long since vanished.

Hound ground his teeth, picturing Evan and Jidyeop’s faces. It was simply too frustrating that he couldn’t leave knife marks on their pretty faces and slender bodies. Why did the world give birth to Hound, and then another skilled assassin like Mirage?

Hound said, looking at Bear Trap.

“We should have gone first after all.”

Bear Trap said with a stoic expression.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t inflict pain on Jidyeop, but I can accept it. As long as that bitch dies.”

“You’re satisfied with just that? Bear Trap, you shouldn’t be. Humans, you know. are animals designed to always aim for higher goals. To torture prettier women, to see humans of higher standing groveling and crying their eyes out. That’s why I became an assassin. I cannot be satisfied. Look at the plan we devised. How perfect is it?”

Bear Trap nodded at his words. The plan Hound devised was literally perfection itself. There were countermeasures for every possible situation that could arise when initiating the plan. They had even prepared paralysis scrolls in case Evan turned out to be an unexpectedly skilled martial artist or knew self-defense techniques.

What they lacked was just one thing.

Luck.

“Damn it. To think we have to discard such a brilliant plan without even using it.”

Bear Trap nodded. Hound was a piece of trash, but his plan was perfect.

Hound said.

“So…… who is it!”

As he shouted, Bear Trap pulled a poisoned dart from his pouch and threw it. A shadow at the cave entrance dodged the dart with agile movements and then threw a large leather bag at them.

“Whoa!”

Hound yelped dramatically and rolled aside, and the leather sack hit the floor, revealing its contents. It was a demon. A black demon with grotesquely shaped horns, its entire body emaciated like Mirage.

“Huh?”

Neither Hound nor Bear Trap understood what this was. Was this a real demon? Or a statue resembling a demon? The moment the two cautiously reached for the leather bag, someone outside shouted.

“There are devil worshippers here!”