episode_0031

An assassin without discipline is just a murderer.

The Assassins’ Guilds each had their own creed and code of conduct, which they strictly observed, and reckless Assassins failed to command their respect.

… In that sense, the Black Snake could be said to be a very exceptional assassin.

We are the shadows that swallow karma.

I am German.

Keep away from gold and blood.

The most important rule for an assassin – the Black Snake was relatively free from it.

Some would say that he interprets and follows the rules in a very unique way.

Black Snake lived the life of a high-ranking adventurer to the public, and was not afraid to satisfy his own selfish desires along the way.

It was by no means a discipline-abiding action. However, it was not a completely undisciplined action either.

She lived a life on the edge as an assassin.

Of course, if one wants to maintain discipline, this is an extravagance that cannot be ignored.

The guild took action.

He attempted to guide her by mobilizing other masters.

In the process, the guild gained unexpected income.

“When did you plant the poison? How foolish of you to ask such a question. Before I answer, I will give you a chance to think about it for yourself. ”

Each and every one of them was a master who was treated as an object of fear in the world.

They came to realize that their entire lives were in the hands of the black snake.

For an assassin, discipline is absolute.

If there was one value that was free from that discipline – it was absolute power.

In this way, the Black Snake gained the respect of the guild and became more dedicated to ‘adventure play’.

…all to cure a horrible, disgusting skin disease.

***

It feels like a fire on my skin is being extinguished.

It was the first time I had felt this kind of sensation since I started suffering from skin disease.

Salana immediately took out a mirror and checked.

“… ”

Salana carefully touched her face.

“That’s ridiculous…”

Salana has been trying everything she can to cure her skin disease.

He traveled all over the continent to meet famous healers, priests, and magicians.

They even personally hire pharmacists and alchemists to create custom cosmetics.

But it was all in vain.

Although it may temporarily heal the scars and wounds caused by skin disease, it cannot eliminate the disease itself.

This was different.

Should I say the opposite?

Although the scars and wounds on his face remained, the underlying condition had noticeably improved.

The horrible dark red that had stained his skin had faded slightly.

“How…?”

Salana forgot to be happy and was just purely embarrassed.

She looked at the man in front of her – Risir.

He was an ordinary man, except for the fact that he made people think, ‘He’s kind of cute.’

Although he had a somewhat aristocratic appearance, he never revealed his family background. He also had a very informal demeanor.

Perhaps he is a member of a family so humble that it would be difficult for him to have an identity as a nobleman.

The terrain also suited its ordinariness.

At an age that appears to be in the twenties, he is in the third level.

If he had been a commoner, it would have been proof of his specialness –

For a noble who grew up receiving full support from a young age, it was proof of ordinariness.

Perhaps evidence of inferiority.

Most of the people who tried to cure her illness, including Salana, would have thought so.

It’s nothing special.

Risir was the one who gave such a first impression to people like Salana.

A person so insignificant approached me, offering to cure my skin disease.

It was reasonable for Salana to doubt his intentions and abilities.

It must have been like that-

“What do you think?”

“…Huh?”

Salana came to her senses belatedly at Risir’s words.

Her expression brightened by the minute.

Bam!

Salana grabbed his arm violently.

“How did you do it!”

Salana was so flustered that she even forgot to act like a ‘smart senior adventurer’.

But it wasn’t a big problem.

Now she felt good enough to see the ‘Master of the Assassination Guild’ as a ‘smart upper-level adventurer’.

“…”

However, Risir’s reaction was lukewarm.

He said with a displeased face.

“If possible, could you tell me what the current status is?”

“…!”

Salana was surprised to see Risir like that.

‘Why are you so trustworthy!?’

Salana’s upright posture suddenly became polite.

If those who knew Salana’s true form saw it, they would be shocked and say, ‘That madman is being polite!?’

“I think it’s okay! No, I think it’s okay! What did you do!? Can you tell me?”

Salana, who had returned to being a cheerful adventurer, looked at Risir with sparkling eyes.

“Are you feeling better?”

“…What’s the problem? I feel like it’s like that for now-”

“In fact, Mr. Salana’s illness has not yet fully recovered.”

“…!”

Salana’s eyes widened.

While he felt saved by only a slight improvement in his condition, the man was dissatisfied with the fact that he was not cured.

In other words, he is confident that he can cure the disease.

“What should I do!? What do you need? Money? Materials? Just tell me anything.”

“…Excuse me, but touch the wound again-”

Before Salana could finish speaking, she knelt on the floor and put her face in his palm.

“No, you don’t have to go this far-”

“Ah. Are you uncomfortable? Sorry. I’m just so excited right now-”

haha.

Salana stood up, holding Risir’s hand against her face.

“Is it done now? How is it?”

Salana nagged at Risir like a dog urging its master to take it for a walk, but as soon as he focused, she shut her mouth.

There was a brief silence like that-

“Mr. Salana?”

“Yeah. I’m listening.”

“By any chance-”

Risir was wondering how to convey what he felt to Salana.

As far as I could tell, her skin condition was definitely a target for ‘normalization’.

The abnormal force responding to the force of normalization was worsening the condition of the skin.

So I expected that using the power of purification would completely heal her skin.

But what is this?

Salana’s skin disease remained the same.

To be exact, the recovery was returning to its original state without any color.

‘If we were to use an analogy, it would be like a tube with pipes connected…’

Even if the dirty contents of the barrel were emptied, they were immediately refilled through the connected pipe.

“Ugh…!”

As expected, Salana frowned and pulled her face away from Risir’s hands.

As the healed wound opened, sticky pus flowed out. The pus soaked Rishir’s hand.

For the first time, shame appeared on Salana’s face, which had never forgotten its cheerfulness.

“Sorry! It’s dirty!? I’ll clean it up right away-”

Salana quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped Risir’s hands.

It was a very luxurious-looking handkerchief for wiping off mere dirt.

This was a part where you could indirectly see how much care she usually takes for her skin.

“…”

Salina wipes Risir’s palm with a distorted expression of shame.

Risir looked at the sight and sighed.

I was thinking of giving some light help, but it seems like it’s not that simple of a problem.

Risir’s gaze turned outside the alley where they were.

I was worried about Pian, who was waiting in front of the inn.

“What’s wrong? Do you have some other urgent business?”

At that moment, Salina’s voice completely took over Risir’s nerves.

In the brief moment of looking away, the atmosphere in Salana changed.

The cheerful expression remained, but the light in his crimson eyes had disappeared.

The desperation of losing the hope he had finally seized before his eyes broke the assassin’s composure.

Salana, who looked like a mixture of a cheerful adventurer and an assassination guild master, stared at Risir quietly.

Then I looked at the hands I was holding to wipe away the mud.

Although Risir may not have noticed, he was now infected with Salana’s poison.

Of course, it wasn’t a poison intended to kill.

How could anyone use such a vicious thing on someone who might be their benefactor?

“If you have something more urgent than treating me right now, please tell me.”

It only temporarily takes away your physical freedom.

It was a mild poison that had enough power to make one reconsider the idea of leaving.

“…I have a prior engagement with my friends.”

“Really?”

Salana smiled bitterly.

As everyone knows, assassins are not the type of people who pursue a normal conversational style.

They were well aware of the futility of conversation.

Because I knew of two more efficient ways.

Coaxing. And threats.

If it had been the usual Salana, she would have tried to have a serious conversation with Risir as a cheerful adventurer, but – right now, she didn’t have the capacity to maintain that level of composure.

The assassin, feeling anxious that Risir might leave, quickly ended the conversation.

Now it’s time for persuasion.

“Then there’s nothing I can do.”

Salana activated the poison.

Risir reacted immediately.

“So, can I stop by with you for a moment?”

“?”

He continued talking while looking into Salana’s eyes as if nothing had happened.

“I didn’t originally plan on doing this, but I changed my mind. This is my first time doing something like this, so I think I’ll feel better after seeing the end. Can I ask for your cooperation?”

“…Uh! Tongue, cooperate! Of course. Of course you should do it.”

Salana was embarrassed.

I was confused because the poison had no effect, and I was confused because the unexpected words coming out of Risir’s mouth were confusing.

Master of the Assassination Guild’s Black Hand.

Black snake.

It was the first time she showed her embarrassment to someone else.

***

“You couldn’t heal me either? Well, that’s something that takes priority over my promise. I’ll let you off the hook just this once.”

Although Pien was annoyed at the fact that their dinner appointment had been broken, he readily accepted Risir’s explanation.

“I also have a place to stop by for a bit. Can you come with me?”

“Where should I stop by?”

“Yeah. Actually, I had a pre-event. I was going to see a specialist and ask for advice about my damn skin.”

“Ah. Sorry. It’s because of me-”

“Sorry~.”

Salana suddenly came and hugged Risir’s shoulders.

“Just as Risir prioritized me over his girlfriend, I also prioritize Risir now. To be honest, it would be more helpful to get help from Risir than to get advice from those two. But I’m going to those two – just in case.”

“Are you there?”

“Just in case, those two people’s opinions might be helpful to Rishir.”

“Ah. Sure. I agree. By the way, I wanted to ask you a few questions about Mr. Salana’s illness.”

As I walked down the street, at one point the shapes of the surrounding buildings and the clothing of the pedestrians changed dramatically.

We left the commercial district where the inn was located and entered the magic district.

“By the way, you just said you were experts. Who are they?”

“One of them is a scholar of considerable fame in this city. He is an elite magician of the Keig Tower.”

“Oh…”

Risir’s eyes widened.

‘If you become an elite magician of the Magic Tower, wouldn’t it be difficult for even high-ranking nobles to make an appointment?’

The connections he mobilized were not ordinary, as he was afraid that someone might be a high-level adventurer.

Risir felt satisfied as he recalled the side income from this incident that he had briefly forgotten about.

A high-level adventurer.

As for the first connections you make when entering the city, it couldn’t be anything but luxurious.

“And another one – I’m a little embarrassed to say this, but he’s a sorcerer.”

“Are you a sorcerer?”

“Believe it or not, she is the only person who has helped me with this skin disease. I received help from her once before and it worked, so I see her regularly to ask for treatment.”

“What do you mean by procedure-”

“You do a ritual and drink the potion. It may sound stupid, but it actually helps a lot.”

“Consciousness… Reagent…”

Risir stared at Salana’s diseased skin, repeating those two words over and over again.

Eventually, they arrived at an underground laboratory located on the outskirts of the magical district.

“This is my lab. It’s the lab I prepared for the sorcerer I just mentioned.”

As Salana had said, there were already two guests seated in the lab.

‘Dreads? See how hip they are?’

Risir was secretly impressed.

An old man with a long gray beard and braided hair and a young woman with a red pattern on her face were sitting across from each other, talking earnestly.

“Huh? Oh, Salana is here.”

The old man quickly greeted Salana.

“I’m surprised. What kind of great person is that? I thought he was the expert who helped with that nasty skin disease of yours. – I didn’t expect him to be a savage.”

“You’re a savage. I hope you’re not being rude to my benefactor?”

“At first! Yes. Unintentionally. After all, it’s not common to talk to a savage, right? But now it’s okay. I’ve come to know that her knowledge is far from savage. Sorcery! What a mysterious, fascinating, and savage power!”

Then the sorcerer bowed to Salana.

“Salana, it’s been a while.”

“Ah. It’s been a while, Glia. Thanks for coming to Meltas as well.”

“Keulkeul. You’re making an old man walk with heavy steps. You should be grateful. Right. You shouldn’t be grateful. But Salana- who’s the young man next to him?”

Risir stepped forward and spoke.

“My name is Risir.”

“Oh. Yeah. Lisir. So.”

“Yes?”

“Which family’s Risir are you from?”

“Ah. I can’t reveal that. I’m an illegitimate child of the family.”

“Hmm.”

Meltas nodded.

There was a subtle hint of dissatisfaction in his expression.

“So. The illegitimate child, Risir. What’s going on here?”

“Lord Meltas. Lisir is here to help me.”

Salana said with a somewhat displeased expression.

Meltas also showed a similarly displeased expression.

bastard.

It’s amazing that a young girl of only the third rank was invited to this place with the same qualifications as me.

“Then, you don’t need my help.”

Meltas stood up from his seat without hesitation.

Then, the sorcerer Glia also stood up from her seat and walked briskly toward Salana.

Glia’s expression distorted as she looked closely at Salana’s face.

“Salana. What happened?”

“What’s going on?”

“The condition… has gotten seriously worse.”

She took a vial of green reagent from her bosom and handed it to Salana.

“Please drink this first.”

Salana reflexively accepted the bottle.

And then, Risir snatched the bottle.

In an instant, the color of the reagent in the bottle changed.

“What are you-…!”

“You-”

“You two. What did you do here?”

The bastard questioned them a beat faster than the old man and the sorcerer.