Chapter 106: What Rank? (2)
“How did you know?”
A pretty and vivacious Female Perfur, with an appearance that suggested she, like Harang, had just turned twenty.
However, the voice coming from her lips was not at all that of soone her age. A husky voice, belonging to soone at least in their 40s, possibly their 50s, pierced Harang's ears. So I asked.
“The mask is excellent, but it seems modulating your voice is difficult, huh?”
“No. If I put my mind to it, I can produce a voice as clear and bright as a nightingale's. Like this.”
It was true. Her voice now, unlike before, was young and incredibly smooth, like jade beads rolling on a tray. At this, Harang nodded.
“Now that I’ve been found out, there’s no need to put on a difficult act, is that it.”
“Yes. Occasionally, there are people like you with a keen eye. No, can this even be described as just having a keen eye? How absurd. It’s a level that would require soone with exceptional observational skills even among Graduate-level swordsn, or soone with imnse talent among those trained in assassination… Just what is your identity?”
“That’s two.”
“What?”
“I said, that’s two questions. How I knew, and what my identity is.”
“……”
“Which one should I answer first to earn your favor?”
“……Weren't you here to fight ?”
The woman asked, as if finding it absurd.
It was only natural. She was an assassin belonging to an assassination group, and the opponent was a swordsman who had barged in knowing her identity.
Moreover, he was suspected of being the main culprit in the massacre incident a few days ago, so she had been paying particular attention.
“If I can get what I want without fighting, that’s the best.”
“……”
However, the words coming out of the fellow's mouth were so nonchalant, they went beyond absurd to baffling.
It stimulated the woman's interest, and at the sa ti, provoked her.
It felt as if the current atmosphere had completely shifted to the opponent's side.
‘Well, if this is fun, then it’s fun.’
Pfft, the Female Perfur let out a laugh.
How long had it been?
For her identity to be discovered, and for the target to co find her directly before she found the target. It was a rare case, countable on one's fingers, even in her decades of life as an assassin.
It was a situation made even more amusing because it had never happened once since she received her current rank from the Head of Black Hydra.
That was why.
The Female Perfur decided to go along with the pace of this unknown creature, who seed like a reckless fool yet was presud to possess skills beyond imagination… but who, on the surface, looked entirely unimpressive.
“Good.”
“What’s good?”
“I like you.”
“Thank you.”
“I like this dazed side of you, I like the courage and drive with which you confidently ca to find , and I like how you’re trying to earn my favor…… Good. Very good. Since I quite like peculiar people, I want to tell you that you’ve gained my favor right from the start. How about it, are you pleased?”
“Not quite to that extent yet.”
“Not an easy young man, are you?”
“Um, what should I tell you first?”
“So impatient…… Well, at that age, it’s natural to be hasty about everything. Alright. First, the first question. So…… how did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That I was the culprit of this incident. That I was hiding here. And…… this is what I’m most curious about. How did you know that I’m not just the leader of assassins, but a mber of Black Hydra? How on earth?”
“Hmm.”
“Why, is it difficult to talk about?”
“No. That’s not it. I’m not good with words, so I need to organize my thoughts a bit.”
“It’s alright. I’ll wait, so speak slowly and clearly.”
“Thank you.”
Harang bowed his head respectfully.
Seeing this, the Female Perfur burst into laughter. No matter how she thought about it, he was a strange fellow, and that strangeness ca across as charming.
A fellow who, despite being an opponent she had to fight, was sohow not unlikable.
As she was thinking this, the black-haired young man, having finally organized his thoughts, began his explanation.
“First, I knew you were here by the scent.”
“Scent?”
“Yes. Red Cloud Guild Leader Jindel and his younger brother Shakin…… the perfu sprayed on their bodies, you did that, right?”
“……”
“As I followed the sa scent, I ended up here, and I found you wearing a mask. Since you clearly exuded a formidable presence, I had no choice but to think of you as the culprit.”
“You can feel my presence? No, before that…… you can sll that perfu?”
“Yes.”
“……You’re a much more amazing kid than I thought.”
She was sincere.
The perfu she applied to her ‘assassination targets’ gave off a unique scent that a trained person could detect even from far away, but conversely, it also ant that an untrained person could never sense it.
However, this kid had appeared before her eyes as if to mock such thoughts.
She spoke again.
“I’m getting more curious. Go on, tell .”
“Tell you what? Ah, how I knew you weren't an ordinary assassin but a Black Hydra?”
“Yes. The people who participated in this operation had even covered their tattoos, you know. There shouldn’t have been anything to recognize them by……”
“Ah! That tattoo, could you cover it when necessary?”
Harang asked.
Actually, this part had confused a little.
The Black Hydra mbers I had t so far had cherished the tattoos on the back of their necks as if they were a conviction, so I had wondered if it might be a different organization.
Of course, judging by the Female Perfur's reaction, that didn't seem to be the case, but Harang was still curious about this part.
Fortunately, the opponent answered this part readily.
“Yes. At least, I think so. If I had my way, I’d even want to suggest completely erasing such things as tattoos.”
“That’s what you think? Then……”
“There are people who don’t think so. The higher-ups tend to be like that, and so are so of the stubborn fools below.”
“It seems there are so complicated circumstances?”
“Yes, it’s a complicated and frustrating story. How frustrating must it be for to confide such things even to you, who has nothing to do with it? An emotional battle has been going on for quite so ti because of it.”
“Hmm……”
Harang stroked his chin.
Indeed, even I thought the tattoo on the back of the neck was too big a weakness. It was like an assassin who needed to hide their identity was openly shouting, ‘I’m Black Hydra!’, so it made sense for the woman before him to think so.
‘But the mainstream opinion of Black Hydra is still that the tattoo should be displayed…… What on earth is the aning behind that?’
It occurred to that this part might also be important for .
However, that thought didn't last long.
The opponent's gaze seed to urge for an answer.
Sensing this, Harang corrected his thoughts that were about to stray and gave the answer the Female Perfur wanted.
“Swordsmanship.”
“Swordsmanship, you say?”
“Yes. The ancient assassin…… you call him the Great One, right? I’ve never seen any group other than yours use his swordsmanship.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“Did I say sothing wrong, perhaps?”
“It was you.”
Hwaaaak-!
In an instant, an intense presence, strong enough to make hair flutter, emanated from the Female Perfur's body.
Harang's expression hardened slightly. The thought that she was a more formidable opponent than expected brought a sense of tension mixed with excitent.
However, there was no reason to draw his sword right now.
Just as the Female Perfur had many things to ask him, Harang also had many things he wanted to ask her.
He said.
“‘It was you,’ what do you an by that?”
“Killing No. 13 and No. 9. It was you, wasn’t it?”
“……How did you know?”
“How could I not know? Just as you recognized our swordsmanship, we can recognize yours.”
“……”
“Isn’t that right? We who have spent our entire lives following, serving, and worshipping the Great One. To think that we wouldn't be able to find traces of swordsmanship on a corpse…… isn’t that too foolish a thought?”
“You’re right. My thinking was short-sighted.”
Harang readily admitted.
Honestly, I hadn't paid attention to that extent.
No, that was just an excuse. If it had been the village where life and death hinged on the smallest things, I wouldn't have handled the aftermath so carelessly. I felt I had beco quite lax after coming to the outside world.
‘While I had gained much from the outside world, it wasn’t as if I hadn’t forgotten things as well.’
Of course, it was also true that the opponent’s keen eye was remarkable.
Harang once again raised his guard against the opponent, and in the anti, the Female Perfur's voice continued to flow.
“At first, I suspected it might be internal strife. Didn't I say it earlier? Even though we’re the sa organization, our thoughts differ quite a lot. The side that believes tradition must be valued, and the side that believes we must now break free from the old rules…… and live new lives, our lives. I thought the deaths of No. 9 and No. 13 were the result of that…… but no, it was your doing.”
“……That’s correct.”
“Hoo, hoho, hohoho……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
It was quiet.
This was not the quiet of a comfortable atmosphere. An atmosphere so uncomfortable, unpleasant, and heavy that it felt like being crushed by sothing pressed down hard on Harang.
I wanted to take a deep breath.
But I couldn't, because the Female Perfur was looking at with an expression that seed like she would explode with the slightest provocation.
‘I don’t want to fight.’
At least, not now. Because I hadn't been able to ask about the village yet.
Why had I obediently answered the opponent's questions until now?
Because I, too, had things I was curious about.
Why the village's swordsmanship and Black Hydra's swordsmanship were the sa.
Whether they were the sa organization, or if not, what their relationship was.
Besides that, I had a mountain of things to ask, but things had gotten twisted. The opponent before seed to have no intention of talking to anymore and was continuously raising her energy.
Chaeng-!
Sure enough, the Female Perfur, no, a mber of Black Hydra, even drew the sword at her waist.
She asked with a dark smile that was visible even over her artificial skin.
“You, what’s your na?”
“It’s Harang.”
“Yes, Harang. You’re an amazing fellow. You don’t look that old, yet you killed No. 13 and No. 9. If you had walked the sa path as us, you’d be capable enough to aim for the next leader’s position.”
“……Thank you?”
“Of course, that can’t happen. Our paths may differ, but those guys were ones I cared for quite a lot.”
“……Even if I say those people attacked first, there’d be no leniency, right?”
“No.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“I find it regrettable too.”
Woooong-
Woooooong-!
The Female Perfur's energy expanded even more, and accordingly, Harang also raised his presence. Drrrrr, aura, gushing out like fog, clashed, and the perfu bottles inside the shop began to shake back and forth.
It was truly a touch-and-go situation.
Once again with a smile, the Female Perfur opened her mouth, emitting a fierce gaze.
“Do you know?”
“Know what?”
“I’m different. My number is quite a bit higher than the guys you’ve t so far.”
“If it’s not rude, may I ask what number……”
“I’m No. 4.”
Shweeeek-!
Before Harang’s words even finished.
The sword was unleashed with terrifying speed, as if lightning was striking down. It was the first form of Dark Lightning, Lightning Strike. It contained an imnse power, incomparable to that of the 13th Hydra I t before.
Kwaaaang-!
“……!”
“I don’t know if I should be saying this, but……”
However, the Hydra’s fourth sword did not achieve the desired result. Because Harang's Lightning Strike, extended in the sa posture as if reflecting a mirror, had stably blocked the offensive.
Into her ears, as she looked at him with surprised eyes, a low voice continuously struck.
“In the group I previously belonged to, I too was called Rank 1.”
Peok!
Kwakwakwakwakwakwang-!
The 4th Hydra, struck by the kick that flew in imdiately after, crashed through the shop's wall and flew far away.
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