Surviving as the Emperor’s Assassin Chapter 32 : Chapter 32

Chapter 32. He Had a Lover.

Not long after my conversation with Simon concluded, the al was ready.

In terms of ti alone, it had taken quite a while, but considering they had literally started by catching a cow, one could also say it was fast.

This ti, too, the nu was steak.

This was a ranch, not a restaurant, so it was only natural that I couldn't expect any elaborate cooking.

“This is the beef my ranch is proud of. I hope you enjoy it. You two, you worked hard today, so eat as much as you like.”

The main purpose was to serve Simon, but Pol and I were also provided with beef steak.

Of course, the amount of at was different at a single glance.

The at on Simon's plate was twice as much as the at on mine and Pol's plates.

It was blatant discrimination, but I could understand since she considered Simon a lifesaver.

Simon cut a piece of at first and put it in his mouth, and the rest of us followed suit and sliced our at.

‘I think it might be better than the finest beef back ho.’

I was surprised by how much more delicious it was than I had expected.

I wondered if this was what the so-called highest-grade Wagyu, the kind that costs tens of thousands of won per piece, tasted like.

Though I'd never actually eaten it, so I couldn't make an accurate comparison.

‘Is it because we’re eating it right after it was butchered?’

As I was slowly savoring the taste of the at, Pol suddenly let out a bizarre scream.

“Uheoeung-eoh-eong!!”

“W-what's wrong? Is it too hot?”

Grainy looked over Pol's condition, flustered.

“This is the most delicious at I've ever had! I'm so moved-!!”

Pol chewed the at while shedding tears.

Crying over a piece of at?

It was clearly an overreaction, but I knew he was being sincere, so I felt a sense of pity.

If it was his first ti eating beef after living on monster at until now, he could very well react like that.

The others, besides , had a similar reaction.

Even the stingy Grainy went so far as to console Pol.

“Eat slowly. There's plenty of at. You, too, tell if you want more.”

She took the opportunity to speak to as if she were doing a favor.

‘As if she’s doing this for .’

In the first place, she said she had butchered a new cow, so there was more than enough for four people.

She would probably sell the rest in the city tomorrow.

It would have been nice if she had just given us plenty from the start.

Perhaps she just wanted to make it obvious that she was being considerate of her benefactor in her own way.

“Is it, to your liking?”

“It's delicious. So much so that I'd like to buy a whole cow.”

Simon also gobbled down the at.

“Oh my! Buy one! What are you talking about! We would have all died if it weren't for you, Sir Liatro. I'll just give you one.”

She would just give him a cow?

Was she in her right mind?

But looking at her eyes, she was serious.

She seed so moved that she was willing to offer up a cow she had cherished so dearly.

“I have a conscience, too. It can't be easy for a woman to run a ranch all by herself, so how could I accept such a precious cow? I'll just accept the sentint.”

Simon declined with a smile.

“How can you be so kind-hearted!”

Was this sothing to be called kind-hearted?

The price of one cow was not a significant amount to Simon.

It seed he was just at a level of having a conscience.

……And his true personality was vicious.

Anyway, Grainy's attention was focused entirely on Simon, and Simon, for his part, was busy answering each and every one of her questions.

In the anti, Pol and I focused on the at.

“Brother, should we buy a cow too?”

“Do you even know how much at is on one cow?”

In a world without refrigerators, there was almost no way to preserve at.

The two of us could never eat it all before it went bad.

And wouldn't it be too much of a waste to make precious at into jerky?

It was obvious that it would be a desperate waste of money, and spending money on sothing like that was the biggest waste of all.

* * *

“By the way, is there a reason you work so hard at a ranch in a place like this?”

In the middle of our al, the question I had asked yesterday ca out of Simon's mouth.

Uh-oh, that was a landmine.

My appetite was ruined by the bomb that dropped in the middle of a delicious al.

“……It's not that great of a story.”

Her expression stiffening slightly, Grainy silently put down her fork and knife and stared at her steak.

“I apologize if it was a sensitive topic.”

“No. It's not. You must be curious. Everyone asks the sa thing.”

Grainy shot a glance at .

I was just sitting here quietly, so why was she giving the side-eye?

“It wouldn't be right to hide it even from the person who risked his life to fight for this ranch.”

Technically speaking, Simon had never risked his life.

He had swiped away even the Arachne Queen.

So, this was directed at and Pol.

In the situation where the Arachne were swarming, Grainy had shown that she valued the ranch more than her own life.

That had made even more curious.

Why on earth was she so obsessed with a ranch like this?

There were plenty of other ways to make money.

“It's a common story. A long ti ago, when I worked as a rcenary, I had a companion. We relied on each other, crossing the line between life and death, and at so point, we developed into lovers.”

Grainy began her story in a wistful voice.

It was a love story I hadn't expected.

Even Pol, who had been ferociously stuffing at into his mouth, stopped moving and focused on Grainy's story.

“He really liked beef. He said his dream was to earn money as a rcenary and eat beef every day. It's a childish story, but even that was lovely.”

A faint smile appeared on Grainy's lips.

An undisguised longing could be felt in Grainy's voice.

“I told him that wasn't realistic, and that we should just run a ranch ourselves. The two of us together, in a place where no one's eyes could reach—to live a peaceful, happy life for the rest of our days. But……”

Grainy's voice grew heavier.

It was easy to predict the story that would follow.

Grainy was running the ranch alone.

It ant that their dream had ultimately not co true.

‘She said she was a rcenary.’

It wouldn't be strange if one of them had died.

The death of soone close was a common occurrence for a rcenary.

After her lover's death.

She remains alone, lonely, protecting the ranch that was their shared dream—

It was a sad ending.

However, my prediction was wrong.

The emotion Grainy held was not sadness.

“Because that bastard threw a fit, saying he was going to be so Guild Master or sothing!!”

Unable to contain her anger, Grainy slamd her hand on the table.

“…….”

Grainy's old companion.

A Guild Master.

Was it just my imagination that one person's face ca to mind?

“I'm the one managing the ranch we made with a loan! And all that son of a bitch does is co by to eat once in a while!”

Grainy seed to be getting more and more agitated.

After panting for a long while, she finally ran outside and ca back with a bottle of liquor.

The story that followed was a denunciation of the Guild Master, completely unrelated to the ranch.

With the addition of alcohol, it beca no different from a drunken rant.

Pol imdiately lost interest, and I, too, only half-listened.

Only Simon was listening, agreeing with every word Grainy said.

“But you still love him, don't you?”

“That's the biggest problem! Wade, this son of a bitch……. That bastard doesn't even know a person's heart……”

Now, as if she had forgotten who Simon even was, she clung to him and poured out her resentful words.

Even then, she repeated what she had said, over and over again.

‘So that's where her obsession with the ranch ca from.’

Living apart, she must have felt insecure.

The ranch was their shared dream, the proof of their relationship.

She might have worried that if the ranch disappeared, their reason to be together would vanish with it.

That the ranch might be the only reason for her existence.

In any case, this too was a form of affection.

Though I didn't want to get involved.

* * *

After drinking herself into a stupor, Grainy lost consciousness at so point, and as the night deepened, we each went to sleep as we saw fit.

I was worried that the esteed Simon would be reluctant, but surprisingly, Simon reacted as if he were used to it.

He said sothing about being a ‘Knight Order’ in na, so he was accustod to field situations.

I had dozed off for a mont when I was awakened by the presence of soone moving, and I saw that Simon was up.

The outside was faintly brightening.

“You're not sleeping more?”

“My business here is done, so there's no need to waste ti.”

To be moving at dawn just for that.

Looking at him this way, he seed rather diligent.

“Then I'll get ready too.”

“What? Why?”

“We have to go to the Imperial Capital together, right?”

Weren't you going to take straight to the Sword Saint?

That's what I thought?

“At your age, can't you get to the Imperial Capital by yourself?”

“…….”

I was furious.

The top of my hit list was fixed with Luke's na, but I would have to write Simon's na right below it.

“The Master is still imprisoned, so even if you go to the Imperial Capital right away, you'll just be hanging around. Prepare slowly and co.”

Simon smiled faintly and waved his hand at .

“I'll be on my way now. See you in the Imperial Capital.”

“Travel safely.”

Looking at him like this, it was hard to feel that he was such a terrifying monster.

If it weren't for the armor, he'd be no different from a loafer.

“Umm……. Brother, are you going to the Imperial Capital? Won't it be dangerous?”

Pol slowly got up and approached .

It seed he had woken up to the sound of talking with Simon.

“I'm going to beco a disciple of the Sword Saint.”

“……!”

Pol's half-closed eyes shot wide open.

“I'll probably be able to learn swordsmanship properly. I've arranged for you to go too, so you should know.”

“Brother……!”

I had decided on my own without asking for Pol's opinion, but Pol wasn't the type to care about such things.

He just looked at with a face full of emotion, his hands clasped together.

‘There's no reason to hide anymore.’

The purpose of coming to this ranch was to find peace from those after the sword manual.

But now, there was no need to worry about rcenaries and the like.

I just had to say that I had decided to beco a disciple of the Sword Saint and had destroyed the manual.

‘I can just kill so ti in Dejong and then head to the Imperial Capital.’

My mind was at ease.

Looking out at the leisurely ranch scenery, I even felt like I was on a vacation.

The sight of the sun rising beyond the horizon was brilliant.

A little later, Grainy also ca to her senses.

Grasping her head as if her hangover was severe, Grainy gulped down so water, looked around once, and then asked.

“Ugh. Where is Sir Liatro?”

“He has already left.”

There had been talk of selling a cow before she started drinking, but in the end, it was just passed over.

“Damn it. I've shown him a disgraceful sight.”

It seed her mory was intact even after drinking to the point of blacking out.

For that embarrassing mory to be so vivid. Maybe losing one's mory after drinking was a blessing.

“We're thinking of leaving soon as well.”

“Where to?”

I briefly explained the situation to the frowning Grainy.

That I was going to beco a disciple of the Sword Saint and would be returning to Dejong for now.

Grainy's eyes widened for a mont at the words ‘disciple of the Sword Saint,’ but it was another part that she reacted to most fiercely.

“You're just going to leave after I even fed you beef?”

It wasn't like she only gave it to us.

We had just gotten a share on the side of what was being offered to Simon.

I had a lot to say in rebuttal, but since I had eaten the at, I kept my mouth shut out of tact.

After rambling on for a while about the duties an employee must observe, Grainy suddenly furrowed her brow.

“I feel like, I'm forgetting sothing important.”

She had been out of her mind because of the Arachne attack, so it wasn't strange for her to have forgotten a thing or two.

After pondering for a mont, Grainy's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

“I was supposed to inform the Lord that the Arachne Queen is dead……!”

“The most dangerous one is dead, isn't it? It doesn't really matter if you tell him a little later, does it?”

To , who couldn't understand why she was so flustered, Grainy spoke in a desperate voice.

“If the Lord commissioned the Knight Order to handle the Arachne Queen, the contract will get complicated……!”

A terrifying contract problem was waiting for us.