Volu 6 Chapter 142 – Naless (1)
[Translator – jhei]
[Proofreader – yukitokata]
Jin boarded himself on a carriage to Samil. It had been four days since he left Tikan.
At Samil’s location—the southern region of the Kon Kingdom—it was already autumn. A wind carrying the good autumn atmosphere lightly shook Jin’s hair as he leaned against the windowsill.
In the midst of the unbelievably peaceful mont on the way to an assassins’ cove, Jin rembered Gilly’s unhappiness right before he left.
—It’s your birthday soon, and I’m so disappointed that I won’t be able to celebrate with you if you leave now, Young Master. You’re definitely making great achievents as a provisional flag-bearer, but please make sure to allocate ti for so leisure.
After seeing Luna and Taimyun, Jin thought about Gilly a lot more.
‘I should be nice to her. On that note, I don’t know much about her either…’
Luna and Taimyun were a different case. Taimyun never spoke about her past since Luna bore no curiosity. Gilly was the opposite.
From his past life to the current, whenever Jin asked about her past, Gilly would either avoid the question or flat-out ignore it.
‘I heard that she was the smartest mber of the McRolan Clan in history, and I don’t even know why she beca my guardian.’
The McRolans.
One of the clans loyal to the Runcandels. They were a famous martial arts clan that was a prick in the finger for the Huphester Alliance. Gilly was the youngest daughter of such a clan.
‘Why would such a person like that beco a Runcandel nanny?’
Jin had heard that question even in his past life.
At so point, he wanted to send a person to find out why, but he knew that it wouldn’t be very respectful towards Gilly.
‘She’ll tell soon enough. It was just that she didn’t have the chance in my past life. When I get back, maybe we’ll go on a vacation.’
Thump, thump, thump.
The carriage continued forward. Organizing his thoughts, Jin looked out the window and at the coachman.
‘For soone steering a carriage, he’s too young. His lower body is well-built too.’
A normal coachman would decline any request to Samil City regardless of the pay. Jin had been rejected at least five tis before he got soone to take the job.
Which was why he speculated that the coachman was a Naless cadet.
“Hey.”
“Yes, sir?”
“How long until we arrive?”
“About two more hours.”
“Is this the right path?”
“Yes, it is. Don’t worry, and take a nap. People still live in Samil City, so coachn like go there every now and then.”
Verifying his claim, Jin nodded.
‘He is a cadet. If he were a real Naless Assassin, he wouldn’t have used these kinds of tricks.’
Every inhabitant of the city was either an assassin or an assassin cadet. However, not all of them were the top-tier assassins that lived up to Naless. Amongst the cadets, there always had to be more gravel than gems.
‘I’ll only be able to see Naless Assassins once I actually arrive in the city. And this coachman won’t attack until we get there. …Maybe.’
As he expected, nothing much happened in the next two hours.
Jin arrived at the entrance of Samil City at approximately two in the afternoon.
‘At first glance, it looks like a regular city. Well, the entrance looks like it belongs to one, at least.’
A normal pathway led to the heart of the city, and two guards stood at each side of the not-so-high gate.
If he were to offer sothing different, the guards wore white fabric clothing and didn’t hold any weapons. They didn’t need to look threatening, since no human would intrude upon Samil City without intention.
The white color was a symbol of Naless. Everyone in the city—from cadets to the best executioners—all wore the sa white clothes. The only exception were the visitors.
“Stop your carriage.”
The guard spoke, and the coachman pulled on the reins.
Jin got out of the carriage and imdiately pulled out the Naless Pass. The guards exchanged glances with each other.
“What’s your reason for coming to Samil City?”
They didn’t ask him who he was or where he was from. Their tone wasn’t threatening either.
“Just for experience.”
“It’ll be a fun experience. Enter. You may retrieve your pass when you leave.”
“I have sothing to ask before I step foot into the city.”
“What is it?”
“Do the rules of Naless apply after you receive the pass or only when you enter the city?”
“That’s—”
Shhhhhhk!
Before the guard could finish answering, a dagger flew towards Jin’s back. Jin—who had his senses heightened—quickly dodged it.
‘Definitely the coachman.’
With his montum, Jin threw himself towards the coachman—who was drawing another dagger—and kicked his thigh.
Crack!
The sound of bone breaking resounded after Jin ca into contact. He then swung his elbow towards the coachman’s chin. The man fell to the ground, and Jin shook his head.
“I guess it’s the forr. Will you guys attack too?”
With eyes widened, the guards shook their heads.
“No, we are mastering assassination, not martial arts. The mont you destroyed that fellow, we already failed. Enter.”
“Thanks. And this fellow will be kicked out, correct? Since he attempted murder without wearing the proper attire and failed.”
“You know our rules well.”
“It isn’t a well-concealed secret, so it’s nothing incredible. Tell him to not be so disappointed. Seeing as he was clearly inept during our ride, I think this job isn’t fit for him. Maybe he can beco a real coachman instead.”
Ting!
Jin flicked a gold coin towards the fainted man. The man would be very disappointed, but Jin felt that he actually saved his life.
After all, a pathetic one like him would only face death in Samil City.
“And tell him that this is for the ride.”
Jin trotted past the entrance and into the city. The guards glanced at his back.
‘An interesting and rciful fellow made a visit.’
Jin could only be astonished as he walked in.
‘Whoa…’
Before he left, the Seven-Colored Peacock gave him so information. Contrary to the views and beliefs of people, Samil was a quiet and beautiful city. The roads didn’t have a single speck of dirt or mud, and each building was spaced evenly and perfectly. They looked as if they were new.
Each and every person who wore the Naless uniform remained quiet. They didn’t even dare to glance at the visitor.
Everything white glimred in the afternoon sun.
‘It’s more beautiful than I imagined.’
Goosebumps rose on the back of his neck.
This beauty hid blood. The reason as to why Naless’s symbol was the color white was because the assassins were confident that they could execute their targets without staining their uniforms.
Those who manage to make progress in this quiet city without being caught by anyone would then earn the privilege to live in the ‘Naless Manor’.
‘Visitors are rely special training dummies. Otherwise, they kill each other day by day.’
At first glance, the cadets ranged from teenagers, to young adults, to middle-aged people. There were even children four or five years younger than Jin. And among them, a talented one definitely existed. However, it was rare for one to ever show rcy.
Age, experience, origin—none of that mattered here. Every cadet’s goal was to kill others, climb the cadet ranks, and head to the Naless Manor.
‘No matter what angle you look at it, this place is worse than the Runcandel Clan.’
Seeing the children in this brutal city, Jin conjured an image of his sister, Yona Runcandel.
‘Elder Sister Yona said that she was sent here at the age of 12…’
Realizing Yona’s talents very early, Cyron debated whether to send her to the Hidden Palace or Samil City.
Both were places to escape the world powers and places to colonize.
Between the two, Cyron wanted the Hidden Palace more. However, he sent his youngest daughter to Naless for one reason.
At the Hidden Palace, Syris was already chosen to be the successor, but there wasn’t anyone yet for Naless. Even until now, when Yona was already 23 years old.
Which was why Jin could count the number of tis he saw Yona with his hands.
‘In my past life, she ca back and beca an assassin for the clan.’
It was far from an ‘honorable flag-bearer’. She beca an unofficial flag-bearer who had to hide her presence at all tis.
Although she had so freedom in the Garden of Swords, Yona normally lived in hiding and often erased her presence. The reason was unknown; whether it was due to her personality or she thought her presence brought misfortune.
And seeing her live like that, Jin felt empathy. Yona wouldn’t know, but…
‘I was also pushed to a corner and suffocated. Though, the treatnt between us were polar opposites.’
It was an opportunity for him to have a nice talk with her. Along with the request to have the Thousand-Poison Antidote.
Jin walked along the path as he smiled bitterly.
First, he needed to find a room to reside in. Samil was a moderate-sized city. Due to the lack of visitors, there weren’t many inns.
However, Jin didn’t think of going to an inn.
‘An inn has a high risk of assassination. I won’t last long tracking the inn owner, workers, and other guests.’
He already experienced how painful that was at the Cosmos Arena. He barely survived even from inexperienced pirates.
‘It’s better to choose a room from an average cadet.’
Peons like the coachman wouldn’t attack Jin out of fear. Instead, Jin’s life would be threatened by the cadet hoowner.
‘I have to choose wisely. A cadet who thinks they could kill anyti, but never will.’
* * *
Reaper Scans
* * *
anwhile, at a dock in the central region of the Kon Kingdom.
Beradin and Dante were tracking down Jin after the Zipfel banquet.
“Hey, you. Yeah, you. Co help for a second. Have you seen soone like this?”
“Ehem, have you seen soone like this? If so, I will be very thankful.”
Using Hairan’s political power, they dug through all of the recent transfer gate usage records, found forty-five instances of ‘Jin Grey’, and t ten different people who bore the sa na.
It would be easier if the Hairan and Zipfel Clans worked together, but that would destroy the aning of a ‘secret trip’ and the opportunity for the three to gather.
The two made that decision.
“We are certain that this Jin Grey ca here as well… but what if the Jin Grey in the Kon Kingdom isn’t the one we’re looking for?”
“What do you think we’ll do? Go to the next town over, that’s what! At least one of the forty-five must be him. Else, we’ll have to start all over again.”
A commitnt that no one else would willingly make.
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