“…Thieves’ Guild?”
The men who appeared were members of the Thieves’ Guild.
Why is the Thieves’ Guild here? What does it mean that they’ve come to get me? How did they even find out about me in the first place?
There’s a lot of information I want to know, but the answer came from an unexpected source.
“What!? What do you think you’re doing, Linus!”
When the man behind them raised his voice, the young man called Linus, who had spoken to me first, turned around with a smirk.
“Ah, I’m truly grateful for your information. After all, you not only allowed us to learn about the destruction of the Assassin Guild’s northern border branch so quickly, but also provided us with information about the key figure who accomplished it.”
“That was so you guys would help me get revenge!”
“Fufu, was it?”
Linus… that name sounds familiar.
But the voice of the man behind him also sounds familiar. When I turned my eyes to him, there was a man with blood-soaked cloths wrapped around his face and body like bandages, glaring at me with burning hatred when he noticed my gaze.
…Ah, this man is…
““Beggar”?”
““Ash-covered”!!”
The watchman and guide outside the Guild. So, this man survived.
“The liaison who went to the Royal Capital with you and Rada came out engulfed in flames and told us about your betrayal before he died!! The guys outside who went to the Guild were all caught in the collapse of the Chapel, all because of you!!”
“I see.”
“You!!”
When I replied without emotion, the Beggar became enraged and drew a dagger from his waist.
Apparently, it was a liaison man I had never seen before who opened the ignition trap I had set at the entrance. If my information leaked out from there, it was my fault for not making it an instant-kill trap.
Still, I was curious about the fact that most of the guys outside had died and that it was revealed that I was the one who destroyed the Guild, so I’m glad I found out.
“Guboh!? Wh-what… you,”
The Beggar suddenly spat out blood, and one of the thieves stabbed him in the abdomen from behind, completely piercing him.
“I appreciate you, but I can’t have you interrupting our conversation. Do it.”
When Linus snapped his fingers, several thieves around him pierced the Beggar’s neck and chest, and the Beggar reached out towards me one last time, the light fading from his eyes.
“I thought thieves didn’t kill?”
When I muttered that, the thieves’ attention returned to me, and Linus brushed his bangs with an affected gesture.
“You know a lot. But that’s only towards ordinary people. Besides, he tried to lay a hand on you, so it’s a natural consequence.”
“…………”
It just looks like they got rid of him because he was no longer needed.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Before that, do you have the ‘Spirit Tears’? It was originally supposed to be bought from the ‘Dawn Mercenaries’ by us. Won’t you hand it over? Of course, we’ll pay you the same reward we were going to pay them.”
I see, so these guys are after “this.”
When I nodded lightly and showed the necklace from 【Shadow Storage】 for a moment like a magic trick, Linus’s eyes lit up.
“The reward?”
“Twelve gold coins. And if you make a contract with us, we’ll pay you three more.”
Feeling that there was a chance because I asked about the amount, Linus, who had a vulgar smile on his face for a moment, said the word “contract.”
“Contract?”
“Fufu, isn’t it natural to want a skilled person like you as a companion? Even if you destroy the Assassin Guild, other branches are still alive, and the survivors of that branch continue to target your life. But the Thieves’ Guild and the Assassin Guild have a secret non-interference pact. It doesn’t mean much as an individual, but if you become our retainer, the Assassin Guild can’t easily interfere. How about it? I don’t think it’s a bad deal?”
…So that’s what it is.
They’re trying to tie me down under the guise of protecting me, and turn me into an assassin dedicated to the Thieves’ Guild, which has few skilled people in combat.
“I didn’t think this necklace was worth that much?”
“If it can’t be sold, more people will want it. You came here to sell it to the Baron, right? But the Baron family has no more funds, and either way, even if you sell it, it will eventually fall into our hands.”
“…………”
So Linus says to hand it over to them, who are offering a high price.
Did they think I would sell this necklace to Baron Nolf and were waiting for me?
I’ve got most of the information I wanted. But there’s only one thing, what’s the reason why returning the keepsake to the Baron family would result in it falling into the hands of the Thieves’ Guild?
I accelerate my thinking with Body Enhancement, reorganize the information I’ve obtained, and consider it.
Ah… I see.
““Linus”… Nora’s new fiancé.”
When I muttered that, Linus’s eyes widened slightly.
“…You’ve already obtained that much information. Fufu… as expected. That’s why you’re worthy of becoming our companion. As you can guess, the Baron family is already in the hands of the Thieves’ Guild. Now, take my hand!”
Linus offered me his hand with a refreshing smile. I took a step forward to match it.
But instead of taking Linus’s hand, I slashed at Linus’s neck with a hidden weapon that I took out from 【Shadow Storage】 in my palm.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
It was a little shallow.
Because there was a slight gap, I gave Linus a chance to evade, and my blade only ended up slashing Linus’s face.
“Wh-what are you doing!? Without the protection of the Thieves’ Guild, you’ll be!”
“I’m not looking for anything like that.”
Nora Nolf’s fiancé. The younger brother of the second wife who came from the merchant family that the Baron borrowed money from.
The merchant family itself is probably a member of the Thieves’ Guild.
Did they use the merchant family to get their hands on the Spirit Tears for sure? Or did they use the death of the previous wife to get their hands on the Baron family?
…No, it’s probably both.
Even the death of the previous wife, who was attacked by bandits, was likely orchestrated by the Thieves’ Guild.
It’s more natural to think that the Dawn Mercenaries were connected to the Thieves’ Guild from the beginning. If that’s the case, then the misfortune that struck Baron Nolf this time was orchestrated by the Thieves’ Guild, who were trying to get their hands on all the money and status.
There’s no way I’d take the hands of you guys who killed Nora’s mother for your own desires.
“D-do it! The opponent is just a kid!!”
At Linus’s shout, who showed his crude nature, the eight thieves drew their blades and braced themselves.
“………”
Their combat strength is around 100 at the low end, and around 300 at the high end, including Linus. In terms of combat strength, most of them are Rank 2, and three of them, including Linus, are Rank 3. Considering his stamina and Mana Capacity, I guess that one of them is a Magician.
Among them, the young man in the back with a combat strength of around 120 contorted his face when he looked at me. Probably, this guy used 【Appraisal】 or an Appraisal Orb to see my combat strength. Then–
“Be careful, this guy is,”
“–【Phantom Pain】–“
Before that man could say anything unnecessary, the throwing knife I threw pierced the brow of the man who was stiffened by 【Phantom Pain】.
“Don’t let your guard down!”
“Scatter!!”
The thieves, who had been watching for an opening, became serious when one of them was easily killed, and attacked without regard for appearances.
“You fools! Don’t think you can win against this many people, Ash-covered!”
A fast-moving man lunged at me with a dagger. But he’s too slow.
Without averting my eyes from the tip of the blade approaching my face, I dodged as if tilting my head, and deeply slashed his neck as we passed each other.
Six left–
“–【Shadow Snatch】–”
A shadow about the size of a fist rolled to the ground. The man who jumped into it had his crotch shot through by a crossbow arrow fired from directly below, and the moment he stopped moving, his throat was slashed by the blade of the Pendulum, scattering his life.
The blade of the Pendulum, pulled by a thread, was pulled out from the corpse, and the blade that danced in an arc slashed the face of the man who was dumbfounded by the killing of his companion, and at that moment, I jumped in and stabbed a Black Knife from under his chin to his brain, killing him instantly.
Four left–
“【Flame Javelin】!”
The Rank 3 Fire Magic 【Flame Javelin】 is released from the Magician. But he’s clearly too flustered. If it hits me directly, I’ll die instantly, but more than that, the scattered flames will burn even his companions.
“–【Magic Shield】–”
Pariin!
The Mana of the Magic Shield that I chanted on the spur of the moment was not enough, and it shattered with an auditory hallucination like glass breaking. But if it’s such a clumsy composition, it’s enough if it lasts for a moment.
“Gyaaaaaaa!!”
The deflected Flame Javelin struck the Thief who was approaching in Stealth from behind me, turning him into charcoal.
I threw off the cloak that had started to burn from the aftereffects, and spread it out to block the vision of the man who was beginning to chant the next spell.
At the same time, I threw the throwing Knife I had drawn from my thigh. As the burning cloak fell to the ground, the Magician was dead, his eye and throat pierced by the Knife.
Two left…
“This little brat!!”
A man, seemingly Rank 3, wielding two Hatchets charged at me.
“—【Weight Up】—”
I chanted 【Weight Up】 and ran up the wall, leaping over the man as if to jump over him, and unleashed Dark Magic on the last man behind him.
“—【Phantom Pain】—”
“Gah!?”
I threw a Knife at the man who had stopped moving, depriving him of his fighting strength. From behind, the Rank 3 from earlier, his face red with anger as if he thought he was being made fun of, pounced on me.
“Don’t screw with me, gugyah!?”
The man hadn’t noticed the Pendulum thread that had been set up when I jumped over him. He was strangled by his own momentum and weight. In that instant, I went behind the man and kicked the back of his head as if to pull the thread—
Gokin…!
I snapped the man’s neck as it was.
When I came to my senses, no one was standing anymore, and Linus, whose face I had slashed open first, had disappeared before I knew it.
…He escaped, huh? But it doesn’t matter.
I kicked the chin of the man who was writhing in agony from Phantom Pain and the Knife stuck in his abdomen, took out poison from the pouch on my waist, and splashed it on the man’s wound.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
The man, dripping various fluids from his face after receiving the excruciating poison that the kidnapping Female Thief used, shook his head as if he couldn’t believe his situation.
Now, you’re going to tell me a lot of things.
You don’t need to understand. But remember this.
The Assassin Guild became enemies of me and my master, so I crushed it. And—
“You guys have also become ‘my enemies’.”
Next time, Assassin Arc Final Episode
Scheduled for Thursday update.