Chapter 29

Shuu and Iris had been in the capital city of Alta for a few months. They had been able to spend their days quite leisurely, but the lack of work remained unchanged.

First, without a resident registration, they couldn't even buy a house. They couldn't get hired for work either. Therefore, they had no regular income, and the rent kept piling up.

In other words, they had no money.

"Alright, let's earn some money, Iris."

"Indeed."

"No, you stay here."

"Indeed!?"

Shuu's job was assassination. He was going to the tavern and work as 'The Reaper.' Since he couldn't take Iris with him for the assassination, it was certain that she would stay behind.

Apparently, she understood this, and Iris reluctantly agreed.

"There's nothing I can do. I'll wait quietly."

"That's what I want."

"Oh, if that's the case, I'll warm the bed for you tonight."

"That's why we sleep in separate beds."

"Eh..."

Turning his back to Iris, who looked a bit disappointed, Shuu put his hand on the door of the inn. Recently, she had become more proactive in her advances, so he started to think that he might be attacked in his sleep soon. Of course, he was confident that he could repel any attack.

"I'll finish the job tonight. Go to sleep."

"Okay."

With that, Shuu opened the door and stepped out into the inn's corridor. It was now past dinner time, and the men who had finished work were about to start drinking. Taking Iris out at such a time would only draw attention and cause trouble. That's why she was staying behind.

Tonight, after a few months, 'The Reaper' was back in action.

◆◆◆

Shuu headed to the tavern where the black cat gang was based. Many men were already drinking, perhaps trying to blow off the stress of the day. Many of them were already red-faced from the alcohol.

In the midst of this, Shuu silently approached the master. The master, who had a scar on his head, glanced at Shuu and started wiping the cup in his hand.

(I have to show this to him.)

Shuu took out the 'Reaper' coin from his pocket and placed it in front of the master. The master took it, examined both sides carefully, apparently checking if it was genuine. Once he determined it was real, he handed Shuu a small memo and a weak drink.

"Read it," the master said.

Shuu muttered to himself and read the memo. It contained the name, position, physical characteristics, reward, and address of the assassination target. He wanted to take the memo with him, but that would be against the etiquette. If Shuu were captured, the memo could be used as evidence. The best course of action was to memorize it and return it. Shuu made this judgment and returned the memo.

(Good. It seems I was right.)

The master took the memo with a slight smile.

Thinking he should start the job before he forgot, Shuu drank the drink that was offered. It wasn't much, so he wouldn't get drunk. Of course, it was unclear if a monster could get drunk.

Shuu stood up and left the tavern silently. As he walked down the night street, which still had some people around, he thought.

(The target this time is related to a politician. And the assassination target isn't the politician himself, but his daughter and wife. The client must be seeking revenge. It's a bit underhanded to target the family instead of the person himself.)

This was a common occurrence in the country. Assassins were sent to politicians from opposing factions, and their families were injured or killed. In retaliation, assassins were sent to the other side. While it wasn't an everyday occurrence, it was a common enough event, especially among the upper echelons of politicians.

(Well, this kind of political climate makes it easy for underground organizations to operate. There are many wealthy clients, and the requests never run out. By maintaining a balance so that one faction doesn't completely wipe out the other, they can keep making money. It must be tough for the Holy Knights to enforce the law.)

He thought about this, putting his own situation aside. After all, thanks to the dirty political struggles of these politicians, Shuu was making money. He couldn't complain too much.

"Well, I'll hide until midnight."

He suppressed his presence and melted into the crowd. Passersby would forget seeing him after a few seconds. He blended in so well.

The dark night's assassination drama was about to begin again.

◆◆◆

In this country, assassinations were carried out easily. Assassinations for disliking someone, for being an obstacle to a faction, for betrayal, for being useless, for revenge. The reasons were varied, but none of them were good.

However, Shuu, 'The Reaper,' had no emotional attachment to such matters. While it did hurt to target good people or those uninvolved, in the end, it was just human affairs. As a monster, Shuu could only think, "Poor them, but it can't be helped."

"Let's go."

Tonight's targets were two people: the wife and daughter of a certain politician. Killing these two would earn him a reward of one million magi. If he failed and only killed one, he would still get half the reward. In any case, he had no intention of failing.

Using magic or becoming ethereal would make him detectable due to the magical light, so he jumped over the fence in his physical form. There were guards on alert for assassins, but he could enter undetected by timing his entry with his magic to sense their presence.

(Alright, success.)

Next, he briefly became ethereal to pass through the wall and enter the house. There were blind spots inside the fence, unlike the street outside. His nature as an ethereal monster was useful after he had entered.

Shuu, who did no prior reconnaissance, searched for the targets after entering…

--- He had previously captured a random servant.

"Ugh!?"

"Shh, be quiet."

He used vibration magic to seal the sound and dragged the servant into the hallway. He pinned the servant down with his weight. He could have used weight magic to immobilize him, but he didn't want to risk the floor collapsing.

"Where are the lady of the house and her daughter?"

"Wh-What!?"

"Answer the question."

The servant, who didn't seem to be of high status, was dressed simply. He probably did cleaning and other odd jobs.

"I have no intention of answering, you thief! Someone—!"

"It's useless. I've taken care of the sound."

"Ugh!?"

The sound was blocked, but the servant's scream was still annoying. Shuu mercilessly broke the servant's left arm. After a moment of intense pain, a dull ache remained. The servant gritted his teeth and endured the pain.

"Tell me where the lady and her daughter are."

"What do you intend to do to the lady and her daughter…"

"That's none of your concern. Just answer. I'm not good at interrogations. I can't control my strength."

"Ugh!"

The servant's right arm was broken, and he screamed in pain. But his screams went unheard.

"I get it! I'll tell you! I'll tell you, so stop!"

His spirit was already broken. The servant gave in easily.

"Where are the rooms?"

"The lady's room is on the second floor. It's the third room to the right at the top of the stairs. There should be a fabric decoration with a rose embroidery on the door!"

"What about the daughter?"

"It's the next room… ugh…"

The servant, with tears of frustration in his eyes, had given up. After all, he was just an employee, not a loyal servant. His relationship with the family was purely financial. It was understandable that he gave in so easily. Shuu judged that the servant was telling the truth.

"Alright. Go to sleep."

"Ugh…"

Shuu used vibration magic to shake the servant's brain and made him lose consciousness. He moved the servant to the end of the hallway and hid him in a dark spot. It was night, so other servants wouldn't notice him for a while.

Shuu headed for the stairs. The house wasn't particularly large, so he found the stairs easily. He could have used ethereal form to pass through the ceiling, but he had the room locations based on the stairs, so it was better to find the stairs first.

(Luckily, I haven't been seen by other servants. Well, it is night, after all.)

The servant might have been on patrol. It was probably past the time when most people were asleep, so that was likely.

In a world without electricity, people naturally adjusted their activity to the sun. They went to bed early when the sun set. This made it easy to find the stairs, and Shuu silently climbed them.

(First, the third room to the right.)

At the top of the stairs, Shuu counted three doors to the right. As the servant had said, there was a fabric decoration with rose embroidery. This was the right room.

Using ethereal form, he passed through the door and saw a woman sleeping in a large bed. He used death magic to convert her life force into magic and drain it, completing the first target.

(Now, the daughter.)

He moved to the next room through the wall. The room was slightly smaller but still large for a single person. The daughter of a wealthy politician, no doubt. She was sleeping soundly, unaware that she was about to be killed.

(At least I'll kill her without pain… 'Death'.)

He activated the death magic, instantly draining her life force. Her breathing stopped, and the quiet snoring ceased, leaving complete silence. The job was done.

"Time to go."

It was the middle of the night. He could report the job tomorrow.

Shuu quietly left the room.

◆◆◆

"I'm back."

Shuu returned to the inn using ethereal form and confirmed that Iris was sleeping in the bed. It was late, so it was to be expected.

Shuu approached the sleeping Iris and gently stroked her hair.

"Mm…"

"You're cute when you're quiet, but it's a shame you're usually not."

He couldn't help but say that. Shuu acknowledged that Iris was cute, which was an objective fact. However, her childish personality made it hard to see her as a woman. It was painful to not be able to reciprocate her affection.

"Well, since I picked her up, I'll take care of her until she gets tired of me."

He whispered this and lowered himself onto the adjacent bed. As an ethereal monster, he didn't need sleep, but he could sleep. He decided to let his consciousness drift, as staying awake all night would be boring. After a few seconds, he could hear his own snoring.

Iris, seeing this, opened her eyes.

"I'll never get tired of you. You saved me. We'll always be together."

With a blush from being called cute, Iris closed her eyes again.