Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter SS2

Come One, Come All! The Yakagi Residence House of Horrors! 

It was a well-known fact at this point that Yakagi Suimei had a penchant for being dragged into all sorts of trouble. There were plenty of cases where he would stick his neck out on his own, certainly, but after being to summoned another world, he’d gotten involved in something or other everywhere he’d been—from Astel to Nelferia, from Nelferia to the Saadias Alliance, and back again. 

It didn’t particularly help that, no matter where he went, he inevitably ended up picking some kind of fight with whatever authority was in power. Really, the only place he still had amicable relations with was the kingdom of Astel. He’d made enemies in the other two countries he’d visited so far, but the king of Astel was in a similar position without a great deal of allies. Astel was also the country that had brought Suimei and the others to this world, so he had the longest standing relationship with the king there. It could be said that they’d come to an understanding of sorts. But even though Suimei was on good terms with the king, there were still a good many people involved in running the country that didn’t have such a generous opinion of him. Our story this time around is about precisely that. 

It was also a well-known fact in Astel that when Yakagi Suimei was first summoned, he quite vocally refused to take part in the Demon Lord’s subjugation. On the surface, it was because he hadn’t received the Goddess’s divine protection and held no power. There were those that thought his refusal was quite understandable given the circumstances, but others not so much. They thought him gutless. A coward. They were the ones who’d summoned him against his will, but alas, the world was full of such hypocrites. 

Moreover, what had become of Suimei after all that didn’t sit well with them. They assumed he’d get his just deserts after allegedly being driven out of the castle, but when they came to find out that he was actually living peacefully in the Empire, it was a rather sore spot. He was in a land he knew nothing about with no connections or friends to rely on. By all reasonable estimations, he should have had a rather rough time adjusting and providing for himself. Yet nevertheless, he’d ended up quite well off. It smelled like some kind of bribery. Like perhaps some influential figure in the upper echelons of the Empire had taken him under their wing. And reading too much into things has a way of making people anxious, especially when they were already apprehensive to begin with. 

But regardless of why it had happened, the result of consequence right now was that a certain noble had sent an assassin. Astel’s King Almadious knew nothing about it, of course, and even Duke Hadorious had nothing to do with it. It was a different noble who felt a righteous indignation on behalf of their country, and had let that feeling run off the rails in the wrong direction. They were just spoiled and privileged enough that the moment the notion crossed their mind, they pulled out all the stops to put their selfish plan into action. Yes, that sort of noble. 

This noble believed rather baselessly that Suimei had, in the time he spent wandering around Royal Castle Camellia as he so pleased, made contacts in the Empire. That that was why he’d left Astel, and that he couldn’t possibly be up to any good. 

In a sense, it could be said that the assassin this noble had hired was truly the unfortunate one in the situation. In the business of assassins, work was work. And as a mere protégé, this particular assassin had no reason to turn down the job. In fact, it was an exciting opportunity. So upon receiving his orders, he set immediately to work. Mistaking Suimei for a simple coward, he had no way of knowing that he was about to walk into a tiger’s den. It was pitiable, really. 

The current hour only made things more unfortunate. Assassins naturally operated under the cover of darkness. It was a different story in the modern era where lights were on and there were people out and about regardless of whether it was day or night, but here in this world with no electric lights and a considerably smaller population, night was the ideal time for an assassin to do their work. But the same was true for magicians. And that important detail of course escaped the assassin, for he had no way of even knowing what magicians were. 

After making it to the Empire and infiltrating the imperial capital, said assassin was currently in front of Suimei’s base. 

“How unfortunate for him...” 

The whisper that escaped the assassin’s lips was likely prompted by pity. Even if he was an assassin, he was still human. Even as a dealer of death, he still had feelings. His target, Suimei, had not only been summoned to this world against his will, it had all been by accident. Furthermore, he had no power of his own and would be completely defenseless. The assassin felt for him and understood why he’d declined the demon subjugation. So this job was nothing personal. The assassin had simply caught the eye of the overzealous noble who’d hired him. It was a dangerous proposition for someone in his position to cross such a powerful noble, so he’d felt pressured to accept. He had to act—to work—without letting his feelings get in the way. It was a common story. 

And so the assassin shook off the emotions that lingered inside him and steeled himself as he stood before the door. As a cat meowed behind him, he got to work picking the lock. It was a commonplace mechanism that didn’t offer much of a challenge for a professional, and the assassin easily made his way inside. Unlike houses in Astel, houses in the Empire usually opened into a corridor. Several doors lined the one in Suimei’s house, and the assassin began pondering where best to start. Taking a habitual glance over his shoulder before moving on, the assassin realized the front door was open. 

“I thought I closed it...” 

As he muttered to himself, a cat poked its head in through the gap in the door. Without making a single sound, it just stared fixedly at him, making him feel strangely uncomfortable. Brushing it off, he turned to head down the corridor and spotted a large portrait of a woman decorating the wall. It was the sort of artwork one would expect to find in the house of a noble or wealthy merchant. Seeing it here felt somewhat strange, but even stranger still, the eyes of the woman in the portrait suddenly seemed to move. 

That painting is staring at me... 

That thought was his first real bad omen. It felt like no matter what angle he looked at it from, the painting was looking right back at him. His confidence began to waver. Knowing he couldn’t let himself get hung up on something so silly while on the job, however, the assassin hurriedly moved on. But as he stepped further into the hallway, the eyes of the portrait followed him in a glare. 

“??!” 

Seeing the painted woman watch him go, the assassin’s body stiffened up. Just what was going on? He didn’t have time to sit and think about it, but it was truly unbelievable. Telling himself it was just his imagination, he moved to take another step down the hallway. And when he did, the portrait’s eyes continued to follow him. 

“Ugh...” 

Was that a groan of fear, perhaps? The fact that the assassin didn’t scream spoke to his professionalism, but it was quite clear he’d been stricken with fright. He couldn’t help recoiling a single step. He was filled with such dread that he was momentarily sure he’d gotten lost in a funhouse or something. To make matters worse, he suddenly sensed something. He quickly whipped around to see the front door still ajar... and the cat from before still silently staring at him. 

“Shit, shit, shit... What the hell is going on?” 

His fear began to escalate into full-blown panic. Since there seemed to be no sign of magical enchantment on anything, his sense that something was afoot grew rapidly. He then started thinking he’d seriously stumbled into a haunted house. As fright won out over his sense of obligation to complete the job, he turned to retrace his steps. When he did... 

“Daaaaaruma-san fell dooooown.” 

He heard the voice of a young girl from down the corridor behind him where he’d just been looking. It made his heart skip a beat. Had he been found by one of the residents? He wasn’t immediately convinced that was the case because of the oddity of the words he’d just heard. Maybe it wasn’t someone talking to him at all. The assassin stood there frozen in fear for a moment, then slowly turned towards the source of the voice. What they saw was a delicately crafted doll standing down the hall looking at him. Other than the doll, there was nobody there. 

“Was it... you?” 

He knew there was no way it could be, but he couldn’t help the question that escaped his lips. Regardless, the doll didn’t answer. The assassin stared at it skeptically for a long moment, but nothing else happened. His sense of dread reaching its peak, the assassin turned to flee the house. When he did... 

“Daaaaaruma-san fell dooooown.” 

He heard the same voice from behind him once more. When he whipped around again to identify the speaker, there was still only the doll standing in the hallway. Was it... really her talking? The assassin was no longer sure it wasn’t, and the dire need to escape seized hold of his legs. He immediately tried to run, but... 

“You moooooved! Now you’re it!” 

The voice said something different this time. He peered over his shoulder and saw that the corners of the doll’s mouth were now curved upward into a smile. But that was the last thing he saw. His consciousness then sank into darkness. 

Moments later, quiet footsteps approached from down the hall. 

“My goodness, aren’t you up past your bedtime?” 

Suimei appeared from the darkness and looked down at the assassin with an exasperated expression. It needn’t be said what happened to the assassin and the noble who sent him after that.