Notes: As I mentioned previously, whole chapter is from Alma’s perspective. Back to Noel next chapter onwards.
Also, you’ll know it when you see it. The guide talks in an archaic, ceremonious way so the translation comes out pompous af. Just keep in mind it’s a ceremonial speech, not me having an aneurysm. (*´ω`*)
†
Three days before she met Noel, Alma had visited the Assassin Order's hideout.
She had heard from Alcor that the headquarters of the Assassin Order was behind a hidden door in a catacombs of a deserted church in the corner of the imperial capital.
The arrangements for the visit had already been set up through an intermediary. The system was that the Assassin Order would get in touch whenever the password was given at a certain tavern in the outskirts of the imperial capital. That tavern was basically the point of contact even for the requests for assassinations.
「Welcome, Alma, granddaughter of Alcor. Follow me」
A white-robed man, who had come to receive Alma, led her through the hideout.
Alma had used Alcor's seal when she got in contact with the Assassin Order, so her bloodline wasn't questioned. No, they might have their doubts, but they were treating her as Alcor's granddaughter for now.
In any case, she had to clear the test if she wanted to join the Order. The Order probably intended to ascertain the truth by seeing her strength.
The interior of the Assassin Order's hideout was dreary wherever she looked. There were no furnishings whatsoever and there were only tallow candles flickering inside the holes dug in the wall.
Eventually, the guide stopped in front of a large metal door.
「Alma Iudikaray. Let me confirm again. Are you one who truly wishes to become a brethren of our Order?」
「That is my intention」
「So be it. Then advance through this door. When you have won through the trial, our god of Hades shall bestow upon you his blessings. Now, go forth」
At the urging of the guide, Alma placed her hand on the door and when she pushed, the door rumbled open heavily. The door was so heavy that it would normally require several men to open, but Alma opened it easily with her thin arm.
Through the door was a large space that seemed to be a training area. And a man stood there waiting. The long-haired man wore an oriental kimono and had claws equipped on both hands. The quality of the fighting spirit exuded by his aura unmistakably belonged to that of an Assassin, a B Rank Job.
「So you're Alcor's granddaughter. I've heard your story but you don't look like it at all」
Alma sighed at the man looking contemptuously down on her.
「Even a small fry like this is part of the Order? ......I'm disappointed」
「What did you say!?」
「You're the examiner, aren't you? Then hurry up and start」
「Don't put on airs, you mere C Rank! I'll show you the power of a real Assassin!」
With movements and speed like the wind, the man flung himself at Alma. If the opponent was just a normal C Rank, they would be shredded in an instant.
However, the one standing there was not a normal C Rank.
Alma Iudikaray was the one who had inherited the blood and techniques of the legendary assassin Alcor.
「......Im, impossible!?」
They had intersected for an instant. And the one who fell in a spray of blood was the man with claws.
「As expected, a small fry. Ridiculous」
Alma walked slowly towards the collapsed man. This time, it was her turn to look down on the man. Facing this unbelievable situation, the man panicked.
「Impossible! Just what on earth is that strength of yours?」
「Are you an idiot? My Grandpa came up with all the fighting methods taught by the Assassin Order. In that case, there's no way they would work on me」
「You, you're really...... that Alcor's granddaughter?」
「You should have realized something like that the moment we faced off. For a small fry, you're such an incurable idiot. But don't worry. Because there's no longer any need for you to worry about your own incompetence」
A smile appeared on Alma's face as she held her knife aloft.
「W, wait! The test is over! It's my loss!」
「Nope, it hasn't ended. It ends after I've killed you」
「Stop, noooo!」
Ignoring the man's cries, Alma swung her knife down.
But――
「That's enough. Put your blade away」
Alma's knife was unable to finish off the man. The blade had been stopped by just two fingers. They were the fingers of an intruder whose presence she had not felt at all and had suddenly appeared.
It was clear that he was an extraordinarily strong person. Alma took a big back step to recover her stance.
The intruder was a brown skinned man wearing white priest vestments with a standing collar. From his appearance, he looked middle-aged, but she could tell, even with his clothes on, that he had a muscular body. With his short, trimmed white hair, he gave the impression of a warrior monk, rather than a priest.
「......You are?」
「Leader of the Assassin Order, Simon Gregory」
With a low voice that carried well, the man announced who he was.
「......I see. If it's the Leader, I can accept that strength」
Alma sheathed her knife and tilted her head in confusion.
「But I don't understand. Why did you stop me?」
「I'll ask you conversely. Why did you try to finish him off?」
「I had heard from Grandpa that it was that kind of test. Where only the strong survive and the losers offer their lives to the god of Hades」
「That was in the past. Under my command, such old and abominable rules are forbidden」
The Order Leader declared peremptorily as he sent the long-haired man a look to signal him to leave.
It had been decades since Alcor had been the Leader of the Assassin Order. It appeared that the way the organization operated had changed quite a lot since then.
But that didn't mean that Alma would have any objections to it.
「Understood. Then, I passed?」
「You passed......in terms of fighting ability」
「Is there something else?」
「I'll ask you a few simple questions. You just have to answer them」
The Leader turned his probing eyes towards Alma.
「The one who killed Alcor, was it you?」
「Yes」
Alma answered immediately. She had told them through the letter that he had died of old age, but there was no point hiding it if the truth had been found out. Alcor had not died of old age, but had lost his life at Alma's hands.
「Even an EX Rank is useless when feeble with age. I killed him easily」
「For form's sake, I'll at least ask you why you did it」
「Do you really need to ask that?」
「......No, I don't. It was a foolish question」
She had harbored murderous intent towards Alcor as far back as she could remember.
That man had never given her any familial love. All that was given was the knowledge necessary for an Assassin and the abnormal training that was imposed daily.
Endless days that wore down her heart and physique. In order to prevent her own eventual death in the future, she had no other choice other than killing Alcor and gaining her freedom.
「Alcor was a seeker of power. That mentality was no longer that of a human, but closer to that of a revenant, an existence that merely spreads death」
The Leader looked to the past and spoke of his recollections.
「Truly, he was a terrifying man. Even I, who is currently in charge of the Order and has also reached EX Rank, cannot win against that man when he was in his prime. That was no longer a human. It was death in the form of a human」
「But he lost to Over Death」
「That's right, he lost. There is always someone better than you. Even the embodiment of death couldn't win against the Immortal Demon. Which makes sense when you think about it. And it was from that time that Alcor started to act strangely」
Unexpectedly, pity colored the Leader's eyes.
「Alma, you aren't Alcor's granddaughter. You're actually his daughter, right?」
It seemed like they had investigated everything thoroughly. Alma could only smile bitterly at that.
「That's right. I'm not Alcor's granddaughter, but his daughter. I'm one of many children that were borne by the women he had kidnapped from some village」
Alcor was defeated by Over Death and lost his sanity. For a seeker of power, his strength was his raison d'être. Because his loss broke his beliefs at the root, he lost the significance and meaning of his existence.
Alcor, who had lost the ability to think clearly, was reduced to a fanatic who became obsessed with distorted delusions. ――I lost in a battle that I should never have lost. Then, if I can recreate another myself that hasn't faced defeat, I can rewrite the past and make it as though the loss never happened.――was what he had thought.
「That man didn't want a successor. He wanted to create the same existence as himself. He really believed that by doing so, he could wipe out the stigma of the past」
「......How pitiful. So that was the end of the road for the legend」
「You're wrong. That man's victims were the ones that were pitiful. The women who were kidnapped and forced to give birth to children they didn't want. And my brothers and sisters who were tormented to death by Alcor's obsession」
So many innocent lives had been lost after being wrapped up by Alcor's obsession. Compared to that sense of loss, the taboo of patricide seemed utterly blameless. At the very least, Alma thought so.
「To that man, I was the most successful product so far. Still, I was told over and over again that I couldn't lay my hands on Over Death. Even after he had lost his sanity, he couldn't forget the fear from when he had lost. I still hate that man even though I killed him, but when I think about that, I feel satisfied. Even Over Death would have become an old man ages ago. How stupid」
「About Over Death, he died a few years ago」
「Eh?」
「The town he lived in became an Abyss and he exchanged simultaneous death blows with the Lord-class Beast that was the core of that Abyss」
「......I see, so Over Death has also died」
All that was left, was Alma. It felt refreshing, but it also felt like she had lost her place in the world.
「Alma, I'll talk frankly. You aren't suitable for the Order」
At the Leader's unexpected words, Alma felt a shock like she had been hit in the head. Even though she was forced, she simply couldn't believe that someone like her who had been trained even before her earliest memories, was not suitable for the Assassin Order.
「Why!? I should have showed you my strength!」
「Certainly, your strength is marvelous. I can even see a glimpse of you eventually reaching EX Rank. However, it has nothing to do with whether or not you are suitable for the Order」
「I don't understand! Explain properly!」
At Alma's questioning, the Leader stroked his beard worriedly.
「......You can never divulge what's said from this point onward. Can you promise that?」
「I understand, I promise......」
「The Assassin Order is going to reform the current state of its organization soon. We will no longer be an independent secret organization, but be reborn under the Empire's umbrella. Our new way of operating will be focused on espionage and using our strength for the sake of the country」
「......Then are you saying that you won't kill any more?」
「Regrettably, it's not possible to completely stop killing. However, from now on, it will be killing as a means to an end, unlike before when killing was the goal. It looks similar but the difference between the two is great. At the very least, there is a future for the former」
「Future......」
Alma didn't know what kind of future that was. But no matter how wonderful that future was, there was no place in it for Alma. She understood that very well.
「There is carnage sleeping inside your heart. I can't trust someone so dangerous with the job of protecting the country」
「.........Hahaha」
Dry laughter bubbled up from Alma. What a terrible nightmare it was. No, this was reality. It was the nightmare called reality that had been going on forever since her birth.
「......21 years, this is the outcome of the 21 years that I've spent against my will? There was not one thing that was fun. I had no friends, no lovers. The whole time...... the whole time I was made to follow that man's obsession and in the end, my strength is of no use...... Then what have I been living for? The 21 years till now...... what were they for?」
The tears didn't stop. The futility, the regret was too much to bear and as those thoughts became tears, they overflowed without stopping.
「Give it back! Give me back my life!!!」
Alma knew that it was meaningless to complain to this man. Still, she could not help shouting. The only person left in the world who cared for Alma, was only Alma herself.
「Your life, is your own」
The Leader said only those words, and then he turned on his heel.
「Wait! What should I do!? Tell me!」
「Live your life however you wish. The Order is not the only place for your strength to shine. There are any number of people who would want you. For example, Seekers」
「......Seekers?」
Seekers might indeed have a need for Alma's strength, but she didn't know too much about them. All she knew was that they relied on their strength to hunt Beasts in Abysses.
「By the way, there's an interesting story」
Although Alma was still confused, the Leader continued to speak with his back turned.
「The grandson of that Over Death is working as a Seeker here in the imperial capital. Well, it seems like the party he belonged to got into some trouble and was disbanded, but he's currently recruiting new members to revive it」
「......And what's so interesting about that?」
Unable to grasp the Leader's intentions, Alma tilted her head in confusion.
「There's nothing strange about Over Death's grandson working as a Seeker. A lion's cub is a lion after all」
「But his Job is not Warrior, but Talker」
「Talker!? That Over Death's grandson!?」
「That's right. He's a Talker, a Buffer」
The Leader turned back at smiled at the surprised Alma.
「As everyone knows, it's the weakest Job」
「He's working as a Seeker despite that? Was he forced by Over Death?」
「No, it's by his own will. In the first place, Over Death is already dead」
「......Yes, of course. But, then why?」
「I don't know that much. But there is one thing that is very clear. Over Death's grandson, Noel Stollen, is strong」
Alma did not have a lot of knowledge about Buffers, but she knew that it was a Job with many flaws. Also that it had such hopeless fighting ability that it was called the weakest. To say a Buffer like that was strong, was so abrupt that she couldn't believe it.
「Is that story real?」
「Of course it's real. As a matter of fact, he's even called the big-eater rookie. While his Job is still C Rank, he is one of those rookies that will eventually rise to the top」
「Unbelievable......」
「That's why I said, it was an interesting story」
As the Leader looked at Alma, his smile widened.
「If you're interested, you should pay him a visit」
†
†
「I have no interest in being a Seeker. What I'm interested in, is only you, Over Death's grandson」
Those words were half true, but also half lies. To be accurate, she also had no interest in Over Death. The grudges between Alcor and Over Death were ultimately things in the past. What Alma was interested in, from start to finish, was only Noel.
How did a weakling like a Talker enter the ranks of the strong? As someone who was purely strong, Alma did not feel it was strange.
「You have eyes unlike the others. Eyes that say that you will do anything to win」
Once she actually met him, she understood why he was called strong. The root of Noel's strength laid in his mental state. In a world full of battles, as being merciless was directly linked to strength, those who had a severe and strong mental fortitude were more likely to leave results. She could see that at a glance.
But Alma could also see at a glance that that alone wasn't enough.
「You need unyielding hard work to build a body like that. It's impossible using normal methods. But no matter how much Noel trains, you'll never be a match for someone with a vanguard Job. It's ultimately something built through only hard work and not through talent. That's why it's a pity. If Noel's Job was Warrior, just like Over Death, you could have been the strongest Seeker」
That should have been something that Noel knew as well. There was no need to say it out loud. However, the sight of him continuing his unrewarded hard work was painful, and she made an inadvertent remark.
Noel was indeed strong. When they were subjugating the bandits, Alma was greatly impressed by his amazing strategies. However, it was still at a level that anyone could reach as long as they put in effort. Strong but not special. As someone who had real talent, Alma could easily predict that Noel's limit was near.
And yet――
「In one year, Blue Beyond will be one of the Regalia」
Noel was brazenly reaching his hand towards a sky that could not be reached.
She thought it was stupid. She thought it was a story that would end with a laugh. She thought that since she was his ally, she ought to tell him honestly that he should stop it.
However, contrary to reason, Alma felt a fire in her heart.
She wanted him to be rewarded. If someone who works so hard and struggles so desperately is destined to remain unrewarded, then this world is complete nonsense, thought Alma, who had real talent, and whose heart was moved by him.
「I'm perfectly fine. Because it's a waste of time to worry about trivial things that are in the past」
She hadn't overlooked the fact that Noel's face had darkened slightly when he said that.
When she thought about it, Noel was still sixteen. No matter how strong his mental fortitude was, childishness still remained in his heart, which had only just turned into an adult. For a child to be alright despite having sorrow and hatred directed at him, was something that was very difficult even for mature adults.
Alma believed that Noel's arrogant attitude and his cold and merciless way of thinking were all parts of his efforts to make himself look strong. There were many petty people in this world. To not be looked down upon by such people, Noel was probably hiding his true heart and behaving like that.
In addition, according to her investigations before the interview, Noel seemed to have experienced a betrayal from his former party members. The punishments seemed to have been dealt, but the regret from being betrayed by allies who had been through thick and thin for a year, was easy for even Alma, an outsider, to see. Even so, Alma could only admire his strength of will to continue aiming for the top despite that.
The strong favored those who continued to work hard.
That was because the strong saw their past, weaker selves in those who worked hard and were able to empathize with them. Furthermore, the bigger the dreams they tried to seize, the more they weren't discouraged by difficulties and the harder they struggled against them, the more the urge to cheer them on, to give them a hand, welled up from within.
「I'm gradually getting to know Noel's personality. ――It means you're extremely cute. That's why――」
That was why, for Alma――
「I'll fight together with you forever」
That resolution was the real deal.
What a great twist huh? Really makes Alma so much deeper as a character. Isn’t it great that despite how she acted like a typical heroine in the past few chapters, you find out now that her motivations and backstory are totally different from what you had thought? I’m pretty sure a number of you were shocked that she had no romantic feelings towards Noel at all.
Fun tidbit, the first part of this chapter had many similarities with chapter 1, where Noel and Alma’s pasts overlap yet greatly differ. Like their first memories, what the training did for them-it polished one up while it wore the other down, etc. I’m pretty sure it was done on purpose by the author.
It’s only my humble opinion but I feel that this author really knows how to end arcs well. That trend continues btw.
With that, Alma’s arc ends and we’ll have the longest arc so far coming next. It will bring us all the way to chapter 29(!), one chapter short of the end of part 1. This arc will have lots of twists and turns, and stars the biggest cast of characters by far in this novel, including some returning favorites. Hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am! (ᵔᴥᵔ)
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