Chapter 17 | The Assassin Returns Home
After a long time away, I’d finally returned to the Tuatha Dé domain as Lugh.
“It’s changed so much in the last two years.”
The most obvious change from two years ago were the vast soybean fields.
The little legumes could be grown in thin soil without much time and effort. They even helped replenish the nutrients in the dirt as they grew. However, because most people only regarded soybeans as food for livestock, there wasn’t much demand for them. This was why so few people grew them.
Once House Tuatha Dé began buying up the crop as an ingredient for moisturizer, the price of soybeans inflated to the same price as wheat. Now that they’d become an easy source of money, there were soybean fields all over the domain.
Tarte leaned out of the carriage and looked around outside. “We’ve finally returned. It’s so nostalgic. But I feel like the city life in Milteu fits you better, my lord.”
“Did it really seem that way? I feel like this a better fit for me. I’m more at ease here.”
My dyed hair had at last been allowed to return to its natural silver color. As the carriage trundled toward the estate, citizens of the domain began to approach and wave.
“Welcome back! You sure aren’t called a wonder boy for nothing. Soybeans sell for an amazing price now, and my job turning the soybeans into that weird paste pays super well.”
“Thanks to our boy genius, I was able to buy two cows.”
“Even when you’re not here, you continue to work for our sake!”
“I’m grateful for all you’ve done, but sure enough there were many times when I’d wished you were here.”
It seemed that Father had explained to them that I was the one responsible for the increase in the selling price of soybeans. Everyone was telling me how much easier it had made their lives.
Once again, I was glad that I’d decided to export lecithin from the Tuatha Dé dominion.
In all reality, the Balor Company had probably noticed that the secret ingredient was made from soybeans. The reason they hadn’t done anything with that knowledge was likely because they still didn’t know how to turn soybeans into lecithin. They were probably also afraid of upsetting me, or perhaps they were simply showing respect for the person responsible for all this success.
Despite being a merchant, Balor was a compassionate man. During my time as Illig, he treated me as if I’d truly been his biological son.
Even that gentleness was a calculated business strategy on his part, however. It was a common misconception that the best merchants were the ones who coldly ignored the emotions of others and sought only efficiency.
If that was how you operated, then people would be unlikely to want to cooperate with you long-term and your business would suffer. The very best merchants were able to use their hearts to make important decisions, and they invested time and money accordingly into whoever needed it. I learned as much from Balor.
“Lord Lugh, this is for you!”
“Please take this as a token of my gratitude.”
A number of people approached, handing me crops, cheese, meat from hunting, smoked fish, and more. I accepted them all without turning anyone away. Tarte and I quickly ended up with our hands full.
“They all love you so much, my lord,” Tarte said as proudly as if she were talking about herself.
“Yeah. That’s exactly why I want to bring prosperity to this domain, just like my father and his father before him.”
I was reincarnated into this world to be an assassin, but more important, I was the heir of House Tuatha Dé.
Not long after my return to the estate, Mother came up to me and gave me a big hug.
“Welcome hoooooooooooooome! I was so lonely without you here, Lugh! Ahhh, I missed your smell. You’re terrible, you know that? Last time you came home, you only talked to Cian about work and then left without seeing me!”
“… Can you not do this where people can see us? I have a position to maintain.”
“Impossible. I haven’t seen you in so long! Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm, I was so, so lonely. Lugh, you can’t leave us again. Whew, I’ve had my fill. Welcome home to you, too, Tarte. Thank you for staying with my boy. You can see how much I worry about him.”
“N-no need to thank me. I would’ve missed him even more than you did.”
“Is that so? Please continue to look after him! This boy always tries to do everything on his own, so I’m relieved he has someone like you around.”
“I-I’ll do my best!” Tarte stood up straight, her face blushing deep red.
I felt like she was taking my mother’s words the wrong way.
“Mother, where is Father?” I asked.
“Oh, that’s right. He wants you to meet him in the study. While you’re talking to Cian, I want Tarte to tell me all about your time in Milteu. You never told me anything about yourself in your letters, Lugh!”
“O-okay, I’ll tell you everything in full detail!” Tarte replied.
Hearing everything from Tarte, a girl who was closer to me than most anyone else, was sure to embarrass me. Saying anything to Mother about that would be a waste of my breath at this point, though, and Tarte easily relented when pushed, so telling her not to say anything wouldn’t do much, either.
So I resigned myself to my fate. All I could do was pray she didn’t talk about that .
How did I let that happen to me? I wondered. I supposed that, despite this being my second life, I was still in my teens. I was no more immune to the urges of nature than anyone else.
I left Tarte and went to the study.
Father took stock of me as soon as I entered, clearly evaluating me. He obviously wanted to see how much I’d grown over the last two years.
“Lugh, you’ve become a man,” he said at last.
“Yes, I reached the age of adulthood a month ago.”
Fourteen was when you graduated from adolescence in the Alvanian Kingdom. I was now an adult in the eyes of society. That meant I was of marriageable age.
Among nobility, it was common to arrange marriages far in advance while kids were still young and then hold the ceremony when they both turned fourteen.
However, only five years ago, a certain set of circumstances led to it becoming common practice in this country to wait until both partners turned sixteen.
“That’s not what I mean. Unfortunately, this country is overflowing with children who have long since reached maturity. You have become an adult in the true meaning of the word… Becoming a successful merchant was part of your trial, but I’d never imagined you would take that this far. There isn’t a single noble who doesn’t know of Natural You, the cosmetic brand of Illig Balor.”
“I invented moisturizer, a product capable of earning me a famed reputation as a merchant, and then made a plan to spread it…but everything that happened after that was thanks to Balor. He weaponized the popularity of moisturizer by attaching the brand to existing cosmetic products. In doing so, he rewrote the entire landscape of the cosmetics industry. His prowess was stunning to watch up close.”
I’d envisioned using moisturizer to bring about a revolution in the world of cosmetics, but things had advanced so much more quickly than I’d expected. Despite being there for every step of the process as the person in charge of the cosmetics project, I’d still been completely taken aback by the incredible support I’d received from the company.
Now Natural You was becoming one of the most popular brands in the world, and it was known for more than just moisturizer.
“That man is as skilled as a merchant can get. Just having the chance to compare yourself to him is a valuable experience. Before your trial, I explained that my purpose for sending you to Milteu to work as a merchant was so that you could learn about the world, build another identity that will be helpful to you as an assassin, and build personal connections. None of that was a lie. But I did have one more reason. Do you know what that was?” Father asked.
I shook my head. For once, I had no idea what it could’ve been.
“I wanted you to find a life outside of the Tuatha Dé clan. Lugh, you are capable of having a successful career as a merchant. There are many who desire that life. Balor even recommends that you leave our clan of assassins and devote yourself to being a businessman. If that’s in your best interest, then I… He’s not just saying that, you know. He told me that you brought in revenue worth twenty years of this domain’s tax revenue. It seems he wants you to support him as the second-highest executive in his company, and then one day support his son as well. If you choose that road, I won’t stop you.”
“What are you saying? The only reason I gained all that experience as a merchant was to better myself as an assassin,” I replied.
“Lugh, at this point it’s too late for me to choose any other way to live. You haven’t yet bloodied your hands with murder. You can still find another way… We Tuatha Dé have protected this country by removing harmful influences, but it will not do the same for us. If we’re ever revealed for what we are, the royal family will dispose of us as criminals to appease the nobility. Our loyalty to the country earns us no reward.” Father’s words were soft, and there was no charged change in his intonation. Despite the calm delivery, I still felt a chill run down my spine.
“I’ll be clear. Being disposed of if our assassin trade gets discovered is also part of our duty. It’s even possible the secret could leak from our employers’ side without us doing anything wrong… Preparing other identities as early as one’s birth is a form of insurance. When the country casts us aside, we’ll be able to escape and live as different people. I just want you to know that I’d understand if you quit this unforgiving life now in order to choose an easier way to live. So I’ll ask you one last time. Do you still choose to live as Lugh Tuatha Dé?”
Ever since I was young, I’d always been taught the value of the work House Tuatha Dé did. It was the members of House Tuatha Dé who were responsible for protecting the Alvanian Kingdom. Now, despite all his teachings, after all this time, my father had chosen to share with me this harsh reality.
Perhaps this timing was the very reason why he’d chosen to say anything in the first place.
Father wanted me to grapple with this question after I’d spent two years learning about the world but before I got started as an assassin and was unable to back out.
Before my reincarnation, I’d been raised only as a tool for killing. Not once had I ever spared a thought to the way I was used. I’d lived as a simple blade, devoid of doubt.
Things were different with Father, though. He’d raised me as an assassin, but he’d also taught me how to love.
Long ago, I’d decided to no longer live as a tool. I’d chosen to walk a path of my own free will.
“Father…no, Dad. I choose to live as a Tuatha Dé. I have something I need to do that I can only accomplish as a member of this family.”
I’d decided to call him “Dad” instead of “Father.” That was my way of showing him that I’d made this decision as a man. Now that I was older, I didn’t feel the need to be so formal with him anymore.
“Is this decision coming from a sense of justice? Are you saying you have the conviction to throw your life away for the sake of the country?” asked my dad.
“… That’s not it. I’m not that admirable of a person. It’s just that the people of Tuatha Dé and my acquaintances in Milteu are special to me, and I want this country to remain at peace. I don’t want the happiness I’ve gained to fall to ruin. That is most important to me. Even if the country does cast us aside, that’ll be no problem for me. I trained under you, so there’s no way I’d be so easily caught. After being outed, I’m sure I’d still be able to live as Illig if I needed to. Knowing that, I’m okay with the thought of being cast aside.”
That’s right, I wasn’t trying to assassinate the hero because someone ordered me to. I was doing it of my own volition—and for my own happiness.
Allowing myself to be pushed around as I had in my previous life was no longer an option.
Whether my client was the royal family or a goddess, I wasn’t about to follow anyone blindly. Never again would I allow myself to be killed.
Dad watched me without saying anything. I continued to speak.
“I do have one other reason. There is something I won’t be able to do if I leave House Tuatha Dé.”
“And what would that be? I can’t field a guess.”
“I am in love with Dia Viekone. I’m exchanging letters with her even now, and admittedly I have been crossing the border and sneaking into her estate to meet with her once a month. Slipping through the security at both the border and the count’s estate is excellent training. I’m thinking of marrying her someday…and you need a certain rank in order to marry a count’s daughter.”
I’d made time to meet with Dia even when I was in Milteu. So strong was my desire to see her that I’d even made use of Rapid Recovery, my massive mana capacity, and brand-new spells to increase my speed to the point where I could get all the way there and back in just one day.
I loved talking about new spells with her, watching the elation on her face, and writing down all the spells she had invented.
“Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I’ve always thought you too perfect of a son. I never would’ve expected you to do something so foolish. I see. Dia. If that’s what you want, then by all means, welcome to the clan of assassins. I’ll get you started right away… This is an important job. There is a noble we must get rid of. He’s a wretched piece of work who’s selling military secrets to foreign nations in return for narcotics, and then spreading them throughout the country. The people are suffering as a result. He must be removed.”
It was almost unbelievable to me that a man could both be selling military secrets and subjugating his own country to drug addiction.
“I’ll take care of it. Two weeks should be all I need.”
“He’s all yours. I’m not going to give you any advice. Eliminate however you see fit.”
This was to be my first assassination in this world, and my target was a particularly harmful noble, at that. I was itching to put my skills to the test. This man was going to be disposed of efficiently, without so much as a trace left behind.
A much simpler target than the hero, of course, but it wasn’t bad for my first job.
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