Chapter 13 | The Assassin Performs Surgery
We were taking a written exam in class today. Once I finished all the problems, I fell deep into thought.
It had been a few days since I assassinated the assassin.
…I didn’t get much information out of him. Through torture, I learned the mastermind was a member of the noble faction. I’d reported that finding to both my dad and the headmaster.
It was a huge relief it wasn’t a royal who’d put the hit out on the hero. House Tuatha Dé was part of the royal faction, and we couldn’t afford any internal conflicts. If you looked at the big picture, though, the very existence of such cells spoke to infighting.
I had also learned why they were going after Epona. In a sense, it was a very respectable reason.
Anyway, it’s finally time.
I was off to perform Tarte’s surgery tonight. I’d had enough practice, and we conveniently had a few days of vacation beginning the following day.
Tarte was going to have to wear eyepatches for a couple of days, so conducting the procedure on the night before a stint of vacation was the best time.
“Your time is up. I’m now going to collect your answer sheets.”
Professor Dune collected our exams. Shortly afterward, the bell rang, announcing the end of the lesson.
Dia and Tarte rushed over to me, followed by one more person who’d made a habit of following us around lately.
“Lugh, I did really well on the test this time. It was all thanks to our study group,” Epona said.
She’d entered this class significantly behind everyone else from a learning standpoint, so I’d had many opportunities to teach her how to study. We were meeting for study sessions frequently, but because trying to work out our schedule every time we met was time-consuming, we’d decided to establish a regular time to meet as a group.
Even Naoise and Finn had joined our meetings.
“You’ve got the basics down. If you keep going at this pace, half a year from now, you won’t need our help at all,” I praised.
“I’m gonna keep working hard. I can’t let myself fall behind,” Epona declared.
“That’s the spirit,” I said.
This is getting scary. Just how quickly is she going to grow?
Epona made a face like she wanted to say something, so I urged her to spit it out.
“Why are you going this far for me?” she asked. “Is it because I’m the hero?” Her gaze was cast down at the floor.
Epona was poor with interpersonal relationships. Even though she depended on me, her lack of confidence made her feel unworthy. In turn, that caused her to grow distrustful.
“If I said that didn’t have anything to do with it, I’d be lying. But I swear that’s not the only reason. I help because I enjoy spending time with you. I’m a bad liar. I get in a terrible mood when I’m around people I don’t like.”
“Okay, that’s good to hear. I was worried you didn’t like doing things with me… Someday I’ll repay you for all you’ve done for me!” Epona promised.
I’d told similar falsehoods many times before, but such deception was necessary. Everything I did was to find Epona’s weak points. I had to work toward a future where I didn’t have to end her life.
“We need to get to the library, or they’ll cancel our reserved seats,” Tarte said, antsy about the time.
“Ah, you’re right. The library is very unforgiving. If you’re late by even a second, they’ll give your chair to someone else,” Dia affirmed.
“That’s true,” I replied. “But if the library doesn’t work, we can always just go to our apartment. We have plenty of space in there.”
““NO.””
Tarte and Dia shot my suggestion down in unison.
What’s wrong with using our apartment? Tarte kept the place very clean. There was nothing damning Epona could find, either. My work’s nature meant I owned things the hero shouldn’t see, but they were all well hidden.
“Ha-ha-ha, you’re completely under their thumbs, Lugh. But living under the iron grip of Dia and Tarte sounds quite pleasant. How about lending one of them to me?” Naoise joked.
“In your dreams. They’re both important partners to me,” I shot back.
After that declaration, Dia and Tarte’s faces flushed, and Epona muttered, “That’s so nice,” with a look like a child lusting after a toy.
“Anyway, let’s get going. We are truly going to be late if we don’t leave now,” I urged. Gathering my things, I stood to leave.
It was now the evening of our first day of vacation. I was facing Tarte, who had a bandage over one of her eyes.
Last night, I’d completed the safe implantation of a Tuatha Dé eye. In a few moments, we would know the result of my efforts.
“I’m nervous. I hope Tarte is still able to see out of that eye,” Dia admitted.
“She responded well enough to the surgery, but there is still a minimal chance it could’ve failed. I’m anxious, too,” I replied.
That other assassin had made for good practice. I’d only agreed to work on Tarte because I’d been entirely sure of myself.
“Ah, Lord Lugh, Lady Dia, it’s almost time.” Tarte pressed her hand against the patch over her right eye.
“I’m going to take the bandage off, but I want to say something first. Don’t worry about my feelings. I know you’ll be tempted to lie and say you can see even if you can’t,” I said.
“…You’re right…,” Tarte conceded.
That was just the sort of person Tarte was.
“At least promise me you won’t do that. If something feels off, I’ll be able to do something about it if you tell me early on. The longer you keep it from me, the more difficult it will be to correct any errors. Don’t worry about how trivial it might feel. If there’s anything that feels strange, tell me, okay?”
“Okay, I swear,” answered Tarte.
Tarte’s uncovered left eye shone brightly at me. I could see my reflection in it. Gently, I removed the bandages around her right eye.
The surgery had left her iris looking slightly darker. When Tuatha Dé underwent the procedure, their eyes turned gray. In Tarte’s case, however, the pigmentation simply dropped a bit.
Her right eye was out of focus because it’d been covered for so long.
“Everything looks so blurred, my lord.”
“That’s because your eye was bound for an entire day. Look into this.”
Using mana, I conjured up a little light. As Tarte stared into it, her eye began to focus.
“I can see properly now,” she said after a minute or two.
“Okay, moving on. Come over here.”
I took Tarte by the hand and led her to the window. After opening it, I pointed to a distant mountain.
“First, look at that mountain with your left eye,” I instructed.
“I can see it clearly,” Tarte answered.
“Good. Now, look at the large tree at the summit. How many branches are there extending from the trunk? Can you tell me what kinds of animals are on those branches?”
“I can’t see that. I can’t even see the tree.”
You would’ve needed binoculars to spot something that far away.
“Okay. Try doing the same with your right eye.”
“Wow, there really is a big tree. I can even tell how many branches there are. It’s faint, but I can’t believe I can see something that far away. There are sixteen branches. Sixteen! But the small animals on the branches are blurry, and I can’t tell what they are.”
“Try pouring mana into your eyes with physical strengthening. Be careful not to do it too quickly. Take it nice and slow.”
“Ah, I can see more now. There’s a squirrel, and also three birds I’ve never seen before, and hmm…there’s a longhorn beetle, too.”
Tarte could see a bug sitting on a branch that was kilometers away. Such was the power of Tuatha Dé eyes.
“That’s more than enough. Can you see anything else?” I asked.
“After strengthening my eye with mana, it now looks like there are glittering beads of light around you, Lady Dia, and around myself,” Tarte replied.
“What you’re seeing is mana. Try strengthening your eye a little more. If you do that, you’ll be able to see the mana that inhabits the world.”
“Ah, it’s beautiful. This must be the mana in the atmosphere—the power of the world. Wooow, it’s so pretty. Who knew everything was this beautiful? This is the way my lord sees things!”
With an ecstatic expression on her face, Tarte spun around, her skirt waving in the air.
“There’s no problem with your long-distance vision and your ability to see mana. Now for the real test. I’m going to check to test your ability to see objects in motion. Tarte, get as close to the wall as you can,” I commanded.
“Like this?”
“Perfect. I’m going to throw a ball, and I want you to catch it. Please pour even more mana into your eye. Make it much stronger.”
I took out one of my assassination tools. It looked like an unremarkable, white, fist-sized sphere. After scribbling something on the little orb, I held it up in the air.
I strengthened myself with mana. Tarte was able to see that, so she did the same thing and poured even more mana into her eye.
After confirming her physical strengthening, I raised the ball overhead and threw it. Because I’d empowered myself with mana, it rocketed from my fingers at over two hundred forty kilometers per hour.
Unsurprisingly, Tarte caught it.
Catching an object that was traveling so quickly was undoubtedly an impressive feat, but Tarte could do that even before the surgery. What I wanted to confirm was something else.
“Wow, we’re going to celebrate?! I’m so happy.”
“Good, you passed. You now have what I’ve always wanted to give you: an eye that can see at high speeds.”
“Huh? Lugh, Tarte, what do you mean by ‘celebrate’? No one said anything about that!” said Dia, her eyes darting back and forth between us.
“I wrote a message on the ball,” I explained.
“The words were plain as day to me, even though they were spinning,” Tarte added.
“Those Tuatha Dé eyes are amazing. I couldn’t see that at all,” Dia admitted.
It came as no surprise that Dia couldn’t read the ball. Not only had it been moving at over two hundred forty kilometers an hour, but it had also been rotating more than one hundred times a second. Reading a message on something in such a state was impossible for normal eyes.
“We should go to the royal capital. Things are expensive there, but it should be fine so long as we don’t visit too often,” I said.
The royal capital was a two-hour carriage ride from the academy. Prices were extremely high, but the city was rife with the highest-quality goods you could imagine, and there was no better place to experience luxury.
“Yeah, you’re right. We’ll make it a celebration for Tarte’s successful surgery. We should enjoy ourselves!” Dia exclaimed.
“I’m looking forward to this chance to study lots of different foods,” Tarte commented.
It would’ve been nice if Tarte could just forget about everything and have some simple fun for once, but I did like her earnest side.
“Lord Lugh, the successful procedure on my right eye means you’ll do surgery on my left eye, too, right?” asked Tarte.
“Yeah, but to be careful, we’re going to wait a few days. We’re back in school tomorrow anyway. We should do it the night before our next break. In the meantime, I want you to wear this.” I handed Tarte something I’d been keeping for this moment.
“It’s so small and clear. What is it?” she inquired.
“It’s a contact lens. If you wear that on your left eye, it will appear the same color as your right one. Everyone would be surprised if one of your eyes suddenly changed color,” I explained.
“Oh, that’s right. I’ll make sure to wear it,” Tarte agreed.
“Tomorrow’s training will probably be tough, but try your best to push through it. Once you get used to your new eyes, you’ll grow leagues stronger than you ever could’ve before,” I stated.
“Then I’ll be able to support you better than ever!” Tarte cheerily concluded.
“You’ll also be able to make better use of the wind magic I’ve made for you… I need some kind of secret weapon of my own. You two are going to leave me in the dust,” Dia observed.
I’d only just removed Tarte’s eye wrappings, so I had to take it easy on her today. Come tomorrow, however, I planned to subject her to combat training that would force her to adapt to her Tuatha Dé eye. All that extra sensory information was going to put a burden on her brain. Time and practice were required for her to get used to it.
“Don’t worry about trying not to spend too much money at the capital. I’ve prepared a special budget for this trip,” I said.
“Ooooh, then let’s get some really expensive alcohol,” Dia suggested excitedly.
“I’ll order some beef from a cow that was raised specifically for eating. I’ve heard rumors about such cattle, and I’ve wanted to try some at least once in my lifetime. I heard that meat from those cows is significantly softer and tastier than from those that do field work,” Tarte added.
They both knew that holding back when I’d asked them not to would come off as rude. It sounded like we were in for a fun day out.
I had to ensure we hadn’t been tailed. A lowly baron’s son indulging himself at high-class restaurants in the royal capital could start some unsavory rumors. I decided to take the girls to a nice eatery that offered isolated rooms to protect the customers’ privacy.
“Let’s all get changed before we leave. We’re going somewhere fancy, so we need to look the part,” I said.
“I’ll wear the dress you bought me in Milteu, my lord,” Tarte replied.
“Oh yeah, I have a dress that will captivate you, Lugh,” Dia answered.
I’m looking forward to seeing their dresses. I suppose I should change as well.
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