Chapter 3 | The Assassin Receives a New Mission
The morning after the incident with Tarte, I went to my mom’s room.
“Wow! How many years has it been since you’ve visited my chamber of your own volition, Lugh?! I’ll prepare us some tea and sweets. I have some cookies stashed away for a special occasion.”
My mom cheerfully stood on a stool to grab some cookies hidden above a dresser. The packaging design was one you’d often see in the royal capital. Doubtless, the sweets were a souvenir someone had sent her that she’d set aside.
“Mom, you know why I’m here, right?”
“Hmm-hmm-hmm, of course I do. You came to thank me for giving Tarte a little push in the back. Did you two go all the way?”
“No, we didn’t. I sent her away.”
“What, you refused a girl as beautiful as her?! Ah, it’s because you don’t know how, right? Don’t worry. Your mother will teach you.”
“That won’t be necessary. Receiving that kind of lesson from a parent leads to serious trauma, you know.”
Why was she assuming I was a virgin? I had gained plenty of experience while living in Milteu as Illig Balor of the Balor Company. I couldn’t date freely while in the position of Illig Balor, however, and I also would have felt guilty because of Dia, so I’d only had sex at brothels. Let’s not forget the encounters from my previous life.
The reason I was upset over this was that when I was young back on Earth, I’d used my body to entice people with that sort of predilection. I’d had many acquaintances who’d done the same. I knew how painful and tragic that kind of thing could be.
“If that’s not the reason, then I really don’t understand. You both like each other deep down, and yet you refuse to get intimate. It’s so irritating, I can’t take it. That is why I gave Tarte the little push she needed.”
“What the hell were you doing telling Tarte to employ seduction? I won’t let her do that kind of thing. Surely you must know what it means for an assassin to get involved in that, Mom? How could you send her down that path? I am furious about this.”
If it were for me, Tarte would do it. No matter how painful it was for her, she wouldn’t hesitate. That’s what scared me so much.
“Oh dear, you’re scaring me, Lugh. I didn’t mean anything by it. It was only an excuse so that she would tempt you.”
I had thought that might be the case, but my mom underestimated Tarte’s willingness to rush headlong into everything without regard to her well-being.
“The next time you do this kind of thing, I won’t forgive you. I’ll never speak to you again,” I warned.
“N-no, you can’t do that. I’ll reflect on what I did, so please forgive me. I wouldn’t be able to live anymore if you hated me, Lugh.”
Clinging to me tight, my mom started to cry. As always, she looked and acted too young for her age.
As I considered that, I realized I had a slight build and often got mistaken for someone younger, too. That would probably continue to plague me even into my twenties. It worried me how people remarked on my resemblance to my mom. It was fine for girls, but no guy wished to look young forever.
“I’m excusing you this time, but no more. I know how Tarte and the others feel about me. We’re just fine without you sticking your nose in our business.”
Dia, Tarte, and Maha were all valuable companions. We had our own way of doing things, and I didn’t want any outside interference.
“Lugh, that’s where you’re still a child. You have to know there’s no way a girl will show her true feelings to the person she likes,” my mom stated with a self-satisfied smile.
Although it was irritating, I knew I couldn’t deny that.
“Tarte would have been happy if you had laid your hands on her.”
“Have you not learned your lesson, Mom?”
“Yes, I have!” she hurriedly replied with a forced bow.
…She would’ve been happy, huh? If I had simply let events unfold and gently slept with her rather than scaring her, it likely would have pleased her.
Still, it was wrong. Relationships built on excuses were unhealthy. Also, if we were to ever truly become involved, that kind of first experience could be damaging down the line.
“I’m leaving.”
“Oh, come on, let’s have some sweets.”
“I’m busy. I won’t be able to focus on my own work once Dad gets home.”
“He should be back in two days, right? I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of souvenir he brings for us.”
“Would that I shared your excitement. I’m being used as a figurehead to raise the morale of the country. There’s no way this won’t be trouble.”
Dad had left for a preliminary meeting related to my award ceremony. As the capital was far away, the conference was held in a town that served as the halfway point. There were many political machinations at play, and he was summoned as the head of House Tuatha Dé. It felt strange that I wasn’t there. I was the one who would be given the medal, after all.
“There’s no need to worry. Cian won’t let them hurt you, and if he thinks there’s danger, I’m sure he’ll have an escape plan ready,” my mom said.
Most wouldn’t expect such preparation from a noble, but it did sound like my dad.
The Tuatha Dé clan worked for the Alvanian Kingdom, but the family was more important to my dad than any country. Should he ever be faced with a choice between the two, it’d be the latter every time. Even without an aristocratic title, he had the strength necessary to protect us.
“Ah, one more thing. Please bring Maha home next time. We’ve exchanged many letters, and I can feel in her every word how much she loves you. I need to see what kind of girl she is!”
“…Bye, Mom.”
There was no point in saying anything more. Feeling very hopeless, I left the room.
To my surprise, my dad returned home a day earlier than expected. As soon as he saw me, he told me we’d meet in the study after an hour and then retired to his room.
He looked to be his usual self at a glance, but I could tell he was concealing profound fatigue. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him that spent. The meeting must have gotten quite heated.
I ordered Tarte to brew some of a special tea blend that I’d created. Natural You had added teas to its inventory lately. This one was a rare variety. Even if only a little, I wanted to cheer my dad up. The brew relieved stress and promoted healthy skin, making it quite popular.
“I need to prepare myself for the worst.”
I’d been on edge about this whole medal-awarding business, but my dad’s mood confirmed that something serious was going on.
“Excuse me,” I said as I entered the study. My dad had changed his clothes, and thankfully, his complexion seemed to have improved. Maybe he’d taken a short nap.
“Please sit.”
I did as requested.
“Let’s get straight to the point. I want to talk to you about your upcoming ceremony in the royal capital. I think you already know this, but the reason I left the domain was to attend a preliminary gathering related to that.” His face was solemn as he spoke. That didn’t bode well.
Suddenly, a knock came at the door.
“Who is it?” asked my dad.
“It’s Tarte. I brought tea on Lord Lugh’s orders.”
“Enter.”
Tarte bowed and then poured two cups. She’d become quite graceful at this. Once finished, she bowed again and left the room.
“This smells nice. I’m not familiar with this tea,” my father remarked.
“It’s tea from a distant foreign country. It’s supposed to be relaxing,” I replied.
“…To think I let my own son see how tired I really was. It won’t be long now until you are head of the house. This brew is good. Just what I needed.”
Dad drank with a slight smile, and his facial expression softened a little.
The tea was made using mana that leaked from the ground located above flowing dragon veins, making it impossible to find during my first life. I took a great liking to it and ended up buying some fields and tenant farmers from a landowner to secure a private supply. To ensure a good work ethic, I paid the workers much higher salaries than their previous employer.
“Now that we’ve had time to relax, let’s get back to our discussion. The medal ceremony in the royal capital will play out roughly as I expected, so there are no real problems there. You will have to be a part of some overly showy functions, though.”
“I’m prepared for that.”
My dad filled me in on the details, and nothing seemed particularly off. None of it pushed past what I was comfortable with.
“The real issue is what will follow… This attack has left the leaders of this country shaken. A single demon’s appearance led to your school being devastated, despite it possessing the highest concentration of mages anywhere in the nation. To make matters worse, it all happened in the royal capital’s backyard.”
The Royal Knights Academy was situated on the outskirts of the royal capital.
The capital had two layers of defense—its actual military establishments and the academy.
Many strongholds on the outside had been rendered all but meaningless during the demon incursion, and the school had been moments from falling. We were one mistake away from the royal capital, the pillar of the country, being destroyed.
“If they’re scared, then they’ll take a defensive strategy… No, they wouldn’t… Are they planning on keeping the hero in the capital?”
“Very astute. When the next demon appears, the hero will not be permitted to venture too far from the capital. Our rulers are ready to sit by and let people die. The excuse is that if they fall, then so, too, does the country. Truthfully, those higher up in the government are just looking out for themselves.”
They were going to keep the hero locked up in the royal capital even though demons couldn’t be killed without her. It was utterly insane.
“What does that have to do with House Tuatha Dé or me?” I asked.
“…The nobles of domains farther from the capital were vehemently against this tactic. None of them liked the idea of being left for dead. That is when your name came up. The central government convinced everyone to accept keeping the hero at the capital by promising to dispatch enough fighting strength to kill a demon, should another make itself known.”
“They’re going to send me? Why does the capital think I’m capable of that sort of thing?”
I did participate in the last battle, but as far as anyone knew, all I did was discover the demon’s location and then keep an eye on it until the hero arrived. None of that was enough for people to think I could battle a demon head-on.
“From what I understand, Epona let a few things slip. You were careless, Lugh,” chided my dad.
“…Shoot. I’m sorry.”
I’d asked her not to say anything. I knew full well that if my strength ever became known, it would be problematic.
“Don’t blame the hero. As I understand it, some folks were badmouthing you at a party, and he spoke out in your defense… You can probably imagine what followed, right?”
“Knowing Epona’s personality, yeah. I was too naive.”
She most likely revealed everything I did during that battle. Still, I couldn’t blame Epona for this. It was my mistake for not binding her with anything more than a verbal promise.
“I don’t know if this is something you’ll be happy about, but you will receive appropriate compensation for this role. In my efforts to protect you, I demanded ridiculous compensation, hoping it would get the higher-ups to back off, but those fools accepted everything I asked for. And that’s not all. It was decided you will be awarded a special position at your medal ceremony. The station will come with a variety of privileges. I apologize for not being able to protect you. Our family has long evaded rising beyond the level of baron because of the freedom that rank affords us, but this whole debacle was a good reminder of how little one is capable of without a superior standing.”
Those running the government were as sly as ever.
Dad was unrivaled in matters of assassination and medicine. When it comes to politics, however, a person’s standing speaks more than their skill. It was actually impressive he was able to obtain as much as he did.
“Please don’t apologize. My own naïveté caused this. It’s my price to pay,” I said.
“You continue to amaze me, Lugh. If you ever feel the need, you can flee the country. If it’s gotten to the point where I have to send my son to certain death, then I won’t hesitate to abandon our lives here. All preparations are ready.”
My dad was undoubtedly referring to the plan for if House Tuatha Dé was ever cast aside by the royal family. In his eyes, I could see the conviction to betray our nation to save me.
That’s the sort of man my dad was. When it came to assassination techniques, even I didn’t match him. He was reliable, but that’s precisely why I didn’t want to grow overly dependent.
“For now, I don’t think that’s necessary. I’ll prove I’m capable of even killing a demon,” I declared.
Technically, this was a meteoric rise in standing for me. The reality of the situation, however, was that I was being thrown into a battle against demons without the hero’s help. Functionally, it was suicide.
I was sure the government didn’t believe I could actually kill a demon. My involvement was just an excuse to keep the hero in the capital. Should I wind up dead, the bigwigs would simply tell the provincial nobility to honor their agreement and continue to hog the hero for themselves.
Regardless, I was already devising a way to slay demons. This new development only meant that I had to speed up my work.
“There is some other business,” my dad added. “I was entrusted with a message from Epona. He says he wants to meet with you before the medal ceremony. As a token of apology, the hero wants to use his skill My Loyal Knights to share some of his power with you.”
It came as a surprise that Epona had been present at the meeting. Likely, it was so she could provide testimony to my strength.
“That would help a lot. The idea of going up against a demon as I am now has me feeling rather powerless. Leave it to the hero to have a skill that can be shared with others.”
Truthfully, I already knew of that ability. It was an S-Rank skill I’d learned about while in the goddess’s room.
My Loyal Knights enabled the user to strengthen up to three people and give them copies of the original’s skills. However, if one of the targets went against the hero or fell in battle, they’d lose that gift.
That power was something I could make use of to kill the hero. There were plenty of loopholes to get around the condition of not being allowed to oppose Epona.
“Are you really okay with this? I think it would be perfectly acceptable if you run,” my dad said again.
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t agree to anything I can’t do. Assassins don’t misjudge themselves. That’s how you raised me. I promise I’ll be fine. Also, this isn’t so different from what we’ve been doing up until now. The role of the Tuatha Dé is to assassinate those who will bring harm to our country. All that’s changed is the opponent.”
This was shaping up to be a tremendous task, but it could’ve been worse. My dad explained the special privileges I would be granted, and they were very enticing. Ultimately, my regular practices wouldn’t be too heavily altered.
As a Tuatha Dé, I’d do anything for the country. Even assassinate a demon.
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