A Disaster-Level Assassin Has Been Freed

Chapter 9: A Dangerous Person (4)

The long, long night passed, and morning finally arrived.

Normally, they would have swiftly distributed morning rations as soon as dawn broke and prepared to move, but today was different.

To be precise, it was more accurate to say they lacked the capacity to do so.

Indeed, the events of the previous night were truly tremendous.

Around dusk, monsters, a horde of goblins, suddenly attacked.

And not just ordinary ones, but a horde that included a leader-type Elite Goblin.

Of course, if it had only been that, there would have been no disruption to the schedule.

Thanks to Harang, hadn't not a single casualty occurred?

The merchant guild party's morale was actually boosted by the emergence of a reliable guard, and just when it seemed the day was ending completely…….

The second incident occurred.

The betrayal of the Carlson Mercenary Corps.

Carlson, taking advantage of the merchant guild's carelessness, spiked the wine with paralysis poison and tried to kill everyone except the Merchant Guild Leader and his daughter.

There was no mercy.

Everyone saw it clearly.

The figures they had coordinated with just yesterday, comrades they had spent over a month with—even if not engaging in friendly chatter—giggling as they drew their weapons.

The sight of them intending to plunge knives into their necks.

“……It was horrific.”

“Exactly. I really thought I was going to die.”

“It was a close call.”

“Hoo…… Even if there’s no trust among mercenaries, to act so coldly…… No, in the first place, if they were going to make a double contract and just wipe the asses of nobles, why even form a mercenary corps? They should have just entered private service!”

“Exactly! Ptui!”

“Carlson, that dog-like bastard!”

“Good riddance! Scum-like fellow!”

“Exactly. Because of that bastard, the job became ambiguous too…… Eying!”

“Indeed. It was a long-term job, so a hefty sum was expected, and the destination was a central metropolis…… I was really looking forward to spending lavishly for the first time in a while.”

The trade journey was over.

The Barjean Merchant Guild, whose goal had been to reach the Commercial City Marzen and move further, to the center of the continent, no longer had the capacity.

As for money, they had enough since the payment intended for the Carlson Mercenary Corps was saved, but the manpower was the problem.

The exhaustion of mental energy was equally severe.

‘We can’t embark on a long-distance trade journey in such a chaotic atmosphere.

We need to return to the main base to regroup, and first grasp the surrounding information…… information about those noble bastards…….’

Merchant Guild Leader Barjean racked his brain hard.

However, he couldn't focus properly.

It couldn't be helped.

Setting aside the fact that he hadn't slept a wink last night, there were too many distracting thoughts hindering his contemplation.

No, could these even be dismissed as distracting thoughts?

Recalling yesterday's events, his hand trembled.

‘It seems rest is the top priority…….’

He wasn't the only one who needed rest.

Bianca was the same, no, she was suffering from an even greater shock.

‘I never thought I’d experience something so harsh…….’

Bianca had been confident.

She had been quick with calculations since childhood, and could handle most tasks more smoothly than anyone else in the guild.

She had been convinced that she was sufficient for the role of the guild's second-in-command based on her abilities alone, not simply because she was her father's daughter.

However, after experiencing the shocking events of last night, that feeling had completely vanished.

Even now, when she closed her eyes, it came back vividly.

The sword piercing Carlson’s neck.

The mercenaries dying off like insects.

‘It’s laughable.’

That's right.

The truly laughable thing was that the entity imprinted as fear in her memory…… wasn't the Carlson Mercenary Corps members who tried to harm her, but the black-haired young man who saved her from them.

It wasn't just her.

The mercenaries were the same.

As they had more experience with such things than Bianca, they didn't feel terror on a blood-splattered battlefield, but Harang was an exception.

Indeed, they were consciously avoiding mentioning the black-haired young man's name aloud.

Why was that?

He had shown heroic dedication for the merchant guild twice.

Why, unlike when he dealt with the goblin horde, did they not express gratitude or encouragement to him when he slaughtered the Carlson Mercenary Corps?

That was…….

‘……Because he is an incomprehensible person.’

Bianca nodded her head.

Her eyes captured a figure some distance away.

It was Harang.

He was truly a strange person.

His appearance, happy over a single stew despite possessing such incredible skill.

His attire, unstained by even a speck of dust despite rampaging like that.

That appearance, personally making graves for those he had stabbed with his sword without hesitation…… Bianca simply couldn't understand.

Of course, she couldn't ask.

Unlike before, he had become an untouchable existence within her.

“……Daughter.”

A voice calling her.

Bianca looked back.

Her father, looking very disheveled, came into view, and fear could be glimpsed in his eyes as he looked at Harang too.

Barjean spoke.

“As you might have expected…… the trade journey is cancelled.”

“You mentioned it yesterday.”

“……Did I? Hoo, this is a complete mess. To think I forgot what I said.”

“It’s perfectly understandable. Because you’re human.”

“Is that so? Indeed, it is. I am human too. Human, human…….”

Human, human, human.

Barjean kept muttering the same word.

Even while doing so, Barjean's gaze did not leave Harang, who was making the grave.

Bianca felt a slight anxiety as she waited for his next response.

“……He doesn't seem human.”

“……I agree.”

“When we return to the main base…… let’s part ways with that fellow.”

“Yes.”

Hoo, she inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

She had been worried that her father, concerned about the reduced manpower, might offer Harang a new contract.

However, it was merely groundless fear.

Just as Bianca couldn't understand Harang.

Barjean also couldn't understand Harang.

It's impossible to embrace an incomprehensible existence.

Although he was a Merchant Guild Leader greedier for talent than anyone, there was no reason to forcibly hold onto someone who couldn't fit into his own vessel.

“For the time being, we must consolidate internally.”

“That’s right.”

“We need to recruit a new head of escort to replace the one who died, and further increase the guild's own military strength…… I underestimated the nobles too much. I thought they were tigers with their teeth pulled out. Hoo.”

Anxiety about the future flowing out with a long sigh.

At her father's unprecedentedly weak appearance, Bianca remained silent.

* * *

‘Mercenaries…… endure and continue the harsh mercenary work, pressing on, to escape even worse situations.’

With his eyes closed, the story Carlson had told him echoed in Harang’s ears.

It was a story he could relate to.

People suffering from lack of money work to earn money.

People suffering from lack of popularity cultivate themselves to gain popularity.

It's the same for people who lose their belongings due to lack of strength.

According to Carlson, everyone in the world does other things to avoid experiencing things they don't want to.

Even knowing that it is troublesome and tiring work.

“Thank you, Carlson.”

Harang, standing before the graves, expressed his respects sincerely.

His memories with Carlson weren't filled only with good things.

Rather, there were more bad things.

He had oppressed him, deceived the merchant guild, and broken the contract.

On top of that, he tried to kill everyone, including himself.

So he killed him.

Killing him made sense…… but separate from that, Harang felt gratitude towards Carlson.

‘Avoid what is disliked.’

Harang nodded his head.

The world was vast, and his own experiences were few.

For him, still surrounded by countless unknowns and unexperienced things, the homework of ‘What should I do from now on?’ remained exceedingly difficult.

Accompanying the merchant guild, planning to visit the city—these felt like quests that simply came into his hands as he went with the flow.

However, applying Carlson's advice changed the story.

He closed his eyes again and thought.

‘What do I dislike?’

It was fortunate.

Unlike when he tried to recall what he liked, the answer came immediately.

The first was the village.

The second was the village administrators.

From the third onwards, it was difficult to rank them, but they were generally things related to the village.

Some peer fellows, the harsh training, hunger, pain, the dog-like situations…….

Come to think of it, all these things could be tied together with a single phrase.

‘Things that compel me.’

That's right.

Harang disliked, more than anything, someone compelling him and tying him down.

He was prepared to do anything to escape coercive situations.

“Hoo.”

He opened his eyes.

Move to escape coercion.

In other words, live freely.

Harang, having decided on his life's creed, once again expressed his respects towards Carlson's grave.

“Thank you very much. I will not forget this favor. There's no way to repay it since you're already dead…… but the grave turned out nicely, so please overlook it.”

It was fortunate no one was listening; it was a line deserving of being treated as crazy.

Of course, he was sincere.

It had been like that from the beginning.

He knew others thought him a bit eccentric, but that was a misunderstanding.

‘It’s not like I do it on purpose. It’s just that I lack experience and make frequent mistakes.’

Of course, it wasn't a big problem.

It would probably resolve itself over time.

Finished thinking, Harang moved away from the gravesite and walked towards the group of mercenaries.

“O-Oh, he’s coming.”

“What…… Why?”

“Shh, be quiet.”

Watching him, the mercenaries stirred uneasily.

It couldn't be helped.

The Harang of yesterday and the Harang of now were completely different people.

No one wanted to get involved with him, who had annihilated over twenty people without a change in complexion.

Naturally, the newbie mercenaries Jack and Matthew were thinking similarly.

The problem was that the death god in black clothes was approaching them in a straight line.

‘No…… Please!’

‘Why on earth is he doing this!

Is it because I bullied him?’

Matthew trembled violently, and Jack sweated nervously from anxiety.

Jack's heart was especially heavier.

Unlike his relatively gentler friend, he had a history of nagging Harang endlessly.

Was it because of that?

Harang, having approached right in front of them, suddenly drew his sword.

At this, the mercenaries who had been focusing on his every move hastily distanced themselves.

Some were even seen covering their mouths and running far away, while Jack, though shocked enough for his heart to leap out of his mouth, felt extremely wronged.

‘No, just because he heard some nagging, he tries to kill me?’

‘If that misunderstanding bothered him, he should have revealed his skills from the start!’

‘Father, I’m sorry!

Matthew, I’m sorry!

To think I meet such an end because I pointlessly took up mercenary work!’

In that short moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Time seemed to slow down due to extreme fear, and his senses became extremely sharp.

Amidst that, Harang's descending sword was etched into Jack’s mind more intensely than any moment in his life.

Hwoooong-!

Thud.

The black death god’s sword stopped in front of Jack and Matthew.

The two realized Harang had no intention of harming them and belatedly let out sighs of relief.

It was fortunate.

If they hadn't witnessed the events just before, they would have undoubtedly wet themselves.

However, an even more encouraging fact was that the trajectory, power, and true meaning of the swordsmanship Harang demonstrated had clearly entered their minds.

“I haven't been out in the world for long, so I don't know much…… but you two have talent in swordsmanship.”

“……What?”

“M-Me…… talent?”

“Yes. Based on the village standards…… I think you’d rank within the top 100.”

Harang said with conviction.

If they weren't at least at that level, they wouldn't have even perceived the swordsmanship just shown.

Smiling faintly, he continued speaking.

“Jack, Matthew. Thank you. For teaching various common sense things to me, who knew nothing.”

“…….”

“…….”

“I don’t have anything right now, so I can only repay you like this. It was nice meeting you…… See you later if chance allows.”

“Uh, uh huh……?”

“Yeah, un, yeah……?”

Jack and Matthew replied with dumbfounded expressions.

Top 100?

Based on village standards, that's about the level?

No matter how much they racked their brains, they couldn't understand what he meant.

His words were as eccentric as ever.

However, thanks to that eccentric aspect, their tension eased slightly.

They thought that, one way or another, Harang was still Harang.

Besides…….

‘He said I have talent!’

‘I…… have talent in swordsmanship?’

That statement, at least, they could properly understand.

It was strange.

All the ridicule, contempt, and disregard they had heard over six months of mercenary work strangely vanished as if washed away by Harang’s single acknowledgement.

They were grateful.

To the point of tears.

However, before they could express such feelings of gratitude, Harang's steps turned elsewhere.

The place he arrived at this time was in front of Merchant Guild Leader Barjean and Bianca.

Looking at the two, who were in a dazed state similar to the other mercenaries, he spoke.

“You said you’re giving up on going to Marzen, right?”

“Th-That’s right. I’m sorry, but if it’s alright with you, I’d like to terminate the contract……”

“Understood. Then this is goodbye here. I want to visit the place called Marzen. Ah, Kuchen Village too.”

“…….”

“Well then, farewell.”

The conversation with the merchant guild side ended with this.

It was natural.

He and they were bound by a contract, and now it was terminated.

There was no room whatsoever to add or subtract anything.

It meant it was different from Jack, Matthew, and Carlson, who had approached first and offered helpful stories.

‘Of course, those kinds of relationships are good too.’

Relationships based on coercion.

Relationships based on contract.

And strange relationships involving help without compensation, which were still difficult to understand.

The most interesting was the last type of relationship, but the second was also fine because it was clean-cut.

Anything was fine as long as it wasn't the first.

Thinking such thoughts, Harang left the merchant guild.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

The mercenaries.

Jack and Matthew.

Bianca and the other merchant guild employees watch Harang leave.

But he doesn't look back.

Unlike when facing the Carlson Mercenary Corps, his pace is leisurely, but a mysterious atmosphere enveloped him, making it seem impossible to catch him no matter how fast one ran.

Gazing at his departing back, appearing and disappearing like the wind, Barjean felt once again that he was an existence beyond his grasp.