WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Returned as a God ◈

Chapter 29: Their Own Circumstances (5)

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I'd already heard from that guy that I'd have to kill someone.

I'd braced myself, in my own way, but I never imagined the target would be a kid like this.

The back of my head throbbed.

I understood, just a little, why he'd taken his time before saying something like that.

While I kept my mouth shut, Dead told me about the target.

"She's on her way to the capital right now for her summer break from the academy, and she's in the first class car of this train. I've prepared everything you'll need, so I'll leave the rest to you."

Dead pointed to the back of the paper.

Flipping it over, I found faint pencil writing.

The number of the bathroom car closest to first class, and the location of some item.

The girl's drawing kept catching in my eye.

Why did she have to be assassinated?

What kind of story was behind this?

"Understood."

My answer came out short, even though my head was anything but.

Asking questions wouldn't change anything.

Dead stood up first.

He snapped his fingers, and every sound in the bar returned to normal.

"Drinks are on me. Good luck with it."

Four coins I'd never seen before sat on the table.

The bartender glanced at me, as if checking whether it was okay to take them.

Once Dead had completely vanished, I quietly pushed the coins toward the bartender and got up.

Instead of heading to third class, I went to second class.

I stepped into the bathroom at the end of the second class corridor.

The bathroom turned out to be surprisingly ordinary.

I locked the door and reached up toward the ceiling.

Fourth panel from the right, wasn't it.

I pressed my palm against the ceiling.

Part of the ceiling shook loose and came down.

I reached into the gap and pulled out a small bag.

It felt like something out of a spy movie.

Inside the bag were a forged ID, a ticket, and a small dagger.

Much smaller than the dagger I'd used on Layer 1.

I wondered how I was supposed to kill anyone with something this small, until I noticed a tiny bottle taped near the handle.

Liquid sloshed inside the glass vial.

When I gave the bottle a light shake, the liquid inside turned cloudy.

I could tell instinctively that it was poison.

The idea, clearly, was to coat the blade and stab with it.

I took the dagger.

The bag also held another notebook and what looked like train tickets.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Sir, are you all right?"

Seemed like they'd gotten worried after I hadn't come out of the bathroom for so long.

To avoid mixing them up, I tucked the forged ID into my coat and hid my real one.

I opened the door.

"I'm fine. Just felt a little sick to my stomach."

"I see. Should I bring you some medicine?"

I nodded at the man's offer. He wore a uniform.

"I'll have the medicine sent to your seat."

He held his hand out toward me.

A signal that he'd carry my bag for me.

I handed it over without thinking twice.

"What's your seat number?"

"S2."

"My apologies. I didn't realize..."

The moment he heard the letter S, he bowed his head hastily.

Judging by his reaction, I figured it had to be a VIP seat.

I raised a hand slightly, as if to say it was fine.

First class was something else.

Red carpet ran down the corridor lined with private compartments, each space partitioned into its own room, guaranteeing privacy.

The man knocked on the door marked S2.

A girl's voice, sounding maybe eleven or twelve, came from the other side.

"May we come in?"

The man opened the door. I was shown inside.

A girl sat primly on one side of a spacious sofa.

Gold hair that fell to her waist, pale skin, red eyes.

I knew at a glance that this was Lia Angelina.

Even in the drawing she'd looked quite beautiful, but in person she was every bit as striking, if not more.

The drawing hadn't captured the half of it.

"And this is..."

The man trailed off, looking at me, clearly not knowing my name yet.

The paper only had the seat number written on it. No alias.

Telling her my real name felt like a bad idea, though.

I answered smoothly and took a seat.

The name I gave was made from the most common surname mixed haphazardly with my own name, Yu Jihan.

"I'm Lia Angelina. That's an unusual name you have."

I laughed awkwardly at her response.

If I'd known this would happen, I should've made up a foreign-sounding name ahead of time.

The male attendant approached.

"Would you mind if I checked your train ticket?"

I handed over the ticket I'd tucked into my coat.

After confirming the information, he returned it to me politely.

"If you need any medicine, I'll bring it right away."

I raised a hand and declined politely.

Claiming a stomachache had been an excuse to begin with, and the last thing I wanted was for things to get complicated.

He nodded quietly at my refusal.

Lia raised her hand instead.

"Lemonade."

The man bowed his head, then turned his gaze back to me, as if asking whether I needed anything.

"Water's fine."

I ordered water without much thought.

Ever since hearing I'd have to kill this girl, my throat had been unbearably dry.

Silence settled over the room after the man left.

Lia leaned against the sofa, quietly reading a book.

The scenery outside the window looked ordinary. Ever since we'd left the city, it had been nothing but grassland rolling past.

A while later.

The man came back with the lemonade and water.

He set them on the table between us and stepped out.

Lia closed her book, set it on the table, and took a sip of lemonade.

It was nothing special, but the motion looked remarkably graceful.

Her hair fell back, exposing the pale line of her neck.

I swallowed, wanting to end it quickly if I could, in one clean stroke.

It felt like I could actually do it, right now.

I hid the dagger behind my back.

I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped the poisoned handle tight.

"What brings you to the capital, Yuhan-ssi?"

She spoke to me.

I hesitated over whether to answer.

I tucked the dagger between my thighs and drank the water on the table.

"I have some personal business in the capital."

"Personal business?"

"Yes. I'm a businessman."

"Oh, that sounds interesting."

I nodded instead of answering.

I'd worried the businessman line might be pushing it too far, but thankfully she didn't seem suspicious.

This train, a direct line to the capital, ran through the whole night.

There was still time.

The thought eased my nerves a little.

"What about you, Lia-ssi? Why the capital?"

"I'm a student. It's break season, so I'm going to see my parents."

"I see."

"If you don't mind, let's grab a meal sometime. I know a lot of good dessert places. Oh, do you dislike cheesecake?"

Cheesecake. Now that was a name I hadn't heard in ages.

All I could ever get in the lobby was jerky, or bread that tasted like nothing at all.

"No, I like it."

Cheesecake or anything else, as long as it was edible, I'd take it.

Of course, there was never going to be a day where Lia and I sat together in some café in the capital, sharing cheesecake.

Lia rummaged around and pulled something out.

What came out of the nicely wrapped bag was, of all things, jerky.

It seemed like an odd food to be carrying around.

"Have you had lunch?"

"Not yet."

"Would you like some of this, if it's all right?"

Lia held out the jerky.

I hesitated, then took a piece from her.

I bit into the long strip of jerky.

It was far tougher than I expected.

Even the jerky in the lobby hadn't been this tough.

I barely managed to swallow it, then drank the rest of my water in one go.

It wasn't just tough. There was a faint fishy smell to it too.

I found myself wondering what it was even made of.

Either way, it wasn't a taste I wanted to experience twice.

My eyes met Lia's.

"How is it?"

"It's all right, I guess. What is this made of, exactly?"

At my question, Lia brought a finger near her lips and smiled.

Maybe it was just me, but that smile sent an odd chill down my spine.

The train picked up speed, and the air in the room turned cold.

A cold sweat ran down my back.

Lia went on reading her book, quiet.

Damn it.

However I looked at her, she was just an ordinary girl, maybe eleven or twelve.

If I'd known it would be like this, I should've at least gotten some kind of reason out of Dead first.

I need to kill her now...

I sensed someone approaching.

I turned toward the door first, and Lia answered.

The man in charge of our room bowed and stepped inside.

"What would you like for dinner?"

He'd come to take our dinner order.

He handed each of us a menu.

All the strength drained out of my body. I ordered the top course on the list.

The sunset faded outside the window, and darkness settled in fast.

Dinner took far longer than I expected.

Counting dessert, there were more than twelve separate courses.

It was the first proper meal I'd had in a long time, but with nothing about the situation changed, I couldn't even enjoy the taste.

I drank the coffee that came with dessert.

Lia was eating more jerky.

"You must really like jerky."

"But you don't seem to like it much, Yuhan-ssi."

"It's a bit too fishy for me."

Worried she might offer me more, I drew a quick line under the subject.

I wasn't joking. That fishy taste still seemed to linger in my mouth.

The room attendant came to collect the finished dessert plates.

Not long after, he came back in to convert the room into beds.

With the attendant checking in this often, any chance of an assassination was out of the question.

I'll have to wait until she's asleep.

I had no intention of dragging this out on the train.

The space that had been two facing sofas turned into two beds set facing each other.

Lia lay down on her bed and yawned.

A red curtain was drawn between the two beds.

Her voice came through from beyond it.

"I'm sleepy, so I'll turn in early. Would it be okay to turn off the lights?"

I pressed a button on the wall, and the room went dark.

Even after the lights went out, Lia shifted a few times.

Sitting up in bed the whole time would look suspicious, so I lay down too, for the time being.

I rested my head on the pillow and turned onto my side.

Sleeping on a train. What a strange experience.

If I'd never come to the tower, this was something I'd never have done in my whole life.

I pulled out the dagger, took a slow breath, and quietly drew back the curtain.

Moonlight poured in through the window on my side, where the curtain hadn't been drawn.

"Damn it!"

I pulled back the blanket, but the bed was empty.

I had to find her.

Footnotes:

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