Chapter 608

Raon bit his lip tightly, thinking about the meaning behind Denning Rose’s words.

“Did you just say that he’s an assassin?”

“Yes,” Denning Rose said as she nodded calmly. “The agent dispatched there after Sir Raon made his request was originally an assassin. His skills were quite excellent, at that.”

Since Denning Rose called him excellent, he must’ve been a famous assassin before he retired.

“That agent said that the man who seemed to be Juvel and a few others smelled like assassins.”

“They smell like assassins…”

Who were the types of people who were the most proficient at recognizing the assassins?

Many would think guards do, but it wasn’t actually the case.

Since assassins acted in a particular way, assassins were the best at noticing and recognizing other assassins.

“Haa…” Raon sighed briefly and leaned forward. “Did that agent who used to be an assassin say that Juvel was an assassin?”

“Yes. He was working as a gatherer but said he seemed to be an assassin. Of course, that isn’t certain since he was making a guess.”

Denning Rose didn’t even bat an eye while saying that it was a guess. She implied that it was pretty much certain.

“And the people around him were also assassins, right?”

“Yes. It’s not the case for everyone, but a large number of them were apparently assassins.”

She nodded, saying that it wasn’t just a few people.

“Which implies that they have a target to kill over there,” Raon sighed while touching the heated teacup.

“Indeed, that would be the only reason.”

Denning Rose nodded, saying that she thought the same thing.

“Juvel is currently staying in Raven Village near the Suran tribe. It’s not a big village, but it’s not exactly small either. He’s considered a villager since he’s been living there for over a year now. Apparently, he even gets invited in by the Suran tribe because they’ve built a friendly relationship.”

“Hmm…” Raon stared at the quiet wave on his tea and tilted his head. “It’s rather impressive that you’ve managed to find him since he must’ve been changing his appearance if he’s an assassin.”

“You apparently don’t know much about the Suran tribe.”

“All I know is that they have many Beast Union shamans.”

“Indeed, there are shamans over there. However, a few of them have a special ability.”

“Special ability?”

“Yes. It’s an ability of the eyes called the Mind’s Eyes.”

“Mind’s eyes?”

“They can apparently determine people’s real thoughts.”

“Could it be a mind-reading ability?”

Gasp!

Wrath widened his eyes and raised his head.

‘Why are you surprised? Is there nothing like that even in Devildom?’

Wh-what are you even talking about? Even the King of Essence could’ve had an ability like that!

He could’ve had it, not that he had it.

Even his bluffs were strange, probably because he was a cowardly demon king. It could also be because he rarely lied.

“I heard that they used to have a shaman that could read minds hundreds of years ago, but now, they can only see if a person’s appearance is genuine or not. That’s why it’s impossible to conceal your appearance there.”

Denning Rose shook his head, saying that the mind-reading ability was just a story from legends.

Ahem! But of course!

Wrath nodded while rolling his eyes.

There’s no way a human being would have such an ability! Such an ability shouldn’t even exist in Devildom. How could a mere human…

Raon ignored Wrath as he continued to ramble and looked at Denning Rose instead.

“So the reason Juvel revealed his appearance was…”

“Yes, he must’ve gone there with his real appearance in order to gain the trust of the shamans who can use the Mind’s Eyes. And that’s how we managed to find him.”

“I see.”

Raon nodded briefly. He could finally understand the entire situation.

‘It’s even more certain now.’

Living in a village like Juvel did to gain the trust of the people was called preparation among the assassins.

He must’ve gained their favor with the preparation in order to kill someone.

‘He’s an assassin, of all things…’

Judiel’s life was similar to his previous life.

The fact that a trashy master was holding their leash, forcing them to do things that they didn’t want was pretty much the same.

However, she was better than him since she still had a family, and the fact that she couldn’t escape because of her family made it worse than his previous life.

Even though Judiel had helped him a lot, he cherished Judiel mostly because he could see his previous life in her. That was why the fact that her brother was living as an assassin reminded him of Derus Robert, enraging him.

‘It might become dangerous.’

If he interfered at the wrong moment, he could be accused of being an assassin or even get involved in the assassination.

‘Haa.’

Raon slowly closed his eyes. He could remember Derus’s evil deeds as if they had happened the day before even though twenty years had passed.

Even if he accomplished his revenge, he would never forget about what he’d done to him.

That was why he didn’t want Judiel and her brother to experience the same thing. After all, they were similar to him.

‘I’m never going to live like him. I need to protect my subordinate.’

He raised his gaze, resolving himself to live differently than Derus, who easily threw away his subordinates.

“Lady Judiel hasn’t been seen anywhere yet. It’s possible that she hasn't arrived at Raven Village yet, but she might be in disguise or hiding outside the village.”

“I guess so.”

Raon nodded. Since Judiel was educated as a spy, she was proficient at hiding her presence and had a careful personality even though her combat potential was lacking. She wasn’t going to be found easily.

“By the way, who is the target of the assassins?”

“We aren’t sure about that either.”

Denning Rose sighed and shook her head. It was extremely rare for her to say that she didn’t know something.

“I’d like to say that it’s just the Suran chief, but we don’t really have any information about them. We don’t even know where the assassins are from either. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. That’s already enough.”

Raon shook his head. He was already extremely grateful that she’d gathered so much information in such a short amount of time.

“Are you heading there?”

“Of course I am.”

Raon emptied the cup and stood up from the seat. An unwavering flame sparked in his eyes.

“Because my subordinate is involved.”

* * *

Raon finished his preparations to head towards Raven Village and left his room.

“Huh?”

He encountered Encia and Siyan, who were passing by the corridor, while he was heading to the entrance.

“Sir Raon the damn handsome, where are you going?”

Encia stepped forward and lowered her head.

“S-Sir Raon the damn handsome!”

Siyan also shouted damn handsome as she approached.

Are they sisters who lost each other during childhood?

Wrath shook his head upon seeing that Siyan and Encia had become even closer than real sisters.

‘They might be.’

Raon sighed mentally and walked up to them.

“I’m planning to train outside the house.”

“So it’s training.”

Encia smiled as if she was expecting that answer.

“By the way, Sir Raon.”

She licked her lips and came one step closer.

“Can we continue writing the Biography of Raon?”

“The Biography of Raon…”

Raon furrowed his brow while looking at the incomplete books that they were holding in their arms.

“We are planning to publicize two more volumes—the dragon slayer part and the Seipia part.”

Encia smiled, saying that she was even going to make a new cover. It looked like she’d already finished planning.

“You are going to do it anyway even if I don’t allow it.”

Since both Encia and Siyan were as proactive as Merlin in that aspect, they were definitely going to do it anyway whether he stopped them or not.

“No, we aren’t going to do it if you don’t want it.”

Encia shook her head, saying that his opinion had the highest importance since it was a book about him.

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Then please don’t do it.”

“Ah…”

“Err…”

Encia and Siyan turned pale as soon as he refused. They were staring at him with expressions that suggested the sky was collapsing onto them.

“Haa…”

Raon shook his head, unable to meet their eyes.

“Do as you wish.”

“Yes!”

“Thank you! Damn handsome!”

Even though Raon was there in person, they hurriedly ran to the study, excited about making the book.

You are going to regret it.

Wrath’s eyes were filled with envy despite saying that he would regret it.

‘I might.’

Raon chuckled and tried to leave the annex building, but Sylvia was standing in front of the stairs at the entrance.

“Where are you going?”

Sylvia walked up to him with a bright smile.

“I’m going out to train for a while. It will take a few days.”

“Alright, have a nice trip.”

She waved her hand, telling him to do his best.

“Send my regards to Judiel.”

“Hmm…”

Raon immediately turned around upon hearing Judiel’s name.

“What do you mean by that…?”

“You’ve been acting strange ever since I told you Judiel was on holiday. There’s no way your mom wouldn’t notice that.”

Sylvia smiled, telling him that he shouldn’t try to deceive his mom.

“She was rather strange from the first time I saw her. She is calm, but she looked like she was being chased by something at the same time. She looked a lot better after she became in charge of you, but she’s been impatient again recently. Is she in danger?”

“…I won’t know until I get there.”

He didn’t lie to Sylvia since she seemed to be somewhat aware of the situation.

“Make sure to bring her back. I’ll prepare delicious food for you.”

Sylvia smiled, telling him to just bring Judiel back safely.

Delicious food?

Wrath was yawning in boredom but suddenly straightened his neck upon hearing that.

What is that delicious food?!

“I’ll be back.”

Raon lowered his head at Sylvia and turned around.

W-wait a moment!

Wrath shouted while dashing towards Sylvia.

What is that delicious thing? Please just hear what it is!

* * *

A wall made of monster bones was rising in the middle of a forest, where trees as long as spear shafts and bushes as sharp as spearheads were soaring to reach the sky.

A brown-haired young man lowered his head in front of the wall of bones, the beads of sweat forming on his forehead showing his exhaustion. His blue eyes were sparkling despite his shabby outfit.

“It’s me, Philip! Please open the door!”

As he shouted to introduce himself as Philip, a person’s face showed up from behind the wall of bones.

The middle-aged man licked his lips. His skin was tanned despite giving a neat impression overall.

“Why did you return so early?”

“It’s important to be on time for an appointment with the chief.”

Philip scratched his head, smiling like a good guy.

“I can’t bring myself to dislike you.”

The middle-aged man shook his finger after being called the chief, and the wall shifted to create a door where about two people could pass simultaneously.

“Thank you.”

Philip lowered his head again and entered.

Small huts shaped like mushrooms were scattered haphazardly about while a tower of bones rose from the center of the village, tall enough to touch the sky.

The color was completely dark, but it gave off a majestic impression rather than ominous.

“Why are you still so curious about it when you come here practically every day? Come this way.”

The chief shook his hand, and Philip went towards him while gasping.

“It feels like that tower is sucking me in whenever I see it. I can’t take my eyes off of it.”

“You have good eyes for things. Our ancestors will be glad.”

“That tower was built after defeating the monsters who intruded into the village, right?”

“Yes. The story says that thousands of them attacked. Our tribe would’ve been annihilated if it weren’t for our ancestor, the Lion King.”

The chief looked up to the tower and smiled faintly.

“Such an amazing person.”

“Stop with flattery and take out the stuff.”

“It’s not flattery though…”

Philip twisted his lips and opened the bag around his waist.

Medicinal herbs, poisonous herbs, and flowers of different colors were inside it, and every single one was lively, implying that they were recently harvested.

“They are in such great condition, to the point where it’s irritating.”

The chief laughed bitterly while examining the medicinal and poisonous herbs that Philip had brought.

“How come you manage to find even better ingredients than our tribe? Where do you even gather them?”

“It’s a business secret.”

Philip smiled, holding a finger up to his lips.

“Seriously.”

The chief was proud of him and patted his head.

“Alright, I’ll buy them all as the highest quality goods.”

He nodded and handed a pouch to Philip. The clattering sound of gold coins could be heard from the inside.

“Th-thank you!”

Philip took the pouch and bowed, his head almost reaching the ground.

“How about staying overnight? You won’t regret it since we’ve acquired some good meat.”

“Hmm… I’m sorry. Today is the day I gotta send money to my home.”

“Ah, I see. It’s already that day.”

The chief nodded and patted Philip’s shoulder.

“Is your mother doing better?”

“......”

Philip smiled without saying anything.

“Alright, you can leave. I’ll prepare dishes that you won’t be able to refuse next time.”

“Thank you. See you next time!”

Philip lowered his head and left the village.

“Huh…”

The young man from the Suran tribe with round eyes gasped while coming towards the chief.

“He’s an interesting man. He even refused the chief’s invitation.”

“It’s understandable though.”

“Well, I guess all his thoughts are shifted towards his mother. That’s why he’s wearing those rags even though he’s making lots of money.”

“Even though his body is here, his mind is with his mother since she has an incurable illness.”

The chief clicked his tongue in regret.

“You should be nice to him when he comes here.”

“Of course. We even treated him to a meal at our home last time.”

The young man shook his head, saying that they were already getting along.

“Haa.”

The chief sighed while looking at Philip’s back as it got further away.

* * *

After Philip left the Suran tribe, he returned to Raven Village, where he’d been staying for over a year.

“Did you already finish your business?”

“You are so diligent.”

“I wish my son could be like you.”

The villagers smiled, complementing Philip. He’d become part of the village completely.

“Nah, I still have a long way to go.”

Philip smiled like a nice guy and went towards his home, located on the outskirts of the village.

The moment he opened the door and entered, his expression froze in a frightening manner.

“I believe I told you to not come during the day.”

He furrowed his brow, looking at the white-haired middle-aged man sitting in the chair on the right.

“Watch your words towards your superior, Number 196.”

The middle-aged man called him Number 196 with serious eyes.

“What’s the matter?”

“How are you doing with the Suran tribe?”

“I’m being invited to their events and homes.”

“Well, it’s only natural to gain that much favor in a whole year. Though, the others couldn’t do it.”

He nodded, telling him he did a good job.

“Did you locate them?”

“It’s already done,” Philip replied, handing over a piece of paper from his inner pocket.

The location of the Suran tribe that he had visited a moment ago was drawn on the paper, and the locations of the traps and spells were written on it.

“Then let’s get to work.”

“Already?”

Philip widened his eyes, finding it unexpected.

“What’s the matter? Do you feel reluctant?”

The middle-aged man looked coldly at him.

“You are an assassin. Affection and relationships with people are completely meaningless to you. After all, the Philip in this village is just a fake.”

“......”

Philip bit his lip tightly without responding.

“Don’t you want to meet your sister, Juvel?”

“Ugh…”

Juvel furrowed his brow deeply at the mention of his sister.

“This mission is the tenth one. You can finally meet your sister after you complete this one.”

“You said the same thing during the fifth mission, but I couldn’t even see her face!”

“Aah, it’s true this time.”

“But—!”

“Do you want to see her corpse instead? Or there’s also an option of sending your corpse to her. You have a choice.”

“Kuh…”

Juvel’s chin trembled, unable to respond.

“How is my sister doing?”

“She’s doing great of course. You don’t need to worry about her since she’s enjoying her life in a rich household.”

The middle-aged man shook his head, telling him to stop asking the obvious.

“We should finish this matter quickly since we’ve been seeing an unknown gaze recently. Do you remember the target?”

“…Yes.”

Philip bit his lip and lowered his head. His eyes had turned dark and deadpan, unlike when he’d entered the village.

“Alright, we’ll start the operation tomorrow, the moonless night.”

The middle-aged man shook his hand and left Philip’s room.

Philip stood there for a long time, as if he’d turned into a statue.

* * *

Judiel was above a hill where she could see Raven Village below.

She bit her lip while watching Juvel talk to the villagers through Encia’s telescope.

‘It’s definitely him… Juvel.’

His skin had become a lot rougher and he’d grown into an adult, but she could ascertain it the moment she saw him. He was definitely the only brother she had, Juvel.

Most importantly, the scar on his forehead was exactly what she remembered.

‘Since he got that scar because of me.’

The scar was made when he fell and scratched his forehead on a rock when they were running away together. She could never forget about it, since her mistake was the cause for it.

‘He’s doing fine.’

She couldn’t tell the exact circumstances nor hear what they were saying since she was watching from afar, but she could at least guess that he was getting along with the villagers.

‘But…’

Judiel bit her lip while gazing down at Juvel.

‘Why is he even here?’

She had a few hypotheses about it.

Karoon might have sold Juvel, Juvel might have escaped, or he could be living in that village on Karoon’s orders.

Regardless of the case, it made her happy to simply see her brother.

Since she’d believed he was dead, his energetic smile alone brought warmth to her heart.

However, she became slightly greedy as she watched for three days.

‘What if he is being held hostage with my life, just like what happened to me…?’

Just as she’d become a spy in the annex building because of her brother, Juvel could’ve been doing something bad over there because of her life.

If that was the case, she couldn’t allow it to continue.

Judiel took out a small piece of paper from her inner pocket, wrote down her own name, Juvel’s name, and what they’d told each other right before they got separated and waited until night to go down from the mountain.

She carefully entered the village. She was wearing a robe and hiding her presence, but no one considered her suspicious, probably because outsiders often visited the village.

She was about to shove the piece of paper into Juvel’s window, maintaining the concealment art that she’d learned from when she was educated as a spy.

The window opened carefully, and a man wearing a black mask and black outfit came out of it.

She could immediately tell who he was, upon meeting his blue eyes.

“Ju—”

The moment she tried to call his name, the dagger suddenly emerged from his hand and fell towards Judiel’s forehead.

Pssh!

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