Chapter 15 - Nightmare
"What's the matter, Alec, have you forgotten my face?"
The King of Grandsword was standing there, dressed all in glittering clothes. And without an escort.
"No, I'm not. ......"
What's going on? It's not as if he's going to leave this to me and come out and go toe-to-toe with an assassin.
I looked around, but several soldiers were frozen in the distance, their faces pale.
So that's it.
Damn, that's an irregularity in the plan.
Oh come on, no one told the king about this plan?
He's an idiot for wanting to walk around by himself, but the security guards needs to be scolded.
It's Guard Captain Dasim's fault.
There was no need to lure assassin to the castle.
"By the way, Alec, I haven't seen you with that guy in the back, is he a newcomer?"
The king, who didn't know anything about it, noticed the man and said.
"No, he's..."
I turned around, but he had already started to move. He drops four black balls about five centimeters in diameter from the hem of his robe.
As they fell to the floor, they let out a powerful puff of smoke.
"Damn it, guards! Protect the king!"
I shouted and fired my Ice Javelin at the assassin.
But he was no slouch either. He had ridden into enemy territory alone. There was no way he was just an ordinary guy.
He reacted swiftly to my magic and dodged the flying ice spear by ducking backwards as far as he could . It's Matrix Body Art. Bastard.
Even though he looked stiff, he must have been doing flexibility exercises daily since he was a child. Because drinking vinegar doesn't make you soft.
But you can't avoid my fast-fire (shooting) ice javelin with that much.
I shoot at the legs of the guy who's on the bridge on his back.
"Ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja!"
After two hits, he now jumps from his position, rolls to the side, and dexterously avoids me.
"Hoo~, so he's an assassin, huh? Interesting, then I'll help you out, Alec."
The king pulls out his sword and says something like that, but you can never have too much courage.
"You, stay out of this!"
I shouted, standing in front of the king and catching the needle that he sent flying with my body.
*stab! stab!* And it stung my chest and forehead, but well, even if I had poison on me, I wouldn't die because of my [Poison Resistance Lv5].
But why do I have to go this far?
I made up my mind that I would charge the king for the escort later, and chased after the fleeing assassin.
"Wait!"
The man in the black robe was running like a gale through the corridors of the castle, but he was unusually fast.
This must be another of his skills. He's got something troublesome. He's running like this, but he's not waving his arms, so I'm guessing it's [Ninja Run].
"Kyaaa!"
He opened the door of the castle and jumped in, but it seemed to be the maids' locker room, and the maids in their underwear screamed and hurriedly hid their bodies.
I'd like to take my time to admire it, but maybe another time. I've memorized the location of this room.
I'm going straight after him.
"Alec! You'll be rewarded. Come to my side."
The assassin negotiated with me as I fled.
"How much, by the way?"
"I'll give you 500,000 gold immediately, plus a jewel and a magic sword as a success reward. The good stuff."
A jewel and a magic sword. If he says they're the best, they're worth about 10 million gold.
That makes me a wanted man in this country, but I guess that's not a bad deal.
I've already cleared the eighth layer of the Labyrinth of No Return. It's not like I have to clear all of them.
There are dangers, so it's possible to get off somewhere.
It's all about life.
"If you refuse, Alec, I'll put the same amount of money on your head as a prize. The highest amount ever. No matter how good you are at A-rank, you won't be able to sleep easy."
"You're threatening me."
"That's right. But think about it. You're not a vassal of this country. There's no need to be obliging to the king."
"Hmm. So, if I accept, you'll guarantee my life, right?"
"Of course. We have nothing against you. We just don't want you getting in our way."
Do I get the equivalent of 10 million gold here and leave this country behind, or do I join the king's side and continue my dungeon capturing?
One thing I do know is that even if the King of Grandsword were to reward me, it wouldn't reach this 10 million gold.
He said himself that he's running out of money and won't be offering any quests for a while.
Well, I already know my answer.
"That's a pretty good offer."
"Oh, then――"
"But, I refuse."
The way to use "but I refuse" is to ask for more favorable conditions, but if the conditions are too favorable, my heart will be shaken and I'll really accept.
That's enough.
"You blockhead!"
"Before you do that, you'd better realize that you have no credibility."
It's hard to believe that someone who wants to assassinate someone else would honestly bring a reward for success.
If you kill them quickly, you don't need to pay.
A man who kills others easily will take his promises to others that much more lightly. They don't see people as people.
"I'm not the one you're negotiating with. No, it's nothing."
"If it's not you, then the king of Portiana behind you is the one I should negotiate with?"
"Die."
A few brazen needles, filled with quiet anger, flew at me.
There was no way I was going to get a straight answer out of him, was there?
I didn't even have to dodge the needle, I just kept chasing after it without slowing down. Ouch!.....I knew I should have avoided it.
"Tsk, you monster!"
The black-robed assassin cursed me and swung his twin daggers.
"Guhah!"
"Gguhh!"
The soldier who was just about to stand in my way collapsed.
"Don't come out if you're under level 30! You're slowing me down!"
I tell them that, and shoot the Ice Javelin.
If he dodges, I'll have to think about where the ice javelin will hit, and the soldier will be in the way.
"Alec, that's your weakness."
"What?"
I thought he was going to take a hostage, but the black-robed assassin just rolled a smoking ball and disappeared.
"Damn it, where is he?"
"Find him! He's close!"
It's not like he escaped.
His mission is to assassinate the King of Grandsword.
It's possible that he'll take his time and reassess, but the chance to get inside the castle will be very valuable to him. He relied on me. I don't think he can get in that many times.
In other words, whoever is in the castle now will not miss this opportunity and will go straight to the king, even if it means putting himself in danger.
"Fortify the king's defenses!"
I shouted at the soldiers and hurried to the original place.
"Kyaa! Again!"
"Did the man in black pass by here?"
"I don't know, you pervert!"
The maids who were changing their clothes were throwing all sorts of things at me. I used my [Instantaneous Movement] to avoid them and went through the changing room. How dare they treat me like a pervert when I'm on a serious and important mission and every second counts. I'll have to break in again later and play with you. I happen to have a few pairs of underwear tucked away in my right hand, but of course it's force majeure.
However, I've eaten up a little time, haven't I? I'd better hurry.
"Oh, Alec, you're all right."
I was starting to get a headache since the king was still there, but as expected, there were soldiers guarding him now.
Besides, this might be a strange move against that assassin.
No one would expect the king to stay in the same place like that. Unless he's really stupid.
"You too. Where's Dasim? Fire him."
I spit out as I pulled out the needle.
"I can't do that. Reluctantly, though, I've just decided on his successor."
The king refused with a stern face.
"Hmm?"
"Lord Dashim had been shot in the back by someone with an arrow and was dying. I'm his successor, Gareth."
A young knight stepped forward and said.
"An arrow? When did this happen?"
"Just a moment ago, sir."
So there's more than one assassin?
The assassin I brought with me was a dagger and needle wielder. Didn't look like he had a bow.
When I was suddenly alarmed, an unexpected person appeared on the scene.
A short-cut girl with black hair and a rather small poker face.
"Hmm."
"Mare?"
She's a archer who recently joined my clan.
I let her join in because of her level and good face. ......
Why is she here?
Mare grabbed an arrow from the quiver she was carrying and pulled it out.
"Oi! Stop it!"
She suddenly released it at the king.
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