Shady things are often done at shady places by equally shady people. Due to their work, Assassin were always shady, therefore they met with their clients at shady places. However, this time, an unfortunate Assassin had to reveal himself to his client.
The reason?
"Sir, I am honored to be welcomed with such courtesy from you. However..."
"Assassin being shady is a stereotype."
"But..."
The Assassin who had dressed himself like a normal person wanted to retort, but he surrendered in the end. He had received his very first client earlier. However, this client seemed to lose his mind as he required him, an assassin, to meet at a public place!
The craziest thing was he had agreed to it! He was helpless. This very first client of his was his saviour. Being an independent Assassin meant less money, and riskier job. Not only would he risk himself for the job, but he also had to be careful for another Assassin aiming for his throat.
Thus, he had no choice but to accept the miserable fate.
"Why are you so down? You can quit if you do not want to do it."
"Ah, no, no, no. I am not down, Sir!"
The Assassin cursed in his mind. Quit? After going this far, then quit? He would lose everything! Not only his pride, but also the money he desperately needed.
"Very well. I want to know your name so I can address you easier."
"Ah, Sir... We, Assassin, don't have name."
"I understand. From now on, I will call you Unko."
"Sir, that means feces in Eastern dialect."
"You are quite knowledgeable."
Knowledgeable my arse! Do you think you can trick me?! I have learned how to curse in many dialects, just so you know!
The Assassin was close to lose his mind. He had been waiting for some clients in need of his service, however he had never expected to meet a client as weird as this one. He felt like a dumbass and was treated as such.The client had just nodded his head as if admiring his unexpected intelligence after all!
"Huuh... Sir, you can call me Kuzo."
"Hoh? It also means feces in Eastern dialect."
"That is Kuso, Sir!"
Kuzo developed a really strong urge to bury his fist in his client's face. It was still less than five minutes, but he was already harassed countless of times. His pride as an Assassin and a human being was wounded!
"Very well. I am Basil Pacifer. I hope you can satisfy me with your job, Kuzo."
"I hope my service is up to your expectation, Mr. Pacifer."
Hands were offered, and both sides shook each other's hand. Fortunately, Kuzo's client could pronounce his name correctly. He inwardly heaved a sigh of relief at that.
On the other side, Basil looked at the weird Assassin named Kuzo. He had met Kuzo coincidentally when he was searching for an Assassin Guild. In his past life, Kuzo had been a renowned Assassin for his skills and his tear inducing backstory.
Basil didn't care that much about the latter. The reason he had immediately chosen Kuzo was the skill Kuzo had as an Assassin. Kuzo had always done his job cleanly to the point where his clients were afraid of him.
It wasn't a big secret that Assassins were often made as a scapegoat when the act was exposed. Still, enough proof was needed to deem the Assassin guilty.
Therefore, each of Assassin's clients would try to get a 'weakness' out of them, so they could make use of that 'weakness' when the assassination was exposed. Kuzo had none of it, and that made his client afraid of him.
"I will give you one simple task, and I hope you will carry it smoothly."
"Trust me, Sir. I will do my best. What is the task if I may know?"
"Information leaking."
Kuzo's entire body froze. His mind went blank before spinning at miles an hour. Information leak usually referred to espionage. It was the job of a spy to leak some information of their enemy Kingdom to another Kingdom.
Assassin might be used to death as they always resumed themselves in every job they took. However, they would do their best to do that job. Leaking some information of a Kingdom was too big of a job for them.
Kuzo looked at Basil resolutely and bowed his head, "I am sorry, Sir. This job is too big for me. I am afraid I can not handle that." Raising his head, he was met with the frowning face of Basil.
"You are misunderstanding something. This is indeed an act of espionage, but not of that caliber. I wouldn't have hired you if I were about to do something like that. I would do it myself."
"Sir..."
You have just insulted me again!
Kuzo was speechless at Basil's self confidence. Basil had uttered every words as if it was an undeniable facts, and he strangely couldn't refute Basil! In the end, he sighed tiredly and decided to accept his fate.
"I want you to dig some dirt out of someone, and mail it to someone."
"May I know who are these someones?"
Basil gave the name and Kuzo nodded in understanding. There was a slight sympathy in his eyes. He had quickly grasped the situation entirely.
"Are you trying to help this man, Sir?"
"No."
"No? Then why are you...?"
Kuzo didn't dare to continue his words. The look he got from Basil chilled his spine. Basil's gaze was incomprehensible, however coldness was reflected in his eyes, albeit faintly.
"Here is the 300 gold, I hope you will do it well."
Kuzo looked at the dropped pouch and quickly scooped it in his hand. He was slightly surprised at the money he was paid. He raised his head, fully intending to return some of it. However —
"Sir, this much of money is... Sir?"
— Basil had already gone.
No sound was made. No one was alert of his disappearance. People acted like he had never been there in the first place. Kuzo was gaping his mouth before a bitter smile adorned his slightly above average face.
"Aren't you more of an Assassin than me?!"
He was salty.
...
It had been two weeks since Clarissa's arrival to Basil's mansion. The relationship between Shirley and Clarissa was strained for a few days. However, the more they got to know each other, the better their relationship became.
Their rivalry wasn't entirely gone though. There was always this sort of competition where they would try to capture Basil's attention by flexing what they were capable of. Whenever that happened, Basil acted wisely by saying both of them were good they were capable of.
With that said, they could understand each other better. Shirley was aware of Clarissa's infatuation on her brother. In the other hand, Clarissa was aware of Shirley's un-sister-like love toward Basil, which the latter wasn't aware of.
Still, despite knowing this, both sides didn't call out on each other. They acted as if they didn't know anything about that.
"Are you guys excited with Basil's match today?"
"Yup!"
"Yes."
"Sure!"
Danzel looked at the three young girls — Clarissa, Shirley, and Julia — then frowned lightly. All of them didn't give him any sincere reaction. Today was the day of the Regional Tournament. Basil was supposed to fight in this tournament.
They were currently waiting for Basil who had gone to pick Deacon from Vyres Forest. Deacon could go back by himself, however the guards wouldn't let him enter the County. Therefore, Basil had picked him up.
While waiting for Basil, Danzel had tried to lessen the boredom as they really had nothing to do. However, the girls weren't as enthusiastic as he had thought.
"What's with the insincere reaction?"
"Ah, that is... We are talking about Brother, right? If it's Brother..."
"Yes, I believe he will curbstomp all of his opponents just like usual!"
"We have literally seen his might, Father. I believe he will do just great."
"..."
Admirable conviction!
But, it doesn't become the reason to feel that unenthusiastic, right?!
Surely, Danzel keep that thought to himself. His daughter had told him many times how unnecessarily rowdy he was sometimes. Therefore, he opted to stay silent. Still, his heart pumped in excitement.
"Oh my, everyone's ready it seems. I can see the excitement on your faces."
"Oh, hello Irene! Are you excited with Basil's match too?"
"Yes, I am."
Again, Danzel frowned his forehead. He had thought Irene would show just as much excitement as he showed. He was extremely bewildered at the amount of excitement the other people showed.
It is lacking!
Sadly, it was only Danzel that showed his excitement more than necessary. The other people were also excited, however they kept it well within themselves.
Irene set herself between the girls and conversed with each other. Danzel sat on their opposite alone while pondering about the ladies' lack of excitement. He looked at them who were talking about Basil carefully.
"Aha!" Danzel suddenly exclaimed, surprising the other four people. Clarissa quickly sent him her stinging gaze and Danzel coughed. "Kuhum... I am sorry I surprised you. I have just realized something."
"Oh? May I know what is this 'something' you have just realized?"
Clarissa asked Danzel with a cold glare. The surrounding people also planted their curious eyes on him. In result, Danzel sweated coldly.
Gulping once, he gathered his courage. "What do you think is the most expressive part of you?" Luckily, he could say that sagely. Clarissa was also surprised as she quickly assume a pondering look. Everyone did the same too.
Clarissa was the first one to open her mouth. "Body?" She asked uncertainly. The other people who hadn't said their answers nodded their heads. However, Danzel was different. He shook his head and said, "No."
"What about hands? People like to gesture with their hands when they are speaking."
Julia said her answer, however Danzel still shook his head. Shirley frowned a little before saying, "Is it the heart? Even when someone was lying, their heartbeat will not be normal after all."
Still, Danzel shook his head. He threw his head at Irene with expectation. However, Irene shook her head indicating she didn't want to participate.
Danzel smiled and assumed a sage like posture. With the wisest voice he could muster, he said, "The most expressive part of you is—"
"The eyes."
"..."
Danzel's lips turned into a thin line. His moment was ironically interrupted by the one they had been waiting for. The other people's eyes lit up in delight before they stood up from their side and greeted Basil who had just arrived.
Danzel was left posing like a sage... Well, failed sage. An invisible tears fell from his eyes, while imaginary black clouds floated above his head. However, it didn't last long as he quickly greeted Basil enthusiastically. His sorrow was quickly forgotten.
"You have finally come, Son!"
Basil smiled faintly and nodded his head.
"Are you excited with your match?"
"No. Why would I?"
"..."
Straightforward!
Danzel was speechless at Basil's straightforwardness. The other people in the surrounding shook their heads as if saying, "Told you!" Danzel opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. In the end, he settled with, "OK."
Woof!
Suddenly a cute bark was heard behind Basil. The girls' eyes lit up as they quickly scurried behind Basil.
"Deacon!"
They exclaimed enthusiastically. Deacon was quickly lifted from the ground by Shirley, then she hugged him tightly. Right after that, Julia took him from Shirley before hugging him. Clarissa also didn't want to lose as Deacon was quickly snatched from Julia.
In the midst of this, Deacon was filled with confusion. He had just barked to notify his Master. However, instead of notifying his Master, he had summoned three demons instead!
Stop toying me!
His face was plainly saying that. Sadly, the girls never understand. They took it as his enjoyment over their stunts. Therefore, they were fawning over him even more.
"Wow... Can't imagine that 4 meters Beast is our cute Deacon." Danzel commented.
Basil merely glanced at Deacon briefly, before playing dumb. He could feel Deacon's despair from their [Link]. However, he didn't intend to help him. He couldn't care less. He knew that Deacon was enjoying it slightly.
"Is everything ready, Irene?"
"Yes, Young Master. Everything is ready."
"Very well. Let us depart to Randalvine, then."
Irene and Danzel nodded their heads. Even the girls became quiet. Still, Deacon was in Julia's embrace. None of the girls wanted to let him go.
Thus, the trip began. In truth, Basil should have traveled with the academy. However, Blake had given him a special right to go by himself. Surely, Basil was also given the opportunity to bring his family to watch the tournament.
Although he had money, he would never have been able to do it if not because of Blake. A certain status or qualification was needed to watch the Regional Tournament.
As the distance between Woster County and the Capital — Randalvine — was quite far, the journey continued for seven days. Although they weren't on their top speed, it was enough to show Woster County was quite remote.
Finally, the day where they arrived at Randalvine came. Ever since they entered the Capital's region, all of them except Basil marvelled at the scene. All of them were awed by the grandeur exuded by the Capital.
They had never seen that kind of grandeur and majesty in Woster County. Their eyes kept shining as they roamed their gaze at the surrounding. Lastly, they stopped at the designated place. It was Randalvine Battle Arena.
All of them got down from the carriage one by one starting from Shirley. Blake was already there, and his eyes lit up when he saw Shirley got down from a carriage. He knew Basil must be there.
"Hey, that is..."
"Hm. Basil's sister."
"Wait, there are other girls."
"They are also Basil's sisters in a way."
Four students behind Blake muttered among themselves. They were the representative from Stardust Academy and also the representative of Woster County along with Basil. In other words, they were Basil's classmates whom he had beaten a few months ago.
Their relationship with Basil became a civil one as they admitted Basil's skills and his superiority over them. Therefore, they weren't shy to admit they put their bet on Basil in this tournament.
When Danzel had got down from the carriage, Basil finally showed himself from inside the carriage. Then, he got down from the carriage and observed his surrounding calmly. Everyone was showing off their might by releasing their pressure.
He was very familiar of this scene. He had stepped his foot to many tournaments in his past life too after all. He was assaulted with a sense of nostalgia. Smirking slightly to himself, he released his own pressure.
!!!
Every eyes were instantly on him. Even though it wasn't his full pressure, everyone could still feel the prick from their Mana Sense. Blake sighed helplessly to himself. He had intended to keep Basil as a surprise, however he wasn't able to do that anymore.
Truly, Basil didn't do that for showing off. He didn't care about that. People would naturally find out his power. There was no need to show off.
"Haha! Finally, a good youngling!"
This was his aim.
Everyone was startled by the voice and turned their heads at the speaker. They were puzzled at first, however realization quickly dawned upon them when they saw the speaker's attire. She was a member of Randalvine Magic Institute's Student Committee.
There, stood a woman with long silky purple hair. She had small luscious lips, sharp nose, and beautiful sharp red eyes. She was tall for a woman as she stood at the height of 178 centimeters. Her figure was also every woman's dream.
Basil knew her very well. She had been his light in his past life. She had been his mentor. She had given her heart to replace his defective heart. She had been the reason he could be a Mage and a Knight at the same time in the past. She was Iliana.
Iliana sent her gaze at Basil and their gaze met. Eyes are the most expressive part of oneself. At the moment Basil's eyes met hers, myriads of emotion were reflected on them.. For a very brief moment, Basil's eyes became the orbs of emotion.
