“I somehow ended up like this.”
Ron’s benign smile was the same as always. However, his face was pale and full of small injuries. The rotting smell also got stronger as Cale got closer.
His left arm, starting from the shoulder area, was missing.
“Hans.”
“Yes sir.”
“Get out.”
“Excuse me?”
Cale looked at Hans, as well as the estate’s staff and his father’ subordinate, before clarifying.
“Everybody except Beacrox and Choi Han, get out.”
Hans hesitated for a moment, but quickly took everyone out of the room after seeing the expression on Cale’s face. Even On and Hong slowly moved back after seeing Cale’s gaze.
Meeeeow.
Meow.
The baby kittens On and Hong looked at Ron multiple times with anxious expressions before heading out of the bedroom.
The bedroom looked much bigger after those people left.
“Do you have enough strength to speak?”
Cale’s calm question floated toward Ron. Ron had a gentle smile on his face and did not seem to be hurting at all.
“Yes, young master-nim.”
“Then explain. How did you return like this when you went to hunt some foxes.”
Ron turned away from Cale and looked toward his son, Beacrox. Beacrox was on his knees by the bed, looking toward Ron’s empty shoulder.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come back.’
But this was the only place that came to his mind. If he was going to die, he wanted to see his son and a couple other people one last time.
“I came across from the Eastern Continent. It was when Beacrox was very young.”
Ron started his story. He needed someone who would take care of his son.
“As you already know, I am an assassin. The Eastern Continent’s underworld has five famous assassin families. One of them was our family, the Molan family, and I was groomed to become the next head of household.”
“Father.”
Beacrox called out to Ron.
“Our family was destroyed by an organization called, ‘Arm.’ Everybody else died while I managed to avoid them and escape over to Western Continent with my son. I had been hiding my identity in order to survive.”
Sigh.
Ron let out a deep sigh. His face was very pale.
“It was because, although this organization called Arm rules the underworld, they were just a low-ranking organization. The core of their operation was elsewhere. I felt fear from the strength of this organization that was beyond what I could even fathom. That was why I have been living as a lowly servant.” [1]
Ron started to frown.
“But I caught onto their scent for the first time in tens of years.”
Beacrox flinched. Ron’s gaze headed past Cale to Choi Han who was standing there with a look of disbelief. The scent of Arm was on this twisted yet good bastard.
“Choi Han had the scent of, ‘Arm,’ on him when he first came to our castle.”
That was the reason Ron and Beacrox had attacked Choi Han when he first came over from Harris Village. He had the scent of, ‘Arm,’ on him.
Choi Han’s pupils started to shake.
“…Then the assassins I killed in Harris Village?”
“Yes, there is a good chance they were from Arm.”
Choi Han looked toward Cale as Ron continued to speak.
“I was able to figure out that they were stretching their reaches to the Western Continent when I went and investigated in the capital. It was more like a dog walking into a Tiger’s Den than hunting foxes.”
Ron wondered what gave him the confidence to go attack them, but knew that he would have done the same thing if he had the choice again. He needed to know what they were planning to do.
“While I was looking around, I ran into one of Arm’s attack squads and figured out what they were doing.”
He managed to get a bit of information after destroying that attack squad.
“However, I then somehow ended up losing my left arm and barely managed to escape with my life.” [2]
Ron had a bitter smile on his face. He was a mess. For someone who practiced a double daggers style that used both hands, this was a severe hit to his strength.
At that moment, Cale, who had been listening quietly, started to speak.
“So you were not able to determine the identity of this organization called Arm?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
Ron was not any closer to that information than before.
“Ron.”
Ron looked toward Cale, whose aura had increased while they were apart. He felt a sense of pressure that made him want to bow.
“Who cut off your arm?”
“…It was a young mage who seemed to be cutting the arms of all enemies.”
Choi Han flinched and looked toward Cale.
“Crazy bastard.”
Some harsh words were coming out of Cale’s mouth.
Arm was probably the secret organization that Cale knew about. This was the organization responsible for the attack on Harris Village, the ones to give Raon over to the Marquis, the perpetrators for the capital’s Plaza Terror Incident, and the attack on the Blue Wolf Tribe.
Furthermore, Cale felt like he knew the person who cut off Ron’s arm as well. Choi Han probably knew him too.
The mage that led the Plaza Terror Incident.
There was a good chance it was the blood crazy mage, Redika.
He had lost his left arm and left eye thanks to Choi Han. Cale didn’t know how Redika was able to cast magic with one hand and cut off people’s arms, but there was a good chance that it was Redika.
“How, how could something like this happen.”
Choi Han seemed to be in a state of chaos as he stood there with his fists clenched. However, there was something else Cale needed to verify. Ron was strong and his specialties were assassination and stealth. He was stronger than Redika. There had to be a reason Ron got his arm chopped off and had to run away.
“What is this rotting smell?”
Cale needed to figure out the identity of this rotting smell that was filling the room.
It was the smell of rotting flesh.
Ron smiled instead of answering the question. That smile made Cale frustrated and he immediately walked over and pulled off the blanket covering Ron.
“Ah.”
Choi Han let out a gasp and Beacrox started to frown.
“I was hit by some poison.”
Ron’s thigh and torso were slowly turning black due to poison. There was a slimy fluid on it as well. Choi Han had never seen something like this before.
However, Cale had seen it before.
“Mermaid poison.”
Ron looked toward Cale.
“…They were the ones who were helping the mermaids.”
Cale sighed as he came to that revelation. He covered his eyes with his hand.
To be honest, he had suspected this.
He had suspected that the secret organization was involved when the Whales first told him about the Forest of Darkness. It only made his suspicions stronger when they found that the ingredients from the Forest of Darkness had made the mermaids stronger.
However, he chose not to think about it.
Why? Because it was annoying.
He also didn’t want to get involved with them. If he somehow ended up finding out their identity, he needed to tell Choi Han. That would complicate things even further.
That was why he just decided to let it go. It had nothing to do with his future safety.
“Damn bastards.”
But he wouldn’t let them run wild in his territory.
He didn’t like this assassin Ron. However, seeing him like this made Cale realize something. Ron was someone under his command.
Cale, actually, Kim Rock Soo, was oddly affectionate to those under his command. It was because he was only able to survive thanks to the help he received from others.
Beacrox, Ron, and even Choi Han could not say anything after seeing this angry expression on Cale’s face. They had never seen such a look on Cale’s face before. Cale put the blanket back onto Ron’s body.
“Is it the ocean?”
“It is an island.”
There were many islands between the Western and Eastern continents.
“Choi Han.”
“Yes sir.”
Cale looked toward Choi Han, who could not take his eyes off of Ron’s arm. It was because he was feeling guilty. He felt that the reason that the blood-crazy mage Redika had done this was because of what he had done to Redika.
“What are you doing?”
He had to turn his gaze away after hearing Cale’s voice. Cale then continued to speak.
“Stop thinking about useless things and go call Mueller over.”
Useless things. Choi Han knew that Cale had realized what he was thinking and bit down on his lips.
“I just need to go bring Mr. Mueller?”
“Yeah. Tell him to grab the blueprint for the ship and hurry over.”
Cale was not showing any anger. He just gave the order with indifference.
However, Choi Han left faster than ever as he left the bedroom.
Ron was confused that Cale was suddenly talking about a ship.
“Young master-nim?”
Cale’s indifference continued as he responded to Ron.
“You will go with me as well. Be prepared.”
He then started to grumble a bit.
“How can an assassin come back injured?”
“I am still alive.”
Cale recalled the contents of Ron’s messages to him.
< I am still alive. You are alive as well, right, young master? >
Cale let out a sigh.
“That mouth of yours is still alive at least. Beacrox.”
“…Yes sir.”
Beacrox responded without any energy. Cale put his hand on Beacrox’s shoulder.
“Hurry up and go repack our bags. Grab everyone as well.”
Cale’s next words made Beacrox quickly turn his head around and look at Cale.
“We need to at least get rid of the mermaid poison.”
The mermaid poison had the darkness attribute and there was no known cure. Beacrox, who specialized in torture and assassinations, knew this better than anybody else.
It was the same for Ron. That was the reason why he came to see his son. He returned home, to his second hometown, to see his son one last time before he died.
It was thanks to Ron’s immunity to many poisons as well as the highest-grade potions from Count Deruth that were preventing his flesh from drying up and the poison from spreading elsewhere.
The highest-grade potion was allowing him to have some strength while feeling no pain. It was only possible because the Henituse family was wealthy.
“T, there is a way to cure him?”
Beacrox, the usually prim and proper man, stuttered. Cale repeated his order very clearly.
“Move quickly.”
It was something that Rosalyn was supposed to figure out in the novel, but Cale had already used it once to save Paseton.
“Don’t worry. Your father still has many years to live.”
Although Cale said it jokingly, it did not feel that way.
Contrary to his words, Cale’s expression was stiffer than ever.
‘Damn it.’
It wasn’t that he was angry because he would not get to rest.
It was because things were moving in an unexpected direction. The novel did not have a situation like this.
Ron started to speak once Beacrox left and it was just the two of them.
“Young master-nim.”
“What?”
“They, Arm, seem to be aiming for the sea route with the mermaids.”
Ron shared the important information that he had barely managed to obtain with Cale. Cale immediately responded.
“I know.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s obvious.”
It was obvious. It was even more obvious once Cale heard that they had come over from the Eastern Continent.
“Ron, I know it is hard, but can I ask you one more thing?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Did anyone see your face?”
“…Only that mage.”
Ron did not look happy as he shared this fail as an assassin. On the other hand, Cale’s eyes became cloudy.
“Young master-nim?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re not going to go to war against that organization, are you?”
“What do you think?”
Ron was struggling with the poison, but started to smile. He could see what Cale was planning to do.
“I’m sure it will all work out to your benefit.”
“You know me very well.”
Cale was not planning to do anything that would complicate his life.
He was going to achieve his goal and then quickly run. Of course, he planned to cause a ruckus before he left.
Cale could hear Raon’s voice in his head. Raon was angry.
Cale knew that he, a high school student who was transported to this world, did not have the strength to do something like that.
‘Annoying bastards.’
The secret organization, Arm, and the mermaids were both probably very strong. It would be difficult to go to war against them. However.
Cale at least had a very good sense of Raon, Choi Han, Rosalyn, and all of the others’ levels of strength.
He quickly formulated a plan. He needed to come up with a plan to protect himself as well as the people around him. That was the only way for his body and mind to be relaxed in the future.
“Rest until we leave.”
Cale left the bedroom Ron was in and immediately headed to the video communication room. He needed to head to the Northeastern shoreline. He needed to go to the Ubarr territory.
Teaser
