CH 34
34. Megane-kun, Made his Decision
When I honestly asked him 「What kind of assassin with a wider scope of work do you mean?」, Wise smiled to put on airs.
「I meant it the way it is. Their scope of work is wide.」
As I said, that’s what I don’t understand… Eh? Wait.
「With wide scope, you mean, doing work other than assassinating?」
「Exactly」
Wise nods then continued on.
「I believe you understand.
If I ask you whether the skills of a hunter can only be used to hunt, then your answer would be no.
An assassin is just the same.
What you will learn is not the skills that only can be used for an assassination. Even if you only take those skills into account, your potential is unlimited」
In other words, he’s saying that I should fulfil that 「potential」?
「You mean an assassin that doesn’t assassinate?」
「—In the first place, they’ve been long out of commission. The assassins whose speciality is to kill, I mean.」
Un? …Un? That’s a little bit puzzling.
「For the last few hundred years, The Kingdom of Nastiala and its neighbouring countries have been maintaining peace.
[Note: this is a Japanese proverb]
Back then at the time of war, jobs used to drop onto us assassins like leaves in the autumn, but now we’re anticipating one job in half a year at most.
Even those that do come, they are mostly about dealing with troubles without the spill of blood, for instance, 『secure the evidence of injustice without killing anyone』 or 『detain the members of a certain mansion without killing anyone』.
I personally don’t want to admit it, but I have to.
For this country, for this age, assassins are no longer needed.」
………Ah, okay.
Just now, what did I listen about? A story of how the assassin industry has declined?
…No, wait.
Declining, huh.
So it’s a story of how the whole industry is facing termination because they’re no longer in demand and cannot fit with the current age.
In that aspect too, they’re quite similar to hunters.
Shishou said this too.
An apprenticeship that takes up a lot of time and troublesome are now considered outdated.
In recent years, not only the amount of hunters is declining every year, the case that matters that usually need a hunter’s assistance are requested towards the adventurers is also going up.
Different from adventurers, in general, hunters are people trained within a teacher-student relationship. They’re learning techniques that require years to master.
In contrast to that, everyone can be an adventurer as long as they register as one. They don’t need to discipline themselves for how many years long. They cover the lack of technique with quantity.
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing… but, aren’t there so many who fell victim during their job? Well, I can’t say that a Hunter isn’t a dangerous line of work, either.
I can’t estimate how sharp the decline of assassination industry is suffering since it’s now shown in the public, but for hunters, it’s tremendous.
It’s as clear as day if you give a look at the Hunter’s Guild in here.
If you compare it to the Adventurer’s Guild, you can see just how tremendous the decline is. The extent of the decline is so tremendous that Ms Receptionist’s eagerness is nil. I even wonder if she’s there out of her own violation.
「…Um, I’m sorry if I get this wrong.」
「What is it?」
「You want to leave your skills as an assassin onto the next generation. It will be wasted if your skills are lost with the change of age.
Now it comes to this, even if they’re not full-fledged assassins, you want to pass your skills to as many youngsters as possible. …Can I interpret it as such?」
「Excellent」
Wise laughs.
「Precisely, there are other reasons that accompany it, but, in the end, that is the conclusive idea.
There are up to seven curriculums in total, but our generation is the last generation to dedicate ourselves to learn all seven.
With the decline, those who can only dedicate themselves to learn 3 to 4 curriculums at most cannot be deployed to the field.
Although I do feel sad, we are in such a time after all. Even if they do master the skills, they have no place to express it.
The school I recommend you to is a school which curriculums keep being reduced.
I am sure that you can master a number of it to your liking, but you can take just one curriculum if you want. Well, with your talent, you should be able to learn more than that.
Please inherit our skills, as we want to pass it down to the next generations. Someday, it will serve for the good of this country, one way or another.
Our age has caught us up. Not only we should have retired ten years ago, but we are also old enough that it is a marvel how we still live to date.
However, if we keep things as is, we can’t die even if death comes to us. There are many things that we want to leave behind in this world.
And we cannot leave those to just any random people.
Assassins are no longer needed. However, we want to leave our assassination skills to someone. That is how it is.」
And after that, silence comes in.
With this, for once, Wise has brought to an end what he wants to say.
If the conversation ended, then I’d like to go back.
However, there is a little something… that haunts my mind.
They want to leave their assassination skills onto the next generations. This also applies to Hunters.
Shishou found me then raised me, but what about me?
Can I find someone then raise them as my successor? Can I nurture them as my disciple as Shishou did to me?
Personally saying, it’s hard to imagine.
I don’t think that I have the factor to do so.
In the first place, I was interested to be a hunter was because it was something I can do alone. As there are dangers lurking, it’s not a work where I can place someone else on my side. That’s why I think Shishou is amazing. That person can do the work all the while keeping me safe. In the end, I don’t have the confidence to do the same as he did.
However, will the hunting skills Shishou passed to me end in my generation then?
Naturally, that question lingers in mind.
Even Shishou inherited his skills from his Shishou.
And even Shishou’s Shishou inherited their skills from someone else.
Will I let the skills that ride and overcome generations after generations face their end in my generation?
I am sure that the same line of thought is running among the assassins.
Facing the same problem, having the same demand, they look for and reach out to people to inherit what they have. And they keep looking.
…………
With just understanding their position, it makes me hard to flat-out reject it…
In addition, from what I collected, it is undeniably a good deal.
「Can I ask a few things?」
Wise opens his arms, prompting me. Then, I won’t hold back.
「Can I see it as an opportunity to learn an assassin’s a skill that cannot be found with normal ways to make myself stronger?」
「Precisely so. I did say that you won’t lose anything from this talk.
As it seems that you refuse to kill humans, we have no intention to make you so. A half-baked assassin won’t be given any job, you see.」
Even more, nowadays we don’t even have enough jobs to give to everyone here, hahaha, thus he laughs with self-damage. …That was a laugh with a sad undertone. This old fellow’s self-damage is quite heartbreaking.
「Then, for example, I graduated from Assassination Training School, am I allowed to return to my hometown?」
「That is up to you.」
Eh, I can? I thought I would automatically be attached to some Assassin organization once I did graduate.
「I also have mentioned it before. This country, at this time and age, is no longer in need of assassins. It’s up to you if you want to be affiliated with us, but even if you do, there won’t be any jobs coming.
There are jobs other than assassinating, but these jobs are by no means many in number.」
Hmm…
「By the way, what are these jobs you speak of?」
「Mainly becoming a bodyguard or an escort for big fishes. There are also espionage and background checking for certain individuals. Also, we also do some magical beast extermination in case of utmost urgency. Mostly, these three.」
It won’t be long until we start to open a business of looking for missing pet, haha. It was a laugh with quite painful self-damage. …Seems like, the decline is so unstoppable that they can only laugh it off now.
「Eil-kun. It’s just one year.」
「One year?」
「Assassination Training School only takes one year. Please, give just one year of your life to it.
I want you to inherit our skills. If it’s you, I’m sure you can learn many skills. And those skills will surely be connected to your own growth. You definitely are going to be stronger within this one year.」
Ah, so it’s like that. I heard that schools usually last for many years long, but this one just takes one year span, huh.
「In addition, your 『Megane』.」
…？
「I have heard the report from the state. Your 『Gift』 can develop. Maybe you can find another way to utilize it as you learn our skills.」
Another way to utilize, huh.
But, it already has other functions than 「being a Megane」, so… I feel like, now of all times? But I do feel the charm, that I may be able to increase the number of things I can do with it.
「—Is that all your questions? You may go home now.」
Ah, really?
「Listen, Eil-kun. If you really are interested—」
I listened to Wise until the end of his sentence, then I was given a letter namely Introductory Letter.
If I don’t want to receive it, just burn the letter then forget everything. If I do want to receive it, then I should bring it to a particular place. Or so I was told.
Being led by the gramps who guided me before, I managed to escape from the territory of Leavant household safely. Aah, … is that freedom I feel? I didn’t feel much alive in there, after all.
「—We are waiting for your next arrival.」
The moment the gate closed, I was told such words.
…………
Maybe, that person has already seen through what I have in mind.
After all the shocking stories I heard in there, my gait, when I leave the Leavant household, is not particularly light nor it is heavy, just normal and ordinary.
The day after.
I go to the Hunter’s Guild so early in the morning.
「Oh my, welcome. You’re early.」
The unmotivated receptionist is there. …Most likely, this person is also included. That explains why she’s so strong.
I walk over the Hunter’s Guild that has nobody else within, heading straight towards the receptionist, then turn in the introductory letter to her.
「It’s an introductory letter from the Leavant household.」
「Ara. Your decision is quite early too.」
The receptionist laughs halfheartedly then takes the letter from me.
「—Well then, let me redo my introduction」
She inhales.
Her languid atmosphere, presence, and attitude are gone, in their place is now an intimidating aura, stirring me up like a bundle of thread.
Her relaxed expression tightened into one that shows ruthless. It was as if she was a different person from a while ago… no, from all the time before.
「 —Welcome to the Assassin’s Guild.」
Updates 3/3
Mabbo here.
It’s been a month since we last updated, and I’m terribly sorry about that. You ever heard of KKN? Simply put, it’s a mandatory Community Service for college students. You put a bunch of college students in some rural area then tell them to somehow improve the livelihood there. Not only you can gain life experiences, it serves as a way to advertise your institute as well. Yeah, I was doing my KKN.
Also, for Indonesian readers, I bet most of you know Desa Penari. Well, though luck, the house my group stayed for a month was just as haunted. Snakes appearing in the bedroom, someone knocking the bathroom window on the second floor, whistles you can hear every so often at the dead of the night, and worst of all, bad internet connection. I couldn’t play Azur Lane because my shi*ty internet wouldn’t let me to update the game!
Oh, I also participated in a speech contest even in the midst of all that. My pants’ fly broke before I went on stage, so I had to go to the bathroom couples of times to fix it with whatever tool available; my teeth. Yeah, when other participants were nervous about their speech, I was biting my own pants for 30 minutes in the bathroom. That was quite an experience.
Well then.
When I honestly asked him 「What kind of assassin with a wider scope of work do you mean?」, Wise smiled to put on airs.
「I meant it the way it is. Their scope of work is wide.」
As I said, that’s what I don’t understand… Eh? Wait.
「With wide scope, you mean, doing work other than assassinating?」
「Exactly」
Wise nods then continued on.
「I believe you understand.
If I ask you whether the skills of a hunter can only be used to hunt, then your answer would be no.
An assassin is just the same.
What you will learn is not the skills that only can be used for an assassination. Even if you only take those skills into account, your potential is unlimited」
In other words, he’s saying that I should fulfil that 「potential」?
「You mean an assassin that doesn’t assassinate?」
「—In the first place, they’ve been long out of commission. The assassins whose speciality is to kill, I mean.」
Un? …Un? That’s a little bit puzzling.
「For the last few hundred years, The Kingdom of Nastiala and its neighbouring countries have been maintaining peace.
[Note: this is a Japanese proverb]
Back then at the time of war, jobs used to drop onto us assassins like leaves in the autumn, but now we’re anticipating one job in half a year at most.
Even those that do come, they are mostly about dealing with troubles without the spill of blood, for instance, 『secure the evidence of injustice without killing anyone』 or 『detain the members of a certain mansion without killing anyone』.
I personally don’t want to admit it, but I have to.
For this country, for this age, assassins are no longer needed.」
………Ah, okay.
Just now, what did I listen about? A story of how the assassin industry has declined?
…No, wait.
Declining, huh.
So it’s a story of how the whole industry is facing termination because they’re no longer in demand and cannot fit with the current age.
In that aspect too, they’re quite similar to hunters.
Shishou said this too.
An apprenticeship that takes up a lot of time and troublesome are now considered outdated.
In recent years, not only the amount of hunters is declining every year, the case that matters that usually need a hunter’s assistance are requested towards the adventurers is also going up.
Different from adventurers, in general, hunters are people trained within a teacher-student relationship. They’re learning techniques that require years to master.
In contrast to that, everyone can be an adventurer as long as they register as one. They don’t need to discipline themselves for how many years long. They cover the lack of technique with quantity.
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing… but, aren’t there so many who fell victim during their job? Well, I can’t say that a Hunter isn’t a dangerous line of work, either.
I can’t estimate how sharp the decline of assassination industry is suffering since it’s now shown in the public, but for hunters, it’s tremendous.
It’s as clear as day if you give a look at the Hunter’s Guild in here.
If you compare it to the Adventurer’s Guild, you can see just how tremendous the decline is. The extent of the decline is so tremendous that Ms Receptionist’s eagerness is nil. I even wonder if she’s there out of her own violation.
「…Um, I’m sorry if I get this wrong.」
「What is it?」
「You want to leave your skills as an assassin onto the next generation. It will be wasted if your skills are lost with the change of age.
Now it comes to this, even if they’re not full-fledged assassins, you want to pass your skills to as many youngsters as possible. …Can I interpret it as such?」
「Excellent」
Wise laughs.
「Precisely, there are other reasons that accompany it, but, in the end, that is the conclusive idea.
There are up to seven curriculums in total, but our generation is the last generation to dedicate ourselves to learn all seven.
With the decline, those who can only dedicate themselves to learn 3 to 4 curriculums at most cannot be deployed to the field.
Although I do feel sad, we are in such a time after all. Even if they do master the skills, they have no place to express it.
The school I recommend you to is a school which curriculums keep being reduced.
I am sure that you can master a number of it to your liking, but you can take just one curriculum if you want. Well, with your talent, you should be able to learn more than that.
Please inherit our skills, as we want to pass it down to the next generations. Someday, it will serve for the good of this country, one way or another.
Our age has caught us up. Not only we should have retired ten years ago, but we are also old enough that it is a marvel how we still live to date.
However, if we keep things as is, we can’t die even if death comes to us. There are many things that we want to leave behind in this world.
And we cannot leave those to just any random people.
Assassins are no longer needed. However, we want to leave our assassination skills to someone. That is how it is.」
And after that, silence comes in.
With this, for once, Wise has brought to an end what he wants to say.
If the conversation ended, then I’d like to go back.
However, there is a little something… that haunts my mind.
They want to leave their assassination skills onto the next generations. This also applies to Hunters.
Shishou found me then raised me, but what about me?
Can I find someone then raise them as my successor? Can I nurture them as my disciple as Shishou did to me?
Personally saying, it’s hard to imagine.
I don’t think that I have the factor to do so.
In the first place, I was interested to be a hunter was because it was something I can do alone. As there are dangers lurking, it’s not a work where I can place someone else on my side. That’s why I think Shishou is amazing. That person can do the work all the while keeping me safe. In the end, I don’t have the confidence to do the same as he did.
However, will the hunting skills Shishou passed to me end in my generation then?
Naturally, that question lingers in mind.
Even Shishou inherited his skills from his Shishou.
And even Shishou’s Shishou inherited their skills from someone else.
Will I let the skills that ride and overcome generations after generations face their end in my generation?
I am sure that the same line of thought is running among the assassins.
Facing the same problem, having the same demand, they look for and reach out to people to inherit what they have. And they keep looking.
…………
With just understanding their position, it makes me hard to flat-out reject it…
In addition, from what I collected, it is undeniably a good deal.
「Can I ask a few things?」
Wise opens his arms, prompting me. Then, I won’t hold back.
「Can I see it as an opportunity to learn an assassin’s a skill that cannot be found with normal ways to make myself stronger?」
「Precisely so. I did say that you won’t lose anything from this talk.
As it seems that you refuse to kill humans, we have no intention to make you so. A half-baked assassin won’t be given any job, you see.」
Even more, nowadays we don’t even have enough jobs to give to everyone here, hahaha, thus he laughs with self-damage. …That was a laugh with a sad undertone. This old fellow’s self-damage is quite heartbreaking.
「Then, for example, I graduated from Assassination Training School, am I allowed to return to my hometown?」
「That is up to you.」
Eh, I can? I thought I would automatically be attached to some Assassin organization once I did graduate.
「I also have mentioned it before. This country, at this time and age, is no longer in need of assassins. It’s up to you if you want to be affiliated with us, but even if you do, there won’t be any jobs coming.
There are jobs other than assassinating, but these jobs are by no means many in number.」
Hmm…
「By the way, what are these jobs you speak of?」
「Mainly becoming a bodyguard or an escort for big fishes. There are also espionage and background checking for certain individuals. Also, we also do some magical beast extermination in case of utmost urgency. Mostly, these three.」
It won’t be long until we start to open a business of looking for missing pet, haha. It was a laugh with quite painful self-damage. …Seems like, the decline is so unstoppable that they can only laugh it off now.
「Eil-kun. It’s just one year.」
「One year?」
「Assassination Training School only takes one year. Please, give just one year of your life to it.
I want you to inherit our skills. If it’s you, I’m sure you can learn many skills. And those skills will surely be connected to your own growth. You definitely are going to be stronger within this one year.」
Ah, so it’s like that. I heard that schools usually last for many years long, but this one just takes one year span, huh.
「In addition, your 『Megane』.」
…？
「I have heard the report from the state. Your 『Gift』 can develop. Maybe you can find another way to utilize it as you learn our skills.」
Another way to utilize, huh.
But, it already has other functions than 「being a Megane」, so… I feel like, now of all times? But I do feel the charm, that I may be able to increase the number of things I can do with it.
「—Is that all your questions? You may go home now.」
Ah, really?
「Listen, Eil-kun. If you really are interested—」
I listened to Wise until the end of his sentence, then I was given a letter namely Introductory Letter.
If I don’t want to receive it, just burn the letter then forget everything. If I do want to receive it, then I should bring it to a particular place. Or so I was told.
Being led by the gramps who guided me before, I managed to escape from the territory of Leavant household safely. Aah, … is that freedom I feel? I didn’t feel much alive in there, after all.
「—We are waiting for your next arrival.」
The moment the gate closed, I was told such words.
…………
Maybe, that person has already seen through what I have in mind.
After all the shocking stories I heard in there, my gait, when I leave the Leavant household, is not particularly light nor it is heavy, just normal and ordinary.
The day after.
I go to the Hunter’s Guild so early in the morning.
「Oh my, welcome. You’re early.」
The unmotivated receptionist is there. …Most likely, this person is also included. That explains why she’s so strong.
I walk over the Hunter’s Guild that has nobody else within, heading straight towards the receptionist, then turn in the introductory letter to her.
「It’s an introductory letter from the Leavant household.」
「Ara. Your decision is quite early too.」
The receptionist laughs halfheartedly then takes the letter from me.
「—Well then, let me redo my introduction」
She inhales.
Her languid atmosphere, presence, and attitude are gone, in their place is now an intimidating aura, stirring me up like a bundle of thread.
Her relaxed expression tightened into one that shows ruthless. It was as if she was a different person from a while ago… no, from all the time before.
「 —Welcome to the Assassin’s Guild.」
Updates 3/3
Mabbo here.
It’s been a month since we last updated, and I’m terribly sorry about that. You ever heard of KKN? Simply put, it’s a mandatory Community Service for college students. You put a bunch of college students in some rural area then tell them to somehow improve the livelihood there. Not only you can gain life experiences, it serves as a way to advertise your institute as well. Yeah, I was doing my KKN.
Also, for Indonesian readers, I bet most of you know Desa Penari. Well, though luck, the house my group stayed for a month was just as haunted. Snakes appearing in the bedroom, someone knocking the bathroom window on the second floor, whistles you can hear every so often at the dead of the night, and worst of all, bad internet connection. I couldn’t play Azur Lane because my shi*ty internet wouldn’t let me to update the game!
Oh, I also participated in a speech contest even in the midst of all that. My pants’ fly broke before I went on stage, so I had to go to the bathroom couples of times to fix it with whatever tool available; my teeth. Yeah, when other participants were nervous about their speech, I was biting my own pants for 30 minutes in the bathroom. That was quite an experience.
Well then.
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