A Stuffed Cheonma in my Head - Chapter 44



Only Noblemtl

Episode 044. The Assassin Quota System

* * *

I stared blankly at Shushuruta and then hit the head of the informant who was lying under my butt.

Bam!

The bastard groaned softly.

“Stop acting.”

I already knew that your breathing had changed.

I left it alone to listen to Shushuruta’s story.

All the weapons hidden in every corner of his body while he was being held captive earlier have been disarmed, and the poison in his mouth has also been removed.

But there was no way to stop him from biting his tongue and committing suicide, so he spoke quietly.

“If you want to bite your tongue and die, do so. It’s better without getting your hands dirty.”

“… … .”

The guy glared at me.

The murderous glare in his narrow eyes was quite sharp, so I hit him again.

Bam!

“What are you looking at?”

I hit him until his eyes softened.

The horse added its momentum.

[That’s really annoying.]

After a while, he asked with gentle eyes.

“… … If I tell you, will you spare my life?”

“Look.”

The bastard started swearing right away.

“The First Prince and the Second Prince are coming.”

“Suha.”

“I will select the best of the best and bring ten of them.”

“Are you sure?”

“yes.”

I looked at Shushuruta.

“That’s right.”

Shushuruta nodded slightly.

“Confirmed.”

Even if it was a lie, there was no major problem.

Because we’re going to kill them all anyway.

“Do you have any more questions?”

Shushuruta shook his head.

“does not exist.”

“then.”

I grabbed the hilt of the knife.

The man’s eyes widened when he saw that.

“for a moment-”

Crunch.

The neck of the wide-eyed informant fell to the ground.

* * *

Night fell quickly in the forest.

A red sunset descended over the lake.

Before I knew it, the sun had set beyond the horizon and the moon had risen.

Knock knock. Knock knock.

I asked while roasting jerky over a campfire.

“When do you think he’ll come?”

The messenger hasn’t returned, so they must have figured out what was going on.

They will come rushing in right away.

The difference is that while before he would have tried to stab me in the back with a smile, now he openly stabs me in the chest with a murderous intent.

Shushuruta, who was roasting dried fruit over a campfire, answered.

“Ashvan. Do you know when a person is at his weakest?”

“Well. In the middle of the night?”

“It’s 4 a.m. That’s when a person’s body temperature drops to its lowest.”

“hmm.”

Is that so?

I tilted my head inwardly.

It seems to be roughly correct.

“They learned the same thing as me. They will attack after 4 a.m.”

I looked at Shushuruta’s expressionless face.

At first glance, he seemed to have an indifferent face as usual, but upon closer inspection, his chin was tense.

As he clenched his jaw, his expression naturally became stiff and he looked even more rigid.

As I looked at Shushuruta’s face, I broke a branch into small pieces and threw it into the bonfire.

Knock knock. Knock knock.

I know how it feels to be betrayed by someone you trusted.

It feels so dirty.

The feeling of being stuck in a dirty mud.

I still can’t forget the cold feeling on the back of my head when I first got it.

A person who has been betrayed knows better.

As a senior who betrayed, I thought about what advice I should give to my junior who betrayed me… … and just kept my mouth shut.

Because at that time, no matter what anyone said, it didn’t really register in my ears.

It’s the kind of thing you have to overcome on your own.

I just stared at her blankly and asked.

“Is it delicious?”

Shushuruta answered calmly, munching on the roasted dried fruit.

“It’s delicious. The sweetness becomes even stronger when grilled.”

Then he suddenly handed it to me.

“Would you like to try it?”

I stared at the dried fruit that had turned black and was stuck on the end of a branch… I pulled it out with my teeth and chewed it. It was hard.

“… … It’s sweet.”

“Yes. It’s sweeter when roasted.”

“Would you like some jerky too? It’s cooked well.”

“Let me give it a try.”

We ate dinner in silence for a while, filling our bellies.

He rinsed his mouth with the water in the water bottle and handed it to her.

“ruler.”

“huh…….”

Shushuruta accepted the water bottle, stared inside, and opened his mouth.

“Ashvan.”

“what.”

“There are quite a few.”

“know.”

“The top assassins are ten, and the other two are better than them.”

“hmm.”

Shushuruta turned to me and asked.

“Is your body moveable?”

I tried to unwrap the bandage that was wrapped around my arm.

The wound was almost healed.

Only a small scar, like a bruise, remained to indicate that blood had once flowed there.

The pain had already gone away a long time ago, so there was no inconvenience in moving around.

The pain that had been stinging in the first place was mostly a side effect of bringing about the bloody world, so the wounds inflicted by the wizard were not that serious.

I removed the cold from the wound, changed the bandage every now and then, and applied ointment well.

To be honest, it was a resilience that defied common sense.

Come to think of it, Hans was surprised at how resilient he was even when he fell off a cliff.

Of course, this kind of healing power close to a blessing was not originally mine, but was a talent that was bestowed upon me by the Heavenly Horse.

If I had this talent in the first place, I wouldn’t have ended up covered in scars like this.

I answered, undoing all the bandages that were tied all over my body.

“No problem.”

Shushuruta checked the wound and gave a small exclamation of admiration.

“Are you even a lizard? How can you recover so quickly?”

“… … A lizard.”

“Anyway, that’s fortunate, Ashvan.”

“what.”

“I have a favor to ask.”

Shushuruta hesitated while holding the water bottle with both hands, then spoke with a somewhat serious expression on his face.

“Will you fight with me?”

“… … .”

I stared at her blankly.

‘… … I wondered what you were talking about.’

Shushuruta looked at me with anxious eyes, asking, “What’s such a big request?”

I stared blankly at her like that… I turned my head away and answered vaguely.

“Or so.”

“… … Really?”

“okay.”

Shushuruta smiled faintly.

“Thank you, Ashvan.”

“… … .”

“Oh, then. I think it would be good to talk about how to deal with it.”

“Why are you even discussing it again?”

Shushuruta hardened his expression and gave a stern warning.

“Never underestimate them. They are excellent assassins.”

“hmm.”

“I find it difficult to fight together because I fight while hiding in the dark. You seem to be used to fighting alone… How about we each choose an opponent and fight separately?”

I thought about it carefully and answered.

“So… let’s implement a quota system for assassins?”

Shushuruta nodded.

“The expression is a bit strange, but that’s what it is.”

“Not bad. How do you divide it?”

“Oh, I thought about that too. You take charge of the top ten assassins. I’ll take care of the other two.”

“Are you talking about the First Prince and the Second Prince?”

“Yes.”

He just kept looking at the lake. It seemed like he was thinking about something like this the whole time.

I asked out of curiosity.

“Are those two very strong?”

Shushuruta nodded without hesitation.

“Strong.”

“how much?”

“Stronger than ten of the most elite assassins combined.”

“hmm…….”

If that’s the case… …I can’t miss it.

While fighting the Grim Reaper brothers, I learned the Four-legged Sword, and while fighting the mad wizard, I was able to summon the Bloody World.

The more I beat up strong guys, the stronger I become.

Because it tastes so good to beat them.

He is an assassin who is stronger than all the elite assassins combined.

This is… … unmissable.

Our children’s drinking snack, Dad’s nutritious snack.

I licked my lips and vowed.

‘The two assassins are mine.’

But… … Shushuruta’s eyes are not ordinary.

It looks like he’s already made up his mind.

How do you want to change it?

I thought for a moment and then said.

“Shushuruta.”

“Something.”

“Change.”

“Huh? What do you mean change it?”

“Let’s change the guys we’re assigning. I’ll give you two of my dead brothers. You’ll give me ten of my best assassins.”

Shushuruta’s expression hardened.

“That can’t be. I can’t give in to this either.”

I looked into Shushuruta’s determined eyes and asked.

“Can you kill me?”

Shushuruta’s eyes shook.

“Can you slit the throats of your fellow prisoners with a knife? Even if they beg for their lives, can you cut off their limbs and stab them in the heart with a knife?”

“… … .”

Shushuruta licked her lips… … and then bit her lips, unable to answer.

“See. That moment of hesitation will kill you.”

“… … .”

Shushuruta kept his mouth shut as if he had nothing to say.

This is not a question of skill.

I don’t know how skilled she is as an assassin, but the basic attitude of any assassin is to have a cold heart.

You have to deal with the goal without any emotion.

I’ve heard a bit about the Sherwood Mercenaries, as they also have retired assassins.

In that respect, this guy didn’t seem to have the personality to be an assassin.

I don’t know how much I know after only spending a few days with him, but that’s what I can see. It would be even more so if he was someone I was even a little close to.

“Listen to me. I’ll take your two brothers. You take the other ten. Do it. You’ll die if you do.”

“… … .”

Shushuruta muttered softly.

“but…….”

“But so what.”

“Why… … did you betray… … .”

I cut her off ruthlessly as her words continued on and on.

“The reason is obvious. It’s because he wants the legacy of Oposis more than you. To the point where he’s willing to kill you and steal the dagger.”

“ah…….”

“I guess you’ve come to the conclusion that the legacy of Oposis is more important than yours. Don’t expect any special reasons or excuses.”

Shushuruta lowered his head sullenly.

I looked at her like that for a moment, then clicked my tongue.

“Or just skip it. Nutritious snacks—no, I’ll take care of all the assassins.”

Shushuruta shook his head.

“That… won’t do.”

I frowned.

As it stands now, whether I catch the death row inmates or other assassins, I’ll lose 100%.

It’s like losing before you even fight.

Again, the fight is all about momentum.

I frowned and spewed out harsh words.

“Get out, you idiot. Look at yourself right now. Is this the stance you’re taking to fight? You already have the face of a defeated soldier. If you go to fight with this kind of face, you’ll definitely lose. Just get out when I say nice things to you. If you don’t want to lose.”

Shushuruta raised his head.

I had secretly expected an expression that said, ‘How could you say that!’, but Shushuruta looked somewhat puzzled.

“Is that a good thing?”

“That’s a good point.”

“I swore.”

“That’s not even an insult. Are you saying something bad?”

“I will decline.”

But I gave up on the specs.

He poured out a lot of bad words as encouragement.

A waterfall of creative swear words poured out.

Shushuruta listened to it with his mouth wide open.

Even the Heavenly Horse seemed to have forgotten what to say for a moment.

After a while, Shushuruta, who had tasted the new world, muttered with a blank expression.

“… … I’m in a state of confusion.”

“Do you feel a little stronger?”

“little.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Shushuruta looked up at me with sparkling eyes.

“Ashvan. You really are good at using bad language. You are the king of swearing, the authority on swearing.”

“It’s nothing.”

I scratched my neck, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“So. Can you fight?”

“Of course. Your sharp insults brought me to my senses. Thank you.”

“Thank you. So I’ll take care of the death row inmates. Okay?”

Shushuruta sighed.

“Actually, there is another reason why I decided to take charge of the death row inmates.”

“what?”

“The strength of assassins is a little different from that of others. They are night walkers. They have the habit of sneaking into the darkness and taking blood without anyone knowing.”

I nodded.

“So to speak, they are like mosquitoes.”

Cheonma agreed.

[Hmm. That’s not a completely wrong analogy. They’re such annoying guys.]

Shushuruta did not agree.

“……no.”

“Wasn’t it?”

“What I’m trying to say is that this may be more difficult and challenging than any battle you’ve ever fought. Assassins’ battles are different from regular battles. They understand and utilize the darkness better than anyone else.”

I answered nonchalantly.

“I like the dark too. Isn’t Ketel the goddess of the night? I’m close with Ketel. Do you dare to doubt the sincerity of me, the lost saint?”

“… … .”

Shushuruta sighed deeply again.

I furrowed my brows.

“What does that sigh mean?”

“It’s nothing. When I see you, I feel like a fool for worrying so much.”

“You are an idiot.”

“It’s noisy. Anyway, I’m sure I won’t die.”

I smiled faintly and started a fight.

“Are you sure you can handle ten of the best assassins? If you run behind, I’ll quickly take care of the two princes and then go help you.”

Shushuruta snorted.

“Huh. Those guys. Ten minutes should be enough.”

“Really? Then I’ll finish it in 8 minutes and go help you after I’m done.”

“Actually, 10 minutes is more than enough. 6 minutes is enough.”

“Then I have 5 minutes.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“I’m not bragging.”

So we decided to deal with the enemies in 3 minutes each and use the remaining time to plant apple trees.

I’m not sure why they came to that conclusion.