Shade (2)

Murderous intent pours out to an almost unbearable degree. It’s more overwhelming than I expected.

I had anticipated this, but the current Shade was far beyond my ability to handle. Despite being an assassin, at this level he could easily kill Titan in a direct confrontation.

“How dare you! Do you know where you are!”

“Calm down, would you? I know there’s already enough noise going around, are you trying to break even the rules you set yourself?”

Hadn’t even my guide mentioned it? That there were those who couldn’t accept the current Shade’s arbitrary change of business.

I don’t know who they are, but judging by how they can openly oppose Shade’s will, they must have considerable backing.

“Sure, it might be simple for you to kill us.”

I maintain my composure while deliberately ignoring the chilling sensation running down my spine.

With closed eyes, I put the tobacco to my lips.

Then after lighting it with holy power, I carefully open my eyes. At the edge of my vision, I see the small ember flickering.

“But you know this, right? Even if dozens of assassins rush in to kill us, taking your daughter with us wouldn’t be a problem at all.”

My hands were trembling, but I no longer felt fear towards Shade.

From here on is what matters.

It’s time to start proper negotiations.

For the sake of future friendly relations, I need to demonstrate our advantage here.

“No, even if you could kill us, it wouldn’t matter. With Titan’s physical abilities, even just his body tensing up in the moment of being attacked could easily snap someone’s neck.”

“…I don’t understand. Why are you provoking me like this? Don’t you realize I could kill you anytime once I get Mar back?”

“Titan, break one of her arms.”

“What an excellent suggestion!”

“Stop!”

Shade suppresses his killing intent.

Now he’s finally willing to have a proper conversation. An information guild should know about heresy inquisitors.

“Whether we become allies or enemies depends on you. After all, I could have marked your daughter.”

We prepare various means to deal with heretics.

Among them, we can create marks that only priests can see. I’ve already placed such a mark at the inn in the previous village.

Even if I die, it’s a means to make other inquisitors come running when they see that mark.

“I could also place a curse.”

I can also use some evil gods’ holy magic.

We have faith in evil gods whose existence we’ve erased from the world, which only the Pantheon Temple can exercise.

Such curses are particularly horrific and terrible.

“What do you want?”

“I guarantee it won’t be a bad deal for you either. The Pantheon Temple wants a friendly relationship with your people.”

“Nonsense…”

It’s good to establish dominance through threats here. But that shouldn’t carry over to what comes next.

It would be tiresome if we entered negotiations planning to stab each other in the back.

So instead of information about myself, I plan to reveal information that Shade would most welcome.

Show mercy after establishing overwhelming dominance first.

Could there be a better picture for establishing dominance than that?

“Aaaaagh!”

“Mar?!”

Just as the situation was being settled, Mar suddenly screamed.

When I hurriedly turned around, Titan was breaking Mar’s arm.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that? Didn’t you tell me to break it?”

Just look at that brazen attitude.

It’s proof he didn’t have the slightest interest in our situation.

With trembling hands, Shade spoke in response to Titan’s unexpected action that showed complete lack of situational awareness.

“What is this…?”

“Oh, sorry about that. He doesn’t usually listen to what I say.”

I hadn’t intended to go this far.

“Uh… don’t glare at me like that, let me take a look.”

“Don’t spout nonsense. Why should I trust you?”

“Your daughter is still in our hands, isn’t she?”

“You bastard!”

Though Shade glared at me with bloodshot eyes, he couldn’t take any further action.

Unfortunate, but what else could he do?

Unless we showed it through actions, Shade wouldn’t let go of his hostility towards us.

“Let’s see here.”

“Ngh, ah, it hurts…”

Mar whimpers.

There was a world of difference between the ‘Mar Shade’ I knew and the current ‘Mar’.

I remembered someone with tremendous charisma, but that perception is changing in real time.

“Hmm, it’s a clean break. At this level, I can treat it without needing a doctor to examine it.”

Healing through holy power is regeneration.

There’s nothing better than holy magic for treating torn wounds or mending broken bones.

However, it doesn’t work when bones are completely crushed or when there’s an unknown illness inside.

In those cases, you might accidentally attach bones in the wrong direction or nurture the illness, so a doctor’s help with professional knowledge is absolutely necessary.

This is why doctors are more valued than priests in the world.

Though their treatment is slower, they can provide the most reliable prescriptions.

“Alright, done.”

I borrow the power of Panacea, the goddess of healing, in exchange for holy power.

After the broken arm is mended without any issues, Mar falls asleep as if fainting.

“…She just fell asleep from the tension releasing, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

I take Mar from Titan and hand her over to Shade.

There’s no point in antagonizing him further.

“Ugh… Mar…”

I never knew a grown man could cry so disgracefully.

Especially considering he’s the king of assassins who must have succeeded in dozens of assassinations at minimum.

“See? I told you I have at least some conscience, right? Now you understand that what just happened wasn’t intentional?”

“Shut up. Nothing good has come from meeting you. Just bark out what information you need and get out.”

“Your age must be making your emotions a bit unstable.”

“I said bark and get out!”

I should show some respect to the elderly.

“Well, let’s hear it then. The information I’ll give you in exchange is surely something you’re desperately seeking.”

Only then does Shade look at me.

Though contempt outweighed interest in his expression.

“What kind of confidence…”

“You must have had a good relationship with your wife.”

“……”

Murderous intent stabs through my body, incomparably stronger than before.

Seems I need to get straight to the point.

If I stall even a little longer, my head might go flying.

“The Spore Witch. That’s the name of the half-demon suspected of killing your wife.”

Another alias would be the ‘Blade of Calamity’. Like Mez, she’s one of Belial’s specialists in mass slaughter.

“What…?”

“Purple flowers must have bloomed on your wife too. Flowers born from the witch’s power leave no traces of demonic energy. Because they use that energy as nutrients. If you’ve been excluding half-demons from your suspects, you might need to reconsider.”

Shade’s hands begin trembling as he understands the meaning of my words.

“Wh-what information do you want? Tell me what you want! Quickly!”

The situation has completely reversed.

Shade, who had been so prickly before, is now practically begging me.

This information must have been more precious to Shade than any treasure. I probably could have demanded anything.

However…

“The movements of one hunter who’s settled in Forys Duchy, and the current state of the ‘Trials’ spread throughout the world.”

“Just, that…?”

“The value of information is relative.”

I’ve decided to kill Belial.

I’m doing preliminary work for that purpose. Of course, he’s a target that must be stopped regardless of reason.

But it’s undeniable that I’ve brought future grudges to the present.

Then I must also bring future gratitude to the present.

If I alone carry a world that has perished, if I still can’t let go of that scenery, then that’s what I must do.

“I told you, didn’t I? I want to establish a friendly relationship with Shade.”

Human desire grows closer as what’s desired comes closer to view.

The information Shade needs most.

If that’s right in front of him, how could I know what he might do?

To prevent such a situation in advance, I needed to establish dominance.

I have no backing.

A little investigation would reveal that I’m not really a priest of the Pantheon Temple.

In such a situation, for me without any background to establish an equal relationship with Shade, this was the only way.

At this moment.

The final puzzle piece has finally fallen into place.

It was quite a troublesome journey.

*     *     *

It wasn’t a particularly old memory.

How Shade as an organization had been before my regression was still clear in my mind.

Shade was the continent’s finest information guild. Not because their information gathering abilities were the best.

-Are you alright?

-Haha! How could anything be wrong when the Saintess herself is tending to my wounds? Besides, these wounds aren’t incurable, right?

-But they still hurt, don’t they? Here, here! That hurts, right?

They would seek out whatever information the Pantheon Temple wanted regardless of any dangers.

More than anything else, they tried not to abandon human morality.

It was the same then as now.

Information about half-demons that the Pantheon Temple had gathered helped Shade, and thanks to that they could maintain good relations.

-This is payment for the information. I hope it’s not too little.

-Is that really okay? We already owe you so much.

Originally, the Pantheon Temple had no intention of releasing information about the Spore Witch.

They were only thinking of using that to manipulate Shade.

In any group, humanity tends to fade the closer you get to the top.

Shade knew this and was willing to accept even that situation.

That’s how desperate they were.

But the Saintess thought differently.

The Saintess handed over all the information the Pantheon Temple had gathered about the Spore Witch to Shade.

And received only very cheap information in return.

That was the Saintess’s kindness, always putting others before herself.

-That’s enough, just check the information. Though it’s not particularly good news.

-Ah, yes. ■■■? Would you check it first?

The note Mar Shade handed over contained information about the enemy’s hidden forces. It was truly an unreasonable, despairing number.

-……

It felt like the world was freezing over.

This wasn’t simply a matter of having more or fewer soldiers.

Morale itself would be crushed.

People would think even trying to fight was meaningless.

-…Why not just run away? Ares Kingdom and Alfheim have already been reduced to ashes. This was a fight we could never win from the start.

Sure enough, the leaders of various countries and high priests of the Pantheon Temple who heard this report lost their morale.

There were more than a few who lost even the will to fight and tried to abandon their people to save their own lives.

-Wow, this is such bullshit. Really.

That’s when Mar Shade, who had brought this information and personally witnessed these forces, stepped forward.

-We gathered this information so you could find solutions, not so you could give up.

-We know Shade’s guild members sacrificed a lot. But right now we need to look at reality…

-Hey.

Mar Shade put out the tobacco burning on the desk in front of the person speaking about reality.

-You know what? I used to have really bad habits when I was younger. I wanted people to think I was amazing.

A crooked smile.

-So I caused a lot of trouble. Picking pockets of trading partners, backstabbing people, things like that.

Her green eye grew large as if she would kill her opponent.

-But my dad never got angry with me for it. He cleaned up after me and bowed his head in apology. Isn’t that funny? My dad isn’t the kind of person who should have to bow his head like that anywhere.

Mar Shade tapped her eyepatch.

It was what she had lost when she inherited the name of Shade.

-That’s sacrifice. Taking responsibility even for someone else’s mistakes, that’s sacrifice. Dad sacrificed so much. Just to be an upright person in front of me.

An untold story about the previous Shade.

And it revealed what Shade had become an information guild for.

-So I tried to live like a proper person. That’s why even in this shitty situation, I’m trying to live that way. Don’t I need to be upright too?

Mar put on her coat.

Then with a few simple gestures, she gathered her subordinates.

-We weren’t sacrificed. We sacrificed ourselves. That’s how it’s been until now and that’s how we’ll continue to live.

She proudly walked out of the conference room. Numerous informants followed behind her.

-So at this moment, Shade returns to its original form.

There was no hesitation. She discarded the image they had built up over many years.

Whether assassin or informant made no difference. No facade matters in living uprightly.

It’s just a way of life.

If there’s no doubt in your heart, that’s proof of being upright.

-That damned demon army? Let’s see how organically they can move when they lose their heads. We’ll turn them into a disorganized rabble.

Assassin guild Shade.

Their form was never seen again after that. But anyone could confirm their sacrifice.

In just a few days.

Just as she said, the half-demon army transformed into a mere rabble with only numbers.

*     *     *

I lean against the building’s outer wall and look up at the sky.

“The weather’s nice today too.”

Right after requesting the information I needed from Shade, I revealed all the information I knew about the Spore Witch.

Yes, I paid the price in advance.

I didn’t think they would just take the information and disappear.

I took out some tobacco and put it to my lips, thinking about Shade who had rushed out of the room in a panic, leaving even his daughter behind.

I closed my eyes and lit the ember.

When I quietly opened my eyes, all I saw was the small ember and smoke.

“Living like the Saintess… it’s really hard. Even though I’ve already decided, I still feel regret.”

I can become heartless as much as needed. That’s why I chose to trust someone else and leave the choice to them.

I’m different from the Saintess.

I can’t become like the Saintess.

But I can try to work hard like the Saintess did.

“Isn’t this enough?”

So I acted in a way that I could face her proudly.