kscans

Chapter 182 - The Assassin Guild

A man tied with a rope sat in a chair. He looked to be in his thirties, with unkempt, shaggy black hair. He wore common cloth clothes and had an air of flippancy about him. If this was a guise to hide his identity as an assassin, he was quite the actor.

Be that as it may, he was surrounded by women who boasted some of the greatest strength in this world, all with their weapons drawn.

Hayato thought to himself. If it were him, no matter how strong he was, he would definitely talk.

Feeling a bit sorry for him as a fellow man, Hayato questioned the man with a slightly gentler tone.

"You seem to be from the Assassin Guild, but what did you want to talk about? From what I hear, the Assassin Guild is targeting me."

"Th-That's a misunderstanding! We're not trying to take your life!"

"Ah, I know that part. You want to improve the Assassin Guild's image, or something."

"Yes! That's it! Because you went and reformed the Thieves' Guild, our guild is in a tough spot. Is it so wrong to borrow a little of your wisdom?"

"I feel a certain injustice in that cause and effect, but I think if you stopped assassinating people, your image would undoubtedly improve."

"Well, yeah, but you want to show off the assassination techniques you've worked so hard to polish, right?"

(What is this person talking about? And Rose-san, who's in the dining hall, is nodding along... do people really want to show off their assassination techniques?)

Hayato had heard from Diite that the NPCs in this world were exceptional in reality, but he couldn't see that in the man before him. He knew the condition was that they excelled in a specific field, but he was curious as to which field this man excelled in.

For Hayato, the quickest solution was to defeat this man for trespassing. Just like with the bandits, NPCs who committed criminal acts would be sent to jail upon defeat. The system then determined their sentence based on the number and nature of their crimes.

Players couldn't commit criminal acts, so that system didn't apply to them. However, players who acted in a way deemed undesirable by NPCs could be barred from towns or taken to jail, resulting in a game-over state.

That aside, Hayato was at a loss as to what to do.

Defeating him would be quick, but it would be a problem if people from the Assassin Guild kept coming. On the other hand, there was no way he could improve the image of an assassin guild.

As he was pondering, Relic stepped forward.

"Hayato-sama, may I have a moment?"

"Relic-san? What is it?"

"Regarding the Assassin Guild, I believe it will be difficult to improve their image as they are."

"Difficult is an understatement. I feel it's closer to impossible. As difficult as turning salt into pepper."

"Indeed. Therefore, I propose that, like Sonia's Thieves' Guild, they change their name to a different guild and also change their activities."

"I see... but is there any work that uses assassination techniques? He said he wants to use the techniques he's polished as they are."

"That is where Rose-sama comes in."

At Relic's words, everyone looked at Rose.

Hayato couldn't quite grasp the intent behind Relic's words. What did he mean by Rose? The other members around him also seemed confused, and Rose herself didn't seem to understand either.

Amidst the confusion, only Esha nodded.

"So, you mean he should fight Rose and show off his assassination techniques. A coliseum-like, or rather, a death-game-like gamble. I will be the organizer."

"That's not it at all."

Hayato thought that sounded interesting too, but Relic's intent seemed to be something completely different.

"Rose-sama is skilled in both escorting and assassination. The question is, why is that?"

"Um, is it that because she's good at assassination, she's also good at protecting against it? Like an assassin best understands how an assassin will attack."

"Correct. My proposal is, what if they became a guild that protects from assassins, rather than one that carries them out? What do you think?"

At Relic's words, the man tied up in the rope wiggled from side to side.

"Oh, I see! You're saying we should use our skills for protection! It's true, there are all sorts of assassination methods, so our members have a wealth of knowledge. We know the countermeasures well. We could even teach people how to defend against things like poisoning, curses, and staged accidents."

(I feel like Ren-chan would be better at the curse part...)

There was the question of who would hire a former assassin guild, but Hayato thought it wasn't a bad idea. There's a saying, leave it to the professionals. Besides, important figures were never protected by just one person. There was a chance they could market themselves by saying it's better to have one guard who specializes in assassination.

Although the system fundamentally prevented assassinations, NPCs were also role-playing, so nobles and the like might hire them. It would be healthier to change their name from the Assassin Guild to something like the Guardian Guild.

Whether they could be trusted would depend on their future activities. Hayato didn't need to look after them that much.

After thinking it over, Hayato looked at the bound man.

"Um, so, is that acceptable?"

"Yeah, thanks a lot. It's a great idea, so I'll head back and talk to everyone right away. And that coliseum idea from before sounds pretty good too. I won't cause any trouble or try to capture you, so could you untie me... the girls around me are really scary."

(Why did they all blush? He just called them scary... well, whatever. More importantly, there's something I need to do.)

"Before that, I need you to promise that you won't target me anymore."

"Got it. I won't do it again, so you can rest easy. I'll tell everyone else too. Oh, but I might want to consult you again. Not for free, of course. If there's anything you want, I'll get it for you."

Hayato felt a slight snag at those words. This flippant man before him had made a promise to Hayato about the guild's policy.

"Um, aren't you going to take this back to the Assassin Guild for consideration? I don't think you can decide this on your own authority, can you?"

"Nah? It's something I can decide on my own. ...Oh, right. I didn't tell you, did I? I'm the Guild Master of the Assassin Guild. The name's Zack Orten. Nice to meet ya."

(He's the Guild Master of the Assassin Guild, but he's so casual. And the women here are stronger than the Guild Master of the Assassin Guild.)

Still, that was just what he claimed, and there was no way to know if it was true. Hayato glanced at Sonia. She was the only one here who seemed likely to know him.

"Sonia-san, he says he is, but do you know if he's the real deal?"

"Well, given my line of work, you could say I know him. It's the first time I've heard his name, but I think it's him. I met him once at a meeting in the slums."

"I see. In that case, Zack-san, I'll believe your words. However, if you betray me... you understand, right?"

He didn't think the women around him would work for free, but if he prepared a suitable reward, they should be willing to help out in various ways. He didn't state it explicitly, but he gave a roundabout threat that there would be dire consequences for betrayal.

Zack's face twitched slightly, but he nodded his head up and down repeatedly.

"Then I'll untie the rope..."

As Hayato moved to untie the rope, Esha stopped him.

"Master. Our business is not yet finished, so please wait a moment."

"Um?"

"There is a possibility this man overheard our conversation. We will now conduct an interrogation, and if there is a problem... it will have a sad outcome."

"That's scary. At least let him contact the Assassin Guild to tell them not to attack me anymore."

"Wait. I didn't hear anything, I didn't hear anything at all. So please let me go."

"We will find that out shortly. From now on, you will answer everything with 'yes.' Any other word will result in an attack from someone here."

"...Yes."

Sensing that something terrible was about to happen to Zack, and that getting involved would bring something terrible upon himself, Hayato took Relic and Rose and moved to the shop area.

As soon as the door closed, Rose smiled.

"Hayato-sama, it seems you will no longer be targeted by the Assassin Guild."

"Depending on the results next door, Zack-san might end up in jail before he can tell them that..."

"I believe it will be alright. In any case, escort work, is it? It is true that my escort techniques are also based on the fundamentals of assassination. The basic principle is to act before you are noticed."

Hayato gave a wry smile at the mention of the fundamentals of assassination, something he had no desire to know.

"Speaking of which, Relic-san, it was brilliant how you came up with that. It seems you got the idea from Rose-san's specialty... is something wrong?"

Relic had his left hand on his chin, lost in thought. He didn't seem to have noticed Hayato's words.

"Relic-san?"

"Eh? Ah, I am sorry. What was it?"

"I was just saying that it was brilliant how you thought of using assassination techniques for escort work."

"I was watching Rose-sama, and it just came to mind. However, I also feel as if I have known it for a long time... I apologize, I was lost in thought trying to remember what it was."

"I see."

(From long ago... does he mean in reality? I see, if he was a famous hacker, he could use that knowledge to prevent hacking. I think there were people doing that kind of work at the company I used to work for. Was that his job before he was caught?)

Hayato thought this, but quickly erased the thought from his mind.

No matter what happened in the past, Relic was Relic, and Hayato felt there was no need to pry. It wasn't that he wasn't curious, but he was concerned that doing something unnecessary might cause his memories to return.

Relic was elderly. Hayato didn't know what had happened in his past to make him a resident of this world, but there must have been a good reason.

He didn't know what Relic's feelings were, but Hayato surmised that he had erased his memories with the intention of living out his days in this virtual space. The other members likely had the same intention, but given Relic's age, he must have been more strongly aware of it.

In that case, it was not good to stimulate past memories. Thinking this, Hayato tried to change the subject.

"Say, would you two like to eat something in the Royal Capital? It looks like things next door will take a while, so let's open the shop this afternoon and stretch our legs a bit this morning. I probably won't be attacked for a while anyway."

"Is it alright for me as well? After what I did yesterday."

"What happened yesterday was unavoidable. Let's make it a small welcome party for you, Rose-san. I just received my income from the salvage, so I'll treat you to anything."

"Thank you very much!"

"It has been a while since I have had a meal with young people. I would be delighted to accompany you."

"Shall we go to a famous restaurant? I don't think my own cooking is inferior, but I'm always looking for inspiration."

"Then I shall be your guide. Esha has taught me some things... though it seems I am currently banned from them."

"She hasn't been unbanned yet..."

Esha had participated in and overwhelmingly won eating challenges at all the major restaurants in the kingdom. As a result, she had been banned from every single one.

Hayato felt a little sad for Esha, but he changed his mood and decided to leave the base.