325. Days of No. 21 (1)
It was relatively recently that Seongjin learned about the existence of the ‘workshop.’
However, going back in time, when he was struggling against the great army of Lycan Slope in Sigismund Territory, there was an informant who had already looked around the place and reported to the Holy Emperor.
Enrique, another name is No. 21.
As an informant directly under the Emperor, he had toured empty farmhouses on the outskirts of the imperial capital at the Emperor’s order.
-Check for any suspicious signs.
-yes? your majesty. Why are the farmhouses suddenly empty? … .
-Just take a look and return to the palace immediately. Do you understand? Fighting and pursuit are absolutely prohibited.
-… … ?
That was all the order was. Since there were no separate instructions, even the purpose is unknown.
Number 21 walked out of the imperial palace with a shocked expression on his face. It had already been several years since he had assisted Seonghwang, but there were many times, like now, that No. 21 had no idea what he was doing.
‘What on earth does he want me to do? I mean, say everything properly!’
Although I thought he was quiet in the past, it was not easy to guess the intentions of Seonghwang, who has been extremely reticent recently.
But what can you do? I have no choice but to at least pretend to do what my boss tells me to do.
Number 21 finally sighed as the ground gave up and began wandering around the outskirts to look at the farms.
‘hmm?’
But soon after, No. 21 was able to discover a truly suspicious barn.
In the dark of night, a group of men had gathered and were busy packing their belongings without turning on the lights. Also, some of them are collecting items that cannot be moved, burying them deep in the ground, and frantically pouring dirt on top of them.
‘What are they doing again?’
Even if you wash your eyes and look, it is a suspicious nighttime escape scene!
Realizing that something unusual was happening, No. 21 tried to make his way towards the barn cautiously, avoiding any traces.
‘… … !’
Unless you suddenly felt an eerie feeling running down your spine.
A sign of extremely skillful auror concealment!
‘… assassin?!’
It was like that. Among the men, there was one strong assassin who seemed to be in total command of the nocturnal escape.
At the same time, the assassin on the other side must have sensed No. 21’s scent, and quickly turns his head to glare at him.
Whick!
In the pitch-black darkness, the round eyes facing him directly shed a murderous glow. It was a strange woman, with bare eyebrows standing out beneath the black hood that was tied around her head like a scarf.
‘He’s not an average person!’
Before he could even recognize it, No. 21’s body was reacting quickly.
Shoo!
At the same time, the opponent’s sharply fired stiletto grazes No. 21’s shoulder. Without even having time to feel the stinging pain, No. 21 rolled his body forward and blindly launched the dagger. There was no time to aim properly, it was simply an attack to keep things in check.
Hiss!
Naturally, the blind dagger flew in the wrong direction to avoid the assassin. Instead of piercing the opponent’s body, a sharp noise like something like a bowl being broken was heard.
Cheer up!
“omg?”
“Oh no, we’ve been found out!”
“Hurry and run away!”
The startled men began to run hurriedly carrying their luggage.
Tsk.
Number 21 clicked his tongue and stood up.
If things continued like this, it was clear that I would miss them with my eyes wide open. I want to chase him right away, but there is no way the other assassin will just sit there and watch.
Whirling- Whirling-
As expected, the assassin remained behind alone, standing there, twirling his pointed stilettos. The stilettos she twirls in her hands reflect her moonlight and give off a menacing metallic glow.
‘We have to kill that assassin first! But how?’
At that very moment, a memory flashed through No. 21’s mind.
-Firefighting and pursuit are absolutely prohibited.
iced coffee. this.
‘There was a reason why he gave that order!’
Number 21 bit his lip and faced reality. With his own skills, engagement and pursuit were probably impossible.
If there was a person with skills comparable to that assassin, it would probably be his distant senior, number 13.
‘… … .’
Take a peek.
As No. 21 quietly bit the body while being wary of the other person, a strange look appeared in the eyes of the woman with fair eyebrows.
“like? “He’s a guy who understands topics quickly.”
The woman grinned and raised the corners of her mouth. Of course, her eyes were not smiling at all, so her bizarre impression only became even more dreary.
“Throw that dagger. “Children, are you from the [Oberon’s Hand] faction?”
“… … .”
“It seems like there are a lot of really cute kids there these days. Ah, you. Do you know a girl named Sabrina? I think he’s probably a few levels above you… … .”
The viciously spinning stilettos are ready to pierce No. 21’s neck whenever an opportunity arises. And yet, that woman was calmly asking about people’s well-being.
As No. 21 slowly took a step back, very nervous, the woman narrowed her eyes and examined him closely.
“hmm. I thought he was just a kid, but does this mean he has reached a level of his own? Well, okay. “I don’t have time to waste your time here either.”
“… … .”
“I’ll let you go. So, let’s go our separate ways. “Go to sleep, relax.”
There was no way I could easily believe those words.
No. 21 did not let his guard down in the slightest and slowly retreated to a position where he believed he would not be able to reach her even if she threw the weapon.
Right then.
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Flash!
The assassin with a murderous glow in his eyes suddenly threw a stiletto without any warning.
Thanks to its strong aura, a weapon with a significantly increased distance is aimed at his legs!
Tang Gang!
“… … !”
But No. 21 struck it down with ease, as if expected. This is because the teachings that I have been hearing from others for years have already become deeply embedded in my mind.
-When encountering the same assassin, the time to be most nervous is when you think you are just out of the opponent’s range. In particular, assassins from [Kaya’s Breath] do not miss that moment of opportunity and specialize in neutralizing the opponent’s feet from a long distance.
“Tsk! Not fun… … !”
Leaving behind the sound of the woman clicking her tongue in annoyance, No. 21 ran away with all his might, without even having a chance to stop the bleeding from his wound.
“You broke it properly. “Good job, Enrique.”
When I returned to the palace exhausted, the Emperor, who did not seem surprised at all, greeted No. 21 with a deceptively calm expression.
“… “Did you know everything?”
Of course it is. Because that’s what you do.
Then, the Holy Emperor looked at No. 21’s face, unable to hide his bitterness, and then placed his hand on his wound and personally poured out divine power.
Just like it always was when I was young, so naturally.
“Why do you make that face after you finish your work well?”
“… … .”
“Now, let’s listen to the report. “What did you see there, Enrique?”
well. Do you really need to take the time to listen to my report? You probably already know everything.
“… “It’s number 21.”
Number 21 responded bluntly and tried to contain the inexplicable emotions that were surging in tears.
* * *
“Would I really be useful as his informant? With his power, he could have done everything on his own without me… … .”
Number 21, who returned to the Monkey Watchtower in a slightly depressed mood, heard a lament that felt somehow familiar. His senior, No. 19, was groaning with his head on the table.
This senior is in a state of self-destruction. I wonder if it’s only been a day or two.
“What is it? What happened with Prince Logan again?”
No. 19, Prince Logan’s informant,
He was a veteran with quite an age gap with No. 21, but he had been living in quite an awkward position recently due to frequent encounters at the Monkey Watchtower.
“It’s blasphemous. No. 21. “Can’t you use honorifics properly?”
“yes yes. Logan Hwang, here you go. and what happened?”
If it weren’t for his excessive loyalty to Prince Logan, he’d be a pretty good senior.
Then No. 19 turned his downcast face and looked at No. 21.
“hmm. Nothing happened. “I was just wondering whether someone of Prince Logan’s caliber would be worthy of a poor informant like me.”
“… … .”
It wasn’t a day or two.
Since he was first assigned to Prince Logan, No. 19 had been frustrated that he was serving someone he could not handle.
Why not? He is a prince who is better at killing people than informants, and his military power is incomparably superior.
Thanks to this, every time Prince Logan left somewhere with a punitive force, he was left alone in the imperial capital and wasted time investigating useless groups of traitors.
At that point, you couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Am I really of any use to Him?’
“Senior No. 13 proudly followed Prince Mores to Sigismund Territory.”
“It’s no use complaining.”
Number 21 responded sullenly.
“No matter how good my senior is, how can I be the only one? “I am His Majesty Seonghwang’s direct informant.”
Then No. 19 suddenly showed a pitiful expression.
“Oh, well… . Cheer up.”
‘shit! ‘I feel bad for being pitied by that senior!’
If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t have time to fool around with No. 19 anymore. If we don’t leave for Asean right away, it will probably be difficult to keep up with the success and schedule.
“… “Are you on a business trip to Asin again?”
Number 19, who was staring at Number 21, who was hastily packing up his women’s clothing, asked.
“yes.”
“You are also very diligent. Can’t we just leave the work to the agents at the Assin branch? “You don’t have to go there every time, right?”
But No. 21’s attitude was stubborn.
“Don’t talk nonsense. When Your Majesty comes to the Homunculus, isn’t it when His life is most at risk? But how can he entrust his side to just anyone?”
“… … ?”
Number 19 made an absurd face.
Why not? I know better than anyone else the antipathy towards the success of No. 21.
Number 19, who was silent for a moment as if at a loss for words, gave this evaluation in a low voice after a while.
“You know what? “You’re a really weird guy too.”
It’s noisy. I will literally return it to my senior.
* * *
Even though I was number 21, I was not very happy about the business trip to Asean.
Cayenne Klanos. This is because every time I met Seonghwang’s hidden illegitimate child, I had to have an extremely unpleasant experience.
There was no exception to that this time too.
“your majesty!”
Cough!
Seonghwang, who was eating normally, suddenly started pouring out blood from his mouth, and No. 21 got scared and ran away.
“… … !”
-No, it’s okay.
Instead of using his damaged vocal cords, Seonghwang slowly waved his hand at No. 21. In the meantime, Cayenne, the actions of that crazy bastard were unbelievable.
Percussion.
Kaien turned over the hourglass next to him and looked at Seonghwang, who was coughing up blood, without blinking.
“One, two, three… … .”
He was leisurely counting the numbers.
‘You crazy bastard!’
Number 21 gritted his teeth and glared helplessly at the boy.
If that murderous bastard had not been His Majesty’s son, No. 21 would have driven the dagger into that young boy’s forehead without any guilt.
‘What on earth were the other guild members doing! ‘Did you properly monitor that bastard?’
Fortunately, it did not take long for the corroded esophagus and airway to fully recover. Kaien clicked his tongue as he watched Seonghwang quickly return to normal condition.
“Wow, you recover in just a few breaths? “With this, I am completely unable to escape today.”
“… You somehow poisoned the food. “What kind of trick did you do?”
The guild members must have been keeping an eye on him at all times, and he was truly a talented child. As Seonghwang is thinking this, Kaien smiles brightly at him.
“That’s a secret. “I just mixed it well.”
“How did you get this poison? Even in Asin’s dark poetry, it must be something that doesn’t come around easily.”
“That’s a secret too, father.”
The boy who responded like that got up from the table and stretched leisurely.
“Anyway, what’s going on these days? “Why do you come here more often than before?”
After Kayen settled in Asin, the Holy Emperor visited once a week for at least a month.
Then, around New Year’s, the visits became quite rare, and recently, as if to make up for it, I have been maintaining my visits twice a week.
Thanks to this, only No. 21 was dying while traveling to and from the ecliptic.
“You seem to have some free time during the regular audience recently. Why don’t you like seeing me often?”
“It’s not like that. “Playing with my dad is quite fun.”
Cayenne answered like that and twisted the corner of her mouth as she looked at the blood stains on the tablecloth. It’s an eerie smile that makes it easy to guess what the scope of ‘play’ is.
“Anyway, dad. What are you going to spend time with me today? Are you playing chess or something again?”
The boy’s face, asking the question with strong curiosity, seemed unusually innocent.
“Are you not interested in chess?”
“huh. To be honest, it’s not very fun.”
“For that matter, he seemed quite focused.”
“It’s a game. “Because I don’t like losing at anything.”
Kaien pouted innocently and slowly walked towards the castle.
“Rather than that, how about we have a more in-depth conversation about something important that will happen in the future?”
And the boy flexed his black three-white eyes and made a rather gentle smile.
“huh? Tell me, father. When are you going to kill me?”
“… … .”
“I plan to kill you eventually. yes? So hurry up and say it. “Then, wouldn’t I be able to prepare my mind and make various plans beforehand?”
iced coffee.
Number 21 closed his eyes tightly and thought.
‘I feel like I’m going crazy just listening to that rich man’s conversation!’
fantasy,
