Episode 12. The First Test (6)
“Honey, look at this! The mayor sent us festival attire! This time, all the citizens are to wear it.”
“Hmm, it says this. ‘During the festival period, everyone must wear the festival uniform they were given.’ Now, look. How is it? Does it suit you?”
Dorothy, a good citizen of Trumbelle. She was one of the many flower shop owners in the town.
Born and raised in peaceful Trumbel, he has been running a flower shop he inherited for several years.
The day she received the festival dress, she tried it on and loved it.
“But Dorothy, your dress is a little different from mine. Why is there a red embroidery on the back of your collar?”
On the day of the festival.
Dorothy was very busy. The flower shop was always busy during the festival.
That was because it was a day when trumbell flowers with black and red petals blooming alternately were selling like hotcakes.
Festival goers wore formal attire given by the mayor and wore trumpet flowers pinned to their chests.
A day to enjoy drinking, singing and dancing.
A day that is the complete opposite of the flower language of the trumbell flower, ‘silence’.
“But why does it feel like there are a lot of guards in this alley this year?”
The husband said this while selling trumbell flowers to the visitors. And it was true, Dorothy was thinking the same thing.
There were unusually many guards walking around from the corner of the alley where the flower shops were located.
But it was not a situation in which they could care about such things. Dorothy and her husband enjoyed themselves by selling flowers diligently until the middle of the day.
At sunset.
All the prepared trumbel flowers were sold out.
Dorothy was sitting on a bench in front of a store, exhausted. While tapping her shoulder, she witnessed a strange sight in the narrow alley across the street.
Two children playing.
A large boy and a girl with long hair tied back.
At first it looked like they were jumping around, but upon closer inspection it wasn’t.
“Are those guys… fighting?”
Although it was hard to see because of the shadows, the atmosphere in the alley definitely did not look pleasant.
The sight of a boy and a girl kicking against the wall, jumping, waving their arms, and throwing punches somehow looked like they were fighting.
“… isn’t it?”
But Dorothy’s eyes could not clearly distinguish between the boy and the girl’s violent movements. Their movements were so quick and nimble.
at that time.
“Oh, ma’am.”
Dorothy spotted another boy walking out of the alley next to where the two children were fighting.
“Oh my, oh my!”
The child was frowning, covered in bright red liquid. It was a look of pity. He was even sobbing.
“Are you okay?”
Dorothy gets up from the bench and walks towards the boy. Just then, the larger of the two children fighting in the alley starts running towards her.
It sounds like the big boy is shouting something, but I can’t hear him clearly.
“Rubin, … you’re the same kid!”
Dorothy ignored the big boy and walked over to the sobbing boy.
“Don’t cry, child. Oh my, what’s going on?”
* * *
15 minutes ago.
Rubin was following Hamil until they entered the flower shop alley.
To the observers of the Assassin’s Creed spread throughout the city, Rubin’s shadowing of Hamil seemed to be an attempt to take advantage of Hamil’s ability to deduce the identity of his target.
None of them knew that Rubin had guided Hamil’s direction.
‘That’s not important.’
In Rubin’s hand was a leather pouch with something bulging inside.
Rubin knew through the darkness that this alley was most densely populated with the vassals of the Assassins, the soldiers of the Imperial Order, and the market guards.
Sure, there’s a target here.
‘Kundo is here, right?’
There was a faint, uncontrolled darkness spreading around Kun. Judging from the unsteady, swaying darkness, the current situation seemed very frustrating.
‘At first glance, it looks like you haven’t even solved the puzzle.’
Still, the fact that we’ve come this far means that we’ve destroyed what needed to be destroyed and broken what needed to be broken.
‘I guess it’s time to wrap this up now.’
Now that the target’s range has been narrowed, there is no need to hesitate.
Rubin approached Kun with the intention of first stealing his attention.
“Rubin?”
Kun, who had been looking around for a target, finally made eye contact with Rubin. However, they were far apart and he couldn’t hear them very well.
Rubin went into a narrower alley so that Kun could chase after him. Kun pushed his way through the people passing by and approached Rubin.
Tadah, tadah, tadah!
I step on the wooden boxes piled up in the alley one by one.
He felt Kun getting closer and closer. Rubin used the wooden boxes as stairs and quickly climbed up onto the roof.
“Rubin!”
I’ll get even angrier if you don’t answer me.
As expected, a very angry Kun followed Rubin and jumped onto the roof.
I met Kun on a roof covered with reddish-brown bricks. It had been a year since the two of us had met.
Rubin knew that Kun, who had been trampled so humiliatingly in the pit, had been waiting for this moment.
‘You want revenge on me, but you’ll never have the chance, Kun.’
Soon, Kun’s attack began. Rubin simply dodged the rushing attacks. Even his movements to dodge the attacks felt unnatural.
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“What the heck! Those clumsy movements.”
Because there were many eyes watching.
“Eeeeeeeee!”
Kun was furious that none of his attacks landed. Sometimes Rubin would stumble, but these were not mistakes, but just acting to dodge the attacks.
“Gasp, huh.”
Compared to Kun, who was drenched in sweat, Rubin was calm.
“What is that!”
Kun shouted, pointing to the bulging leather pouch Rubin was holding.
“Oh, this? It’s pig blood.”
“Pig’s blood? What are you up to now!”
But Kun didn’t hear Rubin’s answer. Rubin turned around again and started to lure him away as if he was running away from Kun.
Swoosh, bang!
The two jumped from building to building.
Due to his intense anger, the softness in Kun’s movements had long since disappeared. Every time he landed, the bricks in the ceiling would tear and fall to the floor with a thud.
“Are you an assassin? You’re not an elephant.”
Rubin taunted Kun again and jumped down the alley.
This time, towards Hamilton.
It was something that neither Kundo nor Hamil had expected.
Hamil shouted in surprise when Rubin suddenly appeared before his eyes.
“Master Rubin?”
“Hamil, can I introduce you to my friend?”
Rubin’s playful smile.
Regardless, Hamil checked Rubin’s ghost rats inside his pockets, which were unresponsive.
But the ghost rats are silent. Shouldn’t they be squeaking like crazy normally?
“Why aren’t you responding to me, Master?”
Rubin says, showing the leather pouch he was holding.
“Pig’s blood. It’s the only way to stop the ghost rats from chasing you.”
“Pig’s blood prevents tracking?”
“Is that all? That’s what will make me a winner.”
“No, what is that… … .”
Any further conversation was impossible, because Kun rushed in before Hamilton could finish speaking.
thud.
“Ugh!”
Rubin anticipated Kuhn’s attack and dodged it, but Hamill did not. Hamill was hit in the side and fell against a wall.
“Ugh… Master, that guy that guy said he’d introduce me to?”
“You know each other’s names, right?”
“Rubin, you punk! What are you doing!”
Kun ignored her as if he thought that Hamil was not his opponent. He continued to attack Rubin in the narrow alley.
Kun’s continuous punches.
And Rubin, who still appears to be struggling to dodge with clumsy movements.
Hamil, who was watching from right next to him, already knew of Rubin’s abilities, so he knew that this was all a trick of Rubin’s eyes.
The endless gap with Rubin.
Even the attacking Kundo was beginning to realize with despair.
“Hamil, are you just going to watch?”
Rubin smiled playfully and leaned his body towards Hamil. It seemed like he was blocking Kun’s attack with Hamil’s body.
Hamil, who narrowly avoided the attack, shouted urgently.
“Hey, Kun! You know it won’t work out for you anyway.”
“Don’t bother me!”
“We can’t communicate. I can’t help it.”
Hamil attempted to attack Kun. He aimed his fist at Kun’s thigh. However, his opponent simply dodged to the side. Then he counterattacked.
Although I was able to block Kun’s kick coming from the side, I couldn’t help but get pushed back by the difference in strength.
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
Hamil corrected his posture as he swept away the part that had blocked the attack. Meanwhile, Rubin leisurely jumped up onto the wall and spoke to Kun.
“Kun. Be careful of the ghost rats.”
“What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”
As soon as he finished speaking, a ghost rat chasing Kun finally jumped out of Hamil’s pocket. Hamil started to counterattack with the two ghost rats.
“Let’s see, let’s see. I’ll treat you properly.”
“Get out of the way, you little crab!”
Now the fight between Kuhn and Hamil has become even.
Rubin, who was looking down on the two men fighting from the wall, let out a sigh of relief. Okay, so far, everything was going according to plan.
Now the next step.
The answer to the riddle was to find the target indicated by ‘silence’. There wasn’t much time.
Rubin’s eyes quickly scanned the alleyway, and something soon caught his eye. A woman standing in front of a flower shop… … !
‘Target!’
As expected, the target was related to the trumbell flower. The first choice target, the florist, was sitting on a bench with a tired face.
This is a situation where you just have to run and remove the marker.
but.
‘This can’t go on.’
Rubin raised the leather pouch he was holding above his head. Then, without hesitation, he opened his hand.
Food dung.
The pig’s blood that he had been carrying to avoid the ghost rat’s pursuit poured over Rubin’s body.
“What are you doing… … .”
“Rubin, what are you up to again… … !”
The two men shouted at Rubin’s sudden actions, without stopping their attacks on each other.
Rubin just smiled at the two of them and didn’t answer.
The end was coming.
Rubin left the two men fighting and walked out of the alley. He then walked slowly towards the flower shop owner.
The once playful face was instantly filled with tears, as if he had really been in an accident.
“Oh, ma’am… … .”
The florist sitting on the bench noticed Rubin and covered his mouth in surprise.
“Oh my, oh my!”
Rubin approaches little by little.
As if the fighting was coming to an end, Kun’s voice rang out from across the alley.
“Rubin, you little fox!”
Even if you shout like that, it’s already too late.
Rubin was already in the arms of the florist. Rubin reached out his hand. What he caught in his hand was the target’s red mark.
Hot.
The term “first choice” has several meanings. The purpose of this test, Rubin knew, was to choose one of several strategies for dealing with a target.
And the strategy he chose was the most effective and safest method that any child could ever come up with.
‘To conquer the mind so that it responds to humanity. This is also an assassin’s strategy.’
Although he was smiling inside, Rubin really burst into tears. He held the torn-off sign in his hand and shook it gently.
