456 Chapter 456: Assassin’s Pride

"Seriously?" I was staring at the chapter title in disbelief. "You're going to rip off an anime now? I mean, it's an anime adaptation of a light novel, but even so, you're seriously going to rip off the original light novel now? You do realize that I'm not an assassin, right? I don't go around killing people while wearing black and acting like an emo budget Kirito. You've got the wrong guy for the job!"

Then I realized that I was indeed wearing all black. I couldn't help it. Black was my favorite color. It was only natural that the vast majority of my clothing was black.

"Psst…"

I realized that the other passengers on the train were staring at me. Oh, right. Currently I was in public, taking a train to my workplace. Even while seated by myself, my mumbling and grumbling were drawing quite a bit of attention. To the uninitiated, they couldn't see the fourth wall or detect the presence of people beyond the fourth dimension, so they could only perceive my ramblings as talking to myself. That was why they thought I was mentally deranged.

They weren't the only ones. If you just read all the comments and reviews, you would see the vast majority of readers condemning me as mentally retarded, stupid, or all sorts of other insults. So perhaps I really was crazy. Who knows?

In any event, there was no time to dwell on such nonsense. The train was gradually pulling to a stop, and the mechanical, invisible voice blared out, announcing that we had reached Flandor City. Many passengers were already rising from their seats well before the train ground to a grinding halt, grabbing their personal items and baggage.

Sighing, I leaned back and glanced out of the windows, noting that it was already night. Flandor City was the city of the Franklin family, where Kureha and Melina Franklin lived. Melina only visited Jing Tian City the other night to get a feel of my family's dojo, and she had originally arranged to temporarily stay in a rented house in my neighborhood, so that it would be convenient for her to train every evening or so at my dad's dojo.

However, complications arose and her father requested that she return to Flandor City. Apparently her relatives were making it difficult for her, trying to deny her even the chance to learn swordsmanship under a different teacher, and claimed that it was dangerous and scandalous for a daughter of the Franklin family to live by herself outside their home base. Of course, it wasn't, but they were grasping at every opportunity to undermine her efforts.

I honestly didn't understand why they wasted so much time and energy on holding this grudge against a young, innocent girl. They must really be desperate for power and status within their own family.

"Cardinal Station," the mechanical voice announced, droning on and the train finally came to a complete halt. "Cardinal Station."

I could see the various academies, churches and buildings from the window. Cardinal District was a well known neighborhood in Flandor City, featuring prestigious schools such as Saint Teresa Academy, and highly revered churches and other places of worship. Ironically enough, it was the one place the Dark Church failed to infiltrate. Evidently apocalyptic propaganda and murderous ambitions were no match for real religion and sincere faith.

"Ugh…"

Scratching my cheek, I let out a heavy sigh. Honestly, I didn't want to be here. If it weren't for the mission that both Dad and Duke Fergus Franklin assigned to me, then I would never have been involved with a place like this.

As I thought, the atmosphere felt heavy…too formal and too serious. Even though I believed in God, I was never much of a religious person and I couldn't be bothered to go to church. I preferred to engage in my own personal worship and self-dialogue with God (yeah, that was why people thought I was insane because I seemed to be talking to myself way too much). The air here felt saturated with fervent worship, almost as if the people here were obsessed with formal worship, proper rituals and step-by-step rites. In other words, it felt very stifling. It lacked the sense of freedom, openness and informality that I was used to experiencing in Jing Tian City.

That said…

"Yeah, this place is filled with quite the scholarly aura."

"Ah! I know, right? I thought exactly the same thing when I first arrived here!"

Turning around, I was surprised to see a familiar face. Red hair, tied into a single ponytail that drifted at the side, and pinkish, amber eyes that stared up innocently at me. Rossetti Pickeet smiled as she waved, and then approached me, dressed in a frilly, flamboyant pink dress that looked more like it belonged to a cosplay convention than a public train station.

Good lord…I hoped I wasn't going to be forced to wear "formal" clothing like that. Right now, I was dressed in nothing more than a black T-shirt with space sorcerers (psychic space marines) posing on the front, dark jeans, and a black casual jacket. Knowing the somber mood that Cardinal District was famous for, I wouldn't be surprised if I was ordered to change into a formal tuxedo-looking jacket with brass buttons, crisply starched white shirt and a tie. Bloody hell, why the fuck should I dress up like a butler when I was just teaching someone?

"It has been a while, Miss Picket." I bowed my head respectfully. That wasn't an exaggeration. The tournament felt like it was a long time ago, even though no more than a week or two had passed since the awards ceremony. I didn't mention that, though. Since my team was the one who eliminated hers during the quarterfinals, I might risk tearing open old wounds and sound like I was gloating over our victory.

Rossetti didn't seem offended, though. She smiled – perhaps it was because she was the sole core member of Saint Teresa Academy who I didn't fight against. She only watched from the sidelines as I eliminated her teammates, and was herself knocked out by mine during the team match. Naturally, she wouldn't resent me as much as maybe Kureha or Lute Dragoon would.

"Ah…I forgot my bag!"

Absent minded as always (not that I would know), Rossetti rushed back into the train. I followed her and helped her take her luggage down from the overhead compartment.

"Don't worry, I've got it," I assured her as I handled the baggage without much difficulty. "You can go ahead and alight first."

"Thank you so much!"

For some reason, Rossetti looked as if she wanted to cry. How exaggerated. I was only doing what other people would have done in my position. It was only natural to help other people, after all. That was something that my parents had taught me, both from my previous life and from this life.

Before the doors could close, I managed to alight the train with several seconds to spare, and passed the luggage to Rossetti. My own stuff was still on the platform – it wasn't as if anyone was desperate enough to steal my luggage. Still, I wasn't careless or naïve enough to leave my belongings unattended for too long, so I resume ownership of them and checked the name tag to ensure I didn't pick up someone else's bags by mistake.

Rossetti was bowing gratefully, as if I had just done her a huge favor or something. Flushed, she smiled at me.

"Honestly, I kind of thought you were a scary guy at first."

"Huh? I'm…scary?"

"No, I mean…you defeated my entire team at the tournament, you know? You even beat my team captain, Kureha…who is known as the Sword Saint. I thought you were some kind of monster." Rossetti giggled. "I'm glad to see you're actually a nice guy."

I didn't know whether to be flattered or offended, but I decided to just shrug it off.

"Um, okay. That's good to hear. Don't worry, I'm not the type who eats other people." I scratched my head awkwardly. "Still, it's good to meet you. I thought I would be alone when I come to this city, but I didn't think I would meet someone from the tournament."

"Heh, I didn't think so too." Rossetti stopped at an intersection and turned about. "Ah, I'm going this way. If fate wills it, maybe we'll meet again!"

"Probably." Truthfully, I doubted we would ever encounter each other again, but I wasn't tactless enough to say that. "See you then."

"Yeah! See you again! We definitely have to meet up again sometime, okay?"

I waved back before Rossetti finally turned her back on me and disappeared into the distance. I then resumed my own journey toward the address that Melina gave me, inputting it into Google Maps and allowing the holographic screen of my smartphone to guide me the rest of the way.

I passed through the district, glancing up at the churches that adorned an entire street. Pious masses thronged through the sidewalk, their heads bowed in fervent prayer as they murmured softly under their breaths. The gentle tone of bells chimed from the towers, and I could see priests and priestesses going about, conducting rites. Passing through the religious district, I then found myself wandering into a less formal place – a street filled with shops and restaurants. Even in a religiously named place like Cardinal District, there were still trendy cafes and fashion shops where youngsters and even middle-aged couples hung out for fun or dates. There was even a huge cinema round the corner, showing a romance movie. That wasn't my type – I preferred sci-fi movies or superhero movies, though my favorites tended to be monster movies (Aliens, kaiju films, etc.).

Eventually, the urban setting thinned out into a suburban one, and I saw less buildings and more luxurious manors, fenced off from the rest of the city and sporting massive gardens, fountains and other extragavent decorations that only the wealthy could afford.

I had finally reached the right place.

"Hmm?"

Even before they came into human view, my glasses picked up the presence of a group of people gathered in front of a massive gate. The sensors magnified the group and displayed them visually upon my lenses, and I saw that they were all wearing maid uniforms.

Why? Do maids in real life really wear such weird, frilly outfits while functioning as servants for the rich? I thought it was just a cliché in anime.

They were currently engaged in lively conversation, either bantering or gossiping or talking about something that was clearly entertaining for them. I couldn't help but be infected by their good mood, the corners of my mouth raising slightly.

As I neared them, one of the maids noticed me and she spun around, her smile disappearing and her expression changing into a formal one. Gripping the hem of her skirt, she performed a curtsy and lowered her head.

"Sir Richard Huang, was it?"

I beamed in what I hoped was a manner that would best assure her that I wasn't some stuck-up asshole who enjoyed putting on airs.

"Nice to meet you. I will be in your care from now on."

"As will I," the maid returned formally. She was a pretty one, a couple of years older than me, with long brown hair that was neatly tied into a ponytail under that white frilly band. "It is my pleasure to meet you. I am the head maid of the Franklin Manor, Amelia Gardenia. Please do not be reserved. If there is anything you wish to know, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Understood, ma'am."

"Please, just call me Amelia." The head maid reassured me with a dazzling smile, and I felt captivated for some reason. This lady was really well trained.

Unlike her, however, the other two maids who were hiding behind were clearly young amateurs slightly younger than me. They were staring at me in wonder.

"This is Lady Melina's new private tutor?!"

"Really? He's so young?! How is he going to teach our lady?!"

"Huh? Are you stupid? Didn't you watch the videos? Lady Melina has shown us the footage of his matches at the high school tournament, remember? He may look nerdy and scholarly, but his strength is terrifying! He defeated that Sword Saint, you know?! Lady Kureha, you know?!"

Oi, I can hear you from over here, you know.

"Ahem. You two." Amelia cleared her throat in a strict manner, and the both of them stiffened up and fell silent. She then turned back to me. "My apologies. You must be tired after such a long journey. If I remember correctly, you're from Jing Tian Academy? It must have been quite the trip."

"Not at all," I assured her.

"Let us show you your room." Amelia stepped forward and reached out. "But first, I shall take your luggage."

"Don't worry about it." I quickly stopped her. "I'll handle this myself. Thank you, though. I really appreciate it, but I'm not tired at all. I'll feel bad making you carry my stuff for me."

Flashing the best smile I could muster, I tilted my head in deference.

"Also…please do not hesitate to approach me if you need any help. I might not be capable of much, but I will do my best to assist in whatever you need."

"Wow." Amelia looked impressed, her cheeks slightly flushed. The two maids behind her flailed about frantically.

"Oh no! Amelia has already fallen for him so quickly!"

"This isn't fair, Amelia!"

I glared at the mischievous duo. What was this, some kind of gag manga?

Amelia was stricter than I was, and she coughed to clear her awkwardness. Turning around promptly, she did her best to recover from my sudden display of respect, and strode toward the gate.

"Then I shall guide you to your room, before showing you around the mansion, if you do not mind?"

"Not in the least." I shook my head. Pleased, Amelia then proceeded toward the main gate, her two lackeys following close behind.

"Shall we go?"

Without further ado, we went straight toward the grand manor, navigating our way through the meticulously tended yet unnecessarily convoluted garden. Glancing up, my glasses recorded a flash of gold. Magnifying the image, I saw that Melina had already came out, and was leaning on the railing of her balcony, looking around.

She was really eager for my arrival, huh?

"Ah, yes…our lady has been impatiently waiting for you." looking in the direction that I was staring in, Amelia giggled. "She was restlessly prancing about the whole day, and was practically glued to her balcony, even though we made her aware that you will only arrive in the evening. She is looking forward to being taught by you."

Staring at her, I suddenly had a premonition.

"Uh, she's not going to fall off the balcony, is she?"

"…eh?"

And then…Melina Franklin fell.