CH 125

The Best Assassin V6 Prologue – The assassin questions his collaborator



I had met all kinds of demons so far.



The orc demon, the beetle demon, the lion demon, the Noppera-Bou demon hiding inside the subterranean dragon, and finally, the snake demon.



And the latter was the most unusual among them.



She disguised herself as a human and blended in with human society.



In her case, it wasn’t just because it would help her with the Demon King’s resurrection, but also because she enjoyed and adored human culture and entertainment.



That’s how I was able to form a partnership with her.



Until now, I had been assisted by the information she provided me with.



Without her help, we wouldn’t have been able to defeat the lion demon.



[That partnership of ours is starting to show some cracks.] (Lugh)



This time, she didn’t provide any information.



Rather than not knowing what every other demon was up to, maybe she simply didn’t know about the subterranean dragon’s scheme.



However, I ruled out that possibility when Naoise showed up right when the battle was over. If she hadn’t known beforehand, there was no way she could’ve sent her messenger at that moment.



I wasn’t sure whether nonchalantly riding this snake monster all the way to her headquarters was a good idea, but there were some things I would never understand unless I talked to her in person.



I was confident that we could give her the slip no matter what the circumstances, and I had my insurance for that ready, which was why I came along.



And I was also concerned about Naoise.



Right now, he was steering the snake monster as our guide.



[Naoise, you sure you don’t need to blindfold us?] (Lugh)



We were being brought to the headquarters of the snake demon Mina.



Surely she wouldn’t want us to know where it was.



Normally, the guide would show enough caution to block our vision to keep us from learning the way.



[It’s alright. You’re Lady Mina’s collaborator, after all. Besides, for you, being blindfolded or not wouldn’t make a difference.] (Naoise)



[So you’ve already figured me out.] (Lugh)



I smiled bitterly.



Naoise was completely right. Even if all of my five senses were blocked, using the wind to sound out my surroundings was child’s play for me.



[…Nevan isn’t with you today?] (Naoise)



[No, she’s busy with other stuff. It’s not like she’s always working with us.] (Lugh)



She was the daughter of Romalung, one of the four major dukedoms. The masterpiece of the household that strived for the ultimate human, and our senior at the academy.



[I see. That’s—] (Naoise)



At that moment, Naoise paused.



Naoise was in love with her. That’s why I was curious to know if his next words were going to be “a shame” or “good to know”.



But instead, he simply kept his mouth shut.



Though I had to say…



[This snake sure is fast.] (Lugh)



[It truly is, which is surprising.] (Tarte)



[But it’s still slower than us when we fly, though.] (Dia)



Although this was just an estimation based on my perception of the speed, this snake was going at about 300 km/h.



That was as fast as a bullet train.



At that speed, we were moving further and further into uncharted territory.



The country hadn’t yet cut through all the forests, and the nobles were hard at work cultivating the land to expand their territories.



We entered a large forest that wasn’t on the map, and came out into an unnaturally open area.



It took us about two hours to get there.



When we got off the snake monster, it went deep into the ground and disappeared.



We got to use it as a taxi, but a monster of this level could probably wipe out an entire small town if it ever felt like it.



[This is Lady Mina’s demon residence.] (Naoise)



It was a large and elegant mansion.



Only a high-ranking noble with at least the title of Count could’ve had such a palace built.



In terms of wealth, even nobles of lower ranks but with thriving businesses could afford the same thing, but low-ranking nobles building something of this magnitude was frowned upon as disrespectful.



However, what caught my attention wasn’t the elegance of the building.



[…Well, color me surprised. Isn’t that the Nebian architecture that has recently started coming into vogue?] (Lugh)



A genius architectural engineer of this country had designed a mansion for Count Chocorne. It was so magnificent that he was inundated with requests.



In no time, his design concept was named the Nebian architecture, and became one of the most dominant architectural styles in the country.



I couldn’t believe that a demon would build a mansion like that in such an undeveloped land.



[You’re very knowledgeable, Lugh. You’re right, this was built with the Nebian architecture. An aristocrat who was enamored with Lady Mina offered it to her as a gift. He had it dismantled, then transported and reassembled here.] (Naoise)



[That’s easier said than done, but only first-class carpenters would’ve been able to do that. There’s no way she could’ve asked anyone from the general public to come here.] (Lugh)



[I’ll have you know that Lady Mina is very popular.] (Naoise)



[Oh, so that’s the trick.] (Lugh)



The snake demon Mina possessed a powerful Charm ability.



Surely that was how she brainwashed the people she needed and brought them here.



Just to have them build a mansion she liked.



I didn’t dislike her personality itself, but it reminded me once again that I was going to deal with a demon.



[Now, come on in. Lugh, Dia, Tarte, I’ll show you guys around the house of my master.] (Naoise)



The doors opened on their own.



Then we stepped into the snake’s den.



Inside the mansion, there were numerous snakemen at work in their servant uniforms.



They were diligently cleaning up, and bowed to us as we approached.



The residence itself wasn’t the only thing that was aristocratic and refined, the same applied for its interior design. There was also a wonderful array of artwork.



And they were all perfectly maintained.



It was unusual for monsters to be able to care for such works of art so flawlessly, even though it took a great deal of specialized knowledge to do that.



In addition to those servants, there were many knight-like snakemen equipped with armor and swords, standing at attention.



This was another thing that gave me a sense of discomfort.



Judging by the way they stood and walked, and the chi they were clad in, I could make a rough guess about the strength of those knights.



And every one of those dozens of snake-knights appeared to be first-class warriors.



So much so that they might as well have spent many years of their childhood to reach that level.



But that shouldn’t have been possible.



A knight’s techniques were created by humans. No monster could possibly know them.



Even if humans had taught them, it had still been less than a year since the seal on the demons was broken. So it didn’t make sense for them to learn everything in such a short time.



…Wait a second. That goes for the servants too. Their flawless etiquette, those top-notch housekeeping skills, and the expertise required to take care of those works of art. No way they could’ve learned all that overnight.



But more importantly, aren’t these guys acting way too much like humans?



After spending some time thinking deeply about it, I came up with a theory.



I had to ask Mina about it.



We were invited to the guest room. The interior was even more elaborately designed than the rest, and the artworks were of even higher quality.



The shelves were lined with super high-grade liquor of both national and foreign brands. Not the kind of stuff that was simply famous and expensive, but real good stuff that was worth its price.



Sadly enough, as far as this room was concerned, Mina and I had the same tastes.



And the owner of this room was in the center.



[Welcome to my residence, Sir Lugh and his lovely girlfriends. I have been dying to invite you over for such a long time. Please have a seat.] (Mina)



She had brown skin, dark hair, a bewitching body covered in erotic clothes, and was a woman of unparalleled beauty whose purple eyes were reminiscent of a snake.



[I was also looking forward to your invitation… But then, you suddenly made me witness that sickening exhibition. So let me reiterate. I’m human, and I like my fellow humans.] (Lugh)



[My oh my, so you noticed after all. What material I used to make them, that is.] (Mina)



Mina gave me a meaningful smile, while Tarte and Dia tilted their heads, unaware of what she was talking about.



[You’ve both seen all those snakemen working in this mansion, right? She used human beings to create them. It seems that by some means, she turned humans into snakes, and in doing so, they retained their memories and experiences. That’s how the snakemen in this mansion are capable of doing housework perfectly, and the knights have become mighty beings possessing the power of monsters and the skills of humans. …Earlier, Naoise said that she got this mansion from a certain Count, but that’s not true. It was offered to her by all the people working here.] (Lugh)



[I can’t believe it… Then, all those snakemen were–!?] (Tarte)



[They were all formerly human…] (Dia)



Both girls turned pale and glared at Mina in disgust.



Any human being would feel repulsed by that.



[Now please don’t look at me like that. I did not force them into it. They desired to stay with me forever and ever, so I granted their wish. And they didn’t lose anything from it either. They became much stronger than humans, and they are free from old age too.] (Mina)



[Oh, so stealing their hearts with your Charm doesn’t count as forcing them?] (Lugh)



[My Charm is part of my natural appeal, so even if you complain about it, I just cannot help it. But if you find it that intolerable, I’ll tell you about my power in return for making you feel so uncomfortable. I can lay eggs by eating living creatures. If I eat a human, a snakeman will hatch. If I eat a dog, it’ll be a snakedog. If I eat a cat, it’ll be a snakecat. Isn’t that a wonderful power?] (Mina)



[It sure is one powerful ability.] (Lugh)



How awfully disgusting.



Mina just kept seducing people, playing with them, eating them once she got tired of them, and turning them into her personal soldiers.



Although she claimed not to be particularly strong by demon standards, if we are talking about leading an army, then she was quite a powerful individual.



[You despise me, yet you still chose your words carefully for me. How kind of you. I could just eat you up.] (Mina)



She locked her snake eyes on me, then Tarte and Dia stepped forward to protect me.



[Please don’t worry, my little sweeties. When I say I want to eat him up, I mean in a sexual way.] (Mina)



[You can’t do that either!] (Tarte)



[Lugh has no interest in an old lady like you!] (Dia)



Mina’s face twitched a little.



It seemed that she didn’t like it when Dia called her an old lady.



[For now, let’s all sit down. We came here to discuss what we’ll do from now. I’m sure that’s why you summoned us all the way here, isn’t it? To talk about matters we can’t address anywhere else.] (Lugh)



[Yes, precisely. The fact that you’re such a smart boy does make things easier. Let me offer you a drink. Which one would you like?] (Mina)



[The red wine from Courtogne.] (Lugh)



Which was also known as “Red Jewel”, produced in small but exquisite quantities.



And it would never be made again, as the orc demon’s raid from back then turned the vineyards into pathways.



I picked this drink because I liked it, but also because of the irony.



[My, my, my! This one happens to be my favorite. Did you know? I happen to be physically compatible with the boys who have the same tastes as me.] (Mina)



[No, I didn’t know that.] (Lugh)



Mina poured a glass of blood red wine for each of us.



So far, she hadn’t shown any sign of outright hostile behavior.



But I couldn’t afford to lose focus.



Otherwise, I would get devoured by Mina, and end up as one of her snakemen.



Even if I had a contingency plan, it wasn’t necessarily perfect.



Better proceed cautiously with our conversation.