Chapter 94

Chapter 94

TL/Editor: raei

Proofreader: Pickhead7

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: None.

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It was evening, and the sun had set.

Ian's condition was excellent.

Soon, the entire house was filled with pitch-black darkness.

[Ian! We're here!]

With the darkness fully deployed, Ian was virtually invincible.

When you can't see, even taking a step is challenging, much less pursuing and fighting enemies.

Ian had also cast a spell on Belenka.

"[Wind!]"

This was the magic of echo localization, developed in Baron Talian's tomb.

The spell visualized sounds, enabling one to distinguish objects even in the dark.

"Hmm."

As the mysteries of the wind whispered, Belenka sensed a blurred distinction of objects around her.

However, unlike the confined underground, the magic was significantly weaker in the open air above ground.

The wind and sound spread in all directions, echo localization did not function well in these conditions.

Thus, Belenka could only strike down enemies who were nearby.

"Yikes!"

As the situation quickly reversed, the assassins lost their composure.

They had thought this mission was only about dealing with powerless monks.

Clergy are distasteful to kill, not difficult.

But among Takarion's group was a wizard—a highly competent one!

'Surely Takarion is blessed by the gods?!'

'I was wrong...! We should have never started this!'

As their plan went awry, the assassins panicked.

There was a Plan B prepared in case of assassination failure, but that was irrelevant to the assassins.

"Run away!"

"Scatter! Everyone scatter!"

Sensing their failure, the assassins sought their own survival, fleeing in all directions.

Some were caught by Belenka running in random directions, but most escaped the house and vanished into the darkness beyond.

Ian did not pursue the assassins.

More precisely, he could not pursue them.

"Surrender! I will surrender!"

"???"

"I'll pay a ransom, just spare my life!"

The assassin leader had fallen to his knees.

Ian was flabbergasted.

What nonsense about ransoms? Are you worth that?

"Excuse me, just to check, are you royalty?"

"No. But..."

It wasn't worth listening further.

Ian drew Anor-lsil and aimed at the assassin's chest.

"..."

Just before he swung the sword, his fingertips trembled slightly.

To medieval people, killing was as routine as daily life, but not for Ian.

Glory and sin are two sides of the same coin.

Murder is an honorable act but also a sin that eats away at one's humanity.

Suddenly, the darkness lifted.

Belenka approached Ian and said,

"I can do it instead."

Ian looked at Belenka.

She was his knight.

She could bear Ian's sins without him having to get his hands bloody.

But Ian shook his head.

"No."

Ian was not a modern person; he was a medieval resident.

Here, there were no laws or officers to protect Ian.

To defend oneself, one must wield violence.

Ian needed to become accustomed to violence.

"If you spare me, I'll give you a treasure map hidden with gold and jewels! I can give you alcohol and women too! Please spare me!"

Ian scoffed in disbelief.

Money, alcohol, women.

That's all the wealth gathered from a lifetime of killing?

Ian positioned the blade's tip downward, plunging it between the collarbones.

"Gurk!"

The blade smoothly disappeared into the flesh.

It was Ian's first time wielding a sword, yet he miraculously avoided hitting any bones—a stroke of beginner's luck perhaps.

When Ian pulled out Anor-lsil,

Thud.

"Yes. As far as I know, they are mercenaries hired by Count Lumin, prepared in case the poison assassination failed."

The assassins themselves were aware that the assassination using [tomatoes] was uncertain.

In fact, the [tomato assassination method] benefited only the assassins, allowing them to claim that the clergymen died mysteriously after they had merely served food.

If they truly intended to ensure the monks' deaths from the start, they would have prepared an actual poison.

However, Count Lumin, a devout follower of Heaven's Faith, did not want to burden the assassins with the heinous sin of murdering clergy.

So, they initially prepared a tomato assassination.

If the assassination failed, they would simply smile and send the monks on their way, then attempt a second assassination.

That would be the [Barbarian Assassination Method].

"Barbarians..."

"This is serious," the monks murmured, worry spreading across their faces.

Followers of Heaven's Faith would never harm clergy due to the fear of repercussions in the afterlife.

But barbarians are different; they are pagans!

They do not believe in Heaven's Faith, so to them, killing hundreds or even thousands of clergy is not frightening at all!

Count Lumin had cunningly prepared the most suitable assassins to kill clergy—barbarian warriors, who were ruthless murderers, well deserving of the term 'clergy killing machines.'

"We must seek help from followers of Heaven's Faith as quickly as possible."

Ian nodded.

If the barbarian warriors attacked, it would be difficult to guarantee the survival of the monks.

Ian, capable of using various spells and even possessing a space-moving scroll, had nearly zero chance of being killed by the barbarians.

However, nearly zero does not mean absolutely zero.

In the dreadful sanitary and medical conditions of the medieval period, even a stray arrow could result in a fatal poisoning.

Avoiding pointless fights was always the right choice.

Ian had one advantage: the enemy were barbarians.

This land was imperial territory, overflowing with followers of Heaven's Faith.

Knights eager to earn glory would rush over, laughing and competing to help.

Any knight Ian met on the road could become a shield for his group.

"I understand the situation, but there's still something I'm unsure about."

A monk pointed at Mionia and said,

"What if this woman is trying to lead us to the barbarians?"

Ian looked at Mionia silently.

She was the woman who had altered her nun's habit to seduce Takarion, making it somewhat indecent(?).

Could they trust a woman who was once their enemy?

"Sister Mionia, swear to heaven and tell us the truth. Why did you betray them? Why are you on our side now?"

Mionia sighed as if exhausted.

"I just wanted to escape the convent life, so I did as I was told. I participated in the assassination knowing it was to kill Takarion. Yes, that's my sin."

"You were trying to kill me from the start?"

"Will you shut up for a second. Sister, please continue."

"But the assassins intended to eliminate all of you. I didn't want to see you all die. That's a sin I couldn't bear. So, I told the truth."

If Mionia hadn't betrayed them, Ian and his group would have simply walked out of the house after eating.

But soon, they would have encountered barbarian warriors and fought.

Mionia had ruined everything. Conversely, she had also saved everyone.

"You made a difficult decision," Ian remarked.

"...It’s not something to be praised for. It was merely reaping the sins I cultivated."

"If you had remained silent, you could have gotten what you wanted. Instead, you kicked it away yourself."

Ian said with a smile.

"Perhaps it's not yet time for you to leave the convent life."

The monks nodded in agreement with Ian's words.

Choosing to follow divine teachings over immediate benefits is a behavior more fitting for a clergyman than an ordinary person.

All the monks decided to trust Mionia’s words—except for one.

Except for Takarion.

"What?! She tried to kill me! And that doesn't bother you???" Takarion exclaimed incredulously.

"Well, that can happen," Ian replied matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean, that can happen?"

It seemed Takarion still lacked self-awareness.

Considering how much he had done.

"Sister Mionia! You said you liked me! That you respected me!"

Takarion's voice was almost desperate.

Mionia responded sternly, "Are you an idiot? You believed that?"

"It... it was a lie?"

"The very idea that I could like you is laughable. Don’t you even look at your face when you wash? Oh, right, you probably don’t realize since you barely wash."

"That’s too much!!! You even said you liked my gospel!"

"Ah, the gospel. Honestly, your gospel is awful. It truly deserves divine punishment, you know? You tried to make Saint Marcus a hero at the expense of treating other saints like idiots," Mionia criticized bluntly.

"Well, that was simply to highlight the achievements of Saint Marcus..."

Takarion attempted to justify.

"The Saint Garhan who you described as a complete fool is Count Lumin’s most revered saint," Mionia revealed.

"..."

Takarion's face turned pale.

"Wait... you tried to kill me just over that?" he asked in disbelief.

Mionia scoffed, "Just over that? Do you think living a life of faith is a joke?"

Ian nodded in agreement.

Indeed, issues involving a favorite character are serious matters, especially if your favorite character is turned into an idiot in some weird fanfic.

As an ex-modern person, Ian could somewhat understand Count Lumin's rage.