A Disaster-Level Assassin Has Been Freed

Chapter 1: When I opened my eyes, the world had changed.

A dozen or so children, all with different hair colors, clothes, and builds.

But they all shared the common trait of being grimy.

The faces of the little ones climbing onto the rough cargo wagon were filled with fear for the future.

But there was one who was not like that.

‘Mister.

Do they feed you well there?’

‘…….’

The children’s attention focused on him.

Every one of them had startled eyes, and someone let out a sharp gasp ‘Hik’ before hastily covering their mouth.

He didn't care.

The black-haired boy, his eyes darker and blacker than his own hair, stared straight ahead and asked again.

‘They don’t feed you well?

I hate being hungry.’

‘…….’

‘If they don’t feed me, I won’t go.

If I’m going to starve to death either way, it’s better to die in my hometown…….’

‘……You won’t starve to death, as long as you do exactly as you’re told.’

‘I see.’

Only then did the child nod and trudge towards the cargo bed.

The guide chuckled as if amused, and the other children also climbed aboard one by one, finishing their preparations to head towards a new place.

No one knew.

Just what a trash-like choice this decision was.

* * *

‘……Another damn dream.’

Harang, having woken from sleep, cursed inwardly.

The conversation from when he was first dragged to the village.

It was the oldest memory he could recall, and the most irritating one.

What was even worse was that another hellish day was about to begin.

‘I’m not getting up.’

Despite being awake, Harang deliberately kept his eyes closed.

It was a petty act of defiance, something he did every time.

He knew he'd eventually get beaten soundly by the village manager and forced up, but still, he didn't want to meekly move according to their intentions.

While he was thinking that…….

“……What’s that smell?”

The words slipped out unconsciously.

The smell of burning, the smell of filth, and finally, the smell of blood.

That sort of thing wasn't particularly special.

After all, in Harang's short life, days without death and corpses were rarer.

What he found strange was the part where he couldn't smell the village's unique, stuffy, and moldy odor.

Unable to contain his curiosity, the black-haired young man opened his eyes slightly and scanned his surroundings.

And he immediately got up from his spot.

“What the?”

The shackles and handcuffs on his limbs, he didn't know when they had been put on or cut off.

A dozen or so destroyed carriages and scattered corpses in gruesome states.

Looking more closely, there were some familiar faces among them.

One of the village's low-level managers wearing a robe, and two test subjects like himself, lay dead with their eyes wide open.

But the more surprising fact was that this place wasn't inside the village, but a location he had never seen before in his life.

‘An open plain…….’

Harang wandered around with a blank face.

Various thoughts swirled in his mind, and even more thoughts washed over him like waves, complicating his head.

It was impossible.

It wasn't quite something he couldn't even imagine…….

Rather, it was the opposite.

From the moment he entered the village until now, for how many long years had he dreamt of escaping?

That's why it was even harder to accept the current situation.

Something he had so desperately wanted yet couldn't achieve, something for which even the faintest possibility hadn't been visible…… accomplished so easily?

“Heh.”

Letting out a dry laugh, Harang circled the area again.

It was because he wondered if this might be a new type of test.

Even if it wasn't, judging that there must be something to help him understand, he investigated the area even more diligently and carefully.

Time passed like that.

Enough time for the sun, which had been in the east, to diligently move and just begin to set in the west.

Only then could he be sure.

He had been freed.

He still didn't know what on earth had happened while he slept, but at least at this moment, there was no one to compel him.

This was the most important truth.

“It’s really…… liberation.”

Freedom.

At that shining word grasped much earlier than expected, Harang felt a thrill, but also helplessness and bewilderment.

It couldn't be helped.

Only those who have fully enjoyed freedom can know its value.

For a brat who had spent his entire life confined in the village and had only just stepped out into the world, it was natural for everything to feel vague.

Right now, nothing clearly came to mind about what he should do, or even what he wanted to do.

Flutter

Just then, he noticed a crow descending from the sky.

After pondering for a moment, he quietly moved his feet.

And he swung his hand lightly, as if picking a fruit.

The creature, which had intended to peck out the corpse's eyes, felt no premonition and only thrashed about in surprise after being caught.

Harang clenched his fist.

Snap

“Sorry, we weren’t close, but you were peers.”

Harang, tossing aside the bird with its neck snapped, looked down at the two corpses.

Ben, Vera.

Pitiful beings who had shared his fate, lived their entire lives in hell, only to perish just before hope arrived.

Although they were closer to enemies than friends, the black-haired young man willingly dug graves for them.

Thus, two convex burial mounds were created.

Harang, dusting off his hands to shake off the dirt, watched the scene for a moment before muttering.

“Is this what freedom is?”

It probably was.

Making graves for his peers.

This was something unimaginable inside the village where oppression was daily life.

However, despite it being his monumental first act of freedom outside the village, he didn't feel incredibly good about it.

“Ptui.”

‘Mm, nice.’

Compared to that, the second and third acts were quite satisfying.

Spitting on the corpse of the village manager dressed like a Merchant Guild Leader felt refreshing, and gripping the sword he had used gave him a sense of security.

The quality was better than the one he used in the village.

Nodding his head, Harang muttered.

“I was much indebted to you, let’s not meet again.”

Hwik, turning without any lingering attachment, the black-haired young man started walking.

The thought suddenly occurred that the village folk might pursue him, but still, he didn't increase his speed.

Doing so felt like admitting defeat somehow.

He wanted to leave with dignity.

“But…… what now?”

Harang's voice, full of curiosity, perhaps even sounding foolish, flowed across the field on the wind.

* * *

The Barjean Merchant Guild, mainly active in the northwest of the Nadan Kingdom, had been expanding quite rapidly recently.

This was thanks to making bolder moves than other merchants, who were merely watching cautiously while the children of the large merchant guild that dominated the area were embroiled in succession disputes.

Even now, this was the case.

The long-distance trade route, usually difficult to attempt, and moreover, the cargo wagons numbering three times more than usual, seemed to showcase the Merchant Guild Leader's ambition.

Consequently, having more personnel attached was a natural step.

“Ha, camping out again. I wish this would end soon. It's really getting tiresome.”

“Tell me about it. Lucky the weather’s good, if it were summer, we’d be dead.”

“How come there isn't a single village with a decent inn? There'll be one tomorrow, right?”

“Well, the guild's scale is quite large, I wonder if there's a place that can accommodate everyone…….”

“Hey there! Stop slacking and come help out!”

“Yes, yessir!”

At the shout of the grim-faced middle-aged man, two young mercenaries jumped up from their seats.

They were called mercenaries, but they were greenhorns who had only registered with the brokerage five months ago.

Thus, they were often called here and there to run errands, but the two didn't feel bad about it.

It was because they recognized they were at the very bottom of the mercenary ecosystem.

“Besides, half of us were hired as substitutes for odd-job workers anyway…….”

“That's true. Plus the pay is decent…… This is actually better. Rather than dangerously, huh? Clashing swords at the very front every time a fight breaks out.”

“Right, that's right.”

“Yeah…….”

Of course, even if they said this, they weren't satisfied with their current situation either.

What was the reason the two had run away from their rural village in the first place?

It was to learn splendid swordsmanship and live a glamorous life.

Even if not to the extent of defeating a demon king and marrying a beautiful princess like a hero of legend, they wanted to bravely fight and overcome vicious monsters or wicked bandit groups.

The admiring gazes of senior mercenaries pouring towards them as they turned around after coolly annihilating enemies.

The Merchant Guild Leader approaching with tears of emotion, gripping their hands tightly, and offering a brilliant reward.

The Merchant Guild Leader's daughter, beautiful as a flower, gazing at them with eyes full of admiration.

Thus begins the rosy roma... between the promising swordsman and the rich young lady…….

Thwack!

“This punk, what are you spacing out for again? Can't you move quickly?”

“Ugh! Ah, I’m sorry!”

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“No, I was just lost in thought for a moment…… Sorry.”

The lanky tall young man apologized, and the sturdily built one relaxed his expression and patted his back.

He fully understood his friend's feelings.

Because he too sometimes fell into such delusions.

Of course, no matter how desperately they wished, reality wouldn't change.

Their day was the same as yesterday.

Helping set up the camp tents, carrying water from the source, helping prepare meals…….

After finishing such trivial tasks, the sky had already grown dim before they knew it.

The two belatedly sat near the campfire and picked up their stew bowls.

And before taking a spoonful, they secretly wiped away tears.

“Jack.”

“Yeah, Matthew.”

“I’m definitely going to succeed.”

“…….”

“Whether I become a Gold Plate Mercenary, build my skills and enter a swordsmanship guild in a big city, or become a disciple of a Wandering Knight…… I’ll succeed somehow.”

“……Me too, I’ll definitely do it too.”

Hearing the words of the lanky Matthew, his friend Jack also nodded in agreement.

That's right.

They absolutely had to.

In order to return confidently before the father who had fumed, saying ‘What’s a farmer’s son doing with a sword?’ and ‘He doesn’t even know his place,’ they had to become stronger somehow.

“Yeah. Let’s get strong quickly, damn it.”

“Let’s do it, damn.”

“Damn it.”

“Damn it, phew. Get strong quickly, raise our rank, earn lots of money. So we can carry around high-quality ingredients separately instead of this crappy ration stew…….”

“What’s wrong with the ration stew?”

“Uwaah, you scared me!”

“Ugh!”

The two greenhorn mercenaries jumped up from their seats in surprise.

And they looked down to their left.

There was a young man.

Black hair and black eyes that seemed unmixed with starlight or moonlight, and thus, his white skin stood out even more.

The feeling was strange.

Until they became conscious of him, his presence was so faint he could have blended into the twilight and been overlooked, but once their attention focused on him, his appearance was good enough to make them wonder how they hadn't noticed.

‘When on earth did he appear?

No, before that, who is he?

He's not part of the merchant guild!’

The sturdy Jack wore a bewildered expression.

Where on earth did this guy come from?

This place was far from any castle or village, not somewhere a young man in such light clothing should be wandering alone.

Even if he were a traveler who enjoyed drifting like a water weed, barging into the middle of the merchant guild's camp without permission was another matter entirely.

‘Did he perhaps join newly without me knowing?’

‘Really?

Why?’

Question marks continuously popped up in the two mercenaries' minds.

But the black-haired young man was calm.

With an extremely serene face, he looked up at the two from a squatting position.

After meeting their gazes for a moment like that, he spoke.

“That, are you not going to eat it?”

“What?”

“That. The bowl in your hand.”

“Ah…….”

“You looked like you didn't want to eat it. Since you were just holding the spoon and not dipping it in.”

“…….”

“Can’t you give it to me?”

“No, what on earth is this…….”

“Hey! What’s going on there! Why are you being so loud…… Huh?”

Just then, hearing the commotion, a merchant guild employee approached with a perplexed expression.

It couldn't be helped.

A young man he had never seen before was looking at the mercenaries with incredibly calm eyes, his attitude making it seem as if he had come to visit the merchant guild for fun.

The employee looked at Matthew and asked.

“Do you know him?”

“Ah, no?”

“Jack, what about you?”

“Me neither…….”

“Then who is this fellow?”

“We also don’t really know…… We thought someone else had brought him…….”

“Hello, I’m Harang.”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

“I’m Harang.”

“It’s not because I didn’t hear you. Tsk…….”

The employee frowned.

He was both dumbfounded and angry.

Someone unidentified had entered the merchant guild camp.

He didn't look threatening, but still, letting a man wearing a sword at his waist get this far was a clear oversight.

‘These bastards, I paid good money to hire even the Silver Plate Mercenary Guild, and they pull this crap?’

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

Since his emotions were sour, irritation suddenly flared up towards the black-haired young man staring blankly at him.

Harsh words were about to come out of his mouth.

But there was a voice that came out before his.

“I thought about it carefully.”

“…….”

“No, I tried to think about it carefully…….”

It was Harang.

The sturdy Jack, the lanky tall Matthew.

Even the few others who approached upon hearing the commotion all focused on the uninvited guest.

However, he was composed.

The employee watching him tried to say something, but only moved his lips a few times.

He didn't pay attention.

Regardless, the black-haired young man slowly stated what he had to say.

“……Perhaps because I’m hungry, I couldn’t think well.”

“……Think about what?”

“What I should do from now on.”

“…….”

“I’ve never done it before, until now. Is that why it’s harder? Anyway…….”

This, can I have some too?

After speaking, Harang, who had been gauging the atmosphere for a moment, added one more thing.

“I’ll earn my keep.”