A Disaster-Level Assassin Has Been Freed

Chapter 10: Request (1)

What were most of the once-upon-a-time stories one could hear from their grandmother or grandfather?

There would be various kinds.

Stories of knights assisting a great king to defeat vile orcs were representative, and tales of magicians competing with dragons, now known to be extinct, were also numerous.

Adventure stories were also frequently seen, and the story of the romantic wanderer, roaming the continent carrying only a sword and a lute, was very good at filling children's hearts with foolish dreams.

In reality, the number of those who pursued their childhood dreams, escaped from farming villages, and became travelers likely exceeded ten thousand each year.

Then, how many among them could safely complete their journey and return to their hometown?

It was unknown.

What was clear was the fact that most wanderers who started their journey alone became targets for robbers.

Grab-!

“What……!”

“Thought you were asleep? Sorry, but you’re too loud. I thought thunder was striking.”

“L-Let go of this! First, first let go and let’s talk…….”

Ppaduk!

“Kraaaaaaaaak!”

The mustached man screamed.

He couldn't understand.

He had moved with extreme caution, so why did they say he made noise?

The grip strength was also unbelievable.

Just by applying force, his own wrist had shattered.

Of course, if he were to stop at this level, he wouldn't have even started.

Staring fiercely at the black-haired man who still hadn't let go of him, he spoke, filled with malice.

“Boys! Kill him!”

“Yes, boss!”

“Yiaaaaaap!”

As soon as the words ended, the travelers drew clubs and daggers from their waists.

No, they might have been travelers until now, but not anymore.

Watching the traveling companions who had instantly turned into robbers, Harang wore a pitying expression.

Seogeok!

Seogeok-!

It was instantaneous.

He stood up in the blink of an eye and swung his sword twice, cleanly removing the heads of two robbers.

Seeing his younger brothers' heads roll right before his eyes, the mustached man wore a blank expression.

This is completely…….

“Messed with the wrong pers……”

Hwiiik-

Seogeok-!

Degureureureu……

His words were cut short.

Harang, shaking the blood off his sword, sighed and muttered.

“Just because it’s outside the village doesn’t mean it’s entirely paradise.”

It was true.

Of course, it wasn't that there were only coercive people like inside the village.

Rather, most were kind, at least in their first impression.

Just like the Merchant Guild Leader had been to him, just like Carlson had initially been to him…… instead of trying to control him at will, they had an attitude of trying to get along in a moderate way.

Harang really liked that.

Offers contracts under equal conditions.

This approach, starting from respecting the other party's intentions, was the biggest reason he had come to love the outside world.

If you like it, you stay together; if you don't, you part ways.

What a clean and considerate method this was?

What was important was that there were quite a lot of humans who pretended to fulfill the contract on the surface while doing other things behind the scenes.

“We agreed to go to Kuchen Village together. We decided to be conversation partners because going alone is boring…… You shouldn't target someone while they're sleeping.”

Harang shook his head.

It was already the second time.

It seemed that he, traveling alone, appeared like good prey.

Judging by how robbers with such pathetic skills were latching onto him.

No matter how favorably judged, they were worse than the swordsmen of the Carlson Mercenary Corps, so for him, he couldn't possibly allow himself to be defeated by them even if he tried.

Of course, just because one had skills didn't mean it was okay to break promises.

Harang recalled his time with the merchant guild and muttered.

“People like Barjean, Bianca, Jack, and Matthew were rare.”

Still, he wasn't disappointed.

No, frankly speaking, he was slightly disappointed.

But the expectation that he could meet such people again in the future remained.

That was enough.

Nodding his head, he rummaged through the robbers' belongings.

“Oh, money. There’s food too.”

Though it was just loose change and pieces of jerky, Harang felt good just from that.

There was even a map.

Confirming that the distance to Kuchen Village wasn't much, he thought.

‘Around tomorrow night, I should be able to eat something called steak.’

He didn't even know what it tasted like, yet his mouth was already watering.

After wearing a happy expression for a moment, he diligently collected even the daggers fallen on the ground and fell asleep next to the corpses.

* * *

Kuchen Village.

A village one must pass through when heading to the Commercial City Marzen from the south, it maintained a fairly high standard of living without any particular specialty products, thanks to its location.

Except for the cold winter, shops were always crowded with merchants, mercenaries, and travelers.

Among them, the most famous place, if one had to choose, was the ‘Blue Pig’, which served as both a restaurant and an inn.

It was natural.

There was no way anyone would dislike this place, which handled all kinds of meat expertly and kept its rooms clean.

The owner of the Blue Pig, Mr. Carter, was a kind person despite his burly build, which further increased customer satisfaction.

However, this was merely the story up until last month.

Due to the constant provocations from the Thug group, the Travion gang, which had seamlessly blended into the village, the Blue Pig's status had currently plummeted to the point where it was considering closing down.

Kwang!

“Hey there, Mr. Carter!”

“……You came again?”

“Of course, of course! You know how much I love Mr. Carter’s steak! If I don't eat it for even a day, thorns might sprout in my mouth!”

“Same here, boss!”

“Me too, boss!”

“Kya, did you hear that? My little brothers think the same! Makes sense! Everyone knows Mr. Carter’s meat-grilling skill is the best in Kuchen Village…… Oh, or maybe not? Seems like nobody knows besides us?”

“That seems to be the case. There are no customers at all, sir?”

“Uhahahaha! Exactly! Stupid fools!”

One Thug bantered, throwing out words, and the burly man who seemed to be the highest-ranking laughed and received it.

Seeing this, the employees of the Blue Pig, and the owner Carter, wore deeply angered expressions.

It was because the reason not a single customer had come for several days was entirely due to those bastards.

‘Sigh, because I raised one damn son wrongly…….’

It wasn't certain.

But it was a guess close to 100 percent accuracy.

These guys must be the rival gang of his son, who was acting like a Thug in Marzen.

If not, there was no reason for them to be so harsh only towards him.

Because letting him run his business while just collecting protection money would be beneficial to them too.

That meant, if he were to rise up here, an even bigger incident would occur.

‘They’re trying to create a conflict with me, his blood relative, somehow to gain justification for using force.

Scum-like bastards…….’

Ppudeudeuk, Carter ground his teeth.

But soon, his body slumped, and he let out a hollow chuckle.

It was laughable.

It was only a short while ago that he knew his son was acting like a Thug but thought it was someone else's business and didn't interfere.

Because of that, he understood why no helping hands were extended from those around him, and he even felt like he was finally receiving his karmic retribution.

‘I should quit the business before things get bigger.’

It was regrettable, but unavoidable.

Of course, not today.

There were minimal procedures required for closing down, but also, those inhuman bastards had much fouler tempers when hungry.

Serving them each a plate of steak as they desired was the less stressful thing to do.

Carter, having finished his thoughts, spoke as if conceding defeat.

“Alright. Thanks for coming, friends.”

“Ah, of course. The shop is so empty, how nice must it be that the only customers came? So please take good care of us.”

“What’s the menu?”

“Three extra-large ribeye steaks. Ah, I’ll come pay tomorrow.”

‘Sons of bitches!’

It was the same story yesterday.

They’d probably say the same thing when they came tomorrow.

Of course, there was no way to resist.

For his son, for himself, and for his employees.

Quietly grilling steaks here was the right thing to do.

Carter cursed under his breath, unnoticeably.

Just as he finished venting and was about to enter the kitchen.

Kkiiik-

“Hm?”

“……?”

The door of the Blue Pig opened.

Simultaneously, the heads of the Thugs, the employees, and Carter turned towards the new customer.

It was a young man.

His pale skin, untanned despite the hot midday sun, and his contrasting black hair and black clothes were impressive.

He seemed extremely hungry, clutching his stomach, and sure enough, a loud noise echoed.

Kkoreureureuk-!

“……Is this the Blue Pig, said to be the most famous in Kuchen Village?”

“……I don’t know about most famous, but it is the Blue Pig.”

“Ah, I see. Fortunately, I found the right place. I've never seen a pig before, so I couldn't be sure from the sign.”

“…….”

“Hmm, I heard it was famous, but there are many seats…… May I sit here?”

Finishing his words, the black-haired young man immediately moved towards one side of the tables.

It wasn't good manners.

Generally, going to the seat guided by an employee was the proper behavior.

However, no one pointed that out.

Was it because the young man looked so incredibly hungry?

No.

Rather, it was more accurate to say they were wary of…… the group of rough-looking Thugs who had been watching the young man without a word until now.

“Hey, Jjakgwi.”

“Yes, boss.”

One Thug called Jjakgwi bowed his head sharply, then approached the black-haired young man.

His steps were extremely heavy.

He deliberately stomped his feet loudly, and strained his shoulders and neck so stiffly they looked like they might break.

His eyes were also fierce.

An intimidating atmosphere enough to make an ordinary person flinch.

Looking at him, the young man spoke.

“Here, please give me the menu.”

“…….”

“…….”

“……Pu, Puhahahahahahahaha! Keuheup, kkeuheup…… Kkeuk……!”

A loud laugh burst from the mouth of the Blue Pig's owner, Carter.

He couldn't hold it back.

Of course, he tried his best to endure it, but it only ended up fanning the flames.

It was an unavoidable fact that suppressed, choking laughter sounded more delicious than a refreshing burst of laughter.

Even the burly man who gave the order almost burst out laughing.

He barely held back considering his subordinate's dignity, but the young man’s clueless attitude had a magical power.

Kwang!

“This bastard! Do I look like someone who works as a restaurant employee?”

Of course, Jjakgwi, who had been misunderstood, didn't find the current situation funny at all.

His face reddened as he slammed the table with his fist and spoke.

It was to threaten the young man.

However, the brat before him showed no signs of being intimidated.

He spoke.

“Ah, sorry. You weren’t an employee?”

“…….”

‘What the hell is this bastard doing?’

The burly man watching from behind narrowed his eyes slightly.

He was a strange fellow.

Whether he lacked fear, or lacked sense.

Or perhaps both, but it seemed impossible to chase him away without mixing in a little violence.

Having thought this far, he nodded his head, and Jjakgwi, receiving the signal, grinned widely.

He had wanted to beat the opponent up anyway, so the order from above was very much to his liking.

“You little bastard……”

Jjakgwi said, lowering his voice threateningly.

“Yes?”

However, the young man still hadn't grasped the atmosphere.

At his consistently clueless attitude, Carter almost laughed again, but this time he didn't.

Because the atmosphere was heavy, and it seemed like they would actually resort to violence.

His prediction was accurate.

Jjakgwi, angered to the tips of his hair, didn't hold back anymore.

Putting full force into his fist, and tensing his stomach.

Throwing a punch at the insolent young man’s jaw, he spoke in a thunderous voice.

“There's no food for you…… so eat this!”

Ppeoeok-!

A satisfying sound.

The sound made when flesh properly collides with flesh echoed throughout the inn.

It was a fist powerful enough that if it had hit the jaw, two teeth probably would have flown out.

However, such a thing didn't happen.

Watching the black-haired young man wrap Jjakgwi’s fist with his left palm, everyone in the place frowned as if they couldn't believe it.

‘What was that?’

‘He blocked it?

That brat?’

His build was quite sturdy.

But not only was he young, he even looked childish, and furthermore, his utterly clueless words and actions made him seem ridiculous.

It wasn't just the Thugs.

Carter and the employees also firmly believed that the young man would suffer misfortune and be thrown out of the shop.

It wasn't so.

Still in the same spot, with the same expression, the young man, Harang, who was looking at Jjakgwi, opened his mouth.

“You’re not even a shop employee…… So why are you forcing me to leave?”