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What I gained from a year of activity in the organization was not just power. I was able to intuit the grudges that humans hold against each other, the ugly true nature of the world.

“Three hundred million. I want you to kill the leader of the Lumina Guild.”

“…”

The pile of gold coins laid before me was an amount that could never be casually earned.

And with those coins in hand, I was receiving a request for a murder contract.

I had no intention of pretending to be clean; I, too, had stained my hands with much blood.

Interests, coincidences… there are many reasons why someone might harbor a murderous intent towards another, and it wasn’t just simple hatred like mine.

“Is the amount not to your liking? I can increase it if you want…”

“Why do you want this done?”

Especially figures like financial moguls or mafia bosses—

There are heaps of people they wish to erase from this world, even if it costs them a hefty sum.

“Of course! They’re an eyesore.”

Of course, these guys wouldn’t dirty their own hands.

If anything, it was somewhat comforting that the target was a particularly despicable scum.

Erasing entities that harm the Empire and this world in the shadows—that is the purpose of the organization.

“This target is the head of a Drug Trafficking Organization. Quite the scumbag, indeed….”

I assassinate designated humans day after day, from across the Empire to nearby countries.

The job wasn’t particularly difficult. I infiltrate the target’s mansion and assassinate them while they’re dining.

“Enjoy your meal. I hope the night service goes well~”

“This is really delicious… huh?”

“Uncle, does food bought with drug money taste good?”

The target was dining with women summoned by money, and the nearby guards posed zero threat.

Guilt or a sense of déjà vu didn’t interfere with handling the target.

As I aim at their head and speak calmly, the target turned pale.

“Black hair and red eyes… no way, you’re the Red Demon..!”

Click!

“You’re going to die starting now. Anything you want to say?”

Then the target shouted while pushing a woman dressed like a barmaid at me.

“Isn’t this girl a good one? You can do whatever you want! Sure! I’ll even give you an executive position in our organization!”

“Sure! Do whatever you want!”

The end for humans who receive assassination requests is always ugly and disgusting.

“So, that’s your last words? Got it.”

Bang! Bang!

My abilities were especially recognized within the organization, earning me the ridiculous nickname, the Red Demon.

I leave no evidence; it’s a simple story of ensuring a kill once I receive a request.

“Mission complete.”

“Good work, Nova. That was perfect once again.”

“Let’s leave it at that. By the way, what about information on that guy…?”

“Nothing has come in yet. Let’s take a break; this mission was quite high-level.”

“Please don’t forget the reason I joined this organization.”

Honestly, I couldn’t care less about cleaning up garbage; what I wanted was revenge, not community service.

Nevertheless, the reason I accepted the request for the organization was to return what I received; it isn’t about the money.

“Look at that brat talking to the big boss.”

“Cocky little punk, showing off just because his results are good…”

However, my reputation within the organization had plummeted to rock bottom.

I didn’t care, but it meant that quite a few people were looking for a fight with me.

Among them were aspiring Blade Users and Magic Users, but—

Without exception, I knocked them all down, breaking their limbs afterward.

“Sooner or later, I’ll have to catch and crush that guy, right, Ras?”

Just as I was about to ignore it, an unignorable name crossed my mind.

When I turned my head, a boy my age was swinging a dagger, completely ignoring me.

It wasn’t surprising that the blue-haired guy was rather popular for his looks, just like the main character of the original game.

He wasn’t just some support character; he was a playable character, another protagonist.

In the game, there are two choices: to start as an ordinary village boy or as a prince of a powerful kingdom. I chose the former.

A prince named Luminis Arcane from a kingdom allied with the Empire; he was seventh in the line of succession.

In reality, becoming king was impossible, yet he fled to the Empire’s Academy under the threat of his life.

Little did I know he might have been here before me.

Continuing to swing his dagger, Ras eventually glanced at me and spoke.

“Why don’t you lot stop yapping and take him on right now?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“If you have complaints, settle it directly. Isn’t that the rule of the organization?”

His words made those around him turn their heads and scoff.

It was true; many had charged at me only to end up in near defeat.

To these folks, I was nothing but a thorn in their side.

Having lost to me, a person who wasn’t even a Blade User or a Magic User, must’ve been a hard pill to swallow.

But what about that guy? Was he defending me? No… I could definitely sense hostility in his gaze. Or was it just pride?

Depending on the situation, he could be an ally or an enemy, but for now, I wondered how he might impact me. He had a strong sense of pride as a character.

Still, the only one who ever spoke to me casually was Leonard.

“You handled a big one today, huh? You seem to be doing well lately.”

“Doesn’t matter; I’m going in to rest.”

“Yeah~ If you’ve got some money, treat your older brother to a meal, you brat.”

That guy, with connections all over, had no problem chatting with me, someone who preferred to keep my distance from others.

The knowledge he shared was useful, so I had no intention of distancing myself from him.

“Think about it and get back to me later.”

“Sure! Take care and rest well!”

*

“Oh? What’s going on, Luke? You actually came to talk to me?”

The name of the young boy, who still hadn’t completely lost his baby fat, was Luke.

He spoke with a voice full of animosity as he glared at the spot where Nova had just passed.

“Why are you being nice to that guy? Everyone hates him. That black-haired dude.”

“That guy… Nova is older than you, you know?”

“He joined way before me! I’m the senior here!”

“This place proves everything with strength; it doesn’t matter who joined first.”

“I can’t accept that! I’m going to prove why that guy is not above me.”

Luke was an orphan who barely scraped by, begging for food while living on the streets.

Out of the blue, he awakened his Mana Circuit and could use wind magic, which led him to the organization.

A boy with an ambiguous background and rank chose to be someone who was recognized by the organization to survive.

In that situation, Nova’s recognition, who was ahead of him, was something he couldn’t tolerate.

“Well… don’t be too hard on him. He’s not that bad of a guy…”

“Why are you treating that guy so well?”

Leonard seemed to contemplate for a moment, stroking his chin with his fingers, before suddenly brightening up.

“Well… my gut tells me he’ll become someone significant, so I should season him early.”

“What the heck does that mean?”

“See, I plan to quit this risky work and become a merchant. I’ll sell information sometimes.

When that happens, I’ll need someone to protect me, you get it? That guy’s strong. Assassination and guarding tasks? He’s a hundred percent success rate there, but collecting information is something he finds bothersome.”

Luke grimaced, sounding sarcastic as he expressed his dissatisfaction.

“So you’re thinking of teaming up with that socially inept dude?”

Leonard patted the boy’s head as if soothing a child.

“Well, I feel like he has a sad backstory, so don’t be too hard on him.”

“I won’t accept this! I’ll prove that guy is below me!”

As Luke left, Leonard sighed.

“I wonder if he’ll push himself too hard like that… Well, not my problem.”

*

The day after completing my mission, I was summoned by Arhen.

I thought they had finally discovered information on Akandis, so I hurried over.

He welcomed me as if he had been waiting and opened his mouth.

“Ah, it’s been almost a year since you came here. How’s life been?”

“Fairly decent. So, can I get to the point now?”

“You’re still using that stiff tone. I thought we’d grown a bit closer.”

“…”

Honestly, being near this man stressed me out considerably.

He had killed my comrades and grinned like a lunatic while doing so. Just his faint smile made me feel nauseous, so I tried not to show any signs of that.

“I understand your feelings. My brother did deserve to die, so I get your discomfort in thinking of him when you see me.”

“I’m sorry, but as I said, I will definitely kill your brother. That’s the contract condition.”

“To definitely kill, huh…”

Arhen spoke with a regretful expression, as if cherishing my last words.

“Regrettably, you cannot win against him right now.”

“I don’t care… even if my limbs are torn apart, I’ll kill him.”

“That guy is stronger than me; he might even be stronger than Ned, his boss.”

“Are you saying he’s stronger than you, who were in the top ten?”

What does that even mean? I was so angry that I unconsciously spilled out hostile words.

“…Then why haven’t you taught me how to use the Blade or magic until now?”

I’ve learned many things here.

From how to use various weapons to martial arts, countless assassination techniques, but for some reason, he never taught me the training methods involving mana.

I had been solving missions with purely physical training and my Unique Ability.

“You don’t need to learn that. In fact, you shouldn’t learn it at all.”

“What do you mean?” Arhen’s grip started to creak ominously in response.

“I’ll tell you, Nova. This is a power that’s just for you, one that only you can learn in this world: the power to violate the laws of the world.”

 

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