Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Knife (Novel) - Chapter 84 - Festival - Meeting (2)

Chapter 84 – Festival – Meeting (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“How did you notice?”

Altair asked with a hearty laugh. Keeping my expression hidden, I muttered inwardly.

‘I can’t exactly say I saw you in a previous life.’

To be precise, it wasn’t the old man’s face I remembered, but that cane. At a glance it looked like nothing more than an ordinary stick, but among S-rank weapons it was one of the most notable: Cane Sword Syndicate.

Inside that wooden cane hid a blade honed to a vivid blue edge. It was an assassin-like weapon with such a striking appearance that it had been popular among players. Thanks to that, I had been able to identify who this old man was.

Slowly, I looked him up and down. In Miracle’s Blessing M he was always wearing a hood and overflowing with charisma.

But now he had half-lidded eyes and a Hawaiian shirt with the words `Love & Peace` printed across the chest. He looked like the old master from Dragon Ball. The only real difference was that he wasn’t wearing sunglasses.

‘To think the man called the strongest assassin was this kind of dirty old eccentric…’

As I was murmuring inwardly, Altair seemed to think he understood and nodded to himself.

“So you turned your sense for presences against me, young man.”

“…?”

I blinked once. The corners of Altair’s mouth lifted a little further.

“I used the Blessing of the Crow to erase my presence completely. No doubt because I have lived my whole life as an assassin, a trace of killing intent lingers in me. But precisely because you couldn’t sense any presence from me at all, that was how you noticed, yes? And since I had already tried to call you through Nox, the timing was appropriate too.”

What was this old man talking about? I had simply recognized the cane he was leaning on.

To begin with, I had been so relaxed that I hadn’t even heightened the sensitivity of my Blessing. If he had truly meant to ambush me, my reaction would have been delayed.

I merely kept my eyes open blankly. Altair, as though he understood, shook his head and recited.

“What terrifying insight for someone so young.”

I almost asked him what he meant, but then stopped. Since he was asking and answering for himself, there was no need for me to add an explanation. Once again, I realized how important it was to leave space in what one said.

‘So that’s what people mean when they say that if you keep your mouth shut, you’re already halfway there.’

Thinking that, I maintained my silence. Altair grinned.

“You probably have a rough idea of why I sought you out too, don’t you?”

“Yes, more or less.”

To be honest, I didn’t really know.

“Then this will go quickly. They say old men don’t have a tomorrow, do they not? Thank you for sparing us from wasting unnecessary time.”

He tucked away his handkerchief and rested both hands over the top of his cane. The air grew noticeably heavier. The shadow of the greenery swayed with the movement of the wind.

“I didn’t come because the Elder Council commissioned your assassination a little while ago.”

“What?”

When I showed the slightest sign of surprise, he shook his head.

“The business of the family is the family’s to handle. Once a matter has been tied off, what use is there in dragging it back out again? If it were only because of something so trivial, I would not have come all the way from Sicily to Korea. I sought you out because of something more important.”

“……”

Auditore had rejected the Elder Council’s sloppy commission. There was no reason they would obediently take a job to bury a single cadet with no concrete evidence of any kind.

Even so, because of that commission, Auditore must have begun watching me. And then, the other day, I had wielded the mental domain and defeated Mao Lang. Their suspicion must have deepened further, so I had assumed that was why he had called for me.

‘Something even more important than that?’

Altair narrowed his eyes. In his blood-red pupils there was more than a strange light, there was a radiance. With his half-lidded gaze, he looked directly at me.

“Young man…”

His voice sank low. Reflexively, my hand brushed the sashimi knife in my pocket.

So I could draw it instantly if things turned bad. Altair too gripped the handle of his cane firmly.

He might have been an old man dressed in tacky clothes, but he was still the strongest assassin. A moment’s carelessness was directly connected to one’s life.

Whooo.

The wind swept the heat away. Tension seeped through my whole body. Lightly tapping the top of the cane with one finger, Altair said.

“What exactly is your relationship with my granddaughter?”

“……”

The fingers that had been touching my pocket stopped. Then, clearing his throat, he delivered the final line.

“Are the two of you dating?”

* * *

For about ten minutes, I explained my relationship with Chloe properly. Altair stroked his beard and pricked up his ears intently. The faint redness in his ears made him look exactly like a perverted old man.

“We’re just friends. Absolutely nothing beyond that.”

“Mm, mm, I see.”

Altair nodded repeatedly. Now that his doubts had finally been cleared, he smiled brightly and showed his teeth. The sight disappointed me a little inside.

‘…To think the head of a family of assassins was this kind of person.’

In the game he had always been a cool character whose lines were nothing but `……`, but in reality he was just an ordinary old man. I scratched the back of my neck and hid what I was thinking.

‘Still, the pressure he gave off when he got serious a little while ago was enormous, so he definitely isn’t an ordinary person.’

Altair took out his handkerchief again, wiped his face, and stood up.

“In any case, my curiosity has been satisfied, so I’ll be taking my leave now. Then please continue to take care of my granddaughter well, as a `friend`. As you know, she has a rather soft disposition. If she spends time with you, perhaps Chloe may change as well.”

Altair wore a smile around his mouth. I stared at him for a moment, then finally spoke.

“Do you truly think Chloe has to become an assassin, Family Head?”

I didn’t want to interfere in someone else’s family affairs.

‘But.’

For some reason, over the past two days, Chloe’s face kept rising in my mind. The expression she had worn while preparing ingredients, full of pride and happiness. Her true nature was one that found satisfaction in such small things.

At my question, Altair stood there blankly for a moment, then let out a quiet smile. And then, instead of answering directly, he tossed out a remark.

“You’ve seen another side of Chloe, haven’t you.”

Chloe in yandere mode. I swallowed dryly and slowly nodded. Altair smiled faintly.

“That is my granddaughter’s true nature. A wildness that borders endlessly on the nature of a beast. If you were in my position, would you release someone like that out into the world of light?”

“Isn’t that just the product of Auditore-style upbringing?”

When I spoke in a sharp voice, Altair shook his head.

“We’re not as much of a broken family as the world believes. Of course, since assassination is our main trade, I admit our methods of education are unusual, but before that, we are a family.”

With a long sigh, he continued.

“And Chloe is actually the opposite case. The family worked tirelessly to conceal that inner side of Chloe. Through years of effort, we instilled reason into her, but when her emotions grow too intense, she bares her fangs.”

“……”

“I know well that you, as her friend, are worried about Chloe. Still, unpleasant as it is to say this about my own granddaughter, if you want to keep your life, don’t get too close to her. You never know when your neck may come off.”

At a glance, there was reason to what he said, and a sense of old-man concern too.

‘But.’

I listened in silence, then finally spoke in a low voice.

“That’s enough acting.”

“Acting? What do you mean?”

Altair put on a face that suggested he had no idea what I was talking about. I uncrossed my tightly folded arms and snapped back.

“Pretending to worry about me was fine. But if you were going to mix lies into your words, you should’ve hidden them better.”

The moment I finished speaking, I drew Murasame from my pocket.

Sreung.

Parsseuseu, parsseuseu, parsseuseu.

Parsseuseu, parsseuseu, parsseuseu.

Immediately, a cluster of silhouettes appeared from between the trembling left. Figures in deep hoods, each drawing out sharp hidden weapons.

‘Auditore assassins.’

Under their hoods, both eyes gleamed red. They looked ready to rush me at any moment. Altair completely wiped the expression from his face and spoke in a mechanical tone.

“…When did you notice?”

The ring around me tightened as they began to close in.

Murderous intent dwelled thickly in their eyes. I looked around at them calmly and replied.

“You told me yourself earlier that I had good instincts. It’s a similar principle.”

“……”

After staring at me for a moment without the slightest movement, Altair finally raised one hand. At a single gesture from him, his subordinates vanished, as if sucked back into the shadows.

All traces of presence disappeared, and a vicious silence settled over the place. Then Altair let out a short laugh and murmured.

“You exceed expectations, young man.”

I shoved Murasame back into my pocket and answered.

“You fell below mine.”

* * *

Step, step.

Altair walked leisurely down the tree-lined path.

As an assassin, his emotions had long since dried away, yet for some reason something close to pleasure still lingered on his face.

It had been some sixty years since he became the head of Auditore and the strongest assassin in all time. Suddenly, Altair touched his chest with one wrinkled hand.

His inner world should have worn away long ago through endless killing. Yet now emotions welled up within that dry realm and his heart beat harder.

‘Kang Geom-ma…’

That attitude of not being intimidated in the slightest even in front of him.

The talent to wield the mental domain despite being not just young, but practically a child. And on top of that, an insight so keen it erased the disadvantage of his shallow experience.

Was he not someone who could not be described by such an ordinary word as genius? Altair chewed over the thought as he murmured the boy’s name once more.

Stop.

After walking for some time, Altair suddenly halted. He turned his gaze slightly. In the shade of the roadside trees, a single figure surfaced like a heat haze.

“Nox.”

“Yes, Family Head.”

Nox kept his eyes fixed on the ground. Yet even so, his body twitched faintly the moment the Family Head’s emotions touched him. Because the Family Head, the iron-blooded assassin, was smiling with genuine feeling.

“It was worth coming all this way.”

“…I’m glad you’re satisfied.”

Altair gave a slight nod and continued.

“It was the first time.”

“Yes? Which part are you referring to…?”

Nox’s words trailed off, his face full of confusion. Altair let out a low laugh.

“Feeling fear toward someone.”

Nox lost the ability to speak and said nothing. He merely trembled in the shoulders in small motions as he struggled to suppress the confusion rushing over him.

“I would very much like to see that young man again before long.”

“……”

Altair began moving his legs again. Unlike before, rather than planting the cane on the ground, he held it tightly in one hand. The handle was soaked with sweat.

* * *

A few minutes later.

“Oh, Geom-ma! Did you wait long!?”

Chloe came hurrying toward me, waving one hand. Her hair was a little damp, perhaps because she had rushed over.

“No. I just got here too.”

“Hehe.”

Chloe’s eyes sparkled brightly. Pleasant emotions spread freely across her face. Looking at her, I sank into thought.

‘Probably better not to tell her that I met the head of her family, right?’

Things had only just begun to show signs of improving between her and Nox. Judging from the situation, Chloe and Nox had not originally been on bad terms; rather, the customs of the family must have driven them apart.

That guess had changed into certainty after meeting Altair. He had mixed lie after lie into his words in order to throw me off balance.

I had nearly been fooled because his emotional expressions were more varied than expected and his way of dressing was so relaxed, but the moment I revived the sensory range of my Blessing right after meeting him, sharp killing intents had begun pricking against my skin.

They had been using the Blessing of the Crow, the blessing that blocked all traces of presence. To be honest, if I hadn’t brought Murasame with me, I would never have noticed them at all. But even faint killing intent, when piled up in layers, became clear enough to sense.

‘He really was an insufferable old man.’

I ended my train of thought and made up my mind. Better not say anything.

It wasn’t that I intended to hide it forever, but she looked so happy that I didn’t want to spoil her mood by bringing it up for no reason.

“What should we do first?”

Chloe asked with a bright smile. I scratched my cheek and answered.

“Hmm, from the schedule earlier, it looks like there’s a parade around evening. And once the sun’s completely down, there’ll be fireworks. How about we watch things in that order?”

“Yes, that sounds great!”

Chloe nodded vigorously in agreement. I gave a faint smile at the sight.

“President! Chloe!”

From far away came a familiar voice calling to us. Speed Weapon, his arms full of souvenirs across his chest. Beside him were Ryozo, with her usual flat expression, and Hana senpai quietly walking along.

Chloe looked startled by the sudden assembly of the club members. Then she puffed out her cheeks and sharply turned her head away. She didn’t look pleased, but at the same time, she couldn’t exactly push them away either.

“I thought everyone was going to split up and do their own thing. Why are you all together?”

When I asked, Weapon instead tilted his head and asked back.

“Huh? President, you sent a message saying to meet here by four.”

As he said that, Weapon showed me his phone. And sure enough, there was a text message on the screen that had come from my number. Naturally, I had never sent it.

‘…The only one here who’d pull a stunt like this was.’

I narrowed my eyes and glanced at Ryozo. She stuck out her tongue in a tiny gesture.