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Chapter: 107

"Your Highness."

While I was having a battle of nerves with Gon, a voice came from outside the barracks. Gon reacted first.

"Ah, it\'s the food."

"Be quiet."

When I told him to come in, the soldier carrying the food opened the door and entered. He flinched when he saw a crow inside the barracks.

He glanced at Gon, who was occupying the armrest of the chair, and then bowed his head deeply, placing the meal on the table.

Thud-

Just then, Gon nudged the back of my hand with its beak. I looked at it. Our eyes met.

I chuckled and got up from the chair.

"What\'s your name?"

The soldier preparing the meal looked up at me. Our eyes met. His eyes held no hint of goodwill.

"I am called Guui Byeon, Your Highness."

"Guui Byeon, Guui Byeon. Hmm... I see."

I clasped my hands behind my back and paced near the table before approaching the sword hanging on the barracks wall.

Guui Byeon stared at me intently, then turned his head back to the food.

Clank-

As I grasped the sword, I felt his gaze on my back.

I slowly opened my mouth.

"...I\'m a bit on edge today. At times like these, I feel calmer when I\'m holding something in my hand."

No answer came. But the gaze fixed on my back didn\'t disappear either.

"It\'s because I haven\'t taken my medicine. Because I haven\'t taken my medicine."

I giggled like a madman.

"That doesn\'t mean I\'m a drug addict, though."

"...As if Your Highness would ever be such a thing,” Guui Byeon replied awkwardly.

I didn\'t feel the piercing gaze that had been fixed on my back. He must have averted his eyes.

I nodded to myself and continued.

"How should I put it... I can hear things I shouldn\'t hear and see things I shouldn\'t see. Have you ever had such an experience?"

"If you\'re talking about things you shouldn\'t hear or see, are you referring to ghosts, Your Highness?"

I nodded.

"I\'ve seen things like that too."

This time, no answer came. Perhaps there was nothing appropriate to respond with. Or maybe he didn\'t think it was worth responding to.

Whatever the reason, it didn\'t matter anyway.

I drew the sword I had been holding.

The metallic sound of the sword being drawn echoed through the barracks, and Guui Byeon turned around abruptly.

Crash-!

A couple of dishes on the table fell to the floor and shattered.

"Oops."

Guui Byeon was now staring at me with his eyes wide open. I looked at the broken dishes instead of him and said, "What a waste of food."

"...You already noticed, then."

I smirked and readily nodded.

"Of course. I noticed a long time ago."

Guui Byeon reached into his bosom. It seemed he had a weapon there. It didn\'t seem like he had brought a longsword.

"There\'s no one named Guui Byeon among the soldiers under my command."

Not that it was his real name anyway.

He frowned.

"...Are you saying you\'ve memorized the names of all the soldiers?"

"Of course. I can memorize that much. Do I look like I have the memory of a goldfish?"

Guui Byeon scoffed.

"If you had the memory of a goldfish, do you think I would have come all the way here to take your head?"

"Ah, so you came all this way because my head is more valuable than a goldfish\'s? Should I be grateful to hear that?"

"No need to state the obvious."

With that, Guui Byeon swiftly drew a knife from his bosom. It was a short sword, shorter than his arm. It seemed like he carried it specifically for this kind of situation.

I swung my sword and blocked his attack.

"You\'re going to kill me with that tiny knife?"

"Why wouldn\'t I be able to?"

"There are many reasons."

As soon as his attack was blocked, he took a couple of steps back and threw the table at me. I kicked the table away and retreated.

Crash-!

The remaining dishes on the table fell to the floor and shattered, making a loud clatter.

Needless to say, the barracks were in a complete mess with the table bouncing around.

Amidst the chaos, a piercing crow\'s cry echoed through the air.

"Damn it."

It was loud enough to be heard throughout the entire camp.

Perhaps interpreting Gon\'s cry as a call for help, Guui Byeon cursed and swung his knife at Gon.

"Caaaaaw!"

"Don\'t touch it, alright?"

Black feathers scattered in the air. I swung my sword at him. Even while cornered in the barracks, he quickly dodged.

However, he couldn\'t avoid getting his right arm slashed.

Blood splattered around. I wiped the blood that had splashed on my face with the back of my hand and raised my sword again.

Just then, I sensed more than one presence rapidly approaching.

Were there more assassins besides this guy?

The moment I looked back, he swung his knife.

"Caaaaaw!"

"Ugh."

My neck and chest felt warm. I intended to counterattack, but the situation wasn\'t favorable. Gon, who screamed in my stead, lunged at Guui Byeon, but it was futile.

He grabbed Gon with one hand, threw it to the floor, tore through the barracks, and escaped.

"That bastard..."

If he came to kill me, he should have just targeted me. There\'s nothing to hit on that bird.

It seemed like someone else was coming, but my gut feeling told me that this guy was the leader.

I left the barracks and started chasing him. There was no one in sight outside.

I briefly regretted ordering everyone to stay away, but if I hadn\'t, I might not have had the chance to make him reveal himself.

"Where are you going?!" Gon shouted at my back.

Anyway, no one but me knew he could talk.

And there was no one around to hear him. I had intentionally ordered everyone to stay away.

As I followed the direction the assassin had fled, the trees gradually became denser.

It wasn\'t a place I wanted to approach, but I couldn\'t track him without entering.

Even though it wasn\'t far from the campsite, judging by the surrounding scenery, it felt like I had come to a completely different place.

Giant trees stretched out their long branches, and the branches were thick with leaves.

The dense foliage completely blocked out the sky, creating a gloomy darkness that filled the place even during the day.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, tangled with vines of unknown origin.

Occasionally, I heard sounds, but I couldn\'t tell if they were caused by the wind or by living creatures.

Other than that, there was no noticeable noise.

It was so quiet that even the rustling of my footsteps sounded like thunder. If a monstrous beast approached, I would be able to notice it immediately and run away.

Perhaps the environment, which was not suitable for hiding one\'s presence, was an advantage for me.

I stopped walking and looked around.

"He\'s insane."

The atmosphere itself was different. The air was much more eerie.

There are many monstrous beasts in places like this. Even at the campsite where we had set up the barracks, monstrous beasts appeared, requiring constant vigilance. Coming here on his own was an act that couldn\'t be explained unless he was insane.

Or he had given up on returning alive.

Or he had the skills to confidently return alive from a place swarming with monstrous beasts...

I don\'t know if it\'s arrogance or confidence.

Just then, I sensed a presence in the darkness.

"Are you there?"

I raised my sword.

"Come out, you crazy bastard. Let\'s get this over with quickly. I don\'t want to stay in this place for long. Unlike trash assassins like you, I\'m a busy man with people looking for me and things to do."

Then I heard a chuckle.

"What\'s so funny?"

But the moment I said that, I realized that the situation was worse than I thought. There was more than one presence. And they were approaching.

Outnumbered and injured. Would I be okay?

Even if I wasn\'t okay, I had to make it okay.

"You talk too much. Too loose-lipped for your position."

The guy I was chasing appeared from the shadows. Guui Byeon approached with a sinister smile.

He stopped five steps away. An awkward distance for fighting, but not bad for conversation.

"That\'s the first time I\'ve heard that."

Actually, I\'ve been told many times that I talk too much.

He chuckled.

"To be honest, it was unexpected. You\'re bolder than I anticipated. And the way people around you look at you isn\'t bad either."

I checked the wound I had inflicted on him earlier. He hadn\'t treated it either.

It would be inconvenient for him to use his right arm. Fortunately, he wasn\'t left-handed.

"Winning people\'s hearts is important. It\'s an ability not everyone possesses. The higher you aim to climb, the more important it becomes."

"Guess you don\'t have that ability. Seeing as you\'ll die as a mere assassin."

"Do you think I\'ll die here like this?"

"Do I need to hear it to know? It\'s either you or me, one of us dies, right?"

He smiled without a word.

"Why, you don\'t seem so sure that you won\'t die?"

"What\'s more foolish than being certain of something that hasn\'t happened yet? Even a three-year-old can kill a grown man. It\'s just difficult and challenging."

What is he talking about?

"You\'re the one who talks more. Shamelessly stalling for time, it\'s so obvious. How pathetic."

He seemed to want to buy some time.

Was he trying to stall with pointless talk until his comrades arrived and then attack me all at once?

If that was the case, I had to catch this guy in front of me before things went his way.

I tightened my grip on the sword, my sweat-soaked hand gripping it firmly. I kicked off the ground and lunged forward, swinging my sword.

Clang-!

Guui Byeon swung his sword and blocked mine. A loud sound echoed as the swords clashed in the air.

Perhaps because of the sudden commotion in the quiet forest, a flock of birds took flight, shaking the leaves that covered the sky.

"This is the worst kind of nuisance."

I muttered to myself, but he replied.

"If you\'re so concerned about causing a nuisance, how about dying quietly?"

"I wasn\'t talking to you."

Seeing him chatter non-stop, he was quite the talkative one. It was amazing that he had the energy for that.

But when I snapped at him, he shut his mouth. After that, dozens of exchanges were made.

As we fought, I felt a sense of familiarity for some reason. It wasn\'t a pleasant feeling. It was like stepping on the same shit twice...

Unable to bear it any longer, I spoke to the talkative guy again.

"Where are you from?"