[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 142
He rushed inside.
"H-how did it go?"
"See for yourself."
The Old Man of the Mountain checked Iraman's body lying on the bed.
Seeing that the parasites had completely disappeared, he collapsed and grabbed his disciple's hand.
Zeke looked at the Old Man of the Mountain and said,
"Now it's your turn to keep your promise."
The Old Man of the Mountain looked at Zeke without saying a word, then slowly opened his mouth.
"Let's talk about the deal again tomorrow."
Zeke nodded at the Old Man of the Mountain's words.
When Zeke went outside, Boris breathed a sigh of relief.
"Did you really perform the treatment?"
"Yes. It was tough, though."
Boris was once again surprised by Zeke's endless abilities.
"But will the Old Man of the Mountain keep his promise?"
"Love is a power that surpasses all else."
Boris tilted his head at Zeke's words.
"What do you mean?"
"The Old Man of the Mountain and his youngest disciple. They're lovers."
Boris was speechless at the completely unexpected story.
Zeke patted Boris on the chest.
"Pull yourself together, Boris."
"S-sorry."
"You were an outlaw, why are you so surprised?"
"B-but it's the Assassin's Guild... Ah, never mind. Whew, I see all sorts of things while following you, Boss."
As the two were having a quiet conversation, a guide approached Zeke and Boris.
"The elder has ordered me to escort you to a place where you can rest comfortably."
Judging from the voice, the guide seemed to be a woman.
She led Zeke and Boris to a VIP room.
Boris's jaw dropped as he saw the room.
"Whoa..."
A room decorated luxuriously enough to make even the Emperor of the Empire envious appeared.
It was filled with precious porcelain and silk from the Eastern Empire, as well as furniture decorated with gold and silver treasures.
In addition, beautiful women, dressed in mesh clothing and adorned with splendid ornaments, were kneeling politely, catching their eyes.
The guide bowed to Zeke and asked,
"If you need more servants, please let me know at any time. If you have a preferred gender or race..."
"No, thank you. I don't need any servants, so please dismiss them all and prepare a meal."
At Zeke's words, the guide gestured to the women who were bowing their heads.
As if they were one person, the women left the room with restrained and elegant movements.
Boris, watching the women's movements, realized that they were also highly trained assassins.
'It's full of assassins.'
Boris, feeling uneasy, walked around the room, checking if any assassins were placed there.
Zeke, sitting on the sofa, said to Boris,
"Boris, relax. If the Assassin's Guild wanted to kill us, they would have already made a move."
"I know, but it's not easy to relax. It's strange that you're so calm, Boss, with your nerves of steel."
Soon, the guide brought a feast to the room.
It was a meal prepared with fresh seafood and vegetables, difficult to obtain in the desert region, as well as high-quality meat, cooked with care by a skilled chef.
Although the food looked delicious, Boris hesitated to touch it.
Zeke, with his All Poisons Immunity, tasted the food and confirmed that it wasn't poisoned.
Then, he said to Boris,
"There's no poison, so eat without worrying. And did you know? Assassins are quite excellent cooks."
"That's the first time I've heard that."
"Assassins have keen senses and excellent patience. Maybe that's why, but most of the assassins I know are good at cooking."
"I-I see."
Unlike Zeke, who savored the food, Boris finished his meal after picking at a few dishes without even having time to taste them properly.
After the meal, the guide personally brewed tea.
"I heard you like tea, so I brewed precious tea from the Eastern Empire."
"...Thank you."
Although it wasn't as good as Ishtar's tea, the tea served by the Assassin's Guild was quite decent.
Boris shook his head in amazement as he watched Zeke savor the tea served by the Assassin's Guild without any suspicion.
***
The next day, Zeke met with the Old Man of the Mountain again.
"Did you have a good rest?"
Unlike when they first met, the Old Man of the Mountain's attitude towards Zeke had softened.
'Is he treating me as a benefactor for saving his lover?'
Zeke nodded at the Old Man of the Mountain.
"Thanks to you. Shall we talk about the deal now?"
The Old Man of the Mountain grinned at Zeke, who was getting straight to the point.
Zeke took out a file from his pocket and handed it to the Old Man of the Mountain.
"What's this?"
"See for yourself."
The Old Man of the Mountain chuckled after looking at the file Zeke handed him.
"A dispatch request?"
"I want to make a contract for protection against assassination, not assassination itself."
The most common cause of death for knights was assassination.
In his previous life, Zeke, as a hitman in McCain, killed hundreds of knights.
An assassin specialized in killing was the natural enemy of a knight.
Although Blue Knights and above had developed senses to defend against Assassin's attacks, it was a different story if they used poison stealthily.
Although it wasn't a big problem for Zeke himself, he wanted to hire the Assassin's Guild, the assassins of assassins, to protect his comrades.
The Old Man of the Mountain finished reading the employment contract Zeke handed him and looked at him.
"The contract fee isn't written here."
"A disciple's life is priceless."
The Old Man of the Mountain smiled bitterly at Zeke's words.
"Did you think I would agree to this contract?"
"Is there any reason why you wouldn't?"
At Zeke's confident words, the Old Man of the Mountain closed his mouth for a moment.
Then, he snapped his fingers.
Someone appeared from the darkness.
Although the person was completely covered in a black mask and black clothes, Zeke could identify them by their energy.
'It's the guide who led us to the room yesterday.'
The Old Man of the Mountain looked at Zeke and said,
"This is the child I first took in as a disciple."
He knew she wasn't an ordinary assassin, but he didn't know she was a direct disciple of the Old Man of the Mountain.
The Old Man of the Mountain grinned at Zeke.
"If you pass the test my disciple gives you, we'll make the deal."
"Your disciple is deciding the test, not you?"
"That's right."
The Old Man of the Mountain gestured, and his disciple stepped forward.
She took off her mask.
Beautiful features hidden under the mask were revealed.
Her brown skin, characteristic of the desert region's people, along with her deep double eyelids, long eyelashes, and full lips, was attractive.
She was so beautiful that he couldn't even remember the faces of the beauties in the room yesterday.
She placed two glass bottles in front of Zeke.
The bottles contained a transparent liquid.
She opened the lids of the bottles and said to Zeke,
"One is the Formless Earth Poison I made myself, and the other is ordinary water. Please choose one of them and drink it."
And she added,
"There's no time limit. Take your time and choose a bottle."
Zeke stared at the two bottles presented by the Old Man of the Mountain's disciple.
Then, he looked at the disciple and asked,
"This is a test?"
"Yes, it is."
The Old Man of the Mountain's disciple, with a smile, carefully watched what choice Zeke would make.
There were numerous traps hidden in the test she gave.
She gave this test to those who had a lot to lose.
The more they had, the more difficult the choice became.
Usually, people would focus all their attention on finding the bottle that wasn't poison, but the Formless Earth Poison she made had no color or scent.
Since the two liquids were almost indistinguishable, there were cases where people couldn't choose either and remained sitting there for days.
The problem was that the fear of the Formless Earth Poison grew as time passed.
If they chose the Formless Earth Poison, they would die instantly on the spot.
The moment they imagined themselves drinking the poison, writhing in pain and dying, fear would bind them.
Because of this, no one had ever passed her test.
They all gave up before making a choice.
'The youngest to be promoted to Blue Knight, the youngest graduate of Valhalla, a pure-blooded Draker Awakened, a young knight with a bright future ahead of him. He would never make a choice.'
Patience was the most important weapon for an assassin.
Even if it took days or months for the subject to make a choice, she could stand there with a smile.
Looking at Zeke staring intently at the bottles, she anticipated the moment when the pure-blood Draker Awakened would crumble.
But it was then.
Zeke picked up the bottles and smelled them one by one.
"Hmm."
Zeke looked up and stared at the Old Man of the Mountain's disciple.
"I heard that the Formless Earth Poison is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Is that correct?"
The Old Man of the Mountain's disciple nodded.
Zeke pondered for a moment, then grabbed one of the bottles in front of him and drank it all at once.
The Old Man of the Mountain, as well as his disciple, were startled.
'Huh?'
They naturally thought Zeke would agonize over the decision and eventually break down.
But Zeke chose a bottle and drank its contents without any hesitation.
Zeke put down the empty bottle, looked at the Old Man of the Mountain's disciple, and asked,
"Is the test really over with this? Is there really nothing more?"
Seeing Zeke's nonchalant expression, the Old Man of the Mountain's disciple hid her bewilderment and nodded.
"It's over."
Zeke looked at the Old Man of the Mountain with a disappointed expression.
The Old Man of the Mountain, seeing Zeke pass his disciple's test so easily, was also dumbfounded.
"I'm not a religious man, but Zeke Draker, you truly seem to be blessed by the gods."
"I don't particularly believe in God either, so what blessing would I receive? Stop with the nonsense and let's talk about the contract."
The Old Man of the Mountain nodded.
"Alright. Whether you're blessed by the gods or not, it seems more beneficial to make a contract with you. That's how the Assassin's Guild has always survived."
He pointed to his disciple and said,
"I'll send ten of our people, including my first disciple. During the contract period, they will follow your orders within the scope of protection. However, assassination requests are separate. You'll have to pay for those separately."
Zeke stared at the Old Man of the Mountain's disciple.
'The first disciple of the leader of the Assassin's Guild.'
In his previous life, it was said that among the disciples who attacked the Old Man of the Mountain, the one who hated him the most was his first disciple.
'If she has hatred for her master, it'll be even better to use her.'
Zeke accepted the Old Man of the Mountain's terms, and they both signed the contract.
After signing, Zeke asked the Old Man of the Mountain,
"One more thing. Did Abel Draker spread information about me to the Assassin's Guild, the Holy Kingdom, and the Scorpion Clan?"
"I don't know about the other places, but he requested us to track Zeke Draker and report where he was going. There was also an order to kill you and seize whatever you find in the desert."
"I didn't know the Assassin's Guild did errands."
"The reward was too great to refuse."
The Old Man of the Mountain said to Zeke,
"So, when do you want them dispatched?"
"Tomorrow. We're going to Death Valley."
"Death Valley? Why would you go to that cursed place?"
"That's none of your business."
Zeke said to the Old Man of the Mountain's disciple,
"Hey, what should I call you?"
"Please call me Shadia."
"Okay, Shadia. We'll depart for Death Valley tomorrow, so be prepared."
Zeke got up and left the Old Man of the Mountain's room.
The Old Man of the Mountain stroked his beard as he looked at the seat where Zeke had been sitting.
He said to Shadia,
"They say the desert is a godforsaken land. To survive in a land even God has abandoned, you need luck. Shadia, keep a close eye on that man."
Shadia nodded at the Old Man of the Mountain's words and took the remaining bottle from the table where Zeke had been sitting and put it in her pocket.
'Luck.'
Shadia's expression changed subtly.
What Zeke drank wasn't plain water, but Formless Earth Poison. But that wasn't the surprising part.
'He deliberately chose the Formless Earth Poison.'
In fact, Shadia fairly gave hints to those taking the test.
The water that wasn't poison was the same water used in the food served to the test subject.
Although the Formless Earth Poison she made was colorless, odorless, and tasteless, water wasn't.
If they noticed the hint, they would have chosen the water, not the Formless Earth Poison.
It was a hint that no one had ever noticed, but Zeke Draker seemed to have noticed it.
But he chose the bottle with the Formless Earth Poison, not the water.
'Was it a warning not to try anything funny because this level of poison can't kill him?'
Shadia, returning to her room, felt her palms drenched in cold sweat.
She looked in the mirror and brushed her face with her hand.
Then, a completely different face appeared.
A cold beauty with sharp eyes.
"Zeke Draker. I'll find out everything about you."
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]