My Glasses Will Be Able to Conquer the Whole World, I Suppose - CH 63

We entered narrow alleys, passed through a place that looked like a private property, ran up a wall, climbed over a roof, and did other similar things to reach our destination through a path that can’t really be called a road.

The red-haired girl was leading me along the road at a fairly high speed.

In terms of direction, I think we are headed towards the market district.

Her speed slowed down before long, and she stopped at a corner of the market district.

The girl looked at me with a bored expression, “Aren’t you pretty fast?”

Yeah, though it was easier to run in the city than in the woods.

“Have we arrived?” I asked.

In response to my question, the girl pointed to a small store in front of us. It was a store that looked like a messy arrangement of miscellaneous goods.

The girl entered the store, and I followed her inside.

“Welcome back.” An old man, who was probably the store owner said.

Inside this store that was filled with junk that didn’t seem to serve any purpose, this old man was polishing something at a small counter in the back.

To someone who couldn’t read the signs, this old man probably felt quite ordinary, but I knew that he was pretty strong. He definitely gave off the feeling of an assassin. A feeling similar to that of the people of the assassin’s village.

In other words, this store is the current contact point for the assassin’s guild? It feels… Underwhelming.

Without exchanging any greetings with the store owner, the girl passed by him and headed further inside.

The old man let us through without batting an eye. Neither at the girl, nor at me, the newcomer he never saw before.

As she made her way to the back of this extremely cramped store, the girl said, “Here.” and pushed aside a waist-high shelf, revealing a passage cleverly hidden behind it.

Oh? That was unexpected.

Without hesitation, she walked into the darkness.

When I followed her inside the passage, the shelf behind us returned to its original place without a sound… I don’t understand how it works, but it’s certainly interesting.

I crouched down as I walked, and then I noticed that there was a staircase leading downwards ahead.

The girl descended the narrow staircase while holding a lantern in her hands, which she seemed to have already prepared in advance.

And before long, we arrived at a wide room made of stone, with a table and chairs near its middle.

What stood out the most in this room, was a large map pasted on the wall. It had the entire kingdom of Nastiara elaborately drawn in it.

This certainly feels like an assassin’s hideout… Wait, no, not quite.

It’s too lacking in things to be something that is used on a daily basis. It’s way too barren.

So, maybe it’s one of the bases used for assassination work? Perhaps a meeting room of sorts?

Also, there were three people here.

“Yo. Boy.” One of them called out to me.

It was the old homeless man that I met on the slums the other day.

Right now, his hair was pulled back, and he was wearing new clothes instead of rags, so he looked a bit neater than before… To some extent at least.

“Ooh? Ain’t this quite… Mmm.” Another man said as he stared at me.

He was a blond, light-hearted, seemingly frivolous young man. He seemed to be judging me with his stare and… I think I heard his voice before? Do I know him from somewhere?

“Ru… Ru… Ru…” A woman was muttering.

“She’s not a ghost.” The girl next to me whispered.

I thought I had only taken a quick glance to the woman, but I guess my eyes had been glued to her, as the red-haired girl felt like she had to make this comment… I suppose I was a bit frozen in place as I stared at the woman.

I mean, is she really not a ghost?

She stood in a corner of the room. Her long hair dimly shone, and a small blue light drifted around her with an erratic pattern.

Moreover, this woman seemed to have no presence, and she looked far from human… I mean, why is she shining? Why didn’t she move at all since we arrived? Why is she staring at the floor? Why is she muttering, ‘Ru… Ru…’? What is this person?

“Is she dangerous?” I couldn’t help asking.

She’s way too ghostly. She doesn’t feel human at all.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never really talked to her… But from what I’ve seen, she’s harmless to both humans and animals.” The girl replied.

That woman doesn’t look harmless at all…

But well, if she isn’t going to attack me, then I guess it’s fine? She’s really creepy, but let’s try not worrying about her… I wonder if I can do it. It’s hard to ignore someone who is shining.

In any case, this seems to be it. The final point of the tour.

I guess I should say something now, so, “Old man, so you were involved, after all?” I asked the old man I talked to yesterday.

Our connection was very shallow, but it was still reassuring to have an acquaintance here.

“Yeah. In the slums, I quietly gather information, deter crime and protect children. I was also one of the employees of the old hunter’s guild.” The old man replied.

Oh, I see.

“So the person I happened to talk to was actually the person I was looking for all along.” I commented. Isn’t this quite the coincidence?

“It’s not a coincidence.” The old man denied it, as if reading my mind, “You were looking for someone with a certain set of characteristics and called out to me, right, boy? You didn’t choose at random, you chose your candidates properly… When taking this into account, the chance of you finding the right person wasn’t that low.”

Well, that’s one way of looking at it, I suppose?

“But the one in charge of this place isn’t me, but this blondie, so why don’t you greet him first?” The old man told me as he turned towards the frivolous man.

I see, so even if the old man is older, the frivolous man is of a higher position? I guess seniority isn’t the only thing taken into account when choosing representatives.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Eil. I was banished from the assassin’s village.” I told the frivolous man.

“I heard of it. You got here pretty quick… Ain’t you quite the excellent rookie?” The frivolous man replied.

He seemed to be someone who takes things easy.

“I’m Roda. Officially, I’m a two-star adventurer. Nice to meet you, Eil.” The frivolous man told me.

Roda, an adventurer. I’ll remember it.

“That dirty old man is Zant. As he just said, he works in the slums to gather information.” Roda told me next.

Zant, a dirty old man. I’ll remember it.

“As for that woman… Well, if she needs to, she’ll introduce herself, so don’t worry too much about it.” Roda said.

Ghostly woman is on hold. I’ll remember it.

“And the red-haired girl next to you is Lisse. She’s an assassin trainee, just like you.” Roda told me.

Lisse, red-haired assassin trainee. Has the worst type of personality. I’ll remember it.

“Roda, I’m still not convinced.” Lisse pointed at me, showing visible annoyance, “Why would such an amateur receive the same training as me? Assassins are an elite group, and even trainees need the right qualities and skills to be able to endure it. Why would such an amateur be here?”

She called me an amateur twice now… Well, I haven’t received any training yet, so I can’t really deny it.

“I dunno.” Roda’s answer was very brief and frivolous, “The village asked me to train him, so I accepted it. That’s enough of a reason.”

“Are you okay with that!? Why is this much enough!?” Lisse asked him.

“I’d like to turn the question around. What is the problem?” Roda calmly asked the emotional Lisse, “My comrades entrusted this boy to me. Is there any problem in accepting him?

“In the first place, we are a group with a hierarchical relationship. Orders from above are absolute.

“If the people from above have decided it, then we don’t need to know their reasons.

“So? Do you have anything else to say?”

Lisse glared at me with a frustrated expression, then turned away from me.

I’d like to tell her that I have nothing to do with this decision. I came here not because I wanted to, but because I was banished from the village.

… I won’t say that out loud though, because I’m sure I’ll get a violent retort if I say it.

“Eil, you’ll be training under us for a while, so do your best.” Roda told me.

And with that, a new life at Haidiga began.