(EP-24.2) Angmar #4

024 – Peaceful Angmar #4

There were existences called ‘assassins’.

For some reason, theirs was a legitimate job where they would secretly kill a specific person.

I didn’t know if it was okay to call such an eerie profession a ‘job’, but the concept of contract assassins actually existed in this world.

Young children even proudly wrote ‘Assassin’ in, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’

As a matter of fact, in the novel, the Villain Hunter Party suffered from several assassin attacks throughout the story.

However, if I had to pick the most memorable assassin, it would be none other than Death Stalker.

Death Stalker…

The name might sound very cringe-worthy, but it was actually derived from a species of desert scorpion.

As the name suggested, this assassin kept scorpions as pets and mainly used poison to kill.

In the original story, the priest of the main character’s party would be secretly approached and injected with poison, which drove them to the point of death. In response to this, the fired up comment section started a crusade with mottos such as ‘[email protected] and kill that b¡tch!’.

Thanks to that, this knowledge was imprinted in my brain.

Following my memory, I trod the deep waters of Monarch City, heading to the stinky and disgusting dark nook.

“Where can I find the apothecary?”

“There, head over there. It is your first time in the underground market, isn’t it? Be careful not to get hit in the back.”

I had been here before. However, it was my first time visiting this person, so it was quite difficult to find the way.

Soon, a wooden door with a potion symbol was spotted. I knocked it with a tense feeling, and a voice sounded from the inside.

━Who is it? The pharmacy is closed for the day. Come back tomorrow.

“But shouldn’t the side business start now?”

At my question, the voice turned quiet.

Seureuk. Jolkok.

Giiiik.

━Come in…

After that, the door slowly opened inward.

From the inside, an unknown smoke started floating beneath my feet, smelling like an amalgamation of mixtures being boiled.

I think there was such a description in the novel as well.

Slowly, I entered the shop.

I was greeted by the sight of a woman in a long black, coat-like robe, who was looking at me coldly through her glasses. She also looked like a model.

I supposed you could say that she was close to 30? Well, she certainly looked older than Elga and Aira, and gave the feeling of a mature beauty.

This person was Death Stalker. Pharmacist by day, assassin by night.

“Where’s your companion?”

Her red eyes twinkled through the glasses. I shook my head at her question.

“I had none. If I come with someone, wouldn’t you reject my request?”

Of course, there were hidden guards waiting outside. Lying was, after all, one of the things I was good at.

The woman looked around and said.

“It seems that you’ve done your research. Then this would speed things up. Who do you want to kill?”

“You’re not asking who I am?”

“It doesn’t matter. Only the pay and the target do.”

So we would just proceed without any other verification process? While I was feeling a little puzzled, Death Stalker pointed to the sofa.

“Have a seat, you seem to have a long story. I’ll bring you some tea.”

Dalgak, dalgak.

Soon enough, a boiling tea cup was placed in front of me. However, I wasn’t stupid enough to drink tea in an assassin’s house.

“Everyone freezes up like that. Don’t worry, I didn’t put anything in. You can drink it with ease.”

Fufufu— This smiling beauty was a pretty seductive woman. Nevertheless, having been with Aira for so long had done wonders for my tolerance.

The word ‘bewitching’ fit her so well.

No wonder the h0rny priest of the Villain Hunter Party got seduced.

Dalgak, dalgak. Death Stalker asked while stirring her teacup with a teaspoon.

“So, who do you want to kill?”

“Actually, I want to save someone.”

“Then I think you have come to the wrong place, no? I don’t save people.”

“To be precise, I came to seek an antidote. Do you know anything about Pallagas Jeoksangari?”

“Ah- Pallagas Jeoksangari. I haven’t heard that name in a long time. In fact, that old-fashioned poison is not typically used to kill people in the first place.”

“Is there any cure for it?”

“There is, though I have to make it first. So, for whom do you want to use this for?”

“It’s for myself, Theo Gospel.”

Seureuk.

I took off my hood. Yet, the assassin didn’t show much of a reaction.

Seeing this, I asked.

“Did you know I was coming?”

“Of course. After all, I sent you an invitation. One scorpion, though it was burned to a crisp….”

It was probably when I thought the squirrel Keongkeong got sent to the afterlife by Aira.

Aira had actually burned a scorpion that had entered the house then. It seems that the woman in front of him was directly involved.

“Theo Gospel the Demon Monk, there are many people who want to get rid of you. I thought you also wanted to kill quite a few, so I invited you as a guest. To think that we’ll meet like this….”

She chuckled before continuing.

“I didn’t expect that you would come to save yourself, rather than to kill someone. Was this perhaps because of the maid’s tea?”

“No.”

“I guess so. The poison used back then was probably arsenic. An amateur’s method. If it were me, I would have used a different type.”

“You didn’t mean to assassinate me, did you?”

“Of course not. Why would I kill a potential big-time customer? But, the antidote to Pallagas Jeoksangari won’t be easy to make.”

Great! I was delighted by the positive response.

What I had vaguely predicted was indeed correct.

Death Stalker, an assassin in the original novel, was an episodic villain in the middle of the series and the subordinate of the Villain Theo.

There were many speculations on how she became Theo’s underling. However, I knew her story, which would be a big bargaining chip.

I decided to show one of my cards to her.

“If this goes well. You and I may become important partners, Baroness.”

“… What?”

“The eldest daughter of old Baron Skull. Isn’t that you? A woman who runs a dark business using her family’s craft to cover the medicine cost for her brother, who’s suffering from a rare disease.”

“…….”

When a person was caught off guard, they became quiet. It seemed that it was the same for Elga and this Baroness.

“I have erased all information about my past through the Thieves’ Guild. How did you know this…?”

How, you asked? In the novel, when she was finally killed by the Villain Hunter Party, she revealed it herself.

Naturally, I didn’t say that and just smiled. Death Stalker, no, Baroness Kalira Skull, took off her glasses and muttered.

“They say that you’re a Demon Monk…. Yet I didn’t believe it…”

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