Wortenia Senki Volume 2 Chapter 28

Editor: Tan.

Day 171 after being summoned to another world: (a.s.sa.s.sin 5)

"Ojiji-sama! Why did you do that?"

Sakuya lashed out at Genou out of frustration.

Currently, the two of them are alone in the forest across the moat.

Only the moon floating in the night sky was witnessing their conversations.

"What are you mad about?"

Genou casually returned Sakuya’s question with a question of his own. However, his laid-back att.i.tude caused Sakuya to grow even more irritated.

"Are you seriously thinking about serving that man?!"

"Oho, do you have any complaint?"

Genou brushed aside her concern as if it was nothing important.

"There are a lot of things that I'm dissatisfied with! Firstly, how could you abandon the request on a whim like that? Even worse, you proposed that we served the man who was our target up until just then?! Secondly, why did Ojii-sama appeared in that place?! This is my mission!"

Sakuya was outraged as she let out a series of complaint towards her grandfather.

Currently, she's 18 years old, and she holds the reputation as a prodigy of the clan.

While failing to kill her target and getting caught as a result is quite humiliating enough, the appearance of her grandfather, who is an elder of the clan, just adds further insult to the injury.

With Genou being present as a witness, Sakuya's ability would become a subject of doubt to the other elders.

Her pride was hurt greatly, since the appearance of her grandfather did only solidified the fact that her ability was lacking.

Moreover, her grandfather decided that she and himself would be serving Mikos.h.i.+ba Ryouma from this point onwards, without seeking permissions from the other elders.

It was totally understandable why Sakuya ended up frustrated.

However, in their clan, age and blood relation is not a factor that determines their ranking. While Sakuya and Genou are blood related, there is a huge difference in their social status.

One day she might follow her grandfather’s footsteps and become one of the elders in her clan, but right now, she's only a low-ranked Ninja(Genin).

Forgetting her standing, that low-ranked is naively talking back to an elder.

(This brat... She still has a lot to learn, huh? To lose her calm over something like this..., Well, whatever. I shall overlook it this time...)

Genou sighed as he turned his cold gaze towards Sakuya, who has yet to calm down.

Normally, Genou wouldn’t have let Sakuya off the hook easily. He is not the sort of man who spoils his grandchildren.

However, right now he is in great mood.

"Brat, who do you think you are talking to?"

The air turned heavy in an instant.

Genou's bloodl.u.s.ted gaze pierced deep into Sakuya.

*Gata*

Sakuya felt a chill down her spine, causing her legs to give out and dropped down onto her knees.

(I-I'll get killed....! W-What am I doing?!...)

Realizing that she has been overstepping her boundary, Sakuya came to her senses.

They are called the elders not because they are old.

Indeed they usually do not take a.s.sa.s.sination requests.

But that is not because they are weak.

They have engaged most of their lives doing dirty work.

It is a remarkable feat to survive through this type of work until the age of 60.

The difference in ability and experience between a veteran and a newcomer like Sakuya is earth and sky apart.

"I-I'm very sorry..."

Sakuya tried her best to squeeze out an apology.

A gaze filled with bloodl.u.s.t pulled Sakuya back to reality.

"Good..."

Genou averted his gaze away from his granddaughter who fell on her knees.

"Well, it's not like I don't understand your concern. However, it would be very regrettable to kill that man."

"Are you suggesting that he could be useful to us? But what about the contract?"

Sakuya asked cautiously.

A contract is a very serious for an a.s.sa.s.sin.

Failing to fulfill a contract damages their reputation and will turn any potential clients away from hiring them in the future,

Let alone doing something very bizarre as serving the a.s.sa.s.sination target without permission.

This simple problem could turn into a matter of life or death for the entire clan.

But Gendou laughed off Sakuya's protest.

"You fool. There's no meaning to such contract! Nevermind the humiliation from mission failure, you should have been dead back there! Plus, do you really think that n.o.ble, Gerhardt, would pay the price as we had promised?"

Sakuya was left speechless upon hearing what Genou said.

In general, a contract begins once the employer and the employee agree on the conditions. Once the employee completes the tasks required in the contract, the employer would reward him as agreed.

However, it isn’t uncommon for people to not honour their contract. They would dispatch soldiers to kill off the contractor once they finished their work.

Sakuya herself was betrayed many times her clients in the past.

Especially this time, when her client is no one else but Duke Gerhardt, who is known as a stingy man, the possibility of betrayal cannot be ruled out.

Although the amount of money he offered is a lot, it is another matter whether he plans to to pay or not.

"Then... Wouldn’t all our potential clients turn lose their trust and stop coming to us?"

"I don't mind; I have no problem with losing jobs from this country. We're wandering people after all. We can just work in another country. As far as I know, there are many places where people would love to have my service anyway. Leaving that aside, I'm really pleased to have met that young man..., probably he's..."

Genou stopped his words.

(... I guess, I can't tell Sakuya yet... Besides I have to discuss this matter with the other elders first..., till that man, I will be disappointed if he's just a good-natured man. But if not, then my wandering life might be over soon...)

Genou went into deep thought, as he remembers all the things that happened today.  

When Sakuya was caught, Genou was prepared to sacrifice his own life to save her.

Sakuya, who's regarded as the brightest prospect within the clan has failed on her a.s.sa.s.sination once.

Behind every mission a.s.signment, an elder would secretly spy on their young prospect to a.s.sess their abilities and lend a hand when things go wrong. This time, it is Genou, Sakuya’s grandfather, who followed her as the insurance.

On top of a.s.sessing Sakuya's ability, as soon as she failed her a.s.sa.s.sination attempt, Genou would finish the mission himself.

However, from his perspective, Sakuya's work can be considered as great even without being biased as her grandfather.

Her agility, how she erase her presence, and her resolution.

By standard, her ability is without a doubt first-rate.

However, the target for her mission is exceptionally shrewd.

One can even say that she was unlucky.

Having trained for a longer period, Genou's night vision is much better than Sakuya’s.

During the time when Ryouma was explaining his plan to his peers, Genou was watching through small hole he created on the roof of the tent.

(To think he would put his armor on a corpse, and pretend to be a manikin  on the side of the tent...)

Ryouma was sitting like a manikin wearing an armor in the corner of the tent.

With the help of darkness, he would be able to catch people off guard.

Then he put the corpse with armor on the bed, and waited for Sakuya to come.

Sakuya, who was unaware of the dummy trap, swung her sword and struck the armor, causing her to stop momentary due to the shock.

With this opening, it was easy for Mikos.h.i.+ba Ryouma to strike her vital point.

Genou couldn’t help but take interest in Ryouma's plan.

"Emm... Ojiji-sama? Why do you want to serve that man?"

Sakuya tried to speak to Genou, who fell silent indulging in his own thought.

Sakuya wants to know the reason even if it incurs her grandfather’s wrath.

"Because with him, our wandering fate might be coming to an end soon..."

"Huh?!"

Sakuya couldn’t hide her surprise.

Their clan has been wandering around this world for over 500 years.

And now it might be coming to an end?

"What does that mean?"

"You do not need to know yet... It is just a possibility... Now then, enough with the chit-chat, our deadline is in two days. We won't be able to make it in time if we don't hurry."

After saying that, Genou then proceeded through the forest toward the north.

His destination is 20 km north of Irachion, part of the forest where their clan is camping.

The time he was given was two days.

Even for the two people who have well-trained bodies, two days to make a round trip  and hold a discussion with the elders is a pretty tight schedule.

"Understood!"

Sakuya replied, and followed Genou's lead.

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Day 172 after being summoned to another world.

"Are you out of your mind?! In the first place, when Sakuya failed her mission, Genou, you should have been the one to finish the mission! That was the reason why we had you tailing Sakuya. And not only did you pull out of the a.s.sa.s.sination, you decided to serve the target on a whim?!"

One of the elders shouted furiously.

It was a totally understandable reaction.

Even Sakuya, who is sitting beside her grandfather, couldn’t help but agree with the elder.

"A-About that..."

Sakuya has things that she wanted to say.

At least, she did not intend to give up on her mission.

She only decided to give up because her grandfather convinced her to.

That was what Sakuya wanted to say.

"Silence! You have no right to make any comment! There wouldn’t be a need for this meeting had you not failed your mission in the first place."

Another elder interrupted Sakuya before she could make any comment.

Only angry voices can be heard from the poorly-built cottage.

Normally only the five elders who have the authority over the future of the clan can enter this place.

It is not a place where a low-ranked like Sakuya can freely enter despite being the granddaughter of an elder.

However, since she is the center of the problem this time, she was given an exception.

She is there to testify what happened.

"Well well~, please don't raise your voice like that. It will only hurt your throat. If anything, Sakuya was only following Genou's instruction. As a Genin(low-ranked ninja), that was the right thing to do, so don't be cruel and blame everything on her like that..."

"Well then Genou, you do not seem to have any ill intent. I presume you have your reasons?"

The ones who calmed down the angry elders are the female elders called Oume and Osae

Other than Oume, Osae, and Genou, the other two elders are Ryuusai and Jinouchi; they are the five elders who manage the entire clan.

Although there are disagreements every now and again, since they have been together for a long time, they are able to compromise eventually.

Ryuusai and Jinouchi, both of whom blasted at Sakuya with accusations earlier, reluctantly agreed to at least hear Genou and his granddaughter out.

"Anyway Genou-dono, what Ryuusai-dono has pointed out is also true... Well then, let us hear your explanation for this."

Oume turned her sharp gaze toward Genou.

"I agree. Surely this can’t be on a whim."

Following Oume, Osae also turned her face toward Genou.

The two female elders are rational. They are impartial when it comes to judgement.

"That man could be the one our first generation had been searching for all this time..."

The air around them froze up instantly as soon as Genou made his statement.

"Genou-dono is that..."

Shocked expressions appeared on the elders’ faces.

"Is that true? Genou-dono?"

"If that's true then, we... no…, we should not waste anymore time! We must welcome him immediately!"

Junouchi and Ryuusai changed their stances promptly.

All the reactions from the elders left Sakuya perplexed.

"Hold your horses!... I said it is only a possibility did I not?"

""But still!!""

Ryuusai and Jinouchi couldn’t help but be impatient, despite the emphasis from Genou.

"Relax!"

Genou raised his voice.

"Please calm down, gentlemen. Just as Genou-dono said, it is still just a possibility. Genou-dono, are you certain that this person is of the same origin as the first generation?"

"His eyes and hair are black like us, and his skin is yellow-toned. Furthermore, he described Sakuya as a 'j.a.panese'... It is no doubt that he's someone from j.a.pan, just like the first generation. "

"If that’s the case, then that means his origin is not a problem..., the problem now is whether he has the quality or not."

Osae followed up Oume’s opinion with her own, after Genou explained Ryouma’s features.

"Oume-dono, Osae-dono, if that is the case, then wouldn’t it be better for us to welcome him sooner?"

"I agreed what Ryuusai-dono said! If I recall correctly, he's currently in the middle of a fight against Duke Gerhardt? What are you going to do if something were to happen to him? The opportunity of fulfilling our clan's longstanding desire may slip away once again."

Ryuusai and Jinouchi are bold and a.s.sertive,

While Oume and Osae are more conservative and rational.

"Let's us remain patient... If he really is the man the first generation had been searching for, then he will surely survive with his own power."

"Indeed... We have waited for this for over 500 years; it won't hurt to wait a little more to gauge his quality..."

When three out of five elders agreed to wait, there was no room for Ryuusai and Jinouchi to object.

"First, Sakuya and I will serve that person. Well, it would take time to judge his ability clearly. By the time the war against Duke Gerhardt is over, we should have a clear answer..."

"If Genou-dono said so, then I have no objection."

"The same goes for me."

Oume and Osae agreed to Genou's proposal.

"Will you two be alright by yourselves? Why don’t you take some young ones from our clan with you?"

"I also agree with Jinouchi-dono. Anything can happen in the battlefield! You’d be better off with more in numbers, don't you agree Genou-dono?"

Ryuusai and Jinouchi do not have a grudge against Genou.

Both of them are only worried of Ryouma's and the two wellbeings.

Because Genou understood their concerns, he did not rebuke them harshly.

"No... Even if we explain the details, that person might not believe me. And if we took the youngsters with us, many might grew suspicious. .. Besides, this story is just a possibility. It is still too early for us to tell the others."

In the beginning, this was only an ordinary a.s.sa.s.sination mission taken by Sakuya.

Just because they are from a clan with j.a.panese ancestries, it does not necessary mean that Ryouma open up and trust them right away.

Right now, Ryouma’s intention is to wait and see.

If Ryouma suspects either of them even for a moment, he might just kill Genou and Sakuya on the spot.

"Indeed... We should avoid causing suspicion. Let’s conclude by leaving the judgement Genou-dono."

The remaining four people nodded toward Jinouchi's words.

They were desperately trying to suppress their feeling of joy.

Mikos.h.i.+ba Ryouma could just be the one they have been hoping for.

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