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~3rd Person Perspective~
Fort Purled, Sights.
Borotz Heigand was interviewing the assassin he was looking for.
Beside him are two knights for protection. Both are skilled.
Behind him are two vassals in butler’s uniform.
Further behind them were two large boxes.
“You must be Zetsu…” (Borotz)
Borotz called out to the figure in front of him.
They are wearing a robe. They are deeply hooded and wear a mask on their face. They do not know the gender of the person. They are small in stature and appear to be female, but they could also be male.
“Yes, that’s right. Let’s talk business right away.” (Zetsu)
The person called Zetsu said in a polite tone.
Borotz could not tell the gender of the person by listening to their voice. The tone of their voice could have been either male or female.
“This is Ars Louvent, Mayor of Canale County.” (Zetsu)
“Canale County Mayor? That’s surprising. I thought a big shot like you would go for the Governor of Messiaen Clan or, conversely, Governor of Sights.” (Borotz)
“You think I’d go after the Governor, but not Clan? Don’t be ridiculous.” (Zetsu)
Borotz heard Zetsu’s words and replied with an unpleasant expression.
“I am sorry, sir. But why are you targeting Ars Louvent, who is only the head of one county?” (Zetsu)
“Does an assassin need to know why his client is asking?” (Zetsu)
“No, I am just curious. However, in order to succeed in the assassination, we need to know as much information as possible about Ars Louvent, so I think we will end up needing the reason.” (Zetsu)
“Well, since I heard you are a skilled assassin, I thought you were someone without blood or tears, but I see you also have an interest in other people.” (Borotz)
“You have a terrible image of me. I am a human being, so of course I have feelings like anyone else.” (Zetsu)
“Oh, really? Wouldn’t that interfere with your work? What do you do if you have feelings for a target?” (Borotz)
“No problem. I just carry out our work as planned. I have no personal feelings about the work.” (Zetsu)
Zetsu tells him in a calm manner.
What are you asking me? He thought.
Borotz thought further, “That’s more frightening.”
“I understand. I will tell you what I know about Ars Louvent.” (Borotz)
Borotz gave Zetsu some information about Ars.
He had some information about Ars when he planned the assassination.
Of course, he also told him that Ars had the ability to appraise others and that there were many strong people among his retainers.
“He has an ‘appraising eye’, hmm? That’s interesting.” (Zetsu)
“Appraising eye…? Do you know anything about his abilities?” (Borottz)
“It’s old folklore. It is said that on the Somerforce continent, there is a being with the power of three eyes.” (Zetsu)
Zetsu suddenly started speaking.
“A tactical eye, a precognitive eye… and an appraising eye. It seems that someone with these three eyes once rose to prominence in Somerforce. It’s a story from an era before the birth of the Somerforce Empire.” (Zetsu)
“…I’ve never heard of a story like that.” (Borotz)
Borotz has read many books and has a wealth of knowledge.
Even he had never heard of it.
“That’s probably true. It’s an old legend that has been handed down in some parts of the Lowfile province,” he said. There are only a few books about it, and I don’t think it exists in Messiaen.” (Zetsu)
“How do you know this?” (Borotz)
“Because I’m from the state of Lowfile.” (Zetsu)
There is no proof that he is telling the truth, but there is no proof that he is lying either.
Borotz observes Zetsu assessing him, but it is impossible to discern his facial expression because he is wearing a mask. His gestures show no signs of agitation.
“Ars Louvent has an appraising eye, and he appoints talented people as vassals, regardless of their noble birth. If that’s the case, I think it will be easier than I thought.” (Zetsu)
Borotz turned his eyes blankly at Zetsu’s words.
“Really? There are many talented people around Ars Louvent. No matter how good an assassin you are, you won’t succeed easily.” (Borotz)
“There’s a way to do it. It’s alright.” (Zetsu)
“Are you going to teach me how to do it?” (Borotz)
“If you want me to teach you how to do it, I’ll teach you how to do it, but as long as I show you the results, it won’t matter, will it?” (Zetsu)
“Hmm…well, that’s true too.” (Borotz)
Borotz decided to trust Zetsu’s skill because he was told that he was a skilled assassin.
In any case, he couldn’t tell him to change his ways even if he heard about it. There was no point in asking.
“Rather than that, let’s talk about compensation.” (Zetsu)
“…How much do you want? We have a large amount of gold coins available.” (Borotz)
Borotz had his men open the box behind him.
It was filled with gold coins.
There must be more than a thousand coins.
Borotz had been preparing to pay a large sum of money for Ars’ head for a long time.
“I need some gold coins, but I don’t need that much. There are other things I want.” (Zetsu)
“…what?” (Borotz)
Borotz is surprised to hear that he wants something other than gold.
Basically, hired soldiers, secret agents, and assassins do not ask for anything other than money.
There are rare cases where they want something like becoming a vassal, but Zetsu does not seem to be that type of person.
“It’s a book.” (Zetsu)
“What…?” (Borotz)
Borots is shocked by the unexpected request.
“…Why do you want a book?” (Borotz)
“ It’s not that complicated. I love to read and gain knowledge. A man of your stature must have some books that no one else can read. You are an owner of some, right?” (Zetsu)
Borotz is one of the most powerful nobles in the province of Sights. He has a large territory under his control.
He also owns many books.
There are several books that are unique in the world.
Earlier, Zetsu was talking about the history before the establishment of the Somerforce Empire, but not many people know about that long-ago story.
Borotz was convinced that he must have a wealth of knowledge since he was requesting books as a reward in this way.
“…I understand. If you succeed in assassinating him, I will give you any book you wish for.” (Borotz)
“I don’t intend to take the book. It is enough if you let me read it. It is enough if you let me pass through the place where the book is kept and let me stay there for a week or so. It is the knowledge in the books that is important.” (Zetsu)
“…Okay, that’s fine.” (Borotz)
Borots accepted the terms.
He had many questions, such as whether he intended to memorize the contents of the book in a week or so, or whether knowledge was anything at all, but he decided he didn’t need to ask.
“Thank you. I will take gold coins as advance payment. Is that okay?” (Zetsu)
“Oh, no problem.” (Borotz)
They then negotiated the amount of the advance payment, and the deal was successfully concluded.
“Well, I’ll be on my way.” (Zetsu)
“I’m looking forward to a good report.” (Borotz)
Zetsu left the room briskly.
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