Chapter 468 – Doubt
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I was attacked by an assassin.
Isn’t this the first time something like this has happened?
Above all, the main body is impervious to this type of assassination. That’s probably why I was even more defenseless.
There was an assassination attempt, but I wasn’t angry.
That’s probably because I don’t feel like my life is in danger…
And what I need to find is not an assassin.
The appearance of an assassin means that there is someone who instigated it.
Who instigated it?
And the reason to think about it is…
It’s a grudge.
It was a natural inference to think that the assassination was commissioned by a person who had a grudge to the extent of wanting to kill me.
There were suspicious people.
A person worthy of that…
The first thing that comes to mind is the Homan mercenary group that I had a duel with not long ago.
Or, Youngju Crea…
And… Cyrus, the little lord of Ramona.
Other than that…
I don’t remember.
Honestly, I thought the possibility of it being Cyrus was small.
Because I don’t particularly fault that guy.
… As far as he remembers.
In that case, it is said that either Lord Crea or the Homan mercenaries who dueled with me are more likely…
The elite of the mercenary group, including Homan, who dueled with me, lost their lives to my sword.
Of course, what I suspect is their acquaintances.
Even if it was a fair duel.
If the life of a loved one is lost.
It’s not strange if resentment arises.
Is she also one of Homan’s lovers?
Originally, several women lived in the Homan house I occupied.
It was not Homan’s wife.
I heard that Homan has no family.
I kicked them all out of the house.
Still, I was a person with manners, so I sent him off with at least alimony.
Enough alimony to open a small store somewhere.
I thought I had done enough.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t that there weren’t women who looked at me with resentment.
Could it be one of those women?
Or is he an acquaintance of the mercenary members who died to me?
Hiring an assassin costs a lot of money.
The assassination organization probably knows about my identity.
It wasn’t because I was famous in Ramona, but investigating the assassination target was naturally an assassin’s job.
There is no way such an assassination group wouldn’t know that I am a skilled knight.
Knights are specialists in battle.
Assassination of such a strong person naturally requires a considerable price.
The request fee must have been significant.
A person who can pay that much for a commission must have quite a bit of wealth.
When you think about that…
It seems that I have nothing to do with the Homan mercenary group that died.
And can we say that Homan’s personality was good enough to create a person with a strong desire for revenge?
Were the mercenaries’ interpersonal relationships made up of such strong affection?
Even if you put that aside.
I think that among the people connected to the Homan mercenary group, there is probably no one who has the financial ability to request the assassination of a knight.
Then… Is it also the Little Lord of Crea?
While sparring with me in front of my favorite Hestia, I got hit and passed out… And even sent a knight to catch me. Looking at his pettiness, there is a possibility.
What about Cyrus?
No way…
The only thing that bothers me is that I didn’t go when I called before.
Could it be that they sent an assassin with just that?
Isn’t this too hasty?
I had a little feeling that this crazy nobleman could do that, but…
It’s because I don’t feel good about that guy. If you think about common sense, it was a bit difficult to see Cyrus as a suspect.
When I try to find the suspect, I feel at a loss.
I don’t know where to start looking.
In fact, it was more of a hassle than anything else.
However, even though I was attacked for assassination, I just ignored it as a nuisance… It’s a bit like that.
When I returned to the annex, I decided to talk to Saren.
I thought that if I appealed to him that his side was almost assassinated, he might do something about it.
I roughly organized my thoughts.
I headed to the Terragyo Temple, which could be said to be my original purpose.
I was a man who didn’t put off what he was doing just because he was attacked by an assassin.
I heard that there is basically at least one Terragyo temple in every large city.
And there was a store-like place in the temple.
It was a store selling so-called sacred items.
There, various items related to religion were sold, such as small statues of the goddess Terra and accessories said to contain divine power.
“I came to save holy water.”
“It looks like you’re injured… It would be better to be treated with divine power, not holy water.”
The priestess looked at my side covered in her blood and said with concern.
“It’s okay. I’ve already finished first aid. I didn’t come here to treat wounds, but I needed holy water.”
The hole in the side had already been completely healed by absorbing the life force of the assassins.
Rather, the avatar was in excellent condition.
“Oh, is that so? Please wait a moment.”
The priest came carrying a small potion bottle that was placed on the shelf behind her.
“It’s 10 gold.”
“…”
It was quite expensive.
Will it be 0.2 liters?
It’s a small bottle that doesn’t seem to work.
Is this really effective?
Liliana bought it because she said it was necessary to remove Karen’s dark magic, but… To me, it just looked like it had plain water in it.
“Hmm… Is Hestia in the temple?”
In times like this, it’s a chance to become an acquaintance.
“Yes, you are staying here, but… Do you know Hestia?”
Hestia seemed to be doing well without any problems.
“I’m Bark. I met Hestia in Crea. We even had dinner together not long ago.”
“Bark? Are you the Bark that Hestia has been desperately looking for?!”
Suddenly, the priestess’s face changes.
“I’m anxious… I don’t know if I found it, but if it’s the Bark Hestia was looking for, I’m the right one.”
“Is that you, Bark, who is making a fuss in Ramona these days?”
I don’t think he saw my duel, but he seemed to have heard rumors about me.
“… I’m right about that too.”
“I didn’t know that the person Hestia was looking for and Ramona’s rising divinity, Knight Bark, were the same person!”
When the priestess found out my identity, she was surprisingly happy.
“But… Bark, what should we do?”
“Did something happen to Hestia?”
“It’s not that… Hestia is currently undergoing important training. She told me not to disturb her unless something major happens…”
The priestess feels sorry for her as if it were her own.
And she said, ‘Shall we sing it anyway?’ It’s an expression.
How… I think it will be loaded if I give permission.
Strangely enough, I feel burdened by the way he seems to be actively trying to help me.
“It’s okay. I can’t interrupt important training. Once training is over, it’s enough to just tell you that Bark came to say hello.”
“Is that so…”
When the priestess said I was okay, she seemed disappointed for a moment, but then she said brightly.
“Don’t worry! I will definitely deliver Bark’s message! Hestia’s lover… No, since you said you are a friend, I will just give you the holy water!”
“Thank you for that.”
I thought I would be satisfied with the discount…
I wasn’t the type of person to turn down freebies.
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After finishing my business at the temple, I returned to Saren’s villa.
There were no further assassination attempts.
And as soon as he returned, he met Saren and told him that he had been attacked by an assassin.
“Are you saying we were attacked by assassins?!”
Saren is surprised to hear my story.
“It must be Youngju So!!”
Karia, who was next to Saren, shouted in anger.
“Youngju So? No way…”
It’s a cider I’ve only seen once.
And Cyrus won’t even remember what happened.
But what kind of grudge do you have?
Since this is a camp with a hostile relationship with the small lord, there were things that had to be filtered out.
“No way! I heard a story about a guy named Dave meeting Youngju So not long ago!”
“Dave? Who is that?”
“Dave appears to be a member of an assassination organization called Darkwoods. After he met Youngju So, an assassination incident inevitably occurred. And that was all just people who didn’t like Youngju So.”
Huh… Cyrus really sent an assassin to me?
Cyrus was my last suspect.
But he betrayed my trust.
Is this guy trying to assassinate me just because I didn’t go where he was called?
There is a degree of sudden acceleration.
I wanted to run over and beat him up and make him confess, but I had to hold back.
I am not afraid of the knights of the Little Lord.
With my current abilities, I should be able to easily win against them.
However, the problem is that the avatar’s ability to recover from wounds with vitality is discovered.
Anyone could see that it was a strange recovery ability, and it could be seen as a characteristic of a demon.
I can just drag along someone who won’t get hurt… But I don’t think Saren will allow it.
If it were Caria, I think I would go with her…
Saren will probably be against that too.
If you think about it calmly, it’s just the heartburn stage.
Still, I had no idea where to start with this assassination case, but I got a clue sooner than expected.
First, I decided to take down the assassins who tried to assassinate me.
Then, maybe something will come out.
“Do you know where this guy named Dave is?”
“Of course! I knew something like this would happen, and I investigated.”
“You thought I was going to be assassinated?”
“That’s not it! Dave is also Lord So’s uncle. That suspicious person was already investigating. I thought he was planning something insidious this time too… But I didn’t know that the target would be you, Bark.”
I didn’t know either.
