Surviving as the Emperor's Assassin

Chapter 9. It Was Procedure.

I decided to stay in Dejong until the mercenary tag was issued.

I couldn't relax, not knowing when the hand chasing Luke Ivers might reach out again, but since a major search had just passed, there was a high probability things would be quiet for a while.

If I could solidify the identity of 'Mercenary Ben' during that time, I couldn't ask for more.

The day after selling the Hond Wolf horn.

I took a deep breath and opened the Mercenary Guild door.

“Oh, Green.”

As soon as she saw my face, a mercenary greeted me.

This pale-faced woman was one of the mercenaries who had been here yesterday too.

Doesn't this person ever take requests?

Why is she always here?

“Look. I'm not green.”

I flapped my newly bought clothes.

The color was the most important factor when buying the clothes.

Dyes were scarce here, so most clothes were dull yellow or brown.

On top of that, they often had faint green mixed in, which could have further cemented the nickname 'Green'.

So I found this bright red armor.

It was overly flashy and expensive, but it was a worthwhile investment to erase the unfortunate nickname 'Green' acquired from being soaked in goblin blood.

“But you are Green. The Green acknowledged by Thorn Shield, the Guild Master. Be proud of your nickname.”

The woman chuckled and waved her hand.

Damn it. Why Green, of all things?

There's red, black, and many other colors.

Colors that are somewhat meaningful and cool.

But Green, definitely not Green.

The grass covering the roads is green, stagnant puddles are green, and flying insects are green.

Most importantly, goblins were green.

“Green. The Guild Master wants to see you.”

A man with a dirty face, sprawled out half-drunk inside the guild, spoke.

“Why?”

My brow furrowed reflexively at the mention of the Guild Master.

It was the Guild Master who gifted me the dishonorable nickname 'Green'.

Why was he calling me after doing that?

“How should I know? He just asked me to pass the message when you came, so I'm just passing it on.”

The man, mumbling with slurred pronunciation, slumped down limply.

It was impressive he had stayed awake this long in that state.

“Hmm.”

Since the Guild Master seemed to like me, it was unlikely that calling me separately would be bad news.

It could be related to the issuance of the mercenary tag.

“I hope it's something that pays well……”

Thanks to buying unnecessarily expensive clothes, my pockets were worse off than before I took the request.

It wouldn't be greedy to hope the Guild Master, the culprit behind this situation, would compensate me.

* * *

The structure of the Mercenary Guild building was simple.

A wide hall where mercenaries gathered and waited, and further inside, a reception desk where guild staff waited.

Connected by stairs, the second floor housed warehouses storing various monster materials and data, along with the Guild Master's room.

“Coming in.”

I skipped knocking and went straight into the Guild Master's room.

“Welcome, Green Ben.”

The Guild Master greeted me with a wide grin.

“You got the nickname Green, so why wear red clothes?”

“What does color matter? Function comes first for clothes.”

I couldn't bring myself to say it was because I hated being called Green.

“A good attitude. These days, mercenaries are all about appearances, fussing over color and shape even when buying equipment.”

The Guild Master nodded repeatedly.

My lame excuse had actually gained the Guild Master's favor.

What a tiresome person.

“Why did you want to see me?”

Looking at the Guild Master's face made me feel like swearing, so I lowered my gaze.

“Ah, right. There's a request I want to entrust to you.”

The Guild Master answered while rummaging through the scattered documents on his desk.

“Pardon?”

I raised my head at the unexpected words.

“It's a request perfectly suited for you. Of course, you won't be handling it alone; other mercenaries will be performing it together.”

The Guild Master, having apparently found the document he was looking for, fluttered the paper in front of my eyes.

“Why me?”

Requests handled by the Mercenary Guild were broadly divided into two types.

One, like Nilia's, where the client directly hires mercenaries.

The guild's role is merely to gather mercenaries.

The guild's income comes mainly from commissions on loot transactions, usually not very profitable requests.

The other type is where the client entrusts the entire handling to the guild.

The guild guarantees completion, takes a portion of the reward, and this serves as the guild's main source of income.

Since it's directly linked to the guild's credibility, the guild is careful in selecting mercenaries to carry out these requests.

The Guild Master delivering it meant it was the latter type.

It was strange for him to connect me—who had only arrived in Dejong and set foot in the Mercenary Guild barely three days ago—to such a request.

“It's a simple test for issuing the mercenary tag.”

The Guild Master's answer was unhesitating.

“A test?”

“What do you think is the most important part of running a Mercenary Guild?”

The Guild Master answered my question with a question.

“Well. Sales ability to bring in profitable requests?”

I answered with whatever came to mind.

Running a guild?

How would I know about that?

“Sales ability is necessary, of course. But what's more important is accurately assessing the abilities of the mercenaries in this region.”

The Guild Master lowered his voice as if imparting a secret technique.

“Most mercenaries don't end well. Running a Mercenary Guild means endlessly witnessing mercenary bastards dying.”

Their job is to fight, risking their lives.

In combat, full of variables, one cannot always win.

Defeat usually leads to death.

“Among those, the worst is connecting them to a request beyond their capabilities, leading to failure and death. When that happens, the guild's credibility takes a hit, and it feels like I killed them myself, leading to bad dreams.”

The Guild Master clicked his tongue as if recalling a bad memory.

Accurately knowing the mercenaries' level allows connecting them to suitable requests.

Through this, they avoid the worst outcome of request failure and mercenary death.

That was this person's, Thorn Shield's, Guild Master's way of running the guild.

“Well, that's just from the guild's perspective, of course. Mercenaries probably think it's all the same however they kick the bucket.”

The Guild Master muttered complainingly.

True to his words, mercenaries on the verge of death likely wouldn't care about the guild's circumstances.

My assessment of the Guild Master improved slightly.

Even if it was for the guild's sake, considering the mercenaries' safety meant he wasn't entirely a bad person.

If only his catastrophic naming sense could be fixed.

“Anyway, that's how it is. You proved your ability to some extent by hunting the Hond Wolf, but that's only against monsters. We don't know what other abilities you possess. This request is meant to ascertain your level.”

The Guild Master looked at me as if asking if the explanation was sufficient.

“I understand, roughly.”

Abilities other than monster hunting.

This request seemed to involve dealing with people.

“But, wasn't it better to keep the test a secret?”

While it was a verification process for safety from the guild's perspective, mercenaries could interpret it differently.

It was certain that some would try to cheat to receive an evaluation beyond their actual abilities.

Even without that, many mercenaries are eccentric.

Realizing they were being tested could lead to fierce backlash.

“I don't really like secrets.”

The Guild Master chuckled.

What was so funny, I couldn't understand.

“Understood. Please tell me what the request is first. I'll decide whether to accept it after that.”

My eyes followed the paper the Guild Master was holding.

But because he kept waving the paper around like a toy, I couldn't read the letters.

“You think you can refuse the test? Doing so might prevent the mercenary tag from being issued, you know?”

The Guild Master narrowed his eyes.

“So what?”

I bluffed.

To prevent him from wielding the mercenary tag as leverage like this, I needed to act as if I wasn't obsessed with it.

“Friend, the more I see you, the more I like you. A mercenary ought to have that much guts. Where did such a fine gemstone roll in from?”

I didn't know how the Guild Master interpreted the meaning of my words, but he seemed quite pleased.

“Alright. I'll explain the request details.”

The Guild Master slowly read aloud the paper he had been waving around annoyingly.

I briefly considered revealing I could read and asking to read it myself, but decided against it.

I was supposed to be from the countryside.

Being able to read would only arouse suspicion.

For now, let's pretend to be illiterate.

* * *

The dawn air was cold.

Atop the massive city wall protecting the city, I watched the sun rising far away.

The request the Guild Master gave me was city guard duty.

Apparently, after the Emperor's death, many people were acting up here and there, necessitating increased security personnel.

However, the city, unwilling to augment the guard force for a temporary phenomenon, came up with the idea of hiring mercenaries to fill the security manpower gap—a cheerful story.

“I am 'Little Eye' Pinis, and this is 'Green' Ben.”

The mercenary who came with me introduced me as well, leaving me nothing to do but nod.

“All familiar faces.”

The guard handling the handover smiled with satisfaction.

Damn Bill was here again.

How many guards were there in this city, yet why did I keep getting involved with Bill? I couldn't understand.

“We'll continue handling the gate checkpoint. You guys just need to patrol the top of the wall every hour. If you see anyone trying to climb the wall, deal with them.”

Bill made a throat-slitting gesture with his thumb.

Seems like killing them was fine.

I wondered if such a crude method was right, but then it occurred to me that anyone bypassing the gate to climb the wall couldn't possibly be normal.

They must have attempted it prepared for death, so fulfilling their wish would be common decency, right?

“Are there really idiots who think they can get over here without being caught?”

Pinis, assigned with me, asked with a disbelieving chuckle.

The wall wasn't particularly high, but it wasn't low either.

Climbing several meters offered no place to hide, making it easy to get caught.

“I'm saying it because it happens.”

Bill shook his head as if thoroughly fed up.

“Anyway, I'm counting on you.”

Getting paid for such simple work, this was a much better request than I thought.

“Shall we go then?”

Pinis took the lead.

There was almost no room for things to go wrong with this job.

Unless, by some chance, someone who knew Luke Ivers tried to climb the wall.

Nah, no way.

I shook my head, dispelling the ominous thought.