The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1244

 Chapter 1244

 

“Play…?”

Runaan stared blankly at Martha, blinking in confusion.

“What are you suddenly talking about…?”

She lifted her darkened eyelids, looking genuinely dumbfounded.

“Yeah. Let’s play.”

Martha nodded, as if to say Runaan had heard her correctly.

“You’re saying ‘let’s play’… with eyes that look like you’re about to kill someone?”

Runaan rounded her mouth as she stared at Martha’s chilling eyes, which looked less like she wanted to play and more like she wanted to kill.

“My eyes have always been like this. Rude eyes!”

Martha shrugged, insisting her sharp glare was just how she looked.

“……”

Runaan narrowed her clouded eyes slightly, as if trying to figure out what Martha was really after.

“So… what exactly… are we supposed to play…?”

She turned her body fully to face Martha, as though telling her to spell it out.

“That’s obvious.”

Martha smacked her lips and lowered her hand toward her waist.

“Hmm….”

Thinking Martha was about to draw her sword, Runaan instinctively grabbed the hilt of Snow Flower Sword.

“Here!”

Instead, Martha pulled out a stack of cards from her pants pocket and shoved them right in front of Runaan’s face.

“Let’s play cards.”

She licked her lips, saying that if you were outside, playing cards was only natural.

“Mmhh….”

Runaan sniffed as she stared at the cards. Since she had naturally assumed Martha would ask for a spar, she awkwardly lowered the hand that had been gripping the Snow Flower Sword.

“Did you think I was going to ask to fight?”

Martha chuckled when she saw Runaan’s hand.

“We fought not long ago. No need to do it again. And if we do, I want to be properly prepared.”

She nodded calmly, as if confident she could beat Runaan next time.

“I don’t know cards….”

Runaan slowly shook her head.

“I’m going to sleep… no, I have to sleep.”

Clearly uninterested, she turned her back again.

“Come on, don’t be like that, let’s play!”

Martha scooted right up next to her, clearly refusing to take no for an answer.

“It’s just as fun as fighting with swords.”

She twisted her lips into a grin, saying she’d teach her.

“I won’t… I don’t know it, so it won’t be fun….”

Runaan waved her thin, bony hand, as if she had an urgent reason she absolutely needed to sleep.

“No. I want to play.”

Martha grabbed Runaan’s wrist and pressed her lips together firmly.

“Mmhh….”

Feeling the intense heat flaring in Martha’s black eyes, Runaan let out a soft, low sound.

“Then… just one round….”

She sighed, as if thinking that because of Martha, it would be hard for her to fall asleep right away anyway. Even so, her eyelids twitched slowly, as if demanding sleep.

“Good choice. Let’s start.”

Martha leaned her back against a tree stump, sat down, and patted the ground beside her.

“Mmhh….”

Even though her dark, heavy eyelids trembled like she might fall asleep any second, Runaan sat down next to Martha.

“Poker has too much to memorize. How about blackjack?”

Martha shuffled the cards, saying it was simple but still fun.

“To put it simply, you and I draw cards, and whoever’s total is closer to 21 wins. If it becomes 21, you shout ‘blackjack.’ On the other hand, if you go over 21, you lose.”

She toyed with the cards, saying that although it was very simple, it was a game with profound psychological warfare.

“But you… play cards…?”

Runaan tilted her head, clearly surprised.

“I learned.”

Martha shrugged lightly, as if that was all there was to it.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

With clumsy but earnest shuffling, she handed one card each to herself and Runaan.

“Mmhh….”

Runaan smacked her lips as she looked at the two cards she had drawn, a ten of hearts and a three of diamonds.

“Want another? I’m not taking one.”

After checking her own cards, Martha raised an eyebrow, asking what Runaan would do.

“Give me one more….”

Thinking she still had room, Runaan nodded.

“Here.”

Martha smiled brightly and handed her another card.

“Mmmh….”

Even though she didn’t really know card games, Runaan seemed to have seen this sort of thing somewhere before. She lifted the card slightly, crumpling it in her fingers. It was the four of clubs.

“One more….”

Still at seventeen, she figured she was safe and asked for another.

“Ah…!”

As she checked the fourth card, a small gasp escaped her. She dropped the card in shock

“How could this….”

Runaan stammered in confusion at the fact that the newly received card was a nine of diamonds.

“Ten of hearts, three of diamonds, four of clubs, and nine of diamonds. Total, twenty-six.”

After checking Runaan’s cards, Martha let out a snort of laughter.

“And you….”

Runaan’s eyes darted quickly, clearly curious about Martha’s cards.

“Me?”

Martha grinned and revealed her hand.

“Five of hearts, ten of clubs…?”

Runaan’s eyes went wide when she saw that Martha only had fifteen.

“Why…?”

She let out a hollow sigh at how quickly Martha had stopped drawing cards.

“Beginners usually get greedy and ruin themselves on their own.”

Martha giggled, saying she’d expected Runaan to push too far.

“If I just wait, you’ll lose by yourself. Why would I chase?”

She shrugged, as if Runaan’s thought process had been completely transparent to her.

“Ugh….”

More than losing at blackjack, Runaan seemed annoyed by Martha’s reaction. Her fingertips trembled slightly.

“Again….”

She bit her lip lightly, asking for another round.

“As many as you want.”

Martha happily gathered the cards and started shuffling again.

“Oh? You’re playing blackjack?”

Krein sidled over, smacking his lips.

“Mind if I join?”

He plopped down next to Runaan, clearly interested.

“M-me too, just one round….”

Dorian nodded and sat down beside Krein, looking intrigued.

Unlike Martha, who seemed determined not to let Runaan sleep, the two of them joined with serious, focused expressions.

“……”

Runaan didn’t seem to care either way, watching only Martha and the cards in her hands. It was the unmistakable look of a warrior who hated to lose.

"The more the merrier."

Martha clapped her hands and dealt the cards.

“No one’s sleeping tonight!”

Under the tree where the four of them gathered, the sound of cards being dealt continued until the sun rose the next morning.

*   *   *

“Hmm….”

A man wearing a horned bear mask tilted his head slightly.

"It seems they aren't coming today."

He clicked his tongue in disappointment, as if he’d been stood up.

"If this leads to a problem..."

The horned bear-masked man scratched his own neck with his long fingernails, looking worried. As if scratching were a habit, his neck was covered everywhere with scratch marks.

“It’s fine.”

From the opposite side of the horned bear mask, a clear, calm voice rang out.

“The path is already complete.”

A handsome young man with short-cut silver hair and deep violet eyes waved his hand casually. His features were almost identical to Runaan’s, and a faint, unsettling smile curved his lips.

“There’s no turning it back now. Not even Raon Zieghart can stop it.”

Syria Sullion. Runaan’s brother and the former 'Demon' of Eden. Despite having been beheaded by Raon, he was very much alive, his red lips curling upward.

However, as if the impact from that incident still lingered strongly, a long, burn-like scar had formed around his neck.

“Hmm….”

Even after hearing Syria’s words, the man in the horned bear mask narrowed his eyes slightly, still looking worried.

“You know better than anyone. The sorcery of Illusion Within a Dream is difficult to start. Once you draw someone into the dream world, they can never escape.”

Syria Sullion smiled faintly, as if there were nothing to worry about.

“At first, her guard was so high was so strong that the dream world almost collapsed. But thanks to approaching her very slowly over an entire year, she’s now completely adapted to that world.”

He smacked his lips, clearly savoring how long and carefully he had lured Runaan, like reeling in a whale.

“You saw it yesterday too. That girl, who used to wake at the faintest touch, now actually enjoys being held.”

As if longing for the warmth of Runaan’s embrace he had felt yesterday, Syria licked his red lips with his tongue.

“Once the dream world and reality fully merge, she’ll love me even if I appear just as I am now. Ah, Runaan. My Runaan.”

He chuckled, giddy at the thought of seeing her soon.

“T-then….”

The man in the horned bear mask looked at Syria with newfound anticipation.

“Yes. The empty helmet of my partner will finally find its owner…”

Syria traced a slow circle in the air with his fingertip as he looked at the two Baphomet helmets resting on the table.

“And a perfect pair will be born.”

He clasped his hands together, letting out a chilling smile as if eagerly awaiting that day.

“And of course, your wish will be granted as well.”

Syria waved a slightly trembling hand toward the horned bear mask, telling him not to worry.

“I-I’ll do my best!”

The man in the horned bear mask shouted that he would continue drawing Runaan deeper into her dreams, scratching at his neck with his long fingernails.

“Good.”

Syria smiled softly, as if pleased, and gently stroked one of the Baphomet helmets on the table.

“Two lives, and…”

He glanced ever so slightly at the other helmet, examining its shape, and let out a bright, almost heroic laugh.

“One soul!”

*   *   *

Hooo.

Karoon inhaled the cold dawn air and sat upon the throne, beginning his duties as acting head of house.

As if he had grown accustomed to the position, he worked through the important documents with firm, steady eyes.

“That should be enough for today.”

After finishing the mountain-like stack of documents before noon, Karoon set down the pen thickly smeared with ink.

“Any word from the Light Wind Palace?”

He smacked his lips, clearly curious about the Light Wind Palace that had departed for Birdnew village.

“They reported at dawn that they would be camping near Pilsu village. They could have moved immediately, but decided to rest first in case of an Eden ambush.”

Chad, the master of the Shadow Agents, bowed his head while holding the processed stack of documents against his chest.

"A wise decision."

Karoon nodded calmly, seeming pleased with the decision made by Burren, who was currently leading the Light Wind Palace.

"Burren has grown quite capable as palace master under Raon’s wing."

Sheryl smiled gently, recalling the look in Burren’s eyes after shedding the arrogance of his youth.

“He’s still lacking in many ways. But…”

Karoon shook his head, as if not fully satisfied yet.

“He’s always watched the Light Wind Palace master from behind. He’ll only grow better from here.”

His gaze carried deep expectations, as though he believed Burren had grown thanks to Raon.

“Next—”

Just as Karoon was about to say something else to the Shadow Agents master—

In the audience chamber, where only Karoon, Sheryl, Roenn, and Chad should have been present, the sound of footsteps echoed.

Step.

None of the four moved, yet the footsteps continued to draw closer.

The sound strangely seized the human sense of hearing, making it impossible to think of anything else.

“It seems…”

Karoon began to turn his head with a thin smile—

Bang!

The door on the left side of the audience chamber opened, and Raon walked out wearing a training uniform soaked and crusted with dried blood.

His body was covered in sword wounds, exhaustion etched into his face, yet his gaze was more composed and resolute than ever.

“I have returned. And thank you for your hard work during this time. From now on….”

Raon stepped forward, stopped before the platform, and offered a formal, respectful greeting to Karoon, who sat upon the golden jade throne.

“I will take that seat.”

 

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