Dark Fantasy Normalized

30 – Master of the Assassin Guild

An assassin without discipline is nothing more than a murderer.

The Assassin Guild upheld their own creeds and rules, strictly adhering to them, and undisciplined assassins failed to earn their respect.

…In that sense, the Black Snake could be considered a very exceptional assassin.

We are shadows that swallow karma.

The self is poison.

Stay away from gold and blood.

The most important rule for an assassin – the Black Snake was relatively free from that rule.

According to some, she interpreted and followed the rules in a very unique way.

The Black Snake lived the life of a high-ranking adventurer publicly, and in the process, did not hesitate to satisfy her own desires.

It was never an act of adhering to the rules. However, it was not completely against the rules either.

She maintained a life that precariously balanced on the line as an assassin.

Of course, if one were to uphold the rules, such laxity could not be left unchecked.

The guild took action.

They mobilized other masters to attempt to guide her.

In the process, the guild gained an unexpected benefit.

“When did you plant the poison? What a foolish question. Before I answer, I’ll give you a chance to ponder it yourselves.”

Each one of them was a master, regarded with fear by the world.

They realized that their lives were all in the hands of the Black Serpent.

For an assassin, discipline is absolute.

If there is one value that is free from that discipline, it is absolute power.

Thus, the Black Serpent earned the guild’s respect and became more devoted to the ‘adventurer’s game.’

…It was all to cure the loathsome and dreadful skin disease.

*

It felt like the fire on her skin was being extinguished.

It was a sensation she had never felt since she contracted the skin disease.

Salana immediately took out a mirror to check.

“…”

Salana carefully touched her face.

“This can’t be…”

Salana had made every possible effort to cure the skin disease.

She traveled across the continent to meet famous healers and priest mages.

She even personally hired pharmacists and alchemists to create custom cosmetics.

But it was all in vain.

Though the scars and wounds caused by the skin disease could be temporarily healed, the disease itself could not be eradicated.

This was different.

Or should she say, the opposite.

The scars and wounds on her face remained, but the underlying disease had visibly improved.

The dreadful dark red color that had stained her skin had lightened, albeit slightly.

“How…?”

Salana was too purely bewildered to even feel joy.

She looked at the man in front of her – Rishir.

He was an ordinary man, except for the impression that he was ‘kind of cute.’

Though his appearance was somewhat aristocratic, he never revealed his family background. And his attitude was unpretentious.

Perhaps he belonged to a family so humble that it was difficult to maintain an aristocratic identity.

His level of skill matched that ordinariness.

At an age that seemed around twenty, reaching the third level.

If he were a commoner, it would have been proof of his exceptional talent-

But for a noble who had grown up with full support from a young age, it was proof of mediocrity.

Perhaps even evidence of inferiority.

Most of those who had attempted to cure Salana’s illness, including Salana herself, would have thought so.

Insignificant.

Rishir was the kind of person who gave such a first impression to people like Salana.

Such an insignificant person approached, claiming he could cure her skin disease.

It was reasonable for Salana to doubt his intentions and skills.

Surely, that must have been the case-

“What do you think?”

“…Huh?”

Salana snapped back to reality at Rishir’s words.

Her expression brightened moment by moment.

Thud!

Salana grabbed his arm fiercely.

“How did you do it!”

Salana was so flustered that she even forgot to act like the ‘easygoing senior adventurer.’

But it didn’t matter much.

Right now, she was in such a good mood that the ‘master of the assassin guild’ looked like an ‘easygoing senior adventurer.’

“…”

However, Rishir’s reaction was rather lukewarm.

He spoke with a dissatisfied look.

“If possible, could you tell me how you feel right now?”

“…!”

Salana was startled by Rishir’s demeanor.

‘Why does he seem so reliable!?’

Salana’s once rigid posture became suddenly respectful.

Those who knew Salana’s true nature would have been shocked, thinking, ‘That lunatic is being polite!?’

“I think it’s gotten better! No, I think it’s really gotten better! How did you do it!? Can you tell me?”

Salana, who had returned to being a cheerful adventurer, looked at Rishir with sparkling eyes.

“Are you feeling better?”

“…Is there a problem? I feel like it’s okay for now-“

“Actually, Ms. Salana’s illness hasn’t completely healed yet.”

“…!”

Salana’s eyes widened.

She felt saved just by the slight improvement in her condition, but this man was dissatisfied with the fact that the illness hadn’t been completely cured.

In other words, he was confident that he could completely cure the illness.

“What should I do!? What do you need? Money? Materials? Just say the word.”

“…Excuse me, but could you put your hand on the wound again-“

Before he could finish speaking, Salana knelt on the floor and pressed her face against his palm.

“No, you don’t have to go this far-“

“Oh. Is it uncomfortable? Sorry. I’m just too excited right now-“

Haha.

Salana stood up with Rishir’s hand still on her face.

“Is it okay now? How is it?”

Salana, who was pestering Rishir like a dog begging its owner for a walk, immediately shut her mouth when he focused.

A brief silence followed-

“Ms. Salana?”

“Yes. I’m listening.”

“Perhaps-“

Rishir pondered how to convey what he felt to Salana.

What he felt was that her skin disease was definitely a target for ‘normalization.’

An abnormal force reacting to the power of normalization was worsening the condition of her skin.

Therefore, he expected that using the power of purification would completely heal her skin.

But what a surprise.

Salana’s skin disease remained the same.

To be precise, it was reverting to its original state, making the recovery meaningless.

‘It’s like a barrel connected to a pipe…’

Even if the dirty contents of the barrel were emptied, it was immediately refilled through the connected pipe.

“Ugh…!”

As expected, Salana grimaced and pulled her face away from Lisir’s hand.

The wound that had healed split open, and sticky pus oozed out. The pus soaked Lisir’s hand.

For the first time, shame appeared on Salana’s face, which had never lost its cheerfulness.

“Sorry! It’s dirty, isn’t it!? I’ll clean it up right away-“

Salana hurriedly took out a handkerchief and wiped Lisir’s hand.

It was an extremely luxurious-looking handkerchief to be used for wiping mere pus.

It was a part that indirectly showed how much she usually cared for her skin.

“…”

Salana, with a face twisted in shame, wiped Lisir’s palm.

Lisir watched her and swallowed a sigh.

He had thought of giving a light help, but it seemed it wasn’t such a simple problem.

Lisir’s gaze turned to the alley outside where they were.

He was worried about Fien, who would be waiting in front of the inn.

“What’s wrong? Do you have any other urgent business?”

At that moment, Salana’s voice completely captured Lisir’s attention.

In the brief moment he had looked away, Salana’s demeanor had changed.

Her cheerful expression remained, but the light had disappeared from her dark red eyes.

The desperation of possibly losing the hope she had finally grasped broke the assassin’s composure.

Salana, a mix of a cheerful adventurer and the master of an assassin guild, quietly stared at Lisir.

Then she looked at the hands they held together to wipe the pus.

Lisir wouldn’t have noticed, but he was now infected with Salana’s mild poison.

Of course, it wasn’t a poison meant for killing.

How could she use such a dreadful thing on someone who might become her benefactor?

“If you have any urgent business more pressing than treating me, please tell me.”

It was just a light poison that temporarily took away physical freedom.

It had enough power to make one reconsider the thought of leaving.

“…I do have a prior engagement with my companions.”

“Is that so?”

Salana gave a sly smile.

Everyone knew it, but assassins were not the type to engage in ordinary conversations.

They were well aware of the futility of dialogue.

They knew two more efficient methods.

Coercion. And intimidation.

If it were the usual Salana, she would have tried to engage Lysir in a cheerful conversation as an adventurer, but – the current her did not have the composure to maintain that level of calm.

The assassin, anxious that Lysir might leave, immediately ended the conversation.

Now, it’s time for coercion.

“Then there’s no choice.”

Salana activated the poison.

Lysir responded immediately.

“So, can I stop by my companions for a moment?”

“?”

He continued to speak, looking into Salana’s eyes without any hesitation.

“I didn’t intend to go this far, but I’ve changed my mind. This is my first time doing something like this – I feel like I need to see it through to the end. Can I ask for your cooperation?”

“…Oh! Co-cooperation! Of course. Of course, I should.”

Salana was flustered.

She was flustered because the poison had no effect, and she was flustered because Lysir’s words were unexpected.

The master of the assassin guild, the Black Hand.

The Black Snake.

It was the first time she showed her flustered side to someone else.

*

“You couldn’t heal it either? Well, it’s a matter that takes precedence over my promise. I’ll let it slide this time.”

Pien, despite being annoyed by the broken dinner promise, readily accepted Lysir’s explanation.

“I also have a place to stop by for a moment, can you come with me?”

“A place to stop by?”

“Yes. Actually, I had a prior appointment too. I was planning to consult an expert about this damned skin.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Because of me-“

“Sorry~? No need.”

Salana suddenly hugged Lysir’s shoulder.

“Just as Lysir prioritized me over his girlfriend, Lysir is my priority now. To be honest, getting help from Lysir would be much more helpful than consulting those two people. But the reason I’m going to see them is – just in case.”

“By any chance?”

“By any chance, I thought their opinions might be helpful to Lisir.”

“Ah. Certainly. I think the same. I wanted to ask several things about Salana’s illness.”

As they walked down the street, the shapes of the surrounding buildings and the attire of the passersby dramatically changed.

They had left the commercial district where the inn was located and entered the magic district.

“By the way, you mentioned experts earlier. Who are they?”

“One is a fairly famous scholar in this city. An elite mage of the Kaig Tower.”

“Oh…”

Lisir’s eyes sparkled.

‘If he’s an elite mage of the tower, even high-ranking nobles would find it hard to get an appointment, right?’

The connections mobilized by a top adventurer were extraordinary.

Lisir recalled the side income from this job, which he had momentarily forgotten, and felt satisfied.

A top adventurer.

For the first connection made after entering the city, it was indeed luxurious.

“And the other one is—it’s a bit embarrassing to say, but a shaman.”

“A shaman?”

“Believe it or not, he’s the only one who has provided any real help for this skin disease. I once received help from him, and it worked, so I regularly meet him for treatments.”

“By treatments, you mean—”

“Performing rituals and drinking potions. It might sound silly, but it actually helps quite a bit.”

“Rituals… potions…”

Lisir repeated those two words while staring at Salana’s diseased skin.

Eventually, they arrived in front of an underground laboratory located on the outskirts of the magic district.

“This is my lab. I prepared it for the shaman I just mentioned.”

As Salana had said, two guests were already seated in the lab.

‘Dreadlocks? How hip?’

Lisir was inwardly impressed.

An old man with long braided gray beard and hair, and a young woman with red patterns painted on her face, were sitting opposite each other, engaged in a serious conversation.

“Huh? Ah, Salana, you’re here.”

The old man quickly greeted Salana.

“I was quite surprised. When I heard that an expert had helped with your terrible skin disease, I wondered what kind of person it was – I never imagined it would be a barbarian.”

“A barbarian? You weren’t rude to my benefactor, were you?”

“At first! I was. Unintentionally. It’s not common to have a conversation with a barbarian, is it? But now it’s fine. I’ve come to realize that her knowledge is far from barbaric. Magic! How mysterious, fascinating, and barbaric it is!”

The shaman then nodded to Salana.

“Salana, it’s been a while.”

“Ah. It’s been a while, Glia. Thank you for coming, Sir Meltas.”

“Ha ha. Making an old man move his heavy feet. You should be grateful. Yes, you should be grateful. But Salana – who is the young man next to you?”

Rishir stepped forward and spoke.

“My name is Rishir.”

“Oh. I see. Rishir. So.”

“Yes?”

“Which family are you from, Rishir?”

“Ah. I cannot reveal that. I am an illegitimate child of the family.”

“Hmm.”

Meltas nodded his head.

A subtle dissatisfaction appeared on his face.

“So. Illegitimate child Rishir. What brings you here?”

“Sir Meltas. Rishir has come here to help me.”

Salana spoke with a somewhat displeased expression.

Likewise, Meltas also showed a displeased expression.

An illegitimate child.

A mere third-rank novice, invited to this place on equal terms with himself.

“Then, I suppose my help is not needed.”

Without hesitation, Meltas stood up.

Then the shaman Glia also stood up and approached Salana with long strides.

Glia’s expression twisted as she looked closely at Salana’s face.

“Salana. What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your condition… has severely worsened.”

She took out a bottle containing a green potion from her bosom and handed it to Salana.

“First, drink this.”

Salana instinctively accepted the bottle.

Then, Rishir snatched the bottle away.

In an instant, the color of the reagent in the bottle changed.

“What are you-…!”

“You-“

“What have you two done here?”

The b*stard questioned them a beat faster than the old man and the sorcerer.