The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Bright red lanterns occupied the alleyways of the nighttime streets.

Laughter from women and the smell of alcohol spread from every corner.

Under a tree adorned with a red lantern, two men smoked cigarettes, discussing what had happened just a moment ago in the Lambusta Cage.

“I swear, it’s the first time I’ve seen such a thing. That ecstatic smile on Delkia’s face. It gave me chills just watching.”

“Who would think? She was furious before we left, swearing she’d make them regret not doing their duty as men. But earlier, she seemed like a completely different person!”

It’s natural for people to be taken aback when someone shows an uncharacteristic side of themselves.

Today, they witnessed such a side of Delkia.

“I heard that now, from Delkia’s room, laughter and screams can be heard alternately. There seems to be no sign of her coming out.”

“Huh, looks like she’s really taken a liking to that kid. Soon, there might be one more frame in Delkia’s room.”

As if anticipating something bad, the two men shook their heads in unison.

“But, will it be okay? I heard that this boy named Cyon had taken out Zelbird, his first opponent in the cage, in one go. His eyes didn’t seem like those of just any kid.”

“You know how Delkia is, once he sets his eyes on someone, he doesn’t care about the consequences. He’ll probably do whatever it takes to have him.”

“Yeah, that’s going to make things really tiring for us…”

The shoulders of the two men drooped.

“But do you remember the boy’s face?”

“Huh? Sure, he had black hair, and his eyes were very sharp… Huh? I can’t remember?”

It was just 2 hours since they had been at the cage.

Despite it being a time when memories should be vivid, the face of the boy named Cyon eluded the minds of the two men.

And it wasn’t just them.

Delkia, who had paid the most attention to Cyon’s face, experienced the same.

“I can’t remember! I just can’t remember!”

Dozens of crumpled papers lay scattered around the room.

All of them had the shape of a person drawn in a mess.

“He was the best of all the children I’ve seen! A man like no other I’ve ever seen! Why can’t I remember him?”

No matter how much Delkia racked her brain and shook her head, she couldn’t recall Cyon’s face.

The more she tried to remember, the more the memory seemed to fade away.

“I must! By any means necessary, I must bring him here! The idea that his innocent and lovely face could age and change is unimaginable!”

A scream-like roar filled the room, causing the frames to start shaking.

-Thunk

Some fell weakly to the floor, but Delkia paid them no mind.

“Cyon! Cyon! Cyon!”

She just kept repeating the boy’s name with a crazed look in her eyes.

* * *

“So, Delkia caused a disturbance in the cage?”

On the other side of the light, in a shadow-cast space of darkness.

A woman with a neutral voice heard the report and snickered.

“What about that boy Cyon?”

“He said he needed some air and went out. I’ve already warned him about Delkia’s sexual preferences, so he probably won’t seek her out. He seemed to be wary of it, too.”

“Oh? Lisa, you even gave him advice? That’s unexpected.”

Upon hearing this, Lisa’s pupils shook slightly.

“I-I was just managing a VIP guest. There were absolutely no personal feelings. Anyway, that boy is an important figure who has come along after a long while…”

-Bang

While they were in the middle of their conversation, the large door behind them was violently opened.

The person who kicked the door open entered with a smirk.

“Gunther?!”

It was Gunther Rictus, the owner of the western waste yard.

“Wow, still using this old room? Isn’t it about time to move?”

“Gunther! Do you even know where you are!”

Lisa, startled, hastily tried to intervene, but the woman in the shadows raised her hand to stop her, then leaned her chin on her hand with an interested smile.

“You’ve grown a lot, Gunther? It feels like just yesterday you were cleaning up trash in the cage. Though, considering you never forgot the taste of that trash, it makes sense you’d still be hanging around such places…”

“Watch your mouth. Otherwise, you might really get torn apart. I’m having trouble controlling my emotions these days.”

Despite the veiled threat, the woman seemed unfazed.

“Anyway, state your price. I want to register as a fighter in your arena.”

Lisa flared up in response.

“Are you out of your mind? You, who were banned a long time ago, now suddenly want to join the arena? Why all of a sudden…”

“I want to fight that kid Cyon!”

Gunther declared confidently.

“It’s a win-win situation, isn’t it? Think about it! Me, of all people, returning to the arena? If people hear that me and that kid are fighting, wouldn’t they flock in droves? Then, who stands to gain? It’s you guys!”

While Lisa was at a loss for words, the woman chuckled pleasantly.

“Haha. That’s so like you, Gunther. You really want to fight our VIP guest that badly?”

“Just give me an answer, will you? Are you going to make it happen or not?”

To Gunther’s brazen question, the woman replied nonchalantly.

“Fine. I’ll arrange a match for you with this Cyon as you wish. But not right away. He’s just had his debut, after all. We need to build up more hype first.”

It would be foolish to set up a big match immediately after a successful debut.

Gradually accumulating victories to raise his status and then enticing more money from the audience was the rule here.

“See? When it comes to making money, you’re all in. Don’t make me wait too long! You know I’m not a patient man.”

Having finished his business, Gunther left without looking back.

“Are you really okay with this, Lady Rinze? Since Cyon is not our employee and came of his own free will, if he does not wish for the match, it cannot proceed.”

Cyon’s status was that of a guest.

If he chose not to participate in the match and decided to leave, the cage would have no grounds to hold him.

“That boy must have something he wants, which is why he set foot here. For now, Lisa, try to understand his intentions. If there are conditions, you may decide and proceed with them on your own.”

“Me, you mean?”

“Can’t you do it?”

“No, no! I’ll make sure to arrange the match between that boy and Gunther!”

After completing her report, Lisa left the room promptly.

The woman left alone smiled mysteriously and then vanished after a short while.

* * *

I have only one reason for participating as a fighter in the cage.

It’s to find Rinze Nihalov, the owner of this facility and my assassination target.

What I need to do for that is simple.

Just to defeat every fighter in the cage.

Due to the nature of the arena, if one fighter continues to win overwhelmingly, bets from the audience will naturally concentrate on them.

Then, they’ll have no choice but to seek me out.

I don’t plan to let this take a long time.

This city doesn’t seem to suit me well.

-Whirr

As always, the streets at night are meant to be quiet.

Just in case, I’ve completely avoided the west side, known for its nightlife alleys.

That woman Delkia, I thought she wasn’t normal, but I never knew she had such unspeakable tastes.

Unless my target is in that direction, I doubt I’ll have any reason to go there.

-Thud

Something bumped into me as I turned the corner.

“I’m- I’m so sorry!”

Unlike during the day, this time I received an immediate apology.

But accepting the apology made me feel a bit guilty.

I offered my hand to the fallen person and asked.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

It was a young boy, probably around eight years old.

“Yes, th-thank you.”

He was holding a basket as big as himself.

He seemed hesitant, as if he had something to say to me.

“Um, if you need it, would you like to buy this?”

When he removed the cloth from the basket, its contents were revealed.

It was filled with cigarettes, not just one or two, but enough to fill the entire basket.

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the absurdity.

“Sorry, I don’t smoke.”

Not in my past life, either.

“Ah, I see. My apologies!”

The boy bowed his head and hurriedly tried to leave.

“Where did you get those cigarettes?”

“From the Grey Merchant Guild!”

“The Grey Merchant Guild?”

This was the first time I’d heard of such a group.

For now, putting the details aside, a place that makes a young kid sell cigarettes, huh?

Given what I’ve seen of this city, it seemed all too possible.

“Do you have to sell all of those before you can go back?”

“Yes! I have to sell everything before sunrise. If not…”

The boy couldn’t finish his sentence.

From his trembling hands holding the basket, I could guess the rest.

“Do you have a place to sell all those? Where are you planning to sell so many?”

“That’s why I was heading towards the west nightlife alley. If I’m lucky, I can sell everything by wandering around all night. Then I can go back.”

If he’s lucky, he can go back.

But the place he’s going back to doesn’t sound like a good place at all.

There must be more kids like him wandering around.

I knew this city was dirty, but it’s… more stagnant than I thought.

-Sigh

I sighed and pulled out a gold coin from my pocket.

“Take this.”

“Huh?”

His puzzled face was pitiful to look at.

“If it’s a gold coin, I don’t have change to give you…”

“No need. Just take this and give me all the cigarettes. I’ll buy them all.”

To put it bluntly, he was an unbelievably easy mark.

“Ah, and one more thing.”

I didn’t stop there but took out another gold coin and put it in the boy’s pocket this time.

“Why this…?”

“It won’t hurt to have it, right? Use this however you want.”

Tears started to form in the boy’s eyes.

“Th-thank you! Thank you so much!”

He was surely trying to say thank you, but his hands were rubbing together as if he was pleading not to be hit.

[I guess it’s not too late? Maybe I should just switch to philanthropy.]

I couldn’t say no to that.

Even back with Luna, I feel like I’m becoming softer.

Doing such an uncharacteristic good deed doesn’t feel entirely pleasant.

I stayed in that spot for a while after sending the boy off.

[Why have you turned into a statue again?]

“Just, it would feel odd to leave it at that.”

I had a feeling, something about it.

In other words, if I don’t leave this place, it seems like I might get entangled in some trouble…

“Aaaaah!”

A child’s scream echoed faintly.

At that moment, I felt my premonition was right on target.

I hurriedly turned around and headed towards the source of the sound.

“Hey! Didn’t I tell you if I caught you selling cigarettes in this area again, I’d kill you? Do my words sound like a joke to you?”

“I was just about to go back after selling them all…”

The boy showed his empty basket with trembling hands.

“Oh? What? You really sold them all? Did this brat hide them somewhere?”

Three adult men and the little kid I just saw.

Just by standing there, the situation was clear.

“Hey! There’s gold in his pocket!”

“No, don’t! That’s…”

The boy tried to protect it but received an indifferent kick.

“You little shit! Where did you steal this? A brat like you shouldn’t have this, not one but two coins.”

Eventually, they searched his pockets and found the other gold coin.

“That was given to me by someone… Ugh.”

After being kicked in the stomach, the boy couldn’t even breathe properly.

“Stop lying! You must have stolen it!”

“Man, we hit the jackpot today! With this, we can have a blast in the entertainment district tonight!”

“Today’s our lucky day! Ki-haha!”

I approached them silently.

“Huh? What’s this kid… Aaaah!”

I grabbed the hand that picked up the gold coin and twisted it around.

-Crack!

The sound of twisting and screaming created a bizarre harmony.

This guy would have to eat with his other hand starting tomorrow.

“What, what the hell is this guy?”

An inept punch came from behind, and I grabbed the assailant’s wrist and threw him forward.

It was the same guy who had kicked the boy mercilessly.

I grabbed one of his ankles and without hesitation, twisted it.

“Aaaaah!”

This guy probably won’t be walking normally starting tomorrow.

That a young child could be robbed and mistreated without anyone to help was the harsh reality.

I picked up the dropped gold coins and handed them back to the boy.

“Uh…”

Just like before, the boy looked confused.

-Clap clap clap

Suddenly, the sound of clapping came from behind, oddly affecting the mood.

I cautiously turned around to find a bear-like large man applauding me.

“What’s this about? It’s too much of a coincidence, don’t you think? Meeting like this in such a place?”

From the tone of his voice, it seemed he knew me.

Of course, I didn’t know him.

But judging by the atmosphere, he didn’t seem like just any thug.

“You’re Cyon, right? The new guy who just joined.”

(To be continued)