Part 7: The Master (2)

After Lucy left…

Aiden began a new life as a tavern worker.

His skills were exceptional.

Having been the continent’s most formidable assassin, his serving movements were swift and precise.

His observational skills were also unparalleled.

Aiden could deduce nearly everything about a patron based on their appearance, speech patterns, actions, and habits—profession, general personality, relationships, and so on.

He applied this insight to his work.

Aiden’s memory was another vital asset. Everything he observed became etched into his mind.

As a result, he tailored his approach to each patron.

He clearly distinguished between drinkers and diners, often anticipating their needs before they voiced them.

For instance, handing over a wet towel, or serving their usual drink before they ordered.

Compared to the challenges of assassination, tavern work was like eating a bowl of cold soup.

But when it came to job satisfaction…

This was far superior.

As an assassin, he was always met with hatred and contempt. As a server, everyone treated him warmly and amiably.

No one regarded Aiden as a monster anymore.

This led him to ponder…

‘Maybe I was treated like a monster because I acted like one. Perhaps being seen as a monster made me begin seeing myself that way.’

Eavesdropping on the conversations of ordinary people became one of his small pleasures.

Life, it turned out, was surprisingly similar for everyone.

Family troubles, financial problems, job challenges, relationship issues…

Although people were different, their struggles were oddly alike, repeating in patterns.

It was fascinating, as if all humans were caught in an inescapable cycle.

The tavern thrived, but…

Carl and Lyra’s expressions occasionally turned complicated. At times, they appeared lost in thought, sighing deeply.

It must have been because Lucy had left for the academy.

Aiden, too, felt the same.

After Lucy left…

It felt as though a hole had been punched through his chest. The aftermath of saying goodbye to his first-ever friend lingered.

A change he never could’ve imagined before.

When he left the Thieves Guild…

He harbored no attachments to anyone.

One afternoon…

“Hey, Aiden.”

A woman approached the counter.

It was Sylvia, a regular at the tavern, in her early twenties.

Sylvia couldn’t meet Aiden’s gaze.

Her face flushed as her lips trembled. Her cheeks had turned a deep pink.

“P-please accept my feelings,” she stammered, handing him a letter with difficulty.

“I’m not looking to date anyone. I can’t accept the letter.”

“Still, p-please take it.”

“If a letter could change my feelings, I would’ve accepted your confession already. The letter doesn’t mean anything.”

“Ah…”

Sylvia blinked in shock.

And then—

She fled the tavern as if running for her life.

“Every time I see this, I can’t help but feel you’re too cold,” Carl said, watching the confession unfold.

Since Aiden started working at the tavern, the number of female customers had surged.

After exchanging a few words with Aiden, they inevitably confessed their feelings.

And, without exception, Aiden turned them down.

“Isn’t leaving a glimmer of hope even crueler? Cutting things off clearly is better for both sides.”

“You could just stay friends, couldn’t you?”

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

“Why not? You got along fine with Lucy.”

“Lucy never had feelings for me from the start. The tavern customers are different,” Aiden replied calmly.

“Let’s be honest, shall we?”

“Huh? About what?”

“You’re worried the regulars will stop coming if I keep rejecting them.”

“……”

Carl gave a bitter smile, unable to deny it.

Aiden had already turned down over twenty regulars. If they had continued coming, the tavern’s profits would’ve been substantial.

“Heh… Even a god couldn’t deceive you, huh?”

“……”

“But tell me, have you ever been in a relationship?”

“No, never,” Aiden answered confidently.

There was no rule against assassins dating. Many assassins had lovers.

But Aiden had no desire to be tied down to anyone.

“Now that you’re retired, haven’t you thought about trying it? Love changes people faster and more profoundly than anything else.”

“Not interested.”

“Wow, you’re firm. Why do you dislike it so much? At your age, you should be crazy about love.”

“I just don’t think about it.”

“What about an ideal type? Have you thought about that?”

“No.”

“Hmm… I guess ‘the current you’ might find love overwhelming. Filling your heart with someone else takes courage.”

“Are you saying I lack courage?”

Aiden’s lips curled into a faint smirk.

When it came to courage, no one could surpass Aiden.

Without courage, Aiden wouldn’t have become the continent’s greatest assassin.

Facing tyrants, demons, gods, and archmages—if he’d feared them, he’d have long been dead.

“Courage comes in many forms. I think you’re missing the kind needed for love.”

Carl’s answer was cryptic.

In matters of daily life, Carl was Aiden’s mentor.

“How did you meet Lyra?” Aiden shifted the topic.

Talk of love seemed to naturally raise this question.

“I fell for her at first sight and chased after her relentlessly. You have no idea how beautiful and graceful she was back then.”

“And now?”

“……”

Carl gave a vague smile without answering.

He was using the evasive tone Aiden often employed.

“So, are you happy now?”

Aiden pressed on.

At that moment, Lyra approached the counter from the kitchen.

“Is that even a question? I’m the happiest man in the world! Hahaha!”

Carl laughed loudly, overplaying his response.

It was obvious he was trying to impress Lyra.

*  *  *

At the dessert shop, Sweet World…

Fei stared blankly out the window.

“What’s got you so lost in thought? Thinking about Aiden?”

A colleague teased her, nudging her side with an elbow.

“Yeah. I think it’s about time he came to the shop again.”

“Wait, don’t tell me—you’ve fallen for him too?”

“Seems like it.”

Fei sighed deeply.

She didn’t bother hiding her feelings for Aiden; it was too obvious anyway.

Whenever she had free time, Aiden’s image would flood her mind like waves.

She couldn’t shake him off.

His radiant looks.

That icy aloofness.

The faint melancholy in his expression.

Fei didn’t know Aiden well, but she felt she could love everything about him.

‘If this isn’t love, then what is it?’

“You’re not planning to confess, are you?”

“I think I have to. My chest feels so hot… I can’t sleep.”

“Don’t do it just to get hurt. Sylvia tried earlier and got rejected. She’s a mess right now.”

“Really? Sylvia?”

Sylvia was renowned as a beauty in the city. At her flower shop, people joked the real flower was Sylvia herself.

“Yeah. She didn’t even get to hand him her letter. He shut her down instantly. She’s crying her eyes out.”

“That’s… shocking.”

“Aiden doesn’t seem interested in dating. Maybe he just has a… different type.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“How do you know?”

“I asked him myself.”

“Wow, look at you! The quiet cat climbs the stove first, huh? Nice work, Fei.”

“My guess? He met a bad woman in the past and got hurt so badly that he completely shut himself off.”

“That… actually makes sense.”

“I’ve thought about it all day.”

Fei shrugged.

“Still, don’t confess if you know you’ll fail. It’ll only make things awkward.”

“Will it really?”

Fei fell into thought.

Would it be more painful to fail at confessing?

Or would it be more painful to suffer from the fever of unrequited love?

It was hard to measure the magnitude of the pain.

People were difficult.

Love was difficult.

*  *  *

That afternoon.

Aiden was in his second-floor lodging.

He was resting during a 30-minute break, standing by the window and looking down at the street.

A man and woman walking arm in arm.

Another couple holding hands tightly as they strolled.

For some reason, couples seemed to stand out more today.

Perhaps it was because of the conversation he’d had with Carl about relationships.

Aiden tried to picture himself as the man in those scenarios. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t.

Casually holding someone’s hand.

Whispering sweet words of love.

He couldn’t imagine himself doing those things.

No—it was excruciating to even try.

As his imagination dragged on, he felt a creeping discomfort, like insects crawling over his skin.

Aiden shook off the thoughts and leaned against the headboard of the bed.

To love.

To marry.

To have children.

These were all ordinary things.

If Aiden wished to live an ordinary life, it seemed he would have to follow that formula.

Yet, despite everything else, that was the one thing he didn’t think he could do.

“Courage comes in many forms. I think you’re missing the kind needed for love.”

Perhaps Carl’s observation was accurate.

Being unable to do something likely stemmed from lacking the courage to believe you could.

Could he really fall in love?

Could he truly love someone with all his heart?

Aiden asked himself.

The question echoed emptily within him, like a hollow reverberation.

*  *  *

‘Hah… What a headache.’

Carl frowned as he watched the men seated in the corner of the tavern.

Seven mercenaries had entered earlier.

They had been drinking heavily since midday, causing a ruckus. Their loud voices disrupted other patrons.

Whenever they made eye contact with someone:

“What’re you staring at? Want me to gouge out your eyes?”

“Don’t look away! I’ll snap your neck if you do.”

They picked fights like that.

The atmosphere in the tavern was as precarious as walking on thin ice.

Had the rude mercenaries been fewer in number, Carl would have personally handled them. But even that seemed too much to manage.

Of course, he could call for Aiden.

Aiden was a formidable assassin who had taken down Jack singlehandedly.

However…

Carl didn’t want to rely on Aiden too much.

Even if Aiden was strong, he was just a staff member, not the owner. This was a matter the owner should handle.

“Haaa…”

Carl took a deep breath and approached their table.

“How’s the food? To your liking?”

“No. It’s garbage. Ruined my appetite,” said the man with beady eyes, though his plate was completely empty.

Carl felt a vein pulse on his forehead but managed to hold it in.

“So why’re you here? We didn’t call for you,” the man added.

“Apologies, but could you lower your voices a bit? It seems the other customers are uncomfortable.”

“This guy’s funny. A tavern’s supposed to be loud! What is this, a library?”

“Even so, your behavior seems a bit excessive…”

“Hey! You lot—got a problem with us being noisy?”

The beady-eyed man scanned the tavern patrons as he asked.

Everyone avoided his gaze, their heads lowered.

No one dared to respond.

The mercenaries burst out laughing, their voices grating.

“See that? No one’s got a problem but you, buddy. You.”

Beady Eyes jabbed a finger into Carl’s chest.

“Running a crappy tavern and acting all high and mighty? Do you think our Cross Mercenary Corps is a joke?”

The Cross Mercenary Corps.

One of the three major mercenary groups in the Grand Duchy, led by the mercenary king, Vincent.

Of all the groups to offend, this was one of the worst possible.

Members of the Cross Mercenary Corps were notoriously aggressive.

A cross-shaped badge, their symbol, gleamed on Beady Eyes’ chest.

“Judging by your expression, you know who we are,” the man sneered.

“I… I apologize. I failed to recognize distinguished individuals. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“Hah, at least you’re quick to catch on. You know what that means for today’s tab, right?”

“Yes, I’ll cover the cost as a gesture of respect.”

“Keep that head on straight, yeah? Now, how about we give you a refreshing wash to help with that?”

Beady Eyes grinned maliciously, standing up.

He grabbed the beer bottle he’d been drinking from and prepared to pour it over Carl’s head.

It was the ultimate humiliation, but… Carl endured.

If it meant keeping the tavern intact, he would swallow his pride.

Just as Carl lowered his head to accept the beer—

“What the hell!”

Beady Eyes let out a shriek.

Carl looked up in confusion.

Aiden had appeared out of nowhere, standing protectively in front of him.

Aiden had snatched the beer bottle from Beady Eyes’ hand and was now pouring its contents over the man’s head instead.

Gurgle, gurgle.

A major incident was unfolding.

“You lunatic! Do you have any idea who we are? We’re from the Cross Mercenary Corps! Do you have a death wish?”

Despite the murderous intent emanating from Beady Eyes, Aiden remained unfazed.

“You’re not the Cross Mercenary Corps. You’re idiots.”
 

To be continued

Join the GS Discord to stay updated on the latest chapter releases:

https://discord.gg/PRZEAJZE3J