Chapter-9

Winter was nearing, and I could feel the chill as I stalked over the mountain. Before long, this region would be buried in snow. Once that happened, this mountain would be impossible to cross. We had to act soon to either stock some dry meat or store it salt-cured. Otherwise, dinners in the winter were sure to be depressing. To make my tenth winter enjoyable, I'd been searching for something to keep myself occupied, but all I'd managed to turn up were animals. "I can't believe I couldn't even find one person… If only my search had gone as smoothly as hunting." There was a limit to what I could do on my own, so lately I'd been searching for an assistant. The only requirement I had was that they needed to be a mage. The trouble was that very few people not of noble birth or some offshoot lineage possessed mana, and convincing someone of high birth to be my assistant was difficult. For that reason, I'd been searching for a commoner with mana, something that occurred only at a ratio of about one in ten thousand. It was possible for a person to be a mage but live without being aware of it because they didn't know how to use their mana. While difficult, finding that kind of person should have been possible by way of my Tuatha Dé eyes. Unfortunately, I hadn't found a single mage, even after searching every nook and cranny of this region. "… Maybe I should search other domains," I muttered. The sooner I could find an assistant, the better. My assistant's necessary education would likely take two years, and then they'd need another year of combat experience, meaning it would require three years to acquire a full-fledged aide. Snow began to fall. I knew it had been cold, but I hadn't expected snowfall this soon. "Maybe I'll go see Dia tomorrow." Not even I was capable of crossing two mountains and over three hundred kilometers on foot once the snow had piled up. I'd been going to see Dia around once a month, but that wasn't going to be doable in the winter. I wanted to see her at least one more time before the weather made that impossible. Suddenly sensing a presence, I drew my bow, then quickly realized it hadn't been a beast I'd detected but a human. To avoid other people, I'd chosen a dangerous part of the mountain known to be the home of bears and wolves. Wondering who in the world could've been traveling in such a dangerous area, I got a closer look. It was a young girl, about the same age as I was. Despite the cold weather, she was wrapped only in a thin layer of ragged cloth, and she was barefoot. Her shivers were obvious, and she was clutching her arms to her bony body as hard as she could. The girl looked deathly fragile, and her skin and golden hair were thin and ragged. It seemed likely that she was suffering from malnutrition, but right now that was the least of her concerns. Death by starvation seemed right around the corner. I imagined she would've been quite pretty had she been healthier, though it was difficult to tell for sure. How did she get this far up the mountain all by herself and without any equipment? It's a miracle she's still alive. What was more surprising was the mana emanating from the girl's body. I thought I'd checked every single person in the Tuatha Dé domain, but it turned out the mage I was looking for had been right here. Judging from a few factors, it seemed like she didn't know how to use mana, and as a result, it was secluded deep within her body. She herself hadn't even noticed the gift she possessed, which effectively made her no different from a normal person. "U-u-um, I—I haven't done anything wrong, so please don't hurt me," she stammered. "… Who are you? What are you doing so deep in this forest?" I asked. "M-my village is very poor, and I was forced to leave so there would be fewer mouths to feed. If I try to return, I'll just get driven out again… I remembered hearing a traveler say that the Tuatha Dé domain across the mountain is well-off, so I thought maybe if I made it there, then…" In the middle of her explanation, her stomach growled, and she staggered. I caught her before she fell to the ground and helped her stand. She smelled terrible and was impossibly light. "I want to hear your story, but first, please eat. You look like you're going to collapse." I smiled and produced a sandwich I'd prepared for my lunch. The girl's eyes widened. Having lived in a village so impoverished, she was driven out for the sake of others' survival. Receiving food from another person probably seemed like an unthinkable act of kindness. While she was standing there at a loss for how to respond, I poured warm soup in a cup, filled it with the contents of the sandwich, and broke up the bread on top to make bread porridge. The girl's stomach was undoubtedly weak from not having eaten in a while. Preparing the food for her this way would make it easier on her stomach. Eagerly, the girl grabbed the cup and held it tightly to her chest as if to prevent me from stealing it back. I let go of her, and she sat down on the ground and began eating the porridge. There'd been rumors that the lord of the neighboring domain was incompetent, greedy, and heavily taxed his citizens, but I had no idea that the situation was this bad. After she finished eating, the girl made a happy, content expression. Her face flushed when she noticed I was looking at her. Now that her belly was swollen full of food, it seemed she had the energy to be selfconscious. "So you say you were heading to the Tuatha Dé domain. I happen to be the son of the head of House Tuatha Dé." "… Th-that's amazing. This means the fated encounter the goddess told me about in my dream turned out to be true," the girl replied. Had she really just said "goddess"? Was this overly convenient encounter the goddess's doing? The idea that such a thing could've been true irritated me, but I wasn't about to overlook such an opportunity. "If it's okay with you, how would you like to become my retainer? I have need of your strength," I said. Aside from the fact that she was a mage, I'd been evaluating her other potential uses. Her decision-making after being thrown out of her village appeared quite good. She'd reasoned that returning to her home was a waste of time and energy, so instead she'd searched for a chance at prolonging her life. Being able to decide on the proper course of action in a crisis situation was an essential quality for an assassin. It wasn't something you could learn later in life. The girl looked up at me, and tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "What's wrong?" I asked. "I'm so happy. No one has ever told me that they needed me before. I've always been told that I'm worthless, that I'm nothing more than a hindrance. I was even abandoned by my home…but you say you need me…" All of her pent-up emotions burst forth, and she began to weep uncontrollably. I hugged her tight. "I-I'm filthy," she said. "Yes, you are. But once we get you cleaned up, you'll shine like new." "I-I'll do my best. I really, really will…" "That's great. I need someone like you, so I hope you'll work hard for me." The girl may have been disheveled, but to me, she was a diamond in the rough, yet to realize her potential. She was a great find, and I would have to be sure to raise her carefully to mold her into the assistant worthy of an assassin like myself. I awoke to somebody shaking me. "Lord Lugh, please wake up!" The hands gripping me were soft and warm. When I opened my eyes, I saw a young girl with vibrant golden hair. She was twelve years old and wearing the clothes of a servant. Officially, she was my personal retainer. The girl carried a charming presence about her that attracted the eyes of many visitors. Especially male ones. "Lord Lugh, i-if you don't get up, I'll play a prank on you," she said in a quiet voice while shaking me. Well, that makes me want to get up less , I thought. "Morning, Tarte," I said. "Good morning, my lord. It's unusual for you to sleep late." "I pushed myself a little too hard yesterday." I hardly ever needed rest because of Rapid Recovery, but yesterday I'd gotten a little ambitious and tried something even my skills couldn't keep up with. "Breakfast is ready. It's one of my best dishes yet!" "I'm looking forward to it. Let's go." "Yes, my lord!" Together, the two of us walked to the dining room. "Tarte, I had a dream last night of when we met two years ago." "… Th-that's so embarrassing. I was only skin and bones back then. Plus, I was really unhealthy." "When I picked you up on that mountain, I never would've thought you'd become this beautiful." "…! I'm gonna run ahead and put some fruit in your yogurt, my lord!" Over the last two years, that skinny little girl had gained a healthy physique and become quite lovely. She'd thankfully put some real meat back on her bones and was admittedly quite physically developed for her age. As I sat down, Tarte served my breakfast and then stationed herself behind me. "You don't need to act as my retainer all the time. It's really just an excuse to have you at my side," I reminded her as I ate. The breakfast Tarte had prepared consisted of bacon and eggs, with yogurt on the side. It was a favorite dish of mine, made up entirely of ingredients from the Tuatha Dé domain. "No, that will not do. I am your retainer! I do my best every day so that you can live a comfortable life!" I'd designated Tarte as my retainer only because I needed her to be at my side at all times to support my work as an assassin. Her acting as a proper attendant was the best way to avoid others getting suspicious. Despite the fact that I didn't really expect it of her, Tarte had been giving both her jobs her utmost effort. "Tarte, you've been doing an amazing job." She wasn't particularly gifted in any one area, nor did she possess strong intuition. What she lacked in such areas, however, she made up for with hard, honest work. It was this aspect of her personality that allowed me to place my undying faith in her. "I would've died if you hadn't found me in that forest, my lord…and you said that you needed me. My life is yours, now and forever." The words were more than mere flattery. Tarte was speaking from the heart. I stood up and lightly patted her golden hair. She took the opportunity to lean into me. "It makes me happy to hear you say that. I do need you, Tarte." She seemed to light up whenever I said that I need her, and it helped motivate her to push through even the most difficult training. In just two years, Tarte had grown a lot as an assassin, and she'd put in no small amount of effort to become a fitting retainer for a noble. When I'd first explained to Father that I was taking her in and raising her as my assistant, he'd made me promise two things. The first was that I had to take full responsibility for Tarte's upbringing. My father was not going to involve himself in her education. The second was that because I was going to have to share top secret Tuatha Dé knowledge with Tarte, I'd have to be the one to kill her if she ever went rogue. It was likely that the first condition had been set knowing that I'd deepen my own knowledge through Tarte's education. Agreeing to the second condition wasn't much of a problem, either. It was dangerous to share family secrets with an outsider, after all. It hardly mattered anyway, because I had full confidence in Tarte's loyalty. She was devoted to me because of the circumstances of our meeting. Additionally, I'd been using some techniques from my previous life over the last two years to help ensure her allegiance. Tarte worshipped and depended on me. "Lord Tuatha Dé asked for you to meet him in the study once you finish eating. He has an important matter to discuss with you," Tarte said. "Got it. Let's go." I could think of only one thing such a request could entail.