"Boss. You would make a fine assassin."
Fei spoke up suddenly just as I finished cleaning up the aftermath with the help of my slimes.
"A fine assassin? How so?"
"You possess many of the skills required for the trade. Strength is all well and good, but being strong alone is not enough."
I suppose in that line of work, specialized skills are more vital than raw power.
"Back when the shop was still facing harassment, you kept medicines of your own making on the shelves. You have a deep knowledge of both poisons and medicine, yes? That is essential for an assassin. Just now, you used your slimes to dispose of the evidence. Managing the scene after the kill—cleaning the corpses and the blood from your clothes and weapons—is just as important as the act itself. Furthermore, your footwork before the engagement and your ability to stay hidden were both excellent."
He paused for a moment, as if realizing he had phrased something poorly.
"Forgive me. I did not mean merely that you are suited for it; I meant to say you have the potential to become a truly great assassin."
"Ah... I see."
It seemed he was simply trying to pay me a compliment.
"Your command of the language has improved quite a bit, though you still have the occasional slip-up," I noted.
"Learning a foreign tongue is a struggle, certainly."
I could empathize. Back in my previous life, I’d had a difficult time dealing with the language barrier when I was forced to handle transactions with overseas companies. I particularly remembered how agonizing it was to try and manage small talk that had nothing to do with business.
That reminded me of something.
"The magic you used in the fight earlier—it was from the Jilmar Empire, wasn't it?"
"You mean Ien? It is a poison-attribute spell. The name translates to 'smoke.'"
Just as I thought, it was essentially the same spell as the Smoke magic used in this country, just with a different name. As we spoke further, Fei explained that he could use a small amount of poison and wind magic. His signature tactic involved creating a smoke screen to mask his presence, then eliminating his blinded enemies from within the haze.
I recalled what I’d seen while cleaning up the bodies. The four bandits killed inside the smoke had each been struck in a vital spot through the gaps in their armor from behind. The first four had been neutralized from the shadows with throws of poison needles that had been treated to remove their metallic glint. All eight had been killed with a single, decisive strike.
It felt a bit insensitive to think it, but he had neutralized the threat with such clinical efficiency that he reminded me of a protagonist from a stealth game.
"I made some noise earlier to draw their attention, but as a rule, I prefer not to use incantations with my magic."
"Chantless casting, then?"
The art of weaving magic in silence... I’d been practicing it whenever I found a free moment, but my success rate remained low and the power behind the spells dropped significantly. It wasn't anywhere near ready for practical use. I wondered if he could give me any pointers.
"Oh, but we shouldn't spend all day standing around out here."
My old home was right in front of us; there was no reason to linger outside. I used earth magic to shift the cliff face and opened the entrance to the place where I had lived for so long.
"Hoh... so this was your home, Boss?"
I led a seemingly impressed Fei inside.
"It’s good to be back... though it’s gotten quite dusty."
They say a house deteriorates quickly once people stop living in it. Since I had sealed the entrance, the structure itself was fine, but a layer of dust had settled over everything during my absence. Spiders had also found their way inside, weaving webs across the ceiling.
Still, cleaning wouldn't take long with the slimes helping out. I quickly tidied one room to serve as our base for the night.
"That should do it."
I looked down at the floor. The Sticky, Poison, Acid, Heal, Scavenger, and Cleaner slimes were all there. I wondered if they remembered living here; they were already crawling around to their favorite old spots. After the violence of the road, the atmosphere felt exceptionally peaceful and relaxed.
I had brought plenty of food, and the slimes had already eaten their fill for the day. It was time for us to unwind. I prepared some drinks and light snacks before revisiting the topic of chantless casting.
"If you wish to master chantless casting, the most important thing is to repeatedly use the same spell until it becomes second nature. In my case, I focused first on stealth and weaponry, then on poisons and medicine. I practiced my magic alongside those skills as I gained experience, and eventually, I found I could do it without words. Until that point, I rarely used magic for assassinations. Tools and toxins were the priority. Magic is not my primary specialty, so I fear I cannot offer much more advice than that."
I see. What about the poisons and medicines, then? I was curious about where he obtained the toxins for his needles or the truth serum he’d used during that incident with the delinquents at the shop.
"I generally blend my own concoctions. Since you give me wages and time off, I use that to buy materials in the city or gather them in the wild. Because of my former profession, I had to travel through many different lands, which gave me a broad knowledge of medicinal plants. Most of the ingredients can be found even in this kingdom."
That made sense. However, one point bothered me.
"Fei-san, if those materials are necessary for your duties, you can claim them as business expenses."
There was no need for my employees to pay out of their own pockets for shop security.
"It is not strictly 'necessary for work,'" Fei explained. "I make them primarily to ensure my skills do not grow dull."
It seemed he viewed it more as personal training or a hobby.
"Maintaining your edge as our bodyguard directly benefits the shop," I countered. "I believe the company should provide a subsidy for that. If you and Li Ling don't mind others knowing you have that expertise, I’d like to discuss it with Caulm once we return."
"That would be to our advantage. As for the source of our knowledge, perhaps it would be best to say we were trained as combat medics. In my home country, war was constant and medicine was prohibitively expensive. Commoners could not afford it, and the market was full of fakes. However, a medic would have access to genuine knowledge. It is a respectable trade that invites little suspicion."
"Understood."
It was clear he wanted to keep his past as an assassin under wraps. It was only natural, really. While "ninjas who don't hide" are common in Japanese fiction, real-life assassins were meant to belong to the shadows.
On that note, I wondered if he felt any regret about leaving his old life behind.
"Personally, I’d be delighted if you stayed with the shop indefinitely, but..."
"Regrets? I will not say there are none. I was an assassin for a very long time. I trained for it, and I took many lives. I cannot simply forget that. However, I have no desire to return to my country and take up that mantle again. We were given one final order, after all."
"Is that... something you’re allowed to talk about?"
"It is fine. The final order we received was officially to 'escort the people of the territory to safety.' However, the orders given to us were often encoded in the method of delivery or the phrasing itself; they were not always meant to be taken literally. This was one such case. The true meaning was: 'Do not die in vain. Escape and survive at your own discretion.' By then, the war was already lost. There was no point in ritual suicide. Our organization treated us well, and my master ordered us to live until the very end. The head of House Wyn was a good man."
And so, he and Li Ling had fled the empire, helping as many people as they could along the way.
"And that eventually led you to the Reefaul Kingdom."
"We managed to cross the border and eventually made our way to Gimul in search of work. That was when your Guild Master saw through us with a single look."
"Ah, Grisiela-san..."
"She eventually realized we were not spies and helped us find employment, but it was quite a shock at the time. I was fully prepared to spend the rest of my life as a fugitive."
That woman really was something else.
"So, to confirm—you have no plans to quit anytime soon?"
"I look forward to our continued partnership."
"As do I."
I also made sure to thank him for answering my prying questions so honestly.
"It’s about time for dinner. On that note, I have some things in my Item Box... if you’re so inclined, would you care for a drink?"
"That sounds like a fine idea."
Encouraged by our heart-to-heart, I invited him to share some alcohol, and he readily accepted. Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d ever sat down for a drink with one of my employees. If everyone’s schedule allows for it, maybe I should host a proper year-end party once the season is over.