There’s Something Special About Her – Chapter 13

Author: Asternkm

“Ah, the underground prison.”

Well, I guess that’s the only place a failed assassin would be taken.

I glanced at Senior Jake, who nodded and snorted excitedly as if he were thrilled with his own deduction.

He does have quite a wide network, and he knows a lot, too.

Just then, Senior Jake’s hand, about the size of a pot lid, smacked my back once again.

“Ow! Why did you hit me?!”

“So, Rookie, did you see anything or not?!”

“I’m not a beast! Use your words, your words!”

“How dare you talk back to your senior like that!”

“You’re only my senior when it’s convenient!”

When I snapped back at him, Senior Jake clenched his fist.

‘That’s a knuckle tap!’

I had been hit by one once before without knowing what was coming, and it hurt on a completely different level from getting smacked on the back with his palm.

I quickly raised both arms into a defensive stance and shouted.

“Fine! It’s true that an assassin came in!”

“Really? What kind of crazy bastard would do something like that?”

“I don’t know. Whatever drug he took, he wasn’t in his right mind. His eyes were bloodshot, and later he even charged at me foaming at the mouth.”

“Good grief, the world really is going to hell.”

Senior Jake clicked his tongue and grumbled like an old man before suddenly turning to me.

“But how do you know all that in such detail? Did you actually see him?!”

“Of course I did. Right in front of me.”

“Good heavens! Our lucky charm! Then is that rumor true too? I heard some young guy, not even one of the Royal Guard, took that assassin down in a single blow!”

I nodded as I backed away from Senior Jake, who was excitedly sticking his face right in front of mine.

“Yeah, I saw it.”

“Who was it, then?! The little hero of the office!”

What kind of cheesy nickname is that?

I frowned for a moment before answering.

“It was me.”

“What…?”

“I said it was me. I didn’t take the assassin down in one blow… but I did knock him over from behind. I ended up in the infirmary afterward, though.”

I deliberately left out the fact that the assassin had used Varga poison and had been wearing Wickers’ assassination boots.

There was nothing good that would come from people knowing.

“You—you? Rookie, you’re the little hero of the office?”

“Who came up with such a weird nickname?”

And why did they have to add ‘little’?

Runelk Eins wasn’t particularly well-built, but he wasn’t far from the average build, either.

It was just that everyone in Nox was ridiculously huge.

Among them, Senior Jake was especially bear-like, and his thick arm wrapped around my shoulders before he lifted me up like a sack tucked under his arm.

“Let’s go!”

“Why are you doing this?! Use your words! I said use your words!”

“Let’s go to the guard post and tell the whole story properly, from beginning to end!”

I kicked and struggled with both feet, but there was no way I could beat Senior Jake, who was as excited as a rhinoceros.

“I’m going! I’m going anyway!”

*****

A night when even the moon seemed to hide in the shadows.

The night-duty guard post, lit up with lamps, looked even more cramped with all the large field operatives packed inside.

“…So when I opened my eyes, I was in the infirmary.”

“Whew!”

“That’s our youngest!”

As soon as I finished speaking, the senior field operatives pounded the table and slapped their knees, roaring with hearty cheers.

Nox had very strict military discipline, so they couldn’t even touch a drop of alcohol while on duty, yet their faces were bright red.

“Hey, hey, can you see this? I’ve got goosebumps all over my arms!”

“Indeed! Every hair on my head is standing on end!”

Senior Wigen and Senior Hartmann, both of whom were senior even to Jake, waved their arms and necks around each other’s faces, making a huge fuss.

The other field operatives, who looked relaxed at first glance but followed a strict hierarchy, were just as excited, whether they were sitting comfortably in chairs or leaning against the window frame, listening to the heroic tale like children.

Meanwhile, I, the actual protagonist of the story, couldn’t hide my completely unimpressed expression.

‘This is already the third time. The third.’

Ever since Senior Jake had dragged me to the guard post for duty, I had already repeated the same story three times. My mouth was practically numb.

Whenever I tried to skip even a little because I was annoyed, they would yell, ‘You can’t skip the most important part!’ so there was no way to get through it quickly.

“Haa.”

I’d rather go through hellish training.

I can’t believe I have to put on a little show for people like this.

Even when I had fallen into a trap at Wickers, taken down ten assassins from a rival organization, and returned without a single injury, I hadn’t had to do anything like this.

‘Being the youngest really sucks.’

It wasn’t like this in my day.

Whenever some fresh-faced recruit who knew nothing joined, we would treat them like precious gold and silver and take good care of them.

‘Even if they got caught working as a spy, we’d send them home safely.’

A young face I had pulled out of my memories for the first time in a while was blurry.

All I could clearly remember was their small frame and their lips, which had gone pale and dry from tension.

‘What was their name again?’

Just then, Senior Jake quietly approached me and whispered.

“Rookie, let’s go outside.”

I suddenly came back to my senses and saw that everyone else was still busy chatting among themselves.

I had put up with it three times, but four was too much.

If they made me tell the whole story again, from when I first met the Green Merchant Guild Master to when I woke up in the infirmary, I might forget that he was my senior and shave off every hair on his chin.

“Hey! Where are you two going?!”

But Senior Hartmann, who was quick to notice things, spotted us just as we grabbed the guard post door handle and shouted.

“Senior Graf said he was coming to see the little hero in a bit!”

That bastard, seriously!

Fortunately, I didn’t end up committing an act of insubordination.

Senior Jake stepped in and smoothly covered for us.

“Ah, come on. We still have to at least pretend we’re working, don’t we? Rookie and I will be standing right outside, so call us when Senior Graf gets here!”

Then he tugged at my clothes, saying, “Let’s go, hurry.”

“…Call us.”

I bowed politely and quickly ran out of the guard post.

When I stepped outside, the other field operatives sitting around the campfire grinned at me.

“You’re having a rough time, Rookie.”

“Everyone’s excited because you did what even the Royal Guard couldn’t, so just put up with it a little longer.”

“…Yes.”

Still, breathing in the refreshing night air made me feel a little better, so I answered with a sulky expression.

Then I picked up a branch, poked at the fire absentmindedly, and asked,

“But are we going to be okay?”

“Huh? Us?”

“We let the Green Merchant Guild Master through, after all. I’m just worried that we might get blamed for it.”

“Ah, that? I thought you were talking about something serious. We’re fine. If we were going to be punished for it, we would have been yelled at already. The fact that no one has said anything means they’re just going to let it slide. I mean, what could we do about a guest personally invited by Lord Deacon Gold?”

Senior Jake waved his hand as he answered, and the others around us smiled and looked at me fondly.

“They’re acting like that because they know they’re fine.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

“Rookie, you’re secretly pretty scared, aren’t you?”

The seniors’ eyes sparkled at the same time.

They had found a weakness they could tease me about.

But I asked with a serious expression, just to make my point.

“You seniors have never seen the Duke up close, have you?”

“Would we have?”

“Then what about Sir Dupont Clancher?”

“Uh, I once had to run an errand to the main building and happened to pass him in the hallway.”

A senior with short-cropped hair answered awkwardly.