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129 The Pursuer
2
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Translator : PolterGlast
My investigation led
me to the mountaintop. As expected, the view is great from here. Everyone,
including the guards, is over Level 40, so we barely get out of breath even
after climbing a 2,000-meter-class mountain.
To the south is
Triange, to the east is Zawalifi, and to the north is Kazusa, the capital of
Count Lafond's territory. Kazusa is a town built along the Nagare River that
flows from the mountains. From here, it's clear that it's a prosperous land.
Since it was getting
late, we decided to camp near the summit. I warmed up some soup over a bonfire
and gave everyone some bread. With my item box, I can serve freshly cooked
food, but since we're camping, I wanted to preserve the atmosphere.
At night, Jojok and
the guards will take turns sleeping and keeping watch. I'm exempt. I said I'd
stand watch, too, but they refused me. They've become so overprotective lately.
In the middle of the
night, while everyone was taking turns sleeping, the pursuers who had been
watching us from a distance began to approach.
"Your
Excellency."
Jojok's voice woke me
up, and I stood up. I stretched and did some knee bends. Warm-up exercises are
important.
"Leave this to
us."
"No, leave it to
me."
"But..."
"I have an idea."
"...Understood."
I confirmed my main
job was Lightning-Fast Hero and my sub-job was Assassin.
I wrapped myself in a
robe and moved away from the bonfire to blend into the darkness.
—Skill: Stealth, activate.
The three pursuers
seemed to have noticed my presence vanish and became flustered.
Oh no, their presence
is moving away. Did they get cautious because my presence vanished? I won't let
them get away.
They are moving nimbly
through the trees, but they're too slow!
"Hah!"
"Ugh."
I hit the back of the
first pursuer's neck with a hand chop, knocking him unconscious without killing
him.
"You're too
slow!"
"Ugh."
I knocked out the
second one as well, making sure not to kill him.
A throwing stick came
flying, but it flew in the wrong direction.
He doesn't know where
I am, but he's probably throwing it as a diversion.
"You're the last
one."
"Gah!"
I knocked out the
third one, and it's three strikes, you're out.
The three I knocked
out were all in black suits. They even had masks on. They looked exactly like
the ninjas I had seen in movies and comics in my previous life.
"Take off their
masks."
The guards, commanded
by Jojok, took off the three's masks. Two of them were men, and one was a young
woman.
I was about to ask why
they were targeting me and who sent them, but I stopped myself.
My Detailed Appraisal
showed me that these three are real ninjas.
They would probably
commit suicide if they woke up. They're real ninjas who have undergone that
kind of training. I never thought there would be a ninja job in this world.
I changed my sub-job
to Gratitude Saint and released them from their contract. After that, I changed
my sub-job to Slave Merchant and made them my slaves.
I didn't want to make
them slaves, but they would probably all kill themselves if I didn't do this.
Suicide and resistance are forbidden.
"Alright, that's
done."
"Your Excellency.
What about these people?"
"They're
assassins who came to kill me. I thought they would commit suicide without
hesitation if they woke up, so I made them slaves."
Jojok seemed to be
convinced.
***
Thanks to making them
slaves, they answered my questions properly when they woke up. The client was
Count Parton. The request was my assassination. Detailed Appraisal also
confirmed the same thing.
"Count Parton was
not satisfied with just raising the price of wheat and went so far as to target
your life, my lord. Unforgivable!"
"He failed with
the wheat, so he got impatient."
More importantly, I've
got the job change conditions for the ninja job. With this, I can form a ninja
unit. This is incredibly important!
"Your Excellency.
What will you do with these people?"
"Huh? I'm going
to use them."
"They are people
who took a commission to kill you for money."
Jojok's eyes were
stern.
"They're my
slaves now."
"That's true,
but..."
I'll have these three
train ninjas. The job change conditions for a ninja are quite strict. These
three, who have actually become ninjas, are the perfect people to teach them.
"What about
retaliation?"
"Just leave it
be."
"But
that..."
"I'll have them
declared dead. So there's no evidence that Count Parton tried to kill me.
That's how it is."
"He might send
more assassins, then."
"That's exactly
what I want. It's a chance to capture more ninjas. Hehe. Thanks to these three,
I can form an intelligence unit. The more ninjas he sends, the stronger my
intelligence unit becomes. Isn't that great?"
The more ninjas he
sends, the more my intelligence unit will be strengthened. Isn't that a good
thing?
The ninja job can be
acquired by mastering weapons known as "hidden weapons" and gaining
knowledge as a shadow warrior. Since it's a job that requires a master to guide
you, it would be a great help if more people who have undergone ninja training
came to me.
Now, let's form a
ninja unit!
Ninja: Shadow warrior.
Can use the skills Stealth (Low) and Espionage (Low). Changes naturally after
meeting the conditions. From then on, the job won't change except to a
higher-tier one. The acquisition conditions require a certain level of
proficiency in handling hidden weapons and knowledge as a shadow warrior.
As their level
increases, they learn skills like assassination techniques and incitement.
That's obvious from these three. They can be used to gather information and as
a combat force.
The organization these
three belong to is apparently called the "Kouga Clan." The name is Kouga,
and they're ninjas... Are summoned people involved?
Looking closely, the
leader, Daigo, doesn't look completely Japanese. He looks like he's a
half-Japanese person. The possibility that he's a descendant of a summoned
person is high.
Detailed Appraisal,
what do you know? Oh, I see. Got it. Thanks.
500 years ago,
multiple reincarnated people appeared in this world. One of them, Saburo,
founded the Oda Kingdom. There were five other people who became explorers with
Saburo. One of them was a person named Kouga.
He was reincarnated as
an adult, not a baby like me.
My guess is that the
first king, Saburo, was Oda Nobunaga. He probably died in the Honno-ji Incident
and was reincarnated here. After all, the name of the country is Oda.
Anyone who likes
warlords of the Sengoku period would know that Oda Nobunaga used the pseudonym
Saburo. After all, Oda Nobunaga is a big name that represents the Sengoku
period. The other five were probably his retainers who died with him in the
Honno-ji Incident.
After returning to the
mansion, I immediately gathered candidates to form a ninja unit.
The fourth generation
of recruits prioritized support jobs, so it's a pleasant surprise that I can
introduce stealth-type jobs to the fifth generation.
"We have a system
in place to free slaves who reach Level 40. Normally, they are free to stay
with us or go anywhere they want after being freed. However, those with
stealth-type jobs are not allowed to leave, even if they level up. In return,
they will receive better treatment than the others. I will also allow them to
have their families brought to Triange. If their family was sold into slavery,
I will search for them and buy them back, with a condition that I will do my
best. In exchange, they will work for the Footscythel family for the rest of
their lives. Only those who are okay with this should remain."
I don't think it's a
good idea to let ninjas run loose, unlike with other jobs. To bind them for
life, I'll do everything I can for them.
A surprisingly large
number of people remained as ninja candidates. There were 25 of them. They will
now undergo rigorous training from the three ninjas. I don't know how many
years it will take, but I want them to do their best.
"You should
really raise them from childhood."
Daigo, the eldest of
the three ninjas (39 years old), with his unremarkable face and hair and eye
color of a bluish-black, frowned. His job is Jonin at Level 33.
The Jonin job is a
higher-tier job than a ninja. Apparently, even in their organization, there
weren't many Jonin.
Ninjas have a head who
leads the clan, and several sub-heads command the ninjas under them. Daigo was
a sub-head in a ninja organization.
Daigo says it takes at
least 10 years to train a ninja. And it's better to train them when they're
children.
I think it's worth
training ninjas, even if it takes 10 years, so it's not a problem. The 25 ninja
candidates for the fifth generation are all teenagers, ranging from 15 to 19
years old.
We built a ninja
training ground in a mountainous area of Triange where not many people go.
They're just shacks, but I plan to build more proper houses by winter. The 25
recruits will stay and train there thoroughly.
I instructed Gandarvan
to secretly guard the ninja training ground. After all, they're ninjas. The
organization they came from would not leave traitors (who were actually just
made into slaves) alone. We've declared them dead, but eventually, they'll find
out they're alive. The guards are just a precaution. Besides, the fifth
generation can't protect themselves yet.
The good thing about
ninjas is that their job won't change to Bandit even if they do something that
is normally considered a crime. Their job won't change even if they assassinate
someone or steal something. Is the Assassin job the only other one with this
kind of characteristic?
I just recently found
out that my Assassin job is also one that won't change to Bandit on its own.
It's a fact I learned after the proficiency of my Detailed Appraisal increased.
Normally, if you
commit a crime, you'll become a Bandit. If you commit more crimes, you'll
change to jobs like Murderer.
Ninjas and assassins
are jobs that are outside of this process. Their jobs won't change to Bandit
even if they commit an assassination or steal something.
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