Karl no Tensei: Transmigrated as an Assassin with a Mana Meter-Chapter 48: Ch : Guild Manager

"What you are asking of me is certainly not possible. The guild can’t let an assassin who has already been sent to a mission go unrewarded for it. Especially for a mistake rising from a staff’s greed."

Balmond, the Guild Manager, finished as he looked at a frail looking staff with narrowed eyes. He was the same who had given away my quest to someone else.

I stood beside him, facing the manager with a nearly contained frustration.

What was supposed to be a simple quest had now turned into a web of complexities, its threads tugging at the peace of my mind each with their own demands. This was really an excruciating process.

Sighing for what might be the hundreth time, I asked. "And as an assassin, what would be my compensation now that my quest has been taken away by someone else?"

"Unfortunately...we can’t give you any monetary compensation. But if you want, the guild could provide you with another quest."

I raised my brows. "Another quest from the outer section with the same bounty?"

Balmond bit his lips as he understood my implication. That was the highest paying quest in the outer section. A rare exception which I had chanced upon by pure luck.

The guild manager’s muscular form leaned back on his chair as he asked me, "What do you want? Say it and I shall think on it."

Smiling under my hood, I stated two points. "Firstly a strict punishment for this staff to set an example among your other employees." I pointed at the thin man who was looking at the floor with great shame. Not that I cared about it.

Balmond nodded, showing his approval to the request. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Secondly I would like to be given the chance to complete this quest. If the miscreant is to be believed, the other assassin left half an hour ago before my arrival. So, it’s still possible for me to put an end to the merchant all by myself."

The very reason I was pushing for this wasn’t exactly the high amount of money. Sure, it was a pleasant experience to have my pockets filled with currencies made of inanimate objects, invented by man, for enslaving other men.

But the real gain from ending this quest was bringing me one step closer to fulfilling the total number of assassinations I am required to do. I could have chosen any other quest for this purpose but here is the catch.

My target isn’t even a fighter, he is a non-combatant merchant with zero knowledge in self defence. It was his money that kept his guards in chains around him.

The only difficulty in this quest would have been slipping through these goons and hired mercenaries. After that, it was just a single fatal strike. And I just so happened to have the perfect set of skills for that.

But now this...

Balmond looked at me for a moment. Then with an air of finality he said, "Alright. Since you truly suffered a lot in this dilemma, here is the final deal from me. You go out for this mission and mind you, there is already someone else doing the same as we talk. Now how the bounty would be divided depends on the both of you. The guild won’t be involved in it as long as neither of you kill each other....how is that?"

I found myself closing my eyes, exploring the various possibilities in my mind. Even in the most ideal case, we shall get 12,500 kiros each! And that’s a lot more than the bounty of any other quest in the outer section.

I opened my eyes. Looking at Balmond from under my hood, I spoke in a measured tone. "The deal is acceptable....in fact it’s quite kind of you to let us decide the spoils among ourselves. Thank you."

Balmond broke into a toothy grin but as his eyes shifted towards the staff, his eyes hardened.

In a commanding tone, he ordered. "Now tell us who was the client willing to meet him on this case?"

Realising he was being addressed, he flinched as he slowly turned towards me. In a shaky tone he muttered, "H-helmont Soren. The target’s brother."

"Oh?" Balmond’s lips curled into slight amusement. Turning towards me, he advised me. "Whatever happens, try to end your mission as fast as possible and more importantly, without making anyone notice your presence. You don’t want sniffing dogs to follow you all the way to wherever you live."

I already knew all of this. I hadn’t come unprepared afterall. However I was expecting some more insight from the client.

But now that I know the client is none other than Avirin’s brother, I couldn’t help but smile.

I could see the points connecting inside my head. And so I asked Balmond, "Guild Manager, can I ask you for something?"

As he nodded in return, I said. "I want a copy of the quest’s notice."

Balmond’s eyebrow rose in surprise. Even the staff beside me glanced at me before quickly going back to look at the floor.

An expected reaction. But I continued, "You need not worry. I have no intention of taking it to any authority. I am sure I can atleast ask this as compensation for someone’s idiocy."

Smirking, Balmond said, "Certainly, certainly. But you need to form a Death Bond with me for that. I can’t just let you go with that on the basis of trust alone."

Stepping forward, I extended my right hand. "For sure."

In the next moment, tendrils of golden strings emerged in droves from Balmond’s right palm as they all wrapped around my own wrist. Strangely, I couldn’t even feel their touch on my skin. It was disorienting to see a physical object on a part of my body without feeling anything.

But before I could try thinking about it, Balmond spoke. "By the Law of the Death, any unfulfilled or broken promise shall result in the death of the perpetrator. I hereby restrict Code Azak from sharing the quest’s notice to any other third party. He is only limited to using it for his own mission, which should not involve any authorities in it."

Looking up at me, he asked. "Do you accept the terms?"

"Yes." The moment I said that, the thin tendrils entered the perforations in my skin. The Death Bond had been formed.

In few minutes I started walking back towards the door with a rolled paper in my hand. This was the copy of my quest.

Just as I was about to exit the door, a metallic tang rang out behind me alongside a sickening sound like that of crunching of several muscle fibres.

I tensed.

The next moment, a scream tore through the air around me sending shivers down my spine. But before I could turn back, the scream turned into muffled groans as if something had forcefully stopped it.

Balmond’s calm voice resounded in the air. "Don’t turn back, kid and keep walking ahead."

I nodded imperceptibly as I walked out of the room, the door closing behind me.