The Lazy Boy Is, In Fact, the Strongest and Most Brutal Assassin. - Chapter 20: Two Assassins.

Two Assassins.

Even after Kurikara left, Il and Rimrim stood silently in the alley for a while.

Rimrim took out a pipe and used a small spirit stone to light it. The brief flame illuminated the two figures in the alley and cast their shadows, along with the small lump at their feet, onto the wall. As Rimrim exhaled smoke, she observed Il’s behavior.

His lazy eyes, resembling trash, and a terrible slouch that rivaled Silver Cat’s. What is this mixed emotion on the face of this already shabby-looking boy?

Loneliness, exhaustion, pity, pain.

They all seemed to resemble each other yet subtly differ. That’s the feeling Rimrim had.

“I never imagined… you were the most feared assassin, ‘Worst Illness.’ People really don’t look like what they are, do they?”

“That’s what I want to say. I never imagined a slut like you would be from the same profession.”

“Are you struggling for money? ‘Worst Illness’ is said to be a money-hungry person. Rumor has it that you’re taking requests at a fast pace.”

“Do assassins gossip like that…?”

“Just the other day, I worked with a pair of twin assassins.”

“…Those two sure say whatever they want.”

It was the twin female assassins who would often try to bother Il when they had the chance. If Rimrim remembered correctly, their front faces were supposed to be from well-to-do families.

“I’m not interested in money. I take the jobs because I’m summoned.”

“But what are you going to do with all that saved-up money?”

“Nothing. It’s just a boundary line. Nothing more to it.”

As if tossing a bitter pill into his mouth, Il spoke with a furrowed brow and a dismissive tone.

“Yeah, that’s right. Nothing more to it. This much here is surviving, and this much there is dying. Nothing more to it.”

Rimrim couldn’t help but laugh.

What… this guy tries to act tough, but at his core, he’s seriously straightforward. He pushes the reason for killing onto whether money is involved and maintains a balance by doing so. Rimrim found his delicate side, which didn’t fit his brash attitude, endearing.

However, perhaps taking it as mockery, Il deepened the furrow between his brows and closed his eyes.

“Hey, look at your fingers.”

At Il’s sudden question, Rimrim gave a puzzled look but spread her fingers wide, gazing at them from the back of her hand.

Until just a moment ago, he had called her “you,” but now he referred to her more politely as “you, sir.” Was it because he realized they were from the same profession?

“So, what’s the deal with my fingers?”

Rimrim asked as she held her hand out, positioning Il’s entire body between her fingers. Il, already hunched over with his terrible posture, curled further into himself and spoke again.

“Hey, can you tell me where your fingers start and end? Don’t give me some stupid answer like ‘the base of the finger.’ The base of the finger is something you can only call it once you know exactly where the finger starts and ends.”

Rimrim paused for a moment, as if thinking about it, and then made a slight frown.

“See? You can’t explain it, can you? Where your finger ends, where your palm begins, where your arm starts and ends—it’s all vague. Everyone just piles up vagueness and lives their lives without even thinking about it. If it was just nausea or disgust, that would be fine, but when there’s nothing to throw up, you feel like your insides are being wrung out. Even if you want a clear boundary, there’s no way to get it… Right? You think so too, don’t you?”

Il said this and then glanced at the lifeless body of Peta at his feet, letting out a deep sigh.

Rimrim was speechless.

How many excuses did this boy need before he could even kill someone? It seemed that all this rough talk was just an excuse for himself. He was delicate, no, extremely delicate. At the very least, he wasn’t suited for being an assassin.

As Rimrim moved closer to Il, still staring at Peta without moving, she suddenly threw her arm over his shoulder with a familiar gesture.

“Alright, alright, I got it. So you’re saying you don’t have any use for the money you’re holding, right?”

“Well, yeah, but… Did you even listen to me?”

Though Il had been speaking somewhat seriously before, he now looked clearly confused after Rimrim’s bewildering conclusion. However, Rimrim didn’t care about his confusion. Instead, she smiled broadly, showing her white teeth, clearly enjoying herself.

“Then let me, Rimrim, teach you how to use that money wisely in life.”

“No, I don’t need that. It’s none of your business.”

“Don’t say that, pure-hearted boy.”

“Who’s a pure-hearted boy?! Who?!”

“Well, listen up. There’s this rare and amazing item, something that hardly ever comes up. You won’t want to miss it, trust me.”

“…What’s that supposed to be?”

Rimrim grinned slyly.

“It’s obvious, right? A cute slave girl named Shia.”