He pointed at me with his free hand. What was I supposed to say? He sounded like he was saying âHow do you like it now! Your bad deeds have been revealed to the world!â
I smiled.
âYes.â
âHaha, see! You bastards. Iâll report to the world what kind of things you did using this assassinâŚâ
âFalse.â
The Crusader spoke.
âWhat?â
âNot true.â
The Crusader spoke indifferently again.
âDidnât he say âyesâ to your question. That answer was false. So to organize things, Kim Gong-ja didnât kill over 4000 people.â
ââŚâ
âDo you have any more questions?â
Silence.
While the Sword Saint shut his mouth, Crusader tilted her head.
âBut 4000. Is it possible for one person to kill that many people? I think thatâs almost impossible.â
âT, ThatâŚyou used this youngest as a special assassinâŚâ
I brightly smiled.
âYouâre right. Iâm a special assassin.â
âNot true.â
ââŚâ
Sword Saint dropped his mouth open.
âC, Crusader. I saw you wrong! I thought you wouldnât lie!â
âIf youâll believe me or not, is up to you.â
Crusader replied calmly.
âThatâs why I asked if you would believe me at the beginning.â
ââŚâ
âIf you change what youâre saying now itâs a bitâŚpathetic. No, itâs really pathetic. Sword Saint. Itâs unlike how I thought of you.â
âW, wait!â
The Sword Saint frantically looked at me.
âBut thereâs no way you didnât kill anyone!â
âAh. Yes. Thatâs right. I did get rid of someone once.â
Crusader nodded.
âItâs the truth.â
âSee!â
âBut itâs just one person.â
âWhat?â
Crusader nodded again.
âItâs true.â
ââŚâ
âOf course, just because I killed one person doesnât change the fact that Iâm a murderer. But Sword Saint-nim. Even though I canât be clean, I can tell you this. That bastard really deserved to die. Because he tried to kill me first.â
âItâs the truth.â
âNo, he wouldâve been a gentleman if he just tried to kill me. He massacres people. Massacres. I saw him kill someone, but dang, he didnât even blink an eye as he burned someone to death! That fucking bastard!â
âItâs the truth.â
âAlthough I donât know for sure, he probably killed tens, no hundreds of people. Yes. Heâs definitely someone to do that. I killed someone like that. Curse me as a murderer if you want to. But did you know? Even if I go back to the past, Iâll get rid of him. Dang. Shit. I donât know how someone can be as evil as him.â
Crusader nodded her head.
âItâs all true.
ââŚâ
Sword Saint was silent.
He slowly looked around him. He didnât understand the situation, but now, he probably did after looking around.
Because the Guild Masters were all looking at him like ââŚwhat are you doing?â
âHahahah! Hahaha!â
Heretic Questioner burst out laughing.
âKim Gong-ja, the special assassin of the Five Large Guilds! How funny! It would be nice if that was true, but Sword Saint! We met Kim Gong-ja for the first time yesterday!â
âThatâs also true, by the way.â
ââŚâ
The Sword Saintâs silence was deeper.
-Tsk tsk tsk tsk. One who lives by skills, dies by them.
Bae Hu-ryeong continued to click his tongue next to me.
âMm. Well, Iâve answered everything.â
I smiled.
What sir Gong-ja said really was all correct.
âIt seems like there was a misunderstanding. Itâs a good thing that was it. But Sword Saint. If I was really ââŚâ
âI think a word of apology is appropriate here. What do you say?â
Crusader nodded her head.
âItâs the perfect truth. With any lie.â
ââŚâ
âQuickly apologize to Kim Gong-ja. Sword Saint.â
The geezer paled.
âI, IâŚâ
Sword Saint spoke after a considerable amount of time had passed.
The hunters were looking at Sword Saint. His lips were dry.
âI, to Kim Gong-jaâŚâ
Sword Saint could say a lot of things here.
He could just not believe Crusader. He didnât have any reason to. Even though Crusader was famed for being just and righteous, she was in the Five Large Guilds. Why did he have to trust her?
âYouâre all trying to trick me!â
Could be what Sword Saint said.
OrâŚhe could reveal his own skill card. The power that showed an opponentâs kill count. But it wasnât wise to show others your skill. However, it was still enough.
âI didnât suspect Kim Gong-ja because Iâm a boomer. Itâs all because of my skill! What can I do when this is what my skill says? Isnât it obvious that someone should trust their skill before they trust a person first?â
It was natural for people to excuse themselves.
âOr there are psychopaths that just kill others like the Flame Emperor.â
Distrust. Excuses. Shutting their mouths.
The Flame Emperor proved that he was a psychopath by choosing the method of shutting someoneâs mouthâŚand Sword Saint would show what kind of person he was from this.
âMm.â
Sword Saint wet his lips.
And he decided.
ââŚDid you say your name was Kim Gong-ja.â
âYes.â
âIf you didnât kill innocent people like I thoughtâŚno. Thatâs not it.â
Sword Saint shook his head while he was speaking. Kashing. As he pulled his sword back in, sighs of relief could be heard in the reception room. The hunters around Sword Saint looked less nervous. Among them, Sword Saint tightened his necktie.
âIâll speak again.â
He bowed his head.
âIâm sincerely sorry.â
The old man was apologizing.
âI was wrong. I misunderstoodâŚso I almost killed someone. I always thought that I should kill anyone I judged deserving to be killed. I killed by my beliefs.â
He bent his head even more.
âBut from now, that wonât happen again.â
His low voice rumbled in the reception room.
âJust apologizing with words is useless. If you want anything, Iâll try to uphold itâŚIt would be nice if I could say that butâŚâ
Self-deprecation was mixed in his voice.
âPlease donât ask for my life. I ask you. I still want to live. I want to see the top of this tower. âŚI made a big mistake, and almost killed you. But please forgive this old man and let him live.â
The palaceâs reception room became quiet.
The old man couldâve made a different choice. He couldâve not turested the Crusader, or excused himself with his skill. But he didnât. Instead, he acknowledged that he might be wrong.
ââŚâ
The Crusader glanced at me. Our eyes met. She nodded her head silently. We didnât speak, but I knew what the Crusader was saying.
âItâs the truth.â
Everything he said was true.
His apology, and his promise not to kill people based on his skill. Not only that, but the fact that he didnât want to die.