The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Humans were said to have senses duller than animals by nature.

However, that didn’t mean they were completely dense.

At the very least, they could discern whether the being in front of them was human or not, given their shared human consciousness.

Luna found herself sucked into the mysterious entity of the hole and confronted a strange unknown presence.

Amidst the myriad thoughts swirling in her mind, there was one thing she could be sure of: the man she was seeing was not human.

He seemed more like a colossal mass of mana transformed into a human form, enjoying his amusement.

Why would a being with such an aura reside in these ruins?

Luna pondered.

She might already know the answer.

“Fascinating.”

The man, who had been staring at her intently, chuckled and spoke his first words.

“Your attributes, perfectly balanced across five different elements, without a single deviation… That’s rarer than overwhelmingly skewed attributes towards one element.”

With just a cursory glance, the man accurately assessed Luna’s attribute values.

Luna, without much ado, cautiously rose to her feet.

“Did you rescue me?”

“Well, sort of.”

The man’s tone was surprisingly friendly.

“May I ask why?”

“It’s nothing special. Rescuing a woman in danger is something every man, regardless of being human or divine, should naturally do.”

The man replied nonchalantly.

“The fact that I saved him was intentional, but the fact that it was you should be considered a coincidence.”

“What do you mean?”

Somewhat puzzled by his cryptic words, Luna tilted her head.

“What’s your name?”

“Luna Rainriver.”

“Your age?”

“Twelve.”

The man momentarily paused.

“For a human who has lived for barely over a decade, the potential is unbelievable. Even for someone like me, who boasts of having seen many humans.”

The man seemed impressed by the immense potential Luna possessed.

“But judging from your current condition, that potential was sealed until just recently, wasn’t it?”

Surprised, Luna asked.

“What do you mean? Could it be the Heart Curve?”

“Heart Curve? Sorry, but I don’t know about that. I simply meant the potential hidden within your body, waiting to be awakened.”

“Potential?”

“Yes. Humans are considered the most capable race with the highest potential for development for a reason. If combined with the effort and latent abilities driven by the will to achieve something, the resulting achievement is beyond anyone’s prediction. Right now, I can see your will, fervently wishing for something and hoping it will come true.”

Like someone unexpectedly finding a gem, the man’s eyes sparkled.

For Luna, it was just bewildering.

“Moreover, upon closer inspection, there seems to be traces of strange magic that had been suppressing your body. But even that is peculiar. It wouldn’t have been easy to remove, yet whoever did it, did so neatly.”

This was something Luna had read in the research documents of the Garam Magic Society she had seen before.

The documents mentioned the Holy Sword and Holy Scripture, the Demonic Sword and Demonic Scripture, etc.

It’s said that alongside the souls of gods, there exists what is commonly known as the “unbound spirits of gods,” which also possess personalities.

These personalities can manifest themselves freely as human-like figures and can even engage in conversation with humans.

Outwardly, they appear to be perfect human bodies, but emit unfamiliar mana from within.

Luna was about 50% sure of the identity of this man.

“Are you the owner of these ruins?”

She finally broke the silence after much contemplation.

“Hmm? Not really. Just crashing here? Visiting? Something like that.”

“Then, are you related to the guardian protecting these ruins?”

“That’s right! There was a human I used to be with before, who requested a guardian summoning from the owner of these ruins. My friend had such peculiar tastes that he summoned a golem instead of anyone else.”

With that statement, Luna’s confidence in her assumption rose to about 99%.

Without further ado, she posed the most direct question to ascertain his identity.

“Are you the Tome named Remiharam?”

“…”

Unlike before, where he answered promptly, this time he remained silent, only giving her a strange smile while tilting his lips to one side.

“Well? Even if I set aside the name Remiharam, isn’t it a bit awkward to say I’m a Tome? Isn’t it forbidden for humans to even approach Tome?”

Luna couldn’t immediately respond.

“Come to think of it, isn’t it strange to ask me if I’m Remiharam? Even if the guardian I summoned is referred to as such among the residents here, it wouldn’t be easy to know the Tome’s name, right?”

“The truth always remains and will eventually be uncovered. As you mentioned earlier, humans can discover anything with determination.”

The man laughed heartily, seeming satisfied.

“Hahaha! You’re much smarter than you look, my dear lady. You’re nothing like that filthy perverted woman!”

To Luna, the identity of that woman was still uncertain.

“Oh, this isn’t the right time for such talk. So, why did our young lady come to this humble ruin?”

“I came to find someone named Remiharam.”

At Luna’s straightforward response, the man scratched his head.

“Well, hey there, little missy. As I mentioned before, I never said I’m a Tome, did I? Isn’t our little missy here looking for Remiharam, not a Tome?”

“But you never said you’re not a Tome either.”

“…”

Before he could hesitate, Luna pressed on with another question to confirm her suspicions.

“Is Remiharam not a Tome?”

Avoiding eye contact and clearing his throat awkwardly, the man struggled to answer.

“Um, well, since you came to find me, let me tell you first, my real body isn’t here right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“What you’re seeing now, little missy, is just a fragment of me left in these ruins, like a clone. I can only have conversations like this…”

“Then where is the real Remiharam?”

“I can’t tell you that! As a divine being myself, I shouldn’t go around revealing such things to humans,” the man said, waving his hand, indicating he couldn’t disclose further.

“Oh well! If I stay longer, the owner of this place might start lecturing me about messing with causality or something. I better get going. But don’t worry, young lady. I just did a simple spatial transition. If you continue like this, those who were chasing you will reappear,” he explained.

Although Luna had many more questions, she realized now wasn’t the time.

With the possibility of encountering the society members again, she needed to find Cyan and prepare a plan as soon as possible.

“I’m not sure why you came looking for me, but if you need me to fulfill a wish you have, try finding where I truly am. Once you find me, I’ll gladly help. I quite liked you!”

With a satisfied smile, the man stood up.

Luna had one last question for him.

“Then, what does Remiharam mean to us?”

With a twinkling eye, the man replied.

“Another being that can only be possessed by those who realize the truth within the endless darkness…”

“The truth?”

“It’s nothing special. If you achieve what you desire and wish for, that’s the truth.”

With that, the man turned around.

Gradually, his body became transparent, and before long, he completely disappeared in front of her.

* * *

Even though it’s just a small scrap of paper, I can feel a significant amount of mana emanating from it.

Unfortunately, I’m not a wizard, so I can’t accurately determine how much mana is contained in this paper or in what form it’s stored.

It immediately occurred to me that that genius kid might be able to analyze things.

“So, the main body of the Tome is not here, but a detached spirit like this torn piece of paper is somewhere in this place, right?”

[Yes. If you’re lucky, you might stumble upon it while wandering around.]

According to Kaeram, there should be a spirit separated from the main body of the Tome Remiharam somewhere in this ruins, similar to this torn piece of paper.

Even if it’s a spirit, since its personality is connected to the main body, I shouldn’t be disappointed even if it’s just a spirit.

At least, I should be able to ask where the real one is.

“Oh, ouch….”

Suddenly, a groan came from behind me.

The guy I knocked out woke up.

“Huh, was I unconscious?”

How could he recover from a blow that would knock out an ordinary person for hours in just a few minutes?

I was speechless and couldn’t believe it.

“I was definitely looking at that Tome guy… Huh? Where did he go? Did you take care of him on your own, Cyan?”

I just turned my gaze away without saying a word.

“Ha! This is really impressive! I couldn’t even cause a scratch, but you handled it so easily! You truly are a worthy rival!”

Does this idiot prince not care about how I handled it?

Well, trying to understand him would only give me a headache.

At least I felt relieved that only he was left.

“Oh! By the way, what happened to that prickly junior and the society members?”

“If they’re okay, they’re probably still over there.”

I pointed beyond the collapsed rock with an uneasy look.

Originally, I planned to use spatial transition to cross together while Set was unconscious, but he woke up before I could do it.

So practically, it was a failure.

“Hmm, I don’t think we can clear one or two and find a way out. We’ll have to dig a new one eventually, right?”

Set pondered, stroking his chin.

Then he suddenly placed both hands on the falling rock and concentrated his mind.

-Kugugung

Soon, mana with a brownish light began to vibrate around him.

“Rebuild Aisle!”

As he shouted the spell, some of the piled up rocks began to turn into dust and crumble, creating enough space for two people to pass comfortably.

“How about that? This should be enough to pass through, right?”

“What did you do?”

“It’s the sand-type magic ‘Rebuild Aisle’! It’s a magic that opens up blocked points made of stones or dirt with mana to create a new path!”

It was a very practical magic that didn’t suit him at all.

I guess people are more than meets the eye, huh?

Set entered the path he had made with a smug smile, and I followed him behind the fallen rocks.

“….!”

As soon as I came out of the passage, I met eyes with the society members who had entered the ruins with us earlier.

However, only two of them were visible.

They couldn’t hide their bewilderment, as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have.

“Huh? Why are there only two? What about the others?”

Despite Set’s inquiry, they didn’t answer.

Then, they looked at each other and nodded as if exchanging some kind of signal.

The moment I realized the meaning of that signal…

“….!”

I rushed to the nearest one and grabbed his neck.