74 – Agilrem (9)
“…Finally.”
Unintentionally, Bella’s lips parted.
“Finally….”
However, she could only repeat the same words, unable to form a proper sentence.
It was all due to her overwhelming emotions.
It was something unprecedented but also natural.
It was a moment she could never not be emotional about.
After all, it was the moment she had been striving for relentlessly for a whole decade, the moment she finally achieved it.
“…….”
Ten years had passed through her mind.
When her father passed away.
When she lost everything.
When she first became an assassin.
When she carried out her first mission.
All those memories swept through her mind and heart in an instant.
“…….”
At some point, the calculations had become clear.
If she continued like this, she would be able to achieve her goal sufficiently.
However, an unexpected event occurred in the middle of it all, making it precarious.
Yet, she moved tirelessly, and somehow managed to reach the target amount by a hair’s breadth.
“Thank goodness.”
Among the emotions she felt, a sense of relief was greater than the overwhelming joy.
For being able to achieve the goal.
For being able to reclaim the organization her father left behind.
For being able to save those in pain.
And for not having to resent him forcibly.
Perhaps it was the sense of achievement and liberation from finally reaching the goal.
She sat frozen for a while, unable to move due to the surging emotions that left her mind in disarray.
“This isn’t right.”
Shaking her head vigorously, Bella corrected her thoughts.
Indulging in joy right away is fine, but it can wait until later.
For now, finishing the job was a priority.
After organizing her thoughts, Bella took a step forward.
Among the steps she had taken recently, this one was the lightest she had ever taken.
Perhaps it was her mood, but the headaches that had tormented her seemed to have vanished as if washed away.
The place her light steps were leading to.
Click─
“You’re here.”
It was home.
“Have you eaten?”
Looking at the man who now asked in a familiar manner, Bella felt an unknown sentiment rising from a corner of her heart.
“…No, not yet.”
The emotion felt somewhat unfamiliar.
And awkward.
She responded a bit late.
“Really? Well, I’ll get it ready right away, so let’s─”
“No, it’s fine.”
“…Are you going out again?”
Though he seemed to be concealing something, Bella opened her mouth as she looked at his slightly darkened face.
“…I think I should.”
He just stopped by home briefly to pick up some things.
“I see.”
Wade silently nodded his head.
“But soon…”
Wanting to add that she would quickly finish up and come back, Bella hesitated midway.
No matter how quickly she wrapped things up, there would be considerable time spent on various follow-up tasks.
With time already racing towards night, even if she hurried back as soon as possible, it would likely be well past midnight.
Having reached that conclusion, Bella ultimately had to swallow her words.
She gathered the items she intended to take, then returned to the entrance.
“Just a bit.”
“…?”
“Just a bit… please wait. I’ll finish everything and come back. When that time comes… no, I’ll tell you the rest when I return.”
Looking Wade straight in the eyes, she said so.
Then, without waiting for his reaction, she promptly left the house.
Once the task was done.
Once everything was wrapped up.
She was considering retiring completely.
While she would need to restore and manage the recovered Black Night to its original state, she had no intention of continuing as an assassin.
To reclaim a normal life.
To regain the everyday.
To sleep normally, wake up normally, eat normally, work normally.
She dreamt of living an ordinary life like that.
And if she could live that ordinary life with someone, she hoped it would be Wade.
She didn’t know exactly when she started thinking that way.
Just spending time with him, as the time they spent together grew longer.
As she got to know him more.
At some point, she must have started thinking that way.
Of course, he still didn’t know her thoughts.
Naturally. She hadn’t spoken about it.
She didn’t know exactly how he felt about her either.
But she saw the possibility.
He was a man being hunted by the Empire.
Though he was hiding now, he might have to live in hiding for the rest of his life.
In such a situation.
If one had to live in hiding anyway.
Bella thought it wouldn’t be bad if that place became her side.
Rather than traveling around the continent, settling down in one place would be more comfortable for her.
If she quietly lived there, the Empire would stop actively pursuing her, and the world would forget about her.
If that happened, under the criteria of not attracting too much attention, living a normal life would be possible.
If she found a more exceptional disguise and changed her appearance, an external life would also be possible.
Even if she couldn’t work for fear of standing out, it wouldn’t matter.
After all, she could earn money on her own.
She hadn’t said it yet, but Bella had already drawn up quite a detailed plan in her mind.
After everything was over, if he was there in the regained ordinary everyday life.
Perhaps she could feel the long-forgotten emotion of happiness again, Bella thought.
So.
“… When I come back, let’s talk.”
After finishing everything, she would share her thoughts with him.
Whether he would accept it or not, that would be a problem to think about… at that time.
Having made up her mind like that, Bella, who had moved to the entertainment district, soon entered the commercial area.
Normally, she would have left the commercial area without stopping, but for some reason, her steps paused within the commercial area.
One of the unusually large buildings in the commercial area, which remained quite crowded even as night approached, at the heart of Agillem, the continent’s largest trading city.
There, where numerous people bustled every day, was the Agillem branch of the bank operated by the “Golden Hand,” the largest in the continent.
In front of that place, Bella’s steps came to a halt.
Passing through the still crowded entrance, she entered the counter.
“What brings you here today?”
Facing the employee who asked in a polite tone, Bella spoke.
There was only one reason she visited here.
To withdraw money.
From Noble mtl dot com
For the past 10 years, she had saved most of the fees she received while handling numerous requests, depositing them here.
All amounts except for the minimum necessary expenses and living costs.
“…Please wait a moment.”
After confirming Bella’s business and her account, the employee with a stiff expression momentarily left the seat.
It was understandable.
Even if they were called the Golden Hand, unless it was a substantial transaction, it was not common to handle such an amount at once.
Especially when an individual wanted to withdraw such an amount.
From a mere employee’s standpoint, it was likely a difficult situation to handle.
However, as if indeed being the Golden Hand, the employee didn’t leave for long.
Returning shortly, the employee led Bella inside, to a private room, and handed her a metal plate.
Bella reached out and took the plate.
The fruit of diligently saving for a decade was now held in her hands.
In the form of a bank-issued promissory note.
A promissory note issued by the bank, subject to various magical procedures making replication impossible, and only issued by the Golden Hand for amounts above a certain threshold.
In this small plate was contained her decade of effort.
Looking at the promissory note with a mix of complex emotions, Bella eventually cherished it in her arms.
Bella left the bank after exchanging greetings with the staff and headed straight to the entertainment district this time.
To the largest building in the entertainment district she had visited last time.
However.
Her steps were blocked before she could reach the top floor.
Because the staff stood in her way.
“The person you’re looking for is currently absent.”
Upon hearing those words, Bella’s expression faintly frowned.
Of all times, to be absent now.
“Where did they go?”
“They said they were heading to ‘Black Night.'”
At the staff’s response, Bella’s expression involuntarily twisted slightly, then quickly returned to normal.
Since she had planned to head there after finishing her business with this building, she thought it was better this way.
“Got it.”
After nodding lightly, Bella turned on her heel.
She left the casino and entered another building within the entertainment district.
In appearance and atmosphere, it was no different from the other buildings in the entertainment district.
But as she ascended the stairs hidden inside the inner part of the second floor, where no regular patrons could be seen, the atmosphere quickly changed.
The air, once vibrant and warm, now felt heavy, and the once glamorous interior decorations were now dominated by black.
This was the headquarters of “Black Night,” one of the assassination groups representing the dark alleys of Agillem.
At the entrance to the headquarters, there was a man who looked like a gatekeeper or guard at first glance.
Although his face was covered with a mask, the exposed features alone portrayed a middle-aged man with a menacing appearance that could make a child wet themselves in fear.
His expressionless face, as if no blood would be shed even if stabbed.
As soon as he spotted Bella, he immediately crumbled.
“Miss…!”
With eyes widened in an unfitting manner, the man rushed out.
“It’s been a while, Mr. Hansen.”
Looking at the man, Bella gave a gentle smile.
“Yes…! It’s really been a while!”
Even the rugged man’s face lit up.
“What brings you here─”
“Oh? It’s Bella!”
Before the guard could pour out his welcoming words.
People inside began to reveal themselves one by one.
“Miss has arrived!”
“What? Bella?”
Individuals of various clothing, gender, and age approached her with wide-eyed surprise.
Each had their own attire, but the aura they exuded was similar.
The sharp, honed spirit of assassins.
It was natural. Simply being here meant they were assassins belonging to “Black Night.”
“It’s been a while, sis!”
“Have you been doing well all this time?”
“Why is it so hard to look at your face?”
Among the people approaching her one by one.
Bella also smiled like them, but her gaze towards them carried a slightly bitter undertone.
They had a connection with her since the creation of ‘Heukya’ back when she was young.
Those who her father had rescued from the swamp, gaining a new life.
For Bella, they were a family untainted by blood.
And because of the man who had recently appeared, they were forced to become assassins against their will.
They were welcoming to Bella, always a familiar face, but at the same time, they were the reason she avoided coming to Heukya’s headquarters.
Her heart prickled every time she saw them.
Every time she saw those who had been forced to walk a life they never wanted, her heart ached as if being cut by a knife.
Originally, there were more of them than what was visible now.
But during training, missions, or by their own choice, some had lost their lives.
As a result, only a few remained now.
The thought of that was too painful, causing her to avoid Heukya’s headquarters.
But even that is now coming to an end.
“Where is ‘he’? I heard he’s here.”
“Ah…”
Upon hearing her words, the expressions of everyone present darkened.
Although the name wasn’t mentioned explicitly, everyone present understood who ‘he’ referred to.
It was no wonder their expressions darkened.
That man was the one who had ruined their lives.
“He… is in a meeting with the officers upstairs, I heard.”
Listening to the heavy continuation, Bella quietly nodded her head.
Their suffering, too, was coming to an end now.
With her own hands, she would put an end to everything.
Thinking so.
“Thank you. I’ll go up for a while then.”
Bella went upstairs.
And she opened the door to the conference room.
And there.
“You finally make your appearance. I was dying of anticipation.”
A repulsive man, smiling broadly, was waiting for her.