Show Me Your Stats! - Chapter 61

Chapter 61

‘There must have been more money at stake than what someone could obtain from a simple robbery.’

He must have pinpointed Ayra as a target–probably just before he entered the gambling den. Since then, he must have been waiting for the moment Janus and Ayra separated from each other. After hearing that the two of them were going back to Solar together, he must have made a desperate attempt since he thought there wouldn’t be a chance to assassinate the young lord in the future.

However, right now, these were all pure speculations. Ayra clenched his fist quietly.

Watching his old friend sob mournfully, Janus tilted his head slightly back. He rolled his eyes from right to left before releasing a sigh. “I suppose it couldn’t be helped–you have no money. You have a family to support.”

“Y-You trust me? It’s really true. I had no choice.” Mishio, whose expression brightened, nodded persistently. 

Ayra, who had been watching this all unfold, suddenly noticed a strange smell. Janus’s fingers, holding the sword, tensed. “Janus, wait!”

The young lord hurriedly tried to rush forward, but the sword was faster. Janus pulled Ayra, who was attempting to stop the mercenary, behind him. Then, with a swift motion, the sword slashed across the air–too fast to leave behind an afterimage.

That movement was so simple and fast–for a moment, Ayra didn’t realize what Janus had cut. Mishio’s body stared blankly into the air before falling forward with a thump–the man crashed to the ground, forehead first. After a while, blood slowly seeped out into the ground. It was a quick and clean death–without a chance to feel pain or fear.

“Tsk, he was a good friend but a gambler as well. Well, I suppose there’s no saving you if you fall into gambling.” Janus clicked his tongue. Contrary to his movements–killing without hesitation–the mercenary’s tone was laden with regret and pity.

“You killed him…” Ayra muttered; his brows furrowed. He felt somewhat eerie; a familiar chill that Janus instigated within his heart accumulated. This was different from when Ayra had jokingly labeled the mercenary as a psychopath.

Janus gently patted Ayra’s shoulder as he sheathed the clean–without a drop of blood tainting the blade–sword. He must have misunderstood Ayra’s reaction as fear, “That guy wanted to harm you. Sweetheart, your heart shouldn’t waver over something like this.” ¹ The nickname Janus had for Ayra is more akin to “my lover,” but that’s so clunky in text.

Ayra’s heart wasn’t wavering in order to cover for and protect Mishio–the mage wasn’t soft enough to leave someone who had tried to kill him alone. But…he glanced at the back of his hand. The sullen Pebble appeared a little flatter than usual. The loading symbol floating above it disappeared, and soon a notification window appeared.

‘I didn’t know he’d be killed so quickly.’

Indeed, Janus had killed Mishio swiftly and, perhaps, far too hastily. Due to that, Ayra had no chance to dig up clues through interrogating Mishio: who was behind this hit, and were they trying to ruin Solar? Was it Sobleche or Bolney?

Ignoring the lingering chill in his chest, Ayra questioned Janus, “You called him a friend, right? How could you kill him like that? What if something else was going on?”

Ayra needed to find out what that ‘something else’ was…!

He’d wandered around Sobleche and Bolney with his face exposed in order to gather information through assassins who may approach to murder him, and those efforts were obliterated in an instant.

At that moment, a fleeting suspicion crossed Ayra’s mind; the mage wondered if Janus intentionally killed the other prematurely to hinder his investigation. Ayra bit his lip as Janus, still misunderstanding his reaction, repeatedly stroked the mage’s back, trying to console him.

Janus said, “He was a friend. A friend that stabbed me in the back and tried to hurt my lover…If you can call someone like that a friend.”

Even though the touch was warm and friendly, Ayra automatically flinched back, shoulders shrinking in on himself. If this hasty murder wasn’t intended to prevent him from being able to dig up information…

…Then, the motive or excuse Mishio had for carrying out this betrayal didn’t matter to the mercenary. Mishio had betrayed the mercenary, and that was enough.

Ayra had witnessed countless people dying in the Labyrinth. He didn’t just watch–he had killed as well. Mages weren’t only dispatched to deal with demonic beasts, after all. Plus, slaves had frequently died in various experiments in the Labyrinth.

But even someone like Ayra would inevitably be emotionally shaken if he were in a situation where he had to kill a close friend. Even though his ethics and morals were distorted from living in the Labyrinth for a long while, Ayra still knew well what affection and love felt like. 

However, Janus only allowed one excuse and drew his sword on his friend without any hesitation. The bleak feeling he felt at that moment…

Ayra had observed numerous murderers among the Labyrinth’s slaves. Janus’s cruel nature seemed somewhat similar to them at first glance, but the mercenary was clearly different. However, Ayra couldn’t articulate that difference now. Instead, his chest just felt stuffy and suffocated.

The lingering traces of the enjoyable time he’d spent with Janus at the gambling den and in the alley disappeared without a trace, leaving only his cold body temperature.

When Ayra stood silently, his intuition blaring loudly and warning of impending doom, Janus warmly embraced the young lord and comforted him. The mercenary’s warm palms melted his frozen ears. “Surprised? Well, if he had merely betrayed me, I might have been lenient. But, he touched my lover. There would have been a catastrophe if I hadn’t rushed out–something felt strange.”

“Because he touched your lover…” Ayra’s brows furrowed; he fell into a deeper silence following Janus’s words. He noticed that Janus said ‘Lover’ and not ‘Ayra.’ The desire to ask, ‘Stay a little longer in my estate,’ shriveled up.

Instead, he wanted to ask if all his exes were doing well. Ayra involuntarily rubbed his neck. Perhaps he had only known the other for about five years, but Janus probably had more affection for that man than for Ayra. Yet, he only gave Mishio enough time for one excuse before mercilessly killing him.

Ayra recalled three rules that Janus mentioned he would uphold only for his lover: no cheating, no hitting, and no killing. He repeated the last part multiple times in his mind.

‘To not kill…’

Meanwhile, Janus, still worried about the cold, affectionately placed the robe’s hood over Ayra’s head; the mage sighed lightly as he walked along with the mercenary, leaving behind Mishio’s cooling corpse. Today, Janus seemed exceptionally cruel for a mercenary, but Ayra wanted to believe that he was merely exaggerating matters in his mind. However, he couldn’t shake off this sharp unease he felt.

Ayra, who fell into deep thought, only returned to his senses after a while and asked, “Where are we going right now?”

“To the house of someone I know. I often stay there. Come to think of it, the inn might be too cold for you.” Then, he hummed an odd tune–offbeat and off pitch. 

The blood drained more from Ayra’s face, ‘Don’t hum…’

It wasn’t because the other was tone deaf. How could a man who just killed his close friend hum with his lover by his side? There were even a few drops of blood staining his hem. He looked like a murderer that might appear in a thriller.

Upon returning to the estate, Ayra decided to distance himself gradually from Janus. This ominous, instinctual feeling shouldn’t be ignored–especially since his powers specialized in intuition.

Suddenly, Ayra felt a stinging gaze and looked up; Janus, who had been watching the mage all this while, smiled. The corners of his eyes narrowed; red pupils were caged into a half-moon shape. Ayra looked as if he were in a trance before suddenly coming to his senses, smiling half-heartedly, and looking away.

As there were no streetlights, they walked down the dimly lit streets by relying on moonlight. Ayra could have used magic to create light, but he preferred not to draw unnecessary attention. As they silently walked, the path widened, and their surroundings changed. The signs of the shops in this closed-for-the-night shopping district glittered luxuriously. It seemed like an opulent street where nobles or the wealthy would reside.

‘He said his acquaintance’s house was nearby?’

Ayra shook his head, amused. In Solar, the man was nearly homeless, except for when he’d temporarily stay at the mercenary headquarters.

At that moment, Janus asked, in a rather light, casual tone, “Do you have any thoughts about leaving Solar?”

“Hm?” Ayra couldn’t immediately respond to the unexpected suggestion. The first thought that came to mind was a mix of joy and wounded pride.

‘After ten years of not finding a partner, you want to leave Solar? But, still, you want to go with me..?’

Following those immediate, knee-jerk emotional reactions, more rational thoughts surfaced. ‘Is he scouting for a partner?’ 

Of course, as Solar’s lord, it would be impossible for him to live away from his territory. Instead of denying, though, Ayra expressed reluctance, “Why this all of a sudden? Are you thinking of leaving Solar soon?”

Even though he had thought he should keep his distance from Janus when they returned to Solar, thinking about the mercenary’s departure stirred an unsettling, tight feeling within him. The thought of not being able to see this red-haired man–cruel and capricious, but intriguing in his own way–made him feel unhappy.

“Mmm, I guess…but to be exact…” Janus frowned slightly, as if he were trying to choose the right words. Something rare for this impetuous man. “It’s because that territory will be doomed soon?”