Does the Assassin Girl Dream of the Mana Doll?

Sentiments Towards the Departed

“Letty-san, the person inside…?”

Emerging from the cabin, Letty’s expression turned grave as she shook her head in response. Ellie, filled with concern, murmured softly, their eyes meeting. “I see…”

Noticing Ellie’s gaze, Letty’s distress deepened, her brows furrowing. “It’s alright. There’s still something I need to take care of.”

With determined steps, Letty approached the groaning man lying on the ground. Each deliberate footfall sent shivers of fear through his body. She nudged him with her boot, rolling him onto his back.

His face twisted in terror and confusion. “The hell?! Who are ya really?!”

“Shut up.” Letty silenced him by pressing her foot against his mouth. “You’ll only answer the questions I ask.” She brandished the cold, gleaming shortsword before his eyes, her chilling gaze and tone sending a shiver down his spine. “Who hired you?”

“What? Who said we’re hired?!”

“Very well.” A sharp sound pierced the air. Skillfully avoiding major blood vessels, Letty traced the nerves along his arm with her sword. The man, bewildered by the sensation of exposed nerves, tried to ignore it as she applied pressure.

“Ah! Ahhhhh…”

“Speak.”

The man convulsed in pain as his nerves were exposed, but Letty showed no mercy, pressing harder.

“Gyaaahhh!”

“Answer me.” Her dirt-covered boots trampled on his exposed nerves, causing excruciating agony. With each push, she exerted more force.

The blade continued its path, traveling over his arms, legs, chest, and abdomen. The sensation of every nerve being exposed, the pain that intensified with the slightest breeze—he dreaded what awaited him next.

“P-Please, stop! I’ll talk, I’ll talk ‘kay!” And so, the man began to speak.

He explained that they had been hired by a group of thugs posing as a thieves’ guild in the capital city. Their instructions were to occupy the cabin and restrain Letty upon her return. Although they had received descriptions of her appearance, they had severely underestimated her capabilities.

According to their boss, the fact that they had gone to such lengths to capture Letty alive suggested that she held some value to them, possibly as a mistress.

“Oh… So your boss said that? That means there must be someone even higher up than your boss. Who are they?”

“I-I really don’t know anything about them, I swear! I genuinely don’t know!”

Without responding to his plea, Letty quietly observed the man. Using her lie detection skill, there was no sign of deception. He wasn’t lying. They appeared to be nothing more than low-level thugs who came here with incomplete information.

“Alright, I understand.”

“I-I’ve told ya everything, so… that’s enough, right?!”

Looking down at the man for a moment, Letty pulled her boot away. “You’ve provided me with the information, so I won’t take your life.”

As soon as she said that, the sword swung once again. His elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles. She severed the tendons in those joints, causing minimal bleeding, and the man’s agonizing screams filled the air.

“Hiii! Aah! You said you won’t kill me!”

“I won’t take your life… myself, that is. The rest is up to you.”

Upon hearing those words, the man finally realized his situation. With his tendons severed, he couldn’t stand properly or even crawl using his arms, left alone in the forest.

“I think there are wild dogs and wolves around here.” Letty’s voice, devoid of any emotion, uttered those chilling words. The man’s eyes rolled back in shock, and he fainted.

“Ellie, sorry, you had to see something unpleasant.”

“No, it’s fine… It’s still kind of merciful since we didn’t kill him, right?” In response to Letty’s apologetic tone, Ellie smiled and waved her hand. Having experienced military service, she must have witnessed scenes like this multiple times, or at least, that’s what one would assume.

“And I’m sorry for one more thing,” Letty continued to say.

“Yes?”

“Could you help me dig a hole? I want to bury Ted.”

“Yes, of course.” Instantly, Ellie responded with a smile, countering Letty’s furrowed brows filled with concern.

***

A spot situated a short distance away from the cabin was chosen.

Carrying Ted’s lifeless body, they transported it to a secluded location, far enough that even the echoing cries of the man rolling could not be heard. When they discovered a suitable, level ground, they gently laid Ted down.

“Letty-san, please step back a bit… Alright, here we go… Mana Blaster.” With a swift motion, Letty plunged the sword the thug had used into the ground and directed a controlled blast of mana into the damaged area.

The ground was torn open, creating a large and deep hole.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this, Ellie…”

“It’s fine. Using a shovel would’ve taken more time. Besides, if I offer to do the digging in exchange for… some information from you, it might make it easier to get the answers,” Ellie chuckled mischievously, her gaze fixed on the digging ground.

Ellie’s demeanor quickly shifted. “Letty-san, when you attacked that man, did you just… leap like a reaper?”

“Leap like a reaper? I’ve never heard that expression before, but I can probably understand its meaning. Do you think that’s what I did?”

“Ah, it seems the word is no longer used nowadays…” Ellie nodded, seeming satisfied with Letty’s sincere response.

“In my time, there were individuals like you, Letty-san, who could perform what could only be described as teleportation. They’re rare, but there were a fair number of them. They were called reapers.

“Why they possessed such a power was never fully explained. They were considered heretics, or even believed to be descendants of gods.

“Their frightening ability to manipulate space was feared to eventually cause major incidents or accidents.”

After a brief pause, Ellie shifted her gaze towards Letty who wore a troubled yet wry smile. “Perhaps you really are a throwback to your ancestors or something like that. So… Oh, I’m starting to lose track of what I wanted to say.”

Ellie gazed up at the sky, as if searching for the right words, and narrowed her eyes as the fading sunlight tinged it with a reddish hue. “Yeah, it’s been 1,500 years, but remnants still remain, don’t they? I sensed that. In that moment… I felt a fleeting sense of happiness.”

Letty’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at those words. It was the first time someone had told her they were happy after witnessing her skills. Well, to begin with, there were hardly any people left alive after she showed them.

“I’m glad I met you, Letty-san. That’s what I truly feel,” Ellie’s voice choked up with emotion.

Letty couldn’t comprehend the burden Ellie carried, but she understood, she remembered, the feeling of loneliness and vulnerability. She knew what it was like. And perhaps, whether it was out of calculation or not, she understood the feeling of being taken in when you were abandoned.

“I feel the same way… I’m glad I met you too, Ellie,” she murmured softly.

***

They dug a hole deep enough to ensure it wouldn’t be unearthed by wild dogs, burying Ted within its depths.

As they covered the lifeless body with earth, gradually obscuring his form, Letty experienced an unfamiliar sensation in her chest. Without time to give a name to this feeling, she continued her work, diligently completing the burial. Placing stones atop the grave, a simple makeshift gravestone took shape.

“Goodbye, Ted.”

“Rest in peace, Ted…”

They exchanged their farewell words, bidding their own goodbyes. Though there was no god to pray to, they closed their eyes briefly, observing a moment of silence. At the very least, a silent tribute was offered. Finally, the farewell ritual came to an end.

Both of them raised their faces, meeting each other’s gaze. “Letty-san, what do we do now?”

“We’re heading to a town called Walls. There’s an information broker named Bob there. We might be able to gather more information from him.”

While acknowledging the possibility that Bob could have also fallen victim to an attack, she knew that having multiple leads was crucial.

They set off, intended to make progress while daylight still graced the sky. Just for a fleeting instant, Letty glanced back. The dwindling light at the edge of the mountain cast a faint crimson hue upon Ted’s grave marker.

***

Author’s Note:

In the midst of the chaotic circumstances, they finally reached their destination—a place where they could steady their footing remained intact.

And the truth was unveiled.

Up next: Relief and Suspicion

And thus, the counterattack commences.